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Tokyo stocks fell Friday morning, following sharp falls in New York on a deadly attack in Spain and rising concerns over the fate of US President Donald Trump&#39;s economic agenda.

A van driver ploughed into crowds of pedestrians on Barcelona&#39;s most popular street in broad daylight on Thursday, killing 13 people in an attack claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group.

Hours later, Spanish police said they had shot dead &quot;four suspected terrorists&quot; and injured another one in Cambrils, a city south of Barcelona.

Investors are likely to shun risks after all major indices fell on Wall Street and the yen strengthened, a negative for Japanese shares, Okasan Online Securities said in a commentary.

&quot;A van ramming broke out in Spain in what is believed to be a terror attack at a time when President Trump&#39;s views on racial discrimination were drawing criticism from various quarters,&quot; said Yoshihiro Ito, chief strategist at the brokerage.&nbsp;

&quot;This made risk-off sentiment prevail,&quot; he added.

Tokyo&#39;s benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 1.02 per cent, or 201.10 points, to sit at 19,501.53 by the break while the Topix index of all first-section issues was down 1.03 per cent, or 16.59 points, at 1,598.23. 
In Washington, the administration has faced an exodus of CEOs outraged at the president&#39;s comments on white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups involved in violence last weekend in Virginia that killed one woman.

&quot;There had been strong concerns toward President Trump&#39;s policy operation until now, but his comments on race have put him in an even more precarious position,&quot; Hideyuki Ishiguro, a senior strategist at Daiwa Securities, told Bloomberg News.

The White House Thursday said Trump has abandoned plans to form an advisory council on infrastructure.

The yen, a safe haven for buyers in times of uncertainty, rose against the dollar, a negative development for Japanese exporters as the stronger currency erodes their repatriated profits.&nbsp;

The greenback was at 109.43 yen on Friday against 109.57 yen in New York and 109.86 yen in Tokyo earlier Thursday.

In Tokyo trade, automakers were lower with Toyota down 0.92 per cent to end the morning at 6,118 yen while Honda fell 0.95 per cent to 3,014 yen.

Financial stocks fell sharply. Top brokerage Nomura tumbled 2.15 per cent to 628 yen and major bank Mitsubishi UFJ lost 1.93 per cent to end the morning at 679.7 yen.&nbsp;

A van driver ploughed into crowds of pedestrians on Barcelona's most popular street in broad daylight on Thursday, killing 13 people in an attack claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group

Tokyo stocks fell Friday morning, following sharp falls in New York on a deadly attack in Spain and rising concerns over the fate of US President Donald Trump's economic agenda. A van driver ploughed into crowds of pedestrians on Barcelona's most popular street in broad daylight on Thursday, killing 13 people in an attack claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group. Hours later, Spanish police said they had shot dead "four suspected terrorists" and injured another one in Cambrils, a city south of Barcelona. Investors are likely to shun risks after all major indices fell on Wall Street and the yen strengthened, a negative for Japanese shares, Okasan Online Securities said in a commentary. "A van ramming broke out in Spain in what is believed to be a terror attack at a time when President Trump's views on racial discrimination were drawing criticism from various quarters," said Yoshihiro Ito, chief strategist at the brokerage. "This made risk-off sentiment prevail," he added. Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 1.02 per cent, or 201.10 points, to sit at 19,501.53 by the break while the Topix index of all first-section issues was down 1.03 per cent, or 16.59 points, at 1,598.23. In Washington, the administration has faced an exodus of CEOs outraged at the president's comments on white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups involved in violence last weekend in Virginia that killed one woman. "There had been strong concerns toward President Trump's policy operation until now, but his comments on race have put him in an even more precarious position," Hideyuki Ishiguro, a senior strategist at Daiwa Securities, told Bloomberg News. The White House Thursday said Trump has abandoned plans to form an advisory council on infrastructure. The yen, a safe haven for buyers in times of uncertainty, rose against the dollar, a negative development for Japanese exporters as the stronger currency erodes their repatriated profits. The greenback was at 109.43 yen on Friday against 109.57 yen in New York and 109.86 yen in Tokyo earlier Thursday. In Tokyo trade, automakers were lower with Toyota down 0.92 per cent to end the morning at 6,118 yen while Honda fell 0.95 per cent to 3,014 yen. Financial stocks fell sharply. Top brokerage Nomura tumbled 2.15 per cent to 628 yen and major bank Mitsubishi UFJ lost 1.93 per cent to end the morning at 679.7 yen.

Tokyo stocks down at break as Spain attack jolts markets

The potential move of Apple into streaming video could reshape an industry which is already feeling the impact from new players like Netflix.

While Apple has not revealed any plans publicly, a report that the iPhone maker could spend a billion dollars on its own shows suggested more disruption for a sector seeing rapid changes.

The move by deep-pocketed Apple would challenge entrenched services such as Netflix, YouTube, and Amazon Prime, which have been increasingly challenging the established media-entertainment world of Hollywood.

Apple declined to comment on a Wall Street journal report on its billion-dollar budget for new content.

Analysts consider original, exclusive content imperative for fielding a viable video streaming service, something that Apple has yet to do despite being early to market with an Apple TV set-top box linked to the internet. 
&quot;If Apple wants to stay relevant they have to go into the subscription streaming space, and that means original content,&quot; said Jackdaw Research chief analyst Jan Dawson.

Analyst Paul Verna at eMarketer said video fits nicely into Apple&#39;s business strategy: &quot;Content is a vital missing link that could help Apple complete a powerful ecosystem of programming, devices and services,&quot; he said.

Global streaming television king Netflix is expected to spend about $7 billion this year on content, with slightly less than half of that money going to making its shows it can distribute how and where it wishes.

&nbsp;&#39;Kick-Ass&#39;&nbsp;

Netflix recently ordered a new animated adult comedy from &quot;The Simpsons&quot; mastermind Matt Groening.

The Silicon Valley-based company is also buying comic book publisher Millarworld, creator of popular series including &quot;Kick-Ass&quot; and &quot;Kingsman.&quot;

Netflix said in a statement the deal was part of the company&#39;s effort &quot;to work directly with prolific and skilled creators and to acquire intellectual property and ownership of stories featuring compelling characters and timeless, interwoven fictional worlds.&quot;

Netflix describes itself as the world&#39;s leading internet television network, with 104 million members in more than 190 countries.

During a recent quarterly earnings call, Amazon executives once again vowed to ramp spending on original shows this year as the internet giant chases after Netflix with is Prime service.

While Amazon doesn&#39;t reveal exact figures, its budget for shows is said to be in the billions of dollars.

Google continues to make a priority of content for YouTube, which features a subscription service along with free shared video posts.

Facebook too is rolling out a new video service offering professionally produced shows in a challenge to rivals such as YouTube, and potentially to streaming providers like Netflix.

The Facebook service called Watch will include a range of shows, from reality to comedy to live sports. Facebook has funded some of the creators to get the service going.

&nbsp;Money to burn&nbsp;

These moves comes as viewers in the US and other markets increasingly turn to on-demand internet platforms instead of &quot;linear&quot; television.

Hollywood powerhouse Walt Disney&nbsp;this month announced plans to launch a &quot;multi-sport&quot; streaming service under its ESPN brand in early 2018 and a Disney branded direct-to-consumer service in 2019. 
HBO and CBS also have standalone streaming options.

Entering a market late and succeeding would be nothing new for Apple, Dawson said while discussing unconfirmed talk of the company investing in original shows.

An Apple Music service launched in a streaming radio market with dominant players, but is now second only to Spotify, the analyst noted.

Apple could get the same kind of results in streaming video, not overtaking Netflix over the short term but quickly becoming a force to be reconned with in the market, Dawson said.

While Apple has about a quarter of a trillion dollars in cash stockpiled, providing ample cash to spend on original content, such a move could distract it from the devices on which the company&#39;s fortune rests, according to analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle Group 
Entertainment is also a very different industry than making iPhones, and comes with film talent to manage and other challenges likely new to Apple, Enderle said.

&quot;Entertainment is no cheap date; it is a very hands-on business,&quot; Enderle said.

&quot;I think that because Apple is having so much difficulty coming up with innovation in their core area, they are starting to panic and come up with &#39;Hail Mary&#39; passes in other areas.&quot;

While Apple has not revealed any plans publicly, a report that the iPhone maker could spend a billion dollars on its own shows suggested more disruption for a sector seeing rapid changes

The potential move of Apple into streaming video could reshape an industry which is already feeling the impact from new players like Netflix. While Apple has not revealed any plans publicly, a report that the iPhone maker could spend a billion dollars on its own shows suggested more disruption for a sector seeing rapid changes. The move by deep-pocketed Apple would challenge entrenched services such as Netflix, YouTube, and Amazon Prime, which have been increasingly challenging the established media-entertainment world of Hollywood. Apple declined to comment on a Wall Street journal report on its billion-dollar budget for new content. Analysts consider original, exclusive content imperative for fielding a viable video streaming service, something that Apple has yet to do despite being early to market with an Apple TV set-top box linked to the internet. "If Apple wants to stay relevant they have to go into the subscription streaming space, and that means original content," said Jackdaw Research chief analyst Jan Dawson. Analyst Paul Verna at eMarketer said video fits nicely into Apple's business strategy: "Content is a vital missing link that could help Apple complete a powerful ecosystem of programming, devices and services," he said. Global streaming television king Netflix is expected to spend about $7 billion this year on content, with slightly less than half of that money going to making its shows it can distribute how and where it wishes. 'Kick-Ass' Netflix recently ordered a new animated adult comedy from "The Simpsons" mastermind Matt Groening. The Silicon Valley-based company is also buying comic book publisher Millarworld, creator of popular series including "Kick-Ass" and "Kingsman." Netflix said in a statement the deal was part of the company's effort "to work directly with prolific and skilled creators and to acquire intellectual property and ownership of stories featuring compelling characters and timeless, interwoven fictional worlds." Netflix describes itself as the world's leading internet television network, with 104 million members in more than 190 countries. During a recent quarterly earnings call, Amazon executives once again vowed to ramp spending on original shows this year as the internet giant chases after Netflix with is Prime service. While Amazon doesn't reveal exact figures, its budget for shows is said to be in the billions of dollars. Google continues to make a priority of content for YouTube, which features a subscription service along with free shared video posts. Facebook too is rolling out a new video service offering professionally produced shows in a challenge to rivals such as YouTube, and potentially to streaming providers like Netflix. The Facebook service called Watch will include a range of shows, from reality to comedy to live sports. Facebook has funded some of the creators to get the service going. Money to burn These moves comes as viewers in the US and other markets increasingly turn to on-demand internet platforms instead of "linear" television. Hollywood powerhouse Walt Disney this month announced plans to launch a "multi-sport" streaming service under its ESPN brand in early 2018 and a Disney branded direct-to-consumer service in 2019. HBO and CBS also have standalone streaming options. Entering a market late and succeeding would be nothing new for Apple, Dawson said while discussing unconfirmed talk of the company investing in original shows. An Apple Music service launched in a streaming radio market with dominant players, but is now second only to Spotify, the analyst noted. Apple could get the same kind of results in streaming video, not overtaking Netflix over the short term but quickly becoming a force to be reconned with in the market, Dawson said. While Apple has about a quarter of a trillion dollars in cash stockpiled, providing ample cash to spend on original content, such a move could distract it from the devices on which the company's fortune rests, according to analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle Group Entertainment is also a very different industry than making iPhones, and comes with film talent to manage and other challenges likely new to Apple, Enderle said. "Entertainment is no cheap date; it is a very hands-on business," Enderle said. "I think that because Apple is having so much difficulty coming up with innovation in their core area, they are starting to panic and come up with 'Hail Mary' passes in other areas."

Apple's deep pockets could take on Hollywood, Netflix

US stocks fell sharply Thursday following a deadly attack in Spain and amid rising concerns President Donald Trump may have endangered his economic agenda after alienating business leaders.&nbsp;

Investors also were rattled early Thursday by rumors White House economic advisor Gary Cohn, a former Goldman Sachs president, could resign. A White House source denied this, however.

The investment bank was among the biggest losers on the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average, which had its largest drop in three months and turned negative for the month.

The Dow dropped 1.2 per cent to finish at 21,750.73 and the broader S&amp;P 500 gave up 1.5 per cent to close at 2,430.01.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq suffered the biggest loss, sinking 1.9 per cent to close at 6,221.91.

After opening lower, stock losses accelerated shortly after 11 am after an attacker in Barcelona slammed a van into crowds on a popular tourist street, killing at least 13 people and injuring 50, authorities said.

Prior to the attack, investors already were fretting over news Trump had dissolved two business councils amid an exodus of CEOs seeking to distance themselves from the US president&#39;s heavily-criticised response to a white supremacy rally over the weekend.

Trump&#39;s agenda of tax cuts and infrastructure spending now faces a bitterly divided Congress with which he has repeatedly butted heads.

Disbanding the CEO advisory boards, &quot;created a lot of concerns for investors,&quot; said Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Investment.&nbsp;

&quot;This is the first time since Trump took office there is a disconnect between him and the business community.&quot;

Sarhan said previous political shocks, such as Republican failure to repeal the previous administration&#39;s health care laws or the nuclear brinkmanship with North Korea, had not directly affected economic policy.

&quot;This is the first time where we have a political event that directly impacts the economy. That is why stocks are selling off. It is not just noise.&quot;

Goldman Sachs fell 1.8 per cent and Cisco Systems was the Dow&#39;s biggest loser, tumbling by four per cent, after reporting disappointing earnings in its security business.

Apple fell 1.9 per cent, dragging down the S&amp;P and the Nasdaq, while Wal-Mart Stores lost 1.6 per cent after reporting a steep decline in profits despite posting a 60 per cent gain in internet sales and beating expectations on earnings per share.

The investment bank was among the biggest losers on the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average, which had its largest drop in three months and turned negative for the month

US stocks fell sharply Thursday following a deadly attack in Spain and amid rising concerns President Donald Trump may have endangered his economic agenda after alienating business leaders. Investors also were rattled early Thursday by rumors White House economic advisor Gary Cohn, a former Goldman Sachs president, could resign. A White House source denied this, however. The investment bank was among the biggest losers on the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average, which had its largest drop in three months and turned negative for the month. The Dow dropped 1.2 per cent to finish at 21,750.73 and the broader S&P 500 gave up 1.5 per cent to close at 2,430.01. The tech-heavy Nasdaq suffered the biggest loss, sinking 1.9 per cent to close at 6,221.91. After opening lower, stock losses accelerated shortly after 11 am after an attacker in Barcelona slammed a van into crowds on a popular tourist street, killing at least 13 people and injuring 50, authorities said. Prior to the attack, investors already were fretting over news Trump had dissolved two business councils amid an exodus of CEOs seeking to distance themselves from the US president's heavily-criticised response to a white supremacy rally over the weekend. Trump's agenda of tax cuts and infrastructure spending now faces a bitterly divided Congress with which he has repeatedly butted heads. Disbanding the CEO advisory boards, "created a lot of concerns for investors," said Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Investment. "This is the first time since Trump took office there is a disconnect between him and the business community." Sarhan said previous political shocks, such as Republican failure to repeal the previous administration's health care laws or the nuclear brinkmanship with North Korea, had not directly affected economic policy. "This is the first time where we have a political event that directly impacts the economy. That is why stocks are selling off. It is not just noise." Goldman Sachs fell 1.8 per cent and Cisco Systems was the Dow's biggest loser, tumbling by four per cent, after reporting disappointing earnings in its security business. Apple fell 1.9 per cent, dragging down the S&P and the Nasdaq, while Wal-Mart Stores lost 1.6 per cent after reporting a steep decline in profits despite posting a 60 per cent gain in internet sales and beating expectations on earnings per share.

Wall Street tumbles on Spain terror, Trump policy worries

Chinese personal computer maker&nbsp;Lenovo&nbsp;Group is more confident it can achieve its turnaround goal for its mobile business in the second half of the fiscal year 2018, Chairman and Chief Executive Yang Yuanqing told Reuters on Friday.

Yang was speaking after the company posted a first-quarter loss on higher costs and slower growth in the personal computer market.

Chairman and Chief Executive Yang Yuanqing spoke after the company posted a first-quarter loss on higher costs and slower growth in the personal computer market

Chinese personal computer maker Lenovo Group is more confident it can achieve its turnaround goal for its mobile business in the second half of the fiscal year 2018, Chairman and Chief Executive Yang Yuanqing told Reuters on Friday. Yang was speaking after the company posted a first-quarter loss on higher costs and slower growth in the personal computer market.

Lenovo confident enough to achieve the set mobile turnaround goal: Report

Vishal Sikka has&nbsp;resigned as the managing director and CEO of Infosys.

The board of directors of Infosys Ltd have accepted Sikka&#39;s&nbsp;resignation, reports said.

U B Pravin Rao has been appointed as interim-managing director and chief executive.&nbsp;Sikka has now been appointed as executive vice-chairman, Infosys said.

Sikka&#39;s exit hit the Infosys stocks as it tanked 6 per cent in morning trade.

&quot;Over the last many months and quarters, we have all been besieged by false, baseless, malicious and increasingly personal attacks,&quot; Sikka said in his statement to the company&#39;s board.

&quot;The distractions that we have seen, the constant drumbeat of the same issues over and over again, while ignoring and undermining the good work that has been done, take the excitement and passion out of this amazing journey,&quot; he said in his resignation letter.

Read the full text of Sikka&#39;s resignation letter below:&nbsp;

Over the last few days, since our earlier call, I&rsquo;ve met Sesh several times, talked to you individually at length, and spent time thinking things thru with Vandana. During this time, one of our employees, Sandeep Karamongikar, died in his sleep, likely of a massive heart attack. He was working on the chatbot frontend in Nia. Also over the weekend, in possibly the greatest demonstration of AI capability ever, a bot built by the researchers at OpenAI (yes, that OpenAI), defeated the world&rsquo;s best players of DOTA2, a multiplayer online video game, a game where the bot learned to play entirely from scratch. Further demonstrating that the force to automate routine, even advanced, activities is an unstoppable and exponential one. And the Charlottesville incident here in the US demonstrated once again the power of words and silences to cause real damage, or to heal.

After much reflection, I have concluded that it is indeed time for me to leave my current positions as MD and CEO, and I have communicated my resignation to Sesh. I will be working closely with Sesh, Ravi, Pravin, with all of you, and the senior management team to plan out the details and the timelines to ensure a smooth transition and in the meantime, continue our work without disruption, and ensuring that we protect our company, the employees, the clients, and the interests of every shareholder. You can count on my commitment to this.

I came here to help navigate the company through what I saw as a massive transformation opportunity, to transform our company and restore strong profitable growth, as well as help transform the business of our customers. I came to do this with the power of technology, given my experiences with similar transformations, my background in AI, and the structural changes that I saw happening in the IT services industry. This needed new skills, new thinking, new initiatives, and a transformation in the culture, from a cost-oriented value delivery, to entrepreneurship oriented value delivery. You have heard me articulate this many times before.

This type of a transformation has always been a passion for me, indeed I took this job for this reason. We have achieved much in the last 3+ years, and for sure we can all be proud of the powerful seeds of transformation that have already been sowed. No one anticipated the additional headwinds like the geo-political disruptions (Brexit, Trump, visa etc.) that made this transformation even more challenging, but also rewarding. But, the distractions that we have seen, the constant drumbeat of the same issues over and over again, while ignoring and undermining the good work that has been done, take the excitement and passion out of this amazing journey. Over the last many months and quarters, we have all been besieged by false, baseless, malicious and increasingly personal attacks. Allegations that have been repeatedly proven false and baseless by multiple, independent investigations. But despite this, the attacks continue, and worse still, amplified by the very people from whom we all expected the most steadfast support in this great transformation. This continuous drumbeat of distractions and negativity over the last several months/quarters, inhibits our ability to make positive change and stay focused on value creation. Addressing the noise by itself is damaging; hundreds of hours of my own time has gone into this recently. But the structural challenges this engenders within the organization, has a very damaging effect on our ability to carry out any kind of a transformation, especially one that is as fundamental as transforming from a cost-oriented to an innovation oriented value delivery to clients.

Therefore, I have come to this moment and the end of this journey. I hope that it gives everyone a chance to reflect, and give the transformation effort another big push and move the company forward rapidly to build its future, to build upon the foundation that we have laid over these past 3 years. If these types of attacks continue, I hope each of you will continue to be the voice of fairness and reason &ndash; providing the active, emphatic and unequivocal support that the company, the management, the employees, and all of the stakeholders and friends of the company need in order to succeed. Since the board deeply believes in the cause we have started, I will be happy to support all of you to achieve a smooth transition, and serve as your Executive Vice Chair as discussed.

I would like to thank each one of you, my dear colleagues, my friends and mentors, and look forward to working with you to close this chapter and open a great new one for all of us.

He will now be the executive vice chairman

Vishal Sikka has resigned as the managing director and CEO of Infosys. The board of directors of Infosys Ltd have accepted Sikka's resignation, reports said. U B Pravin Rao has been appointed as interim-managing director and chief executive. Sikka has now been appointed as executive vice-chairman, Infosys said. Sikka's exit hit the Infosys stocks as it tanked 6 per cent in morning trade. "Over the last many months and quarters, we have all been besieged by false, baseless, malicious and increasingly personal attacks," Sikka said in his statement to the company's board. "The distractions that we have seen, the constant drumbeat of the same issues over and over again, while ignoring and undermining the good work that has been done, take the excitement and passion out of this amazing journey," he said in his resignation letter. Read the full text of Sikka's resignation letter below: Over the last few days, since our earlier call, I’ve met Sesh several times, talked to you individually at length, and spent time thinking things thru with Vandana. During this time, one of our employees, Sandeep Karamongikar, died in his sleep, likely of a massive heart attack. He was working on the chatbot frontend in Nia. Also over the weekend, in possibly the greatest demonstration of AI capability ever, a bot built by the researchers at OpenAI (yes, that OpenAI), defeated the world’s best players of DOTA2, a multiplayer online video game, a game where the bot learned to play entirely from scratch. Further demonstrating that the force to automate routine, even advanced, activities is an unstoppable and exponential one. And the Charlottesville incident here in the US demonstrated once again the power of words and silences to cause real damage, or to heal. After much reflection, I have concluded that it is indeed time for me to leave my current positions as MD and CEO, and I have communicated my resignation to Sesh. I will be working closely with Sesh, Ravi, Pravin, with all of you, and the senior management team to plan out the details and the timelines to ensure a smooth transition and in the meantime, continue our work without disruption, and ensuring that we protect our company, the employees, the clients, and the interests of every shareholder. You can count on my commitment to this. I came here to help navigate the company through what I saw as a massive transformation opportunity, to transform our company and restore strong profitable growth, as well as help transform the business of our customers. I came to do this with the power of technology, given my experiences with similar transformations, my background in AI, and the structural changes that I saw happening in the IT services industry. This needed new skills, new thinking, new initiatives, and a transformation in the culture, from a cost-oriented value delivery, to entrepreneurship oriented value delivery. You have heard me articulate this many times before. This type of a transformation has always been a passion for me, indeed I took this job for this reason. We have achieved much in the last 3+ years, and for sure we can all be proud of the powerful seeds of transformation that have already been sowed. No one anticipated the additional headwinds like the geo-political disruptions (Brexit, Trump, visa etc.) that made this transformation even more challenging, but also rewarding. But, the distractions that we have seen, the constant drumbeat of the same issues over and over again, while ignoring and undermining the good work that has been done, take the excitement and passion out of this amazing journey. Over the last many months and quarters, we have all been besieged by false, baseless, malicious and increasingly personal attacks. Allegations that have been repeatedly proven false and baseless by multiple, independent investigations. But despite this, the attacks continue, and worse still, amplified by the very people from whom we all expected the most steadfast support in this great transformation. This continuous drumbeat of distractions and negativity over the last several months/quarters, inhibits our ability to make positive change and stay focused on value creation. Addressing the noise by itself is damaging; hundreds of hours of my own time has gone into this recently. But the structural challenges this engenders within the organization, has a very damaging effect on our ability to carry out any kind of a transformation, especially one that is as fundamental as transforming from a cost-oriented to an innovation oriented value delivery to clients. Therefore, I have come to this moment and the end of this journey. I hope that it gives everyone a chance to reflect, and give the transformation effort another big push and move the company forward rapidly to build its future, to build upon the foundation that we have laid over these past 3 years. If these types of attacks continue, I hope each of you will continue to be the voice of fairness and reason – providing the active, emphatic and unequivocal support that the company, the management, the employees, and all of the stakeholders and friends of the company need in order to succeed. Since the board deeply believes in the cause we have started, I will be happy to support all of you to achieve a smooth transition, and serve as your Executive Vice Chair as discussed. I would like to thank each one of you, my dear colleagues, my friends and mentors, and look forward to working with you to close this chapter and open a great new one for all of us.

Vishal Sikka resigns as MD & CEO of Infosys, stocks tank in morning trade

Indian shares fell on Friday led by Infosys&nbsp;that plunged after the resignation of Chief Executive Vishal Sikka heightened uncertainty about the IT services provider&#39;s future.

However, the BSE and NSE indexes still posted their biggest weekly gain in five.

The benchmark BSE Sensex closed down 0.85 per cent at 31,524.68, but gained nearly 1 per cent in the week.

The broader NSE Nifty ended 0.67 per cent lower at 9,837.40, but rose 1.3 per cent for the week .

Infosys shares closed down 9.6 per cent, their biggest daily fall in more than four years.

Indian shares fell on Friday led by Infosys?that plunged after the resignation of Chief Executive Vishal Sikka heightened uncertainty about the IT services provider's future

Indian shares fell on Friday led by Infosys that plunged after the resignation of Chief Executive Vishal Sikka heightened uncertainty about the IT services provider's future. However, the BSE and NSE indexes still posted their biggest weekly gain in five. The benchmark BSE Sensex closed down 0.85 per cent at 31,524.68, but gained nearly 1 per cent in the week. The broader NSE Nifty ended 0.67 per cent lower at 9,837.40, but rose 1.3 per cent for the week . Infosys shares closed down 9.6 per cent, their biggest daily fall in more than four years.

After Vishal Sikka quits, Sensex ends lower but BSE, NSE post weekly gain

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/science-tech/apple-shares-sail-to-record-high-on-healthy-iphone-sales-18496">After setting the mobile space on fire</a>, Apple is now expanding its services to Apple speakers.

Tech analysts say the speaker priced at $349 is set to be launched in December.&nbsp;

The acoustic modeling and <a href="http://www.wionews.com/science-tech/wwdc-2017-apple-set-to-make-siri-work-with-a-larger-variety-of-apps-16442">Siri&#39;s optimized version will make the &quot;Homepod&quot;</a>&nbsp;an all-in-one entertainment. The speaker will be powered by Apple&#39;s A8 chip.&nbsp;

The Siri operated HomePod not only plays music but will also help in assisting and controlling household tasks and smart home accessories.&nbsp;

Just say &ldquo;Hey Siri, turn on the lights&rdquo; or &ldquo;cool the room&rdquo; or &ldquo;lower the shades.&rdquo;

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<h5>Just say &ldquo;Hey Siri, turn on the lights&rdquo; or &ldquo;cool the room&rdquo; or &ldquo;lower the shades.&rdquo; A wide range of accessories work with Apple&rsquo;s HomeKit platform &mdash; from air conditioners to garage doors to security cameras. Just add an accessory to the Home app, then control it with your voice on HomePod, the company website said.</h5>
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A wide range of accessories work with Apple&rsquo;s HomeKit platform &mdash; from air conditioners to garage doors to security cameras. Just add an accessory to the Home app, then control it with your voice on HomePod, the company said on its&nbsp;website.

Apple will first launch the limited edition with&nbsp;only around 500,000 units in the US, UK, and Australia.

The tech giant will be manufacturing the speaker in collaboration with Taiwanese firm Inventec. Also, expectations are that Foxconn may join the partnership in 2018.&nbsp;

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Apple will be launching Apple "Homepod" in December 2017

After setting the mobile space on fire, Apple is now expanding its services to Apple speakers. Tech analysts say the speaker priced at $349 is set to be launched in December. The acoustic modeling and Siri's optimized version will make the "Homepod" an all-in-one entertainment. The speaker will be powered by Apple's A8 chip. The Siri operated HomePod not only plays music but will also help in assisting and controlling household tasks and smart home accessories. Just say “Hey Siri, turn on the lights” or “cool the room” or “lower the shades.” Just say “Hey Siri, turn on the lights” or “cool the room” or “lower the shades.” A wide range of accessories work with Apple’s HomeKit platform — from air conditioners to garage doors to security cameras. Just add an accessory to the Home app, then control it with your voice on HomePod, the company website said. × A wide range of accessories work with Apple’s HomeKit platform — from air conditioners to garage doors to security cameras. Just add an accessory to the Home app, then control it with your voice on HomePod, the company said on its website. Apple will first launch the limited edition with only around 500,000 units in the US, UK, and Australia. The tech giant will be manufacturing the speaker in collaboration with Taiwanese firm Inventec. Also, expectations are that Foxconn may join the partnership in 2018.

Apple HomePod set to be launched in December

Indian shares rose for a third consecutive session on Thursday, with Infosys leading the gains after announcing a likely share buyback, while Asian markets rose as tensions between the US and North Korea eased.

Shares of Infosys, India&#39;s No. 2 software services exporter, rose as much as 3.6 per cent after the company said on Wednesday its board would consider a proposal to buy back shares at a meeting later this month.

Sentiment was also upbeat across global markets with Asian shares advancing as tensions between the US and North Korea came off the boil, although the Federal Reserve&#39;s concerns about weak US inflation weighed on the dollar.

&quot;Infosys buyback is a very good thing for other IT companies,&quot; said AK Prabhakar, head of research, IDBI Capital.

The broader NSE Nifty was up 0.35 per cent at 9,932.40 as of 0530 GMT, while the benchmark BSE Sensex was 0.30 per cent higher at 31,867.08.

Infosys drove gains in the Nifty IT index, which climbed as much as 1.4 per cent in its biggest intraday percentage gain in nearly a month. KPIT Technologies gained 3 per cent and Tech Mahindra 1.6 per cent.

The Nifty PSU Bank index, which has lost nearly 9 per cent since India&#39;s central bank announced its decision to cut the repo rate, gained as much as 1.08 per cent.

The Nifty FMCG index was trading 0.3 per cent higher after rising 2.5 per cent in the previous session.

Asian markets rose as tensions between the US and North Korea eased

Indian shares rose for a third consecutive session on Thursday, with Infosys leading the gains after announcing a likely share buyback, while Asian markets rose as tensions between the US and North Korea eased. Shares of Infosys, India's No. 2 software services exporter, rose as much as 3.6 per cent after the company said on Wednesday its board would consider a proposal to buy back shares at a meeting later this month. Sentiment was also upbeat across global markets with Asian shares advancing as tensions between the US and North Korea came off the boil, although the Federal Reserve's concerns about weak US inflation weighed on the dollar. "Infosys buyback is a very good thing for other IT companies," said AK Prabhakar, head of research, IDBI Capital. The broader NSE Nifty was up 0.35 per cent at 9,932.40 as of 0530 GMT, while the benchmark BSE Sensex was 0.30 per cent higher at 31,867.08. Infosys drove gains in the Nifty IT index, which climbed as much as 1.4 per cent in its biggest intraday percentage gain in nearly a month. KPIT Technologies gained 3 per cent and Tech Mahindra 1.6 per cent. The Nifty PSU Bank index, which has lost nearly 9 per cent since India's central bank announced its decision to cut the repo rate, gained as much as 1.08 per cent. The Nifty FMCG index was trading 0.3 per cent higher after rising 2.5 per cent in the previous session.

Sensex rises; Infosys buyback proposal lifts mood

Japan&#39;s exports rose for an eighth straight month in July on robust shipments to the United States and a boost from a weak yen, suggesting the economy is carrying strong momentum through to the second half of the year.

The data underscores the Bank of Japan&#39;s view the world&#39;s third-largest economy is showing increasing signs of strength as private consumption adds momentum to an export-led recovery.

Imports rose for the seventh straight month on brisk demand for personal computers and digital cameras from China, highlighting the strength of domestic consumption that served as a key driver of Japan&#39;s economic growth in the second quarter.

&quot;Exports aren&#39;t particularly strong in volume terms but will gradually recover ahead. The import figures, on the other hand, underscore the strength of domestic demand,&quot; said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute.

&quot;Domestic demand is gaining momentum and will likely drive Japan&#39;s economic recovery.&quot;

Exports to the United States rose 11.5 per cent in July from a year earlier to mark the sixth straight month of gains. That pushed up Japan&#39;s trade surplus with the United States by 9.1 per cent from a year ago to 647 billion yen ($5.88 billion).

Japan&#39;s trade surplus has been a target of criticism by US&nbsp;President Donald Trump&#39;s administration, which has called for cutting the US&nbsp;trade deficit under his protectionist &quot;America First&quot; policies.

Total exports increased 13.4 per cent in July from a year earlier, Ministry of Finance data showed on Thursday, roughly in line with a median market forecast for a 13.6 per cent gain.

The rise, which followed a 9.7 per cent increase in June, was driven by solid auto shipments to the United States and demand from China for electrical equipment, the data showed.

But the gain in exports was more modest in volume terms at 2.6 per cent, suggesting the value of exports was inflated by the yen&#39;s declines during the month.

Total imports were up 16.3 per cent in July from a year earlier, roughly in line with a median market forecast for a 17.0 per cent gain. It followed a 15.5 per cent rise in June.

Shipments to Asia were up 14.8 per cent in July from a year earlier, while those to China rose 17.6 per cent to mark a ninth straight rising month.

Japan&#39;s manufacturing activity grew in July at the slowest pace in eight months as export demand weakened, a private survey showed earlier this month, casting some doubt on the strength of Asian trade.

&quot;Exports clearly rose in July, indicating that a slight decline in second-quarter exports was a brief interruption of an ongoing uptrend,&quot; said Yoshimasa Maruyama, chief market economist at SMBC Nikko Securities.

Japan&#39;s economy expanded at the fastest pace in more than two years in the second quarter as consumer and company spending picked up, highlighting a long-awaited bounce in domestic demand.

Negative external demand, or exports minus imports, shaved off some growth in the quarter as shipments of information-technology goods to Asia slowed, though many analysts expect exports to remain firm in coming quarters.

The data underscores the Bank of Japan's view the world's third-largest economy is showing increasing signs of strength as private consumption adds momentum to an export-led recovery

Japan's exports rose for an eighth straight month in July on robust shipments to the United States and a boost from a weak yen, suggesting the economy is carrying strong momentum through to the second half of the year. The data underscores the Bank of Japan's view the world's third-largest economy is showing increasing signs of strength as private consumption adds momentum to an export-led recovery. Imports rose for the seventh straight month on brisk demand for personal computers and digital cameras from China, highlighting the strength of domestic consumption that served as a key driver of Japan's economic growth in the second quarter. "Exports aren't particularly strong in volume terms but will gradually recover ahead. The import figures, on the other hand, underscore the strength of domestic demand," said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institute. "Domestic demand is gaining momentum and will likely drive Japan's economic recovery." Exports to the United States rose 11.5 per cent in July from a year earlier to mark the sixth straight month of gains. That pushed up Japan's trade surplus with the United States by 9.1 per cent from a year ago to 647 billion yen ($5.88 billion). Japan's trade surplus has been a target of criticism by US President Donald Trump's administration, which has called for cutting the US trade deficit under his protectionist "America First" policies. Total exports increased 13.4 per cent in July from a year earlier, Ministry of Finance data showed on Thursday, roughly in line with a median market forecast for a 13.6 per cent gain. The rise, which followed a 9.7 per cent increase in June, was driven by solid auto shipments to the United States and demand from China for electrical equipment, the data showed. But the gain in exports was more modest in volume terms at 2.6 per cent, suggesting the value of exports was inflated by the yen's declines during the month. Total imports were up 16.3 per cent in July from a year earlier, roughly in line with a median market forecast for a 17.0 per cent gain. It followed a 15.5 per cent rise in June. Shipments to Asia were up 14.8 per cent in July from a year earlier, while those to China rose 17.6 per cent to mark a ninth straight rising month. Japan's manufacturing activity grew in July at the slowest pace in eight months as export demand weakened, a private survey showed earlier this month, casting some doubt on the strength of Asian trade. "Exports clearly rose in July, indicating that a slight decline in second-quarter exports was a brief interruption of an ongoing uptrend," said Yoshimasa Maruyama, chief market economist at SMBC Nikko Securities. Japan's economy expanded at the fastest pace in more than two years in the second quarter as consumer and company spending picked up, highlighting a long-awaited bounce in domestic demand. Negative external demand, or exports minus imports, shaved off some growth in the quarter as shipments of information-technology goods to Asia slowed, though many analysts expect exports to remain firm in coming quarters.

Japan's exports rise in July, underpin strengthening economy

Oil prices edged up early on Thursday, clawing back some ground after losses in the previous session.

Traders said the market was range-bound as falling crude inventories provided price support while high output was capping gains.

Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were at $50.43 per barrel at 0101 GMT, up 16 cents, or 0.3 per cent, from their last close.

US&nbsp;West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures&nbsp;were at $46.88 a barrel, up 10 cents, or 0.2 per cent.

The slight gains followed a more than 1 per cent fall in the previous session.

Data published late on Wednesday by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed that commercial US&nbsp;crude oil stocks have fallen by almost 13 per cent from their peaks in March to 466.5 million barrels, well below this time last year.

&quot;If inventory declines continue at this pace, stocks will fall back below the five-year average in around two months,&quot; said William O&#39;Loughlin, investment analyst at Australia&#39;s Rivkin Securities.

&quot;The pace of the declines indicates that the OPEC production cuts are having an effect, although the current oil price suggests that the market is sceptical about the longer-term prospects for rebalancing of the oil market,&quot; he added.

ANZ bank said the market on Wednesday seemed &quot;to focus on the rise in (US) production&quot;, which jumped by 79,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 9.5 million bpd last week, its highest level since July 2015, and 12.75 per cent above the most recent low in mid-2016.

Some traders said that the soaring US&nbsp;output is eroding efforts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries which, together with non-OPEC producers like Russia, has pledged to restrict output by 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) between January this year and March 2018 to tighten the market and prop up prices.

Brent prices are down by almost 12 per cent since the start of the cuts in January.

Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were at $50.43 per barrel at 0101 GMT, up 16 cents, or 0.3 per cent, from their last close

Oil prices edged up early on Thursday, clawing back some ground after losses in the previous session. Traders said the market was range-bound as falling crude inventories provided price support while high output was capping gains. Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were at $50.43 per barrel at 0101 GMT, up 16 cents, or 0.3 per cent, from their last close. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $46.88 a barrel, up 10 cents, or 0.2 per cent. The slight gains followed a more than 1 per cent fall in the previous session. Data published late on Wednesday by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed that commercial US crude oil stocks have fallen by almost 13 per cent from their peaks in March to 466.5 million barrels, well below this time last year. "If inventory declines continue at this pace, stocks will fall back below the five-year average in around two months," said William O'Loughlin, investment analyst at Australia's Rivkin Securities. "The pace of the declines indicates that the OPEC production cuts are having an effect, although the current oil price suggests that the market is sceptical about the longer-term prospects for rebalancing of the oil market," he added. ANZ bank said the market on Wednesday seemed "to focus on the rise in (US) production", which jumped by 79,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 9.5 million bpd last week, its highest level since July 2015, and 12.75 per cent above the most recent low in mid-2016. Some traders said that the soaring US output is eroding efforts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries which, together with non-OPEC producers like Russia, has pledged to restrict output by 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) between January this year and March 2018 to tighten the market and prop up prices. Brent prices are down by almost 12 per cent since the start of the cuts in January.

Oil edges up on decline in crude stocks

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Postfold: A perfect one-stop shop for every fashionable multi tasking millennial!

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/science-tech/musk-hands-over-first-tesla-model-3-electric-cars-to-early-buyers-18373">After Tesla&#39;s success with electric cars</a>, Hyundai Motors affiliate Kia Motors Corp said it will launch thirty-one models of electric cars by 2020.

The South Korean car company said it will launch long range electric cars with a driving range of 500 kms per charge after 2021.

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/science-tech/tesla-3-musks-addition-to-his-eco-friendly-cars-18362">Elon Musk&#39;s Tesla motor company recently rolled out</a> the much awaited Model-3 cars in the US aiming to disrupt fuel-powered car industry. In fact, Tesla has been trying to set up an electric vehicle manufacturing plant in China which is one of the biggest polluters in the world.

Last year, Hyundai had launched the IONIQ, an electric car but it couldn&#39;t seize the market as the vehicle offered less per-charge driving range compared to Tesla and General Motors.

The electric car market is seen by companies as one of the hottest growing markets with even high-end companies targeting the segment.

Swedish car company Volvo declared recently it will be&nbsp;discontinuing&nbsp;manufacture&nbsp;of fuel propelled cars in two years and German auto company Porsche&nbsp;insists half of its cars will be electric by 2023.

 
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Last year, Hyundai had launched the IONIQ, an electric car but it couldn't seize the market

After Tesla's success with electric cars, Hyundai Motors affiliate Kia Motors Corp said it will launch thirty-one models of electric cars by 2020. The South Korean car company said it will launch long range electric cars with a driving range of 500 kms per charge after 2021. Elon Musk's Tesla motor company recently rolled out the much awaited Model-3 cars in the US aiming to disrupt fuel-powered car industry. In fact, Tesla has been trying to set up an electric vehicle manufacturing plant in China which is one of the biggest polluters in the world. Last year, Hyundai had launched the IONIQ, an electric car but it couldn't seize the market as the vehicle offered less per-charge driving range compared to Tesla and General Motors. The electric car market is seen by companies as one of the hottest growing markets with even high-end companies targeting the segment. Swedish car company Volvo declared recently it will be discontinuing manufacture of fuel propelled cars in two years and German auto company Porsche insists half of its cars will be electric by 2023.

After Tesla's Model 3, Hyundai Motors to launch more electric cars

Gold rose on Thursday as the dollar remained subdued after minutes from the US&nbsp;Federal Reserve&#39;s July meeting hinted at a delay in further rate hikes, while palladium hit a fresh 16-year high.

Spot gold was up 0.3 per cent at $1,287.01 per ounce by 0340 GMT, after gaining nearly 1 per cent the previous day.

US&nbsp;gold futures for December delivery rose 0.8 per cent to $1,292.80 per ounce.

&quot;It&#39;s a dollar story and a concern that the market&#39;s been having with regards to geopolitical events,&quot; said Dominic Schnider at UBS Wealth Management in Hong Kong.

The US&nbsp;dollar was on the defensive on Thursday after the minutes from the Fed&#39;s last policy meeting showed policymakers were increasingly wary of the recent softness in inflation and some called for halting interest rate hikes until it was clear the trend was transitory.

&quot;The market believes at the moment that there&#39;s not much inflation and the Fed need not do much,&quot; Schnider said.

&quot;We disagree, and believe the Fed will in September come with a balance sheet reduction and hike rates in December.&quot;

The US&nbsp;central bank is roughly at the mid-point on its current path to normalize interest rates as the economy has shown further improvement even without fiscal stimulus, San Francisco Federal Reserve President John Williams told CNN television on Wednesday.

Higher interest rates could boost the dollar, making commodities priced in the greenback more expensive for holders of other currencies.

Spot gold may test a resistance at $1,294 per ounce, a break above which could lead to a gain to the next resistance at $1,304, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said.

&quot;In the shorter term, and in the absence of any geopolitical headlines, traders should watch the performance of the dollar against its G-10 peers for clues to gold&#39;s short term direction,&quot; said Jeffrey Halley, a senior market analyst at OANDA.

Meanwhile, palladium was up 0.9 per cent at $922 after earlier marking it highest since Feb. 2001 at $926.

&quot;Palladium took some inspiration from the more industrially oriented metals,&quot; UBS&#39;s Schnider said, pointing to a broad based rally that has pushed the prices of aluminium, copper, and zinc to multi-year peaks.

The auto industry is by far the largest consumer of the palladium

Among other precious metals, silver was up 0.2 per cent at $17.11 per ounce, while platinum eased 0.3 per cent to $974 an ounce.

The auto industry is by far the largest consumer of the palladium

Gold rose on Thursday as the dollar remained subdued after minutes from the US Federal Reserve's July meeting hinted at a delay in further rate hikes, while palladium hit a fresh 16-year high. Spot gold was up 0.3 per cent at $1,287.01 per ounce by 0340 GMT, after gaining nearly 1 per cent the previous day. US gold futures for December delivery rose 0.8 per cent to $1,292.80 per ounce. "It's a dollar story and a concern that the market's been having with regards to geopolitical events," said Dominic Schnider at UBS Wealth Management in Hong Kong. The US dollar was on the defensive on Thursday after the minutes from the Fed's last policy meeting showed policymakers were increasingly wary of the recent softness in inflation and some called for halting interest rate hikes until it was clear the trend was transitory. "The market believes at the moment that there's not much inflation and the Fed need not do much," Schnider said. "We disagree, and believe the Fed will in September come with a balance sheet reduction and hike rates in December." The US central bank is roughly at the mid-point on its current path to normalize interest rates as the economy has shown further improvement even without fiscal stimulus, San Francisco Federal Reserve President John Williams told CNN television on Wednesday. Higher interest rates could boost the dollar, making commodities priced in the greenback more expensive for holders of other currencies. Spot gold may test a resistance at $1,294 per ounce, a break above which could lead to a gain to the next resistance at $1,304, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said. "In the shorter term, and in the absence of any geopolitical headlines, traders should watch the performance of the dollar against its G-10 peers for clues to gold's short term direction," said Jeffrey Halley, a senior market analyst at OANDA. Meanwhile, palladium was up 0.9 per cent at $922 after earlier marking it highest since Feb. 2001 at $926. "Palladium took some inspiration from the more industrially oriented metals," UBS's Schnider said, pointing to a broad based rally that has pushed the prices of aluminium, copper, and zinc to multi-year peaks. The auto industry is by far the largest consumer of the palladium Among other precious metals, silver was up 0.2 per cent at $17.11 per ounce, while platinum eased 0.3 per cent to $974 an ounce.

Gold edges up after gaining on softer dollar

There was an increase in violent incidents by cow protection groups mostly against Muslims in India in the year 2016, an official US report on international religious freedom said Tuesday (August 15), noting that authorities often &quot;failed&quot; to prosecute cow vigilantes.

The report, the first under the Trump Administration, released by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, said members of the civil society expressed concerns that under the BJP government religious minority communities felt vulnerable due to Hindu nationalist groups engaging in violence against non-Hindu individuals and places of worship.

&quot;There were reports of religiously motivated killings, assaults, riots, discrimination, vandalism, and actions restricting the right of individuals to practice their religious beliefs and proselytize,&quot; the State Department said in its annual report, which does a country wise review of the religious freedom in the year 2016.

It said that there was an increase in violent incidents by cow protection groups against mostly Muslims, including killings, mob violence, assaults, and intimidation.

&quot;Hindus threatened and assaulted Muslims and Christians and destroyed their property,&quot; said the Congressional-mandated 2016 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom.

Listing out some of the anti-minorities incidents by cow protection groups, the report said that the authorities often &quot;failed&quot; to prosecute violence by cow protection groups against persons, mostly Muslims, suspected of slaughtering or illegally transporting cows or trading in or consuming beef.

In his Independence Day speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said violence in the name of faith is &quot;not acceptable&quot; and described casteism and communalism as &quot;poison&quot; for the country.

His comments assume significance in the backdrop of incidents of lynchings by cow vigilantes.

Quoting the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI), the US report said there were over 300 incidents of abuse targeting Christians during the year, compared with 177 in 2015.

In its report, the State Department notes that the Supreme Court was considering a case challenging the constitutionality of the Islamic practice of instantaneous &quot;triple talaq&quot; divorce; the federal government filed a brief in support of the challenge.

&quot;During his speech at Mahoba, Uttar Pradesh on October 24, Prime Minister Modi stated there should be no discrimination against women on the basis of religion and the government had the responsibility to protect Muslim women&#39;s constitutional rights,&quot; it said.

Muslim community leaders characterised government actions as interfering in their religious life and maintained that religious decisions should remain the exclusive domain of religious communities, it added.

&quot;Religious minority communities stated that, while the national government sometimes spoke out against incidents of violence, local political leaders often did not, which left victims and minority religious communities feeling vulnerable,&quot; the report added.

 
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The Android device, due out in September, will potentially beat rivals on price but will still face fierce competition, with Apple's highly anticipated 10th anniversary iPhone also expected next month and Samsung's Galaxy Note 8 set to hit the market next week

There was an increase in violent incidents by cow protection groups mostly against Muslims in India in the year 2016, an official US report on international religious freedom said Tuesday (August 15), noting that authorities often "failed" to prosecute cow vigilantes. The report, the first under the Trump Administration, released by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, said members of the civil society expressed concerns that under the BJP government religious minority communities felt vulnerable due to Hindu nationalist groups engaging in violence against non-Hindu individuals and places of worship. "There were reports of religiously motivated killings, assaults, riots, discrimination, vandalism, and actions restricting the right of individuals to practice their religious beliefs and proselytize," the State Department said in its annual report, which does a country wise review of the religious freedom in the year 2016. It said that there was an increase in violent incidents by cow protection groups against mostly Muslims, including killings, mob violence, assaults, and intimidation. "Hindus threatened and assaulted Muslims and Christians and destroyed their property," said the Congressional-mandated 2016 Annual Report on International Religious Freedom. Listing out some of the anti-minorities incidents by cow protection groups, the report said that the authorities often "failed" to prosecute violence by cow protection groups against persons, mostly Muslims, suspected of slaughtering or illegally transporting cows or trading in or consuming beef. In his Independence Day speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said violence in the name of faith is "not acceptable" and described casteism and communalism as "poison" for the country. His comments assume significance in the backdrop of incidents of lynchings by cow vigilantes. Quoting the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI), the US report said there were over 300 incidents of abuse targeting Christians during the year, compared with 177 in 2015. In its report, the State Department notes that the Supreme Court was considering a case challenging the constitutionality of the Islamic practice of instantaneous "triple talaq" divorce; the federal government filed a brief in support of the challenge. "During his speech at Mahoba, Uttar Pradesh on October 24, Prime Minister Modi stated there should be no discrimination against women on the basis of religion and the government had the responsibility to protect Muslim women's constitutional rights," it said. Muslim community leaders characterised government actions as interfering in their religious life and maintained that religious decisions should remain the exclusive domain of religious communities, it added. "Religious minority communities stated that, while the national government sometimes spoke out against incidents of violence, local political leaders often did not, which left victims and minority religious communities feeling vulnerable," the report added.

Nokia's come back with the new Nokia 8 handset

HMD Global, the Finnish start-up looking to reinvigorate the Nokia phone brand, unveiled the Nokia 8 on Wednesday, hoping to cash in on rising consumer demand for high-quality audio and video features.

The Android device, due out in September, will potentially beat rivals on price but will still face fierce competition, with Apple&#39;s highly anticipated 10th anniversary iPhone also expected next month and Samsung&#39;s&nbsp;Galaxy Note 8 set to hit the market next week.

With a suggested price tag of around 599 euros ($703), the Nokia 8 undercuts Apple, which typically offers a stripped down version of its latest phones for a similar price but charges hundreds of euros more for memory and key features.

The new top-of-the-line Nokia sports a dual-sight video feature which enables simultaneous live-streaming on social media networks from both front and rear cameras on a split screen. It has licensed lens technology from camera maker Zeiss.

It is the most high-end phone so far from HMD, which was set up late last year and made a splash in May when it revived Nokia&#39;s classic 3310 feature handset in new brightly coloured versions.

Other features of the Nokia 8, which will also compete with Huawei&#39;s recently launched&nbsp;P10, include surround-sound audio technology made for Nokia&#39;s own virtual reality camera OZO for Hollywood professionals.

&quot;This is especially meant for millennial creators, people who want to share what&#39;s happening every day,&quot; HMD&#39;s chief marketing officer Pekka Rantala said.

HMD products are built by a unit of Foxconn, which acquired the manufacturing and distribution assets of the former Nokia phone business from Microsoft&nbsp;last year.

Once the world&#39;s dominant phonemaker, Nokia Oyj sold its handset operations to Microsoft&nbsp;in 2014, leaving it to focus on telecoms network equipment.

HMD is owned by Smart Connect LP, a private equity fund managed by Jean-Francois Baril, a long-serving former senior vice president of Nokia. It took over the Nokia feature phones business in December and has a licensing deal giving it sole use of the Nokia brand on all phones and tablets.

It has so far launched four smartphones and five feature phones, including the 3310.

Rantala said he was happy with initial sales of the previous smartphones, but declined to disclose any sales figures yet.

HMD will pay Nokia royalties for the brand and patents.

Last month, HMD announced that its CEO Arto Nummela, a former Nokia executive, was leaving the company for personal reasons, without elaborating.

With a suggested price tag of around 599 euros ($703), the Nokia 8 undercuts Apple, which typically offers a stripped down version of its latest phones for a similar price but charges hundreds of euros more for memory and key features

HMD Global, the Finnish start-up looking to reinvigorate the Nokia phone brand, unveiled the Nokia 8 on Wednesday, hoping to cash in on rising consumer demand for high-quality audio and video features. The Android device, due out in September, will potentially beat rivals on price but will still face fierce competition, with Apple's highly anticipated 10th anniversary iPhone also expected next month and Samsung's Galaxy Note 8 set to hit the market next week. With a suggested price tag of around 599 euros ($703), the Nokia 8 undercuts Apple, which typically offers a stripped down version of its latest phones for a similar price but charges hundreds of euros more for memory and key features. The new top-of-the-line Nokia sports a dual-sight video feature which enables simultaneous live-streaming on social media networks from both front and rear cameras on a split screen. It has licensed lens technology from camera maker Zeiss. It is the most high-end phone so far from HMD, which was set up late last year and made a splash in May when it revived Nokia's classic 3310 feature handset in new brightly coloured versions. Other features of the Nokia 8, which will also compete with Huawei's recently launched P10, include surround-sound audio technology made for Nokia's own virtual reality camera OZO for Hollywood professionals. "This is especially meant for millennial creators, people who want to share what's happening every day," HMD's chief marketing officer Pekka Rantala said. HMD products are built by a unit of Foxconn, which acquired the manufacturing and distribution assets of the former Nokia phone business from Microsoft last year. Once the world's dominant phonemaker, Nokia Oyj sold its handset operations to Microsoft in 2014, leaving it to focus on telecoms network equipment. HMD is owned by Smart Connect LP, a private equity fund managed by Jean-Francois Baril, a long-serving former senior vice president of Nokia. It took over the Nokia feature phones business in December and has a licensing deal giving it sole use of the Nokia brand on all phones and tablets. It has so far launched four smartphones and five feature phones, including the 3310. Rantala said he was happy with initial sales of the previous smartphones, but declined to disclose any sales figures yet. HMD will pay Nokia royalties for the brand and patents. Last month, HMD announced that its CEO Arto Nummela, a former Nokia executive, was leaving the company for personal reasons, without elaborating.

New Nokia 8 phone targets surging demand for video-streaming

India&#39;s software giant Infosys has said its board will consider a proposal, to buy back equity shares, at its meeting later this month.

The country&#39;s No. 2 software services exporter had said in April, it would return up to $2.03 billion to shareholders in the fiscal year ending March 2018, adding the manner of the payout will be decided by later by the board.

The company, which did not provide any details on the buyback, said the outcome of the board meeting will be announced after the meeting on August&nbsp;19.

The software giant had said it would return up to $2.03 billion to shareholders in the fiscal year ending March 2018

India's software giant Infosys has said its board will consider a proposal, to buy back equity shares, at its meeting later this month. The country's No. 2 software services exporter had said in April, it would return up to $2.03 billion to shareholders in the fiscal year ending March 2018, adding the manner of the payout will be decided by later by the board. The company, which did not provide any details on the buyback, said the outcome of the board meeting will be announced after the meeting on August 19.

Infosys to consider share buyback proposal

Asian stocks edged higher on Thursday as tensions between the United States and North Korea came off the boil, while the Federal Reserve&#39;s concerns about weak US&nbsp;inflation weighed on the dollar.

MSCI&#39;s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.5 per cent.

Japan&#39;s Nikkei slipped 0.1 per cent, weighed down by a stronger yen as the dollar wilted and shrugging off data showing the country&#39;s exports rose for an eighth straight month in July.

Australian shares gained 0.1 per cent and the Australian dollar inched up 0.1 per cent to $0.7931 after the country added 27,900 jobs in July, beating expectations for an increase of 20,000.

The unemployment rate remained at 5.6 per cent, as expected, although full-time employment fell by 20,300.

South Korean shares advanced 0.5 per cent after the leaders of both North Korea and the United States appeared to back off from their heated rhetoric from last week.

Trump on Wednesday praised North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for a &quot;wise&quot; decision not to fire missiles towards the US&nbsp;Pacific territory of Guam, after North Korean media reported that Kim had delayed to decision while he waited to see what the US&nbsp;did next.

While that helped Wall Street close in positive territory overnight, concerns on the home front sent the dollar into reverse.

Trump announced the disbanding of two high-profile business advisory councils on Wednesday after eight executives quit in protest over his remarks blaming weekend violence in Virginia not only on white nationalists but also on anti-racism activists who opposed them.

Moreover, minutes from the Fed&#39;s July meeting released on Wednesday showed the central bank grew more wary about recent weak inflation, with some policymakers wanting to halt interest rate hikes until it was clear the trend was temporary.

Money market futures are now pricing in about a 40 per cent chance the Fed will raise rates by December, compared to just under 50 per cent before the Fed&#39;s minutes.

&quot;The Federal Open Market Committee minutes confirmed one thing, which is that the committee members are not on the same page and there is no clear date when the Fed will initiate the process of reducing the size of the balance sheet,&quot; Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Think Markets in London, wrote in a note.

&quot;Trump dissolving his major business groups makes the investment community even more pessimistic because this sets the stage for even more failure for him.&quot;

The dollar fell 0.3 per cent to 109.79 yen, extending Wednesday&#39;s 0.4 per cent slide.

The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major peers, dropped 0.2 per cent to 93.357 after Wednesday&#39;s 0.3 per cent loss.

The euro rose 0.1 per cent to $1.17835, extending its 0.3 per cent gain overnight, after the euro zone&#39;s second-quarter growth was revised to 2.2 per cent from a year earlier, from 2.1 per cent previously.

Bitcoin, which has surged over $1,500 this month on speculative demand for the digital currency, slipped slightly.

It fell about 1.5 per cent to $4,308.48 but remained within a whisker of its all-time high of $4,400 touched earlier this week.

In commodities, oil prices edged up but remained close to a 3-1/2 week low touched on Wednesday as rising US&nbsp;production offset a decline in stockpiles by the most in a year.

US&nbsp;crude was about 0.2 per cent higher at $46.88 a barrel, failing to make up most of Wednesday&#39;s 1.6 per cent slide.

Global benchmark Brent gained 0.4 per cent to $50.47, after the previous session&#39;s 1 per cent drop.

Industrial metals held gains following their surge overnight, underpinned by expectations of strong global demand and tight supplies.

Benchmark zinc on the London Metal Exchange set a new decade high of $3,145 a tonne on Thursday and was last up 0.2 per cent from its previous close at $3,126.

London copper gained 0.2 per cent to $6,545 a tonne, after hitting $6,580, its highest level since November 2014, earlier in the session.

Gold advanced 0.4 per cent to $1,287.51 an ounce, adding to Wednesday&#39;s 0.9 per cent jump.

Money market futures are now pricing in about a 40 per cent chance the Fed will raise rates by December, compared to just under 50 per cent before the Fed's minutes

Asian stocks edged higher on Thursday as tensions between the United States and North Korea came off the boil, while the Federal Reserve's concerns about weak US inflation weighed on the dollar. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.5 per cent. Japan's Nikkei slipped 0.1 per cent, weighed down by a stronger yen as the dollar wilted and shrugging off data showing the country's exports rose for an eighth straight month in July. Australian shares gained 0.1 per cent and the Australian dollar inched up 0.1 per cent to $0.7931 after the country added 27,900 jobs in July, beating expectations for an increase of 20,000. The unemployment rate remained at 5.6 per cent, as expected, although full-time employment fell by 20,300. South Korean shares advanced 0.5 per cent after the leaders of both North Korea and the United States appeared to back off from their heated rhetoric from last week. Trump on Wednesday praised North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for a "wise" decision not to fire missiles towards the US Pacific territory of Guam, after North Korean media reported that Kim had delayed to decision while he waited to see what the US did next. While that helped Wall Street close in positive territory overnight, concerns on the home front sent the dollar into reverse. Trump announced the disbanding of two high-profile business advisory councils on Wednesday after eight executives quit in protest over his remarks blaming weekend violence in Virginia not only on white nationalists but also on anti-racism activists who opposed them. Moreover, minutes from the Fed's July meeting released on Wednesday showed the central bank grew more wary about recent weak inflation, with some policymakers wanting to halt interest rate hikes until it was clear the trend was temporary. Money market futures are now pricing in about a 40 per cent chance the Fed will raise rates by December, compared to just under 50 per cent before the Fed's minutes. "The Federal Open Market Committee minutes confirmed one thing, which is that the committee members are not on the same page and there is no clear date when the Fed will initiate the process of reducing the size of the balance sheet," Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Think Markets in London, wrote in a note. "Trump dissolving his major business groups makes the investment community even more pessimistic because this sets the stage for even more failure for him." The dollar fell 0.3 per cent to 109.79 yen, extending Wednesday's 0.4 per cent slide. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major peers, dropped 0.2 per cent to 93.357 after Wednesday's 0.3 per cent loss. The euro rose 0.1 per cent to $1.17835, extending its 0.3 per cent gain overnight, after the euro zone's second-quarter growth was revised to 2.2 per cent from a year earlier, from 2.1 per cent previously. Bitcoin, which has surged over $1,500 this month on speculative demand for the digital currency, slipped slightly. It fell about 1.5 per cent to $4,308.48 but remained within a whisker of its all-time high of $4,400 touched earlier this week. In commodities, oil prices edged up but remained close to a 3-1/2 week low touched on Wednesday as rising US production offset a decline in stockpiles by the most in a year. US crude was about 0.2 per cent higher at $46.88 a barrel, failing to make up most of Wednesday's 1.6 per cent slide. Global benchmark Brent gained 0.4 per cent to $50.47, after the previous session's 1 per cent drop. Industrial metals held gains following their surge overnight, underpinned by expectations of strong global demand and tight supplies. Benchmark zinc on the London Metal Exchange set a new decade high of $3,145 a tonne on Thursday and was last up 0.2 per cent from its previous close at $3,126. London copper gained 0.2 per cent to $6,545 a tonne, after hitting $6,580, its highest level since November 2014, earlier in the session. Gold advanced 0.4 per cent to $1,287.51 an ounce, adding to Wednesday's 0.9 per cent jump.

Asia shares up as North Korea tensions ease, wary Fed weighs on dollar

Mobile telecom gear maker Ericsson may lay off around 25,000 employees outside Sweden as part of its savings programme, Swedish daily Svenska Dagbladet reported on Thursday, citing unidentified sources at the company.

Ericsson said in July it would accelerate measures to meet a target of doubling its 2016 underlying operating margin of 6 per cent and that it aimed to reach an annual cost reduction run rate of at least 10 billion crowns ($1.2 billion) by mid-2018.

Ericsson has said actions will be taken primarily in service delivery and common costs while research and development would be largely unaffected.

The company faces mounting competition from China&#39;s Huawei and Finland&#39;s Nokia as well as weak emerging markets and falling spending by telecoms operators with demand for next-generation 5G technology still years away.

Svenska Dagbladet said it was not clear whether the planned layoffs included employees within its media operations, which are up for strategic review and seen by analysts as likely to be sold by the group.

&quot;Ericsson has not communicated which specific units or countries could be affected. It is too early to talk about specific measures or exclude any country,&quot; Ericsson said in a statement on its website.

Ericsson has around 109,000 employees.

Ericsson aims to reach an annual cost reduction run rate of at least $1.2 billion by mid-2018

Mobile telecom gear maker Ericsson may lay off around 25,000 employees outside Sweden as part of its savings programme, Swedish daily Svenska Dagbladet reported on Thursday, citing unidentified sources at the company. Ericsson said in July it would accelerate measures to meet a target of doubling its 2016 underlying operating margin of 6 per cent and that it aimed to reach an annual cost reduction run rate of at least 10 billion crowns ($1.2 billion) by mid-2018. Ericsson has said actions will be taken primarily in service delivery and common costs while research and development would be largely unaffected. The company faces mounting competition from China's Huawei and Finland's Nokia as well as weak emerging markets and falling spending by telecoms operators with demand for next-generation 5G technology still years away. Svenska Dagbladet said it was not clear whether the planned layoffs included employees within its media operations, which are up for strategic review and seen by analysts as likely to be sold by the group. "Ericsson has not communicated which specific units or countries could be affected. It is too early to talk about specific measures or exclude any country," Ericsson said in a statement on its website. Ericsson has around 109,000 employees.

Ericsson could dismiss 25,000 employees in cost-cutting drive

Indian shares rose more than 1 per cent on Wednesday, recovering from earlier falls to post their biggest single-day percentage gain since July 10, reflecting upbeat mood across global markets ahead of minutes of the US Federal Reserve&#39;s latest meeting.

The benchmark BSE Sensex closed up 1.02 per cent at 31,770.89, recovering from an earlier fall of as much as 0.16 per cent to gain for a second consecutive session.

The broader NSE Nifty ended 1.05 per cent higher at 9,897.30, rebounding from an earlier decline of as much as 0.21 per cent.

?Indian shares rose more than 1% on Wednesday, recovering from earlier falls to post their biggest single-day percentage gain since July 10

Indian shares rose more than 1 per cent on Wednesday, recovering from earlier falls to post their biggest single-day percentage gain since July 10, reflecting upbeat mood across global markets ahead of minutes of the US Federal Reserve's latest meeting. The benchmark BSE Sensex closed up 1.02 per cent at 31,770.89, recovering from an earlier fall of as much as 0.16 per cent to gain for a second consecutive session. The broader NSE Nifty ended 1.05 per cent higher at 9,897.30, rebounding from an earlier decline of as much as 0.21 per cent.

Sensex posts biggest single-day gain in over one month

Chinese electric-car venture Future Mobility Corp, co-founded by former BMW and Nissan Motor executives, has raised $200 million from investors including China&#39;s Suning and Fullshare Holdings in its latest round of financing.

Most of the money will be used for product development, said Daniel Kirchert, Future Mobility&#39;s president. He has previously worked at Infiniti China, Nissan&#39;s luxury vehicle division, and BMW Brilliance Automotive.

Future Mobility, which plans to launch three vehicles by 2022, has a premium midsize crossover SUV ready to go into the next &quot;serious&quot; phase of development - that is preparing for production and sale in the world&#39;s top two auto markets, China and the United States, as well as in Europe, Kirchert added.

The company&#39;s latest financing follows two initial funding rounds, which netted $100 million as potential investors Tencent Holdings and Taiwan manufacturing heavyweight Foxconn had to back out amid stricter implementation of China&#39;s capital flow controls.

The capital controls prevented investors from moving an undisclosed amount pooled in China into Future Mobility&#39;s account because it is incorporated in Hong Kong, said Kirchert.

&quot;I have to say the investment environment has become much tougher,&quot; Kirchert said in an interview on Wednesday.

&quot;In an early stage one or two years ago there was a big hype, but now people have already seen some companies struggling and failing, so investors, of course, are getting more careful.&quot;

Future Mobility has since set up a mainland Chinese entity to help make the flow of funds easier.

Future Mobility plans to launch the sport-utility vehicle by the fourth quarter of 2019 and another two - a sedan and a 7-seater multi-purpose vehicle - by 2022.

The SUV will likely be priced at around 300,000 yuan ($44,874) in China to be able to compete with the Tesla Model 3 sedan that may cost $43,000, plus tax.

Future Mobility will announce a brand name for cars it plans to sell in early September and is also looking to unveil the production-ready SUV at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January next year.

&quot;I am absolutely convinced that the tipping point is coming&quot; for the electric car to take off in the marketplace, Kirchert said at Future Mobility&#39;s office in Beijing. &quot;Cost-wise we see signs that electric vehicles get more and more affordable.&quot;

Earlier this year, Future Mobility announced plans to build a $1.7 billion factory in Nanjing to capitalise on rising demand in China which, struggling with high pollution levels in major cities, is aggressively pushing plug-in vehicles.

The investment needed to complete the construction of the factory, which will eventually have the capacity to produce 300,000 cars a year, is being financed separately with bank loans and funds from investors and supporters, Kirchert said.

There is plenty of policy support for smart, electric-vehicle ventures in China, but funds are getting harder to come by, while policymakers try to weed out companies with mediocre technology, analysts and executives at EV startups say.

Most of the money will be used for product development

Chinese electric-car venture Future Mobility Corp, co-founded by former BMW and Nissan Motor executives, has raised $200 million from investors including China's Suning and Fullshare Holdings in its latest round of financing. Most of the money will be used for product development, said Daniel Kirchert, Future Mobility's president. He has previously worked at Infiniti China, Nissan's luxury vehicle division, and BMW Brilliance Automotive. Future Mobility, which plans to launch three vehicles by 2022, has a premium midsize crossover SUV ready to go into the next "serious" phase of development - that is preparing for production and sale in the world's top two auto markets, China and the United States, as well as in Europe, Kirchert added. The company's latest financing follows two initial funding rounds, which netted $100 million as potential investors Tencent Holdings and Taiwan manufacturing heavyweight Foxconn had to back out amid stricter implementation of China's capital flow controls. The capital controls prevented investors from moving an undisclosed amount pooled in China into Future Mobility's account because it is incorporated in Hong Kong, said Kirchert. "I have to say the investment environment has become much tougher," Kirchert said in an interview on Wednesday. "In an early stage one or two years ago there was a big hype, but now people have already seen some companies struggling and failing, so investors, of course, are getting more careful." Future Mobility has since set up a mainland Chinese entity to help make the flow of funds easier. Future Mobility plans to launch the sport-utility vehicle by the fourth quarter of 2019 and another two - a sedan and a 7-seater multi-purpose vehicle - by 2022. The SUV will likely be priced at around 300,000 yuan ($44,874) in China to be able to compete with the Tesla Model 3 sedan that may cost $43,000, plus tax. Future Mobility will announce a brand name for cars it plans to sell in early September and is also looking to unveil the production-ready SUV at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January next year. "I am absolutely convinced that the tipping point is coming" for the electric car to take off in the marketplace, Kirchert said at Future Mobility's office in Beijing. "Cost-wise we see signs that electric vehicles get more and more affordable." Earlier this year, Future Mobility announced plans to build a $1.7 billion factory in Nanjing to capitalise on rising demand in China which, struggling with high pollution levels in major cities, is aggressively pushing plug-in vehicles. The investment needed to complete the construction of the factory, which will eventually have the capacity to produce 300,000 cars a year, is being financed separately with bank loans and funds from investors and supporters, Kirchert said. There is plenty of policy support for smart, electric-vehicle ventures in China, but funds are getting harder to come by, while policymakers try to weed out companies with mediocre technology, analysts and executives at EV startups say.

China e-car newcomer Future Mobility raises $200 million from Suning, others

Gold prices tread lower on Wednesday as the dollar steadied, with investors awaiting minutes from the US&nbsp;Federal Reserve&#39;s last meeting in July for clues on the pace of potential interest rate hikes.

Spot gold had slipped 0.2 per cent to $1,269.11 per ounce by 0712 GMT, following two sessions of falls.

US&nbsp;gold futures for December delivery were down about 0.4 per cent at $1,274.90 an ounce.

Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting are due later in the day.

&quot;The bullish dollar is shifting the focus away from the safe havens,&quot; said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Think Markets.

&quot;The increasing odds of the US&nbsp;interest rate hike could push the gold price below the $1,250 level and this could happen if the upcoming FOMC minutes deliver some hawkish tone.&quot;

Higher interest rates could boost the dollar, making commodities priced in the greenback more expensive for holders of other currencies.

The dollar index was little changed at 93.895.

The dollar hoarded hefty gains on Wednesday after strong US&nbsp;retail sales revived the chance of another Federal Reserve rate hike this year, while Asia stocks inched ahead as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un delayed a decision on firing missiles towards Guam.

&quot;We probably saw some of the selling (in gold) that came in as tensions eased between North Korea and the United States become a bit overdone. Certainly, the underlying issues that started emerging last week are far from evaporated,&quot; said ANZ analyst Daniel Hynes.

Spot gold may test a resistance at $1,278 per ounce, a break above which could lead to a gain to the next resistance at $1,286, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said.

Among other precious metals, silver was up 0.1 per cent at $16.61 per ounce and platinum rose 0.26 per cent to $959.50 per ounce.

Palladium was mostly unchanged at $885.25 after touching its lowest in over a week earlier in the session.

US?gold futures for December delivery were down about 0.4 per cent at $1,274.90 an ounce

Gold prices tread lower on Wednesday as the dollar steadied, with investors awaiting minutes from the US Federal Reserve's last meeting in July for clues on the pace of potential interest rate hikes. Spot gold had slipped 0.2 per cent to $1,269.11 per ounce by 0712 GMT, following two sessions of falls. US gold futures for December delivery were down about 0.4 per cent at $1,274.90 an ounce. Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting are due later in the day. "The bullish dollar is shifting the focus away from the safe havens," said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Think Markets. "The increasing odds of the US interest rate hike could push the gold price below the $1,250 level and this could happen if the upcoming FOMC minutes deliver some hawkish tone." Higher interest rates could boost the dollar, making commodities priced in the greenback more expensive for holders of other currencies. The dollar index was little changed at 93.895. The dollar hoarded hefty gains on Wednesday after strong US retail sales revived the chance of another Federal Reserve rate hike this year, while Asia stocks inched ahead as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un delayed a decision on firing missiles towards Guam. "We probably saw some of the selling (in gold) that came in as tensions eased between North Korea and the United States become a bit overdone. Certainly, the underlying issues that started emerging last week are far from evaporated," said ANZ analyst Daniel Hynes. Spot gold may test a resistance at $1,278 per ounce, a break above which could lead to a gain to the next resistance at $1,286, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said. Among other precious metals, silver was up 0.1 per cent at $16.61 per ounce and platinum rose 0.26 per cent to $959.50 per ounce. Palladium was mostly unchanged at $885.25 after touching its lowest in over a week earlier in the session.

Gold treads lower ahead of Fed minutes

Oil prices edged up on Wednesday, lifted by declining US&nbsp;crude inventories, although markets were still restrained by general oversupply.

Market focus was turning to the release of official US&nbsp;Energy Information Administration data later on Wednesday for a further update on inventories.

Brent crude futures were at $51.06 per barrel at 0651 GMT, up 23 cents, or 0.45 per cent, from their last close.

Traders said that reports of a dip in Libyan output to between 130,000 and 150,000 barrels per day (bpd), down from 280,000 bpd, had supported Brent.

US&nbsp;West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $47.71 a barrel, up 16 cents, or 0.3 per cent.

US&nbsp;crude inventories fell by 9.2 million barrels in the week to Aug. 11 to 469.2 million, industry group the American Petroleum Institute said on Tuesday.

That compared with analyst expectations for a decrease of 3.1 million barrels.

&quot;The market took this as a mildly bullish report,&quot; said William O&#39;Loughlin of Australia&#39;s Rivkin Securities.

However, gasoline stocks climbed by 301,000 barrels, compared with analyst expectations for a 1.1 million barrel decline.

More broadly, analysts said ample supplies were preventing prices from moving much higher.

&quot;Excessive supply ... is continuing to weigh on oil prices ... Not a lot has changed despite the OPEC and Russia efforts recently. While these producers have tried to limit their oil output, US&nbsp;shale oil continues to rise,&quot; said Fawad Razaqzada, analyst at futures brokerage Forex.com.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries together with non-OPEC producers like Russia has pledged to restrict output by 1.8 bpd between January this year and March 2018.

Offsetting much of that effort, however, US&nbsp;oil production has soared by almost 12 per cent since mid-2016 to 9.42 million bpd.

&quot;OPEC and Russia still face an uphill battle in reducing the global supply surplus in the face of growth in output elsewhere and less than compliant behaviour in their midst (Iraq, UAE),&quot; said French bank BNP Paribas.

On the demand side, analysts see a gradual slowdown in fuel consumption growth.

In the United States, energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie said gasoline demand was already peaking due to improving fuel efficiency and the rise of electric vehicles.

In China, state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) said on Wednesday that gasoline demand would likely peak around 2025 and outright oil consumption would top out around 2030.

This means that oil demand from the world&#39;s two biggest consumers may soon stall, while consumption has already peaked in Europe and Japan.

Brent crude futures were at $51.06 per barrel at 0651 GMT, up 23 cents, or 0.45 per cent, from their last close

Oil prices edged up on Wednesday, lifted by declining US crude inventories, although markets were still restrained by general oversupply. Market focus was turning to the release of official US Energy Information Administration data later on Wednesday for a further update on inventories. Brent crude futures were at $51.06 per barrel at 0651 GMT, up 23 cents, or 0.45 per cent, from their last close. Traders said that reports of a dip in Libyan output to between 130,000 and 150,000 barrels per day (bpd), down from 280,000 bpd, had supported Brent. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $47.71 a barrel, up 16 cents, or 0.3 per cent. US crude inventories fell by 9.2 million barrels in the week to Aug. 11 to 469.2 million, industry group the American Petroleum Institute said on Tuesday. That compared with analyst expectations for a decrease of 3.1 million barrels. "The market took this as a mildly bullish report," said William O'Loughlin of Australia's Rivkin Securities. However, gasoline stocks climbed by 301,000 barrels, compared with analyst expectations for a 1.1 million barrel decline. More broadly, analysts said ample supplies were preventing prices from moving much higher. "Excessive supply ... is continuing to weigh on oil prices ... Not a lot has changed despite the OPEC and Russia efforts recently. While these producers have tried to limit their oil output, US shale oil continues to rise," said Fawad Razaqzada, analyst at futures brokerage Forex.com. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries together with non-OPEC producers like Russia has pledged to restrict output by 1.8 bpd between January this year and March 2018. Offsetting much of that effort, however, US oil production has soared by almost 12 per cent since mid-2016 to 9.42 million bpd. "OPEC and Russia still face an uphill battle in reducing the global supply surplus in the face of growth in output elsewhere and less than compliant behaviour in their midst (Iraq, UAE)," said French bank BNP Paribas. On the demand side, analysts see a gradual slowdown in fuel consumption growth. In the United States, energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie said gasoline demand was already peaking due to improving fuel efficiency and the rise of electric vehicles. In China, state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) said on Wednesday that gasoline demand would likely peak around 2025 and outright oil consumption would top out around 2030. This means that oil demand from the world's two biggest consumers may soon stall, while consumption has already peaked in Europe and Japan.

Oil edges up on falling US crude stocks, but global glut weighs

The dollar hoarded hefty gains on Wednesday after strong US&nbsp;retail sales revived the chance of another Federal Reserve rate hike this year, while Asia stocks inched ahead as tensions in the Korean peninsula went off the boil.

European bourses looked set for a somnolent start with Eurostoxx 50 futures steady, while E-Mini futures for the S&amp;P 500 were also barely changed.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has delayed a decision on firing missiles towards Guam while he waits to see what the United States does, as Washington said any dialogue was up to Kim.

The break in threat and counter-threat was enough for South Korean stocks to bounce 0.5 per cent, though they remain well short of a record peak touched last month.

The next flash point could be a joint US-South Korean military exercise starting on Aug. 21.

MSCI&#39;s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged up 0.3 per cent and Japan&#39;s Nikkei lost 0.1 per cent.

There was no clear lead from Wall Street, where the Dow ended on Tuesday up 0.02 per cent. The S&amp;P 500 lost 0.05 per cent and the Nasdaq 0.11 per cent.

The economic news, however, was much more emphatic, with US&nbsp;retail sales rising the most in seven months in July as consumers spent more on 10 of 13 retail sectors.

Importantly, upward revisions to sales for both May and June countered concerns that consumption had entered a downtrend and lifted the outlook for economic growth.

Investors reacted by narrowing odds on the Fed tightening again this year and sent two-year Treasury yields up to 1.36 per cent, from 1.29 per cent on Friday.

Minutes of the Fed&#39;s July meeting are due later in the session and should show how the debate on rate hikes is shifting within the central bank.

&quot;The minutes will show a Committee that is likely to announce a change in balance sheet policy at the September meeting,&quot; wrote analysts at JPMorgan in a note.

&quot;We think the minutes will be less forthright about the timing of the next rate hike, which we still expect to occur in December.&quot;

The dollar duly rallied to its highest level against a basket of major currencies in nearly three weeks and was last holding at 93.824.

The euro dipped to $1.1740, though it had found solid support around $l.1686 overnight.

The yen took an added blow from the easing in risk aversion and sagged to 110.64 per dollar. The dollar&#39;s 1.4 per cent jump on Tuesday was the biggest daily rise since April.

Sterling also slumped after UK inflation numbers came in below forecast, breaching key support levels against both the euro and dollar. The pound was last at $1.2863, having shed 1.1 per cent the previous session.

All that action paled in comparison to the digital currency Bitcoin, which has surged over $1,200 so far this month to reach $4,100 amid fevered speculative demand.

&quot;Interest in digital currencies has spiked recently as proponents tout benefits such as a lack of centralised control and limited supply,&quot; said William O&#39;Loughlin, an investment analyst at Rivkin Securities.

&quot;However, anyone thinking of buying the currency should realise that it is incredibly volatile and could fall in value as quickly as it rose.&quot;

In commodity markets, the revival in risk appetite dragged gold back to $1,272.90 an ounce, and away from Friday&#39;s two-month top of $1,291.86.

Oil prices nudged higher after data from the American Petroleum Institute showed a much larger fall in crude inventories than expected.

US&nbsp;crude added 21 cents to $47.76 per barrel, while Brent firmed 26 cents to $51.06.

The dollar duly rallied to its highest level against a basket of major currencies in nearly three weeks and was last holding at 93.824

The dollar hoarded hefty gains on Wednesday after strong US retail sales revived the chance of another Federal Reserve rate hike this year, while Asia stocks inched ahead as tensions in the Korean peninsula went off the boil. European bourses looked set for a somnolent start with Eurostoxx 50 futures steady, while E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 were also barely changed. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has delayed a decision on firing missiles towards Guam while he waits to see what the United States does, as Washington said any dialogue was up to Kim. The break in threat and counter-threat was enough for South Korean stocks to bounce 0.5 per cent, though they remain well short of a record peak touched last month. The next flash point could be a joint US-South Korean military exercise starting on Aug. 21. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged up 0.3 per cent and Japan's Nikkei lost 0.1 per cent. There was no clear lead from Wall Street, where the Dow ended on Tuesday up 0.02 per cent. The S&P 500 lost 0.05 per cent and the Nasdaq 0.11 per cent. The economic news, however, was much more emphatic, with US retail sales rising the most in seven months in July as consumers spent more on 10 of 13 retail sectors. Importantly, upward revisions to sales for both May and June countered concerns that consumption had entered a downtrend and lifted the outlook for economic growth. Investors reacted by narrowing odds on the Fed tightening again this year and sent two-year Treasury yields up to 1.36 per cent, from 1.29 per cent on Friday. Minutes of the Fed's July meeting are due later in the session and should show how the debate on rate hikes is shifting within the central bank. "The minutes will show a Committee that is likely to announce a change in balance sheet policy at the September meeting," wrote analysts at JPMorgan in a note. "We think the minutes will be less forthright about the timing of the next rate hike, which we still expect to occur in December." The dollar duly rallied to its highest level against a basket of major currencies in nearly three weeks and was last holding at 93.824. The euro dipped to $1.1740, though it had found solid support around $l.1686 overnight. The yen took an added blow from the easing in risk aversion and sagged to 110.64 per dollar. The dollar's 1.4 per cent jump on Tuesday was the biggest daily rise since April. Sterling also slumped after UK inflation numbers came in below forecast, breaching key support levels against both the euro and dollar. The pound was last at $1.2863, having shed 1.1 per cent the previous session. All that action paled in comparison to the digital currency Bitcoin, which has surged over $1,200 so far this month to reach $4,100 amid fevered speculative demand. "Interest in digital currencies has spiked recently as proponents tout benefits such as a lack of centralised control and limited supply," said William O'Loughlin, an investment analyst at Rivkin Securities. "However, anyone thinking of buying the currency should realise that it is incredibly volatile and could fall in value as quickly as it rose." In commodity markets, the revival in risk appetite dragged gold back to $1,272.90 an ounce, and away from Friday's two-month top of $1,291.86. Oil prices nudged higher after data from the American Petroleum Institute showed a much larger fall in crude inventories than expected. US crude added 21 cents to $47.76 per barrel, while Brent firmed 26 cents to $51.06.

Dollar revives over North Korea respite

Amazon.com is rolling out US pickup points where shoppers can retrieve items immediately after ordering them, shortening delivery times from hours to minutes in its latest move into brick-and-mortar retail.

The world&#39;s largest online retailer has launched &#39;Instant Pickup&#39; points around five college campuses, such as the University of California at Berkeley, it said on Tuesday. Amazon has plans to add the program to more sites by the end of the year.

Shoppers on Amazon&#39;s mobile app can select from several hundred fast-selling items at each location, from snacks and drinks to phone chargers. Amazon employees in a back room then load orders into lockers within two minutes, and customers receive bar codes to access them.

The e-commerce company, which said in June it would buy Whole Foods Market for $13.7 billion, has come to realise that certain transactions like buying fresh produce are hard to shift online. Its Instant Pickup program targets another laggard, impulse buys.

&quot;I want to buy a can of coke because I&rsquo;m thirsty,&quot; said Ripley MacDonald, Amazon&#39;s director of student programs. &quot;There&rsquo;s no chance I&rsquo;m going to order that on Amazon.com and wait however long it&rsquo;s going to take for that to ship to me.&quot;

&quot;I can provide that kind of service here,&quot; he said of the new program.

Amazon&#39;s ability to shorten delivery times has been a sore point for brick-and-mortar retailers, who have struggled to grow sales as customers have turned to convenient online options. Until Instant Pickup, Amazon shoppers could expect their orders within an hour at best via the company&#39;s Prime Now program, or within 15 minutes for grocery orders via AmazonFresh Pickup.

&ldquo;This is a natural extension of their larger push into the grocery space,&rdquo; said Morningstar analyst RJ Hottovy, noting Instant Pickup could capture small purchases by consumers in between their larger shopping trips.

Instant Pickup also puts Amazon in competition with vending machine services. Yet it is unlikely to threaten those selling snack machines to offices and schools.

&quot;This might work for some electronic gadgets that are not commonly available at vending machines,&quot; said Forrester analyst Ananda Chakravarty. &quot;Two minutes is too long to wait for a soda can.&quot;

Since 2015, Amazon has opened 22 US locations for same-day pickup. The Instant Pickup program will rely on these same facilities, launching in Berkeley, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Columbus, Ohio and College Park, Maryland.

The world's largest online retailer has launched 'Instant Pickup' points around five college campuses

Amazon.com is rolling out US pickup points where shoppers can retrieve items immediately after ordering them, shortening delivery times from hours to minutes in its latest move into brick-and-mortar retail. The world's largest online retailer has launched 'Instant Pickup' points around five college campuses, such as the University of California at Berkeley, it said on Tuesday. Amazon has plans to add the program to more sites by the end of the year. Shoppers on Amazon's mobile app can select from several hundred fast-selling items at each location, from snacks and drinks to phone chargers. Amazon employees in a back room then load orders into lockers within two minutes, and customers receive bar codes to access them. The e-commerce company, which said in June it would buy Whole Foods Market for $13.7 billion, has come to realise that certain transactions like buying fresh produce are hard to shift online. Its Instant Pickup program targets another laggard, impulse buys. "I want to buy a can of coke because I’m thirsty," said Ripley MacDonald, Amazon's director of student programs. "There’s no chance I’m going to order that on Amazon.com and wait however long it’s going to take for that to ship to me." "I can provide that kind of service here," he said of the new program. Amazon's ability to shorten delivery times has been a sore point for brick-and-mortar retailers, who have struggled to grow sales as customers have turned to convenient online options. Until Instant Pickup, Amazon shoppers could expect their orders within an hour at best via the company's Prime Now program, or within 15 minutes for grocery orders via AmazonFresh Pickup. “This is a natural extension of their larger push into the grocery space,” said Morningstar analyst RJ Hottovy, noting Instant Pickup could capture small purchases by consumers in between their larger shopping trips. Instant Pickup also puts Amazon in competition with vending machine services. Yet it is unlikely to threaten those selling snack machines to offices and schools. "This might work for some electronic gadgets that are not commonly available at vending machines," said Forrester analyst Ananda Chakravarty. "Two minutes is too long to wait for a soda can." Since 2015, Amazon has opened 22 US locations for same-day pickup. The Instant Pickup program will rely on these same facilities, launching in Berkeley, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Columbus, Ohio and College Park, Maryland.

Amazon launches 'Instant Pickup' for quick delivery in the US

Finnish mobile games and animation studio Rovio Entertainment said on Tuesday its sales in the first half of the year almost doubled following the success of &quot;The Angry Birds Movie.&quot;

First-half revenue rose to 152.6 million euros ($179.7 million) from 78.5 million a year earlier, while adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation increased to 41.8 million euros from 11.0 million a year ago.

Following years of falling earnings, job cuts, and restructuring, Rovio returned to profit in 2016 as the 3D Hollywood movie release revived the Angry Birds brand and gave a boost to game sales.

First-half revenue from games increased by 76 per cent to 117.9 million euros. Rovio&#39;s main titles include &quot;Angry Birds 2&quot;, &quot;Angry Birds Friends&quot; and the new multiplayer game &quot;Battle Bay.&quot;

This year&#39;s growth is also due to movie revenues that had not shown in Rovio&#39;s numbers previously.

The company is now planning a sequel to the Angry Birds movie with Columbia Pictures, scheduled for release in 2019.

Citing unnamed sources, Bloomberg reported earlier this week that Rovio was planning a possible initial public offering.

Rovio, which had earlier said a listing could be possible in the future, declined to comment.

Rovio is 70 per cent owned by Kaj Hed, the uncle of company co-founder Niklas Hed. Other investors include venture firms Accel Partners and Atomico.

Following years of falling earnings, job cuts, and restructuring, Rovio returned to profit in 2016 as the 3D Hollywood movie release revived the Angry Birds brand and gave a boost to game sales

Finnish mobile games and animation studio Rovio Entertainment said on Tuesday its sales in the first half of the year almost doubled following the success of "The Angry Birds Movie." First-half revenue rose to 152.6 million euros ($179.7 million) from 78.5 million a year earlier, while adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation increased to 41.8 million euros from 11.0 million a year ago. Following years of falling earnings, job cuts, and restructuring, Rovio returned to profit in 2016 as the 3D Hollywood movie release revived the Angry Birds brand and gave a boost to game sales. First-half revenue from games increased by 76 per cent to 117.9 million euros. Rovio's main titles include "Angry Birds 2", "Angry Birds Friends" and the new multiplayer game "Battle Bay." This year's growth is also due to movie revenues that had not shown in Rovio's numbers previously. The company is now planning a sequel to the Angry Birds movie with Columbia Pictures, scheduled for release in 2019. Citing unnamed sources, Bloomberg reported earlier this week that Rovio was planning a possible initial public offering. Rovio, which had earlier said a listing could be possible in the future, declined to comment. Rovio is 70 per cent owned by Kaj Hed, the uncle of company co-founder Niklas Hed. Other investors include venture firms Accel Partners and Atomico.

Rovio Entertainment eyes Angry Birds sequel after profits zoom

Sarahah app, which has been trending all over the social media for a week now, derived its name from the Arabic word meaning &quot;honesty&quot;. The app was created by Saudi Arabian developer Zain al-Abidin Tawfiq a month before, but it became popular recently.

The &quot;honesty&quot; app has already earned great recognition in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, BBC reports.&nbsp;

The app enables people to leave a message on anyone&#39;s Saraha profile anonymously, also providing an option of tagging the sender&#39;s identity.&nbsp;

The person receiving the messages can either flag the messages, delete them, reply or favourite them. The messages are received in the person&#39;s inbox.&nbsp;

According to the creator, the constructive feedback received from anonymous sources will help the receiver in self-development.&nbsp;

However, it is quite certain that the app is encouraging cyberbullying by allowing people to respond under anonymity. &nbsp;Instances have shown people responding in an utter insensitive way without considering the consequences of the harsh messages.&nbsp;

Sarahah has become a useful platform for haters who do not hesitate in responding with severe comments.

The developers are planning to upgrade the app by enhancing the privacy setting of the app. The upgraded features will restrict the audience only to the people you share your profile with and also allowing only logged in profile to comment on your profile. The new feature will also let you block the sender of obscene messages.

Within a month Sarahah has surpassed the popularity of long going apps such as YouTube and Instagram by leading the App Store&#39;s number 1 spot.

&nbsp;

The app enables people to leave a message on anyone's Saraha profile anonymously, also providing an option of tagging the sender's identity.

Sarahah app, which has been trending all over the social media for a week now, derived its name from the Arabic word meaning "honesty". The app was created by Saudi Arabian developer Zain al-Abidin Tawfiq a month before, but it became popular recently. The "honesty" app has already earned great recognition in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, BBC reports. The app enables people to leave a message on anyone's Saraha profile anonymously, also providing an option of tagging the sender's identity. The person receiving the messages can either flag the messages, delete them, reply or favourite them. The messages are received in the person's inbox. According to the creator, the constructive feedback received from anonymous sources will help the receiver in self-development. However, it is quite certain that the app is encouraging cyberbullying by allowing people to respond under anonymity. Instances have shown people responding in an utter insensitive way without considering the consequences of the harsh messages. Sarahah has become a useful platform for haters who do not hesitate in responding with severe comments. The developers are planning to upgrade the app by enhancing the privacy setting of the app. The upgraded features will restrict the audience only to the people you share your profile with and also allowing only logged in profile to comment on your profile. The new feature will also let you block the sender of obscene messages. Within a month Sarahah has surpassed the popularity of long going apps such as YouTube and Instagram by leading the App Store's number 1 spot.

Sarahah: "Honesty" or "Cyberbullying" App?