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British stocks dipped Wednesday after data suggested an economic hit from the Brexit vote just ahead of a key Bank of England policy decision. 
 
Stocks were mixed elsewhere in Europe, while US stocks gained and Japanese stocks tumbled again on worries about government stimulus. 
 
Data monitoring company Markit&#39;s preliminary composite purchasing managers&#39; index (PMI) in Britain for the services industry sank to 47.4 points in July, down from 52.3 in June. A reading under 50 indicates shrinkage. 
 
The data revived worries about the surprise British vote in June to exit the European Union, sending the FTSE down 0.2 per cent. 
 
&quot;This week&#39;s manufacturing PMI report is the latest in a long list of survey data which shows that the vote to leave the EU has caused significant uncertainty, and negative shock is on the way,&quot; said Hargreaves Lansdown economist Ben Brettell. 
 
Market watchers expect the Bank of England Thursday to slash interest rates to a record-low 0.25 per cent and to potentially boost its bond-buying stimulus program. 
 
&quot;The market anticipates at least a quarter-point cut in the base rate, but an expansion of asset purchases and a &#39;bias to ease&#39; would not be surprises,&quot; said economist Larry Hatheway at asset manager GAM. 
 
In the US, payroll firm ADP reported that private US companies added 179,000 jobs in July, slightly better than expected. The data came two days ahead of the government&#39;s official July jobs report. 
 
Analysts said US stocks were also boosted by higher oil prices, which lifted most petroleum-linked shares that helped boost the S&amp;P 500 by 0.3 per cent. 
 
Paris fell 0.2 per cent and Frankfurt rose 0.3 per cent after Markit said eurozone economic data managed a small gain in July despite Brexit. 
 
Weak stimulus hits Nikkei 
 
Japan&#39;s Nikkei dropped 1.9 per cent, its second straight decline, as gripes about a surprisingly modest stimulus package continued to dent sentiment. 
 
Japanese banking shares tanked on fears about the difficulty lenders face making money in a negative interest rate era as their bottom lines come under pressure. 
 
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group closed 3.9 per cent lower, rival Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group dived 4.3 per cent and Mizuho Financial Group lost 3.3 per cent. 
 
Banking giant HSBC ended 1.8 per cent higher in Hong Kong and up more than four percent in London after it announced a $2.5 billion stock buyback and said it would maintain its dividend. 
 
In Milan, Fiat Chrysler shares surged over eight percent following a press report claiming that the auto giant is talking to Samsung about selling its car parts unit Magneti Marelli. 
 
In the US, Time Warner climbed 2.7 per cent after announcing it was taking a 10 per cent stake in Hulu, a streaming video provider that is ramping up as a competitor to sector leader Netflix. 
 
(AFP) 
&nbsp;

Market watchers anticipate 0.25 per cent cut in Bank of England's base rate

British stocks dipped Wednesday after data suggested an economic hit from the Brexit vote just ahead of a key Bank of England policy decision. Stocks were mixed elsewhere in Europe, while US stocks gained and Japanese stocks tumbled again on worries about government stimulus. Data monitoring company Markit's preliminary composite purchasing managers' index (PMI) in Britain for the services industry sank to 47.4 points in July, down from 52.3 in June. A reading under 50 indicates shrinkage. The data revived worries about the surprise British vote in June to exit the European Union, sending the FTSE down 0.2 per cent. "This week's manufacturing PMI report is the latest in a long list of survey data which shows that the vote to leave the EU has caused significant uncertainty, and negative shock is on the way," said Hargreaves Lansdown economist Ben Brettell. Market watchers expect the Bank of England Thursday to slash interest rates to a record-low 0.25 per cent and to potentially boost its bond-buying stimulus program. "The market anticipates at least a quarter-point cut in the base rate, but an expansion of asset purchases and a 'bias to ease' would not be surprises," said economist Larry Hatheway at asset manager GAM. In the US, payroll firm ADP reported that private US companies added 179,000 jobs in July, slightly better than expected. The data came two days ahead of the government's official July jobs report. Analysts said US stocks were also boosted by higher oil prices, which lifted most petroleum-linked shares that helped boost the S&P 500 by 0.3 per cent. Paris fell 0.2 per cent and Frankfurt rose 0.3 per cent after Markit said eurozone economic data managed a small gain in July despite Brexit. Weak stimulus hits Nikkei Japan's Nikkei dropped 1.9 per cent, its second straight decline, as gripes about a surprisingly modest stimulus package continued to dent sentiment. Japanese banking shares tanked on fears about the difficulty lenders face making money in a negative interest rate era as their bottom lines come under pressure. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group closed 3.9 per cent lower, rival Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group dived 4.3 per cent and Mizuho Financial Group lost 3.3 per cent. Banking giant HSBC ended 1.8 per cent higher in Hong Kong and up more than four percent in London after it announced a $2.5 billion stock buyback and said it would maintain its dividend. In Milan, Fiat Chrysler shares surged over eight percent following a press report claiming that the auto giant is talking to Samsung about selling its car parts unit Magneti Marelli. In the US, Time Warner climbed 2.7 per cent after announcing it was taking a 10 per cent stake in Hulu, a streaming video provider that is ramping up as a competitor to sector leader Netflix. (AFP)

Bank of England expected to axe rates to record low, British stocks dip

The Bank of England cut interest rates for the first time since 2009 on Thursday and said it will&nbsp;buy 60 billion pounds of government debt to ease the blow from Britain&#39;s June 23 vote to leave the European Union.

The central bank said it expected the economy to stagnate for the rest of 2016 and suffer weak growth throughout next year,&nbsp;and lowered its main lending rate to a record-low 0.25 per cent from 0.5 per cent, in line with market expectations.

But it also launched two new schemes, one to buy 10 billion pounds of high-grade corporate bonds and another - potentially worth up to 100 billion pounds - to ensure banks keep lending even after the cut in interest rates.

Most MPC members also expected to cut Bank Rate again this year to a rate &quot;close to, but a little above zero&quot;, if the economy performed as poorly as forecast

&quot;Following the United Kingdom&#39;s vote to leave the European Union, the exchange rate has fallen and the outlook for growth in the short to medium term has weakened markedly,&quot; the central bank said in its quarterly Inflation Report.

Policymakers were not completely united on how to respond. The cut in Bank Rate and the measure intended to ensure banks passed it on to consumers, known as the Term Funding Scheme (TFS), gained unanimous support.

But three policymakers, Kristin Forbes, Ian McCafferty and Martin Weale, opposed raising the target for quantitative easing government bond purchases to 435 billion pounds from the 375 billion total reached in late 2012.

Forbes also opposed the purchases of corporate debt - something the BoE did briefly after the financial crisis, but more to aid market functioning than to boost growth.

Many economists had expected Forbes to oppose a rate cut after she said last month that the central bank should not panic and instead wait for more data on the scale of Britain&#39;s economic slowdown.

While many business surveys show Britain&#39;s economy has slowed sharply and may even be entering recession, it is too soon for official data on how the EU vote is affecting output.

The BoE left its forecast for growth this year steady at 2.0 per cent, as the economy expanded faster in the first half of 2016 than it had expected in May.

But 2017 brings a sharp downgrade to growth of just 0.8 per cent from a previous estimate of 2.3 per cent, the biggest downgrade in growth from one Inflation Report to the next, exceeding what was seen in the financial crisis. The growth outlook for 2018 was cut to 1.8 per cent.

The BoE also revised up its inflation forecasts sharply, due to the big fall in sterling since the financial crisis, predicting it will hit 2.4 per cent in 2018 and 2019. The MPC said the costs of trying to bring it back to its 2 per cent target in the immediate future would exceed the benefit.

The Monetary Policy Committee launched the Term Funding Scheme to make sure that the lower levels of interest rates now set by the Bank of England are reflected in the costs commercial banks charge households and companies to borrow funds.

The Bank said it does not expect the scheme to lead to significantly faster aggregate loan growth, but to offset any hit to lending from a cut in official interest rates closer to zero.

Eligible institutions will be able to borrow four-year central bank reserves for an initial period of 18 months at rates close to the Bank Rate.

The lowest cost of funding, the 0.25 per cent Bank Rate, will be for banks that maintain or expand net lending to the economy and the BoE will charge a penalty rate if banks reduce net lending.

The MPC said it could adjust the terms and length of the scheme, which is funded by central bank reserves, and that the value of lending will be determined by usage of the scheme and could reach around 100 billion pounds.

New finance minister Philip Hammond, who replaced George Osborne last month, authorised the bond purchases and the TFS.

&quot;Alongside the actions the Bank is taking, I am prepared to take any necessary steps to support the economy and promote confidence,&quot; Hammond said in a letter to the central bank.

&quot;The government will set out its fiscal plans at the Autumn Statement in the normal way.&quot; released alongside its quarterly economic forecasts.

(Reuters)

The central bank said it expected the economy to stagnate for the rest of 2016 and suffer weak growth throughout next year

The Bank of England cut interest rates for the first time since 2009 on Thursday and said it will buy 60 billion pounds of government debt to ease the blow from Britain's June 23 vote to leave the European Union. The central bank said it expected the economy to stagnate for the rest of 2016 and suffer weak growth throughout next year, and lowered its main lending rate to a record-low 0.25 per cent from 0.5 per cent, in line with market expectations. But it also launched two new schemes, one to buy 10 billion pounds of high-grade corporate bonds and another - potentially worth up to 100 billion pounds - to ensure banks keep lending even after the cut in interest rates. Most MPC members also expected to cut Bank Rate again this year to a rate "close to, but a little above zero", if the economy performed as poorly as forecast "Following the United Kingdom's vote to leave the European Union, the exchange rate has fallen and the outlook for growth in the short to medium term has weakened markedly," the central bank said in its quarterly Inflation Report. Policymakers were not completely united on how to respond. The cut in Bank Rate and the measure intended to ensure banks passed it on to consumers, known as the Term Funding Scheme (TFS), gained unanimous support. But three policymakers, Kristin Forbes, Ian McCafferty and Martin Weale, opposed raising the target for quantitative easing government bond purchases to 435 billion pounds from the 375 billion total reached in late 2012. Forbes also opposed the purchases of corporate debt - something the BoE did briefly after the financial crisis, but more to aid market functioning than to boost growth. Many economists had expected Forbes to oppose a rate cut after she said last month that the central bank should not panic and instead wait for more data on the scale of Britain's economic slowdown. While many business surveys show Britain's economy has slowed sharply and may even be entering recession, it is too soon for official data on how the EU vote is affecting output. The BoE left its forecast for growth this year steady at 2.0 per cent, as the economy expanded faster in the first half of 2016 than it had expected in May. But 2017 brings a sharp downgrade to growth of just 0.8 per cent from a previous estimate of 2.3 per cent, the biggest downgrade in growth from one Inflation Report to the next, exceeding what was seen in the financial crisis. The growth outlook for 2018 was cut to 1.8 per cent. The BoE also revised up its inflation forecasts sharply, due to the big fall in sterling since the financial crisis, predicting it will hit 2.4 per cent in 2018 and 2019. The MPC said the costs of trying to bring it back to its 2 per cent target in the immediate future would exceed the benefit. The Monetary Policy Committee launched the Term Funding Scheme to make sure that the lower levels of interest rates now set by the Bank of England are reflected in the costs commercial banks charge households and companies to borrow funds. The Bank said it does not expect the scheme to lead to significantly faster aggregate loan growth, but to offset any hit to lending from a cut in official interest rates closer to zero. Eligible institutions will be able to borrow four-year central bank reserves for an initial period of 18 months at rates close to the Bank Rate. The lowest cost of funding, the 0.25 per cent Bank Rate, will be for banks that maintain or expand net lending to the economy and the BoE will charge a penalty rate if banks reduce net lending. The MPC said it could adjust the terms and length of the scheme, which is funded by central bank reserves, and that the value of lending will be determined by usage of the scheme and could reach around 100 billion pounds. New finance minister Philip Hammond, who replaced George Osborne last month, authorised the bond purchases and the TFS. "Alongside the actions the Bank is taking, I am prepared to take any necessary steps to support the economy and promote confidence," Hammond said in a letter to the central bank. "The government will set out its fiscal plans at the Autumn Statement in the normal way." released alongside its quarterly economic forecasts. (Reuters)

Bank of England cuts rates for first time since 2009, restarts bond purchases

Nearly 120,000 units of digital currency bitcoin worth about US$72 million was stolen from the exchange platform Bitfinex in Hong Kong, making it the second-biggest security breach ever of such an exchange. 
 
Bitfinex is one of the largest bitcoin exchanges, and is known in the digital currency community for having a platform that has deep liquidity in the US Dollar-bitcoin currency pair. 
 
Zane Tackett, Director of Community &amp; Product Development for Bitfinex, told Reuters on Wednesday that 119,756 bitcoin had been stolen from users&#39; accounts, and that the exchange had not yet decided how to address customer losses. 
 
&quot;The bitcoin was stolen from users&#39; segregated wallets,&quot; he said. 
 
Bitcoin plunged just over 23 per cent on Tuesday after the news broke. On Wednesday it was up 1 per cent at $545.20 on the BitStamp platform. 
 
Tackett added that the breach did not &quot;expose any weaknesses in the security of a blockchain&quot;, the technology that generates and processes bitcoin, a web-based &quot;cryptocurrency&quot; that can move across the globe anonymously without the need for a central authority. 
 
The volume stolen amounts to about 0.75 per cent of all bitcoin in circulation. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s the biggest USD exchange, so outside China it&#39;s the one that everyone has an account with,&quot; said Antony Lewis, a bitcoin expert in Singapore. &quot;It&#39;s very liquid, folk can trade on margin, lots of daily volume.&quot; 
 
It is not yet clear whether the theft was an inside job or whether hackers were able to gain access to the system externally.&nbsp;Bitfinex suspended trading on Tuesday after it discovered the breach. It said on its website that it was investigating and cooperating with the authorities. 
 
The attack on Bitfinex was reminiscent of a similar but larger breach at MtGox, a Tokyo-based bitcoin exchange that was forced to file for bankruptcy in early 2014 after hackers stole an estimated $650 million worth of customers&#39; bitcoins. 
 
(Reuters)

?The volume stolen amounts to about 0.75 per cent of all bitcoin in circulation. Bitcoin plunged by just over 23% after the news broke

Nearly 120,000 units of digital currency bitcoin worth about US$72 million was stolen from the exchange platform Bitfinex in Hong Kong, making it the second-biggest security breach ever of such an exchange. Bitfinex is one of the largest bitcoin exchanges, and is known in the digital currency community for having a platform that has deep liquidity in the US Dollar-bitcoin currency pair. Zane Tackett, Director of Community & Product Development for Bitfinex, told Reuters on Wednesday that 119,756 bitcoin had been stolen from users' accounts, and that the exchange had not yet decided how to address customer losses. "The bitcoin was stolen from users' segregated wallets," he said. Bitcoin plunged just over 23 per cent on Tuesday after the news broke. On Wednesday it was up 1 per cent at $545.20 on the BitStamp platform. Tackett added that the breach did not "expose any weaknesses in the security of a blockchain", the technology that generates and processes bitcoin, a web-based "cryptocurrency" that can move across the globe anonymously without the need for a central authority. The volume stolen amounts to about 0.75 per cent of all bitcoin in circulation. "It's the biggest USD exchange, so outside China it's the one that everyone has an account with," said Antony Lewis, a bitcoin expert in Singapore. "It's very liquid, folk can trade on margin, lots of daily volume." It is not yet clear whether the theft was an inside job or whether hackers were able to gain access to the system externally. Bitfinex suspended trading on Tuesday after it discovered the breach. It said on its website that it was investigating and cooperating with the authorities. The attack on Bitfinex was reminiscent of a similar but larger breach at MtGox, a Tokyo-based bitcoin exchange that was forced to file for bankruptcy in early 2014 after hackers stole an estimated $650 million worth of customers' bitcoins. (Reuters)

Bitcoin worth $72 million stolen from Hong Kong's Bitfinex exchange

Taiwan&#39;s Investment Commission said today it is set to order Uber Technologies Inc to exit the domestic market, saying the global ride-hailing giant misrepresented its business as an internet-based information technology platform, rather than a transportation service. 
 
Emile Chang, executive secretary at Taiwan&#39;s Investment Commission, said a final decision will be made by August 11. The commission oversees Taiwan&#39;s inbound and outbound foreign investments. 
 
The move comes amid a major strategic shift at Uber that will see its operations in China taken over by a mainland firm. Earlier this week, Uber said it was selling its China business to rival Didi Chuxing after a bruising two-year price war in a challenging market. 
 
Taiwan&#39;s decision adds to a string of official complaints aimed at the fast-growing US start-up. It has faced similar legal scrutiny in markets across Asia, including both in Hong Kong and China. 
 
&quot;Taiwan&#39;s government has communicated many times with Uber...The worst scenario is to order (it) to leave the market,&quot; Chang said, adding Uber can appeal the decision to Taiwan&#39;s cabinet. 
 
Uber officials in Taiwan could not be immediately reached for comment. 
 
The company entered the Taiwan market in 2013, triggering anger from domestic taxi drivers, who staged a massive protest against Uber as recently as July. 
 
(Reuters)

Taiwan's decision adds to a string of official complaints aimed at the fast-growing US start-up

Taiwan's Investment Commission said today it is set to order Uber Technologies Inc to exit the domestic market, saying the global ride-hailing giant misrepresented its business as an internet-based information technology platform, rather than a transportation service. Emile Chang, executive secretary at Taiwan's Investment Commission, said a final decision will be made by August 11. The commission oversees Taiwan's inbound and outbound foreign investments. The move comes amid a major strategic shift at Uber that will see its operations in China taken over by a mainland firm. Earlier this week, Uber said it was selling its China business to rival Didi Chuxing after a bruising two-year price war in a challenging market. Taiwan's decision adds to a string of official complaints aimed at the fast-growing US start-up. It has faced similar legal scrutiny in markets across Asia, including both in Hong Kong and China. "Taiwan's government has communicated many times with Uber...The worst scenario is to order (it) to leave the market," Chang said, adding Uber can appeal the decision to Taiwan's cabinet. Uber officials in Taiwan could not be immediately reached for comment. The company entered the Taiwan market in 2013, triggering anger from domestic taxi drivers, who staged a massive protest against Uber as recently as July. (Reuters)

Taiwan set to order Uber's exit from market after accusing it of 'misrepresenting' business

Indian manufacturers of finished steel goods are urging New Delhi to end tariffs on cheap imports of the alloy from China, Japan and South Korea, worried the protectionist measures may cost them billions in lost overseas sales.&nbsp; 
 
India put the tariffs in place in February to ensure a minimum import price (MIP) for 173 steel products, mainly to guard against cheap Chinese exports of around 10 million tonnes a month of items such as hot-rolled and cold-rolled steel that have undercut US European and Asian producers.&nbsp; 
 
The gambit to protect India&#39;s domestic steelmakers is threatening export revenues earned by engineering and manufacturing companies as artificially high prices for a primary raw material for everything from home appliances to ships make their products uncompetitive in foreign markets.&nbsp; 
 
The MIP policy has hit engineering firms especially hard. These mostly small- to mid-sized companies together export goods worth $56 billion a year, a fifth of India&#39;s shipped merchandise, made at least partly with steel now priced 15 per cent higher on average than at end-2015 and up to 30 per cent more than Chinese imports.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;My input cost is 40 per cent higher than other nations. How will my finished product compete?&quot; Pankaj Chaddha, CEO of Jyoti Steel Industries, said of the MIP tariffs.&nbsp; 
 
Jyoti Steel, a Mumbai manufacturer of stainless steel wire and carbon steel bright bars, cut 50 of its 300 jobs after MIP was introduced, and its output slumped by 22 per cent in the April-June quarter.&nbsp; 
 
Chaddha said he would have to lay off another 50 contract workers if the policy was extended past its August 5 expiry date. 
 
Also hanging over India&#39;s steel sector is a separate recommendation that the government enact anti-dumping duties on imports of hot-rolled steel products from China, Japan, South Korea, Russia, Brazil and Indonesia. 
 
 
Cold-roll steel mills shut down 
 
Indian prices of hot-rolled steel, used to make pipes, rods, cars, ships and industrial machinery, rose by more than 15 per cent to 37,000 rupees ($554) a tonne between December and early May, according to the latest data available. 
 
Chinese prices moved from $270 a tonne in December to $420 a tonne in April, before softening again.&nbsp; 
 
Trade body EEPC India said engineering goods exports would drop 10 per cent this year if MIP is extended. The group has gone before the trade ministry several times to ask that the import policy be allowed to lapse, and members have also met with the steel ministry on the issue.&nbsp; 
 
India&#39;s indebted steel sector, though, struggling with low profit amid a global supply glut, has lobbied hard for it to be kept in place.&nbsp;By making foreign steel too expensive, domestic steelmakers such as Steel Authority of India, Tata Steel and JSW Steel have been able to raise prices.&nbsp; 
 
But higher prices, besides hampering exporters, have pushed steel processing firms such as Adhunik Metaliks, Jayaswal Neco and Sujana Metal Products into losses.&nbsp; 
 
About 20 of 60 mills on his membership list have shut, said SC Mathur, executive director of Cold Rolled Steel Manufacturers Association of India. 
 
&quot;Others are operating at 40-50 per cent of capacity and incurring losses.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
 
Not just India vs China 
 
China, the world&#39;s largest steel manufacturer and consumer, produced 804 million tonnes last year, about half of global supply, using just 70 per cent of its capacity.&nbsp; 
 
India, along with the United States, Europe and others, has said that even as Beijing works to downsize its overblown sector, Chinese mills are exporting their excess supply. 
 
India, the world&#39;s third-largest producer with an estimated output of 90 million tonnes, consumed about 80 million tonnes of finished steel in the year through March 2016.&nbsp;It imported about 11 million tonnes that year, according to the steel ministry&#39;s Joint Plant Committee (JPC), with China supplying around 47 per cent.&nbsp; 
 
(Reuters)

A price policy to protect Indian markets from cheap imports are affecting cold-roll steel mills

Indian manufacturers of finished steel goods are urging New Delhi to end tariffs on cheap imports of the alloy from China, Japan and South Korea, worried the protectionist measures may cost them billions in lost overseas sales. India put the tariffs in place in February to ensure a minimum import price (MIP) for 173 steel products, mainly to guard against cheap Chinese exports of around 10 million tonnes a month of items such as hot-rolled and cold-rolled steel that have undercut US European and Asian producers. The gambit to protect India's domestic steelmakers is threatening export revenues earned by engineering and manufacturing companies as artificially high prices for a primary raw material for everything from home appliances to ships make their products uncompetitive in foreign markets. The MIP policy has hit engineering firms especially hard. These mostly small- to mid-sized companies together export goods worth $56 billion a year, a fifth of India's shipped merchandise, made at least partly with steel now priced 15 per cent higher on average than at end-2015 and up to 30 per cent more than Chinese imports. "My input cost is 40 per cent higher than other nations. How will my finished product compete?" Pankaj Chaddha, CEO of Jyoti Steel Industries, said of the MIP tariffs. Jyoti Steel, a Mumbai manufacturer of stainless steel wire and carbon steel bright bars, cut 50 of its 300 jobs after MIP was introduced, and its output slumped by 22 per cent in the April-June quarter. Chaddha said he would have to lay off another 50 contract workers if the policy was extended past its August 5 expiry date. Also hanging over India's steel sector is a separate recommendation that the government enact anti-dumping duties on imports of hot-rolled steel products from China, Japan, South Korea, Russia, Brazil and Indonesia. Cold-roll steel mills shut down Indian prices of hot-rolled steel, used to make pipes, rods, cars, ships and industrial machinery, rose by more than 15 per cent to 37,000 rupees ($554) a tonne between December and early May, according to the latest data available. Chinese prices moved from $270 a tonne in December to $420 a tonne in April, before softening again. Trade body EEPC India said engineering goods exports would drop 10 per cent this year if MIP is extended. The group has gone before the trade ministry several times to ask that the import policy be allowed to lapse, and members have also met with the steel ministry on the issue. India's indebted steel sector, though, struggling with low profit amid a global supply glut, has lobbied hard for it to be kept in place. By making foreign steel too expensive, domestic steelmakers such as Steel Authority of India, Tata Steel and JSW Steel have been able to raise prices. But higher prices, besides hampering exporters, have pushed steel processing firms such as Adhunik Metaliks, Jayaswal Neco and Sujana Metal Products into losses. About 20 of 60 mills on his membership list have shut, said SC Mathur, executive director of Cold Rolled Steel Manufacturers Association of India. "Others are operating at 40-50 per cent of capacity and incurring losses." Not just India vs China China, the world's largest steel manufacturer and consumer, produced 804 million tonnes last year, about half of global supply, using just 70 per cent of its capacity. India, along with the United States, Europe and others, has said that even as Beijing works to downsize its overblown sector, Chinese mills are exporting their excess supply. India, the world's third-largest producer with an estimated output of 90 million tonnes, consumed about 80 million tonnes of finished steel in the year through March 2016. It imported about 11 million tonnes that year, according to the steel ministry's Joint Plant Committee (JPC), with China supplying around 47 per cent. (Reuters)

India's anti-China steel tariffs harm engineering, manufacturing firms

Indian banking and financial services company, Household Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) aims to raise more money via so-called &quot;masala&quot; bonds after making its debut issue last month and other Indian companies may follow, the bank&#39;s executives said. 
 
Masala bonds are Indian rupee denominated bonds issued in offshore capital markets. These are rupee-denominated bonds issued to offshore investors settled in dollars and, therefore, the currency risk resides with investors. 
 
HDFC raised 30 billion Rupees on July 14 via the &#39;masala&#39; bond. 
 
Yielding 8.33 per cent and listed on the London Stock Exchange, the bond attracted 87 billion Rupees in bids. 
 
HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh and CEO Keki Mistry, speaking at the London Stock Exchange on Monday, told Reuters masala bonds were an opportunity for Indian firms to raise money, while giving international investors access to higher yields in a zero-yield world. 
 
&quot;India&#39;s need for funding for infrastructure is massive, the private sector has limited resources and the capacity of Indian banks to lend large sums of money is restricted by the amount of deposits they can mobilise,&quot; Parekh said. 
 
&quot;So we have to look overseas for funding.&quot; 
 
&quot;We lend in rupees so we want to borrow in rupees,&quot; he said, noting that of the 50 billion Rupee issuance limit for HDFC under the masala programme, 20 billion remained which the bank would tap in due course. 
 
&quot;We are getting calls from Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) around the world, saying &#39;the next 20 billion, just give it to us&#39;,&quot; he said. 
 
Buyers of the bond launched last month included SWFs, they said. 
 
India has overtaken China to become the world&#39;s fastest-growing big economy and is expected to expand around 7.8 per cent this year. That along with falling inflation and a steady currency has made the country attractive to investors. 
 
HDFC is one of the biggest emerging market financial institutions outside China. The group&#39;s shares are up almost 9 per cent this year, in line with India&#39;s benchmark Nifty index. 
 
Masala bonds can be more expensive than issuing bonds in the local market because of India&#39;s 5 per cent withholding tax on such international deals. But the HDFC executives said falling yields could make up for this as the market expands. 
 
They said several Indian companies were considering masala bonds despite the withholding tax. 
 
HDFC&#39;s bond has risen since its launch and now yields 7.78 per cent, they said. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s a new market ... and my sense was the first issue would be priced a bit higher but if we do a follow-on issue we will be able to do it at a lower cost,&quot; Mistry said. 
 
While thin secondary market liquidity is widely seen as a stumbling block for the masala market, Mistry pointed to the big order book as evidence that this might be changing. 
 
The executives also said HDFC had proceeded with a public issue rather than a private placement for SWFs because HDFC was keen to have a traded instrument. 
 
Parekh said Indian companies would like the withholding tax to be scrapped and are talking to the finance ministry. 
 
&quot;Money we can raise overseas to meet India&#39;s infrastructure needs is far more important than the money the government can make from the withholding tax,&quot; he said. 
 
(Reuters) 
&nbsp;

HDFC raised 30 billion Rupees on July 14 via masala bonds yielding 8.33 per cent

Indian banking and financial services company, Household Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) aims to raise more money via so-called "masala" bonds after making its debut issue last month and other Indian companies may follow, the bank's executives said. Masala bonds are Indian rupee denominated bonds issued in offshore capital markets. These are rupee-denominated bonds issued to offshore investors settled in dollars and, therefore, the currency risk resides with investors. HDFC raised 30 billion Rupees on July 14 via the 'masala' bond. Yielding 8.33 per cent and listed on the London Stock Exchange, the bond attracted 87 billion Rupees in bids. HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh and CEO Keki Mistry, speaking at the London Stock Exchange on Monday, told Reuters masala bonds were an opportunity for Indian firms to raise money, while giving international investors access to higher yields in a zero-yield world. "India's need for funding for infrastructure is massive, the private sector has limited resources and the capacity of Indian banks to lend large sums of money is restricted by the amount of deposits they can mobilise," Parekh said. "So we have to look overseas for funding." "We lend in rupees so we want to borrow in rupees," he said, noting that of the 50 billion Rupee issuance limit for HDFC under the masala programme, 20 billion remained which the bank would tap in due course. "We are getting calls from Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) around the world, saying 'the next 20 billion, just give it to us'," he said. Buyers of the bond launched last month included SWFs, they said. India has overtaken China to become the world's fastest-growing big economy and is expected to expand around 7.8 per cent this year. That along with falling inflation and a steady currency has made the country attractive to investors. HDFC is one of the biggest emerging market financial institutions outside China. The group's shares are up almost 9 per cent this year, in line with India's benchmark Nifty index. Masala bonds can be more expensive than issuing bonds in the local market because of India's 5 per cent withholding tax on such international deals. But the HDFC executives said falling yields could make up for this as the market expands. They said several Indian companies were considering masala bonds despite the withholding tax. HDFC's bond has risen since its launch and now yields 7.78 per cent, they said. "It's a new market ... and my sense was the first issue would be priced a bit higher but if we do a follow-on issue we will be able to do it at a lower cost," Mistry said. While thin secondary market liquidity is widely seen as a stumbling block for the masala market, Mistry pointed to the big order book as evidence that this might be changing. The executives also said HDFC had proceeded with a public issue rather than a private placement for SWFs because HDFC was keen to have a traded instrument. Parekh said Indian companies would like the withholding tax to be scrapped and are talking to the finance ministry. "Money we can raise overseas to meet India's infrastructure needs is far more important than the money the government can make from the withholding tax," he said. (Reuters)

Indian banking company HDFC aims to raise more money via masala bonds

The Bank of England looks ready to cut interest rates for the first time since 2009 on Thursday, seeking to stop Britain&#39;s vote to leave the European Union from kicking the country into recession. 
 
It may even go a step further and pump billions of pounds into financial markets. 
 
Economic surveys have pointed to a sharp slowdown since the BoE wrong footed markets just over two weeks back, when it kept rates on hold while it considered a bigger, unspecified package of stimulus, which policymakers said was likely in August. 
 
Manufacturing figures on Monday showed the most widespread downturn since early 2013. Earlier survey data for the much larger services sector pointed to the sharpest contraction since 2009. 
 
There is a chance these reports reflect a knee-jerk reaction to the vote, so the question the BoE faces this week is how aggressively to react. 
 
BoE chief economist Andy Haldane said he wanted to use &quot;a sledgehammer to crack a nut&quot;, but another policymaker, Kristin Forbes, said the central bank should stay calm and not rush into a decision until more hard data was available. 
 
Most economists polled by Reuters expect the BoE to cut interest rates by at least a quarter percentage point to 0.25 per cent, and almost half say it will restart its quantitative easing bond purchase programme, on hold since late 2012. 
 
&quot;If you&#39;re heading towards a waterfall, it is better to start paddling than to wait until you&#39;re at the edge,&quot; said Bank of America Merrill Lynch economist Robert Wood, who previously worked as a BoE forecaster. 
 
Wood said looser monetary policy would take months to help the economy. He predicts the BoE will announce 50 billion pounds of asset purchases on top of the 375 billion of government bonds bought between 2009 and 2012. 
 
Others say the BoE&#39;s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) might be concerned more QE at a time of record-low global bond yields could have unpredictable consequences for banks and markets. 
 
&quot;Taken at face value, recent survey data point to a significant recession. However, there may be some element of a knee-jerk reaction and the MPC may wish to wait for more data before making such a big call,&quot; HSBC economist Simon Wells said. 
 
Surveys carried out in the first half of July may reflect the temporary political disarray as David Cameron stepped down as prime minister and the Conservative Party hunted for a successor. Some data, including the BoE&#39;s own in-house research, point to a fairly modest reaction to the referendum. 
 
Divided MPC 
 
BoE Governor Mark Carney will present the policy decision in a news conference, but is unlikely to have the full support of the MPC. 
 
Forbes, a US academic who serves as an external member of the rate-setting body, said last month looser monetary policy had costs as well as benefits, and the BoE should wait for better data to calibrate its response. 
 
The effectiveness of rate cuts and asset purchases is also in doubt at a time when 10-year British government borrowing costs GB10YT=RR have already hit a record low 0.7 per cent. 
 
&quot;At this stage monetary policy is almost out of juice,&quot; Bank of America&#39;s Wood said. Ultimately the government was likely to need to spend more or cut taxes to boost the economy, he added. 
 
HSBC&#39;s Wells also a former BoE staffer said it was probably too soon for Carney to say the BoE would act like the Bank of Japan and buy bonds in support of a fiscal stimulus which Britain&#39;s government has only hinted at so far. 
 
&quot;Although the BoE may tease us with these ideas ... (this) poses significant policy risks for the future and potentially undermines the BoE&#39;s operational independence,&quot; Wells said. 
 
More likely is for the BoE to extend its Funding for Lending Scheme, which offers banks cheap finance in return for higher lending to the private sector and was in the process of being phased out as the economy recovered. 
 
Other measures are also possible to ensure lower interest rates do not hurt financial institutions&#39; incentives to lend. 
 
The BoE will also release a quarterly update to its growth and inflation forecasts. Sterling&#39;s 12 per cent fall since the referendum is likely to trigger a forecast that inflation will exceed its 2 percent target next year as imports become more costly. 
 
Growth is certain to be revised down, with the main question whether the central bank forecasts a recession. Before the referendum, Carney said a material slowdown, not a recession, was his central scenario if Britain voted to leave. 
 
(Reuters) 
&nbsp;

The Bank of England unlikely to have the full support of Monetary Policy Committee when it will present its policy decision

The Bank of England looks ready to cut interest rates for the first time since 2009 on Thursday, seeking to stop Britain's vote to leave the European Union from kicking the country into recession. It may even go a step further and pump billions of pounds into financial markets. Economic surveys have pointed to a sharp slowdown since the BoE wrong footed markets just over two weeks back, when it kept rates on hold while it considered a bigger, unspecified package of stimulus, which policymakers said was likely in August. Manufacturing figures on Monday showed the most widespread downturn since early 2013. Earlier survey data for the much larger services sector pointed to the sharpest contraction since 2009. There is a chance these reports reflect a knee-jerk reaction to the vote, so the question the BoE faces this week is how aggressively to react. BoE chief economist Andy Haldane said he wanted to use "a sledgehammer to crack a nut", but another policymaker, Kristin Forbes, said the central bank should stay calm and not rush into a decision until more hard data was available. Most economists polled by Reuters expect the BoE to cut interest rates by at least a quarter percentage point to 0.25 per cent, and almost half say it will restart its quantitative easing bond purchase programme, on hold since late 2012. "If you're heading towards a waterfall, it is better to start paddling than to wait until you're at the edge," said Bank of America Merrill Lynch economist Robert Wood, who previously worked as a BoE forecaster. Wood said looser monetary policy would take months to help the economy. He predicts the BoE will announce 50 billion pounds of asset purchases on top of the 375 billion of government bonds bought between 2009 and 2012. Others say the BoE's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) might be concerned more QE at a time of record-low global bond yields could have unpredictable consequences for banks and markets. "Taken at face value, recent survey data point to a significant recession. However, there may be some element of a knee-jerk reaction and the MPC may wish to wait for more data before making such a big call," HSBC economist Simon Wells said. Surveys carried out in the first half of July may reflect the temporary political disarray as David Cameron stepped down as prime minister and the Conservative Party hunted for a successor. Some data, including the BoE's own in-house research, point to a fairly modest reaction to the referendum. Divided MPC BoE Governor Mark Carney will present the policy decision in a news conference, but is unlikely to have the full support of the MPC. Forbes, a US academic who serves as an external member of the rate-setting body, said last month looser monetary policy had costs as well as benefits, and the BoE should wait for better data to calibrate its response. The effectiveness of rate cuts and asset purchases is also in doubt at a time when 10-year British government borrowing costs GB10YT=RR have already hit a record low 0.7 per cent. "At this stage monetary policy is almost out of juice," Bank of America's Wood said. Ultimately the government was likely to need to spend more or cut taxes to boost the economy, he added. HSBC's Wells also a former BoE staffer said it was probably too soon for Carney to say the BoE would act like the Bank of Japan and buy bonds in support of a fiscal stimulus which Britain's government has only hinted at so far. "Although the BoE may tease us with these ideas ... (this) poses significant policy risks for the future and potentially undermines the BoE's operational independence," Wells said. More likely is for the BoE to extend its Funding for Lending Scheme, which offers banks cheap finance in return for higher lending to the private sector and was in the process of being phased out as the economy recovered. Other measures are also possible to ensure lower interest rates do not hurt financial institutions' incentives to lend. The BoE will also release a quarterly update to its growth and inflation forecasts. Sterling's 12 per cent fall since the referendum is likely to trigger a forecast that inflation will exceed its 2 percent target next year as imports become more costly. Growth is certain to be revised down, with the main question whether the central bank forecasts a recession. Before the referendum, Carney said a material slowdown, not a recession, was his central scenario if Britain voted to leave. (Reuters)

Bank of England prepares to cut interest rates

Want an Olympic license plate, or a hand-embroidered Olympic handkerchief? 
 
How about Olympic cocaine? 
 
These and other products are among those being seized by Brazilian police in a crackdown on less-than-approved use of the five rings, mascots and other Olympic symbols ahead of the Games, which start in Rio de Janeiro on Friday. 
 
In a country where pirate versions of just about any product are as common as tropical fruit, Olympic organisers are battling a tide of bootleg goods sold and produced by those seeking to profit from the hype around the first-ever Games held in South America. 
 
&quot;These are opportunists,&quot; says Valeria Arag?o, a police inspector in charge of a 20-member counterfeit squad that in recent weeks has conducted raids across the city, confiscating all manner of ersatz Olympic goods.&nbsp;During one recent sting, she caught an elderly merchant, who had just embroidered &quot;Olympics 2016&quot; on a series of handkerchiefs, hanging one in her shop window. 
 
Narcotics police, meanwhile, in recent busts have even seized bricks of pressed marijuana and packets of cocaine that traffickers adorned with the Olympic rings. 
 
&quot;There are all sorts of people out there trading on something that has little to do with the spirit of sport or Olympic values,&quot; says Sylmara Multini, the director of licensing and retail for Rio 2016, as the organising committee is known. 
 
Money and sports 
 
The Olympics, of course, are as much about money as they are about sports. 
 
Officially, those who are supposed to get in on the action are sponsors and local partners that at present include major multinationals like Coca-Cola Co, McDonald&#39;s Corp and Banco Bradesco SA, a big Brazilian bank. 
 
Then there are licensees, who manufacture and sell the roughly 5,000 official trinkets, garments and souvenirs hawked by Rio 2016.&nbsp;Combined, revenues from those sources for Rio 2016 are expected to total almost $1 billion. 
 
But in Brazil, the black market is big business. Sales of pirate and counterfeit goods each year exceed well over $30 billion, according to estimates by various industries. 
 
It is not the first time Olympic authorities have wrestled with the problem. Officials in China, home to many black-market manufacturers, also fought counterfeiters before the 2008 Games in Beijing. 
 
Over the past week, the squad led by Arag?o raided souvenir stands at well-known tourist markets in the popular beachfront neighbourhoods of Copacabana and Ipanema. They seized over 2,300 items, ranging from pens and key chains to T-shirts and beach towels. 
 
&quot;People want to take advantage of an event like this, whether they know it&#39;s illegal or not,&quot; Arag?o says.&nbsp;Some of those caught in the dragnet are left scratching their heads. 
 
&quot;Rio 2016? How is that protected? It&#39;s just a word and a year,&quot; says Washington Valderrama, a vendor of souvenir license plates in Copacabana, who lost about $600 in revenue when the cops took 75 of them during a sting last week. 
 
&#39;Come back later&#39; 
 
A law passed in May of this year, complementing existing copyright legislation, specifically spells out protection for terms, in any language, including &quot;Rio 2016,&quot; &quot;Olympic Games,&quot; &quot;Rio Olympiad,&quot; and &quot;any other abbreviation or variation that could be created&quot;. 
 
In a giant white tent on the sands of Copacabana beach, the main drag for Rio tourism, Rio 2016 recently set up what they are calling a &quot;megastore&quot;. 
 
There, they peddle official merchandise including Olympic bikinis ($85), miniature metal replicas of the official torch ($170) and polyester ties peppered with green and yellow Olympic golf logos ($66). 
 
&quot;It&#39;s kind of pricey,&quot; says Cristian Krummenauer, a 38-year old visitor, eyeing a $40 red wine with an Olympic sailing logo bottled by a vintner near his hometown in southern Brazil. &quot;It&#39;s cheaper where I live, but it wouldn&#39;t have this nice label.&quot; 
 
A two minute walk up the shoreline, past a phony Spiderman posing for pictures and an Olympic-themed castle crafted by one of Copacabana&#39;s well-known sand sculptors, a street vendor touts garments folded across a large blanket. 
 
He offers one, a white polyester T-shirt emblazoned with Olympic rings, for about $9; one-third of the price of the official cotton version sold back at the &quot;megastore&quot;. 
 
As he launched into a pitch offering two for just $15, another peddler runs over and points: municipal guards, well-known to them as part of the crackdown, are headed their way. 
 
&quot;I gotta go,&quot; the vendor yelled, grabbing his blanket by the corners, snatching it into a bundle, and running off into the crowded beachfront. &quot;But come back later.&quot; 
 
(Reuters)

Olympic organisers battle a tide of bootleg goods sold and produced by those seeking to profit from the first-ever Games in South America

Want an Olympic license plate, or a hand-embroidered Olympic handkerchief? How about Olympic cocaine? These and other products are among those being seized by Brazilian police in a crackdown on less-than-approved use of the five rings, mascots and other Olympic symbols ahead of the Games, which start in Rio de Janeiro on Friday. In a country where pirate versions of just about any product are as common as tropical fruit, Olympic organisers are battling a tide of bootleg goods sold and produced by those seeking to profit from the hype around the first-ever Games held in South America. "These are opportunists," says Valeria Arag?o, a police inspector in charge of a 20-member counterfeit squad that in recent weeks has conducted raids across the city, confiscating all manner of ersatz Olympic goods. During one recent sting, she caught an elderly merchant, who had just embroidered "Olympics 2016" on a series of handkerchiefs, hanging one in her shop window. Narcotics police, meanwhile, in recent busts have even seized bricks of pressed marijuana and packets of cocaine that traffickers adorned with the Olympic rings. "There are all sorts of people out there trading on something that has little to do with the spirit of sport or Olympic values," says Sylmara Multini, the director of licensing and retail for Rio 2016, as the organising committee is known. Money and sports The Olympics, of course, are as much about money as they are about sports. Officially, those who are supposed to get in on the action are sponsors and local partners that at present include major multinationals like Coca-Cola Co, McDonald's Corp and Banco Bradesco SA, a big Brazilian bank. Then there are licensees, who manufacture and sell the roughly 5,000 official trinkets, garments and souvenirs hawked by Rio 2016. Combined, revenues from those sources for Rio 2016 are expected to total almost $1 billion. But in Brazil, the black market is big business. Sales of pirate and counterfeit goods each year exceed well over $30 billion, according to estimates by various industries. It is not the first time Olympic authorities have wrestled with the problem. Officials in China, home to many black-market manufacturers, also fought counterfeiters before the 2008 Games in Beijing. Over the past week, the squad led by Arag?o raided souvenir stands at well-known tourist markets in the popular beachfront neighbourhoods of Copacabana and Ipanema. They seized over 2,300 items, ranging from pens and key chains to T-shirts and beach towels. "People want to take advantage of an event like this, whether they know it's illegal or not," Arag?o says. Some of those caught in the dragnet are left scratching their heads. "Rio 2016? How is that protected? It's just a word and a year," says Washington Valderrama, a vendor of souvenir license plates in Copacabana, who lost about $600 in revenue when the cops took 75 of them during a sting last week. 'Come back later' A law passed in May of this year, complementing existing copyright legislation, specifically spells out protection for terms, in any language, including "Rio 2016," "Olympic Games," "Rio Olympiad," and "any other abbreviation or variation that could be created". In a giant white tent on the sands of Copacabana beach, the main drag for Rio tourism, Rio 2016 recently set up what they are calling a "megastore". There, they peddle official merchandise including Olympic bikinis ($85), miniature metal replicas of the official torch ($170) and polyester ties peppered with green and yellow Olympic golf logos ($66). "It's kind of pricey," says Cristian Krummenauer, a 38-year old visitor, eyeing a $40 red wine with an Olympic sailing logo bottled by a vintner near his hometown in southern Brazil. "It's cheaper where I live, but it wouldn't have this nice label." A two minute walk up the shoreline, past a phony Spiderman posing for pictures and an Olympic-themed castle crafted by one of Copacabana's well-known sand sculptors, a street vendor touts garments folded across a large blanket. He offers one, a white polyester T-shirt emblazoned with Olympic rings, for about $9; one-third of the price of the official cotton version sold back at the "megastore". As he launched into a pitch offering two for just $15, another peddler runs over and points: municipal guards, well-known to them as part of the crackdown, are headed their way. "I gotta go," the vendor yelled, grabbing his blanket by the corners, snatching it into a bundle, and running off into the crowded beachfront. "But come back later." (Reuters)

Brazil police crackdown on unlicensed Rio merchandise

Richard Branson&rsquo;s space company, Virgin Galactic, has been granted an operating licence to fly its passenger rocketship with the world&#39;s first paying space tourists aboard once final safety tests are completed, the Federal Aviation Administration said on Monday. 
 
The unprecedented licence covers all operations of Virgin Galactic&#39;s six-passenger, two-pilot SpaceShipTwo vehicle, including commercial passenger service, which according to FAA spokesman Hank Price is contingent on &quot;certain terms and conditions&quot; being met first. 
 
Those requirements include verification of vehicle hardware and software &ldquo;in an operational flight environment&rdquo;, the FAA wrote in an email. 
 
The FAA, which oversees U.S. airline service and general aviation, is also the chief regulatory body for commercial spaceflight in the United States. 
 
The new licence will be modified as Virgin Galactic supplies the FAA with additional data from the SpaceShipTwo flight test programme, company spokeswoman Christine Choi said in an email. 
 
The company has not yet announced a date for the start of passenger flights but is selling tickets for a ride aboard SpaceShipTwo at $250,000 a seat. Commercial service is not expected to debut before 2017. 
 
About 700 people have put down deposits for rides that will take them about 62 miles (100 km) above Earth, high enough to experience a few minutes of weightlessness and see the curvature of Earth set against the blackness of space. 
 
Virgin Galactic&rsquo;s original SpaceShipTwo vehicle broke apart during an October 2014 test flight that killed the co-pilot and seriously injured the pilot, in an accident that was ultimately attributed to pilot error. Both were employees of Scaled Composites, a Northrop Grumman subsidiary based in Mojave, California, that built the vehicle. 
 
The Spaceship Company, a Virgin Galactic sister firm also owned by Branson&rsquo;s London-based Virgin Group, built a new SpaceShipTwo, the second in a planned fleet of five, and took over the test flight programme from Scaled. 
 
The new ship, dubbed Unity, was rolled out of its hanger on Monday for its first taxi test at the Mojave Air and Space Port. 
 
Virgin Galactic plans to fly from Spaceport America, near Las Cruces, New Mexico. SpaceShipTwo will be ferried to an altitude of about 50,000 feet (15,000 meters) by a carrier jet known as White Knight Two and then released for an independent rocket ride beyond the atmosphere. 
 
SpaceShipTwo is designed to glide back to the ground and land on a runway like a conventional airplane. 
 
(Reuters)&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

Licence covers all operations of Virgin Galactic's six-passenger, two-pilot SpaceShipTwo vehicle, subject to 'certain terms and conditions'

Richard Branson’s space company, Virgin Galactic, has been granted an operating licence to fly its passenger rocketship with the world's first paying space tourists aboard once final safety tests are completed, the Federal Aviation Administration said on Monday. The unprecedented licence covers all operations of Virgin Galactic's six-passenger, two-pilot SpaceShipTwo vehicle, including commercial passenger service, which according to FAA spokesman Hank Price is contingent on "certain terms and conditions" being met first. Those requirements include verification of vehicle hardware and software “in an operational flight environment”, the FAA wrote in an email. The FAA, which oversees U.S. airline service and general aviation, is also the chief regulatory body for commercial spaceflight in the United States. The new licence will be modified as Virgin Galactic supplies the FAA with additional data from the SpaceShipTwo flight test programme, company spokeswoman Christine Choi said in an email. The company has not yet announced a date for the start of passenger flights but is selling tickets for a ride aboard SpaceShipTwo at $250,000 a seat. Commercial service is not expected to debut before 2017. About 700 people have put down deposits for rides that will take them about 62 miles (100 km) above Earth, high enough to experience a few minutes of weightlessness and see the curvature of Earth set against the blackness of space. Virgin Galactic’s original SpaceShipTwo vehicle broke apart during an October 2014 test flight that killed the co-pilot and seriously injured the pilot, in an accident that was ultimately attributed to pilot error. Both were employees of Scaled Composites, a Northrop Grumman subsidiary based in Mojave, California, that built the vehicle. The Spaceship Company, a Virgin Galactic sister firm also owned by Branson’s London-based Virgin Group, built a new SpaceShipTwo, the second in a planned fleet of five, and took over the test flight programme from Scaled. The new ship, dubbed Unity, was rolled out of its hanger on Monday for its first taxi test at the Mojave Air and Space Port. Virgin Galactic plans to fly from Spaceport America, near Las Cruces, New Mexico. SpaceShipTwo will be ferried to an altitude of about 50,000 feet (15,000 meters) by a carrier jet known as White Knight Two and then released for an independent rocket ride beyond the atmosphere. SpaceShipTwo is designed to glide back to the ground and land on a runway like a conventional airplane. (Reuters)

Richard Branson's passenger space firm granted federal operating licence

German flag carrier Lufthansa warned Tuesday that &quot;horrific&quot; terror attacks in Europe were having a &quot;tangible impact&quot; on business, with second-quarter profits down 17 per cent. 
 
Advance bookings were down sharply, the airline said, as net profits for the three months ending June came in at 437 million euros ($488 million). 
 
&quot;Horrific terror attacks are making people feel unsafe,&quot; chief executive Carsten Spohr said in a conference call with reporters on Tuesday. 
 
&quot;Because of repeated terror attacks in Europe and political and economic uncertainty, advance bookings, especially on long-haul flights to Europe, have fallen significantly,&quot; finance director Simone Menne said. 
 
The weak profits came despite the lower oil price, which resulted in a fuel cost boon of 597 million Euros. Compared with the figure for the first half of 2015, net profits took a 55 per cent blow, falling to 429 million Euros. 
 
Lufthansa had already said last month that the jittery atmosphere in Europe was hitting its business and considered &quot;a complete recovery as not likely anymore.&quot; Its European rival Air France-KLM also warned last week about the impact of recent attacks on the airline. 
 
Air France-KLM&#39;s chief financial officer Pierre-Francois Riolacci said unit revenue fell by 5.6 per cent in the second quarter, which he put down to the sluggish global economic recovery and &quot;most of all the effect of the terror attacks that have struck Europe in recent quarters&quot;. 
 
A spate of attacks targeting France and Germany at the height of peak tourist season in Europe has hurt the industry. France, the world&#39;s top tourist destination, is reeling from an attack at the Riviera town of Nice on Bastille Day when a gunman drove a 19-tonne truck into a crowd of revellers, killing 84. 
 
That was the third major strike against France in less than 18 months, coming just eight months after Islamic State gunmen and suicide bombers stormed bars, restaurants, a concert hall and the national stadium in Paris, killing 130 people. 
 
In January last year, 17 were killed in another assault at various sites including the offices of the Charlie Hebdo magazine and a Jewish supermarket in Paris. 
 
Germany was meanwhile hit in July by an axe attack that left five people, including four tourists from Hong Kong, wounded, a gun rampage, a machete assault and a suicide bomb attack. 
 
A spokeswoman for the German tourism board told AFP last week that &quot;there haven&#39;t been any cancellations&quot; in the immediate aftermath of the attacks in Europe&#39;s biggest economy. 
 
But in France, flight reservations following the Nice attack were down 20 per cent. Between January and July 10 arrivals to France by air were down 5.8 per cent, and down 11 per cent to Paris. 
 
(AFP) 
&nbsp;

The weak profits for the airline have come in despite the lower oil price, which resulted in a fuel cost boon of 597 million Euros

German flag carrier Lufthansa warned Tuesday that "horrific" terror attacks in Europe were having a "tangible impact" on business, with second-quarter profits down 17 per cent. Advance bookings were down sharply, the airline said, as net profits for the three months ending June came in at 437 million euros ($488 million). "Horrific terror attacks are making people feel unsafe," chief executive Carsten Spohr said in a conference call with reporters on Tuesday. "Because of repeated terror attacks in Europe and political and economic uncertainty, advance bookings, especially on long-haul flights to Europe, have fallen significantly," finance director Simone Menne said. The weak profits came despite the lower oil price, which resulted in a fuel cost boon of 597 million Euros. Compared with the figure for the first half of 2015, net profits took a 55 per cent blow, falling to 429 million Euros. Lufthansa had already said last month that the jittery atmosphere in Europe was hitting its business and considered "a complete recovery as not likely anymore." Its European rival Air France-KLM also warned last week about the impact of recent attacks on the airline. Air France-KLM's chief financial officer Pierre-Francois Riolacci said unit revenue fell by 5.6 per cent in the second quarter, which he put down to the sluggish global economic recovery and "most of all the effect of the terror attacks that have struck Europe in recent quarters". A spate of attacks targeting France and Germany at the height of peak tourist season in Europe has hurt the industry. France, the world's top tourist destination, is reeling from an attack at the Riviera town of Nice on Bastille Day when a gunman drove a 19-tonne truck into a crowd of revellers, killing 84. That was the third major strike against France in less than 18 months, coming just eight months after Islamic State gunmen and suicide bombers stormed bars, restaurants, a concert hall and the national stadium in Paris, killing 130 people. In January last year, 17 were killed in another assault at various sites including the offices of the Charlie Hebdo magazine and a Jewish supermarket in Paris. Germany was meanwhile hit in July by an axe attack that left five people, including four tourists from Hong Kong, wounded, a gun rampage, a machete assault and a suicide bomb attack. A spokeswoman for the German tourism board told AFP last week that "there haven't been any cancellations" in the immediate aftermath of the attacks in Europe's biggest economy. But in France, flight reservations following the Nice attack were down 20 per cent. Between January and July 10 arrivals to France by air were down 5.8 per cent, and down 11 per cent to Paris. (AFP)

Lufthansa says terror attacks impacting business

Premier League clubs have already splashed out 475 million Pounds ($631 million) since the transfer window reopened in July, according to business analysts Deloitte. 
 
Bolstered by the increased revenue from the Premier League&#39;s new 5.1 billion television deals, the 20 top-flight teams have been throwing money at a host of new signings, and Deloitte says the spending could shatter the 1 billion mark for the first time in the pre-season window. 
 
The current figure of 475 million is slightly less than the 515 million spent by Premier League teams at the same stage in 2015, which led to an eventual 870 million outlay in the whole window. 
 
Leroy Sane&#39;s million dollar move to Manchester City is not included in the figures, as it was only confirmed on Tuesday. And the spending figure would rise significantly if Manchester United complete their reported world record 100 million move for Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba. 
 
Chelsea, linked with a 65 million deal for Everton striker Romelu Lukaku, could also add to the rising transfer total. 
 
&quot;The prospect of increased revenue from the new broadcast deals next season has encouraged Premier League clubs to invest in this window in order to be as competitive as possible,&quot; Alex Thorpe, senior manager in the sports business group at Deloitte, told the BBC. 
 
&quot;With a month of the window still to go, some significant deals in the pipeline and a number of clubs yet to enter the market, we may see another summer of record Premier League spending, possibly breaking the one billion barrier for the first time.&quot; 
 
(AFP)

Leroy Sane's million dollar move to Manchester City wasn't included in the figures, as it was only confirmed on Tuesday

Premier League clubs have already splashed out 475 million Pounds ($631 million) since the transfer window reopened in July, according to business analysts Deloitte. Bolstered by the increased revenue from the Premier League's new 5.1 billion television deals, the 20 top-flight teams have been throwing money at a host of new signings, and Deloitte says the spending could shatter the 1 billion mark for the first time in the pre-season window. The current figure of 475 million is slightly less than the 515 million spent by Premier League teams at the same stage in 2015, which led to an eventual 870 million outlay in the whole window. Leroy Sane's million dollar move to Manchester City is not included in the figures, as it was only confirmed on Tuesday. And the spending figure would rise significantly if Manchester United complete their reported world record 100 million move for Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba. Chelsea, linked with a 65 million deal for Everton striker Romelu Lukaku, could also add to the rising transfer total. "The prospect of increased revenue from the new broadcast deals next season has encouraged Premier League clubs to invest in this window in order to be as competitive as possible," Alex Thorpe, senior manager in the sports business group at Deloitte, told the BBC. "With a month of the window still to go, some significant deals in the pipeline and a number of clubs yet to enter the market, we may see another summer of record Premier League spending, possibly breaking the one billion barrier for the first time." (AFP)

English Premier League clubs' transfer spending nears 500 million

Indian central bank, the Reserve Bank of India on Monday released the much-awaited guidelines for &#39;on tap&#39; universal banking licence, but excluded large industrial houses as eligible entities from the purview, though they can invest in banks up to 10 per cent. 
 
As per the &quot;guidelines for &#39;on tap&#39; licensing of universal banks in the private sector&quot;, the initial minimum paid-up voting equity capital for a bank should be Rs 500 crore and thereafter, the bank should have a minimum net worth of Rs 500 crore at all times. 
 
Individuals/professionals who are &#39;residents&#39; and have 10 years of experience in banking and finance at a senior level and existing non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) that are &#39;controlled by residents&#39; and have a successful track record for at least 10 years can apply for the licence. 
 
Further, &quot;entities/groups in the private sector that are &#39;owned and controlled by residents&#39; and have a successful track record for at least 10 years, provided that if such entity/group has total assets of Rs 5,000 crore or more, the non-financial business of the group does not account for 40 per cent or more in terms of total assets/in terms of gross income&quot; are also eligible promoters. 
 
The applicant would have to pass the &#39;fit and proper&#39; criteria. According to it, promoter/promoting entity/promoter group should have a past record of sound financials, credentials, integrity and have a minimum 10 years of successful track record. 
 
The foreign shareholding in the bank would be as per the existing FDI. At present, the aggregate foreign investment limit is 74 per cent. 
 
&quot;The licensing window will be open on-tap, and the applications...could be submitted to the RBI at any point of time,&quot; the guidelines said. 
 
The applications will be referred to a standing external advisory committee (SEAC) to be set up by the Reserve Bank. 
 
The validity of the in-principle approval issued by the RBI will be 18 months from the date of granting in-principle approval and would thereafter lapse automatically. 
 
The RBI had last issued guidelines for licensing of new banks in the private sector on February 22, 2013. 
Consequently, the RBI issued in-principle approval to two applicants and they have since established the banks (Bandhan Bank and IDFC Bank).&nbsp; 
 
(PTI) 
&nbsp;

The initial minimum paid-up voting equity capital for a bank should be Rs 500 crore

Indian central bank, the Reserve Bank of India on Monday released the much-awaited guidelines for 'on tap' universal banking licence, but excluded large industrial houses as eligible entities from the purview, though they can invest in banks up to 10 per cent. As per the "guidelines for 'on tap' licensing of universal banks in the private sector", the initial minimum paid-up voting equity capital for a bank should be Rs 500 crore and thereafter, the bank should have a minimum net worth of Rs 500 crore at all times. Individuals/professionals who are 'residents' and have 10 years of experience in banking and finance at a senior level and existing non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) that are 'controlled by residents' and have a successful track record for at least 10 years can apply for the licence. Further, "entities/groups in the private sector that are 'owned and controlled by residents' and have a successful track record for at least 10 years, provided that if such entity/group has total assets of Rs 5,000 crore or more, the non-financial business of the group does not account for 40 per cent or more in terms of total assets/in terms of gross income" are also eligible promoters. The applicant would have to pass the 'fit and proper' criteria. According to it, promoter/promoting entity/promoter group should have a past record of sound financials, credentials, integrity and have a minimum 10 years of successful track record. The foreign shareholding in the bank would be as per the existing FDI. At present, the aggregate foreign investment limit is 74 per cent. "The licensing window will be open on-tap, and the applications...could be submitted to the RBI at any point of time," the guidelines said. The applications will be referred to a standing external advisory committee (SEAC) to be set up by the Reserve Bank. The validity of the in-principle approval issued by the RBI will be 18 months from the date of granting in-principle approval and would thereafter lapse automatically. The RBI had last issued guidelines for licensing of new banks in the private sector on February 22, 2013. Consequently, the RBI issued in-principle approval to two applicants and they have since established the banks (Bandhan Bank and IDFC Bank). (PTI)

RBI releases guidelines for 'on-tap' banking licence in private sector, bars large industrial houses

A merger between Chinese ride-hailing firm Didi Chuxing and the China unit of US rival Uber could face its first hiccup after China&#39;s commerce ministry (Mofcom) said today it had not received a necessary application to allow the deal to go ahead. 
 
However, Didi said there was no need to seek regulatory approval, saying the two ride-hailing companies&#39; lack of profits meant they weren&#39;t required to file with the ministry. 
 
Didi&#39;s acquisition of Uber&#39;s China operations, announced on Monday, will create a roughly $35 billion ride-hailing giant and could raise monopoly concerns as Didi claims an 87 per cent market share in China. Uber China is the second largest player. 
 
Mofcom, one of China&#39;s anti-trust regulators, said at a news briefing that the two firms need to seek approval for the deal to go ahead. It had been unclear previously whether such a filing would be required as both firms are loss-making in China. 
 
&quot;Mofcom has not currently received a merger filing related to the deal between Didi and Uber,&quot; ministry spokesman Shen Danyang said. &quot;All transactors must apply to the ministry in advance. Those that haven&#39;t applied won&#39;t be able to carry out a merger&quot; if they fall under applicable anti-trust and merger rules, he said. 
 
In an emailed statement to Reuters today, Didi contested Shen&#39;s assertion that the firm is required to apply for approval. &quot;We are in close communication with authorities,&quot; said Didi. &quot;Some of the financial metrics of the transaction did not meet the filing requirements. UberChina and Didi are not profitable yet, and UberChina&#39;s turnover in 2015 didn&#39;t meet the $60.30 million trigger requirement for the anti-trust process.&quot; 
 
Didi and Uber have been in a fierce battle in China, spending billions of dollars to subsidise rides and win users. 
 
Other players, however, could step up competition. Jia Yueting, head of LeEco, the parent of smaller ride-hailing rival Yidao, said in a social media post the firm would offer steep rebates to attract passengers to help avoid a monopoly in the market. 
 
&quot;Yidao will soon kick off an even more aggressive cashback campaign,&quot; according to a translation of Jia&#39;s posting provided by a LeEco spokeswoman. 
 
Regulations released last week that take effect on Nove,ber 1 legitimise ride-hailing, but prohibit services from offering rides below cost. 
 
(Reuters)

'The two ride-hailing companies' lack of profits meant they weren't required to file with the ministry,' Didi contested

A merger between Chinese ride-hailing firm Didi Chuxing and the China unit of US rival Uber could face its first hiccup after China's commerce ministry (Mofcom) said today it had not received a necessary application to allow the deal to go ahead. However, Didi said there was no need to seek regulatory approval, saying the two ride-hailing companies' lack of profits meant they weren't required to file with the ministry. Didi's acquisition of Uber's China operations, announced on Monday, will create a roughly $35 billion ride-hailing giant and could raise monopoly concerns as Didi claims an 87 per cent market share in China. Uber China is the second largest player. Mofcom, one of China's anti-trust regulators, said at a news briefing that the two firms need to seek approval for the deal to go ahead. It had been unclear previously whether such a filing would be required as both firms are loss-making in China. "Mofcom has not currently received a merger filing related to the deal between Didi and Uber," ministry spokesman Shen Danyang said. "All transactors must apply to the ministry in advance. Those that haven't applied won't be able to carry out a merger" if they fall under applicable anti-trust and merger rules, he said. In an emailed statement to Reuters today, Didi contested Shen's assertion that the firm is required to apply for approval. "We are in close communication with authorities," said Didi. "Some of the financial metrics of the transaction did not meet the filing requirements. UberChina and Didi are not profitable yet, and UberChina's turnover in 2015 didn't meet the $60.30 million trigger requirement for the anti-trust process." Didi and Uber have been in a fierce battle in China, spending billions of dollars to subsidise rides and win users. Other players, however, could step up competition. Jia Yueting, head of LeEco, the parent of smaller ride-hailing rival Yidao, said in a social media post the firm would offer steep rebates to attract passengers to help avoid a monopoly in the market. "Yidao will soon kick off an even more aggressive cashback campaign," according to a translation of Jia's posting provided by a LeEco spokeswoman. Regulations released last week that take effect on Nove,ber 1 legitimise ride-hailing, but prohibit services from offering rides below cost. (Reuters)

Didi, Uber merger faces first hiccup: China regulator says deal will require ministry approval

Iran&#39;s oil minister said today the oil market was oversupplied but predicted balance between demand and supply will be restored, Iranian state television reported on Monday. 
 
&quot;The oil market is oversupplied now but there are expectations that there will be balance between demand and supply in the market,&quot; Bijan Namdar Zanganeh was quoted as saying by Iran&#39;s state TV, without saying when that may happen. 
 
A Reuters survey on Friday showed the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries&#39; (OPEC) oil output was likely to reach its highest in recent history in July as Iraq pumps more and Nigeria manages to export additional crude despite militant attacks. 
 
Supply from OPEC rose to 33.41 million barrels per day (bpd) in July from a revised 33.31 million bpd in June, according to the survey based on shipping data and information from industry sources. 
 
Iran planning to raise crude production&nbsp; 
 
Since a landmark nuclear deal was reached with major powers in 2015 leading to lifting of sanctions, Iran has been planning to raise its crude production to the pre-sanctions level of four million barrels per day (bpd). 
 
To regain the production level, Iran has sweetened the terms it offers on oil development contracts to draw the interest of foreign investors. Iran needs $200 billion in foreign money to reach its goal. 
 
Zanganeh said that the first of Iran&#39;s new oil and gas investment contracts for international companies will be launched this week. 
 
&quot;The government will approve the new contracts on Wednesday,&quot; Zanganeh told reporters, state TV reported. 
 
The launch of Iran&#39;s new oil contracts, the Iran Petroleum Contract (IPC) has been postponed several times as hardline rivals of pragmatist President Hassan Rouhani resisted any deal that could end the buy-back system. 
 
Iran&#39;s top authority supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said last month that no new oil and gas contracts for international companies will be awarded without necessary reforms. 
 
&quot;Iran&#39;s priority is developing jointly owned oil and gas fields, as well as those in which we are after improved oil recovery.&quot; Zanganeh said 
 
Oil majors have said they would only go back to Iran if it made major changes to the buy-back contracts of the 1990s, which companies such as France&#39;s Total or Italy&#39;s Eni, said made them no money or even incurred losses. 
 
Under Iran&#39;s buy-back system foreign firms have been banned from booking reserves or taking equity stakes in Iranian companies. 
 
(Reuters)

A recent survey showed OPEC output was likely to reach its highest in recent history

Iran's oil minister said today the oil market was oversupplied but predicted balance between demand and supply will be restored, Iranian state television reported on Monday. "The oil market is oversupplied now but there are expectations that there will be balance between demand and supply in the market," Bijan Namdar Zanganeh was quoted as saying by Iran's state TV, without saying when that may happen. A Reuters survey on Friday showed the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' (OPEC) oil output was likely to reach its highest in recent history in July as Iraq pumps more and Nigeria manages to export additional crude despite militant attacks. Supply from OPEC rose to 33.41 million barrels per day (bpd) in July from a revised 33.31 million bpd in June, according to the survey based on shipping data and information from industry sources. Iran planning to raise crude production Since a landmark nuclear deal was reached with major powers in 2015 leading to lifting of sanctions, Iran has been planning to raise its crude production to the pre-sanctions level of four million barrels per day (bpd). To regain the production level, Iran has sweetened the terms it offers on oil development contracts to draw the interest of foreign investors. Iran needs $200 billion in foreign money to reach its goal. Zanganeh said that the first of Iran's new oil and gas investment contracts for international companies will be launched this week. "The government will approve the new contracts on Wednesday," Zanganeh told reporters, state TV reported. The launch of Iran's new oil contracts, the Iran Petroleum Contract (IPC) has been postponed several times as hardline rivals of pragmatist President Hassan Rouhani resisted any deal that could end the buy-back system. Iran's top authority supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said last month that no new oil and gas contracts for international companies will be awarded without necessary reforms. "Iran's priority is developing jointly owned oil and gas fields, as well as those in which we are after improved oil recovery." Zanganeh said Oil majors have said they would only go back to Iran if it made major changes to the buy-back contracts of the 1990s, which companies such as France's Total or Italy's Eni, said made them no money or even incurred losses. Under Iran's buy-back system foreign firms have been banned from booking reserves or taking equity stakes in Iranian companies. (Reuters)

Iran says crude market oversupplied but balance will be restored

Activity in China&#39;s manufacturing sector eased unexpectedly in July as orders cooled and flooding disrupted business, an official survey showed, adding to fears the economy will slow in coming months unless the government steps up a huge spending spree. 
 
While a similar private survey showed business picked up for the first time in 17 months, the increase was only slight and the much larger official survey on Monday suggested China&#39;s overall industrial activity remains sluggish at best. 
 
Both surveys showed persistently weak demand at home and abroad were forcing companies to continue to shed jobs, even as Beijing vows to shut more industrial overcapacity that could lead to larger layoffs. 
 
And other readings on Monday pointed to signs of cooling in both the construction industry and real estate, which were key drivers behind better-than-expected economic growth in the second quarter. 
 
The official Purchasing Managers&#39; Index (PMI) eased to 49.9 in July from the previous month&#39;s 50.0 and below the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis. 
 
Analysts polled by Reuters predicted a level of 50.0. 
 
While the July reading showed only a slight loss of momentum, Nomura&#39;s chief China economist Yang Zhao said it may be a sign that the impact of stimulus measures earlier this year may already be wearing off. 
 
That has created a dilemma for Beijing as the Communist Party seeks to deliver on official targets, even as concerns grow about the risks of prolonged, debt-fuelled stimulus. 
 
&quot;The government has realised the downward pressure is great but they&#39;ve also realised that stimulus to stimulate the economy continuously is not a good idea and they want to continue to focus on reform and deleveraging,&quot; Zhao said. 
 
Heavy flooding, particularly along the Yangtze River, contributed to July&#39;s manufacturing contraction along with slowing demand and the cutting of overcapacity in some industries, the statistics bureau said. 
 
Falling activity at smaller firms also was a key reason for July&#39;s poor figure, the statistics bureau said, but performance at larger companies improved, in a sign that the government is becoming more reliant on big state firms to generate growth. 
 
Bumpy Outlook 
 
&quot;Today&#39;s data do not bode well for GDP growth in the second half,&quot; ANZ economists Louis Lam and David Qu wrote in a note. 
 
Fiscal policy would be the key tool for boosting growth in coming months, while the central bank was expected to keep its policy settings accommodative, they added. 
 
While many analysts believe the world&#39;s second-largest economy may be slowly stabilising, conditions still look patchy. 
 
Industrial profits rose at the fastest pace in three months in June, but gains were concentrated in just a few industries including electronics, steel and oil processing. 
 
Spurred by rebounding prices and stronger construction demand, China&#39;s steel output and exports have been near record levels. But it one of the key sectors being targeted by officials for capacity cuts and tougher pollution controls. 
 
Indeed, the PMI showed factory output in July still expanded solidly, though the pace cooled to 52.1 from 52.5 in June. 
 
Total new orders hovered just inside expansionary territory at 50.4, slightly down from June, but new export orders contracted as overseas demand remains weak and the impact of Britain&#39;s vote to leave the European Union hurt sentiment. 
 
A private PMI survey by Caixin/Markit was more mixed. 
 
Its 50.6 reading was stronger than expected and the first expansion since February 2015, sparking hopes that some of the government&#39;s stimulus was starting to trickle down to smaller private firms which have been under greater stress than larger state-backed enterprises. 
 
But overall order growth was modest and export orders continued to fall. 
 
The Caixin report tends to give more weight to light industry, whereas the official survey is skewed more toward heavy industries, said Zhengsheng Zhong, director of macroeconomic analysis at CEBM Group, according to Caixin. 
 
An official survey on the services sector was more upbeat, showing growth accelerated to 53.9 in July from 53.7 in June. 
 
But it, too, contained several worrying notes, with construction services growth solid but cooling and the property services sector weakening, adding to worries that China&#39;s housing boom may have peaked. 
 
Beijing has been counting on a strong services sector to pick up the slack as it tries to shift the economy away from a dependence on heavy industry and manufacturing exports. 
 
(Reuters)

Flooding has disrupted business, adding to fears the economy will slow in coming months unless the government steps up a huge spending spree

Activity in China's manufacturing sector eased unexpectedly in July as orders cooled and flooding disrupted business, an official survey showed, adding to fears the economy will slow in coming months unless the government steps up a huge spending spree. While a similar private survey showed business picked up for the first time in 17 months, the increase was only slight and the much larger official survey on Monday suggested China's overall industrial activity remains sluggish at best. Both surveys showed persistently weak demand at home and abroad were forcing companies to continue to shed jobs, even as Beijing vows to shut more industrial overcapacity that could lead to larger layoffs. And other readings on Monday pointed to signs of cooling in both the construction industry and real estate, which were key drivers behind better-than-expected economic growth in the second quarter. The official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) eased to 49.9 in July from the previous month's 50.0 and below the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis. Analysts polled by Reuters predicted a level of 50.0. While the July reading showed only a slight loss of momentum, Nomura's chief China economist Yang Zhao said it may be a sign that the impact of stimulus measures earlier this year may already be wearing off. That has created a dilemma for Beijing as the Communist Party seeks to deliver on official targets, even as concerns grow about the risks of prolonged, debt-fuelled stimulus. "The government has realised the downward pressure is great but they've also realised that stimulus to stimulate the economy continuously is not a good idea and they want to continue to focus on reform and deleveraging," Zhao said. Heavy flooding, particularly along the Yangtze River, contributed to July's manufacturing contraction along with slowing demand and the cutting of overcapacity in some industries, the statistics bureau said. Falling activity at smaller firms also was a key reason for July's poor figure, the statistics bureau said, but performance at larger companies improved, in a sign that the government is becoming more reliant on big state firms to generate growth. Bumpy Outlook "Today's data do not bode well for GDP growth in the second half," ANZ economists Louis Lam and David Qu wrote in a note. Fiscal policy would be the key tool for boosting growth in coming months, while the central bank was expected to keep its policy settings accommodative, they added. While many analysts believe the world's second-largest economy may be slowly stabilising, conditions still look patchy. Industrial profits rose at the fastest pace in three months in June, but gains were concentrated in just a few industries including electronics, steel and oil processing. Spurred by rebounding prices and stronger construction demand, China's steel output and exports have been near record levels. But it one of the key sectors being targeted by officials for capacity cuts and tougher pollution controls. Indeed, the PMI showed factory output in July still expanded solidly, though the pace cooled to 52.1 from 52.5 in June. Total new orders hovered just inside expansionary territory at 50.4, slightly down from June, but new export orders contracted as overseas demand remains weak and the impact of Britain's vote to leave the European Union hurt sentiment. A private PMI survey by Caixin/Markit was more mixed. Its 50.6 reading was stronger than expected and the first expansion since February 2015, sparking hopes that some of the government's stimulus was starting to trickle down to smaller private firms which have been under greater stress than larger state-backed enterprises. But overall order growth was modest and export orders continued to fall. The Caixin report tends to give more weight to light industry, whereas the official survey is skewed more toward heavy industries, said Zhengsheng Zhong, director of macroeconomic analysis at CEBM Group, according to Caixin. An official survey on the services sector was more upbeat, showing growth accelerated to 53.9 in July from 53.7 in June. But it, too, contained several worrying notes, with construction services growth solid but cooling and the property services sector weakening, adding to worries that China's housing boom may have peaked. Beijing has been counting on a strong services sector to pick up the slack as it tries to shift the economy away from a dependence on heavy industry and manufacturing exports. (Reuters)

China manufacturing activity eases unexpectedly

Ride-hailing firm Didi Chuxing said on Monday that it will buy Uber&#39;s China operations, in a deal that will give Uber a stake in the company and end bruising competition between the two. 
 
The deal is valued at $35 billion, according to a source familiar with the matter who didn&#39;t want to be named before the deal was made public, combining Didi&#39;s $28 billion worth and Uber China&#39;s $7 billion valuation. Didi confirmed the agreement on its official microblog, but gave no valuation. 
 
San Francisco-based Uber Technologies will receive a 5.89 per cent stake in Didi, but will have disproportionate &quot;economic interests&quot; of 17.7 per cent with another 2.3 per cent interest going to Uber China shareholders. 
 
Uber will continue to operate independently, the Didi posting said. &quot;Cooperating with Uber will give the entire mobile travel industry a healthier order and a period of a higher level of development,&quot; it said. 
 
Uber CEO Travis Kalanick will join Didi&#39;s board, while Didi Chuxing chief Cheng Wei is joining the Uber board. 
 
In an internal message to staff viewed by Reuters, Kalanick wrote: &quot;Sustainably serving China&#39;s cities, and the riders and drivers who live in them, is only possible with profitability. This merger paves the way for our team and Didi&#39;s to partner on an enormous mission, and it frees up substantial resources for bold initiatives focused on the future of cities - from self-driving technology to the future of food and logistics.&quot; 
 
He said Uber was operating in more than 60 cities in China and serving more than 40 million rides a week. 
 
Challenging China 
 
China has been a challenging market for Uber, which has been burning through more than $1 billion a year in a price war with Didi. Uber is profitable in the United States, Canada and about 100 other cities. 
 
&quot;It makes huge sense. Uber faces an uphill task in China especially since Didi is multiple times larger by transaction value and city coverage,&quot; said Hong Kong-based Richard Ji, co-founder of All-Stars Investment Ltd, which manages about $900 million and owns Didi stock. 
 
&quot;This will lead to favourable outcomes for both companies. The biggest benefit is cost savings, they no longer have to give out subsidies to drivers and passengers. It will give pricing power as the new entity will become the dominant player. That means profitability will come sooner than later,&quot; he added. 
 
Under the deal, Didi will also invest $1 billion in Uber, which operates globally outside China, the source said, adding to a series of deals and joint ventures Didi has struck in recent years. 
 
International Ambition 
 
Analysts said Didi&#39;s latest move is a signal of its readiness to step beyond its home market. 
 
&quot;This clearly shows Didi&#39;s global ambitions and its desire to work together with Uber to tap Chinese travelers, who are going out in big numbers. There&#39;s a possibility the two could work together in other markets,&quot; All-Stars Investment&#39;s Ji said. 
 
Didi said in its posting it will look to expand its international business and enter markets like Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau, Japan, South Korea, Europe and Russia. 
 
Didi, itself created last year from a merger of two firms backed respectively by e-commerce giant Alibaba Group and social network firm Tencent, has invested $100 million in Lyft, Uber&#39;s main rival in the United States. 
 
It has also formed an alliance with Lyft, India&#39;s ride service Ola and Southeast Asia&#39;s ride-hailing startup Grab in an effort to compete with Uber&#39;s global dominance. 
 
The deal is the latest sign of a global Internet or technology company struggling to break into China&#39;s cut-throat market, where local entrepreneurs have built formidable businesses, partly helped by a supportive government. 
 
All of China&#39;s technology heavyweights will be stakeholders in Didi, as Uber shareholder Baidu will gain a stake. Apple Inc recently made a rare $1 billion investment in Didi. 
 
China last week issued guidelines that establish a long-awaited framework for the booming ride-hailing industry and remove uncertainty for firms such as Didi and Uber. 
 
(Reuters)

China has been a challenging market for Uber, which has been burning through more than $1 billion a year in a price war with Didi

Ride-hailing firm Didi Chuxing said on Monday that it will buy Uber's China operations, in a deal that will give Uber a stake in the company and end bruising competition between the two. The deal is valued at $35 billion, according to a source familiar with the matter who didn't want to be named before the deal was made public, combining Didi's $28 billion worth and Uber China's $7 billion valuation. Didi confirmed the agreement on its official microblog, but gave no valuation. San Francisco-based Uber Technologies will receive a 5.89 per cent stake in Didi, but will have disproportionate "economic interests" of 17.7 per cent with another 2.3 per cent interest going to Uber China shareholders. Uber will continue to operate independently, the Didi posting said. "Cooperating with Uber will give the entire mobile travel industry a healthier order and a period of a higher level of development," it said. Uber CEO Travis Kalanick will join Didi's board, while Didi Chuxing chief Cheng Wei is joining the Uber board. In an internal message to staff viewed by Reuters, Kalanick wrote: "Sustainably serving China's cities, and the riders and drivers who live in them, is only possible with profitability. This merger paves the way for our team and Didi's to partner on an enormous mission, and it frees up substantial resources for bold initiatives focused on the future of cities - from self-driving technology to the future of food and logistics." He said Uber was operating in more than 60 cities in China and serving more than 40 million rides a week. Challenging China China has been a challenging market for Uber, which has been burning through more than $1 billion a year in a price war with Didi. Uber is profitable in the United States, Canada and about 100 other cities. "It makes huge sense. Uber faces an uphill task in China especially since Didi is multiple times larger by transaction value and city coverage," said Hong Kong-based Richard Ji, co-founder of All-Stars Investment Ltd, which manages about $900 million and owns Didi stock. "This will lead to favourable outcomes for both companies. The biggest benefit is cost savings, they no longer have to give out subsidies to drivers and passengers. It will give pricing power as the new entity will become the dominant player. That means profitability will come sooner than later," he added. Under the deal, Didi will also invest $1 billion in Uber, which operates globally outside China, the source said, adding to a series of deals and joint ventures Didi has struck in recent years. International Ambition Analysts said Didi's latest move is a signal of its readiness to step beyond its home market. "This clearly shows Didi's global ambitions and its desire to work together with Uber to tap Chinese travelers, who are going out in big numbers. There's a possibility the two could work together in other markets," All-Stars Investment's Ji said. Didi said in its posting it will look to expand its international business and enter markets like Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau, Japan, South Korea, Europe and Russia. Didi, itself created last year from a merger of two firms backed respectively by e-commerce giant Alibaba Group and social network firm Tencent, has invested $100 million in Lyft, Uber's main rival in the United States. It has also formed an alliance with Lyft, India's ride service Ola and Southeast Asia's ride-hailing startup Grab in an effort to compete with Uber's global dominance. The deal is the latest sign of a global Internet or technology company struggling to break into China's cut-throat market, where local entrepreneurs have built formidable businesses, partly helped by a supportive government. All of China's technology heavyweights will be stakeholders in Didi, as Uber shareholder Baidu will gain a stake. Apple Inc recently made a rare $1 billion investment in Didi. China last week issued guidelines that establish a long-awaited framework for the booming ride-hailing industry and remove uncertainty for firms such as Didi and Uber. (Reuters)

Didi Chuxing to buy Uber's China business for $35 billion deal

British pharmaceutical giant&nbsp;GlaxoSmithKline and Google parent Alphabet&#39;s life sciences unit are creating a new company focused on fighting diseases by targeting electrical signals in the body, jump-starting a new field of medicine known as bioelectronics. 
 
Verily Life Sciences - known as Google&#39;s life sciences unit until last year - and Britain&#39;s biggest drugmaker will together contribute 540 million Pounds ($715.12 million) over seven years to Galvani Bioelectronics, they said on Monday. 
 
The new company will be based at GSK&#39;s Stevenage research centre north of London, with a second research hub in South San Francisco. 
 
GSK first unveiled its ambitions in bioelectronics in a paper in the journal Nature three years ago and believes it is ahead of Big Pharma rivals in developing medicines that use electrical impulses rather than traditional chemicals or proteins. 
 
For Verily, the tie-up is the latest sign that Google&#39;s desire to move beyond search engines into biology and other scientific areas is gaining traction. 
 
Verily already has several other medical projects in the works, including the development of a smart contact lens in partnership with the Swiss drugmaker Novartis that has an embedded glucose sensor to help monitor diabetes. 
 
&#39;Diabetes, arthritis and asthma could be cured by these tiny devices&#39; 
&nbsp; 
Galvani, owned 55 per cent by GSK and 45 per cent by Verily, will develop miniaturised, implantable devices that can modify electrical nerve signals. The aim is to modulate irregular or altered impulses that occur in many illnesses. 
 
GSK believes certain chronic conditions such as diabetes, arthritis and asthma could potentially be treated using these tiny devices. 
 
The idea of treating serious disease with electrical impulses is not completely new. 
 
Large-scale electrical devices have been used for years as heart pacemakers and, more recently, deep brain stimulation has been applied to treat Parkinson&#39;s disease, severe depression and certain neurological movement disorders. 
 
In future, however, the aim is to apply electrical interventions at the micro level, using tiny implants to coax insulin from cells to treat diabetes, for example, or correct muscle imbalances in lung diseases. 
 
Galvani will initially employ around 30 scientists, engineers and clinicians. 
 
(Reuters)

Company will develop miniaturised, implantable devices that can modify irregular electrical nerve signals which occur in many illnesses

British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline and Google parent Alphabet's life sciences unit are creating a new company focused on fighting diseases by targeting electrical signals in the body, jump-starting a new field of medicine known as bioelectronics. Verily Life Sciences - known as Google's life sciences unit until last year - and Britain's biggest drugmaker will together contribute 540 million Pounds ($715.12 million) over seven years to Galvani Bioelectronics, they said on Monday. The new company will be based at GSK's Stevenage research centre north of London, with a second research hub in South San Francisco. GSK first unveiled its ambitions in bioelectronics in a paper in the journal Nature three years ago and believes it is ahead of Big Pharma rivals in developing medicines that use electrical impulses rather than traditional chemicals or proteins. For Verily, the tie-up is the latest sign that Google's desire to move beyond search engines into biology and other scientific areas is gaining traction. Verily already has several other medical projects in the works, including the development of a smart contact lens in partnership with the Swiss drugmaker Novartis that has an embedded glucose sensor to help monitor diabetes. 'Diabetes, arthritis and asthma could be cured by these tiny devices' Galvani, owned 55 per cent by GSK and 45 per cent by Verily, will develop miniaturised, implantable devices that can modify electrical nerve signals. The aim is to modulate irregular or altered impulses that occur in many illnesses. GSK believes certain chronic conditions such as diabetes, arthritis and asthma could potentially be treated using these tiny devices. The idea of treating serious disease with electrical impulses is not completely new. Large-scale electrical devices have been used for years as heart pacemakers and, more recently, deep brain stimulation has been applied to treat Parkinson's disease, severe depression and certain neurological movement disorders. In future, however, the aim is to apply electrical interventions at the micro level, using tiny implants to coax insulin from cells to treat diabetes, for example, or correct muscle imbalances in lung diseases. Galvani will initially employ around 30 scientists, engineers and clinicians. (Reuters)

GSK, Alphabet to start new firm that will fight disease by targeting electrical signals in the body

Electric car maker Tesla said today it has won agreement from solar panel installer SolarCity to acquire the solar company for $2.6 billion, confirming a deal that has been criticised on Wall Street. 
 
Tesla announced the bid in late June, but it drew jeers on Wall Street, in part because of skepticism over the motives of Tesla chief executive Elon Musk, who is also chairman of SolarCity, as well as a major shareholder. 
 
Some analysts also questioned whether the deal would divert Tesla&#39;s attention from an ambitious plan to significantly expand electric-car production in the next few years. 
 
But Tesla said the buyout would enable it to achieve lower hardware costs and boost manufacturing efficiency, creating the &quot;world&#39;s only vertically integrated sustainable energy company.&nbsp;Solar and storage are at their best when they&#39;re combined,&quot; Tesla said. 
 
The deal is a major part of Musk&#39;s master plan &quot;part deux&quot; that calls for the company to offer consumers a single source of hardware to power a low-carbon lifestyle.&nbsp; 
 
Under the all-stock deal, SolarCity shareholders will receive 0.110 Tesla common shares. 
 
The agreement allows SolarCity to solicit alternative proposals for 45 days. SolarCity shares fell 5.5 per cent to $25.23 in pre-market trade, while Tesla rose 0.2 per cent to $235.25. 
 
(AFP, Reuters)

The electric car maker announced the bid in late June, but it drew jeers on Wall Street

Electric car maker Tesla said today it has won agreement from solar panel installer SolarCity to acquire the solar company for $2.6 billion, confirming a deal that has been criticised on Wall Street. Tesla announced the bid in late June, but it drew jeers on Wall Street, in part because of skepticism over the motives of Tesla chief executive Elon Musk, who is also chairman of SolarCity, as well as a major shareholder. Some analysts also questioned whether the deal would divert Tesla's attention from an ambitious plan to significantly expand electric-car production in the next few years. But Tesla said the buyout would enable it to achieve lower hardware costs and boost manufacturing efficiency, creating the "world's only vertically integrated sustainable energy company. Solar and storage are at their best when they're combined," Tesla said. The deal is a major part of Musk's master plan "part deux" that calls for the company to offer consumers a single source of hardware to power a low-carbon lifestyle. Under the all-stock deal, SolarCity shareholders will receive 0.110 Tesla common shares. The agreement allows SolarCity to solicit alternative proposals for 45 days. SolarCity shares fell 5.5 per cent to $25.23 in pre-market trade, while Tesla rose 0.2 per cent to $235.25. (AFP, Reuters)

Tesla acquires SolarCity for $2.6 billion

Indian factory activity grew at its fastest pace in four months in July as export orders jumped, but prices remained muted, giving room to the central bank to ease policy further if needed, a private survey showed today. 
 
The Nikkei/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers&#39; Index rose to 51.8 in July from June&#39;s 51.7, marking its seventh month above the 50 level that separates growth from contraction. 
 
&quot;India&#39;s manufacturing economy is reviving at the beginning of the second half of 2016 after the slowdown seen in the April-June quarter, as growth in both production and new orders continued to strengthen in July,&quot; said Pollyanna De Lima, economist at survey compiler Markit. 
 
The output and new orders sub-indexes both rose to their highest since March. 
 
Among new orders, consumer goods saw the strongest pace of expansion, while export orders rose the fastest since January, driven largely by a depreciation in the rupee. 
 
The survey also showed input costs rise at a modest and slower pace, although improving demand meant firms were able to pass on some of that burden. 
 
&quot;With inflation rates remaining lower than their respective long-run averages, it wouldn&#39;t be surprising to see the Reserve Bank of India loosening monetary policy at its August meeting in an effort to encourage investment,&quot; De Lima said. 
 
A majority of economists polled by Reuters last month predicted a rate cut would come sometime between October and December.&nbsp; 
 
That should give the government room to focus on key economic reforms such as the Goods and Services Tax bill, which promises to replace all state and federal levies with a single tax, and is currently pending in parliament. 
 
Consumer inflation in India rose to 5.77 per cent in June, above the RBI&#39;s March 2017 target of 5 per cent, although it could cool if above-average monsoon rains help put a lid on rising food prices. 
 
(Reuters)

Among new orders, consumer goods saw the strongest pace of expansion, while export orders rose the fastest since January

Indian factory activity grew at its fastest pace in four months in July as export orders jumped, but prices remained muted, giving room to the central bank to ease policy further if needed, a private survey showed today. The Nikkei/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 51.8 in July from June's 51.7, marking its seventh month above the 50 level that separates growth from contraction. "India's manufacturing economy is reviving at the beginning of the second half of 2016 after the slowdown seen in the April-June quarter, as growth in both production and new orders continued to strengthen in July," said Pollyanna De Lima, economist at survey compiler Markit. The output and new orders sub-indexes both rose to their highest since March. Among new orders, consumer goods saw the strongest pace of expansion, while export orders rose the fastest since January, driven largely by a depreciation in the rupee. The survey also showed input costs rise at a modest and slower pace, although improving demand meant firms were able to pass on some of that burden. "With inflation rates remaining lower than their respective long-run averages, it wouldn't be surprising to see the Reserve Bank of India loosening monetary policy at its August meeting in an effort to encourage investment," De Lima said. A majority of economists polled by Reuters last month predicted a rate cut would come sometime between October and December. That should give the government room to focus on key economic reforms such as the Goods and Services Tax bill, which promises to replace all state and federal levies with a single tax, and is currently pending in parliament. Consumer inflation in India rose to 5.77 per cent in June, above the RBI's March 2017 target of 5 per cent, although it could cool if above-average monsoon rains help put a lid on rising food prices. (Reuters)

Indian industry growth at four-month high in July: Survey

German sportswear firm Puma is not worried about the possible imminent retirement of Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, the highest profile athlete it sponsors, believing Bolt could be just as valuable off the track. 
 
&quot;Usain is part of the Puma family,&quot; chief executive Bjorn Gulden told reporters today. &quot;If he decides not to run, we will probably work even closer with him,&quot; he said, adding Bolt would have more time for product development and could even take on a commercial role at Puma. 
 
Gulden made the comments after Puma reported a stronger-than-expected rise in second quarter sales, helped by the European soccer championships as well as popular women&#39;s products endorsed by singer Rihanna and celebrity Kylie Jenner. 
 
Puma reported a quarterly net profit of 1.6 million Euros ($1.8 million), compared with a loss of 3.3 million a year ago. Sales rose 7 per cent to 827 million Euros, beating analysts&#39; average forecast of 819 million. Bigger rival Adidas is expected to report even stronger growth for the quarter on August 4, with a Thomson Reuters Smart Estimate suggesting a 13 per cent rise in sales. 
 
Puma shares pared earlier gains to trade up 0.3 per cent by 08:50 GMT, while owner Kering rose 2.4 per cent. Adidas, which has been hitting a series of record highs in anticipation of bumper results, was up 1.6 per cent. 
 
Gulden said it was not clear whether the six-time Olympic sprint champion, who has been sponsored by Puma since he was 15 years old, would keep running after the upcoming Rio Olympics, saying Bolt might need time off to think about it. 
 
Gulden said the Jamaican was already helping Puma hunt for a successor, adding the company has a strong scouting operating in the Caribbean, &quot;We have to admit there won&#39;t be a second Usain but there will be something else,&quot; he said. 
 
While Bolt is Puma&#39;s highest profile athlete and the Olympics a major platform for the brand, Gulden said it was hard to measure a direct impact on sales as fans do not buy replica team shirts in the same way they do for sports like soccer. 
 
Quarterly sales grew fastest in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, up a currency-adjusted 23.5 per cent, boosted by Puma&#39;s sponsorship of five national soccer teams at Euro 2016, including Italy, plus players like top scorer Antoine Griezmann of France and Portugal goal keeper Rui Patricio. 
 
While sales of replica team shirts started already last November, Gulden said he was optimistic of a boost to soccer shoe sales when youngsters fired up by Euro 2016 start back at school. 
 
Gulden said Puma&#39;s partnerships with Rihanna and Jenner were helping it win more space at key retailers, which are all putting more focus on the women&#39;s business because it is growing faster than the men&#39;s. 
 
The firm confirmed it expects sales to grow by a high single-digit percentage this year, with gross profit margin remaining flat from last year&#39;s 45.5 per cent and operating earnings between 115 million and 125 million Euros. 
 
(Reuters) 
&nbsp;

Chief executive Bjorn Gulden said that should Usain retire after Rio, he would have more time for product development

German sportswear firm Puma is not worried about the possible imminent retirement of Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, the highest profile athlete it sponsors, believing Bolt could be just as valuable off the track. "Usain is part of the Puma family," chief executive Bjorn Gulden told reporters today. "If he decides not to run, we will probably work even closer with him," he said, adding Bolt would have more time for product development and could even take on a commercial role at Puma. Gulden made the comments after Puma reported a stronger-than-expected rise in second quarter sales, helped by the European soccer championships as well as popular women's products endorsed by singer Rihanna and celebrity Kylie Jenner. Puma reported a quarterly net profit of 1.6 million Euros ($1.8 million), compared with a loss of 3.3 million a year ago. Sales rose 7 per cent to 827 million Euros, beating analysts' average forecast of 819 million. Bigger rival Adidas is expected to report even stronger growth for the quarter on August 4, with a Thomson Reuters Smart Estimate suggesting a 13 per cent rise in sales. Puma shares pared earlier gains to trade up 0.3 per cent by 08:50 GMT, while owner Kering rose 2.4 per cent. Adidas, which has been hitting a series of record highs in anticipation of bumper results, was up 1.6 per cent. Gulden said it was not clear whether the six-time Olympic sprint champion, who has been sponsored by Puma since he was 15 years old, would keep running after the upcoming Rio Olympics, saying Bolt might need time off to think about it. Gulden said the Jamaican was already helping Puma hunt for a successor, adding the company has a strong scouting operating in the Caribbean, "We have to admit there won't be a second Usain but there will be something else," he said. While Bolt is Puma's highest profile athlete and the Olympics a major platform for the brand, Gulden said it was hard to measure a direct impact on sales as fans do not buy replica team shirts in the same way they do for sports like soccer. Quarterly sales grew fastest in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, up a currency-adjusted 23.5 per cent, boosted by Puma's sponsorship of five national soccer teams at Euro 2016, including Italy, plus players like top scorer Antoine Griezmann of France and Portugal goal keeper Rui Patricio. While sales of replica team shirts started already last November, Gulden said he was optimistic of a boost to soccer shoe sales when youngsters fired up by Euro 2016 start back at school. Gulden said Puma's partnerships with Rihanna and Jenner were helping it win more space at key retailers, which are all putting more focus on the women's business because it is growing faster than the men's. The firm confirmed it expects sales to grow by a high single-digit percentage this year, with gross profit margin remaining flat from last year's 45.5 per cent and operating earnings between 115 million and 125 million Euros. (Reuters)

Puma not worried by Bolt retirement, believes he will be as valuable off track

British and Chinese securities watchdogs are discussing an agreement that will pave the way for landmark financial services projects between the countries, sources said, easing fears that Britain could be a less attractive partner for such deals after last month&#39;s vote to leave the European Union. 
 
Britain&#39;s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) are cooperating on a regulatory framework for a scheme for distributing fund products in each other&#39;s jurisdiction and a proposed London-Shanghai link for trading shares, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said. 
 
Britain, home to the EU&#39;s biggest finance sector, has been pushing in recent years to deepen its financial services ties with China, which has agreed to these and other cross-border financial services schemes as part of the UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) programme. 
 
The UK&#39;s former Chancellor George Osborne and Chinese vice premier Ma Kai said at last September&#39;s EFD meeting in Beijing that they would explore the creation of a London-Shanghai equity link and mutual funds recognition scheme, but neither government has provided further details. 
 
The formal cooperation between the FCA and CSRC signals that the projects are going ahead, with one source saying the discussions had remained &quot;very positive&quot;. 
 
Some market watchers had raised concerns that leaving the EU, which puts in doubt the UK&#39;s future access to the trading bloc and its &quot;passports&quot; to provide financial services there, could scupper such projects by limiting their potential scope and appeal. 
 
&quot;So far none of the cross-border exchange initiatives has been derailed by the risk of Britain leaving the European economic area and the associated passporting rights,&quot; said Frederic Ponzo, managing partner at financial services consultancy GreySpark Partners in London. 
 
&quot;What is clear is that the CSRC and the FCA will not stop cooperating after the vote to leave the EU,&quot; he added. 
 
A second source said the FCA and CSRC were exploring a regulatory agreement similar conceptually to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) inked by the CSRC and the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) prior to the launch of the Hong Kong-Shanghai stock trading link in November 2014. 
 
The Hong Kong-China MOU created a framework for policing the scheme, including sharing trading data and coordinating on investigations, although it was not clear if a UK-China cooperation would be as far reaching, the sources said. 
 
Details of the regulatory agreement may be announced at the next EFD meeting in autumn, though this has not been decided yet, both sources said. One said the UK and China may also unveil cooperation on so-called &quot;fintech&quot; initiatives. 
 
Both said, however, that Britain and China did not expect to announce any major new financial services initiatives at this year&#39;s EFD meeting, the date for which has not been set but will likely be held in October or November in Britain, a third source said, while both countries analyse the implications of Britain&#39;s exiting the EU. 
 
(Reuters)

UK and Beijing are exploring the creation of a London-Shanghai equity link and mutual funds recognition scheme

British and Chinese securities watchdogs are discussing an agreement that will pave the way for landmark financial services projects between the countries, sources said, easing fears that Britain could be a less attractive partner for such deals after last month's vote to leave the European Union. Britain's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) are cooperating on a regulatory framework for a scheme for distributing fund products in each other's jurisdiction and a proposed London-Shanghai link for trading shares, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said. Britain, home to the EU's biggest finance sector, has been pushing in recent years to deepen its financial services ties with China, which has agreed to these and other cross-border financial services schemes as part of the UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) programme. The UK's former Chancellor George Osborne and Chinese vice premier Ma Kai said at last September's EFD meeting in Beijing that they would explore the creation of a London-Shanghai equity link and mutual funds recognition scheme, but neither government has provided further details. The formal cooperation between the FCA and CSRC signals that the projects are going ahead, with one source saying the discussions had remained "very positive". Some market watchers had raised concerns that leaving the EU, which puts in doubt the UK's future access to the trading bloc and its "passports" to provide financial services there, could scupper such projects by limiting their potential scope and appeal. "So far none of the cross-border exchange initiatives has been derailed by the risk of Britain leaving the European economic area and the associated passporting rights," said Frederic Ponzo, managing partner at financial services consultancy GreySpark Partners in London. "What is clear is that the CSRC and the FCA will not stop cooperating after the vote to leave the EU," he added. A second source said the FCA and CSRC were exploring a regulatory agreement similar conceptually to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) inked by the CSRC and the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) prior to the launch of the Hong Kong-Shanghai stock trading link in November 2014. The Hong Kong-China MOU created a framework for policing the scheme, including sharing trading data and coordinating on investigations, although it was not clear if a UK-China cooperation would be as far reaching, the sources said. Details of the regulatory agreement may be announced at the next EFD meeting in autumn, though this has not been decided yet, both sources said. One said the UK and China may also unveil cooperation on so-called "fintech" initiatives. Both said, however, that Britain and China did not expect to announce any major new financial services initiatives at this year's EFD meeting, the date for which has not been set but will likely be held in October or November in Britain, a third source said, while both countries analyse the implications of Britain's exiting the EU. (Reuters)

UK and China regulators discuss framework for financial projects

Italy&#39;s Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena came a distant last in European Union bank stress test results released on Friday, as the world&#39;s oldest bank announced sweeping reforms in a bid to stay afloat. 
 
Under the European Banking Authority&#39;s economic shock scenario, BMPS would suffer a 14.23 per cent plunge in its core capital ratio, a measure of stability, by 2018. That would bring the ratio for BMPS, which is both the world&#39;s oldest bank and Italy&#39;s third largest, down to minus 2.23 per cent, the only one of the 51 banks tested to end up in negative territory. 
 
The announcement came shortly after the bank&#39;s board announced a rescue plan for shifting the billions of euros in bad loans that have weighed down on the embattled lender, which was founded in 1472. 
 
Some analysts fear that the bank&#39;s bad debts may trigger a banking crisis in Italy and eurozone turmoil. Shares in BMPS, which has become the eurozone banking sector&#39;s problem child, had soared on the Milan stock exchange earlier Friday, boosted by a possible new lifeline tabled by a veteran Italian banker and Swiss giant UBS. 
 
After days of discussion leading up to a 10-hour meeting on Friday, the BMPS board of directors announced a plan to offload 9.2 billion Euros ($10.3 billion) of bad loans&nbsp;or amounts owed to a creditor that are unlikely to be paid. 
 
The plan aims to &quot;reach a structural, definitive solution&quot; for bad loans, said the bank&#39;s CEO Fabrizio Viola. 
 
Even before the plan was finalised, BMPS&#39;s stock rose over 10 per cent, as it was seen as a welcome alternative to drastic restructuring measures demanded by the European Central Bank. It closed the day at just under 0.31 Euros, up 6.3 per cent. 
 
The ECB had told BMPS, Italy&#39;s third-biggest bank, this month that it must offload 9.6 billion Euros of non-performing assets within two years. The bank, working with US bank JP Morgan and Italy&#39;s Mediobanca, has submitted a plan to shift the bad loans with the help of the Atlante fund, created specifically to take on doubtful banking assets. 
 
The plan also calls for a capital increase of five billion Euros to boost capital reserves. But late Thursday, BMPS said it had received an alternative proposal from UBS and Corrado Passera, a former chief executive of the Intesa Sanpaolo bank and ex-minister for economic development. 
 
Meanwhile, the second worst performer in the EBA tests, Allied Irish Banks, would see a ratio fall of 8.47 per cent. &quot;The EBA&#39;s 2016 stress test shows the benefits of the capital strengthening done so far are reflected in the resilience of the EU banking sector to a severe shock,&quot; said Andrea Enria, chair of the London-based EBA. But he added: &quot;This is not a clean bill of health&quot;. 
 
Deutsche Bank, Germany&#39;s top lender, would fall by 5.4 per cent and Royal Bank of Scotland by 7.46 per cent. &quot;We come out of the 2016 stress test stronger than in 2014, although this year&#39;s exercise was more demanding,&quot; Deutsche Bank&#39;s chief executive John Cryan said. &quot;The stress test shows that the bank is well equipped for tough times,&quot; he said. 
 
The 51 banks tested account for 70 per cent of the sector. They showed an average core capital ratio of 13.2 per cent in 2015. Under an adverse economic scenario this would fall to 9.4 per cent by the end of 2018. 
 
The sector&nbsp;would, therefore, remain above EU legal minimum levels in case of the shock being tested, an EU economic contraction of 1.2 per cent in 2016 and 1.3 per cent in 2017 followed by 0.7 per cent growth in 2018. 
 
The EBA said the scenario remained valid following Britain&#39;s vote last month to leave the European Union since its tests were with worse growth figures that the worst-case Brexit scenario. 
 
&quot;The results of EU-wide bank stress tests show that euro area banks improved their resilience,&quot; the European Central Bank said in a statement. &quot;Overall supervisory capital expectations will remain broadly stable compared to 2015,&quot; it added. 
 
(AFP) 
&nbsp;

The bank's board has announced a rescue plan for shifting the billions of euros in bad loans that have weighed down on BMPS

Italy's Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena came a distant last in European Union bank stress test results released on Friday, as the world's oldest bank announced sweeping reforms in a bid to stay afloat. Under the European Banking Authority's economic shock scenario, BMPS would suffer a 14.23 per cent plunge in its core capital ratio, a measure of stability, by 2018. That would bring the ratio for BMPS, which is both the world's oldest bank and Italy's third largest, down to minus 2.23 per cent, the only one of the 51 banks tested to end up in negative territory. The announcement came shortly after the bank's board announced a rescue plan for shifting the billions of euros in bad loans that have weighed down on the embattled lender, which was founded in 1472. Some analysts fear that the bank's bad debts may trigger a banking crisis in Italy and eurozone turmoil. Shares in BMPS, which has become the eurozone banking sector's problem child, had soared on the Milan stock exchange earlier Friday, boosted by a possible new lifeline tabled by a veteran Italian banker and Swiss giant UBS. After days of discussion leading up to a 10-hour meeting on Friday, the BMPS board of directors announced a plan to offload 9.2 billion Euros ($10.3 billion) of bad loans or amounts owed to a creditor that are unlikely to be paid. The plan aims to "reach a structural, definitive solution" for bad loans, said the bank's CEO Fabrizio Viola. Even before the plan was finalised, BMPS's stock rose over 10 per cent, as it was seen as a welcome alternative to drastic restructuring measures demanded by the European Central Bank. It closed the day at just under 0.31 Euros, up 6.3 per cent. The ECB had told BMPS, Italy's third-biggest bank, this month that it must offload 9.6 billion Euros of non-performing assets within two years. The bank, working with US bank JP Morgan and Italy's Mediobanca, has submitted a plan to shift the bad loans with the help of the Atlante fund, created specifically to take on doubtful banking assets. The plan also calls for a capital increase of five billion Euros to boost capital reserves. But late Thursday, BMPS said it had received an alternative proposal from UBS and Corrado Passera, a former chief executive of the Intesa Sanpaolo bank and ex-minister for economic development. Meanwhile, the second worst performer in the EBA tests, Allied Irish Banks, would see a ratio fall of 8.47 per cent. "The EBA's 2016 stress test shows the benefits of the capital strengthening done so far are reflected in the resilience of the EU banking sector to a severe shock," said Andrea Enria, chair of the London-based EBA. But he added: "This is not a clean bill of health". Deutsche Bank, Germany's top lender, would fall by 5.4 per cent and Royal Bank of Scotland by 7.46 per cent. "We come out of the 2016 stress test stronger than in 2014, although this year's exercise was more demanding," Deutsche Bank's chief executive John Cryan said. "The stress test shows that the bank is well equipped for tough times," he said. The 51 banks tested account for 70 per cent of the sector. They showed an average core capital ratio of 13.2 per cent in 2015. Under an adverse economic scenario this would fall to 9.4 per cent by the end of 2018. The sector would, therefore, remain above EU legal minimum levels in case of the shock being tested, an EU economic contraction of 1.2 per cent in 2016 and 1.3 per cent in 2017 followed by 0.7 per cent growth in 2018. The EBA said the scenario remained valid following Britain's vote last month to leave the European Union since its tests were with worse growth figures that the worst-case Brexit scenario. "The results of EU-wide bank stress tests show that euro area banks improved their resilience," the European Central Bank said in a statement. "Overall supervisory capital expectations will remain broadly stable compared to 2015," it added. (AFP)

EU bank stress test: World's oldest bank, BMPS ends in negative

French growth stagnated in the second quarter of the year, statistics bureau INSEE reported today, a &quot;disappointing&quot; result that dashed hopes of a small economic expansion. 
 
France&#39;s gross domestic product (GDP) showed no change in the three months to June, according to a first estimate, after rising a revised 0.7 per cent in the first quarter. The finance ministry called the flat figure &quot;disappointing&quot;, given that INSEE had predicted 0.3 per cent growth and the Bank of France 0.2 per cent.&nbsp; 
 
The ministry said, however, it stood by its own growth forecast of 1.5 per cent for 2016. But such optimism had analysts scratching their heads. &quot;Which factors could possibly reverse the trend and give us growth drivers which would allow reaching the 1.5 per cent promised by the government?&quot; asked Philippe Waechter, chief economist at Natixis. 
 
Consumer spending stagnated, having driven growth with a 1.2-per cent increase in the three previous months, INSEE said. Food spending dropped, as did services as start-of-year spending on tickets and accommodation for the Euro 2016 football championships dropped out of the equation, INSEE said. Mathieu Plane, of economic think-tank OFCE, called the French slowdown &quot;very pronounced&quot; as well as &quot;pretty surprising&quot;.&nbsp; 
 
Given the end of austerity policies in France and accommodating monetary policy by the European Central Bank, &quot;We should be expecting growth picking up&quot;, Plane said. &quot;But that&#39;s not happening,&quot; he told AFP. &quot;That&#39;s not good.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
Investment, which fell for both companies and the public sector, will be key rekindling growth, Natixis&#39;s Waechter said, warning however that Brexit, attacks in France, and uncertainty surrounding the upcoming US election should be expected to put the brakes on capital spending. &quot;All these factors produce uncertainty and may well prompt company chiefs to delay investment,&quot; he said. 
 
Oil refinery strikes in May and June weighed on overall production, which dropped 0.2 per cent, and the construction sector also weakened. France&#39;s trade balance, however, made a positive contribution of 0.3 percentage points to GDP thanks to a sharp slowdown in imports of manufactured goods and oil products. 
 
(AFP)

The French finance ministry expected a marginal increase of 0.2-0.3 per cent, but the growth figure remained flat

French growth stagnated in the second quarter of the year, statistics bureau INSEE reported today, a "disappointing" result that dashed hopes of a small economic expansion. France's gross domestic product (GDP) showed no change in the three months to June, according to a first estimate, after rising a revised 0.7 per cent in the first quarter. The finance ministry called the flat figure "disappointing", given that INSEE had predicted 0.3 per cent growth and the Bank of France 0.2 per cent. The ministry said, however, it stood by its own growth forecast of 1.5 per cent for 2016. But such optimism had analysts scratching their heads. "Which factors could possibly reverse the trend and give us growth drivers which would allow reaching the 1.5 per cent promised by the government?" asked Philippe Waechter, chief economist at Natixis. Consumer spending stagnated, having driven growth with a 1.2-per cent increase in the three previous months, INSEE said. Food spending dropped, as did services as start-of-year spending on tickets and accommodation for the Euro 2016 football championships dropped out of the equation, INSEE said. Mathieu Plane, of economic think-tank OFCE, called the French slowdown "very pronounced" as well as "pretty surprising". Given the end of austerity policies in France and accommodating monetary policy by the European Central Bank, "We should be expecting growth picking up", Plane said. "But that's not happening," he told AFP. "That's not good." Investment, which fell for both companies and the public sector, will be key rekindling growth, Natixis's Waechter said, warning however that Brexit, attacks in France, and uncertainty surrounding the upcoming US election should be expected to put the brakes on capital spending. "All these factors produce uncertainty and may well prompt company chiefs to delay investment," he said. Oil refinery strikes in May and June weighed on overall production, which dropped 0.2 per cent, and the construction sector also weakened. France's trade balance, however, made a positive contribution of 0.3 percentage points to GDP thanks to a sharp slowdown in imports of manufactured goods and oil products. (AFP)

France reports zero growth in GDP

Jeff Bezos, the founder and chief executive of Amazon.com Inc, has become the world&#39;s third-richest person as of the market close for the first time, Forbes magazine said, passing Warren Buffett, the chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. 
 
Bezos&#39; fortune was $65.3 billion as of 4:30 pm EDT on Thursday, compared with Buffett&#39;s $64.9 billion. 
 
Microsoft Corp co-founder Bill Gates remained the world&#39;s richest person, at $77.7 billion, while Spain&#39;s Amancio Ortega, who founded the Zara clothing chain&#39;s owner Inditex SA, was second at $72.7 billion. Facebook Inc co-founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg was fifth, at $54 billion. 
 
Bezos, 52, owns close to 18 per cent of Amazon. Its stock has risen by roughly 50 per cent since early February, as the world&#39;s largest online retailer continued to upend retailing as more people took to the Web rather than the mall to shop. 
 
Amazon&#39;s share price rose further in after-hours trading, after the Seattle-based company reported better-than-expected second-quarter results. 
 
Buffett, 85, owns close to 18 per cent of Berkshire, but his donation this month of $2.86 billion of Berkshire stock to the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation and four family charities led to his drop to fourth place. He has donated more than $24.3 billion to the Gates Foundation and family charities since 2006. 
 
Berkshire is based in Omaha, Nebraska, and has roughly 90 business units including Geico car insurance, the BNSF railroad and Dairy Queen ice cream. 
 
In June, Buffett called Bezos a &quot;classic example&quot; of how a business owner could thrive, by having focused at Amazon on how to &quot;delight&quot; customers, and keep them coming back, rather than simply process their orders. 
 
(Reuters)

Microsoft Corp co-founder Bill Gates remained the world's richest person, at $77.7 billion

Jeff Bezos, the founder and chief executive of Amazon.com Inc, has become the world's third-richest person as of the market close for the first time, Forbes magazine said, passing Warren Buffett, the chairman and chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Bezos' fortune was $65.3 billion as of 4:30 pm EDT on Thursday, compared with Buffett's $64.9 billion. Microsoft Corp co-founder Bill Gates remained the world's richest person, at $77.7 billion, while Spain's Amancio Ortega, who founded the Zara clothing chain's owner Inditex SA, was second at $72.7 billion. Facebook Inc co-founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg was fifth, at $54 billion. Bezos, 52, owns close to 18 per cent of Amazon. Its stock has risen by roughly 50 per cent since early February, as the world's largest online retailer continued to upend retailing as more people took to the Web rather than the mall to shop. Amazon's share price rose further in after-hours trading, after the Seattle-based company reported better-than-expected second-quarter results. Buffett, 85, owns close to 18 per cent of Berkshire, but his donation this month of $2.86 billion of Berkshire stock to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and four family charities led to his drop to fourth place. He has donated more than $24.3 billion to the Gates Foundation and family charities since 2006. Berkshire is based in Omaha, Nebraska, and has roughly 90 business units including Geico car insurance, the BNSF railroad and Dairy Queen ice cream. In June, Buffett called Bezos a "classic example" of how a business owner could thrive, by having focused at Amazon on how to "delight" customers, and keep them coming back, rather than simply process their orders. (Reuters)

Bezos passes Buffett, becomes third-richest person: Forbes

A nationwide bank strike in India hit the public transactions like cheque clearances and cash deposits, but the vital treasury operations including a 150 billion rupee ($2.24 billion) government bond auction are unlikely to be affected, traders said. 
 
Staffing in treasuries of banks are likely to be less than normal days but officials will ensure that functions like bidding at the auction will run smoothly, three traders at state-run banks said. 
 
&quot;Treasury people have been allowed to enter the head office of the bank, so there is no problem for us in trading or bidding at the auctions,&quot; said a senior trader at a large state-run bank. 
 
However, there could be some issues in some banks settling the previous day&#39;s trades due to thin staffing. 
 
&quot;Settlement will be a problem at back office,&quot; said a senior official with State Bank of India. 
 
The RBI was also not too worried about the impact of the strike on treasury operations and settlements of banks. 
 
&quot;There shouldn&#39;t be any problem. Primary dealers are also there to underwrite if needed. But auctions should go through smoothly,&quot; the official said. 
 
An estimated 1 million bank staff are expected to strike work, opposing the government&#39;s proposal to merge State Bank of Indi&#39;s (SBI) associate banks with itself. In addition, unions are against the government&#39;s proposed move to privatise IDBI bank, formerly known as Industrial Development Bank of India. 
 
(Reuters) 
 
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An estimated 1 million bank staff are expected to strike work but treasury functions are likely to remain normal

A nationwide bank strike in India hit the public transactions like cheque clearances and cash deposits, but the vital treasury operations including a 150 billion rupee ($2.24 billion) government bond auction are unlikely to be affected, traders said. Staffing in treasuries of banks are likely to be less than normal days but officials will ensure that functions like bidding at the auction will run smoothly, three traders at state-run banks said. "Treasury people have been allowed to enter the head office of the bank, so there is no problem for us in trading or bidding at the auctions," said a senior trader at a large state-run bank. However, there could be some issues in some banks settling the previous day's trades due to thin staffing. "Settlement will be a problem at back office," said a senior official with State Bank of India. The RBI was also not too worried about the impact of the strike on treasury operations and settlements of banks. "There shouldn't be any problem. Primary dealers are also there to underwrite if needed. But auctions should go through smoothly," the official said. An estimated 1 million bank staff are expected to strike work, opposing the government's proposal to merge State Bank of Indi's (SBI) associate banks with itself. In addition, unions are against the government's proposed move to privatise IDBI bank, formerly known as Industrial Development Bank of India. (Reuters)

Nationwide bank strike hits public transactions in India

Microsoft Corp said it would cut about 2,850 more jobs over the next 12 months, taking its total planned job cuts to up to 4,700, or about 4 per cent of its workforce. 
 
The company said in May it would cut 1,850 jobs in its smartphone business, most of them in Finland. 
 
Microsoft bought Finland-based handset maker Nokia in 2014 in an ill-fated attempt to take on market leaders Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. 
 
Chief executive Satya Nadella, who took the helm just two months before the deal closed, has since focussed on restructuring the struggling phone business. 
 
Microsoft had about 114,000 full-time employees as of June 30. 
 
(Reuters)

The total planned job cuts amount to 4% of Microsoft's workforce. The company said in May it would cut 1,850 jobs in its smartphone business

Microsoft Corp said it would cut about 2,850 more jobs over the next 12 months, taking its total planned job cuts to up to 4,700, or about 4 per cent of its workforce. The company said in May it would cut 1,850 jobs in its smartphone business, most of them in Finland. Microsoft bought Finland-based handset maker Nokia in 2014 in an ill-fated attempt to take on market leaders Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. Chief executive Satya Nadella, who took the helm just two months before the deal closed, has since focussed on restructuring the struggling phone business. Microsoft had about 114,000 full-time employees as of June 30. (Reuters)

Microsoft to cut 2,850 more jobs over next year