Over a dozen women who had accused Donald Trump of sexual misconduct before he was elected president of the United States have detailed their ordeals publicly at a press conference.

The women gave accounts of having allegedly been forcibly groped and kissed by the businessman-turned-politician. 
&nbsp;&nbsp; 
The women, who first came forward during the 2016 presidential campaign demanding Trump&#39;s suspension&nbsp;from the elections, made headlines again after appearing on Megyn Kelly`s NBC show on Monday and a subsequent news conference in Manhattan.

Both times, the women called on Congress to investigate their claims.

Samantha Holvey, former Miss North Carolina 2006, who accused Trump of inspecting beauty pageant contestants, and Jessica Leeds, who accused him of grabbing her chest and attempting to move his hand up her skirt on a flight, were part of Monday&#39;s conference.

The accusers came forward with a wide range of accusations -- ranging from sexual harassment to lewd behaviour around women -- in, they said, the hope that they would be taken more seriously after a torrent of similar accusations have toppled the careers of powerful men in Hollywood and the news media. 
&nbsp;

The women called on Congress to investigate their claims

Over a dozen women who had accused Donald Trump of sexual misconduct before he was elected president of the United States have detailed their ordeals publicly at a press conference. The women gave accounts of having allegedly been forcibly groped and kissed by the businessman-turned-politician. The women, who first came forward during the 2016 presidential campaign demanding Trump's suspension from the elections, made headlines again after appearing on Megyn Kelly`s NBC show on Monday and a subsequent news conference in Manhattan. Both times, the women called on Congress to investigate their claims. Samantha Holvey, former Miss North Carolina 2006, who accused Trump of inspecting beauty pageant contestants, and Jessica Leeds, who accused him of grabbing her chest and attempting to move his hand up her skirt on a flight, were part of Monday's conference. The accusers came forward with a wide range of accusations -- ranging from sexual harassment to lewd behaviour around women -- in, they said, the hope that they would be taken more seriously after a torrent of similar accusations have toppled the careers of powerful men in Hollywood and the news media.

Over a dozen women detail sexual allegations against Donald Trump

Myanmar will delay a long-awaited reform that would open the door further to foreign investment, two officials told Reuters, a move likely to disappoint cash-starved businesses amid growing doubts over the management of the economy by the country&#39;s leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.

The postponement of the corporate reform, which would have allowed foreign companies to take up to a 35 per cent stake in Myanmar companies, will likely deal a fresh blow to investor confidence in Suu Kyi&#39;s administration.

 
Economic reform is a key goal for her to complete Myanmar&#39;s democratic transition after decades of isolation under military rule.

The delay underscores the daunting challenge facing Suu Kyi, whose promise of a reformist government that would attract foreign investment is under threat.&nbsp;Some aid to Myanmar is already being withheld and investors are concerned that the sanctions that long hobbled the country&#39;s economy will be reinstated over its treatment of its Rohingya minority.

A Myanmar companies law, which could bring much-needed foreign capital to the country after decades of mismanagement by the former military junta, was approved last week by President Htin Kyaw without a commencement date specified.&nbsp;

Aung Naing Oo, head of Myanmar&#39;s Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA), told Reuters the authorities may not be ready to implement the new rules until as late as August 2018, after bylaws were prepared and a company registry that he said was vital to enforcement was completed.

&quot;We really want to implement the law as soon as possible but there are many things for us to do&quot;, he said, declining to elaborate what bylaws were needed. He said the government would make sure implementation would be no later than August 1. &quot;We have to make sure the reform is on the right track&quot;.

Myo Min, director of DICA, said the authorities needed up to eight months to &quot;work on the guidance and operating manual&quot; for the country&#39;s first modern online registry, an initiative driven by the Asian Development Bank to electronically revamp the country&#39;s company registry to boost transparency.

The law includes a first set of modern corporate governance regulations, in some parts replacing rules made over a century ago, to bring the country&#39;s business regulatory framework closer to international standards.&nbsp;At issue is a clause that allows foreigners to take up to a 35 per cent share in local companies, which would give local businesses access to a larger capital pool and open up the door for mergers and acquisitions in sectors that are in urgent need of an injection of cash from banking to property.

The delay of the much-anticipated reform comes as Suu Kyi faces criticism that she has neglected economic reforms. Growth in both foreign investment and gross domestic product have slowed since her National League for Democracy took office last year in one of the region&#39;s poorest countries.&nbsp;Htay Aung, president of the property-to-trading conglomerate Sakura Trade Center, said putting off implementation of the law &quot;was bad for business as it will bring delays and extra costs, which result in losses&quot;.

The company is seeking $100 million in over&shy;seas financing for a condominium development in Myanmar&#39;s commercial hub, Yangon. &quot;Foreign investment will be postponed and local businessmen will be disappointed.&quot;

Missed Opportunity

Investors have been waiting for the corporate reform, which was initiated by the former military-backed government in 2014. It establishes guidelines on how a company is run and governed, removing outdated rules on share transfers and offering greater protection to shareholders.&nbsp;But Chris Hughes, a lawyer with Berwin Leighton Paisner in Yangon who was commissioned to draft the rules, said it was a &quot;missed opportunity&quot; for Suu Kyi&#39;s administration.&nbsp;

&quot;I can&#39;t see a compelling economic reason or policy behind the delay. It seems more driven by technology or administrative factors&quot;.&nbsp;William Greenlee, managing director at law firm DFDL in Yangon, said the business community would struggle with the delay.

&quot;International investors are watching and it is wins like this that create a buzz and can materialize into a profound and sustained increase in foreign investment&quot;, he said. &quot;The euphoria will quickly turn to disappointment if it&#39;s not implemented quickly&quot;. Aung Naing Oo of DICA said there would be no negative impact on investment. &quot;Investors always need to take some time before they invest&quot;, he said. &quot;So this actually is the time for investors to make preparation to invest in Myanmar&quot;.

The Asian Development Bank, which gives financial and technical assistance to Myanmar, said &quot;it is ultimately the government&#39;s decision when the law comes into force&quot; and declined to comment further.

A clause which is likely to open doors for foreign investment leading to capital pool access for firms in urgent need of cash flow is likely tobe delayed

Myanmar will delay a long-awaited reform that would open the door further to foreign investment, two officials told Reuters, a move likely to disappoint cash-starved businesses amid growing doubts over the management of the economy by the country's leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. The postponement of the corporate reform, which would have allowed foreign companies to take up to a 35 per cent stake in Myanmar companies, will likely deal a fresh blow to investor confidence in Suu Kyi's administration. Economic reform is a key goal for her to complete Myanmar's democratic transition after decades of isolation under military rule. The delay underscores the daunting challenge facing Suu Kyi, whose promise of a reformist government that would attract foreign investment is under threat. Some aid to Myanmar is already being withheld and investors are concerned that the sanctions that long hobbled the country's economy will be reinstated over its treatment of its Rohingya minority. A Myanmar companies law, which could bring much-needed foreign capital to the country after decades of mismanagement by the former military junta, was approved last week by President Htin Kyaw without a commencement date specified. Aung Naing Oo, head of Myanmar's Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA), told Reuters the authorities may not be ready to implement the new rules until as late as August 2018, after bylaws were prepared and a company registry that he said was vital to enforcement was completed. "We really want to implement the law as soon as possible but there are many things for us to do", he said, declining to elaborate what bylaws were needed. He said the government would make sure implementation would be no later than August 1. "We have to make sure the reform is on the right track". Myo Min, director of DICA, said the authorities needed up to eight months to "work on the guidance and operating manual" for the country's first modern online registry, an initiative driven by the Asian Development Bank to electronically revamp the country's company registry to boost transparency. The law includes a first set of modern corporate governance regulations, in some parts replacing rules made over a century ago, to bring the country's business regulatory framework closer to international standards. At issue is a clause that allows foreigners to take up to a 35 per cent share in local companies, which would give local businesses access to a larger capital pool and open up the door for mergers and acquisitions in sectors that are in urgent need of an injection of cash from banking to property. The delay of the much-anticipated reform comes as Suu Kyi faces criticism that she has neglected economic reforms. Growth in both foreign investment and gross domestic product have slowed since her National League for Democracy took office last year in one of the region's poorest countries. Htay Aung, president of the property-to-trading conglomerate Sakura Trade Center, said putting off implementation of the law "was bad for business as it will bring delays and extra costs, which result in losses". The company is seeking $100 million in overseas financing for a condominium development in Myanmar's commercial hub, Yangon. "Foreign investment will be postponed and local businessmen will be disappointed." Missed Opportunity Investors have been waiting for the corporate reform, which was initiated by the former military-backed government in 2014. It establishes guidelines on how a company is run and governed, removing outdated rules on share transfers and offering greater protection to shareholders. But Chris Hughes, a lawyer with Berwin Leighton Paisner in Yangon who was commissioned to draft the rules, said it was a "missed opportunity" for Suu Kyi's administration. "I can't see a compelling economic reason or policy behind the delay. It seems more driven by technology or administrative factors". William Greenlee, managing director at law firm DFDL in Yangon, said the business community would struggle with the delay. "International investors are watching and it is wins like this that create a buzz and can materialize into a profound and sustained increase in foreign investment", he said. "The euphoria will quickly turn to disappointment if it's not implemented quickly". Aung Naing Oo of DICA said there would be no negative impact on investment. "Investors always need to take some time before they invest", he said. "So this actually is the time for investors to make preparation to invest in Myanmar". The Asian Development Bank, which gives financial and technical assistance to Myanmar, said "it is ultimately the government's decision when the law comes into force" and declined to comment further.

Myanmar to delay law that would have allowed more foreign investment

The Reserve Bank on Tuesday warned the public against the risks of virtual currencies (VCs) after the recent spurt in the valuation of <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/bubble-or-not-bitcoin-triggering-terror-finance-and-fraud-25623" target="_blank">Bitcoin</a>. Rapid growth in Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) is a cause for concern, making VCs highly volatile and risk-involving tools of investment.

&quot;There is no underlying or backing of any asset for VCs. As such, their value seems to be a matter of speculation. Huge volatility in the value of VCs has been noticed in the recent past. Thus, the users are exposed to potential losses on account of such volatility in value,&quot; the central bank had said in a statement issued on December 24, 2013.&nbsp;

Simply put, Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency or currency in the digital form similar to Paytm or BHIM. A cryptocurrency is not issued by any bank, financial institution or a central authority. It isn&#39;t tangible and floats in and through digital wallets, making it an entity that is difficult to control, regulated or manipulated by international financial authorities, governments or institutions.&nbsp;

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With fin-tech on the rise around the world there is an increasing focus on cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin. But how do these currencies operate and how are they managed? (WION)
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The price of a single Bitcoin skyrocketed to up to US&nbsp;$11,000 last week in a rally which puzzled watchers. The apex bank had previously noted having studied the sector but emphatically clarified that it is uncomfortable with &quot;non-fiat&quot; cryptocurrencies. The RBI had also said that the exchange platforms on which Bitcoins are traded are set up in various jurisdictions whose legal status is also unclear.

&quot;The creation, trading or usage of VCs including Bitcoins, as a medium for payment are not authorised by any central bank or monetary authority. No regulatory approvals, registration or authorisation is stated to have been obtained by the entities concerned for carrying on such activities,&quot; the RBI had said in its first comments in September 2013.

Reportedly, the ministry of finance has been mulling over launching a cryptocurrency called &quot;Lakshmi&quot; and has set up a committee for the same.

(With inputs from PTI)

Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency or currency in the digital form similar to Paytm or BHIM

The Reserve Bank on Tuesday warned the public against the risks of virtual currencies (VCs) after the recent spurt in the valuation of Bitcoin. Rapid growth in Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) is a cause for concern, making VCs highly volatile and risk-involving tools of investment. "There is no underlying or backing of any asset for VCs. As such, their value seems to be a matter of speculation. Huge volatility in the value of VCs has been noticed in the recent past. Thus, the users are exposed to potential losses on account of such volatility in value," the central bank had said in a statement issued on December 24, 2013. Simply put, Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency or currency in the digital form similar to Paytm or BHIM. A cryptocurrency is not issued by any bank, financial institution or a central authority. It isn't tangible and floats in and through digital wallets, making it an entity that is difficult to control, regulated or manipulated by international financial authorities, governments or institutions. With fin-tech on the rise around the world there is an increasing focus on cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin. But how do these currencies operate and how are they managed? (WION) × The price of a single Bitcoin skyrocketed to up to US $11,000 last week in a rally which puzzled watchers. The apex bank had previously noted having studied the sector but emphatically clarified that it is uncomfortable with "non-fiat" cryptocurrencies. The RBI had also said that the exchange platforms on which Bitcoins are traded are set up in various jurisdictions whose legal status is also unclear. "The creation, trading or usage of VCs including Bitcoins, as a medium for payment are not authorised by any central bank or monetary authority. No regulatory approvals, registration or authorisation is stated to have been obtained by the entities concerned for carrying on such activities," the RBI had said in its first comments in September 2013. Reportedly, the ministry of finance has been mulling over launching a cryptocurrency called "Lakshmi" and has set up a committee for the same. (With inputs from PTI)

RBI warns users against the risks of virtual currencies like Bitcoin

Being an entrepreneur is tough. Being a woman entrepreneur is tougher. Not because the business issues get any more complex for them or because women are any less competent at managing teams or negotiations. It&rsquo;s because, on top of dealing with the sundry challenges, we also need to deal with, what should by right be a non-issue: Our gender, and the consequences thereof.

Here are 5 real questions that came my way as I started <a href="https://www.socialweaver.co/" rel="nofollow" target="blank">Social Weaver</a> after 12 years with P&amp;G and Pepsico. These are the questions, I wish women entrepreneurs don&rsquo;t have to face in 2018.

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<h5>Putting a gender or life stage as a descriptor for a profession or occupation does not add value and is plain ridiculous.</h5>
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How is it being a &lsquo;mumpreneur&#39;

Pretty good. How is it being a doctor or a paparchitect? Do you enjoy being a singlepreneur? Putting a gender or life stage as a descriptor for a profession or occupation does not add value and is plain ridiculous. Men or women- people start businesses because they see a problem and because they believe they could make money solving that problem.&nbsp;

How is your &lsquo;project&rsquo; coming along

There exists this popular perception that anything started by women is somehow less serious, a border-line hobby or passion project that allows them to &lsquo;spend time constructively&rsquo; while the kids are at school. However, if what you have in front of you is a duly registered legal entity, providing employment and generating revenue, it&rsquo;s time you recognise that for what it is- a company is built with sweat and toil.

You must be doing this because you have kids

Actually, women entrepreneurs who are parents are doing this in spite of having kids. In spite of burgeoning emotional and physical demands. In spite of lack of sleep. In spite of having to juggle meetings and travel with school projects and doctor visits. Why would anyone go through all this anguish unless it is a meaningful and worthwhile pursuit?

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<h5>The assumption being that women are more emotional and artistic and less likely to engage with topics related to engineering or operations.</h5>
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You won&rsquo;t understand, madam

The classic mansplaining peaks when it comes to technical topics. The assumption being that women are more emotional and artistic and less likely to engage with topics related to engineering or operations. The plain truth is that women entrepreneurs are business people and would like to engage in any topic that shows them a path to better profit, revenue or productivity. Try it.

So who&rsquo;s funding this-your husband?

It is a &nbsp; patronising and condescending question but apparently a legitimate one. Women-led companies made up 4.94 per cent of all VC deals in 2016 (<a href="http://fortune.com/2017/03/13/female-founders-venture-capital/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Fortune</a>) and as an <a href="https://hbr.org/2017/06/male-and-female-entrepreneurs-get-asked-different-questions-by-vcs-and-it-affects-how-much-funding-they-get" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">HBR</a> study showed, they actually get asked different questions by VCs. In general, men got questions about potential gains and women were asked questions about potential losses, by both male and female VCs.

There are no simple solutions to this, and the <a href="https://hbr.org/2017/09/the-comprehensive-case-for-investing-more-vc-money-in-women-led-startups" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> way forward</a> seems to be a combination of getting more women VCs; cutting out the unconscious bias (blind auditions) and evaluating the business on its merit vs the gender of the founder.

Being an entrepreneur is tough. With a change in mindset, recognition and elimination of bias and a better support system, the start-up network of investors and entrepreneurs can ensure that women-led businesses get a level playing field, with equal opportunity and equal scrutiny. It&rsquo;s just good economic sense!

(Disclaimer: The author writes here in a personal capacity).

With a change in mindset, recognition and elimination of bias and a better support system, women-led businesses will equal opportunity and scrutiny

Being an entrepreneur is tough. Being a woman entrepreneur is tougher. Not because the business issues get any more complex for them or because women are any less competent at managing teams or negotiations. It’s because, on top of dealing with the sundry challenges, we also need to deal with, what should by right be a non-issue: Our gender, and the consequences thereof. Here are 5 real questions that came my way as I started Social Weaver after 12 years with P&G and Pepsico. These are the questions, I wish women entrepreneurs don’t have to face in 2018. Putting a gender or life stage as a descriptor for a profession or occupation does not add value and is plain ridiculous. × How is it being a ‘mumpreneur' Pretty good. How is it being a doctor or a paparchitect? Do you enjoy being a singlepreneur? Putting a gender or life stage as a descriptor for a profession or occupation does not add value and is plain ridiculous. Men or women- people start businesses because they see a problem and because they believe they could make money solving that problem. How is your ‘project’ coming along There exists this popular perception that anything started by women is somehow less serious, a border-line hobby or passion project that allows them to ‘spend time constructively’ while the kids are at school. However, if what you have in front of you is a duly registered legal entity, providing employment and generating revenue, it’s time you recognise that for what it is- a company is built with sweat and toil. You must be doing this because you have kids Actually, women entrepreneurs who are parents are doing this in spite of having kids. In spite of burgeoning emotional and physical demands. In spite of lack of sleep. In spite of having to juggle meetings and travel with school projects and doctor visits. Why would anyone go through all this anguish unless it is a meaningful and worthwhile pursuit? The assumption being that women are more emotional and artistic and less likely to engage with topics related to engineering or operations. × You won’t understand, madam The classic mansplaining peaks when it comes to technical topics. The assumption being that women are more emotional and artistic and less likely to engage with topics related to engineering or operations. The plain truth is that women entrepreneurs are business people and would like to engage in any topic that shows them a path to better profit, revenue or productivity. Try it. So who’s funding this-your husband? It is a patronising and condescending question but apparently a legitimate one. Women-led companies made up 4.94 per cent of all VC deals in 2016 (Fortune) and as an HBR study showed, they actually get asked different questions by VCs. In general, men got questions about potential gains and women were asked questions about potential losses, by both male and female VCs. There are no simple solutions to this, and the way forward seems to be a combination of getting more women VCs; cutting out the unconscious bias (blind auditions) and evaluating the business on its merit vs the gender of the founder. Being an entrepreneur is tough. With a change in mindset, recognition and elimination of bias and a better support system, the start-up network of investors and entrepreneurs can ensure that women-led businesses get a level playing field, with equal opportunity and equal scrutiny. It’s just good economic sense! (Disclaimer: The author writes here in a personal capacity).

Opinion: GES succeeds if we keep business first, gender last

South Africa will use its annual budget next year to outline &quot;decisive&quot; policy to strengthen its fiscal framework, the finance ministry said on Saturday after S&amp;P Global Ratings cut its local currency debt to &quot;junk&quot; status.

S&amp;P announced the downgrade on Friday, citing a further deterioration in the country&#39;s economic outlook and public finances. Moody&#39;s, meanwhile, placed South Africa on review for a downgrade.

&quot;The 2018 Budget will outline decisive and specific policy measures to strengthen the fiscal framework,&quot; the finance ministry said in a statement, without giving more detail.

The downgrade by S&amp;P comes after finance minister Malusi Gigaba shocked markets on October 25 by flagging sharply weaker growth expectations, a wider budget deficit, and rising government debt.

The government has since appointed a judicial commission of inquiry into the causes of a 50 billion rand ($3.6 billion) revenue shortfall and to investigate a possible erosion of the nation&#39;s revenue collection capability.

Economic growth has slowed to near zero in recent years and business and consumer sentiment have plumbed multi-decade lows as political uncertainty weighs on the economy.

Infighting within the ruling African National Congress ahead of a conference in December to elect a successor to President Jacob Zuma as party chief has also sapped investor confidence.

&quot;Restoring business and consumer confidence, and catalysing inclusive growth is the top priority of government,&quot; the finance ministry said.

South African businesses have been in talks with the government more than a year to try to avoid credit rating downgrades, but when Zuma in March replaced finance minister Pravin Gordhan with Gigaba, S&amp;P and Fitch cut its ratings a notch within a week.

Nedbank, one of the nation&#39;s largest lenders, on Saturday warned that the latest move by S&amp;P will make it more expensive for government and the private sector to raise funding.

&quot;The February budget statement is South Africa&rsquo;s last chance to demonstrate the structural reforms and fiscal consolidation that are required to improve economic growth prospects and prevent Moody&rsquo;s from also downgrading the local currency debt to below investment grade,&quot; Chief Executive Mike Brown said.

A Moody&#39;s downgrade would trigger the exit of South Africa&#39;s local currency debt from important global bond indices, Brown added.

'Restoring business and consumer confidence, and catalysing inclusive growth is the top priority of government,' said Malusi Gigaba, finance minister

South Africa will use its annual budget next year to outline "decisive" policy to strengthen its fiscal framework, the finance ministry said on Saturday after S&P Global Ratings cut its local currency debt to "junk" status. S&P announced the downgrade on Friday, citing a further deterioration in the country's economic outlook and public finances. Moody's, meanwhile, placed South Africa on review for a downgrade. "The 2018 Budget will outline decisive and specific policy measures to strengthen the fiscal framework," the finance ministry said in a statement, without giving more detail. The downgrade by S&P comes after finance minister Malusi Gigaba shocked markets on October 25 by flagging sharply weaker growth expectations, a wider budget deficit, and rising government debt. The government has since appointed a judicial commission of inquiry into the causes of a 50 billion rand ($3.6 billion) revenue shortfall and to investigate a possible erosion of the nation's revenue collection capability. Economic growth has slowed to near zero in recent years and business and consumer sentiment have plumbed multi-decade lows as political uncertainty weighs on the economy. Infighting within the ruling African National Congress ahead of a conference in December to elect a successor to President Jacob Zuma as party chief has also sapped investor confidence. "Restoring business and consumer confidence, and catalysing inclusive growth is the top priority of government," the finance ministry said. South African businesses have been in talks with the government more than a year to try to avoid credit rating downgrades, but when Zuma in March replaced finance minister Pravin Gordhan with Gigaba, S&P and Fitch cut its ratings a notch within a week. Nedbank, one of the nation's largest lenders, on Saturday warned that the latest move by S&P will make it more expensive for government and the private sector to raise funding. "The February budget statement is South Africa’s last chance to demonstrate the structural reforms and fiscal consolidation that are required to improve economic growth prospects and prevent Moody’s from also downgrading the local currency debt to below investment grade," Chief Executive Mike Brown said. A Moody's downgrade would trigger the exit of South Africa's local currency debt from important global bond indices, Brown added.

South Africa to outline 'decisive' policy in 2018 after debt rating cut

With VR taking a major role in the education sector, we found the ways in which VR is immensely helpful for better learning.

Virtual Reality has matured a lot since it’s inception and it seems like it has no intentions of stopping in further development. And people have realized the impact it is having, so much so that people have started taking advantage of it in the education sector. With the implementation of mobiles, tablets and various learning applications that have been made available to students these days, the latest is VR in immersive learning, and it changing the education sector for the better: Inspires Learning Virtual Reality can help merge the line of difference between education and technology. It can help students explore and learn. VR brings interactiveness in education to a whole new level, which the old methods could not. Role of Virtual Reality in Education (Others) × VR with the help of educational but fun games will help students retain their imagination. It also offers students to work together thereby promoting team-building. An Interactive Teaching-Learning Environment With the help of VR, teachers can take lectures from home or other environments. It gives them an opportunity to show the students various artifacts from around the world which they otherwise may not be able to visit and see. Some of the schools in rural areas have started to utilize VR technology, to provide their students with top class education even when they are not able to bring in teachers with high qualifications to teach. For instance, a school can get pre-recorded lessons from highly qualified teachers. The interactive session allowed the teacher to come live from her computer to answer the questions that the students were curious about. Education is more Engaging VR helps the educators to add a more interactive way of teaching in their establishments. This will help them make subjects which the students feel are difficult easy for them with the help of subject based games. Role of Virtual Reality in Education (Others) × In the recent times, companies like Google have made huge efforts to push VR in education by getting engaging educational games and lessons provided in their databases. Helps Students Perform better There are many benefits of VR to Educational Sector, one of which is that the students will be more attentive and engaged while playing educational games, getting virtual lectures, etc. This will aid them in retaining what they have learned at a greater level, which will inturn help them perform better. Conclusion With the implementation of VR in education, there are chances of students getting better grades and get equal level of knowledge from highly qualified educators. This will also help improve kids attention spans and also help them develop their imagination. Written By - Karanveer Singh Arora

Role of Virtual Reality in Education

India features among top six for global executives when it comes to overall growth prospects over the next 12 months, but enthusiasm for investing in the country has dropped from three years ago, finds out a survey.

According to the annual global CEO survey of consultancy giant PwC, released at the WEF annual meeting, the top two markets from the growth point of view are the US, as voted by 43 per cent of respondents, followed by China which received&nbsp;33 per cent votes.

Others in the pecking order are Germany (17 per cent), UK (15 per cent), Japan (8 per cent) and India (7 per cent).

Last year, India was among the top five most promising markets globally.

&quot;Over time, CEOs have become less enthusiastic about India perhaps because structural reforms have been slow to come (and there have been recent short-term difficulties with its rupee conversion programme),&quot; the survey noted.

It further said &quot;nevertheless, it still stands out for its robust growth and monetary and fiscal reforms&quot;.

As per the findings, the changeability of markets, exacerbated by currency volatility, has caused CEOs to turn to a greater mix of countries. This year&#39;s study shows that the US, Germany and the UK have become bigger priorities while willingness to invest in Brazil, India, Russia and Argentina has lessened from three years ago.

CEOs around the world feel they have plenty to worry about in the year ahead. Their confidence in companies&#39; growth prospects and the&nbsp;outlook for the global economy are back on the rise.&nbsp;Globally, 38 per cent of CEOs are very confident about their companies&#39; growth prospects in the next 12 months while 29 per cent believe that global economic growth will pick up in 2017.

While business leaders are more positive in their outlook, their levels of concern about economic uncertainty, over-regulation and availability of key skills remain very high.&nbsp;Also, worries about protectionism are growing, with 59 per cent of CEOs concerned about protectionism, whereas the figure stands at 64 per cent in the United States and Mexico.

&quot;Despite a tumultuous 2016, CEO confidence is moving back up - albeit slowly and still a long way from the levels we saw back in 2007. But there are signs of optimism right across the globe, including in the UK and US, where despite predictions of a Trump slump and a Brexit exit, CEOs&#39; confidence in their company&#39;s growth are up from 2016,&quot; said Bob Moritz, Global Chairman, PwC.

A significant 71 per cent of India&#39;s CEOs are very confident of their companies&#39; growth in the next 12 months, a 7-point increase over last year&#39;s and 33 points above this year&#39;s global average (38 per cent).

&quot;Confidence in the Indian economy is reflected in the optimism of Indian CEOs in their company&#39;s growth. It re-instates India&#39;s growth story, backed by the government&#39;s reform agenda. Availability of key skills and disruption caused by technology continues to be a concern,&quot; PwC India Chairman Shyamal Mukherjee said.&nbsp;

(PTI)&nbsp;

According to a survey, the top two markets from the growth point of view are the US followed by China

India features among top six for global executives when it comes to overall growth prospects over the next 12 months, but enthusiasm for investing in the country has dropped from three years ago, finds out a survey. According to the annual global CEO survey of consultancy giant PwC, released at the WEF annual meeting, the top two markets from the growth point of view are the US, as voted by 43 per cent of respondents, followed by China which received 33 per cent votes. Others in the pecking order are Germany (17 per cent), UK (15 per cent), Japan (8 per cent) and India (7 per cent). Last year, India was among the top five most promising markets globally. "Over time, CEOs have become less enthusiastic about India perhaps because structural reforms have been slow to come (and there have been recent short-term difficulties with its rupee conversion programme)," the survey noted. It further said "nevertheless, it still stands out for its robust growth and monetary and fiscal reforms". As per the findings, the changeability of markets, exacerbated by currency volatility, has caused CEOs to turn to a greater mix of countries. This year's study shows that the US, Germany and the UK have become bigger priorities while willingness to invest in Brazil, India, Russia and Argentina has lessened from three years ago. CEOs around the world feel they have plenty to worry about in the year ahead. Their confidence in companies' growth prospects and the outlook for the global economy are back on the rise. Globally, 38 per cent of CEOs are very confident about their companies' growth prospects in the next 12 months while 29 per cent believe that global economic growth will pick up in 2017. While business leaders are more positive in their outlook, their levels of concern about economic uncertainty, over-regulation and availability of key skills remain very high. Also, worries about protectionism are growing, with 59 per cent of CEOs concerned about protectionism, whereas the figure stands at 64 per cent in the United States and Mexico. "Despite a tumultuous 2016, CEO confidence is moving back up - albeit slowly and still a long way from the levels we saw back in 2007. But there are signs of optimism right across the globe, including in the UK and US, where despite predictions of a Trump slump and a Brexit exit, CEOs' confidence in their company's growth are up from 2016," said Bob Moritz, Global Chairman, PwC. A significant 71 per cent of India's CEOs are very confident of their companies' growth in the next 12 months, a 7-point increase over last year's and 33 points above this year's global average (38 per cent). "Confidence in the Indian economy is reflected in the optimism of Indian CEOs in their company's growth. It re-instates India's growth story, backed by the government's reform agenda. Availability of key skills and disruption caused by technology continues to be a concern," PwC India Chairman Shyamal Mukherjee said. (PTI)

Investment in India has dropped in the past three years: Survey

European air travel giant Lufthansa has been battling its own pilots over pay and conditions for more than two years.

Tuesday saw a renewed walkout of pilots, bringing the number of passengers affected by strikes over the past week to more than half a million. 
&nbsp; 
What do the pilots want?

Lufthansa&#39;s 5,400 pilots have been called out on strike some 15 times since spring 2014 by union Vereinigung Cockpit.

The dispute was sparked by disagreements over manager&#39;s plans to change costly early retirement provisions for the pilots as they looked for savings in the face of stiff competition from low-cost rivals like Ryanair and Easyjet as well as higher-end competitors from the Gulf.

Cockpit is also concerned about the board&#39;s plans to reform pensions and hire more pilots on lower pay as Lufthansa builds its own low-cost subsidiary Eurowings.

The most recent series of strikes launched last Wednesday is the latest skirmish in the battle over salaries.

Cockpit says pilots have had no salary increase over the past five years, even as Lufthansa has been making billions in profits.

The union wants a pay rise of 3.66 percent per year. But manager&#39;s position remains far removed from Cockpit`s, with the last offer from the board a bonus equivalent to almost two months salary plus a 4.4-percent pay increase spread over two years -- roundly rejected by the pilots.

Lufthansa says that its pilots are among the best-paid in the sector, with co-pilots at the start of their career earning 6,500 euros ($6,890) gross per month, while a late-career captain earns more than 22,000 euros.

Why is the conflict dragging on?&nbsp;

Pilots are not the only group to have hit Lufthansa with work stoppages in recent years.

November 2015 saw the group face its longest-ever strike as cabin crew staged a seven-day walkout at the urging of their own union -- forcing the cancellation of more than 4,600 flights.

Lufthansa has managed to strike deals in several labour disputes, notably with cabin crew and ground crew on its flagship airline.

But other battles are still to be fought -- as a walkout by some cabin crew at Eurowings showed just last week.

An end to the trial of strength with Cockpit appears distant for now.

&quot;The damage is already so great that it`s increasingly difficult for the two sides to reach a compromise without losing face,&quot; said Guido Hoymann, an air travel sector analyst at Metzler bank.

&quot;They should bring in a mediator, the conflict could run on for a long time yet,&quot; he went on.

Cockpit rebuffed Lufthansa`s latest offer of a mediation process, while the group has failed in its attempts to prevent walkouts with legal action.

What does this mean for Lufthansa`s business?&nbsp;

Repeated strikes at Lufthansa have caused &quot;long-term&quot; damage to the group`s reputation, analyst Hoymann said.

&quot;Lufthansa`s reliability has been called into question,&quot; he said, adding that the group could lose customers -- especially from its sizeable business segment.

In purely financial terms, the impact has so far been smaller.

One strike day costs the group between 10 and 15 million euros, Lufthansa says.

In 2015, the group lost around 100 million euros to strikes -- a large figure but one that remained dwarfed by its record profit of 1.7 billion euros.

(IANS) 
&nbsp;

Lufthansa has been battling its own pilots over pay and conditions for more than two years.

European air travel giant Lufthansa has been battling its own pilots over pay and conditions for more than two years. Tuesday saw a renewed walkout of pilots, bringing the number of passengers affected by strikes over the past week to more than half a million. What do the pilots want? Lufthansa's 5,400 pilots have been called out on strike some 15 times since spring 2014 by union Vereinigung Cockpit. The dispute was sparked by disagreements over manager's plans to change costly early retirement provisions for the pilots as they looked for savings in the face of stiff competition from low-cost rivals like Ryanair and Easyjet as well as higher-end competitors from the Gulf. Cockpit is also concerned about the board's plans to reform pensions and hire more pilots on lower pay as Lufthansa builds its own low-cost subsidiary Eurowings. The most recent series of strikes launched last Wednesday is the latest skirmish in the battle over salaries. Cockpit says pilots have had no salary increase over the past five years, even as Lufthansa has been making billions in profits. The union wants a pay rise of 3.66 percent per year. But manager's position remains far removed from Cockpit`s, with the last offer from the board a bonus equivalent to almost two months salary plus a 4.4-percent pay increase spread over two years -- roundly rejected by the pilots. Lufthansa says that its pilots are among the best-paid in the sector, with co-pilots at the start of their career earning 6,500 euros ($6,890) gross per month, while a late-career captain earns more than 22,000 euros. Why is the conflict dragging on? Pilots are not the only group to have hit Lufthansa with work stoppages in recent years. November 2015 saw the group face its longest-ever strike as cabin crew staged a seven-day walkout at the urging of their own union -- forcing the cancellation of more than 4,600 flights. Lufthansa has managed to strike deals in several labour disputes, notably with cabin crew and ground crew on its flagship airline. But other battles are still to be fought -- as a walkout by some cabin crew at Eurowings showed just last week. An end to the trial of strength with Cockpit appears distant for now. "The damage is already so great that it`s increasingly difficult for the two sides to reach a compromise without losing face," said Guido Hoymann, an air travel sector analyst at Metzler bank. "They should bring in a mediator, the conflict could run on for a long time yet," he went on. Cockpit rebuffed Lufthansa`s latest offer of a mediation process, while the group has failed in its attempts to prevent walkouts with legal action. What does this mean for Lufthansa`s business? Repeated strikes at Lufthansa have caused "long-term" damage to the group`s reputation, analyst Hoymann said. "Lufthansa`s reliability has been called into question," he said, adding that the group could lose customers -- especially from its sizeable business segment. In purely financial terms, the impact has so far been smaller. One strike day costs the group between 10 and 15 million euros, Lufthansa says. In 2015, the group lost around 100 million euros to strikes -- a large figure but one that remained dwarfed by its record profit of 1.7 billion euros. (IANS)

Some 1,700 flights cancelled as Lufthansa pilots strike

Oil edged higher to near $42 a barrel in Asia today, but analysts said the increase was unlikely to last as the commodity remains under pressure by a supply glut and a strong dollar. 
 
Prices have been fluctuating since entering a bear market last week, falling more than 20 per cent and closing below $40 a barrel for the first time since April. 
 
Initially recovering as US commercial crude inventory data showed an unexpected draw in gasoline, prices tumbled again later in the week after robust hiring numbers from the US government pushed the dollar higher.&nbsp;A stronger greenback typically makes dollar-priced oil more expensive for consumers using other currencies, denting demand. 
 
Weekly rig count data released Friday also showed that US drillers added seven rigs that week, up for the sixth straight week and indicating higher production activity amid an oversaturated market. 
 
&quot;Modest short covering has probably given oil some boost,&quot; said IG Markets analyst Bernard Aw, adding however, that the bounce was unlikely to last.&nbsp;&quot;Rising US rig additions, low probability of The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to revive... freeze output talks, and weakening demand present a great barrier for oil prices to move higher,&quot; he told AFP. 
 
At around 0630 GMT, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in September was up 28 cents to $42.08 and Brent crude for October gained 29 cents to $44.56 a barrel. 
 
&quot;Upbeat jobs data from the US showed that the jobs growth was much higher in July than estimates, and helped to push the US Dollar (higher), applying pressure on crude prices,&quot; said EY Services oil and gas analyst Sanjeev Gupta. 
 
(AFP)&nbsp;

Analysts said increase was unlikely to last, as the commodity remains under pressure by a supply glut

Oil edged higher to near $42 a barrel in Asia today, but analysts said the increase was unlikely to last as the commodity remains under pressure by a supply glut and a strong dollar. Prices have been fluctuating since entering a bear market last week, falling more than 20 per cent and closing below $40 a barrel for the first time since April. Initially recovering as US commercial crude inventory data showed an unexpected draw in gasoline, prices tumbled again later in the week after robust hiring numbers from the US government pushed the dollar higher. A stronger greenback typically makes dollar-priced oil more expensive for consumers using other currencies, denting demand. Weekly rig count data released Friday also showed that US drillers added seven rigs that week, up for the sixth straight week and indicating higher production activity amid an oversaturated market. "Modest short covering has probably given oil some boost," said IG Markets analyst Bernard Aw, adding however, that the bounce was unlikely to last. "Rising US rig additions, low probability of The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to revive... freeze output talks, and weakening demand present a great barrier for oil prices to move higher," he told AFP. At around 0630 GMT, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in September was up 28 cents to $42.08 and Brent crude for October gained 29 cents to $44.56 a barrel. "Upbeat jobs data from the US showed that the jobs growth was much higher in July than estimates, and helped to push the US Dollar (higher), applying pressure on crude prices," said EY Services oil and gas analyst Sanjeev Gupta. (AFP)

Oil prices rise in Asia

Volkswagen has been slapped with a five-million-Euro ($5.5 million) fine in Italy over the massive engine-fixing scandal, the Italian competition authority said on Monday. 
 
The German carmaker was handed the fine for &quot;improper business practices&quot; after it installed emissions-cheating software in 11 million diesel engines worldwide in a scandal which broke last year, dubbed &quot;dieselgate&quot;. 
 
The antitrust watchdog said the fine related to the marketing in Italy since 2009 of vehicles that tricked pollution tests. 
 
Volkswagen, which owns 12 brands in all, from VW to Audi, Porsche, Seat, and Lamborghini, admitted in September that it had installed software in the vehicles that tricked US emissions tests into showing the cars met environmental standards. 
 
The device switched off after testing, enabling the vehicles to spew up to 40 times the permitted amounts of nitrogen oxides. The still incalculable costs of the affair, including regulatory fines and legal costs, pushed VW into the red for the first time in more than 20 years last year when it booked a loss of 1.6 billion Euros. 
 
In June it agreed to pay out $14.7 billion in a settlement with US authorities and car owners.&nbsp; 
 
(AFP) 
 
Keywords- VW scandal, VW engine-fixing scandal, Volkswagen emissions&nbsp;scandal, VW fined by Italy watchdog, VW fined $5.5 million, Italy watchdog fines VW with 5 million Euros

The fine was for the emissions-cheating software the German carmaker had installed in 11 million of its diesel cars worldwide

Volkswagen has been slapped with a five-million-Euro ($5.5 million) fine in Italy over the massive engine-fixing scandal, the Italian competition authority said on Monday. The German carmaker was handed the fine for "improper business practices" after it installed emissions-cheating software in 11 million diesel engines worldwide in a scandal which broke last year, dubbed "dieselgate". The antitrust watchdog said the fine related to the marketing in Italy since 2009 of vehicles that tricked pollution tests. Volkswagen, which owns 12 brands in all, from VW to Audi, Porsche, Seat, and Lamborghini, admitted in September that it had installed software in the vehicles that tricked US emissions tests into showing the cars met environmental standards. The device switched off after testing, enabling the vehicles to spew up to 40 times the permitted amounts of nitrogen oxides. The still incalculable costs of the affair, including regulatory fines and legal costs, pushed VW into the red for the first time in more than 20 years last year when it booked a loss of 1.6 billion Euros. In June it agreed to pay out $14.7 billion in a settlement with US authorities and car owners. (AFP) Keywords- VW scandal, VW engine-fixing scandal, Volkswagen emissions scandal, VW fined by Italy watchdog, VW fined $5.5 million, Italy watchdog fines VW with 5 million Euros

Volkswagen fined $5.5 million in Italy

Royal Bank of Scotland reported wider first-half losses, 1.3 billion Pounds of new litigation charges and axed plans to turn its Williams &amp; Glyn business into a stand-alone bank today as it braces for post-Brexit shocks to the UK economy. 
 
RBS, which has not made an annual profit since 2007, booked 2.05 billion Pounds ($2.69 billion) of losses for the first half of 2016, against a 179 million Pound loss a year ago. 
 
Chief Executive Ross McEwan is battling to complete a restructuring of the taxpayer-backed bank, which includes asset sales, job cuts and multi-billion dollar charges to settle litigation and pay regulatory fines for past misconduct. 
 
Those issues have complicated RBS&#39;s task of finding profitable business in a low interest rate economy with feeble credit demand, which now faces pressures from Britain&#39;s vote to leave the European Union and a possible new referendum on Scottish independence. 
 
&quot;There is more work to be done but we are making progress,&quot; McEwan said, adding that RBS is preparing to detail a new cost-cutting plan at its full-year results in early 2017 that will involve an unspecified number of job cuts and branch closures. 
 
The CEO said RBS had not yet decided whether to pass on the Bank of England&#39;s 25 basis point base rate cut to standard variable rate borrowers, a key part of the central bank&#39;s plans unveiled on Thursday to cushion the economy against Brexit. 
 
McEwan said RBS would look at the BoE&#39;s new Term Funding Scheme aimed at helping banks to boost lending to households and businesses. 
 
RBS shares, which have fallen almost 40 per cent so far this year, were 6.8 per cent lower by 1250 GMT.&nbsp;RBS said it no longer planned to build an independent technology platform for its Williams &amp; Glyn business, citing complexity and the lower interest rate environment. 
 
The bank had originally wanted to turn the small business lender into a &#39;bank within a bank&#39; so it could achieve a clean break when the business was sold under the terms of its 45.5 billion-Pound state bailout in the global financial crisis. 
 
But RBS said the risks and costs inherent in its plan were no longer &quot;prudent&quot; and it would look at other ways to achieve the carve out, which has already cost it 1.5 billion Pounds. 
 
Spain&#39;s Banco Santander has made a formal offer to take over Royal Bank of Scotland&#39;s Williams &amp; Glyn business, two sources familiar with the matter said earlier this week. 
 
Restructuring 
 
Edinburgh-based RBS&#39;s total income fell by almost a fifth to 6.06 billion Pounds in the first half, while the bigger losses were partly driven by a 630 million Pound charge for corporate restructuring, some 345 million Pounds of which related to Williams &amp; Glyn. 
 
&quot;These results show how much work RBS still has on its plate, progress has been made, but it has been slow,&quot; Laith Khalaf, a senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown told Reuters. 
 
&quot;If you went back to the financial crisis very few people would have predicted that it would have taken so long to heal the wounds. Whilst RBS is relatively well capitalised, the issue is profitability rather than solvency,&quot; he said. 
 
Impairments rose by more than a quarter to 409 million Pounds and the bank warned a target to reduce its cost to income ratio below 55 per cent by 2019 would be &quot;more challenging&quot;. 
 
RBS said restructuring costs were expected to remain high in 2016, totalling more than 1 billion Pounds. 
 
The bank also set aside an additional 450 million Pounds to compensate customers mis-sold payment protection insurance and made a 180 million Euros ($201 million) provision for redress in its Irish tracker mortgages business. 
 
These came on top of 707 million Pounds of new litigation charges, which analysts at Bernstein said were largely down to a long-running dispute with investors over its 2008 rights issue.&nbsp;Despite the provision, McEwan said RBS had yet to make any deal with claimants, and he still expected the matter to go to court in 2017. 
 
Meanwhile, the bank continues to wait for what analysts broadly expect to be the biggest regulatory penalty in its history for its role in mis-selling US mortgage bonds in the run up to the financial crisis. 
 
(Reuters)

RBS, which has not made an annual profit since 2007, booked 2.05 billion Pounds ($2.69 billion) of losses for the first half of 2016

Royal Bank of Scotland reported wider first-half losses, 1.3 billion Pounds of new litigation charges and axed plans to turn its Williams & Glyn business into a stand-alone bank today as it braces for post-Brexit shocks to the UK economy. RBS, which has not made an annual profit since 2007, booked 2.05 billion Pounds ($2.69 billion) of losses for the first half of 2016, against a 179 million Pound loss a year ago. Chief Executive Ross McEwan is battling to complete a restructuring of the taxpayer-backed bank, which includes asset sales, job cuts and multi-billion dollar charges to settle litigation and pay regulatory fines for past misconduct. Those issues have complicated RBS's task of finding profitable business in a low interest rate economy with feeble credit demand, which now faces pressures from Britain's vote to leave the European Union and a possible new referendum on Scottish independence. "There is more work to be done but we are making progress," McEwan said, adding that RBS is preparing to detail a new cost-cutting plan at its full-year results in early 2017 that will involve an unspecified number of job cuts and branch closures. The CEO said RBS had not yet decided whether to pass on the Bank of England's 25 basis point base rate cut to standard variable rate borrowers, a key part of the central bank's plans unveiled on Thursday to cushion the economy against Brexit. McEwan said RBS would look at the BoE's new Term Funding Scheme aimed at helping banks to boost lending to households and businesses. RBS shares, which have fallen almost 40 per cent so far this year, were 6.8 per cent lower by 1250 GMT. RBS said it no longer planned to build an independent technology platform for its Williams & Glyn business, citing complexity and the lower interest rate environment. The bank had originally wanted to turn the small business lender into a 'bank within a bank' so it could achieve a clean break when the business was sold under the terms of its 45.5 billion-Pound state bailout in the global financial crisis. But RBS said the risks and costs inherent in its plan were no longer "prudent" and it would look at other ways to achieve the carve out, which has already cost it 1.5 billion Pounds. Spain's Banco Santander has made a formal offer to take over Royal Bank of Scotland's Williams & Glyn business, two sources familiar with the matter said earlier this week. Restructuring Edinburgh-based RBS's total income fell by almost a fifth to 6.06 billion Pounds in the first half, while the bigger losses were partly driven by a 630 million Pound charge for corporate restructuring, some 345 million Pounds of which related to Williams & Glyn. "These results show how much work RBS still has on its plate, progress has been made, but it has been slow," Laith Khalaf, a senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown told Reuters. "If you went back to the financial crisis very few people would have predicted that it would have taken so long to heal the wounds. Whilst RBS is relatively well capitalised, the issue is profitability rather than solvency," he said. Impairments rose by more than a quarter to 409 million Pounds and the bank warned a target to reduce its cost to income ratio below 55 per cent by 2019 would be "more challenging". RBS said restructuring costs were expected to remain high in 2016, totalling more than 1 billion Pounds. The bank also set aside an additional 450 million Pounds to compensate customers mis-sold payment protection insurance and made a 180 million Euros ($201 million) provision for redress in its Irish tracker mortgages business. These came on top of 707 million Pounds of new litigation charges, which analysts at Bernstein said were largely down to a long-running dispute with investors over its 2008 rights issue. Despite the provision, McEwan said RBS had yet to make any deal with claimants, and he still expected the matter to go to court in 2017. Meanwhile, the bank continues to wait for what analysts broadly expect to be the biggest regulatory penalty in its history for its role in mis-selling US mortgage bonds in the run up to the financial crisis. (Reuters)

Royal Banks of Scotland losses and costs mount as Brexit fallout looms large

Powerful business lobbying bodies on Thursday sued the Obama administration, seeking to strike down recent rules intended to prevent corporate tax avoidance through so-called inversions. 
 
In a rule adopted in April, the US Treasury sought to prevent American companies from moving overseas to reduce their tax burdens, often through reverse mergers. The pharmaceutical giant Pfizer that month abandoned plans for a merger with Botox producer Allergan, based in Ireland, as a result. 
 
In a complaint filed in US District Court in Texas, the US Chamber of Commerce and the Texas Association of Business accused the Obama administration of attempting to re-write US tax laws while bypassing the legislature, which is controlled by Republicans and hostile to the measure. If the rule is allowed to stand, &quot;it is not just mergers that will suffer, it is the rule of law, and the certainty and stability required for effective commerce,&quot; the complaint said. 
 
In a statement, US Chamber President, Tom Donahue, said the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service had &quot;ignored the clear limits of a statute, and simply rewrote the law unilaterally.&quot; 
 
The Treasury Department said on Thursday it had acted within its powers to address what lawmakers had failed to. 
 
&quot;In the absence of congressional action, Treasury proposed regulations to eliminate tax benefits for companies that acquire multiple US firms over a short period of time,&quot; the department said. 
 
&quot;This action was based on strong policy interests and clear legal authority. We will continue to defend these regulations, which will help slow the erosion of our corporate tax base.&quot; 
 
According to the rule adopted in April, companies formed in tax inversions can be subject to higher taxes if the newly formed company does less than 25 per cent of its business in the foreign country where it is incorporated, or if the shareholders in the old American parent company end up owning at least 60 per cent of the new foreign parent. 
 
(AFP)

The US Treasury, in a rule adopted in April, has sought to prevent American companies from moving overseas to reduce tax burden

Powerful business lobbying bodies on Thursday sued the Obama administration, seeking to strike down recent rules intended to prevent corporate tax avoidance through so-called inversions. In a rule adopted in April, the US Treasury sought to prevent American companies from moving overseas to reduce their tax burdens, often through reverse mergers. The pharmaceutical giant Pfizer that month abandoned plans for a merger with Botox producer Allergan, based in Ireland, as a result. In a complaint filed in US District Court in Texas, the US Chamber of Commerce and the Texas Association of Business accused the Obama administration of attempting to re-write US tax laws while bypassing the legislature, which is controlled by Republicans and hostile to the measure. If the rule is allowed to stand, "it is not just mergers that will suffer, it is the rule of law, and the certainty and stability required for effective commerce," the complaint said. In a statement, US Chamber President, Tom Donahue, said the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service had "ignored the clear limits of a statute, and simply rewrote the law unilaterally." The Treasury Department said on Thursday it had acted within its powers to address what lawmakers had failed to. "In the absence of congressional action, Treasury proposed regulations to eliminate tax benefits for companies that acquire multiple US firms over a short period of time," the department said. "This action was based on strong policy interests and clear legal authority. We will continue to defend these regulations, which will help slow the erosion of our corporate tax base." According to the rule adopted in April, companies formed in tax inversions can be subject to higher taxes if the newly formed company does less than 25 per cent of its business in the foreign country where it is incorporated, or if the shareholders in the old American parent company end up owning at least 60 per cent of the new foreign parent. (AFP)

US Big Business sues Obama administration over corporate tax rules

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

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

North Korea&#39;s first and only law firm set up by a foreigner, Hay, Kalb &amp; Associates, will suspend operations, the firm&#39;s principal said in a statement on Monday, as the country grows increasingly isolated. 
 
The firm is a joint venture between the North Korean state and British-French citizen Michael Hay, who has represented foreign clients in the capital, Pyongyang, for 12 years. 
 
Hay said he had made the decision based on &quot;business and geopolitical principles&quot;. 
 
&quot;This decision has been taken only after lengthy and thorough deliberation and an examination of the continuing deterioration of inter-regional relations pertaining to the Korean peninsula,&quot; Hay said in a statement. 
 
&quot;It is not unreasonable to assume that no meaningful change or indicator of change in relations shall occur, if at all, until well after the United States Presidential Inauguration, on January 20, 2017,&quot; Hay said in the statement. 
 
North Korea has come under growing diplomatic pressure since its January nuclear test and a long-range rocket launch in February, which led to a new UN Security Council resolution in March that tightened sanctions against Pyongyang. 
 
The majority of Hay&#39;s clients are foreign investors, many of whom have been negatively affected by the sanctions, Hay told Reuters. 
 
&quot;Sanctions are hurting legitimate foreign investors. There still is no credible, consistent evidence I see of DPRK companies hurting,&quot; Hay said. DPRK stands for Democratic People&#39;s Republic of Korea, the North&#39;s official title. 
 
Very few foreigners live or work in North Korea. Those who do are usually members of the diplomatic or NGO community, although a small group of foreign investors have maintained a quiet and steady presence inside the country. 
 
The suspension takes effect from midnight on Monday, Hay said, with an official suspension scheduled for Aug. 14, the firm&#39;s 12-year anniversary. 
 
Hay, who bills his firm as the only foreign-invested firm in North Korea, said he will still maintain an office in Pyongyang. 
 
North Korea has more than 8000 law graduates, according to an official 2008 census, half of whom are based in Pyongyang. Most are employed by the state. 
 
(Reuters) 
&nbsp;

Hay, Kalb & Associates?founder says he had made the decision based on 'business and geopolitical principles'

North Korea's first and only law firm set up by a foreigner, Hay, Kalb & Associates, will suspend operations, the firm's principal said in a statement on Monday, as the country grows increasingly isolated. The firm is a joint venture between the North Korean state and British-French citizen Michael Hay, who has represented foreign clients in the capital, Pyongyang, for 12 years. Hay said he had made the decision based on "business and geopolitical principles". "This decision has been taken only after lengthy and thorough deliberation and an examination of the continuing deterioration of inter-regional relations pertaining to the Korean peninsula," Hay said in a statement. "It is not unreasonable to assume that no meaningful change or indicator of change in relations shall occur, if at all, until well after the United States Presidential Inauguration, on January 20, 2017," Hay said in the statement. North Korea has come under growing diplomatic pressure since its January nuclear test and a long-range rocket launch in February, which led to a new UN Security Council resolution in March that tightened sanctions against Pyongyang. The majority of Hay's clients are foreign investors, many of whom have been negatively affected by the sanctions, Hay told Reuters. "Sanctions are hurting legitimate foreign investors. There still is no credible, consistent evidence I see of DPRK companies hurting," Hay said. DPRK stands for Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official title. Very few foreigners live or work in North Korea. Those who do are usually members of the diplomatic or NGO community, although a small group of foreign investors have maintained a quiet and steady presence inside the country. The suspension takes effect from midnight on Monday, Hay said, with an official suspension scheduled for Aug. 14, the firm's 12-year anniversary. Hay, who bills his firm as the only foreign-invested firm in North Korea, said he will still maintain an office in Pyongyang. North Korea has more than 8000 law graduates, according to an official 2008 census, half of whom are based in Pyongyang. Most are employed by the state. (Reuters)

North Korea's only foreign-founded law firm suspends operations

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

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

Oracle Corp said it would buy NetSuite Inc in a deal valued at about $9.3 billion to expand into the fast-growing cloud market. 
 
Netsuite shares rose 18.6 per cent to $108.64 in premarket trading, just shy of the offer price of $109 per share. 
 
Like rivals SAP SE and Microsoft Corp, Oracle has focused on moving its business to the cloud-based model, essentially providing services remotely via data centers rather than selling installed software. 
 
NetSuite, founded in 1998, pioneered the cloud computing revolution, by creating the first company dedicated to providing business applications over the internet. 
 
Oracle has also acquired companies such as Textura and Opower to increase its competitiveness in the cloud market. 
 
The company expects the deal to immediately add to its adjusted earnings in the first full fiscal year after the transaction closes. 
 
Oracle shares were up 1.6 per cent at $41.6 in premarket trading. 
 
(Reuters)

NetSuite pioneered cloud computing revolution by creating the first company dedicated to providing business application over the internet

Oracle Corp said it would buy NetSuite Inc in a deal valued at about $9.3 billion to expand into the fast-growing cloud market. Netsuite shares rose 18.6 per cent to $108.64 in premarket trading, just shy of the offer price of $109 per share. Like rivals SAP SE and Microsoft Corp, Oracle has focused on moving its business to the cloud-based model, essentially providing services remotely via data centers rather than selling installed software. NetSuite, founded in 1998, pioneered the cloud computing revolution, by creating the first company dedicated to providing business applications over the internet. Oracle has also acquired companies such as Textura and Opower to increase its competitiveness in the cloud market. The company expects the deal to immediately add to its adjusted earnings in the first full fiscal year after the transaction closes. Oracle shares were up 1.6 per cent at $41.6 in premarket trading. (Reuters)

Tech giant Oracle to buy cloud computing pioneer in $9.3 billion deal

Flush with the stunning popularity of the Pokemon GO mobile game, Nintendo&nbsp;aims to make more from marketing popular characters such as Super Mario, taking a leaf from the Walt Disney&nbsp;playbook where Mickey Mouse and friends bring in billions of merchandising dollars each year.

But, where Disney&#39;s animated characters often earn more than the films they star in, Super Mario, Pokemon and other Nintendo franchises have languished amid the Japanese firm&#39;s reluctance to push them beyond its struggling game console platform.

The success of Pokemon GO - created by Nintendo, Pokemon Company and Niantic, a Google&nbsp;spinoff - may signal that Nintendo&#39;s move to let its characters roam beyond that console universe could help revitalise a company that had grown from a card game maker in nineteenth century Kyoto to the world&#39;s top computer game and console maker.

&quot;We are now expanding how we leverage Nintendo IP in various ways beyond our traditional use of them predominantly within the dedicated video game platform business,&quot; Tatsumi Kimishima, the company&#39;s president, wrote in a message to investors.

It could be sitting on a goldmine.

&quot;We believe the value of Nintendo intellectual property is enormous and will eventually be unlocked over a 3-5 year period,&quot; Jefferies analyst Atul Goyal wrote in a Monday research note.

A spokesman for Japanese toymaker Takara Tomy&nbsp;said: &quot;We are seeing a resurgence of interest in Pokemon toys after the launch of Pokemon GO.&quot;

Nintendo, which yesterday partly blamed a strengthening yen for its April-June operating loss, is said to be doing more to expand the reach of its popular franchise characters, which also include The Legend of Zelda.

&quot;Nintendo used to have only few people in its licensing business and deal only with a limited number of merchandising companies,&quot; said a toy company official, who asked not to be named as he is not authorised to talk to the media. &quot;That&#39;s gradually changing as the company has made it clear it will boost its IP business.&quot;

Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of the puppet-inspired Super Mario, has indicated Nintendo has more appetite now to allow its franchise characters to spread beyond console gaming, and into revenue generating licensing agreements.

&quot;These projects will take time to bear fruit, but they are something to look forward to,&quot; Miyamoto told Nintendo&#39;s shareholder meeting late last month, adding Nintendo had started licensing characters for attractions at Universal Studios theme parks and was working to expand Nintendo products.

Faded Wii

Since its Wii game console boom faded four years ago and its successor, the Wii U, flopped, Nintendo has been buffeted by losses that have more than halved its cash pile to around $5 billion.

Nintendo sold almost 100 million of its Wii consoles between its late-2006 launch and end-2011, the year before the Wii U was released. Subsequent sales of the Wii U have added only 13 million units. As casual gaming has shifted from the living room to the smartphone, sales of its handheld 3DS video game system are just a third of the older DS model.

Wary of losing focus on its ailing console business, Nintendo has largely steered clear from producing games for other platforms or agreeing lucrative licensing agreements.

In the year to end-March, the company&#39;s licensing revenue was just $54.2 million&nbsp;- around 1 per cent of overall sales, and a tiny fraction of what Disney earns from the likes of Mickey Mouse, Toy Story, Winnie the Pooh and, more recently, Star Wars.

Disney&#39;s revenue from consumer products - from Mickey Mouse tea pots and tie clips to books, magazines and even English language schools in China - totalled $4.5 billion in its last full business year - around 9 per cent of its total sales.

It was Disney&#39;s fastest growing business segment in the year to Oct. 3, 2015, with operating profit up 29 per cent from a year earlier. While the Toy Story 3 movie, released in 2010, earned Disney $1.7 billion at cinemas and from TV broadcasts, the franchise&#39;s licensed toys, books and a smartphone app have brought in $7.3 billion.

That&#39;s a merchandising masterclass that some investors reckon Nintendo will struggle to match.

&quot;Monetising IP is a whole different thing from selling games,&quot; said a fund manager at a Japanese asset management firm which owns Nintendo shares.

&quot;They say they&#39;re going to sell a wrist watch, but it&#39;s adults who are playing Pokemon GO&nbsp;and are they going to wear a Pokemon GO Plus watch?&quot; 
 
(Reuters)

Nintendo?aims to make more from marketing popular characters like Mario to revitalise a company struggling with its game console platform

Flush with the stunning popularity of the Pokemon GO mobile game, Nintendo aims to make more from marketing popular characters such as Super Mario, taking a leaf from the Walt Disney playbook where Mickey Mouse and friends bring in billions of merchandising dollars each year. But, where Disney's animated characters often earn more than the films they star in, Super Mario, Pokemon and other Nintendo franchises have languished amid the Japanese firm's reluctance to push them beyond its struggling game console platform. The success of Pokemon GO - created by Nintendo, Pokemon Company and Niantic, a Google spinoff - may signal that Nintendo's move to let its characters roam beyond that console universe could help revitalise a company that had grown from a card game maker in nineteenth century Kyoto to the world's top computer game and console maker. "We are now expanding how we leverage Nintendo IP in various ways beyond our traditional use of them predominantly within the dedicated video game platform business," Tatsumi Kimishima, the company's president, wrote in a message to investors. It could be sitting on a goldmine. "We believe the value of Nintendo intellectual property is enormous and will eventually be unlocked over a 3-5 year period," Jefferies analyst Atul Goyal wrote in a Monday research note. A spokesman for Japanese toymaker Takara Tomy said: "We are seeing a resurgence of interest in Pokemon toys after the launch of Pokemon GO." Nintendo, which yesterday partly blamed a strengthening yen for its April-June operating loss, is said to be doing more to expand the reach of its popular franchise characters, which also include The Legend of Zelda. "Nintendo used to have only few people in its licensing business and deal only with a limited number of merchandising companies," said a toy company official, who asked not to be named as he is not authorised to talk to the media. "That's gradually changing as the company has made it clear it will boost its IP business." Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of the puppet-inspired Super Mario, has indicated Nintendo has more appetite now to allow its franchise characters to spread beyond console gaming, and into revenue generating licensing agreements. "These projects will take time to bear fruit, but they are something to look forward to," Miyamoto told Nintendo's shareholder meeting late last month, adding Nintendo had started licensing characters for attractions at Universal Studios theme parks and was working to expand Nintendo products. Faded Wii Since its Wii game console boom faded four years ago and its successor, the Wii U, flopped, Nintendo has been buffeted by losses that have more than halved its cash pile to around $5 billion. Nintendo sold almost 100 million of its Wii consoles between its late-2006 launch and end-2011, the year before the Wii U was released. Subsequent sales of the Wii U have added only 13 million units. As casual gaming has shifted from the living room to the smartphone, sales of its handheld 3DS video game system are just a third of the older DS model. Wary of losing focus on its ailing console business, Nintendo has largely steered clear from producing games for other platforms or agreeing lucrative licensing agreements. In the year to end-March, the company's licensing revenue was just $54.2 million - around 1 per cent of overall sales, and a tiny fraction of what Disney earns from the likes of Mickey Mouse, Toy Story, Winnie the Pooh and, more recently, Star Wars. Disney's revenue from consumer products - from Mickey Mouse tea pots and tie clips to books, magazines and even English language schools in China - totalled $4.5 billion in its last full business year - around 9 per cent of its total sales. It was Disney's fastest growing business segment in the year to Oct. 3, 2015, with operating profit up 29 per cent from a year earlier. While the Toy Story 3 movie, released in 2010, earned Disney $1.7 billion at cinemas and from TV broadcasts, the franchise's licensed toys, books and a smartphone app have brought in $7.3 billion. That's a merchandising masterclass that some investors reckon Nintendo will struggle to match. "Monetising IP is a whole different thing from selling games," said a fund manager at a Japanese asset management firm which owns Nintendo shares. "They say they're going to sell a wrist watch, but it's adults who are playing Pokemon GO and are they going to wear a Pokemon GO Plus watch?" (Reuters)

Nintendo's Mario to get a merchandising makeover

Asian stocks settled near one-year highs today while the safe-haven yen slumped after Japan&#39;s government announced a larger-than-expected economic stimulus package, which led most of the region&#39;s bourses higher. 
 
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said today his government would compile a stimulus package of more than $265 billion to reflate the flagging economy, media reported, though it is unclear how much will be spent to directly boost growth. This would be more than expected earlier, but critics will be watching to see how much is actually new spending. 
 
MSCI&#39;s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.1 per cent, reversing earlier gains, having previously climbed to its highest level since August 11, 2015. It has risen 10 per cent so far this month. Japan&#39;s Nikkei rose nearly 2 per cent, leading the region higher. However, mainland China stock indexes bucked the regional rally, falling 2 to 4 per cent in midday trade on worries about regulatory restrictions. 
 
There is a near-consensus view among traders that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) will ease on Friday, most likely by ramping up its already massive purchases of government bonds and riskier assets. 
 
Cutting interest rates into negative territory has proved unpopular with the public and the government, so deepening those cuts is a less likely option, sources familiar with central bank thinking say. 
 
But some market watchers say the BOJ decision is too close to call with many central bank policymakers preferring to hold off on action as they expect a fiscal stimulus package and a delay in next year&#39;s sales tax hike to boost growth. 
 
Major central banks attempting to reflate economy&nbsp; 
 
Pressured by the weakness in Chinese shares, Hong Kong stocks also declined 0.4 per cent though mainland Chinese investors continued to snap up shares through a stock market connection scheme. &quot;Pockets of the world where yield and growth are present will continue to be rewarded by investors,&quot; said Daniel Morris, a senior investment strategist at BNP Paribas Investment Partners, citing India, Indonesia and China consumer-focused plays among his top picks. 
 
&quot;Still, we are cautious on the second half and we don&#39;t think central banks will rush into tightening policy with the global growth outlook bleak and uncertain,&quot; he said. 
 
Since the global financial crisis, major central banks have inflated their balance sheets and injected trillions of dollars to reflate their economies. On a monthly basis, they are adding about $180 billion into the world&#39;s financial system led by the ECB and the BOJ, according to Deutsche Bank.&nbsp; 
 
On Tuesday, US equity markets closed mixed while stocks in Europe traded slightly higher with all eyes were on the Fed, which concludes its two-day policy meeting later today. 
&nbsp; 
The US central bank is widely expected to stand pat on monetary policy and the markets will sift through its statements - a post-meeting news conference will not be held - for any hints of the timing on future interest rate hikes. Expectations of a September increase are clouded ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November, but markets see a roughly 50-50 chance of a rise in December. 
 
Lowdown on currency markets&nbsp; 
 
Price action was messy in currency markets, triggered by Australian price data where core inflation stayed at a record trough, though major pairs clung to well worn trading ranges. 
 
The Australian dollar was a shade weaker at 0.7488 after rising to as high as 0.7568 after the data. Investors slightly reduced the odds of a cut next week to 50 per cent, from 60 per cent before the data. 
 
The dollar was up slightly against a basket of currencies on a trade weighted basis nearing five-month high it hit last week. 
&nbsp; 
Against the yen, it was up 1 per cent at 105.65 after tanking more than 1 per cent overnight. 
&nbsp; 
&quot;It&#39;s good for equities. It&#39;s good for risk,&quot; said Stephen Innes, senior trader for FX broker OANDA in Singapore. &quot;There&#39;s still room for disappointment from the Bank of Japan.&quot; 
&nbsp; 
The euro stood steady at $1.0995 after edging up 0.3 per cent overnight thanks to the greenback&#39;s broad retreat versus the yen. 
&nbsp; 
The pound edged up 0.1 per cent to $1.3114 after touching a two-week low of $1.3057 overnight following dovish statements from Bank of England policymaker Martin Weale. 
&nbsp; 
In commodity markets, crude oil extended losses after suffering big hits overnight on renewed concerns about oversupply. US crude was down 0.05 percent at $42.88 a barrel. The contracts had touched $42.36 on Tuesday, their lowest in three months. 
&nbsp; 
Trade group American Petroleum Institute (API) said Tuesday that US crude stockpiles fell by 827,000 barrels last week, much less than analysts&#39; expectations for a drawdown of 2.3 million barrels. 
&nbsp; 
(Reuters) 
&nbsp;

?Japanese PM Shinzo Abe said today his government would compile a stimulus package of more than $265 billion to reflate flagging economy

Asian stocks settled near one-year highs today while the safe-haven yen slumped after Japan's government announced a larger-than-expected economic stimulus package, which led most of the region's bourses higher. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said today his government would compile a stimulus package of more than $265 billion to reflate the flagging economy, media reported, though it is unclear how much will be spent to directly boost growth. This would be more than expected earlier, but critics will be watching to see how much is actually new spending. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.1 per cent, reversing earlier gains, having previously climbed to its highest level since August 11, 2015. It has risen 10 per cent so far this month. Japan's Nikkei rose nearly 2 per cent, leading the region higher. However, mainland China stock indexes bucked the regional rally, falling 2 to 4 per cent in midday trade on worries about regulatory restrictions. There is a near-consensus view among traders that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) will ease on Friday, most likely by ramping up its already massive purchases of government bonds and riskier assets. Cutting interest rates into negative territory has proved unpopular with the public and the government, so deepening those cuts is a less likely option, sources familiar with central bank thinking say. But some market watchers say the BOJ decision is too close to call with many central bank policymakers preferring to hold off on action as they expect a fiscal stimulus package and a delay in next year's sales tax hike to boost growth. Major central banks attempting to reflate economy Pressured by the weakness in Chinese shares, Hong Kong stocks also declined 0.4 per cent though mainland Chinese investors continued to snap up shares through a stock market connection scheme. "Pockets of the world where yield and growth are present will continue to be rewarded by investors," said Daniel Morris, a senior investment strategist at BNP Paribas Investment Partners, citing India, Indonesia and China consumer-focused plays among his top picks. "Still, we are cautious on the second half and we don't think central banks will rush into tightening policy with the global growth outlook bleak and uncertain," he said. Since the global financial crisis, major central banks have inflated their balance sheets and injected trillions of dollars to reflate their economies. On a monthly basis, they are adding about $180 billion into the world's financial system led by the ECB and the BOJ, according to Deutsche Bank. On Tuesday, US equity markets closed mixed while stocks in Europe traded slightly higher with all eyes were on the Fed, which concludes its two-day policy meeting later today. The US central bank is widely expected to stand pat on monetary policy and the markets will sift through its statements - a post-meeting news conference will not be held - for any hints of the timing on future interest rate hikes. Expectations of a September increase are clouded ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November, but markets see a roughly 50-50 chance of a rise in December. Lowdown on currency markets Price action was messy in currency markets, triggered by Australian price data where core inflation stayed at a record trough, though major pairs clung to well worn trading ranges. The Australian dollar was a shade weaker at 0.7488 after rising to as high as 0.7568 after the data. Investors slightly reduced the odds of a cut next week to 50 per cent, from 60 per cent before the data. The dollar was up slightly against a basket of currencies on a trade weighted basis nearing five-month high it hit last week. Against the yen, it was up 1 per cent at 105.65 after tanking more than 1 per cent overnight. "It's good for equities. It's good for risk," said Stephen Innes, senior trader for FX broker OANDA in Singapore. "There's still room for disappointment from the Bank of Japan." The euro stood steady at $1.0995 after edging up 0.3 per cent overnight thanks to the greenback's broad retreat versus the yen. The pound edged up 0.1 per cent to $1.3114 after touching a two-week low of $1.3057 overnight following dovish statements from Bank of England policymaker Martin Weale. In commodity markets, crude oil extended losses after suffering big hits overnight on renewed concerns about oversupply. US crude was down 0.05 percent at $42.88 a barrel. The contracts had touched $42.36 on Tuesday, their lowest in three months. Trade group American Petroleum Institute (API) said Tuesday that US crude stockpiles fell by 827,000 barrels last week, much less than analysts' expectations for a drawdown of 2.3 million barrels. (Reuters)

Asian stocks respond to Japan stimulus, settle near one-year highs

US telecom giant Verizon Communications Inc said it had agreed to buy Yahoo Inc&#39;s core internet business for $4.83 billion in cash, ending a lengthy sale process for the fading web pioneer. 
 
Buying Yahoo&#39;s operations will boost Verizon&#39;s AOL internet business, which it bought last year for $4.4 billion, by giving it access to Yahoo&#39;s advertising technology tools as well as other assets such as search, mail and messenger. 
 
The deal marks the end of Yahoo as an operating company, leaving it with a 15 per cent stake in Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group Holding Limited and a 35.5 per cent interest in Yahoo Japan Corp. 
 
&quot;The sale of our operating business, which effectively separates our Asian asset equity stakes, is an important step in our plan to unlock shareholder value for Yahoo,&quot; Yahoo Chief Executive Marissa Mayer said in a statement today. 
 
The sale does not include Yahoo&#39;s cash, its shares in Alibaba, its shares in Yahoo Japan, Yahoo&#39;s convertible notes, certain minority investments and Yahoo&#39;s non-core patents. 
 
The Alibaba and Yahoo Japan investments are worth about $40 billion, while Yahoo had a market value of about $37.4 billion as of Friday&#39;s close. 
 
(Reuters)

Buying Yahoo's operations will boost Verizon's AOL internet business, which it bought last year for $4.4 billion

US telecom giant Verizon Communications Inc said it had agreed to buy Yahoo Inc's core internet business for $4.83 billion in cash, ending a lengthy sale process for the fading web pioneer. Buying Yahoo's operations will boost Verizon's AOL internet business, which it bought last year for $4.4 billion, by giving it access to Yahoo's advertising technology tools as well as other assets such as search, mail and messenger. The deal marks the end of Yahoo as an operating company, leaving it with a 15 per cent stake in Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group Holding Limited and a 35.5 per cent interest in Yahoo Japan Corp. "The sale of our operating business, which effectively separates our Asian asset equity stakes, is an important step in our plan to unlock shareholder value for Yahoo," Yahoo Chief Executive Marissa Mayer said in a statement today. The sale does not include Yahoo's cash, its shares in Alibaba, its shares in Yahoo Japan, Yahoo's convertible notes, certain minority investments and Yahoo's non-core patents. The Alibaba and Yahoo Japan investments are worth about $40 billion, while Yahoo had a market value of about $37.4 billion as of Friday's close. (Reuters)

US telecom giant Verizon announces acquisition of Yahoo in $4.83 billion deal

Already hamstrung by the battle to compete with online rivals, Britain&#39;s major clothing retailers now risk a hit to sales and profits from the higher costs and plummeting consumer confidence that have followed the vote to leave the European Union. 
 
A month after that vote, clothing sellers are nursing big share price falls and contemplating the cost of the depreciation in the Pound versus their most important currency, the US Dollar. 
 
At the same time, consumer confidence has recorded one of the biggest drops in over two decades. With consumer spending accounting for three quarters of Britain&#39;s gross domestic product any drop would have huge implications for the economy. 
 
While a few retailers with big overseas earnings could benefit from the currency move, such as luxury brand Burberry, online fashion retailer ASOS and discount chain Primark, those that will struggle are likely to be British-focused and with already tight margins. 
 
&quot;It was already a tough market,&quot; Andy Street, managing director of John Lewis, Britain&#39;s biggest department store chain, said earlier this month, while Steve Rowe, CEO of Marks &amp; Spencer, the nation&#39;s biggest clothing retailer, described confidence as &quot;fragile&quot;. 
 
While steps by clothing retailers to protect themselves from volatility in foreign exchange rates through hedging will provide some breathing space on the currency issue, the hit to confidence is the more immediate threat, as Britons typically curtail clothes shopping in hard times. 
 
Market researcher Nielsen polled shoppers after the Brexit vote and found 41 per cent planned to change their spending habits to save on household expenses, with clothing and expensive grocery brands in their sights. 
 
In common with all British retailers, clothing sellers were already grappling with intense competition from online-only players and the cost inflation implications of the government-mandated minimum pay rate, the national living wage, as well as increased business rates. 
 
Official data today showed UK clothing sales were falling even before the referendum. Sales volumes in the three months to June were 5 per cent lower than a year earlier, the worst performance for any calendar quarter in 25 years, and in sharp contrast to a buoyant picture for most other categories of retail. 
 
Now clothing retailers also have to deal with a sharply depreciated Pound.&nbsp;Sterling has taken the brunt of market concern since the Brexit vote on June 23, falling to a 31-year low and trading below $1.28 on July 6 against $1.50 the day before the referendum. 
 
With the bulk of British clothing retailers&#39; goods sourced from Asian suppliers and paid for in Dollars, a weaker Pound has a major impact on their buying costs. 
 
Britain&#39;s biggest clothing retailers, including M&amp;S, Next and John Lewis, are hedged up to 18 months ahead, meaning that if Sterling stays depressed the main impact will not start to be felt until the second half of their 2017-18 financial year. 
 
Sportswear retailer Sports Direct is the notable exception, being unhedged for Sterling-Dollar for its 2016-17 year. Its share price is down 32 per cent since the vote. 
 
Clothing companies would normally be expected to hedge for the second half of 2017-18 and beyond, now and over the next few months.&nbsp;But with foreign currency markets volatile, the treasury departments of firms are reviewing their hedging policies. 
 
They face a dilemma, explained a senior banker with several major British retailers as clients, because as UK interest rates look set to be cut there is a risk Sterling could fall further.&nbsp;&quot;Now might not be the right time to do it, equally waiting might not be the right thing to do,&quot; he said. 
 
That unease was echoed by a person with knowledge of the situation at a FTSE 100 clothing retailer.&nbsp;&quot;You don&rsquo;t want to be making a decision in July to hedge for 18 months time, because nobody knows what&rsquo;s going to happen. You could put yourself in a worse position,&quot; said the person, adding that only the brave would start hedging now. 
 
Faced with higher sourcing costs one solution could be to pass those costs on to consumers through higher prices.&nbsp;However, in an already weak market shoppers will have little appetite for inflation, and in the case of M&amp;S, raising prices would run counter to Rowe&#39;s stated strategy of bringing them down to cure the firm&#39;s perceived uncompetitiveness. 
 
The average price of clothing has fallen by 15 per cent in the last 10 years, according to official UK data.&nbsp;The key for clothing retailers will be their ability to mitigate the cost increases they face. 
 
&quot;There are a number of things that we can do in terms of the sourcing side of things,&quot; said Helen Weir, M&amp;S&#39; chief finance officer, noting the firm imports 1 billion to 1.5 billion Pounds ($1.31-$1.97 billion) worth of goods each year in Dollars. 
 
Options include changing the mix of sourcing countries and further increasing the proportion of direct sourcing from factories, cutting out middlemen.&nbsp;Also there might be scope to re-negotiate better terms with suppliers as Asian currencies have depreciated against the Dollar. 
 
Bankers say more radical options would require a cultural shift at retailers.&nbsp;They could pursue &quot;dual pricing&quot;, where they negotiate part payment for supplies in different currencies from the Dollar, for example using the Chinese Renminbi. 
 
Retailers could also collaborate more on ordering, shipping and warehousing to seek economy of scale savings.&nbsp;But efficiencies might be more difficult to achieve than in previous years. 
 
&quot;Companies have already materially improved their gross margins through better buying and efficiencies on the supply side,&quot; said Ernesto Bisagno, senior analyst at ratings agency Moody&#39;s. 
 
Ultimately the clothing sellers with the biggest margins will be best able to weather the storm.&nbsp;Here, Next, Britain&#39;s most successful clothing retailer of the last decade, is the stand-out stock, with an operating margin for 2015-16 of 20.8 per cent, according to Reuters data. 
 
That dwarfs M&amp;S on 7.4 per cent, which is diluted by half of its business being in the lower-margin food sector, Debenhams on 5.8 per cent (for 2014-15), Sports Direct on 9.4 per cent and Primark on 11.9 per cent (for its most recent quarter). 
 
Led by Simon Wolfson, who was among the leading business supporters of Brexit, Next should be well prepared. With some foresight, he had warned in March that 2016 could be its toughest year since 2008. 
 
(Reuters)

Clothing retailers fear volatility in foreign exchange rates, and Britons typically buy less clothes in hard times

Already hamstrung by the battle to compete with online rivals, Britain's major clothing retailers now risk a hit to sales and profits from the higher costs and plummeting consumer confidence that have followed the vote to leave the European Union. A month after that vote, clothing sellers are nursing big share price falls and contemplating the cost of the depreciation in the Pound versus their most important currency, the US Dollar. At the same time, consumer confidence has recorded one of the biggest drops in over two decades. With consumer spending accounting for three quarters of Britain's gross domestic product any drop would have huge implications for the economy. While a few retailers with big overseas earnings could benefit from the currency move, such as luxury brand Burberry, online fashion retailer ASOS and discount chain Primark, those that will struggle are likely to be British-focused and with already tight margins. "It was already a tough market," Andy Street, managing director of John Lewis, Britain's biggest department store chain, said earlier this month, while Steve Rowe, CEO of Marks & Spencer, the nation's biggest clothing retailer, described confidence as "fragile". While steps by clothing retailers to protect themselves from volatility in foreign exchange rates through hedging will provide some breathing space on the currency issue, the hit to confidence is the more immediate threat, as Britons typically curtail clothes shopping in hard times. Market researcher Nielsen polled shoppers after the Brexit vote and found 41 per cent planned to change their spending habits to save on household expenses, with clothing and expensive grocery brands in their sights. In common with all British retailers, clothing sellers were already grappling with intense competition from online-only players and the cost inflation implications of the government-mandated minimum pay rate, the national living wage, as well as increased business rates. Official data today showed UK clothing sales were falling even before the referendum. Sales volumes in the three months to June were 5 per cent lower than a year earlier, the worst performance for any calendar quarter in 25 years, and in sharp contrast to a buoyant picture for most other categories of retail. Now clothing retailers also have to deal with a sharply depreciated Pound. Sterling has taken the brunt of market concern since the Brexit vote on June 23, falling to a 31-year low and trading below $1.28 on July 6 against $1.50 the day before the referendum. With the bulk of British clothing retailers' goods sourced from Asian suppliers and paid for in Dollars, a weaker Pound has a major impact on their buying costs. Britain's biggest clothing retailers, including M&S, Next and John Lewis, are hedged up to 18 months ahead, meaning that if Sterling stays depressed the main impact will not start to be felt until the second half of their 2017-18 financial year. Sportswear retailer Sports Direct is the notable exception, being unhedged for Sterling-Dollar for its 2016-17 year. Its share price is down 32 per cent since the vote. Clothing companies would normally be expected to hedge for the second half of 2017-18 and beyond, now and over the next few months. But with foreign currency markets volatile, the treasury departments of firms are reviewing their hedging policies. They face a dilemma, explained a senior banker with several major British retailers as clients, because as UK interest rates look set to be cut there is a risk Sterling could fall further. "Now might not be the right time to do it, equally waiting might not be the right thing to do," he said. That unease was echoed by a person with knowledge of the situation at a FTSE 100 clothing retailer. "You don’t want to be making a decision in July to hedge for 18 months time, because nobody knows what’s going to happen. You could put yourself in a worse position," said the person, adding that only the brave would start hedging now. Faced with higher sourcing costs one solution could be to pass those costs on to consumers through higher prices. However, in an already weak market shoppers will have little appetite for inflation, and in the case of M&S, raising prices would run counter to Rowe's stated strategy of bringing them down to cure the firm's perceived uncompetitiveness. The average price of clothing has fallen by 15 per cent in the last 10 years, according to official UK data. The key for clothing retailers will be their ability to mitigate the cost increases they face. "There are a number of things that we can do in terms of the sourcing side of things," said Helen Weir, M&S' chief finance officer, noting the firm imports 1 billion to 1.5 billion Pounds ($1.31-$1.97 billion) worth of goods each year in Dollars. Options include changing the mix of sourcing countries and further increasing the proportion of direct sourcing from factories, cutting out middlemen. Also there might be scope to re-negotiate better terms with suppliers as Asian currencies have depreciated against the Dollar. Bankers say more radical options would require a cultural shift at retailers. They could pursue "dual pricing", where they negotiate part payment for supplies in different currencies from the Dollar, for example using the Chinese Renminbi. Retailers could also collaborate more on ordering, shipping and warehousing to seek economy of scale savings. But efficiencies might be more difficult to achieve than in previous years. "Companies have already materially improved their gross margins through better buying and efficiencies on the supply side," said Ernesto Bisagno, senior analyst at ratings agency Moody's. Ultimately the clothing sellers with the biggest margins will be best able to weather the storm. Here, Next, Britain's most successful clothing retailer of the last decade, is the stand-out stock, with an operating margin for 2015-16 of 20.8 per cent, according to Reuters data. That dwarfs M&S on 7.4 per cent, which is diluted by half of its business being in the lower-margin food sector, Debenhams on 5.8 per cent (for 2014-15), Sports Direct on 9.4 per cent and Primark on 11.9 per cent (for its most recent quarter). Led by Simon Wolfson, who was among the leading business supporters of Brexit, Next should be well prepared. With some foresight, he had warned in March that 2016 could be its toughest year since 2008. (Reuters)

British clothing retailers face Brexit double whammy

Oil prices rebounded in Asia today after tanking nearly five per cent the day before on fresh worries about an oversupply, while traders await the release of key US jobs data. 
 
The commodity plunged Thursday in response to official figures showing US commercial inventories fell less than expected last week, indicating softer demand in the world&#39;s top oil consumer as the crucial driving season kicks in. 
 
The data added to an already downbeat mood on markets as investors worry about the longer-term fallout from Britain&#39;s vote to leave the European Union (EU). 
 
At around 0650 GMT, the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate was up 26 cents, or 0.58 per cent, at $45.40 and Brent gained 32 cents, or 0.69 per cent, to $46.72. 
 
WTI plunged 4.8 per cent and Brent sank 4.9 per cent on Thursday after the US Department of Energy (DoE) reported stockpiles fell 2.2 million barrels in the week ending July 1. The market was expecting a 2.5 million barrel drop, according to Bloomberg News. 
 
Both contracts are more than six per cent lower down from last Friday. 
 
The DoE also reported a much smaller than expected decline in petrol stockpiles during the peak summer driving season when Americans take to the road for their holidays. Gasoline stockpiles fell 100,000 barrels, well below the forecast 350,000. 
 
IG Markets analyst Bernard Aw said traders were looking for bargains after Thursday&#39;s &quot;substantial drop&quot; in prices, but added the oversupply concerns will linger. 
 
&quot;What&#39;s even more important was the lack of decline in the gasoline inventories, given that the summer driving season in the US still has two more months to go,&quot; Aw said. 
 
&quot;Traders now fear that we could see a worsening of the supply overhang when summer is over,&quot; he added.&nbsp; 
 
Prices were also given some support after a militant group in Nigeria, Africa&#39;s biggest oil producer, said it attacked more oil infrastructure in the country&#39;s south, ignoring a call for unity from President Muhammadu Buhari. 
 
(AFP)&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

The data added to an already downbeat mood on markets as investors worry about the longer-term Brexit fallout

Oil prices rebounded in Asia today after tanking nearly five per cent the day before on fresh worries about an oversupply, while traders await the release of key US jobs data. The commodity plunged Thursday in response to official figures showing US commercial inventories fell less than expected last week, indicating softer demand in the world's top oil consumer as the crucial driving season kicks in. The data added to an already downbeat mood on markets as investors worry about the longer-term fallout from Britain's vote to leave the European Union (EU). At around 0650 GMT, the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate was up 26 cents, or 0.58 per cent, at $45.40 and Brent gained 32 cents, or 0.69 per cent, to $46.72. WTI plunged 4.8 per cent and Brent sank 4.9 per cent on Thursday after the US Department of Energy (DoE) reported stockpiles fell 2.2 million barrels in the week ending July 1. The market was expecting a 2.5 million barrel drop, according to Bloomberg News. Both contracts are more than six per cent lower down from last Friday. The DoE also reported a much smaller than expected decline in petrol stockpiles during the peak summer driving season when Americans take to the road for their holidays. Gasoline stockpiles fell 100,000 barrels, well below the forecast 350,000. IG Markets analyst Bernard Aw said traders were looking for bargains after Thursday's "substantial drop" in prices, but added the oversupply concerns will linger. "What's even more important was the lack of decline in the gasoline inventories, given that the summer driving season in the US still has two more months to go," Aw said. "Traders now fear that we could see a worsening of the supply overhang when summer is over," he added. Prices were also given some support after a militant group in Nigeria, Africa's biggest oil producer, said it attacked more oil infrastructure in the country's south, ignoring a call for unity from President Muhammadu Buhari. (AFP)

Oil prices rebound in Asia as investors await key US jobs data

Interior minister Theresa May opened up a strong lead on Tuesday in what is now a three-horse race to become Britain&#39;s next Prime Minister, but the first stage of voting was overshadowed by post-Brexit carnage for property investors and the Pound. 
 
In symptoms of market concern about the economic impact of leaving the European Union, sterling hit new 31-year lows and three funds investing in British property said they were suspending trading because too many people were rushing to withdraw their money at once. 
 
May won 165 votes in a first ballot of Conservative members of parliament and Andrea Leadsom, a junior energy minister, won 66, increasing the likelihood that Britain will get only its second woman Prime Minister after Margaret Thatcher. Justice secretary Michael Gove was third on 48. 
 
Former defence minister Liam Fox won the fewest votes, 16, and was eliminated from the battle to replace David Cameron, who has said he will step down after Britons voted in a June 23 referendum to break away from the EU. 
 
Soon afterwards, work and pensions minister Stephen Crabb, who placed fourth with 34 votes, said he was pulling out and throwing his &quot;wholehearted support&quot; behind May. Fox said he would also back her.&nbsp; 
 
May, 59, said: &quot;There is a big job before us: to unite our party and the country, to negotiate the best possible deal as we leave the EU, and to make Britain work for everyone.&nbsp;I am the only candidate capable of delivering these three things as Prime Minister, and tonight it is clear that I am also the only one capable of drawing support from the whole of the Conservative Party.&quot; 
 
&#39;No coronation&#39; 
 
The drawn-out selection process will ultimately be decided by about 150,000 Conservative Party members in September, once MPs have whittled the field down to two candidates. 
 
Given strong eurosceptic sentiment among grassroots Conservatives, Leadsom, 53, and Gove, 48, remain in contention. Both were leading voices in the victorious Leave campaign, while May favoured remaining inside the 28-nation EU. 
 
Leadsom backer Stewart Jackson told Sky News: &quot;This shows she&#39;s ready to go all the way, there isn&#39;t going to be a coronation&quot; of May. 
 
In the meantime, signs are multiplying that concern about the impact of Brexit on trade, investment and business confidence is starting to hit the economy. 
 
The 4.4-billion-Pound ($5.7 billion) Property Portfolio run by M&amp;G Investments, the fund arm of insurer Prudential, was the latest to suspend business on Tuesday afternoon. Insurer Aviva&#39;s fund arm had earlier stopped trading in its 1.8-billion-Pound UK Property Trust, while Standard Life Investments suspended a 2.9-billion-Pound fund late on Monday. 
 
Shares plunged in other property-related funds, and asset managers and insurers were also hit. 
 
The Pound, which has borne the brunt of market concern about potential damage to the economy, plumbed new 31-year lows and is now down more than 12 per cent since the referendum.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;There is evidence that some risks have begun to crystallise. The current outlook for UK financial stability is challenging,&quot; the Bank of England said, announcing measures to encourage banks to keep lending. 
 
In a possible blow to London&#39;s financial centre, Germany&#39;s Deutsche Boerse signalled on Tuesday that the headquarters of a European giant to be created from its merger with the London Stock Exchange Group may now have to be outside the United Kingdom. 
 
Voters were bombarded in the run-up to the referendum with warnings from Cameron and a host of financial institutions and think tanks that Brexit would plunge Britain into a self-inflicted recession by jeopardising its access to the EU&#39;s tariff-free single market. 
 
The Leave campaign derided such arguments as &#39;Project Fear&#39;, arguing Britain would prosper by regaining &#39;independence&#39; from Brussels and freeing itself to set its own laws, clinch its own trade deals and set a cap on immigration - something it cannot do under EU rules allowing free movement throughout the bloc. 
 
&#39;Bloody difficult woman&#39; 
 
Whoever wins the Conservative leadership and the keys to 10 Downing Street will have to stabilise the economy and unify a party that was deeply split by the referendum campaign. 
 
The victor will also need to decide when to initiate divorce proceedings with the EU, and how to extricate Britain from 43 years of membership while trying to negotiate favourable terms of trade. 
 
The most seasoned candidates in the field are May and Gove, who stunned colleagues and commentators alike when he abruptly withdrew his support for former London mayor Boris Johnson last week, effectively forcing him from the race. Leadsom entered parliament only six years ago after a long career in financial services, and has never served in the cabinet. 
 
Gove and Leadsom have both argued forcefully that the next prime minister should come from the winning side in the referendum, which would disqualify May. 
 
&quot;I&#39;ve managed to bring people together across the Conservative Party behind a hopeful and optimistic message of change, and I hope that I&#39;ll be able to take that message to the country,&quot; Gove said. 
 
In unguarded comments earlier on Tuesday, caught on camera and broadcast by Sky News, former Conservative minister Ken Clarke made disparaging remarks about all three contenders, saying that with Gove as Prime Minister &quot;we would go to war with at least three countries at once&quot;. 
 
He described May as &quot;a bloody difficult woman&quot;, but no more difficult than Thatcher, in whose cabinet he served. He added that she was &quot;good&quot;, but lacking in foreign policy experience. 
 
Of Leadsom, Clarke said: &quot;She does have experience in the city...She is not one of the tiny band of lunatics who think we can have a sort of glorious economic future outside the (EU) single market. So long as she understands that she&#39;s not to deliver on some of the extremely stupid things she&#39;s been saying.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
(Reuters)

The victor will need to decide when to pull out of the EU, and how to favourably extricate Britain after 43 years of membership

Interior minister Theresa May opened up a strong lead on Tuesday in what is now a three-horse race to become Britain's next Prime Minister, but the first stage of voting was overshadowed by post-Brexit carnage for property investors and the Pound. In symptoms of market concern about the economic impact of leaving the European Union, sterling hit new 31-year lows and three funds investing in British property said they were suspending trading because too many people were rushing to withdraw their money at once. May won 165 votes in a first ballot of Conservative members of parliament and Andrea Leadsom, a junior energy minister, won 66, increasing the likelihood that Britain will get only its second woman Prime Minister after Margaret Thatcher. Justice secretary Michael Gove was third on 48. Former defence minister Liam Fox won the fewest votes, 16, and was eliminated from the battle to replace David Cameron, who has said he will step down after Britons voted in a June 23 referendum to break away from the EU. Soon afterwards, work and pensions minister Stephen Crabb, who placed fourth with 34 votes, said he was pulling out and throwing his "wholehearted support" behind May. Fox said he would also back her. May, 59, said: "There is a big job before us: to unite our party and the country, to negotiate the best possible deal as we leave the EU, and to make Britain work for everyone. I am the only candidate capable of delivering these three things as Prime Minister, and tonight it is clear that I am also the only one capable of drawing support from the whole of the Conservative Party." 'No coronation' The drawn-out selection process will ultimately be decided by about 150,000 Conservative Party members in September, once MPs have whittled the field down to two candidates. Given strong eurosceptic sentiment among grassroots Conservatives, Leadsom, 53, and Gove, 48, remain in contention. Both were leading voices in the victorious Leave campaign, while May favoured remaining inside the 28-nation EU. Leadsom backer Stewart Jackson told Sky News: "This shows she's ready to go all the way, there isn't going to be a coronation" of May. In the meantime, signs are multiplying that concern about the impact of Brexit on trade, investment and business confidence is starting to hit the economy. The 4.4-billion-Pound ($5.7 billion) Property Portfolio run by M&G Investments, the fund arm of insurer Prudential, was the latest to suspend business on Tuesday afternoon. Insurer Aviva's fund arm had earlier stopped trading in its 1.8-billion-Pound UK Property Trust, while Standard Life Investments suspended a 2.9-billion-Pound fund late on Monday. Shares plunged in other property-related funds, and asset managers and insurers were also hit. The Pound, which has borne the brunt of market concern about potential damage to the economy, plumbed new 31-year lows and is now down more than 12 per cent since the referendum. "There is evidence that some risks have begun to crystallise. The current outlook for UK financial stability is challenging," the Bank of England said, announcing measures to encourage banks to keep lending. In a possible blow to London's financial centre, Germany's Deutsche Boerse signalled on Tuesday that the headquarters of a European giant to be created from its merger with the London Stock Exchange Group may now have to be outside the United Kingdom. Voters were bombarded in the run-up to the referendum with warnings from Cameron and a host of financial institutions and think tanks that Brexit would plunge Britain into a self-inflicted recession by jeopardising its access to the EU's tariff-free single market. The Leave campaign derided such arguments as 'Project Fear', arguing Britain would prosper by regaining 'independence' from Brussels and freeing itself to set its own laws, clinch its own trade deals and set a cap on immigration - something it cannot do under EU rules allowing free movement throughout the bloc. 'Bloody difficult woman' Whoever wins the Conservative leadership and the keys to 10 Downing Street will have to stabilise the economy and unify a party that was deeply split by the referendum campaign. The victor will also need to decide when to initiate divorce proceedings with the EU, and how to extricate Britain from 43 years of membership while trying to negotiate favourable terms of trade. The most seasoned candidates in the field are May and Gove, who stunned colleagues and commentators alike when he abruptly withdrew his support for former London mayor Boris Johnson last week, effectively forcing him from the race. Leadsom entered parliament only six years ago after a long career in financial services, and has never served in the cabinet. Gove and Leadsom have both argued forcefully that the next prime minister should come from the winning side in the referendum, which would disqualify May. "I've managed to bring people together across the Conservative Party behind a hopeful and optimistic message of change, and I hope that I'll be able to take that message to the country," Gove said. In unguarded comments earlier on Tuesday, caught on camera and broadcast by Sky News, former Conservative minister Ken Clarke made disparaging remarks about all three contenders, saying that with Gove as Prime Minister "we would go to war with at least three countries at once". He described May as "a bloody difficult woman", but no more difficult than Thatcher, in whose cabinet he served. He added that she was "good", but lacking in foreign policy experience. Of Leadsom, Clarke said: "She does have experience in the city...She is not one of the tiny band of lunatics who think we can have a sort of glorious economic future outside the (EU) single market. So long as she understands that she's not to deliver on some of the extremely stupid things she's been saying." (Reuters)

May leads three-horse PM race as Brexit hits Pound and property

The town of Hershey, Pennsylvania, calls itself the &quot;sweetest place on earth.&quot; 
 
But if chocolate giant Hershey Co. considers any new acquisition offer in the coming weeks, it could face bitter opposition from some in its namesake town, where residents have prospered from its presence and tend to be fierce defenders of its independence. 
 
Over decades, Hershey Trust has become increasingly involved with locals&nbsp; 
 
The impact of such views goes beyond sentimental in the wake of Mondelez International Inc&#39;s $23 billion bid to buy the company, which Hershey said on June 30 it had rejected. The town of Hershey, where the company&#39;s staunchest loyalists are referred to as &quot;Hershey-ites&quot;, has real influence over corporate decisions. 
 
The Hershey Trust, a $12 billion school charity and the company&#39;s controlling shareholder, has become increasingly involved in the local community over the decades, and has appeared to listen to its concerns in the past. 
 
Pennsylvania&#39;s attorney general, who supervises the trust and can ask a court to block any deal, holds an elected office and is sensitive to local concerns, though the current office holder is not planning to seek reelection. 
 
Pennsylvania law requires any charitable trust to consider, when selling an asset, the &ldquo;special relationship of the asset and its economic impact as a principal business enterprise on the community&rdquo; and the &ldquo;special value&rdquo; of its ties to the community. 
 
Since the company was founded by Milton Hershey 122 years ago, residents here have fought many plans that would have changed Hershey Co. and, in turn, a community built around one of the world&#39;s most famous confectioners. 
 
Although the Hershey Trust rejected the bid by the maker of Oreos cookies, a spike in Hershey&#39;s share price above the bid of $107 per share has indicated investors expect a new offer. 
 
Many in the rural town of around 14,000 people voiced apprehension to Reuters about a sale, despite apparent reassurances from Mondelez. 
 
The food and beverage multinational has offered to keep Hershey&#39;s name, move its headquarters to Hershey, and preserve jobs, according to people familiar with the matter who declined to be identified because Mondelez has not disclosed details of the bid. Most residents declined to give their full names, citing local sensitivities around discussing the firm, which employs 4,800 people here. 
 
&quot;I don&#39;t think they should sell the company,&quot; said a 76-year-old woman who gave her name as G.C., as she guided visitors through Hershey&#39;s Chocolate World, a sprawling candy store stocked with giant chocolate bars. 
 
&quot;Hershey is Hershey. It should always be Milton Hershey. He did good for the community,&quot; said the woman, who has worked at Chocolate World for eight years. &nbsp; &nbsp; 
 
&#39;It&#39;s always been Hershey&#39; 
 
A 3.5-hour train ride from New York, Hershey stretches out across verdant fields between delectably named streets such as Chocolate Avenue and Cocoa Avenue. Between well-tended lawns and street lamps shaped like the popular Hershey&#39;s Kisses Chocolate, Hershey is dotted with landmarks from a theatre to a cemetery that are tied to the confectioner. 
 
Residents point to houses built by Milton Hershey for his factory workers and extol the &quot;Hershey legacy&quot;, where a successful business looks after the people, the way Hershey did at the height of the Great Depression in the 1930s by embarking on a construction spree in town to create jobs. 
 
House prices and income levels in Hershey are substantially higher compared to neighbouring towns in Pennsylvania, according to government data. 
 
Today, the heart of the &quot;Hershey legacy&quot; is arguably found in the Milton Hershey School, a private boarding school for around 2,000 students from low-income families. Their education and living expenses are paid for by the Hershey Trust, which is funded by the Trust&#39;s stake in the chocolate maker. 
 
&quot;Everyone who worked for Mr Hershey always had a job,&quot; said Ernie, a 69-year-old Hershey worker who declined to give his last name. &quot;It&#39;s always been Hershey,&quot; he affirmed.&nbsp; 
 
Asked about the town&#39;s role in the company, Hershey Co. said: &quot;We are proud of the company&#39;s rich heritage and the Hershey community.&quot; Spokespeople at Mondelez were not immediately available for a comment. 
 
The town&#39;s devotion to its roots has led to confrontations in the past. Back in 2002 when Wm. Wrigley Jr., renowned for its chewing gum, attempted to buy Hershey for $12.5 billion, irate local residents signed petitions and staged rallies to stop plans to sell the company. 
 
The then attorney general sought to block the deal, prompting the Trust to call off the sale at the last minute. 
 
When some residents complained about the planned demolition of parts of an old Hershey factory in 2012, the company went ahead anyway. 
 
&quot;People like things to stay the way they are,&quot; said a 63-year-old resident who has lived in Hershey since 1978. 
 
To be sure, not all Hershey residents are attached to the status quo. Some younger residents voiced indifference to the future of the candy maker, saying practical business considerations should take precedence. 
 
On paper, a sale to Mondelez could benefit Hershey. 
 
Hershey has a strong US presence while Mondelez has a global network. A marriage of the two would create the world&#39;s largest confectionary company with an estimated 18 per cent of the market share, said market research firm Euromonitor International Ltd. 
 
While Mondelez has vowed to keep Hershey&#39;s name and preserve jobs, some said such promises would ring empty with loyal 
&quot;Hershey-ites.&quot; 
 
US food giant Kraft, now known as Kraft Heinz Co, drew controversy in 2010 after it shut a factory in southwest England following its takeover of Cadbury, now owned by Mondelez, reneging on an earlier promise to keep the factory open. 
 
&quot;Would I like it to be sold? No,&quot; said the 63-year-old resident. 
 
&quot;There is the legacy and the history of Mr Hershey, and what becomes of the Trust? I don&#39;t know what will become of the school and the Trust.&quot; 
 
(Reuters)

In case of acquisition, Hershey could face opposition from residents who have prospered from company's presence in the 'sweetest' town

The town of Hershey, Pennsylvania, calls itself the "sweetest place on earth." But if chocolate giant Hershey Co. considers any new acquisition offer in the coming weeks, it could face bitter opposition from some in its namesake town, where residents have prospered from its presence and tend to be fierce defenders of its independence. Over decades, Hershey Trust has become increasingly involved with locals The impact of such views goes beyond sentimental in the wake of Mondelez International Inc's $23 billion bid to buy the company, which Hershey said on June 30 it had rejected. The town of Hershey, where the company's staunchest loyalists are referred to as "Hershey-ites", has real influence over corporate decisions. The Hershey Trust, a $12 billion school charity and the company's controlling shareholder, has become increasingly involved in the local community over the decades, and has appeared to listen to its concerns in the past. Pennsylvania's attorney general, who supervises the trust and can ask a court to block any deal, holds an elected office and is sensitive to local concerns, though the current office holder is not planning to seek reelection. Pennsylvania law requires any charitable trust to consider, when selling an asset, the “special relationship of the asset and its economic impact as a principal business enterprise on the community” and the “special value” of its ties to the community. Since the company was founded by Milton Hershey 122 years ago, residents here have fought many plans that would have changed Hershey Co. and, in turn, a community built around one of the world's most famous confectioners. Although the Hershey Trust rejected the bid by the maker of Oreos cookies, a spike in Hershey's share price above the bid of $107 per share has indicated investors expect a new offer. Many in the rural town of around 14,000 people voiced apprehension to Reuters about a sale, despite apparent reassurances from Mondelez. The food and beverage multinational has offered to keep Hershey's name, move its headquarters to Hershey, and preserve jobs, according to people familiar with the matter who declined to be identified because Mondelez has not disclosed details of the bid. Most residents declined to give their full names, citing local sensitivities around discussing the firm, which employs 4,800 people here. "I don't think they should sell the company," said a 76-year-old woman who gave her name as G.C., as she guided visitors through Hershey's Chocolate World, a sprawling candy store stocked with giant chocolate bars. "Hershey is Hershey. It should always be Milton Hershey. He did good for the community," said the woman, who has worked at Chocolate World for eight years. 'It's always been Hershey' A 3.5-hour train ride from New York, Hershey stretches out across verdant fields between delectably named streets such as Chocolate Avenue and Cocoa Avenue. Between well-tended lawns and street lamps shaped like the popular Hershey's Kisses Chocolate, Hershey is dotted with landmarks from a theatre to a cemetery that are tied to the confectioner. Residents point to houses built by Milton Hershey for his factory workers and extol the "Hershey legacy", where a successful business looks after the people, the way Hershey did at the height of the Great Depression in the 1930s by embarking on a construction spree in town to create jobs. House prices and income levels in Hershey are substantially higher compared to neighbouring towns in Pennsylvania, according to government data. Today, the heart of the "Hershey legacy" is arguably found in the Milton Hershey School, a private boarding school for around 2,000 students from low-income families. Their education and living expenses are paid for by the Hershey Trust, which is funded by the Trust's stake in the chocolate maker. "Everyone who worked for Mr Hershey always had a job," said Ernie, a 69-year-old Hershey worker who declined to give his last name. "It's always been Hershey," he affirmed. Asked about the town's role in the company, Hershey Co. said: "We are proud of the company's rich heritage and the Hershey community." Spokespeople at Mondelez were not immediately available for a comment. The town's devotion to its roots has led to confrontations in the past. Back in 2002 when Wm. Wrigley Jr., renowned for its chewing gum, attempted to buy Hershey for $12.5 billion, irate local residents signed petitions and staged rallies to stop plans to sell the company. The then attorney general sought to block the deal, prompting the Trust to call off the sale at the last minute. When some residents complained about the planned demolition of parts of an old Hershey factory in 2012, the company went ahead anyway. "People like things to stay the way they are," said a 63-year-old resident who has lived in Hershey since 1978. To be sure, not all Hershey residents are attached to the status quo. Some younger residents voiced indifference to the future of the candy maker, saying practical business considerations should take precedence. On paper, a sale to Mondelez could benefit Hershey. Hershey has a strong US presence while Mondelez has a global network. A marriage of the two would create the world's largest confectionary company with an estimated 18 per cent of the market share, said market research firm Euromonitor International Ltd. While Mondelez has vowed to keep Hershey's name and preserve jobs, some said such promises would ring empty with loyal "Hershey-ites." US food giant Kraft, now known as Kraft Heinz Co, drew controversy in 2010 after it shut a factory in southwest England following its takeover of Cadbury, now owned by Mondelez, reneging on an earlier promise to keep the factory open. "Would I like it to be sold? No," said the 63-year-old resident. "There is the legacy and the history of Mr Hershey, and what becomes of the Trust? I don't know what will become of the school and the Trust." (Reuters)

Chocolate giant Hershey may face bitter opposition in namesake town

Indian manufacturing activity edged up to a three-month high in June, driven by stronger demand, but firms barely raised prices, a private survey showed, leaving the door open for another rate cut by the central bank this year.

The Nikkei/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers&#39; Index (PMI) rose to 51.7 in June from May&#39;s 50.7, its sixth month above the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction after it fell below that level in December for the first time in more than two years.

&quot;The domestic market continues to be the main growth driver, as the Indian economic upturn provides a steady stream of new business,&quot; said Pollyanna De Lima, economist at Markit.

&quot;There were also signs of an improvement in overseas markets, as new foreign orders rose. However, it looks as if lackluster global demand remains a headwind for Indian manufacturers.&quot;&nbsp;

While retail inflation hit a near two-year high in May, the survey&#39;s output prices sub-index fell to a three-month low of 50.1 in June versus 50.5 the previous month, as input costs rose at a weaker pace.&nbsp;

There was also broadly no change to manufacturing employment in India during June, the survey showed.

&quot;This lack of inflationary pressures provides the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) with further leeway to boost economic growth through cutting its benchmark rate,&quot; said De Lima.&nbsp;

According to a Reuters poll, RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan could deliver another rate cut before his term ends in September. After cutting rates in April, he has left the key interest rate unchanged at a five-year low of 6.50 per cent.&nbsp;

However, at the June policy meeting he signalled another rate cut later in the year if monsoon rains were sufficient enough to dampen upward pressure on food prices.&nbsp;

Rains are expected to be above average this year which could keep prices in control and give the government room to focus on key economic reforms in tandem with low interest rates. 
 
(Reuters)

The purchasing managers' index, an indicator of the health of the sector, rose from 50.7 to 51.7

Indian manufacturing activity edged up to a three-month high in June, driven by stronger demand, but firms barely raised prices, a private survey showed, leaving the door open for another rate cut by the central bank this year. The Nikkei/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to 51.7 in June from May's 50.7, its sixth month above the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction after it fell below that level in December for the first time in more than two years. "The domestic market continues to be the main growth driver, as the Indian economic upturn provides a steady stream of new business," said Pollyanna De Lima, economist at Markit. "There were also signs of an improvement in overseas markets, as new foreign orders rose. However, it looks as if lackluster global demand remains a headwind for Indian manufacturers." While retail inflation hit a near two-year high in May, the survey's output prices sub-index fell to a three-month low of 50.1 in June versus 50.5 the previous month, as input costs rose at a weaker pace. There was also broadly no change to manufacturing employment in India during June, the survey showed. "This lack of inflationary pressures provides the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) with further leeway to boost economic growth through cutting its benchmark rate," said De Lima. According to a Reuters poll, RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan could deliver another rate cut before his term ends in September. After cutting rates in April, he has left the key interest rate unchanged at a five-year low of 6.50 per cent. However, at the June policy meeting he signalled another rate cut later in the year if monsoon rains were sufficient enough to dampen upward pressure on food prices. Rains are expected to be above average this year which could keep prices in control and give the government room to focus on key economic reforms in tandem with low interest rates. (Reuters)

India's manufacturing growth hits 3-month high

Suzuki Motor Corp, on Wednesday, tapped the son of the company patriarch to become chief executive, keeping management of Japan`s fourth-largest automaker with the founding family as it tries to recover from a testing scandal. 
 
The widely expected announcement followed an annual shareholders meeting earlier in the day, when the company said it anticipated &quot;major&quot; impact from volatility in currency markets after Britain voted to leave the European Union. 
 
Toshihiro Suzuki, 57, assumes his role after his father, long-serving chairman Osamu, last month said he would step down as CEO to take responsibility for the firm&#39;s use of incorrect testing methods to calculate vehicle mileage. 
 
Osamu, 86, will remain chairman. Having led the company since 1978, the patriarch will extend his run as one of the longest-serving global auto executives, raising questions about how much longer he can run the company. 
 
Analysts said that while succession had been a long time coming, having father and son in the top two positions means Osamu would reign as he has for nearly 40 years. 
 
&quot;So long as Osamu-san remains chairman, nothing much is going to change,&quot; Marusan Securities analyst Hiroaki Mochida said. 
 
But Mochida said in the near term, Osamu was the best hope in fighting off competition in emerging markets including India, where Suzuki commands a market share of around 40 per cent. 
 
Wednesday&#39;s announcement marks the second executive position passed on by Osamu to his eldest son, who becomes CEO nearly a year after being appointed president as part of the succession plan. 
 
Quiet and soft-spoken in comparison to his outspoken father, Toshihiro joined Suzuki in 1994 after a stint at parts supplier Denso Corp, and led the company&#39;s product planning and global marketing divisions. 
 
Brexit Impact 
 
Earlier on Wednesday, Osamu brushed off a call from a shareholder to relinquish control to take responsibility for lax procedures which led to the use of wrong testing methods, sullying Suzuki`s brand image. 
 
&quot;Stepping down (completely) to take responsibility is irresponsible,&quot; Osamu told applauding investors. &quot;It`s important to stay at the company to prevent a repeat of the worst scandal facing the company (since I&#39;ve led it).&quot; 
 
At the meeting, the company said volatility in the Indian rupee and euro would have a negative impact on earnings, adding it would mitigate the impact through cost-cutting and increased local procurement at overseas plants. 
 
Budgeting for exchange rates of around 105 Yen to the US Dollar and 120 Yen to the Euro through March, Suzuki is already bracing for a 62.0 billion Yen ($605.59 million) hit this year due to currencies, contributing to a 7.8 per cent slide in annual operating profit versus the year earlier. 
 
Analysts said a rise to 100 Yen and 110 Yen in the Dollar and Euro respectively will weigh on operating profit by around five per cent this year, lower than the average hit of around 17 per cent across Japanese automakers expected by JPMorgan analysts. 
 
With a diversified production base featuring India and Hungary, Suzuki has lower currency exposure than Japanese peers. The automaker produces roughly 6.5 per cent of output in Europe, compared with around 59 per cent in Asia excluding China. 
 
(Reuters)

Toshihiro Suzuki assumes his role after his father steps down as CEO to take responsibility for the firm's use of incorrect testing methods

Suzuki Motor Corp, on Wednesday, tapped the son of the company patriarch to become chief executive, keeping management of Japan`s fourth-largest automaker with the founding family as it tries to recover from a testing scandal. The widely expected announcement followed an annual shareholders meeting earlier in the day, when the company said it anticipated "major" impact from volatility in currency markets after Britain voted to leave the European Union. Toshihiro Suzuki, 57, assumes his role after his father, long-serving chairman Osamu, last month said he would step down as CEO to take responsibility for the firm's use of incorrect testing methods to calculate vehicle mileage. Osamu, 86, will remain chairman. Having led the company since 1978, the patriarch will extend his run as one of the longest-serving global auto executives, raising questions about how much longer he can run the company. Analysts said that while succession had been a long time coming, having father and son in the top two positions means Osamu would reign as he has for nearly 40 years. "So long as Osamu-san remains chairman, nothing much is going to change," Marusan Securities analyst Hiroaki Mochida said. But Mochida said in the near term, Osamu was the best hope in fighting off competition in emerging markets including India, where Suzuki commands a market share of around 40 per cent. Wednesday's announcement marks the second executive position passed on by Osamu to his eldest son, who becomes CEO nearly a year after being appointed president as part of the succession plan. Quiet and soft-spoken in comparison to his outspoken father, Toshihiro joined Suzuki in 1994 after a stint at parts supplier Denso Corp, and led the company's product planning and global marketing divisions. Brexit Impact Earlier on Wednesday, Osamu brushed off a call from a shareholder to relinquish control to take responsibility for lax procedures which led to the use of wrong testing methods, sullying Suzuki`s brand image. "Stepping down (completely) to take responsibility is irresponsible," Osamu told applauding investors. "It`s important to stay at the company to prevent a repeat of the worst scandal facing the company (since I've led it)." At the meeting, the company said volatility in the Indian rupee and euro would have a negative impact on earnings, adding it would mitigate the impact through cost-cutting and increased local procurement at overseas plants. Budgeting for exchange rates of around 105 Yen to the US Dollar and 120 Yen to the Euro through March, Suzuki is already bracing for a 62.0 billion Yen ($605.59 million) hit this year due to currencies, contributing to a 7.8 per cent slide in annual operating profit versus the year earlier. Analysts said a rise to 100 Yen and 110 Yen in the Dollar and Euro respectively will weigh on operating profit by around five per cent this year, lower than the average hit of around 17 per cent across Japanese automakers expected by JPMorgan analysts. With a diversified production base featuring India and Hungary, Suzuki has lower currency exposure than Japanese peers. The automaker produces roughly 6.5 per cent of output in Europe, compared with around 59 per cent in Asia excluding China. (Reuters)

Suzuki Motor appoints founding family scion as CEO

Wal-Mart Stores Inc said on Monday it plans to sell its Chinese e-commerce business Yihaodian to Chinese online retailer JD.com Inc for a 5 per cent equity stake in JD.com, a strategic alliance that aims to expand WalMart&#39;s reach in China. 
 
Under the deal, JD.com will issue about 145 million new class A shares to Wal-Mart, worth about $1.5 billion at JD.com&#39;s current valuation. 
 
Shares of Wal-Mart rose 26 cents, or 0.4 per cent, to $71.21 in afternoon New York Stock Exchange trading. JD.com&#39;s ADRs were up nearly 8 per cent, or $1.56, at $21.58 
 
Wal-Mart took a stake in Yihaodian, which has focussed on online grocery sales and caters to affluent female customers, in 2011 before taking full ownership last July. 
 
That deal combined Yihaodian&#39;s local expertise with Wal-Mart&#39;s global sourcing and supply chain capabilities, but growth was hindered when Wal-Mart narrowed the number of sellers on the site, according to a note from Barclays issued on Monday. 
 
In the latest agreement, JD.Com, China&#39;s second-largest online retailer, will control the Yihaodian brand and website, while Walmart will continue to operate the Yihaodian direct sales business and will sell on the Yihaodian marketplace. 
 
The deal will give Walmart access to JD.Com&#39;s online traffic and expand its reach into the Chinese market. Sam&#39;s Club China will open a flagship store on JD.Com and utilise its delivery network, the companies said. Walmart&rsquo;s China stores will be listed as a preferred retailer on JD.com&rsquo;s crowd-sourced platform, O2O JV Dada. 
 
Brian Yarbrough, an analyst with Edward Jones, said the deal with JD.com was a more cost-effective way for Wal-Mart to get its products and name in the marketplace by partnering with a large, experienced player. 
 
&quot;It doesn&#39;t mean that they&#39;ve pulled away, but to me it tells me they are trying to make smarter investments,&quot; said Yarbrough. 
 
Walmart&rsquo;s financial adviser on the deal was Morgan Stanley &amp; Co. LLC and its legal advisor was Morrison &amp; Foerster LLP. JD.com&rsquo;s legal advisors were Orrick Herrington Sutcliffe LLP and Han Kun Law Offices. 
 
(Reuters)

The deal will give Walmart access to JD.Com's online traffic and expand its reach into the Chinese market

Wal-Mart Stores Inc said on Monday it plans to sell its Chinese e-commerce business Yihaodian to Chinese online retailer JD.com Inc for a 5 per cent equity stake in JD.com, a strategic alliance that aims to expand WalMart's reach in China. Under the deal, JD.com will issue about 145 million new class A shares to Wal-Mart, worth about $1.5 billion at JD.com's current valuation. Shares of Wal-Mart rose 26 cents, or 0.4 per cent, to $71.21 in afternoon New York Stock Exchange trading. JD.com's ADRs were up nearly 8 per cent, or $1.56, at $21.58 Wal-Mart took a stake in Yihaodian, which has focussed on online grocery sales and caters to affluent female customers, in 2011 before taking full ownership last July. That deal combined Yihaodian's local expertise with Wal-Mart's global sourcing and supply chain capabilities, but growth was hindered when Wal-Mart narrowed the number of sellers on the site, according to a note from Barclays issued on Monday. In the latest agreement, JD.Com, China's second-largest online retailer, will control the Yihaodian brand and website, while Walmart will continue to operate the Yihaodian direct sales business and will sell on the Yihaodian marketplace. The deal will give Walmart access to JD.Com's online traffic and expand its reach into the Chinese market. Sam's Club China will open a flagship store on JD.Com and utilise its delivery network, the companies said. Walmart’s China stores will be listed as a preferred retailer on JD.com’s crowd-sourced platform, O2O JV Dada. Brian Yarbrough, an analyst with Edward Jones, said the deal with JD.com was a more cost-effective way for Wal-Mart to get its products and name in the marketplace by partnering with a large, experienced player. "It doesn't mean that they've pulled away, but to me it tells me they are trying to make smarter investments," said Yarbrough. Walmart’s financial adviser on the deal was Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC and its legal advisor was Morrison & Foerster LLP. JD.com’s legal advisors were Orrick Herrington Sutcliffe LLP and Han Kun Law Offices. (Reuters)

Wal-Mart to sell its China e-biz to JD.com for 5% stake

Increased technology usage and digitisation of the economy have escalated cyberattacks in India, and nearly 70 per cent of Nifty 50 companies are vulnerable to hackers, reveals a PwC survey. 
 
According to the report, out of the 50 companies studied, 34 (or 68 per cent) had identified vulnerabilities in at least one or more of their Internet-facing properties. 
 
The PwC survey about transgressions in Indian cyberspace of these companies further said, 525 email addresses belonging to the 34 companies were compromised, meaning hackers had access to those email addresses. 
 
&quot;Cybersecurity is no more restricted to Chief Information Officers (CIOs) or Chief Security Officers (CSOs) but needs serious attention of the higher management,&quot; Sivarama Krishnan, the leader of cyber security at PwC India said. 
 
Furthermore, 200 IP addresses belonging to the 34 companies were blacklisted by various Internet Service Providers (ISPs), implying that the ISPs found these IPs to be involved in spreading malicious traffic on the Internet, sending spam emails, or acting as a botnet in large cyber attacks, the report noted. 
 
&quot;There is a perceptible shift in the way modern threats are carried out, and the types of responses needed, and the surge in cyber crimes, manifests how these attackers are extensively-equipped with resources besides having a high technical skill set,&quot; Krishnan added. 
 
Sectorwise, media &amp; entertainment, automobiles, consumer goods and energy had the highest number of vulnerabilities. 
 
&quot;Hackers today are just not the tech enthusiasts, but are more sophisticated and organised in their approach to probe their targets and companies need to, more than ever before, adopt sophisticated security analytical tools to prevent such crimes,&quot; Krishnan said. 
 
According to the report, transgressions in Indian cyberspace have more than doubled over the past year to 6,284 incidents per respondent. The average number of attacks in India is fast catching up with the global average of 6,853 incidents per respondent. 
(PTI)

Transgressions in Indian cyberspace have more than doubled over the past year, a PricewaterhouseCoopers report says

Increased technology usage and digitisation of the economy have escalated cyberattacks in India, and nearly 70 per cent of Nifty 50 companies are vulnerable to hackers, reveals a PwC survey. According to the report, out of the 50 companies studied, 34 (or 68 per cent) had identified vulnerabilities in at least one or more of their Internet-facing properties. The PwC survey about transgressions in Indian cyberspace of these companies further said, 525 email addresses belonging to the 34 companies were compromised, meaning hackers had access to those email addresses. "Cybersecurity is no more restricted to Chief Information Officers (CIOs) or Chief Security Officers (CSOs) but needs serious attention of the higher management," Sivarama Krishnan, the leader of cyber security at PwC India said. Furthermore, 200 IP addresses belonging to the 34 companies were blacklisted by various Internet Service Providers (ISPs), implying that the ISPs found these IPs to be involved in spreading malicious traffic on the Internet, sending spam emails, or acting as a botnet in large cyber attacks, the report noted. "There is a perceptible shift in the way modern threats are carried out, and the types of responses needed, and the surge in cyber crimes, manifests how these attackers are extensively-equipped with resources besides having a high technical skill set," Krishnan added. Sectorwise, media & entertainment, automobiles, consumer goods and energy had the highest number of vulnerabilities. "Hackers today are just not the tech enthusiasts, but are more sophisticated and organised in their approach to probe their targets and companies need to, more than ever before, adopt sophisticated security analytical tools to prevent such crimes," Krishnan said. According to the report, transgressions in Indian cyberspace have more than doubled over the past year to 6,284 incidents per respondent. The average number of attacks in India is fast catching up with the global average of 6,853 incidents per respondent. (PTI)

Rising cyberattacks affect majority of India's big companies

&ldquo;When the earth is sick and polluted, human health is impossible.... To heal ourselves we must heal our planet, and to heal our planet we must heal ourselves&rdquo; --Bobby Mcleod, Aboriginal poet and activist,&nbsp; 
 
These words provide us with a poignant reminder about what needs to be done to save our planet. Fast-paced consumerism and insatiable materialism have come to define our species and in the process set our planet on the path to destruction. Our rapacious greed has put a question mark on the future of the only known planet in the universe that can sustain life. 
 
The time could not be more ripe to launch aggressive self-correction measures. Unfortunately, our leaders are still in a game of establishing onus on the basis of traditional responsibility, rather than coming together to take strong and decisive measures aimed at reducing carbon emissions. While the political economy of climate change goals has led to some sort of a stalemate in the international arena, there are solutions which can be adopted by cities to rein in rising air pollution levels without much dependence from political leaders. These solutions can be implemented by business models that inherently support environmental goals.&nbsp; 
 
For example, one of the biggest sources of pollution is automobiles. While moving to cleaner and more efficient fuel-operated vehicles is the most ideal option for curtailing city pollution levels, in emerging economies considerable time is needed before complementary infrastructure can be created to support this move. Thus, there is a dire need to think of short-term solutions that can address the challenge of rising car ownership and pollution levels in the city. 
 
Recently, the role of transporting people from point A to point B in a city has been assumed by technology aggregators. A complex innovation displayed in the simplest form is solving the inefficiencies that have haunted the urban transportation sector for centuries. But do these players solve other challenges through their technology? In particular, aren&rsquo;t the aggregators simply adding more cars on the road and adding to traffic snarls and city pollution levels? The answer is no!&nbsp; 
 
The sophistication of technology has allowed them to build products that marry innovation with traditional concepts aimed at reducing congestion and pollution. One such product is &ldquo;carpooling&rdquo; or &ldquo;ridesharing&rdquo; as these aggregators are calling it today. Simply put, the idea is aimed at efficient utilisation of existing assets while directly impacting a city&rsquo;s space availability and carbon emissions generated by vehicles. The concept is old but the advancement in technology has navigated the challenges the idea encountered in a non-digital space such as optimising conflicting schedules, making sharing a ride comfortable, et cetera. However, amid all the talk about decongestion of cities and cheaper transport options that have been generated by these options, a quiet revolution has the potential of making significant value additions to our climate change goals. 
 
Ridesharing promotes more people in fewer cars and results in the reduction of emissions, because the number of kilometres driven across a city and fuel burned are reduced significantly. Further, as more people embrace this means of transportation, a wonderful and complementary relationship is created between public transport and these services, which disincentivises car ownership substantially. At a time when cities like Delhi have a vehicular density of 80 vehicles per kilometre and 27 lakh personal vehicles with 1,463 new vehicles added to the city every day, one is compelled to think of scenarios which can reverse this trend. 
 
A &ldquo;stick&rdquo; approach would entail levy of congestion charges and other related taxes, but a more innovative solution comes in the form of people using their existing personal vehicles to offer rides to other people travelling to the same destination or nearby. The experiment has already generated positive impact from both a decongestion and environmental perspective. 
 
For example, Uber&rsquo;s study of ridesharing in LA revealed that in eight months it managed to reduce 1,400 metric tonnes of CO2 emissions. In San Francisco, the monthly reduction totalled 120 metric tonnes. As this model is scaled, it will further benefit the environment not only because of reduced emissions but also because of the opening up of urban space which would otherwise be earmarked for public parking or extension of road lengths. The free space could be used for environmental goals, such as the creation of public parks.&nbsp; 
 
It is estimated that every carpool helps remove four cars from the road, which is as good as planting 4,000 trees. Imagine the impact we can have on Delhi&rsquo;s abysmal air pollution levels if we turned on the private ridesharing switch on each of its its 27 lakh personal vehicle. 
 
This is essentially the way forward for ensuring sustainable development &ndash; building profitable business models led by technology-driven solutions that also benefit collective environmental goals. Such ideas require public and government support. An enabling regulatory landscape would help environmentally-conscious companies to scale their business and effect momentous transformation in the way we have traditionally operated. 
 
To this end, while we continue to bicker over the Intended Nationally Determined Commitments (INDC) and Common but Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR), there is a real opportunity for local government, citizenry and businesses to come together and bring about incremental changes to reduce emissions.

As climate change worsens cleaner transportation is essential, but waiting for politicians to act is taking forever...

“When the earth is sick and polluted, human health is impossible.... To heal ourselves we must heal our planet, and to heal our planet we must heal ourselves” --Bobby Mcleod, Aboriginal poet and activist, These words provide us with a poignant reminder about what needs to be done to save our planet. Fast-paced consumerism and insatiable materialism have come to define our species and in the process set our planet on the path to destruction. Our rapacious greed has put a question mark on the future of the only known planet in the universe that can sustain life. The time could not be more ripe to launch aggressive self-correction measures. Unfortunately, our leaders are still in a game of establishing onus on the basis of traditional responsibility, rather than coming together to take strong and decisive measures aimed at reducing carbon emissions. While the political economy of climate change goals has led to some sort of a stalemate in the international arena, there are solutions which can be adopted by cities to rein in rising air pollution levels without much dependence from political leaders. These solutions can be implemented by business models that inherently support environmental goals. For example, one of the biggest sources of pollution is automobiles. While moving to cleaner and more efficient fuel-operated vehicles is the most ideal option for curtailing city pollution levels, in emerging economies considerable time is needed before complementary infrastructure can be created to support this move. Thus, there is a dire need to think of short-term solutions that can address the challenge of rising car ownership and pollution levels in the city. Recently, the role of transporting people from point A to point B in a city has been assumed by technology aggregators. A complex innovation displayed in the simplest form is solving the inefficiencies that have haunted the urban transportation sector for centuries. But do these players solve other challenges through their technology? In particular, aren’t the aggregators simply adding more cars on the road and adding to traffic snarls and city pollution levels? The answer is no! The sophistication of technology has allowed them to build products that marry innovation with traditional concepts aimed at reducing congestion and pollution. One such product is “carpooling” or “ridesharing” as these aggregators are calling it today. Simply put, the idea is aimed at efficient utilisation of existing assets while directly impacting a city’s space availability and carbon emissions generated by vehicles. The concept is old but the advancement in technology has navigated the challenges the idea encountered in a non-digital space such as optimising conflicting schedules, making sharing a ride comfortable, et cetera. However, amid all the talk about decongestion of cities and cheaper transport options that have been generated by these options, a quiet revolution has the potential of making significant value additions to our climate change goals. Ridesharing promotes more people in fewer cars and results in the reduction of emissions, because the number of kilometres driven across a city and fuel burned are reduced significantly. Further, as more people embrace this means of transportation, a wonderful and complementary relationship is created between public transport and these services, which disincentivises car ownership substantially. At a time when cities like Delhi have a vehicular density of 80 vehicles per kilometre and 27 lakh personal vehicles with 1,463 new vehicles added to the city every day, one is compelled to think of scenarios which can reverse this trend. A “stick” approach would entail levy of congestion charges and other related taxes, but a more innovative solution comes in the form of people using their existing personal vehicles to offer rides to other people travelling to the same destination or nearby. The experiment has already generated positive impact from both a decongestion and environmental perspective. For example, Uber’s study of ridesharing in LA revealed that in eight months it managed to reduce 1,400 metric tonnes of CO2 emissions. In San Francisco, the monthly reduction totalled 120 metric tonnes. As this model is scaled, it will further benefit the environment not only because of reduced emissions but also because of the opening up of urban space which would otherwise be earmarked for public parking or extension of road lengths. The free space could be used for environmental goals, such as the creation of public parks. It is estimated that every carpool helps remove four cars from the road, which is as good as planting 4,000 trees. Imagine the impact we can have on Delhi’s abysmal air pollution levels if we turned on the private ridesharing switch on each of its its 27 lakh personal vehicle. This is essentially the way forward for ensuring sustainable development – building profitable business models led by technology-driven solutions that also benefit collective environmental goals. Such ideas require public and government support. An enabling regulatory landscape would help environmentally-conscious companies to scale their business and effect momentous transformation in the way we have traditionally operated. To this end, while we continue to bicker over the Intended Nationally Determined Commitments (INDC) and Common but Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR), there is a real opportunity for local government, citizenry and businesses to come together and bring about incremental changes to reduce emissions.

Technology and business must combine to help commuters navigate congested cities

India and the US welcomed preparations that could lead to the building of six nuclear reactors in India by US-based Westinghouse, in what would be the culmination of some 10 years of work to resolve civil-nuclear issues. 
 
The joint statement said India and the US&nbsp;Export-Import Bank were working to complete a financing package for the project and that the Nuclear Power Corporation of India and Westinghouse had confirmed engineering and site design work would begin immediately. 
 
It said Westinghouse and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India would work toward finalizing the contract by June 2017 - a year later than Westinghouse&#39;s chief executive&nbsp;Daniel Roderick&nbsp;said he had hoped for.&nbsp; 
 
The text of a logistics agreement, which will allow the countries&#39; militaries to&nbsp;use each other&#39;s land, air and naval bases, would be signed soon, a US&nbsp;official said. 
 
Modi&nbsp;told an event organized by the US&nbsp;India Business Council that relations between India and the United States were &quot;closer than ever&quot;. He said the planned reactor purchases would mark new era in nuclear and scientific cooperation. 
 
Modi&#39;s address to a joint session of Congress will be a significant personal step. Although this has become a&nbsp;tradition for Indian prime ministers, he was once banned from the United States for his alleged involvement in 2002 Gujarat riots. 
 
More than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed in sectarian riots in Gujarat in 2002 when Modi&nbsp;had just become the state&#39;s chief minister.&nbsp;Modi&nbsp;has denied any wrongdoing, and India&#39;s Supreme Court in 2010 ruled there was no case. 
 
In the joint statement, the United States said it now recognized India as a &quot;Major Defence Partner&quot; and would work on technology sharing &quot;to a level commensurate with that of its closest allies and partners&quot;. 
 
Tensions between the United States and Pakistan, as well as regional concerns about China,&nbsp;have served as a backdrop to increased security cooperation. 
 
Senator John McCain, chairman of the US&nbsp;Senate Armed Services Committee, said the address to Congress was &quot;entirely appropriate&quot; given the new partnership. 
 
&quot;There&rsquo;s no doubt there are significant tensions and challenges in the region, which argues for closer coordination between our militaries,&quot; he said. 
 
While&nbsp;Modi&nbsp;is generally popular with the US&nbsp;lawmakers, they criticize what they see as lingering unfriendliness to US&nbsp;firms and a stifling bureaucracy, in spite of&nbsp;Modi&#39;s pro-business image. They also question New Delhi&#39;s record on human rights. 
 
Modi&nbsp;got a boost on Tuesday when Amazon Inc&nbsp;Chief Executive Jeff Bezos said his company will&nbsp;invest an additional $3 billion in India, increasing&nbsp;its committed investment in the country to over $5 billion.

The US said it now recognized India as a "Major Defence Partner" and would work on technology sharing "to a level commensurate with that of its closest allies and partners"

India and the US welcomed preparations that could lead to the building of six nuclear reactors in India by US-based Westinghouse, in what would be the culmination of some 10 years of work to resolve civil-nuclear issues. The joint statement said India and the US Export-Import Bank were working to complete a financing package for the project and that the Nuclear Power Corporation of India and Westinghouse had confirmed engineering and site design work would begin immediately. It said Westinghouse and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India would work toward finalizing the contract by June 2017 - a year later than Westinghouse's chief executive Daniel Roderick said he had hoped for. The text of a logistics agreement, which will allow the countries' militaries to use each other's land, air and naval bases, would be signed soon, a US official said. Modi told an event organized by the US India Business Council that relations between India and the United States were "closer than ever". He said the planned reactor purchases would mark new era in nuclear and scientific cooperation. Modi's address to a joint session of Congress will be a significant personal step. Although this has become a tradition for Indian prime ministers, he was once banned from the United States for his alleged involvement in 2002 Gujarat riots. More than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed in sectarian riots in Gujarat in 2002 when Modi had just become the state's chief minister. Modi has denied any wrongdoing, and India's Supreme Court in 2010 ruled there was no case. In the joint statement, the United States said it now recognized India as a "Major Defence Partner" and would work on technology sharing "to a level commensurate with that of its closest allies and partners". Tensions between the United States and Pakistan, as well as regional concerns about China, have served as a backdrop to increased security cooperation. Senator John McCain, chairman of the US Senate Armed Services Committee, said the address to Congress was "entirely appropriate" given the new partnership. "There’s no doubt there are significant tensions and challenges in the region, which argues for closer coordination between our militaries," he said. While Modi is generally popular with the US lawmakers, they criticize what they see as lingering unfriendliness to US firms and a stifling bureaucracy, in spite of Modi's pro-business image. They also question New Delhi's record on human rights. Modi got a boost on Tuesday when Amazon Inc Chief Executive Jeff Bezos said his company will invest an additional $3 billion in India, increasing its committed investment in the country to over $5 billion.

Obama and Modi talks touch on nuclear power, military cooperation and Big Business

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