Sunday, March 30, 2014

Daily News: Reuters Business News Headlines - Japan factory output contracts, dims growth outlook as tax hike looms

Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 09:27 PM PDT
Today's Reuters Business News Headlines - Yahoo News:

Japan factory output contracts, dims growth outlook as tax hike looms 
Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 09:27 PM PDT
Man walks inside factory at Keihin industrial zone in Kawasaki, south of TokyoBy Tetsushi Kajimoto and Stanley White TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's factory output unexpectedly fell in February at the fastest pace in eight months, leaving the economy in a precarious position as an impending sales tax hike threatens to choke consumption and undermine the government's revival plan. Analysts say that with the national sales tax rising to 8 percent from 5 percent on Tuesday, the Bank of Japan will probably need to inject more stimulus to safeguard a recovery amid a recent loss of momentum. Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) data showed on Tuesday industrial output fell 2.3 percent in February from the previous month, versus a 0.3 percent rise seen by economists in a Reuters poll. Manufacturers surveyed by the ministry expect output to rise 0.9 percent in March but decrease 0.6 percent in April, the METI said, shrugging off the weak February reading as a one-off factor due to unusually heavy snow that disrupted factory activity.
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Alibaba invests $692 million in Chinese department store operator 
Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 09:24 PM PDT
File photo of an employee walking past a logo of Alibaba Group at its headquarters on the outskirts of HangzhouBy Elzio Barreto HONG KONG (Reuters) - China's Alibaba Group Holding Ltd agreed to invest $692 million in a Chinese department store operator as the e-commerce giant looks to bring the benefits and convenience of online shopping to customers who visit real bricks-and-mortar stores. Alibaba, whose businesses will come under investor scrutiny ahead of the group's planned mega IPO in the United States this year, said it will buy $214 million worth of shares in Hong Kong-listed Intime Retail (Group) Co Ltd. It also agreed to acquire $478 million of convertible bonds, which would give Alibaba a 26.1 percent stake in the department store operator once the bonds are converted into shares in three years. In recent months Alibaba has gone on a shopping spree, spending more than $2.7 billion to expand into media, chat services and mapping technology. The expansion has encroached on the turf of social networking giant Tencent Holdings Ltd, which has in turn made inroads into Alibaba's territory with its partnership with China's No.2 online retailer JD.com.
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Mitsubishi Motors buys ex-Ford plant in Philippines in SE Asia growth push 
Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 09:23 PM PDT
The logo of Mitsubishi Motors is seen on the front part of the company's car at the company showroom in TokyoBy Yoko Kubota TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Mitsubishi Motors Corp said it has bought the site of a former auto plant in the Philippines from Ford Motor Co , beefing up production as it targets a near-50 percent sales boost in fast-growing Southeast Asia markets. Mitsubishi Motors, the second-biggest automaker in the Philippines by sales volume after Toyota Motor Corp , said on Monday it will centre its Philippines production at the plant in Laguna from January 2015. As part of the strategy, the auto maker will close and sell its ageing existing Philippines plant in Rizal, spokeswoman Tomoko Kawabe said.
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Philippine ship dodges China blockade to reach South China Sea outpost 
Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 09:10 PM PDT
The BRP Sierra Madre, a marooned transport ship which Philippine Marines live on as a military outpost, is pictured in the disputed Second Thomas ShoalBy Erik de Castro and Roli Ng SECOND THOMAS SHOAL, South China Sea (Reuters) -The Philippine government vessel made a dash for shallow waters around the disputed reef in the South China Sea, evading two Chinese coastguard ships trying to block its path to deliver food, water and fresh troops to a military outpost on the shoal. It's also a reminder of how assertive China has become in pressing its claims to disputed territory far from its mainland. "If we didn't change direction, if we didn't change course, then we would have collided with them," Ferdinand Gato, captain of the Philippine vessel, a civilian craft, told Reuters after his boat had anchored on the Second Thomas Shoal under a hot sun. China, which claims 90 percent of the South China Sea, says the shoal is part of its territory.
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Bank of England says may revive securitisation to aid recovery 
Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 08:15 PM PDT
By Huw Jones LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England may try to revive the securitised debt market to support the economic recovery, a policymaker said on Friday, in the latest sign that products that triggered the financial crisis are being brought in out of the cold. Clara Furse, a member of the BoE's Financial Policy Committee, said small firms are finding it hard to get loans from banks focused on meeting tougher capital requirements following the 2007-09 financial crisis. The FPC monitors risks in the broader financial system. Furse said the FPC would assess and where necessary act to promote a better-functioning market in Britain for securitisation, which bundles loans into bonds.
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Asian stocks edge higher on growing hopes of China stimulus 
Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 08:14 PM PDT
A man is reflected in a stock quotation board outside a brokerage in TokyoBy Shinichi Saoshiro TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian stocks were up slightly in a cautious start to the week on Monday, with investors holding out hopes that China would take steps to stimulate its economy. China's Premier Li Keqiang on Friday sought to reassure jittery global investors that Beijing was ready to support the cooling economy, saying the government had the necessary policies in place and would push ahead with infrastructure investment. China stimulus hopes were unable to shore up all equity markets in Asia, however, with South Korea's KOSPI trading nearly flat. The euro lingered near a one-month low hit against the dollar on Friday after an unexpected drop in Spanish and German inflation bolstered expectations the European Central Bank could further ease monetary policy as early as Thursday.
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Londoners fall in love with cat cafe 
Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 08:13 PM PDT
Pedestrians look at a cat in a window at the Lady Dinah's Cat Emporium in LondonLady Dinah's Cat Emporium on the fringe of London's financial district is cashing in on an idea first popularised in Japan to allow stressed-out workers to wind down by stroking a cat while sipping a cappuccino or latte - or tea, if you prefer. If you're lucky one of them will fall asleep on your lap," said Anna Kogan, an investment banker who is co-owner of Dinah's along with Australian Lauren Pears. Cat lovers stormed the cafe's online booking system within hours of its launch, making more than 3,000 bookings and causing the system to temporarily crash.
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Tyrie calls insurance review leak an 'extraordinary blunder' 
Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 08:11 PM PDT
The logo of the new Financial Conduct Authority is seen at the agency's headquarters in the Canary Wharf business district of LondonThe head of the Treasury Committee on Saturday described as an "extraordinary blunder" the leak of a planned review by the financial services watchdog into the life insurance industry, which sent shares in insurers tumbling. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) was due to announce the investigation in its annual business plan on Monday. But a senior FCA supervisor outlined the review in a press interview on Friday. "On the face of it, this is an extraordinary blunder," Andrew Tyrie, the Treasury Committee head, said in a statement.
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Osborne denies report that independent Scotland would keep pound 
Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 08:10 PM PDT
Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Osborne delivers a speech on the forthcoming Scottish independence referendum in Edinburgh in ScotlandChancellor George Osborne on Saturday denied a newspaper report that Scotland may keep the pound even if it votes for independence later this year, an issue at the heart of the Scottish secession debate. Polls show the question of what currency an independent Scotland would use has been high in Scottish voters' minds ahead of an independence referendum on September 18, with many worrying about the economic uncertainties a new currency would bring if they voted to end the 300-year-old union with England. "Walking out of the UK means walking out of the UK pound," he said on Saturday in a joint statement with Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander. Scottish nationalists want to share the pound in a currency union with the UK and retain the services of the Bank of England.
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China's Huawei books quickest profit growth in four years on smartphone demand 
Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 08:04 PM PDT
A man looks at a Huawei mobile phone as he shops at an electronic market in ShanghaiBy Yimou Lee and Paul Carsten SHENZHEN/BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Huawei Technologies Ltd, the world's No.2 telecommunications equipment maker, reported its fastest profit growth in four years as expansion in enterprise and consumer revenue far exceeded growth in its network building division. The unlisted company has benefited from companies investing heavily in cloud and mobile computing, while it has shipped so many mobile handsets that it became the world's third-biggest smartphone manufacturer last year. Shenzhen-based Huawei is now looking for revenue from Chinese mobile phone operators switching to fourth-generation networks to cushion the impact of a slowdown in network spending abroad.
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FCA to announce increase in 2014-15 budget - Sky News 
Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 07:51 PM PDT
Wheatley FSA's managing director speaks at Thomson Reuters building in LondonThe Financial Conduct Authority will set out plans on Monday for an increase in its annual funding requirement for 2014-15, Sky News reported late Sunday. The FCA's 2014-15 budget does not take into account the cost of regulating thousands of consumer credit providers, which will transfer to the auspices of the regulator for the first time this week, Sky said. The news service reported without citing sources that the fees will be frozen for thousands of the smallest firms regulated by the FCA, with the minimum charge remaining at 1,000 pounds. Earlier in the day, the Sunday Times reported that Martin Wheatley, chief executive of the FCA, is facing calls for his resignation after a gaffe that wiped billions of pounds from the value of insurance companies.
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U.S. stock markets are rigged, says author Michael Lewis 
Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 07:43 PM PDT
By John McCrank NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. stock market is rigged in favor of high-speed electronic trading firms, which use their advantages to extract billions from investors, according to Michael Lewis, author of a new book on the topic, "Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt." High-frequency trading (HFT) is a practice carried out by many banks and proprietary trading firms using sophisticated computer programs to send gobs of orders into the market, executing a small portion of them when opportunities arise to capitalize on price imbalances, or to make markets. HFT makes up more than half of all U.S. trading volume. The trading methods and technology that make HFT possible are all legal, and the stock exchanges HFT firms trade on are highly regulated. But Lewis said these firms are using their speed advantage to profit at the expense of other market participants to the tune of tens of billions of dollars.
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Committee fears for BBC World Service under new funding 
Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 07:42 PM PDT
A BBC building is seen in White City in western LondonBy Belinda Goldsmith LONDON (Reuters) - Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee raised fears on Monday for the future of the BBC World Service, the world's largest international broadcaster, as funding shifts from government grants to financing by domestic television user fees. The BBC World Service, which started as the "Empire Service" in 1932, airs news and discussions around-the-clock in 28 languages, reaching about 190 million people a week. "We have clear differences with the BBC on governance of the World Service .. It remains to be seen whether they will indeed safeguard the distinct nature of the World Service," the committee said in a report on Monday. The World Service has been given a budget of 245 million pounds in 2014/15, which the committee welcomed along with an undertaking by the BBC's news director to maintain this level until the current licence fee period ends in 2016.
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China to crack down on videos, audios promoting terrorism 
Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 07:18 PM PDT
BEIJING (Reuters) - China will crack down on videos and audio recordings that promote terrorism, religious extremism and separatism, the government said on Monday. The notice, published by judicial, cultural and public security organs, said it is forbidden to spread such video and audio recordings on the web, via mobile phone, on social media and online marketplaces, among other means. ...
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No time limit on Malaysia jet search: Australia PM 
Sunday, Mar 30, 2014 07:14 PM PDT
Australia's Prime Minister Tony Abbott is briefed on the search for MH370 by Royal Australian Air Force Group Commander Craig Heap at RAAF Base Pearce near PerthBy Michael Martina and Adam Jourdan PERTH/BEIJING (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said there was no time limit on the hunt for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, missing for more than three weeks in the Indian Ocean with 239 people on board. A total of 20 aircraft and ships will resume scouring a massive area in the Indian Ocean some 2,000 km (1,200 miles) west of Perth on Monday, search authorities said. Families have strongly criticized Malaysia's handling of the search and investigation, including the decision last week to say that, based on satellite evidence, the plane had crashed in the southern Indian Ocean. Abbott rejected suggestions his Malaysian counterpart had been too hasty to break that news, given that no confirmed wreckage from the plane has been found and its last sighting on radar was northwest of Malaysia heading towards India.
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