News Archive - 12 August 2016

>The world's second-largest economy has identified overcapacity as one of its key challenges and it has already pledged mass closures in the steel and coal sectors, but it has so far fallen behind on its targets.The Ministry of Industry and Information said on Friday in a draft policy document...

>The Financial Services Agency (FSA) expressed concern to the BOJ regarding the situation as it sees reduced profits weakening the banks' ability to extend loans, the Nikkei said. According to FSA estimates, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc's (8306.T) profit will fall by 155 billion yen. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group...

>NEW YORK Consumers are flocking to discount apparel retailers, but investors are faced with nothing close to a bargain as stocks in the sector rally.Few expect shares of off-price retailer TJX Companies' (TJX.N) or its peer, Ross Stores (ROST.O), to go on a fire sale next week...

>WASHINGTON If you haven't heard a lot about what Hillary Clinton thinks of a string of controversial comments by Donald Trump that have generated round-the-clock coverage on cable news broadcasts, there is a reason – it's by design.Since becoming the Democratic nominee last month, Clinton has been touring toy...

> Lyft solicited other potential strategic acquirers before opting for the new funding round, said The Information, which did not report GM's offer price. (Reporting by Dan Levine; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)...

>OTTAWA The death of a Canadian supporter of Islamic State who authorities said was preparing an imminent attack has increased calls for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to abandon his plan to scale back a 2015 law that gave increased powers to police and intelligence agents.But those calls are unlikely...

>BOSTON One of Herbalife Ltd's largest investors sold more of the company's stock, just weeks after the U.S. government told the protein shake maker to reorganize its business, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.In an SEC filing on Wednesday, Fidelity Investments, the...

>WASHINGTON The judge overseeing the U.S. Justice Department's bid to stop big health insurer Anthem (ANTM.N) from merging with competitor Cigna (CI.N) said on Friday her goal was to have a ruling by the end of January, later than the Dec. 30 sought by Anthem.Anthem had...

>NEW YORK Neither Republican Donald Trump nor Democrat Hillary Clinton are gaining momentum as the presidential campaign wobbles into the heart of the summer, with Clinton still ahead by more than 5 percentage points, according to a Reuters/Ipsos tracking poll released on Friday.Neither candidate has substantially added to their...

>WASHINGTON Hillary Clinton on Friday released her 2015 tax returns, which showed the Democratic presidential nominee and her husband had $10.75 million in income that year and paid an effective federal tax rate of 34.2 percent.In 2015, the Clintons made $1 million in charitable contributions, mostly to...

>ORLANDO, Fla. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Friday backed away from repeated remarks labeling President Barack Obama and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton as the founders of Islamic State, saying they were sarcasm.A new opinion poll showed Trump losing ground in three crucial states.Trump used the unfounded description...

>When Twitter's IPO was in the works, Suhail Rizvi quietly amassed a stake of more than 15 percent in the microblogging phenomenon for himself and his investors, Reuters reported.Rizvi also played a role in convincing Kingdom Holding Co, Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal's investment company, to buy additional Twitter...

> "The largest negative contribution came from retail sales data," the N.Y. Fed said in a statement. (Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)...

>PESHAWAR, Pakistan/KABUL The leader of Islamic State's branch in Afghanistan and Pakistan has been killed in a U.S. drone strike in an eastern Afghan province, the Afghan ambassador to Pakistan said on Friday. "I can confirm that ISIS Khurasan leader Hafiz Saeed Khan along with his senior commanders and...

>NEW YORK A U.S. judge denied a request by shareholders of SunEdison Inc (SUNEQ.PK) for an official committee to represent them in the bankruptcy of the U.S. renewable power plant developer, which the judge described as "hopelessly insolvent."In a setback for equity holders hoping to recover...

>The new jobs are in addition to the 3,500 Amazon has announced it expects to create in Britain in 2016, spanning head office, research and development centres, customer service centres, a fashion photography studio, Amazon Web Services and distribution centres. Those jobs will take Amazon's total full-time permanent employees to...

>LONDON The glue binding a still-aggressive global monetary policy response to a struggling world economy and almost daily record highs for world stock markets along with record low bond yields is set to remain intact in the coming week. The one thing that could unstick it, apart from divine intervention,...

>The Commerce Department said on Friday inventories increased 0.2 percent after a similar gain in May. Sales shot up 1.2 percent in June, the largest rise since February 2013, after rising 0.3 percent in May. At June's sales pace, it would take 1.39 months for businesses...

>WASHINGTON U.S. retail sales were unexpectedly flat in July as Americans cut back on purchases of clothing and other goods, pointing to a moderation in consumer spending that could temper expectations of an acceleration in economic growth in the third quarter.Other data on Friday showed producer prices recorded...

>Mondelez, with its global distribution network, would be able to expand the reach of Cadbury Fingers biscuits and accelerate new products."The transaction will...enable us to explore delicious new products by using the best of our chocolate and biscuit innovation platforms," Hubert Weber, head of Mondelez Europe, said. Under...

>PARIS When French tycoon Vincent Bollore backed out of a deal to buy the pay-TV business of Italian broadcaster Mediaset (MS.MI), and instead proposed to take a large slice of the parent company itself, investors feared he was plotting another stealth raid.The family of former Italian premier Silvio...

>Airlines will likely suffer more disruptions like the one that grounded about 2,000 Delta flights this week because major carriers have not invested enough to overhaul reservations systems based on technology dating to the 1960s, airline industry and technology experts told Reuters.Airlines have spent heavily to introduce new features...

>The Syria Democratic Forces (SDF), with air support from a U.S.-led coalition, said last week they had taken almost complete control of Manbij, where a small number of IS fighters have been holed up.Friday's attack is "the last operation and the last assault," said Sharfan Darwish, a...

>ISTANBUL Turkey is seeking the extradition of 32 diplomats who went on the run after they were recalled by Ankara as part of investigations into last month's failed coup attempt, the foreign minister said on Friday.Turkish authorities have arrested, detained or dismissed tens of thousands of people, including military...

>Wall Street opened slightly lower on Friday as tepid economic data weighed, a day after all three major indexes closed at record highs for the first time since 1999.An unexpectedly flat U.S. retail sales growth and a drop in the producer price index for July hurt investor sentiment.

>The Labor Department said on Friday its producer price index for final demand dropped 0.4 percent last month, the first decline since March and the largest since September 2015. It increased 0.5 percent in June.In the 12 months through July, the PPI slipped 0.2 percent after...

>The Government of National Accord (GNA) has been struggling to impose its authority on a country riven by political and armed rivalries, posing extra challenges as it tries to quash Islamic State jihadist militants.The U.N. point man for Libya, Martin Kobler, told Switzerland's Neue Zuercher Zeitung in an...

>The National Assembly approved the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill 2015 late on Thursday after the Senate had unanimously adopted it last month.Government officials say internet restrictions under the new law are needed to ensure security against growing threats, such as terrorism. But the law has alarmed human rights...

>FRANKFURT Germany's SAP (SAPG.DE), maker of software used to grade the performance of millions of employees worldwide, is ditching its own annual performance reviews as too expensive, time-consuming and often demotivating.Once championed by business leaders as the key to better productivity, annual appraisals are falling out of fashion...

>HUA HIN, Thailand A series of blasts hit three of the most popular tourist resorts in Thailand on Thursday and Friday, killing two people and wounding dozens, just days after the country voted to accept a military-backed constitution in a referendum.Twin blasts hit the upscale resort of Hua Hin,...