FTSE ends lower, below key level as growth worries weigh
* Financials fall as euro zone debt woes resurfaceBy David BrettLONDON, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Britain’s leading share index
ended lower on Tuesday as nervous investors retreated from
riskier assets, forcing the FTSE 100 below a significant
technical level as global growth concerns returned to haunt the
market.The blue-chip index fell 26.35 points, or 0.5
percent, to 5,410.35 — below the 5,450 level it has managed to
close above just once since early August — as investors pulled
out of the mining and banking sectors.The FTSE bounced off a session low at 5,348.64, tracking
movements on Wall Street as market volatility continued
in thin trade.Echoing difficulties faced by investment managers, U.S.
investment bank Goldman Sachs reported its second
quarterly loss as a public company, blaming difficult market
conditions and a lack of confidence among investors and
corporate clients.That confidence had been further eroded overnight by figures
from China showing quarterly growth at its weakest pace in two
years, highlighting the impact an uncertain recovery in the
United States and lingering debt problems in Europe was having.Investors had seen China, along with other Asian economies,
as providing sustainable growth for businesses while developed
economies struggled.Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered fell 2.8
percent, among the worst hit financials.Traders said Standard Chartered shares were not helped by
uncertainty after Singaporean state investor Temasek
launched a bond exchangeable into the London-listed bank’s
shares.Sentiment was dealt a further blow when Moody’s cast doubts
over France’s AAA credit rating, and Germany’s finance minister
played down heightened expectations that European Union
governments will resolve the region’s sovereign debt crisis at a
summit on Sunday.Meanwhile, inflation in Britain hit a three-year high in
September, heaping pressure on corporates already faced with the
rising unemployment figures sapping demand.”Actions by western Governments and central banks will
engineer persistent inflation despite high levels of
unemployment (stagflation) and very weak growth in developed
markets,” Ana Armstrong, managing partner of Armstrong
Investment Managers said.Armstrong said allocations to high-yielding equities, with
stable cash flows, and with pricing power will be the best
performers in this type of environment.Morgan Stanley published a note listing companies with
long-term sustainable competitive advantages — included
Experian , InterContinental Hotels , Imperial
Tobacco , Rio Tinto and Rolls-Royce .Rolls Royce and IMI were among the top risers up 1.6 percent
and 2.2 percent, respectively.Elsewhere, Whitbread rose 0.5 percent after
Britain’s biggest hotel and coffee shop operator reported a
higher-than-expected first-half pretax profit and hiked its
dividend over 50 percent.Bargain hunters picked up G4S , which bounced 9.8
percent, having slumped more than 20 percent on Monday when
announcing a deeply discounted rights issue to pay for its 1.5
billion pound acquisition of Danish frim ISS .Tullow Oil rose 2.5 percent with traders expecting a
well update from the oil explorer soon.
UPDATE 3-Canadian insurers sag on Sun Life’s loss warning
* Shares drop 9.2 percent; Manulife, Great-West also down* Analyst does not expect warnings from ManulifeBy Cameron FrenchTORONTO, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Shares of Canadian insurers
sank on Monday after Sun Life Financial warned it will
post a loss in its third quarter due to falling bond yields and
stock markets.Sun Life, Canada’s No. 3 insurer, was down more than 9
percent just after midday, after it said it expects to report a
loss of C$621 million ($615 million) in the quarter. On an
operating basis, the company said the loss would be C$572
million.The forecast - which also weighed on shares of rivals
Manulife Financial and Great-West Lifeco -
contrasted with analysts’ expectations of a net loss of C$49
million and an operating profit of C$259 million, according to
Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.”September was a gruesome month,” Caldwell Securities
portfolio manager John Kinsey said of the 9 percent drop in
Canadian stocks, which hit Sun Life’s bottom line.”We weren’t expecting too much (from Sun Life).”Life insurers hold stocks and bonds to guarantee they’ll be
able to pay future investment and insurance policy obligations.
When the value of their portfolios fall on a quarterly basis,
they use profits to bulk up reserves.”Losses from equity market and interest rate movements were
at the high end of the ranges previously disclosed,” Sun Life
said in a statement.The Toronto Stock Exchange’s benchmark S&P/TSX composite
index fell 12.6 percent in the third quarter, while
bond yields retreated due to economic uncertainty in Europe and
the United States.Volatile markets have played havoc with insurers’ results
over the past few years, and the difficulty of projecting the
impact of the market gyrations has led to surprises during
earnings disclosure periods.For instance, Sun Life surprised the market in the second
quarter by recording a gain from its bond portfolio, despite
declining yields.But a company official said last month that the decline in
yields during the third quarter had a bigger impact because it
was tilted towards the longer-term debt that insurers hold.The Toronto-based insurer said it remained well capitalized
despite the loss. The company plans to release third-quarter
results on Nov. 2.Manulife, meanwhile, is expected to post a net loss of just
over C$1 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S, with an
operating profit of C$543 million.Manulife took more than C$3 billion in losses during the
second and third quarters of 2010 due to weak markets, but has
since hedged much of its equity and bond exposure to reduce its
earnings volatility.BMO Capital Markets analyst Tom MacKinnon said in a note he
does not expect a similar negative warning from Manulife, due
its more detailed disclosure of market impacts.Great-West Life has considerably less market exposure than
either Sun Life or Manulife.Sun Life stock was down 9.2 percent at C$24.02, while
Manulife sank 5.4 percent to C$12.24, and Great-West slid 2.6
percent to C$21.47.
MTV searching for next “Beavis”
Mike Judge’s seminal show got its start on “Liquid Television,” a show that promoted boundary-pushing animation in the early 1990s. In addition to “Beavis,” “Liquid Television” was also home to shows such as “Aeon Flux” and “Cartoon Sushi.”MTV announced the return of “Liquid Television” on Thursday, only this time across all platforms and with the archives from the old shows available for viewing.It will begin digitally with its recently launched website Tumblr and Facebook page. However, its content will also appear on-air, as it did Thursday night when a music video form “Wallpaper” aired after “Jersey Shore.”TheWrap talked with David Hale, the head of MTV’s cross media group MTVX and former head of MTV Films, as well as David Harris, a vice president at MTV who is spearheading the new “Liquid Television.” Hale and Harris dished on relaunching “Liquid Television,” looking for the new “Beavis and Butthead” and almost let something slip about Trey Parker and Matt Stone.Q: Why are you in Seattle?A: Hale: “We’re here to meet with Microsoft guys on another project. We can’t tell you about it yet though.”Q: But you can tell me about “Liquid Television.”A: Hale: “I’ve been at MTV a long time — over 16 years — and when I started at the company, “Liquid Television” was already kind of a classic. It had launched “Beavis and Butthead” and “Aeon Flux,” and in my role running the movie division of MTV films those were two movies we put into development. We had scripts on other shows, too.”“There are so many great characters, so much material, content and creators. I fell in love with it and continued the love. When it went away from MTV, a lot of people were disappointed. Meanwhile, I started this new division, the cross media group, and one of my missions was to figure out a way to launch the new ‘Liquid Television.‘“Q: Which you ultimately did.Hale: “We had a bit of a false start a few years ago because the economy tanked. That made things expensive, so we’ve been figuring out a way to do it. We got it out, and David Harris is lead on it.”Q: So what exactly is your role, David?A: “Harris: Heading up “Liquid Television.” I’ve run a couple projects for the division, and David let me take the ball on this one. From both a technical and creative standpoint, I’m an arts school kid. I went to 50/50 because “Liquid Television” existed and stuff like “Aeon Flux” that was the heyday of MTV interstitials — creative weird stuff that felt so outrageous that anyone was broadcasting it at all.”Q: Given the popularity of some of those shows, why did it die, and why bring back now?A: Hale: “There is no answer for why it went away. Times in TV have changed. One of the brilliant things about “Liquid Television” was it consisted of shorts. Shorts on TV…it’s not an easy thing to have. MTV is one of few places that has occasionally had shorts in the form of interstitials.”Q: How does it compare to the original?A: Hale: “I hope it’s what old fans expect and is surprising to some of new people who didn’t really know about it. Hopefully it is keeping the legacy alive, but also making it a place where what the original Liquid Television could do — discover great new voices and new animation — will happen here as well.”“Enter the digital age, and shorts are what its all about. The time is actually better than ever to really discover all these kinds of great ideas, talent, etc in short form.”Q: Will it exist solely on the digital platforms or also on MTV networks?A: Hale: “This is the beauty of the age we live in. It will find its path to whatever platform makes sense. I knew starting it digitally would be path of least resistance because TV time is at a premium. As great stuff starts to bubble up, if there are opportunities for TV we’ll find them. Whether on MTV, MTV 2, MTV U, we’ll find them. Everyone at the company loves the brand of “Liquid Television” and will embrace it.”“The very first thing you’ll see is on TV because an animated music video is premiering on TV on “Jersey Shore.” It’s the first big commissioned piece.”Q: So what kind of programing content are you looking for?A: Hale: “Whatever the aesthetic and sensibilities are for an audience today will be different from the old one just by fact that its 20 years later. But at the same time, the ethos of it, the objective, is to really discover all kinds of new voices and do it with a fairly wide swath.”“One of the nice things about “Liquid Television” is people remember it through a broader scope than it was. They include “Daria” and a lot of things that weren’t technically part of it. They all fall under the rubric of smart, cool interesting animation with an artistic perspective.”Q: Given that most of this is online, how do you generate revenue?A: Hale: “It might be shocking to hear this, but the higher-up levels of MTV have been so supportive of this for all the right reasons — it’s a great creative play. This kind of thing has made MTV successful and profitable. By allowing us to be creatively free, the hope is that advertisers will see what we’re giving and what the audience consists of and say, ‘that’s cool we want to be there.‘“Q: Will you bring back the old shows?A: Harris: “We would absolutely love to bring back some of them. We are definitely having those conversations, looking into that with a variety of creators. We don’t want it to be the only thing, but we definitely want to find the projects, shows and characters that should come back.”Q: What else should people know about it?A: Hale: “What people see now is just the beginning. We’re looking for great creators. We hope it’s as much driven by the creative community as possible. It’s important to be responsive to all possibilities out there as they arrive.”Q: So, submissions come one come all.A: “Come one, come all, but then you’re putting it in front of us and are in conversation with all the big people in animation. You’ve gotta bring you’re A-game if you wanna be on “Liquid Television.” There is a lot to live up to because the people from 20 years ago were that awesome.”Q: I’Il tell amateur animators to stay away, then.A: Hale: “No, don’t do that. Mike Judge was an amateur animator 20 years ago. Trey Parker and Matt Stone were amateur animators.”Q: Who wouldn’t love to see Trey and Matt with new content on MTV?A: Hale:. Nice speaking with you.
Dayton, Ohio approves plan to be an immigrant-friendly city
Dayton approved a plan to become an immigrant-friendly city last week by a 4-0 City Commission vote. Human Relations Council Director Tom Wahlrab said the plan aimed to help legal immigrants thrive by helping them navigate the system, not to attract illegal immigrants.”When folks come, we’d like to welcome them. We’d like to let them know what their resources are to learn English,” Wahlrab said. “We want to let them know they have a part in our community.”A Brookings Institution report on immigration trends released on Thursday noted that cities which want to stem population loss, like Detroit or Cleveland, were more likely to welcome immigrants “with open arms.” Dayton’s population has dropped from about 166,000 in 2000 to 141,500 in 2010.”We have seen that immigrants who are here already are more likely to start small businesses. They are buying houses, fixing those houses, taking care of their property,” said Francisco Pelaez, Hispanic Missionary Pastor for Dayton’s College Hill Community Church.”We want to help this continue. We want to pull down the barriers they are facing because it’s not always easy to navigate the system.”Recommendations in the plan for a more immigrant-friendly city include creating an international marketplace and increasing interpretation services and the availability of English classes.Jamie Longazel, sociology professor at the University of Dayton, said such a plan should be applauded in an era when so many cities and states are passing sweeping legislation targeting illegal immigration. But he warned that programs that encourage redevelopment should be inclusive, so that all Dayton citizens can thrive.”I think they should do this in as inclusive a way as they possibly can,” Longazel said.(Writing and reporting by Mary Wisniewski; Editing by Cynthia Johnston)
UPDATE 3-New iPhone goes on sale, fans say tribute to Jobs
* Reviewers rave about Siri, but otherwise no revolutionBy Michael Perry and Isabel ReynoldsSYDNEY/TOKYO, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Apple Inc’s latest
iPhone went on sale in stores across the globe on Friday, with
fans snapping up the final gadget unveiled during Steve Jobs’
lifetime, many buying the phone as a tribute to the former Apple
boss.Hundreds of fans queued around city blocks in Sydney
and Tokyo to be the first to get their hands on the iPhone 4S,
which looks similar to the previous iPhone 4 but has a better
camera, faster processor and well-received voice activated
software.”I am a fan, a big fan. I want something to remember
Steve Jobs by,” said Haruko Shiraishi, waiting patiently with
her yorkshire terrier Miu Miu at the very end of an eight block
queue in Tokyo’s smart Ginza shopping district.Australian Tom Mosca , the first to
buy the new phone in Sydney, said the first thing he would do
was ask his new white iPhone: “Where’s Steve?” Many Apple fans
believe the phone was called iPhone 4S meaning “for Steve”.Apple CEO Tim Cook and his executive team hope the first
device launched without the firm’s former visionary leader at
the helm will safeguard their global market share against a
growing challenge from the likes of Samsung .The South Korean firm, Apple’s arch-rival with smartphones
powered by Google’s Android software, expects to
overtake it as the world’s biggest smartphone vendor in terms of
units sold in the third quarter.The iPhone 4S — introduced to the world just a
day before Jobs died — was dubbed a disappointment because it
fell short of being a revolution in design, but glowing reviews
centred around its “Siri” voice-activated software have since
helped it set a record pace in initial, online sales orders.Apple’s Asian fans showed no disappointment with their new
phones, ahead of sales in Germany, France, Britain and North
America. In Tokyo, 24-year-old Ryosuke Ishinabe said: “I just
wanted the newest iPhone. I want to try out iCloud.”But despite all the enthusiasm at Apple
stores, the launch was marred somewhat by widespread complaints
on the Internet about problems downloading iOS 5 — the latest
version of Apple’s mobile software.JOBS SHADOW OVER iPHONE LAUNCHThe vast majority of iPhone 4S buyers at the Sydney store
appeared to be existing Apple customers, many having bought the
original iPhone and upgrades each time. Only one out of 10
people surveyed by Reuters in Sydney was a new Apple customer.”I have been waiting for the iPhone 5 for a long time.
But since Jobs died, I wanted to make sure I had a new iPhone
with some advantages over the old,” said iPhone
devotee Mark Du, concerned over
future Apple gadgets without Jobs at the helm.Apple fans in Sydney and Tokyo made
sure Jobs w as part of the iPhone
4S launch, with flower, candle and photo
shrine s to the late Apple boss
erected outside the
store s .Apple said it did not release sales figures on
launch day, so gauging the initial sales may be difficult. Apple
said it had taken more than 1 million online orders in the first
24 hours after its release, exceeding the 600,000 for the iPhone
4, though that model was sold in fewer countries initially.Some analysts expect fourth-quarter iPhone shipments of as
much as 30 million or more, almost double from a year ago.Apple’s fifth-generation iPhone uses chips from Qualcomm Inc
, Toshiba and a host of smaller semiconductor
companies, according to repair firm iFixit, which cracked the
device open on Thursday.APPLE SOFTWARE CRITICISMApple’s iOS 5 software became available this week and
is intended to upgrade older phones and enable new features such
as a messages and better Twitter integration.Twitter users raged over “Error 3200”, dredging up
comparisons to the obscure numbered error messages supposedly
prevalent in Windows software and complained of inordinately
slow download times.”This would be a great time for like, Samsung or
something, to take out a sponsored ad,” user Ryan James Kirk
tweeted.The iPhone — seen as the market’s gold standard — is
Apple’s highest-margin product and accounts for 40 percent of
its annual revenue. It is the world’s biggest selling
smartphone, with a slim market-share lead over Samsung.Analysts point to several factors in Apple’s favor: a $199
price that matches up well with rival devices such as Amazon.com
Inc’s “Fire” tablet; availability promised on more than
100 carriers by the end of 2011, far more than its predecessors;
and glowing reviews.In a sign of how tough the competition is, two doors along
from the Sydney Apple store, Samsung has been selling its new
Galaxy SII for only A$2 to its first 10 customers each day,
prompting Samsung fans to also camp out on the footpath.
TNK-BP shareholder ups BP court claim to $13 bln
The original claim was filed in May.”The claims are being increased in connection with lost
profit on a number of offshore projects in the Arctic… in
which TNK-BP Holding would participate had it become part of the
strategic alliance with Rosneft,” Dmitriy Chepurenko, a partner
in law firm Liniya Prava, representing the shareholder.In an emailed response to Reuters BP said: “The claim is
absurd, groundless and has no connection with law. As there was
not and could not be any damage arising, estimation of damages
depends only on so called claimants’ fantasy.”The BP-Rosneft deal collapsed in May after a successful
legal challenge by the four Soviet-born billionaires who own
half of TNK-BP Ltd, a 50-50 joint venture that is half-owned by
BP. Prokhorov is a shareholder in listed unit TNK-BP Holding.Prokhorov launched a similar complaint against two BP
directors, worth $2.8 billion. On Wednesday a BP lawyer said
that this claim will likely be thrown out by a judge in the city
of Tyumen because the plaintiff’s shareholding was too small
make the suit eligible under Russian law.
China Gas aims to double gas sales volume by 2015
The growth would be driven by the completion of China’s new
west-to-east natural gas pipeline, gas pipelines linking China
with Kazakhstan and Myanmar, and several liquefied natural gas
receiving terminals along China’s coast, he said.Leung also said he expected China to raise natural gas
prices around the end of the year, narrowing the price gap with
gasoline and diesel.”The price of natural gas for vehicle use is only half that
of gasoline and diesel. Chinese prices for natural gas face
upward pressure,” he said.
