Global stocks under some pressure on France attack

    Lucas Jackson | Reuters. But if the S&P 500 were to post a record close this afternoon, it would be the first         time that's happened in each day of a trading week since March 1998.

At least 84 people, including two Americans, watching Bastille Day fireworks in the French Riviera city of Nice were killed, when a suspect drove a truck at high speed into the crowds. Police shot and killed the driver, who's believed to be a French national of Tunisian descent. (CNBC)

French President Francois Hollande condemned the Nice massacre. "There's no denying the terrorist nature of this attack." He also said, "France as a whole is under threat of Islamic terrorism." Hollande plans to travel to Nice to support the coastal city. (USA Today)

By this morning, no terror group had claimed responsibility. France has been under a state of emergency since the Paris terror attacks in November. The state of emergency had been due to be lifted on July 26. But those plans have been put on hold. (NBC News)

In the wake of what he called the "horrible attack" in France, Donald Trump postponed his planned announcement this morning of his vice presidential running-mate pick, which is widely expected to be Indiana Gov. Mike Pence. (CNBC)

Meanwhile, Trump received a major victory as delegates overwhelmingly opposed last-ditch efforts to derail his nomination. A measure presented to the 112-member committee by anti-Trump delegates was soundly defeated. (NBC News)

Secretary of State John Kerry met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last night, to discuss a proposed extensive military cooperation agreement on air attacks on the Islamic State terror group and the Nusra Front, Al Qaeda's affiliate in Syria. (NY Times)

Citigroup (C) and Wells Fargo (WFC) are out with earnings this morning, continuing the deluge of financial companies reporting quarterly results. Dow stock JPMorgan (JPM) Thursday beat on the top and bottom lines. (CNBC)

China's second-quarter gross domestic product narrowly beat estimates , with a 6.7 percent expansion year-over-year, as a string of stimulus measures there helped shore up demand. Chinese stocks were little changed Friday. (CNBC)

Messaging app Line made its debut today on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, up more than 31 percent, after its IPO Thursday on the NYSE gained 26 percent. Meanwhile, Japanese stocks were higher overnight, capping a 9 percent gain for the week. (CNBC)

Final bids for Yahoo's (YHOO) core internet business are due Monday . The bidders include Verizon (VZ), AT&T (T), private equity firms, and Quicken Loans co-founder Dan Gilbert, who's getting financial backing from Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. (BRK.A) (NY Times)

Buffett has donated another roughly $2.86 billion of his holdings in Berkshire stock to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and four family charities, as part of his plan to give away nearly his entire fortune. (CNBC)

If the S&P 500 were to post a record close this afternoon, it would be the first time that's happened in each day of a trading week since March 1998, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices.

Oil prices were lower this morning, on continuing concerns about a persistent global glut of crude and refined products. Traders get a weekly look at U.S. production, when Baker Hughes releases its weekly rig count at 1 p.m. ET.

Today marks the heaviest day of the week for economic numbers, beginning at 8:30 a.m. ET, with the release of June retail sales and consumer price index, and the July Empire State regional business survey. June industrial production and capacity utilization is out at 9:15 a.m. ET. The University of Michigan's preliminary July consumer sentiment index and May business inventories come at 10 a.m. ET.

While digesting all those economic reports, investors also get commentary from three Fed officials today. San Francisco Fed President John Williams speaks at 1 p.m. ET, while Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari and St. Louis Fed President James Bullard speak an hour later.

Tesla (TSLA) has been asked to brief the Senate Commerce Committee on the May 7 fatal crash involving its Autopilot software, following Consumer Reports urging the electric automaker to disable the feature. U.S. safety regulators are also investigating accident.

Xerox (XRX) has privately rejected R.R. Donnelley's (RRD) bid to merge with Xerox's document business, according to the Wall Street Journal. Xerox is planning to go ahead with its plan to split into two separate publicly traded companies.

AMC Entertainment (AMC) is said to be mulling an increased bid for Carmike Cinemas (CKEC). AMC's current offer is $1.1 billion. Earlier this week, AMC said it plans to buy London-based Odeon & UCI Cinemas Group, also for about $1.1 billion.

Zynga (ZNGA) has abandoned a plan to sell and then lease back its headquarters in San Francisco, according to the New York Post. The rent that the game developer would have to pay would be too high to justify the move.

Round two of the British Open Championship was underway at Royal Troon in Scotland today. American golfer Phil Mickelson tied a major tournament record with a first round 63. Follow the latest on NBC Sports' live blog, and on TV on the Golf Channel and NBC.

Original post found here:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/global-stocks-under-pressure-france-105121250.html

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Tips for Adopting Virtual Reality in Your Business

Small businesses are early adopters of technology, but they also hold on longer when they find solutions that work for them. The latest Annual Brother Business Survey revealed just as much when it comes to printers, scanners, copiers or fax machines. According to the survey, 91 percent of small businesses still use these hardware, but an increasing number of companies are also migrating to the cloud and deploying mobile devices for their remote workforce.

So with virtual reality (VR) now slated as the must have technology, how will the adoption process go for small businesses, and does VR have a viable business application?

First, it is important to note VR is in its infancy, without mass adoption, as of now. However, there are some heavy hitters who are betting on the technology. The most publicized case is the purchase of Oculus by Facebook, but Reuters has also reported some 38 companies have highlighted VR as part of their business plan in their corporate earnings report, a 375 percent jump from the same period last year.

Second, the interest is there, with a huge potential in several segments, such as entertainment and gaming. But does this translate to other industries, and will small businesses be able to capitalize on it? A crystal ball would come in handy right now, but even without one, the future for VR looks very promising.

Just as your printer doesn’t make or break your business, VR solutions will be a technology you can use to improve the overall operations of your company. Granted there will be businesses that will rely on it completely, but for the vast majority, it can and will probably be used as a supplemental piece of equipment.

So if you want to be an early adopter of VR, here are some tips.

Things to Know About Virtual Reality in Business

Educate Yourself

Educate yourself and your employees about VR technology. This includes software, hardware, content, maintenance and usage. You can easily spend tens of thousands of dollars just on cameras alone, or you can get an affordable option such as the Vuze. So you really have to make a concerted effort to know as much as possible about the many options that are available to you.

Don’t Let the Hype Influence Your Decision

There is a lot of hype regarding VR at the moment, and it all sounds exciting. But how realistic is it for you to monetize your investment in the technology. Since the investment can be considerable, depending on your choice of products, don’t get swayed into spending your hard earned money on something that may not pay off for you. Again, it merits repeating, educate yourself thoroughly.

Will Your Product Translate to VR?

There are some industry sectors where VR is an obvious choice, gaming being one of them. But there are also many sectors where it is not that clear. Nevertheless, it doesn’t mean you can’t find creative ways to use the technology to grow your company. Just as you have used video and posted it on YouTube, VR can be seen as another extension of rich media. This is a new technology, so there are no conventions you have to follow, create your own path.

Form Partnerships With Experienced Users

Even if you educate yourself in the technical aspects of VR, real world applications are going to be much different. Find experienced VR practitioners and form partnerships so you can have the right person guiding you through your early days of development.

Find the Right Content

As they say, content is king, and in the virtual world the quality of your content will greatly determine your success. Whether you create the content yourself or you are having it produced professionally, it has to deliver your message, so know your story. Just because it is VR, it doesn’t mean it will be good, and the quality of the content will be the differentiator as the hardware becomes as common as smartphones.

Test Until You Get it Right

No matter what kind of content you create, test and test again with many different people to see how they respond to it. Find out what works and doesn’t throughout the entire show. Whether it is motion sickness, bad lighting or a weak story line, try to have an end product that is professional.

Know Your Audience

Who are you creating the content for? Are you going to show it in your brick and mortar store, online, a trade show or elsewhere? The length of the production has to mirror these outlets to get as many people as possible in your door, after all you don’t want a customer in your store asking for popcorn and a large soda.

The Importance of Sound

Sound in a VR environment is extremely important. Recording your content with a single microphone will not deliver the full impact of virtual reality. Sound is used to create the right atmosphere and guide the direction of the viewer. If the sound just comes from in front of them, they will not turn around if they can’t hear the sound to their left, right, top or bottom.

Start Simple

Incrementally grow the content you create until you master the technology. A 30 second project can be just as exciting if you have a clear understanding of a 3D environment and you put everything you learned into it.

Selling VR

One of the best ways of selling VR is by delivering a great experience directly to your audience/customers. This of course will take many forms, and until everybody has a VR headset, you will have to find creative ways to give them the experience where they are or make them come to you.

Channels for VR

Eventually VR content will be as common as regular videos on YouTube. The company introduced its 360-degree live streaming and spatial audio recently, which will be the first step towards becoming a fully VR content platform. This will greatly increase adoption rates as consumers, businesses, content creators and hardware manufacturers see the many possibilities of the technology.

The reality of VR becoming a reality

Jeremy Bailenson, head of Standford University’s virtual reality lab told Fortune, “Most things don’t work in VR. If you show me 20 ideas, I’ll say 19 of them would be better in another medium. I think VR is best for special, intense experiences?…?things that are expensive, dangerous, counterproductive, or impossible.”

The truth of the matter is, there is no guarantee VR will work in the day to day operations or activities of a company. But it will provide some value if and when the technology achieves a saturation point that demands businesses to create services to address consumers who own VR devices.

Source by...http://smallbiztrends.com/2016/06/virtual-reality-in-business-tips.html

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Wall Street eyes low rates, earnings after Brexit rout

By Noel Randewich and Caroline Valetkevitch

(Reuters) - With markets reeling after Britain's vote to leave the European Union, some on Wall Street expect cooler heads to prevail over the next several sessions as investors focus domestically on the outlook for the U.S. economy and company earnings.

The unexpected decision by Britons to break away from the world's biggest trade bloc raised the specter of a slower global economy and sent stocks and currencies plunging by historic amounts on Friday.

Friday's 3.6 percent slump erased the S&P 500's gains for 2016. But even as the index suffered its worst one-day drop in 10 months, some U.S. investors looked for reasons to expect more upbeat trading next week.

They pointed to expectations that U.S. interest rates would remain low, that upcoming reports would show U.S. corporate earnings had recently improved and that Britain's breakup with the EU would be gradual, and not economy-wrecking.

"I don't think this is a catalyst that's going to cause a bear market in this country at all. People should not be going ‘the world is coming to an end.’ It's not," said Ken Polcari, director of the NYSE floor division at O’Neil Securities in New York.

U.S. companies do stand to lose from Britain's divorce from the EU, a process expected to take two years to negotiate.

Britain was the fifth-largest buyer of U.S. exports last year, with $56 billion in purchases, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. A stronger dollar versus the pound and other currencies would inevitably hurt U.S. companies selling abroad.

"There's going to be a lot of reconsideration, pausing, certain deals that were contemplated are going to change," said Steve Massocca, chief investment officer at Wedbush Equity Management. "But ultimately, this is not going to have a fundamental impact on how the world goes about doing business."

Fed Chair Janet Yellen is scheduled to speak at an event in Portugal on Wednesday and investors will want to know how she sees the so-called Brexit changing the outlook for the U.S. economy and interest rates.

Traders have completely priced out any chance of a Fed rate hike this year and are even weighing the possibility of a rate cut, federal funds rate futures suggest.

"This event pretty much ensures that unless something dramatic changes, interest rates in this country are going nowhere for the foreseeable future, and that is at the end of the day a positive scenario for the stock market," said Ted Weisberg, a trader with Seaport Securities in New York.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Commerce Department plans to release its final gross domestic product estimate for the first quarter of 2016. That and a slew of other economic data, including the Conference Board's read on June consumer confidence, could sway investor sentiment at a time when the health of the U.S. economy has become a more critical question for investors.

The second-quarter earnings season hits full force in mid-July. Improved earnings reports from U.S. companies could be good news for stocks, as they would make higher share prices justifiable on a price-earnings basis.

S&P 500 companies on average are expected to report a 3.9 percent decline in second-quarter earnings from the same quarter a year ago and a 2.3 percent increase in September-quarter earnings, according to Thomson Reuters data. However, estimates for multinationals could be cut due to the Brexit vote.

Wall Street eyes low rates, earnings after Brexit rout

Source by...http://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/wall-street-eyes-low-rates,-earnings-after-brexit-rout-410559

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Brexit: the 7 most important arguments for Britain to leave the EU

Yesterday, Britain voted to leave the European Union— an option dubbed "Brexit." Almost 52 percent of Britons voted in favor of leaving.

Although the "leave" campaign often focused on emotional arguments about immigration, there are in fact many reasons those in favor of leaving believed it would benefit the UK. They came from across the political spectrum, and some of the arguments even contradict others. Here are seven of the most significant.

Argument 1: The EU threatens British sovereignty

This is probably the most common argument among intellectual-minded people on the British right, expressed by Conservative politicians such as former London Mayor Boris Johnson and Justice Minister Michael Gove.

Over the past few decades, a series of EU treaties have shifted a growing amount of power from individual member states to the central EU bureaucracy in Brussels. On subjects where the EU has been granted authority — like competition policy, agriculture, and copyright and patent law — EU rules override national laws.

Euroskeptics emphasize that the EU’s executive branch, called the European Commission, isn’t directly accountable to voters in Britain or anyone else. British leaders have some influence on the selection of the European Commission’s members every five years. But once the body has been chosen, none of its members are accountable to the British government or to Britons’ elected representatives in the European Parliament.

Argument 2: The EU is strangling the UK in burdensome regulations

Critics like Johnson say the EU’s regulations have become increasingly onerous:

Sometimes these EU rules sound simply ludicrous, like the rule that you can’t recycle a teabag, or that children under eight cannot blow up balloons, or the limits on the power of vacuum cleaners. Sometimes they can be truly infuriating – like the time I discovered, in 2013, that there was nothing we could do to bring in better-designed cab windows for trucks, to stop cyclists being crushed. It had to be done at a European level, and the French were opposed.

Many British conservatives look at the European bureaucracy in Brussels the same way American conservatives view the Washington bureaucracy. Gove has argued that EU regulations cost the British economy "£600 million every week" ($880 million). (Though this figure is disputed.)

Argument 3: The EU entrenches corporate interests and prevents radical reforms

This is the mirror image of the previous two arguments. Whereas many British conservatives see the EU as imposing left-wing, big-government policies on Britain, some on the British left see things the other way around: that the EU’s antidemocratic structure gives too much power to corporate elites and prevents the British left from making significant gains.

"The EU is anti-democratic and beyond reform," said Enrico Tortolano, campaign director for Trade Unionists against the EU, in an interview with Quartz. The EU "provides the most hospitable ecosystem in the developed world for rentier monopoly corporations, tax-dodging elites and organized crime," writes British journalist Paul Mason.

This left-wing critique of the EU is part of a broader critique of elite institutions more generally, including the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank. Brexit supporters on the left would have a lot in common with Americans who are against trade deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Argument 4: The EU was a good idea, but the euro is a disaster

The United Kingdom has had a significant faction of euroskeptics ever since it joined the EU in 1973. But until recently, this was a minority position.

"There are nearly 130 Conservative MPs who have declared for leaving the EU," economist Andrew Lilico told me last week. "If you went back 10 years, you would have struggled to find more than 20 who even in private would have supported leaving the EU."

So what changed their minds? The global recession that began in 2008 was bad around the world, but it was much worse in countries that had adopted Europe’s common currency, the euro. The unemployment rate shot up above 20 percent in countries like Greece and Spain, triggering a massive debt crisis. Seven years after the recession began, Spain and Greece are still suffering from unemployment rates above 20 percent, and many economists believe the euro was the primary culprit.

Luckily, the UK chose not to join the common currency, so there’s little danger of the euro directly cratering the British economy. But the euro’s dismal performance still provides extra ammunition to Brexit supporters.

Many economists believe that deeper fiscal and political integration will be needed for the eurozone to work properly. Europe needs a common welfare and tax system so that countries facing particularly severe downturns — like Greece and Spain — can get extra help from the center.

But that makes Britain’s continued inclusion in the EU awkward. Britain is unlikely to go along with deeper fiscal integration, but it would also be unwieldy to create a set of new, parallel eurozone-specific institutions that excluded the UK.

So, the argument goes, it might be better for everyone if the UK got out of the EU, clearing the path for the rest of the EU to evolve more quickly into a unified European state.

Argument 5: The EU allows too many immigrants

The intellectual case for Brexit is mostly focused on economics, but the emotional case for Brexit is heavily influenced by immigration. EU law guarantees that citizens of one EU country have the right to travel, live, and take jobs in other EU countries.

British people have increasingly felt the impact of this rule since the 2008 financial crisis. The eurozone has struggled economically, and workers from eurozone countries such as Ireland, Italy, and Lithuania (as well as EU countries like Poland and Romania that have not yet joined the common currency) have flocked to the UK in search of work.

"In recent years, hundreds of thousands of Eastern Europeans have come to Britain to do a job," British journalist and Brexit supporter Douglas Murray told me last week. This, he argues, has "undercut the native working population."

The UK absorbed 333,000 new people, on net, in 2015. That’s a significant number for a country Britain’s size, though according to the CIA the UK still received slightly fewer net migrants, relative to population, than the United States in 2015.

Immigration has become a highly politicized issue in Britain, as it has in the United States and many other places over the past few years. Anti-immigration campaigners like Nigel Farage, the leader of the far-right UK Independence Party, have argued that the flood of immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe has depressed the wages of native-born British workers. Some voters are also concerned about immigrants using scarce public services.

"One of the causes for the great public disgruntlement," Murray argues, is that Labour governments at the turn of the century "massively understated the numbers [of immigrants] to be expected," creating public distrust of current pledges to keep migration under control.

Argument 6: The UK could have a more rational immigration system outside the EU

While many Brexit supporters simply want to reduce the amount of immigration overall, others argue that the UK could have a more sensible immigration system if it didn’t have the straitjacket of the EU.

EU rules require the UK to admit all EU citizens who wants to move to Britain, whether or not they have good job prospects or English skills.

"Leave" advocates argue that the UK should be focused on admitting immigrants who will bring valuable skills to the country and integrate well into British culture. They mention the point-based immigration systems of Canada and Australia, which award potential migrants points based on factors like their language and job skills, education, and age. That, "leave" advocates argue, would allow the UK to admit more doctors and engineers who speak fluent English, and fewer unskilled laborers with limited English skills.

Argument 7: The UK could keep the money it currently sends to the EU

The EU doesn’t have the power to directly collect taxes, but it requires member states to make an annual contribution to the central EU budget. Currently, the UK’s contribution is worth about £13 billion ($19 billion) per year, which is about $300 per person in the UK. ("Leave" supporters have been citing a larger figure, but that figure ignores a rebate that’s automatically subtracted from the UK’s contribution.)

While much of this money is spent on services in the UK, Brexit supporters still argue that it would be better for the UK to simply keep the money and have Parliament decide how to spend it.

Source by...http://www.vox.com/2016/6/22/11992106/brexit-arguments

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Macy's Terry Lundgren to step down as CEO next year

Macy's said company president Jeff Gennette will become chief executive next year

NEW YORK — Macy's, which has been struggling with weak sales, said Thursday that its longtime CEO Terry Lundgren will leave the job early next year.

He will be replaced by Macy's President Jeff Gennette.

The retailer, which operates about 870 department stores, has reported disappointing sales during the important holiday season and into spring. Last month, the Cincinnati company slashed its full-year profit and revenue outlook for the year.

Macy's said Lundgren will continue with the company as executive chairman. Lundgren, 64, has been CEO of the Cincinnati-based department store operator for about 13 years. Gennette, 55, has had several executive roles at Macy's, including chief merchandising officer and CEO of its stores in California, Nevada and other Western states.

Besides its namesake stores, Macy's also owns upscale department store Bloomingdales and makeup seller Bluemercury.

Shares of Macy's Inc. rose $1.12, or 3.4 percent, to $33.93 in morning trading Thursday.

Source by...http://www.startribune.com/macy-s-ceo-terry-lundgren-to-step-down-next-year/384105321/

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Brexit in the making: Timeline of the road to the EU referendum

TOMORROW voters finally have the chance to decide if Britain should break free from the EU. But how did the referendum come about?

For many decades Eurosceptic politicians have fought to set Britain free from the shackles of the EU and its predecessors. 

Britain first joined what was then the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1973. Here is a look at the long road to the EU referendum tomorrow. 

1975: British referendum on Europe 

The British public last had the chance to vote on whether the UK should continue its membership of Europe in 1975. 

Even though most Britons voted to remain part of the Common Market, there were many powerful Eurosceptic voices in the debate. 

Since 1975, the economic union has gained political power and has grown dramatically in terms of size and far-reaching influence. 

1993: Tory revolt over Maastricht Treaty

More than 40 Tory MPs defied then Prime Minister John Major by voting against the ratification of the Maastricht Treaty in May 1993. 

The Maastricht Rebels refused to support the Conservative Government in a string of votes over the implementation of the treaty in British law. 

The deeply controversial treaty integrated Europe to create the European Union. 

November 2010: Daily Express demands EU exit

The Daily Express became the first mainstream national newspaper to demand that Britain should leave the EU in November 2010. 

The newspaper took the stand amid growing frustration at rule from Brussels. It soon became one of the fastest-growing campaigns in newspaper history.

More than 373,000 people filled in coupons calling for an EU exit or joined the crusade online.

HOW THE DAILY EXPRESS HAS CAMPAIGNED TO LEAVE THE EU

January 2011: Daily Express launches crusade to get Britain out

Five years ago the Daily Express began its crusade for a referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU. 

The newspaper published a ground-breaking free special edition setting out the case for Britain’s withdrawal from the EU. 

By August, more than 25,000 people had backed its online petition calling for a vote. 

The Express won that fight but believes that now the “real battle” is joined for Britain become an independent country again by leaving the EU.  

“We firmly believe that all the nations of Europe, with their infinitely diverse cultures, would be better off out of the EU, restored to their proud and time-honoured ways of life,” it said. 

“So now, just as we did when we first launched our crusade in 2011, we call on all our readers to support our crusade to get Britain out of the European Union.”

October 2011: Uprising of Tory backbench MPs

More than 80 Tory MPs defied David Cameron’s orders and backed a call for a referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU. 

Rebel MPs voted for a motion calling for an EU referendum despite the Prime Minister having ordered his party to oppose it. 

But the call for a referendum was defeated because Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs voted against the motion.

2013: Cameron pledges to hold EU referendum

David Cameron declared that the Britons must "have their say" on Europe as he pledged an in/out referendum if the Conservatives won the 2015 election.

The Tories won the election in May 2015, paving the way for the EU referendum. 

EU REFERENDUM 2016: KEY DATES

February 2016: Cameron announces date of EU referendum

The Prime Minister announced the date of the EU referendum after securing a deal to revise Britain’s membership of the EU. 

Mr Cameron confirmed the date of the referendum at the end of a crunch summit with other EU leaders in Brussels. 

Thursday June 23: Polling day for the EU referendum

After months of campaigns and debates, the people of Britain will tomorrow have the chance to have their say over the EU. 

The EU referendum is the biggest decision facing the British public in half a century. 

EU REFERENDUM: WHEN DO RESULTS COME IN?

Source by...http://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/682341/Brexit-in-making-EU-referendum-2016-timeline-road-to-vote-campaign-Britain-leave-EU

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Nikesh Arora, the man tipped to become SoftBank’s next CEO, resigns from the firm

It’s a busy day at SoftBank HQ in Tokyo today. Fresh from confirming the much-anticipated sale of a majority stake in games giant Supercell, SoftBank also announced the somewhat surprise departure of President and COO Nikesh Arora, the man who had been primed to take the top spot from SoftBank Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son.

Former Google executive Arora — who spoke at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco last year — came under pressure earlier this year when a group of anonymous shareholders criticized him for being overpaid and underperforming in a letter to management.

Despite that challenge, Arora’s position seemed to be safe. Yesterday, SoftBank published the findings of a review that found the claims against him to be “without merit.” Despite that vote of confidence, India-born Arora — who is one of the highest paid executives on the planet with a reported annual salary of $73 million — has resigned from his position at the telecom giant.

In a brief statement, SoftBank suggested that a disagreement over the timing of his accession to CEO is the reason for his departure:

Masayoshi Son, Chairman & CEO of SBG, had been considering Arora as a strong candidate for succession. Son’s intention was to keep leading the Group in various aspects for the time being, while Arora wished to start taking over the lead in a few years’ time. The difference of expected timelines between the two leads to Arora’s resignation from the position of Representative Director and Director of SBG with the expiration of the term of office and his next steps.

Arora is largely credited with leading SoftBank’s investment spree in India, where it put money into Ola, Snapdeal, OYO Rooms and others, and startup deals in the U.S.. It remains to be seen how SoftBank’s investment strategy will look without him leading things.

These are new times for SoftBank. In addition to offloading its shares in Supercell for a price of around $8.6 billion, it has cashed out most of its holding in GungHo, another game maker, and it is selling $7.9 billion in Alibaba shares, its first trade of that stock ever. The deals are part of Son’s vision for “SoftBank 2.0”, and much of the capital is expected to go towards paying off SoftBank’s debt, which went as high as 11.9 trillion yen ($107 billion) at the end of March thanks to expenses associated with its U.S. mobile business Sprint.

This is a very different approach to the last couple of years since Arora, who bought $483 million in SoftBank shares as part of a “personal bet” on the company, joined its ranks. Arora himself confirmed further information, primarily than Son intended to retain the CEO for longer than (it seems) was originally agreed.

Source by...https://techcrunch.com/2016/06/21/nikesh-arora-the-man-tipped-to-become-softbanks-next-ceo-resigns-from-the-firm/

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Citi Completes Acquisition And Conversion Of Costco U.S. Co-Brand Card Portfolio

Citi today announced it has successfully completed the acquisition and conversion of Costco's U.S. co-brand credit card portfolio from American Express. Citi acquired in excess of $10.5 billion of credit card receivables.

As of today, the new Costco Anywhere Visa Card by Citi and Costco Anywhere Visa Business Card by Citi are available exclusively to Costco members.

The long-term co-brand credit card program agreement between Citi and Costco was originally announced in March of last year. Citi does not expect the impact of the acquisition and conversion to be material to its earnings in 2016.

About Citi

Citi, the leading global bank, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management.

Source by...https://www.thestreet.com/story/13612498/1/citi-completes-acquisition-and-conversion-of-costco-us-co-brand-card-portfolio.html

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Iran reaches deal to purchase 100 Boeing planes

Iran said Sunday it has reached an agreement with American aerospace giant Boeing to purchase 100 aircraft to renew its ageing fleet, though the deal must still be approved by the US government.

The Islamic republic has ordered about 200 planes from three Western manufacturers since mid-January, when economic sanctions were lifted following a deal on Tehran's nuclear programme.

Ali Abedzadeh, head of Iran's civil aviation authority said in remarks published by the daily Iran newspaper that an agreement had been reached with Boeing for the purchase but said the deal was contingent on US Treasury permission.

Deputy Transport Minister Asghar Fakhrieh Kashan however said Sunday that he hoped the initial accord could be completed within a month.

He told the Fars news agency that the deal would be "the largest and most important contract" with the United States -- barring military deals -- since before Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution.

A nuclear agreement in July with six world powers, including the US, has lifted some of the economic sanctions on Iran in return for limits on the Islamic republic's controversial atomic programme.

Many of Iran's ageing civil aviation fleet -- 230 planes out of 250 according to Abedzadeh -- are in desperate need of replacement.

Boeing has fallen behind the race to restock Iran because as an American company it has to obtain the greenlight from the US Office of Foreign Assets Control before completing any contracts with Iran.

It has requested final authorisation for the sale, according to Abedzadeh.

He said the contract's reported value of $17 billion (15 billion euros) was not final and that more details will be provided after further negotiations.

Boeing confirmed on Wednesday that it was in talks with Iranian airlines interested in buying its passenger planes.

"We have been engaged in discussions with Iranian airlines approved by the (US government) about potential purchases of Boeing commercial passenger airplaned and services," the company said in an email to AFP.

In February, the American company was granted approval from the US government to explore resuming sales to Iran after sanctions were partially lifted in January.

- No diplomatic ties -

Iran and the US broke diplomatic ties in 1980 following a hostage crisis at the American embassy in Tehran.

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the father of modern Iran, dubbed the US the "Great Satan" and his successor supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has kept Tehran on a stridently anti-American path.

Despite allowing nuclear negotiations with Washington, Khamenei has repeatedly warned of American and Western "infiltration" in the post-sanctions era.

Although the nuclear deal lifted most economic sanctions, the US and the European Union have kept up some measures due to Tehran's support for groups such as Lebanon's Hezbollah, as well as its ballistic missile programme.

This means major international banks, particularly in Europe, are still reluctant to do business with Iran for fear of punitive US measures.

Iran in January reached a memorandum of understanding with European aircraft manufacturer Airbus for the purchase of 118 planes.

That agreement is also still pending permission from the US Treasury, since more than 10 percent of Airbus components are of American origin.

Source by...https://www.afp.com/en/news/827/iran-reaches-deal-purchase-100-boeing-planes

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Russia to Assert Rights in the Arctic in Accordance With International Laws

Russia intends to maintain its Arctic presence and assert extended continental shelf claims under international rules, Russia’s ambassador at large and envoy to the Arctic Council said Saturday.

ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik) — Russia’s representative at the intergovernmental Arctic Council stressed that international laws ruled out any "potential for conflict over access to mineral and biological resources" in the Arctic. "The international law is crystal clear on the rights of Arctic coastal countries and others," Vladimir Barbin said.

"Russia in its turn is intent on sticking to agreements and acting in the Arctic solely within international laws," Ambassador at Large Vladimir Barbin said at a meeting in St. Petersburg, devoted to international economic cooperation in the Arctic.

The ambassador invoked the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which defines outer limit lines of continental shelf for coastal states and their exclusive economic zones.

Source by...http://sputniknews.com/russia/20160618/1041564254/spief-arctic-russia-law.html

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