1 UK factory output grows despite Brexit (Phillip
Inman in The Guardian) UK factory output made tentative gains in June after a
slump in the spring, but firms still shed jobs amid fears over the referendum
vote last week.
The survey of manufacturers, which was mostly
conducted ahead of the decision to quit the EU, found that most of the gains
came from solid growth in new orders, which rose at the fastest pace since last
October. The Markit/CIPS purchasing managers’ index (PMI) increased to 52.1,
from a revised reading of 50.4 in May, its highest level since January.
Rob Dobson, senior economist at survey compilers
Markit, said the rise in new orders reflected the continuing strength of
domestic business with a little support from the export sector, which remained
tough.
However, he warned that manufacturers, who have yet
to regain the level of output before the 2008 crash, remained wary of economic
and political developments. “Whether this growth recovery can be sustained will
depend heavily on whether the current financial and political volatility spills
over to the real economy.
Surveys of eurozone manufacturers by Markit found
that only France continued to struggle as the other 18 members of the currency
bloc moved ahead, including Greece. The eurozone PMI posted a six-month high of
52.8 in June, up from 51.5 in May and above the earlier flash estimate of 52.6.
2 BMW, Intel to develop robot cars (BBC) BMW, Intel
and computer vision firm Mobileye have signed a deal to develop autonomous
vehicles. The three firms will collaborate on the systems needed to make cars
that can navigate without any help from a human driver.
The vehicles will be capable of driving safely along
major roads as well as in suburban and inner city areas. BMW said it hoped the
collaboration would mean it could put robot cars into production by 2021.
The research partnership was announced on the day
when US officials begin an investigation into a fatal car crash involving a
Tesla Model S, to which self-driving technology could have contributed.
BMW said the trio would develop computer and sensor
systems that gradually reduce the part humans play in driving a car.
Ultimately, it said, it hoped to produce vehicles that could operate entirely
autonomously without any people onboard.
The autonomous car that emerges from the partnership
would be likely to be electric and called the iNext, it said. Other vehicles in
the i-range include the i8 hybrid and the i3 all-electric vehicle. Before now,
BMW has shown off concept cars that use autonomous technology and it is already
working with Baidu in China to produce a self-driving car suited to that
market.
3 ‘Powerful storm’ seen likely to hit Asian banking
(Straits Times) Slowing global growth, the emergence of innovative finance
start-ups and an increasing volume of bad loans are combining to create a
"powerful storm" for the Asia Pacific banking industry, consulting
firm McKinsey & Company has said in its latest annual banking review.
Over the past decade, banks in Asia Pacific have
grown to amass a profit pool that hit more than $1 trillion last year, the firm
noted. However, this "golden decade" is ending and the financial
industry should be prepared to face an era of slower growth rates and increased
challenges in generating profits, it added.
The industry faces three main threats: First, the
economic slowdown rolling across the region will affect banks and their
customers, especially in the corporate sector, McKinsey noted. As a result, it
expects banking profit growth to slow from 10 per cent annually between 2011
and 2014 to 3 per cent between 2016 and 2021.
Second, financial technology, or fintech, start-ups
offering financial products such as payment systems and lending platforms, as
well as established companies from outside the industry, such as Chinese
e-commerce giant Alibaba, are encroaching into traditional banking territory.
Third, an increasing volume of non-performing loans
is putting added stress on banks, as interest-coverage ratios are declining at
large companies throughout the region, especially in China and India, McKinsey
said.
McKinsey analysis indicates banks in Asia need to
raise $400 billion to $600 billion in additional capital by 2020 to cover
losses from non-performing loans while maintaining capital adequacy ratios.
The coming storm is potent and is a clear threat to
most banks in Asia Pacific, but it may also provide the kind of significant
industry disruption that creates opportunity for those that recognise it,
McKinsey said.
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