India solar prices undercut fossil fuels; Toyota's first profit fall in five years; Snapchat shares plunge

1 India solar prices undercut fossil fuels (Michael Safi in The Guardian) Wholesale solar power prices have reached another record low in India, faster than analysts predicted and further undercutting the price of fossil fuel-generated power in the country.

The tumbling price of solar energy also increases the likelihood that India will meet – and by its own predictions, exceed – the renewable energy targets it set at the Paris climate accords in December 2015. India is the world’s third-largest carbon polluter.

Ensuring it generates as much of that energy as possible from renewable sources is considered crucial to limiting catastrophic global temperature increases. At a reverse auction in Rajasthan, power companies Phelan Energy and Avaada Power each offered to charge 2.62 rupees per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity generated from solar panels they hope to build at an energy park in the desert state. Last year’s previous record lowest bid was 4.34 rupees per kWh.

Analysts called the 40% price drop “world historic” and said it was driven by cheaper finance and growing investor confidence in India’s pledge to dramatically increase its renewable energy capacity.

It reduces the market price of solar tariffs well past the average charged by India’s largest thermal coal conglomerate, currently around 3.20 rupees per kWh . Wholesale price bids for wind energy also reached a record low of 3.46 rupees in February.

By 2022, India aims to have the capacity to generate 175 gigawatts of power from solar, biomass and wind energy. A draft report by the country’s electricity agency in December predicted that capacity would increase to 275 gigawatts by 2027. The same draft report said it was unlikely India would need any new coal power stations for at least 10 years, beyond the 50 gigawatts of projects already in the pipeline.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/may/10/indian-solar-power-prices-hit-record-low-undercutting-fossil-fuels

2 Toyota’s first profit fall in five years (BBC) Japanese car giant Toyota has seen profits fall for the first time in half a decade. The firm said it sold more cars in the year to March 2017 than in the previous 12 months but that higher costs and currency fluctuations hit results.

The profit of 1.83 trillion yen ($16.1bn) was down 21% from 2016-17. Toyota has warned next year's profits will be even lower, due to the strength of the Japanese currency. Toyota, which has lost its top-selling carmaker status to Germany's Volkswagen sold 10.25 million vehicles over the year, up from 10.19 million units a year earlier.

However income from those sales was slightly down at 27.6 trillion yen. The carmaker has been struggling in the US, its biggest market. Sales fell in North America as it battled to meet demand for bigger cars such as sport utility vehicles, which have become more affordable to drive thanks to lower petrol prices.

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-39866716

3 Snapchat shares plunge (Straits Times) Snap Inc shares plunged after the Snapchat parent reported slowing user growth and revenue that missed analyst estimates amid stiff competition from copycat messaging apps.

Snap's net loss widened to 2.21 billion, or $2.31 per share, in the first quarter, from $104.6 million, or 14 cents per share, due to stock-based compensation related to its IPO. Shares tumbled nearly 24 per cent in after-hours trading to $17.58, wiping some $5 billion from Snap's market capitalization in the latest reversal after a red-hot March initial public offering, which was the biggest for a US tech company since Facebook Inc in 2012.

That performance echoed slides in Facebook and Twitter after they posted debut scorecards following their IPOs. Twitter shares cratered 24 per cent the next day, while Facebook's tumbled 11 per cent, still the biggest-ever one-day losses for both.

Snap said its daily active users (DAUs) rose 36.1 percent to 166 million in the first quarter from a year earlier, marking a slowdown from the 47.7 per cent rise for the fourth quarter and 62.8 per cent jump for the third quarter that the company reported in its IPO filing.

http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/snap-shares-plummet-after-growth-disappoints-investors

German exports at record high; Apple valued at $800bn; First luxury mall in socialist Cuba

1 German exports at record high (Xinhua) German exports reached a record high in March, the Federal Statistical Office reported. After calendar and seasonal adjustment, exports totaled 105.4 billion euros (114 billion dollars), up 0.4 percent compared with February, while imports rose by 2.4 percent to 85.8 billion euros.

The foreign trade balance recorded a surplus of 19.6 billion euros. German exports surged 10.8 percent and imports jumped 14.7 percent in March year-on-year. Both exports and imports reached record heights.

European Union remains the largest importer of ‘Made in Germany’ goods in the reported month. German foreign trade imbalance draws wide criticism, as other countries accuse the EU largest economy has done little to boost domestic demand.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-05/09/c_136268930.htm

2 Apple shares at new high (The Guardian) With US markets moving higher, Apple has hit another peak, adding 1% to more than $154 a share and valuing the iPhone company at more than $800bn.

The company has crossed that barrier despite falling iPhone sales, which has been put down to consumers waiting for the next model to be launched later this year. And analysts at US broker Drexel Hamilton believe the company’s shares could climb even further, putting a target value on the business of $1trn.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2017/may/09/german-trade-record-high-markets-macron-euro-ftse-business-live

3 First luxury mall in socialist Cuba (San Francisco Chronicle) In the heart of the capital of a nation founded on ideals of social equality, the business arm of the Cuban military has transformed a century-old shopping arcade into a temple to conspicuous capitalism.

With the first Cuban branches of L'Occitane, Mont Blanc and Lacoste, the Manzana de Gomez mall has become a sociocultural phenomenon since its opening a few weeks ago, with Cubans wandering wide-eyed through its polished-stone passages.

Older Cubans are stunned at the sight of goods worth more than a lifetime's state salary. Teenagers and young adults pose for Facebook photos in front of store windows, throwing victory signs in echoes of the images sent by relatives in Miami, who pose grinning alongside 50-inch TV sets and luxury convertibles.

The Cuban armed forces' business arm has become the nation's biggest retailer, importer and hotelier since Gen. Raul Castro became president in 2008. A few blocks away, working-class Cubans live in decaying apartments on streets clogged by uncollected trash. With state incomes devastated by long-term stagnation and inflation, there's barely money for food, let alone home repairs or indulgences.

With its economy in recession and longstanding oil aid from Venezuela in doubt, the Cuban government appears torn between the need for market-based reforms and the fear of social inequality that would spawn popular dissatisfaction and calls for political change.

http://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/With-Lacoste-Mont-Blanc-socialist-Cuba-has-1st-11131317.php

UK may lose 9,000 bank jobs; Bahrain reserves tumble; Facebook fights fake news

1 UK may lose 9,000 bank jobs (Jill Treanor in The Guardian) Big banks in the City could shift at least 9,000 roles out of the UK as a result of Brexit, according to a tally of job warnings since the EU referendum.

Deutsche Bank is leading the threatened exodus, according to research by Reuters, while the two financial centres making the most gains from London’s loss are Frankfurt and Dublin. Last month Deutsche warned that up to 4,000 UK jobs – nearly half its UK workforce – could move to Frankfurt and other EU centres.

US bank JP Morgan is preparing to move up to 1,000 bankers out of the City to Dublin, Frankfurt and Luxembourg. Goldman Sachs, despite continuing to build a new headquarters in London, has said it would need more people in Madrid, Milan, Paris and other cities in the EU.

The triggering of article 50 by Theresa May in March sparked a wave of announcements, because only two years are permitted for the Brexit negotiations. A report on Monday called for a transition period for banks and other financial firms, in order to adapt their business models to a departure from the EU.

The Bank of England has told financial firms to provide it with details of their Brexit plans by 14 July and to be ready for all possible outcomes, including a hard Brexit. Estimates of the impact of Brexit on financial jobs vary, although the highest is for 232,000 across the entire UK.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/may/08/city-banks-jobs-uk-brexit-reuters-frankfurt-dublin-eu

2 Bahrain reserves tumble (Gulf News) Bahrain’s foreign-currency reserves tumbled 11 per cent in February, extending a decline that has fuelled speculation that the island kingdom would either tap international bond markets soon or seek financial support from other Gulf Arab monarchies.

Net foreign assets dropped to 645.2 million dinars ($1.7 billion), from the 725.9 million dinars in January, according to central bank data. Overall, they’re down 71 per cent from a peak of 2.24 billion dinars in November 2014.

Bahrain has been more vulnerable to slumping oil prices and regional political instability than richer Gulf Cooperation Council states. The drop in reserves comes nearly a month after the International Monetary Fund warned that Bahrain needs to make significant spending cuts to restore stability to its budget and improve investor confidence.

Bahraini assets, however, have weathered the pressure of the country’s financial troubles, largely because investors expect Saudi Arabia to extend aid if needed. The cost of insuring Bahrain’s debt, measured by credit default swaps, dropped for seven straight months through April, the longest streak since 2012.

Bahraini authorities increased spending in response to the global recession in 2009 and civil unrest two years later as sectarian tensions escalated in the Gulf island nation. When oil prices tumbled, the budget deficit soared, reaching almost 18 per cent of gross domestic product last year. The oil price the government needs to balance its budget remains over $100 a barrel, the highest in the GCC, according to IMF estimates.

http://gulfnews.com/business/economy/bahrain-reserves-tumble-as-bofa-expects-gulf-to-demand-action-1.2023879

3 Facebook fights fake news (BBC) Facebook has broadened its campaign to raise awareness about fake news, by publishing adverts in the UK press. The ads carry a list of 10 things to look out for when deciding if a story is genuine. They include checking the article date and website address, as well as making sure it isn't intended as satire.

Facebook is under fresh political pressure to tackle fake news in the run up to the UK general election. Meanwhile, a BBC Panorama investigation has found the social network played a decisive role in both the US election and Britain's EU referendum last year.

The platform said it had already removed "tens of thousands" of fake Facebook accounts and that systems were now monitoring the repeated posting of the same content or a sharp increase in messaging. Accounts displaying this activity are then flagged, it added. Facebook is also decreasing the ranking of stories that people tend to read but not share.

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-39840803

Macron is youngest French president; Record 134 billionaires in Britain; Decline of the tablet craze

1 Macron in youngest French president (BBC) Centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron has decisively won the French presidential election, defeating far-right candidate Marine Le Pen. Mr Macron won by 66.06% to 33.94% to become, at 39, the country's youngest president.

Mr Macron will also become the first president from outside the two traditional main parties since the modern republic's foundation in 1958. He said that a new page was being turned in French history. "I want it to be a page of hope and renewed trust," he said.

Mr Macron said he had heard "the rage, anxiety and doubt that a lot of you have expressed" and vowed to spend his five years in office "fighting the forces of division that undermine France". He said he would "guarantee the unity of the nation and... defend and protect Europe." In his speech he repeated a number of times that the task facing him and the country was enormous.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-39839349

2 Record 134 billionaires in Britain (Angela Monaghan & Jessica Elgot in The Guardian) Britain has more billionaires than ever in what equality campaigners said was a clear sign the UK economy is only working for the few at the top.

There are now 134 billionaires based in the UK according to this year’s Sunday Times Rich List, 14 more than the previous highest total, as the super-rich reap the benefits of a “Brexit boom”. Fifteen years ago, there were 21.

The annual rich list showed that the wealthiest 1,000 individuals and families in Britain have combined wealth of £658bn, up from £575bn last year, despite fears that the Brexit vote last June would plunge the economy into a fresh turmoil.

Srichand and Gopichand Hinduja are the richest in the UK, with a fortune of £16.2bn, up from £13bn and second place in 2016’s list. Sri, 81, and Gopi, 77, first topped the rich list in 2014 and have made their fortune from a business empire started by their father in Mumbai in 1914.

Today, the Hinduja Group employs more than 70,000 people and has global investments in a range of sectors including oil and gas, property, media and banking. Current projects include the transformation of the Old War Office in Westminster into a luxury hotel.

The Equality Trust said the £83bn increase in wealth among the richest 1,000 people over the past year could pay the energy bills of all UK households for two and a half years and would be enough for the grocery bills for all food bank users for 56 years. The Duke of Westminster, 26, tops the young rich list with £9.5bn. He is head of the Grosvenor family, whose land and property empire spans Britain, Europe, Asia and the Americas.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/may/07/brexit-boom-creates-record-number-of-uk-billionaires-sunday-times-rich-list

3 Decline of the tablet craze (Straits Times) The tablet craze from a few years ago showed more signs of fading this year, with most major producers posting sales declines, market surveys have shown. IDC reported an 8.5 per cent drop in global tablet shipments to 36.2 million - the 10th straight quarterly fall. A separate poll by Strategy Analytics pegged the drop at 10 per cent.

IDC analyst Ryan Reith said the sizzling growth in tablets from 2010 to 2013 following the launch of the first iPad is now history, and many consumers are finding they can do without tablets, relying instead on smartphones or new slimmer laptop PCs.

IDC said Apple led the market with a 24.6 per cent share in the first quarter despite a 13 per cent sales drop. Samsung sales fell 1.1 per cent, but it retained the No. 2 spot at 16.5 per cent. China's Huawei was the only major vendor to show growth - reporting a 31.7 per cent jump, garnering a 7.4 per cent share, after introducing new "detachable" tablets powered by Microsoft Windows, IDC said.

http://www.straitstimes.com/business/tablet-sales-extend-slide-as-habits-shift

S&P 500, Nasdaq at record levels; Global cyber security spend to hit $1trn; Super yachts face cyber crime threat

1 S&P 500, Nasdaq at record levels (Straits Times) The S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished at fresh records on Friday following a bounce in oil prices and a solid US jobs report for April. The broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.4 per cent to end the week at 2,399.29 and the Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.4 per cent to 6,100.76. Both were records.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3 per cent to close at 21,005.09. After a slow March, when hiring likely was held down by a winter storm, the US economic engine added an estimated 211,000 net new positions in April while the jobless rate fell a tenth to 4.4 per cent, the lowest since May 2007, the Labour Department reported.

Analysts said the report further strengthens prospects the Federal Reserve will stick to a planned course of two more interest rate hikes in 2017.

http://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/sp-500-nasdaq-end-at-records-after-solid-us-jobs-data

2 Global cyber security spend to hit $1 trillion (Muzaffar Rizvi in Khaleej Times) The global cybersecurity market is expected to hit the $1 trillion mark in the next three to five years due to increasing cybercrime activities in the corporate world, say experts and industry specialists.

Growing cyberattacks have become a matter of concern for corporates as it caused widespread disruption and losses in productivity and growth. Experts urge extra caution to avert cyberattacks in the wake of an increasing number of gadgets that might reach the 20 billion mark by 2020 from an estimated 7 billion today.

The annual cost of cybersecurity, which currently stands at $600 billion, is a matter of concern for businesses across the globe. Approximately 868,000 new malwares each day take an average of only 82 seconds to claim their first victim. Cybercriminals mostly attack large companies since they are lucrative victims given the multiple attack vectors.

Nick Lazaridis, HP president for Europe, Middle East and Africa, said cybercrime is growing and everything is "scary" in today's connected world. "We live in a hyper-connected world where $445 billion [in 2015] is lost to cybercrimes annually. Over 160 large data breaches happened in 2016. Lazaridis said.

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/technology/can-1-trillion-keep-cyberspace-safe

3 Super yachts face cyber crime threat (Rupert Neate in The Guardian) The seaborne cybercrime threat is real: one billionaire had more than £100,000 stolen when criminals hacked his bank account. Others have been blackmailed with compromising photos, and some have already been forced to pay a ransom to unlock their vessel’s navigation systems.

The cybercrime session was one of the most popular at the Superyacht Investor London conference, where the industry was celebrating the best annual sales since the 2008 financial crisis.

Over lunch, superyacht builders and financiers discussed the best ways to win over new customers in growing but underexploited markets such as China and the Middle East. James Bond-style accessories were showcased, such as exploration submarines and snow rooms designed to mimic winter conditions in case it gets too hot up on deck. Some clients have also demanded dealing rooms with Bloomberg terminals, or operating theatres, so that ultra-rich owners could receive immediate treatment in case of injury or illness onboard.

Oliver Blanchet, head of yacht financing for the French bank BNP Paribas, said his bank had calculated that there were more than 100,000 people in the world who could afford a superyacht, but only 5-7% of them had bought one – so there was plenty to play for.

By comparison, the private jet industry, he said, has had much more success selling jets as a business tool: at least 20% of people who had the money had purchased one. He said the industry needed to do more to promote yachts as a way for the rich to save time. “Time is a new currency,” he said. “A yacht is an amazing tool for saving time and a platform for new experiences.”

Hacking might not even be necessary if the yacht crew post photos on social media. Once the location of the ship is known, long-lens photographers can be dispatched to try and take compromising photos of the rich and their often well-known guests. To combat the threat, many superyacht owners have banned their crew from using Facebook or Instagram.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/05/cybercrime-billionaires-superyacht-owners-hacking

US jobless rate at 10-year low; Oil at five-month low; France bans overly thin models

1 US jobless rate at 10-year low (Straits Times) Payroll gains in the US rebounded last month by more than what was forecast, and the jobless rate unexpectedly fell to 4.4 per cent, signaling that the labour market remains healthy and should support continued increases in consumer spending.

The 211,000 increase followed a 79,000 advance in March that was lower than previously estimated, a US Labour Department report showed. While the unemployment rate is now the lowest since May 2007, wages were a soft spot in the report, climbing 2.5 per cent from a year earlier.

Strengthening business sentiment might be translating into hiring, and the data should keep Federal Reserve policymakers on track to raise interest rates in the coming months after officials declared the first-quarter slowdown to be temporary.

Employment gains were broad- based though concentrated in services. Leisure and hospitality registered a 55,000 increase, education and health services was up 41,000, and financial activities rose by 19,000. Retail rebounded with a 6,300 increase following a revised loss of 27,400.

The underemployment rate, a measure that includes those working part-time who would take a full-time job if it were available, dropped to 8.6 per cent, the lowest since November 2007, just before the last recession began. In March, it was 8.9 per cent. The number of discouraged workers fell by 5,000 last month to 460,000, and was 363,000 the month the last recession started.

http://www.straitstimes.com/business/us-jobless-rate-falls-to-10-year-low-211000-jobs-added

2 Oil at five-month low (Martin Farrer in The Guardian) Oil prices have fallen sharply along with other commodities as the prospect of slowing growth in the US and China blunts optimism about the global economy.

Stocks fell across the Asia Pacific region for the third day running thanks to a 5% drop in the oil price on concerns of a supply glut. Analysts have forecast further losses amid signs that demand will not be strong enough to soak up the excess production. Iron ore and copper also fell sharply and analysts warned of a gathering commodities rout.

Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney, said: “The commodity optimism of earlier this year looks to be in the process of being completely unwound.” Oil prices plunged to five-month lows on Thursday amid record trading volume in Brent crude, as Opec and other producers appeared to rule out deeper supply cuts to reduce the world’s persistent glut of crude.

Copper prices slid to four-month lows, following their biggest one-day drop in 20 months while Chinese iron ore futures tumbled 8% on Thursday on concerns that global commodity demand are set to fall sharply.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/may/05/oil-plunges-to-lowest-level-for-five-months-amid-global-growth-fears

3 France bans overly thin models (BBC) A law in France banning the use of unhealthily thin fashion models has come into effect. Models will need to provide a doctor's certificate attesting to their overall physical health, with special regard to their body mass index (BMI) - a measure of weight in relation to height.

The health ministry says the aim is to fight eating disorders and inaccessible ideals of beauty. Digitally altered photos will also have to be labelled from 1 October. Images where a model's appearance has been manipulated will need to be marked photographie retouchée (English: retouched photograph).

A previous version of the bill had suggested a minimum BMI for models, prompting protests from modelling agencies in France. But the final version, backed by MPs 2015, allows doctors to decide whether a model is too thin by taking into account their weight, age, and body shape.

Employers breaking the law could face fines of up to 75,000 euros ($82,000) and up to six months in jail. France is not the first country to legislate on underweight models - Italy, Spain and Israel have all done so. Anorexia affects between 30,000 to 40,000 people in France, 90% of whom are women.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-39821036

Google, FB attract a fifth of global ad spend; Twitter plans 24-hour news stream; Empowering women through shoes

1 Google, FB attract a fifth of global ad spend (Julia Kollewe in The Guardian) Google and Facebook attracted one-fifth of global advertising spending last year, nearly double the figure of five years ago, research shows.

Online advertising has overtaken television to become the world’s largest ad medium, according to data and analysis agency Zenith. Twitter is the fastest-growing media owner, increasing ad revenue by 734% between 2012 and 2016. Internet-only media companies are grabbing the biggest slices of the online advertising market, while traditional news publishers have fallen far behind and been forced to make cutbacks.

Google, owned by parent company Alphabet, is by far the biggest media owner in the world and attracted $79.4bn in ad revenues in 2016, three times more than the second-largest, Facebook, which pulled in $26.9bn. The previous year, Alphabet took $67.4bn of ad revenues and Facebook $17.1bn.

Together, the two companies accounted for nearly 20% of global advertising spending last year, up from 16.3% in 2015 and 10.6% in 2012. The largest traditional media owner is US broadcasting and cable television company Comcast, which was third with $12.9bn in ad revenues in 2016, up from $11.5bn the year before.

Despite its large share of the ad market, Google faces a growing boycott from major advertisers including the UK government, Marks & Spencer and McDonald’s, and has promised an overhaul of its advertising policies. Many of the companies involved in the boycott discovered their advertising spend was being used to place banner ads over YouTube videos from groups such as Britain First, indirectly funding extremists.

Aside from Alphabet and Facebook, there are five pure internet media owners in the ranking: Baidu, Microsoft, Yahoo, Verizon and Twitter. Between them, the seven digital platforms generated $132.8bn of internet ad revenues in 2016, accounting for nearly three-quarters of all internet ad spend, and nearly one-quarter of total ad spending.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/may/02/google-and-facebook-bring-in-one-fifth-of-global-ad-revenue

2 Twitter plans 24-hour news stream (BBC) Twitter is working with media firm Bloomberg to create a 24-hour rolling news channel for the messaging service.  The live video stream will be made up of original programming as well as feeds from Bloomberg bureaus.

The deal builds on the live-streaming deals Twitter has done with others that spreads content via the social network. The deal could also help Twitter compete more with giants such as Google and Facebook, which already make a lot of money from video ads.

Bloomberg's chief executive Justin Smith said the video stream would be "broader in focus" than its existing output. He said it would build on the habits of many Twitter users who send tweets as they watch live events.

Twitter's chief operating officer Anthony Noto said the stream would be designed for mobile audiences so people can focus on it when they see something interesting to them. In the first three months of 2017, Twitter broadcast about 800 hours of live video. Many of those streams were connected to specific events.

http://www.bbc.com/news/business

3 Empowering women through shoes (Jessica Abo in San Francisco Chronicle) Brooklyn mom Nicole Shwirtz decided she wanted to do something to help women with the challenge of finding shoes with the right size and width.

This month, Shwirtz launched a Kickstarter campaign for her line, NicoNine. Says Shwirtz: “I took classes at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology and continued with one-on-one workshopping at the Brooklyn Shoe Space. I learned everything from pattern-making to lasting. There are so many steps that go into making a pair of shoes.

“All my shoes come in half sizes, 5 through 13, and in narrow, medium and wide widths. It's all made by hand, in Brooklyn. My first style, The Athena, comes in two color variations and is my modern take on the ankle boot. It actually takes about 20 hours and 20 individual steps to make a single pair.

“For the consumer, the brand makes available more sizing options than most other brands. As a person with narrow feet, I always felt cheated by the one-size, one-width model. I wanted to empower women of all shoe sizes and widths to find a better fitting shoe for an affordable price.

“On the shoe production side, once the Kickstarter is successfully funded, all shoes will be made to order, by hand, at the Brooklyn Shoe Factory, which is a women-owned, minority-owned factory. They focus on small-batch manufacturing and hire and train talent through a non-profit organization called CEEDS, which employs underserved immigrant women to provide them with meaningful work and fair wages.”

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/How-One-Mom-Is-Empowering-Women-Through-Shoes-11089733.php