Pars life-saving flying robot is now a reality

Earlier this year, RTS Lab unveiled its concept for Pars, an aerial robot that flies out over a large body of water to air-drop life preservers near drowning victims. Like many design concepts, we weren't sure if this life-saving drone would ever become a reality, but it seems the Iran-based company was recently able to fund a working prototype and even test its capabilities in open water. Based on these initial tests, it's possible that this flying, GPS-guided lifeguard could be out there saving lives sooner than you think.
When conducting a trial rescue mission, the drone was able to reach a target 75 m (246 ft) away and drop its payload in about 22 seconds, while a human lifeguard took 91 seconds to swim to the same location. During testing at night, the Pars was also able to illuminate targets on the ground and make itself more visible to its controller on land using several bright LEDs.
RTS Lab has pointed out that the drone's fast speed combined with a capacity for several life preservers means it could attend to multiple people in one trip. With its built-in GPS, it can even be programmed to fly to a certain area, dispense life preservers to anyone in danger, and then automatically return to its base. Of course, the aerial bot won't be able to pull anyone to safety just yet, but it could be sent out ahead of rescue crews to provide some initial aid. The researchers are also hoping it could give emergency teams a birds-eye view of the situation and help them plot a safe path to where they need to go.

Source: Gizmag

The HSBC/Markit China manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index slipped to 50.4

   Manufacturing is slowing in China according to a preliminary gauge of PMI by HSBC index.

The “flash” version of the HSBC/Markit China manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index slipped to 50.4, compared to last month 50.9 The result, which marked a two-month low for the PMI, was also well below the official government version of the PMI, which  hit 51.4 in October.

Among the sub-indexes, new export orders slid below the 50 mark dividing growth from contraction, while overall new orders rose, but at a slower rate than in October.

The closely watched employment sub-index also showed a decrease after indicating growth the previous month.

The flash PMI generally includes 85% to 90% of the total responses used in the final edition of the report.

Economists not so concerned

In comments accompanying the data, HSBC chief China economist Hongbin Qu said: “China’s growth momentum softened a little in November ... due to the weak new export orders and slowing pace of restocking activities. That said, this is still the second-highest PMI reading in seven months.”

Qu also cited a slowing in the rise of input prices, with output prices swinging to a decline, as suggesting that “muted inflationary pressures should enable Beijing to keep policy relatively accommodative to support growth.”

Source: Marketwatch

OECD upgrades 2014 growth forecast for Japan

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has revised upward its 2014 growth forecast for Japan.

In its latest report issued on Tuesday, the OECD said Japan's gross domestic product will grow 1.5 percent next year. That's up slightly from the projection of 1.4 percent the organization made 6 months ago.The OECD cites growing exports against the backdrop of the weaker yen, fiscal measures and recovering personal spending as the reasons for the upgrade.
The OECD expects that growth will slow to one percent in 2015, mainly because of the planned consumption tax increase.
It says regaining fiscal health is the top priority for Japan because its public debts account for 230 percent of GDP.

Source: NewsOnJapan

Abenomics did create an export boom -- just not for Japan

Economics often boils down to a lot of smoke and mirrors. Take the case of Abenomics. People are touting Shinzo Abe's economic policies as a great success, mainly because they cater to the No. 1 prevalent prejudice-that printing money is the solution to any economic slowdown.

The results of these policies, however, are not that clear. In fact, the data generated since he became prime minister in December 2012 does not point in that direction.

When Abe became prime minister, the rate of growth of Japan's GDP had been declining for several decades in a row.

Moreover, in the last few months the country had been experiencing a decline in exports, which had been the economy's engine of growth since its industrialization in the late 19th century.

Abe promised to reverse these trends. His plan was simple: Go back to export-driven growth by accelerating monetary printing, which would depreciate the currency, which would in turn make Japanese exports cheaper. Abe's plan had another advantage: The additional monetary printing would also increase domestic demand, which in turn would increase domestic production.

Almost everybody applauded. Quite an idea! Although not very original. Currency debasement has been used since times immemorial. Abe was not aiming at being original, but effective.

Source: NewsOnJapan

An App Gives a Heads-Up on Parking Spaces: Spotswitch

"A new iPhone application hopes to use crowdsourcing to help with an eternal New York problem: How do you find a parking space in New York City?"

"Members download the application, called Spotswitch, which is free. When a driver is getting ready to leave a parking spot, he or she uses the application to send a geo-tagged alert across the system letting other members know where the newly available parking spot will be. In theory, another Spotswitch member in need of a parking spot can show up before the first car leaves.

The application was dreamed up by Bryan Choi, 35, who was frustrated by the difficulty he had finding parking space in his northern Manhattan neighborhood, Inwood, especially on days when alternate-side parking rules are in effect. “A lot of nice people get crazy,” said Mr. Choi, who works as a developer for Charles Schwab.

So in his spare time, he spent six months learning how to write an iPhone application and putting it together. (“A lot of late nights,” he said ruefully.) It was approved by Apple last week, and he plans on rolling it out to other mobile phones.

Technology has often been used to try to tackle the inefficiency of parking, which congests streets and even leads to deaths (as in the case of a 19-year-old who was killed in a fight over a San Francisco parking space in 2006). Another iPhone application, Primospot, gives parking schedule information and garage rates. Roadify uses text messages to help find residents find parking spaces in Park Slope. San Francisco has deployed sensors that alert smartphone users if parking spots become available.

In theory, the application could be used in any city, but Mr. Choi sees the ripest market in New York. He plans a grassroots marketing effort aimed at specific neighborhoods where iPhones are plentiful and parking is scarce: the Upper West Side and Upper East Side in Manhattan, and Park Slope, Dumbo and Williamsburg in Brooklyn".

“I’m going to go block by block. I have a whole flier campaign,” he said. His theory is that the application becomes useful only if it is used by a critical mass of people within a neighborhood. The hope is to build a sense of community.

In the long run, he hopes to charge for the application, and maybe even sell advertising, since anyone who uses it is most likely a car owner in New York City, a potentially marketable demographic. “I have a long-term vision,” he said. “I have a grand vision of how to scale this up.”
Source: NY Times

KPCS meeting opens in Johannesburg to discuss conflict-free diamonds. China will assume chair in Jan 1, 2014.

 The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) meeting opened on Tuesday in Johannesburg to discuss "conflict diamonds."

Established in 2003 by United Nations General Assembly, the KPCS is the process to prevent "conflict diamonds" from entering the mainstream rough diamond market. The process was set up to ensure that diamond purchases were not financing violence by rebel movements and their allies seeking to undermine legitimate governments.

In the opening address, South African Minister of Mineral Resources Susan Shabangu said, "This year's plenary meeting holds more significance than ever, as the work of the Ad Hoc Committee on Reform will set the tone on how the KPCS ensues going forward."

"There has been robust engagement among ourselves over the past few years on these reforms, which made us introspect rather deeply about our founding objectives and the extent to which we have lived up to the this promise," she added.

The minster held the idea that Kimberley Process should complement the work by other international bodies regulating the sale of diamonds like the Council for Responsible Jewellery Practices.

"The KPCS cannot be seen to be duplicating the works of other organization, especially those that complement the KPCS, namely the System of Warranties developed by the World Diamond Council (WDC) to extend the Kimberley Process conflict-free assurance to polished diamonds, and to provide a means by which consumers can be assured that their diamonds are from conflict-free sources," she told participants of the three-day session.

Shabangu also encouraged the Kimberley Process Certification to work with the African Union to ensure that there is transparent and equitable exploitation of natural resources, saying that Africa which contributes to the world with natural resources should benefit from these.

KPCS Chairperson Welile Nhlapho encouraged all stalk holders to work together to find solutions to the blood diamonds. He said the plenary should strive to make the organization effective and reliable.

"We should work towards reducing trade in conflict diamonds and develop ways in which they improve the lives that depend on them. We should intensify reform to make Kimberley Process reliable and effectiv," said Nhlapho.

China will assume the chair of Kimberley process Certification Scheme with effect from Jan. 1, 2014.

Source: Xinhua

Coming Battle: trying to Break German Hold of Car Luxury Market in China

   According to a report from the Wall Street Journal,for Chinese car buyers, luxury means Audi AG, BMW AG, and Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz combined, hold more than 70% of the country's about $40 billion annual market for high-end vehicles.
Now, a club of smaller scale luxury brands have China in their cross hairs. In the past yearGeneralMotors Co.  's Cadillac, Tata Motors Ltd. 's Jaguar Land Rover, and Chinese-owned Swedish brand Volvo have detailed plans to spend billions of dollars on factories in China that would bring at least half a million additional luxury cars to the market beginning 2015.

The competition will heat up again at an auto show that begins in this southern Chinese boomtown on Thursday, where new luxury-car launches include JLR's Range Rover LWB and its 2014 Range Rover Evoque; Volvo Car Corp.'s new longwheel base sedan the S60L; ToyotaMotor Corp.'s  Lexus will hold the world premiere of its 2014 CT 200h full hybrid hatchback compact luxury sedan; GM's China debut of its Cadillac ATS small sedan; and Nissan Co. 's Infiniti unveils its Q50 2.0T engine model.

Analysts forecast China's luxury car market will total 1.4 million vehicles in 2013. Using a broad definition of luxury cars, they estimate Chinese consumers' luxury-car purchases could reach three million vehicles by 2020—putting it ahead of the U.S. with its estimated 2.3 million luxury vehicles.

While Chinese desire for German luxury brands is strong, industry experts say loyalty to a single brand is relatively low, providing an opening for newcomers. Chinese consumers penchant for upgrading also means buyers are frequently considering their next purchase. Some also are buying second or third cars for their households.

Reform ofn China's Capital Market has to be market oriented.

Reform of China's capital market has to be market oriented, law based and global, China's top securities regulator said Tuesday at an economic forum.

Xiao Gang, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), said at the Caijing Annual Conference that capital market reform must first be market oriented, as administration had played a dominant role in the past. Under the current system, too many items go through formalities of registration or administrative approval, holding back efficient competition.

The capital pricing mechanism also needs improvement and a codified mechanism for delisting has to be realized. "The only way to solve current problems on the market is to push forward market-oriented reform in a proactive yet steady manner," the CSRC chairman said, adding that the reform plan should avoid causing volatility.

A switch from stock issue based on administrative approval to issue based on registration is a key area and will be "firmly carried out."

Xiao also expected reform of the legal system, especially concerning civil compensation, will help capital market reform. "A legal system to protect smaller investors should be established," he said.

The capital market also has to open up to the outside, Xiao said, but it is premature to develop an "international board," namely a board for foreign companies on China's A-share market.

"The opening up of the capital market is a long and gradual process," Xiao said.

Source: Xinhua

China. Is it a good idea to invest in oversea property market?

Chinese overseas real estate investment volume has exceeded 5 billion U.S. dollars for 2013, breaking the historical record of 4 billion for 2012, according to the Jones Lang LaSalle, a global real estate agency.

Real estate markets in Europe, America, Australia and Singapore have attracted the most investment from Chinese buyers.

For example, figures provided by the Australian government showed that Chinese buyers poured 4 billion Australian dollars in 2012. It is believed that Chinese interest in Australian real estate will remain strong in the coming three to five years.

"I've never experienced any other foreign nationals that bought in that volume and they've never bought so consistently," Harry Triguboff, the Australian property tycoon and founder of the Meriton Group，said.

"They're not very concerned about the amount of return, they want to see capital gain, and I think that now with our dollar coming down. It will help us to sell even more," Triguboff added.

Company report showed that 15 percent of Meriton's sales were contributed by Chinese investors in 2012.

Why are Chinese buyers so keen on overseas market instead of the domestic market?

In the domestic market, housing prices have continued to climb over the past decade, especially in some parts, they are so high that they are simply considered unaffordable by the most.

Since 2012, policy makers have brought in cooling policies to curb speculative demand and stabilize prices, such as restrictions on multiple home purchase, higher down payments for purchases of a second home, etc. But these policies couldn't hold back the trend.

China Securities Journal said, at the end of October, new home prices in the first-tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen hiked over 20 percent year on year.

And that in 100 major monitored cities was about 10,685 yuan per square meter, up 1.24 percent month-on-month for the 17th consecutive month since June 2012.

Rebound domestic house price and limited investment channels may be the key reasons to push Chinese buyers to put their money in oversea real estate market.

"Is it a good idea to invest in oversea property market? " and "What are the potential risks?" investors may ask.

Many overseas real estate projects have claimed that their advantages are low cost, high yield, and even buying house to obtain permanent resident permit.

However, they seem not able to guarantee risk free for such investments. Insiders pointed out that important factors such as the political, policy, market and exchange rate risks must be considered for overseas investment.

There are already a large number of Chinese investors who have realized the practical difficulties they need to deal: high housing taxes, difficulty to rent or resale, maintenance costs, trust of unoccupied property to agencies.

Buying property oversea may be a way to broaden investment channel, but buyers have to take it as it is -- investment product, and be ready for risks and losses.

To determine when to pull the trigger, buyers should always keep eyes on what's happening in overseas real estate market. Try to be rational and cautious.

 Source: Xinhua

Japan biz leader cites progress in fence mending with China

Japanese business leader Hiromasa Yonekura suggested Wednesday that progress has been made in efforts to improve the nation's ties with China following the latest Japanese business mission to China.

At a press conference in Beijing, Yonekura, head of the Japan Business Federation, the nation's biggest business lobby known as Keidanren, said that he felt the Chinese side takes relations with Japan very positively.

Source: NewsOnJapan

Welcome to Flower Paradise, Hitachi Seaside Park.

Hitachi Seaside Park is an endless flower paradise

huffingtonpost.com -- Nov 19

Welcome to flower paradise. Less than two hours from Tokyo, the Hitachi Seaside Park is a palette of colors, changing from one season to another, making it an all-year-round paradise.

In the spring, these baby-blue flowers, called nemophilas, bloom all over the park. It's as if you're standing in the middle of powdery blue goodness.

Source: NewsOnJapan

China: Investors eye reform effects

 The strong rally of stock markets is more than a warm welcome to the promise of sweeping reforms Chinese leaders have announced.

The Shanghai Composite Index jumped by 2.87 percent to 2,197 points on Monday, amid rising optimism that the top leadership's reform pledges will bring about investment opportunities and sound returns for many listed companies. This optimism was echoed by other stock markets in Asia.

The Shanghai rally also represents an urgent call by Chinese investors for a better functioning and rewarding stock market.

This benchmark index dropped by 1.83 percent last Wednesday when investors were generally puzzled by the lack of reform details in the newly released communique from the Third Plenum of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

Now, a 60-point resolution from that all-important meeting has excited the domestic stock markets.

Chinese investors do deserve a better-performing stock market. Five years after the global financial crisis, US stocks keep hitting record highs, largely because the Fed indicates it is in no hurry to rein in its super loose monetary policy.

Meanwhile, China's five years of the fastest growth among all major economies around the world have only lifted the Shanghai composite index by some 500 points from the bottom of 1,665 points to the current level which is about one-third of the previous peak.

As a result, most Chinese investors have not been able to share the fruits of China's growth story via the stock market. And the stock market has failed to assume its role in optimizing the allocation of resources.

With Chinese leaders vowing to make the most sweeping changes to the economy in decades, it is reasonable for investors to cast their vote of confidence.

If the market is to play a decisive role in allocating resources as the leaders have projected, China's stock market must serve as a more effective mechanism for channeling funds to the most competitive companies that can bring about maximum profits for shareholders.

Given the regulatory challenges in the stock market and difficulties facing the country as it strives for economic transformation, no one should expect too many quick returns from investing in Chinese stocks.

Yet Chinese leaders' determination to comprehensively deepen reforms has made the trend clear. And Chinese investors simply cannot wait for these reforms to gain more urgency.

Source: China Daily

Fed considering reducing the size bond buying program

Federal Reserve officials considered going back to a calendar date to end asset purchases, according to minutes from the October meeting released Wednesday that suggested the central bank is looking for ways to exit or at least slow down the controversial program in fairly short order.
  By a 9-to-1 vote, the Fed on Oct. 30 continued the $85 billion-per-month asset-purchase program, otherwise known as QE3, and made little changes to the language in the statement. But those few changes obscured that behind closed doors, officials were throwing all sorts of ideas up against the wall.

Minutes from the Oct. 29-30 meeting showed that officials considered reducing the size of the asset-purchase program even “before an unambiguous further improvement in the [labor-market] outlook was apparent.” And “many members” — by members, the Fed is referring to voters — “stressed the data-dependent nature of the current asset purchase program, and some pointed out that, if economic conditions warranted, the committee could decide to slow the pace of purchases at one of its next few meetings.”

Source: Marketwatch

The tapering true meaning. By Andy Xie

Tapering is new jargon,in financial makets it describes the reduction in the Fed's stimulus or quantity of monthly asset purchases. In mathematics, it is the second order derivative of money supply. When the market gyrates on a second order derivative phenomenon, you know it is a really sensitive beast. In the financial world, a sensitive thing is usually a bubble.

The current market level gives it a price-earnings ratio of 15 to 16 times. Compared to the historical average of 15, it does not look overvalued. But, three factors mean the valuation is stretched.

First, a declining interest rate could account for one-fifth of the earnings. The interest rate cycle has bottomed. Sooner or later it will go back up. Second, the earnings may disappoint. The global economy is weak, growing half as fast as in the past. The diminished earnings prospect makes even the historically normal valuation expensive. Third, the average valuation masks the bubbly atmosphere in most stocks. Energy, telecoms and financials are cheap due to reasons linked to their sector. The rest of the market has a very high valuation.

The odds are that the United States' stock market is in the early stages of a bubble, say, 30 percent above a sustainable level. A bubble, after expanding gradually for a period, wants to surge and then burst. In 1999 and early 2000, the U.S. stock market did that. It seems to really be in a euphoric mode now. Without an intervention, we could see a repeat of what occurred in 1999 and 2000. That would be bad news for the Fed. It would expose the futility of its bubble policy.
Tapering is something deliberately introduced to cool a stock market's fires. The Fed wants to hold the bubble in animated suspension. Many have tried to control a bubble. None succeeded. Can Ben Bernanke pull it off? Maybe only for a short time. A bubble either expands or contracts. Holding steady is not a natural state. When the market declines significantly, say by 10 percent, you can bet that Bernanke would say that there is no end in sight for stimulus. The market would then throw away any caution and really party big. A repeat of 1999-2000 may be delayed for a month or two, but will happen eventually.

Source:  Caixin

Donald Sutherland: Millenials need awakening. Passivity reigns

Donald Sutherland,wants to stir revolt. A real revolt. A youth-led uprising against injustice that will overturn the US as we know it and usher in a kinder, better way. "I hope that they will take action because it's getting drastic in this country." Drone strikes. Corporate tax dodging. Racism.The Key stone oil pipeline. Denying food stamps to "starving Americans". It's all going to pot. "It's not right. It's not right."

Millennials need awakening from slumber. "You know the young people of this society have not moved in the last 30 years." With the exception of Occupy, a minority movement, passivity reigns. "They have been consumed with telephones." The voice hardens. "Tweeting."

We are high up in a Four Seasons hotel overlooking Beverly Hills, sunlight glinting off mansions and boutiques below, an unlikely cradle of revolution. Sutherland, resplendent in a dark suit and red tie, is pushing 80. But he is quite serious about the call to arms. "We did it in '68."

Source: theguardian

Poor countries walk out of UN climate talks

Representatives of most of the world's poor countries have walked out of increasingly fractious climate negotiations after the EU,Australia, the US and other developed countries insisted that the question of who should pay compensation for extreme climate events be discussed only after 2015.

The orchestrated move by the G77 and China bloc of 132 countries came during talks about "loss and damage" – how countries should respond to climate impacts that are difficult or impossible to adapt to, such as typhoon Haiyan.

Saleemul Huq, the scientist whose work on loss and damage helped put the issue of recompense on the conference agenda, said: "Discussions were g oing well in a spirit of co-operation, but at the end of the session on loss and damage Australia put everything agreed into brackets, so the whole debate went to waste."

Australia was accused of not taking the negotiations seriously. "They wore T-shirts and gorged on snacks throughout the negotiation. That gives some indication of the manner they are behaving in," said a spokeswoman for Climate Action Network.

Source: theguardian

Devon Energy Nears Deal for GeoSouthern Energy

   According to a report from the Wall Street Journal,Devon Energy is nearing a $6 billion takeover of Texas shale oil driller GeoSouthern Energy Corp., according to people familiar with the matter.
The acquisition, which could be announced as soon as Wednesday, would be the largest U.S. oil and gas transaction of the year.

A takeover would be a bet by Devon, a pioneer in drilling for natural gas, into pumping more U.S. crude. GeoSouthern's operations are almost entirely in the Eagle Ford Shale, a prolific oilfield in South Texas.

Devon, which has a $25 billion stock market value, was the first company to combine horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, a technological pairing that unleashed the current energy boom. When it bought into the Barnett Shale in Texas a decade ago, it helped create a nationwide glut of natural gas.

But the company was soon passed by rivals that moved more aggressively, discovering and leasing even better oil-and-gas fields in Pennsylvania, North Dakota and Texas.

A GeoSouthern deal could be "a move by Devon, which largely had a tier two asset base in North America, to buy tier one assets," says Arun Jayaram, an energy analyst with Credit Suisse.

Blackstone Group is one of the big winners,the private-equity firm helped GeoSouthern secure $1 billion in bank debt in February 2012 to help pay for its drilling activities. Blackstone and GeoSouthern haven't disclosed the private-equity firm's direct investment in the company.

Texas' Permian Basin, Where Oil Output Peaked in '70s, Now a Hot Site for Horizontal Drilling

   According to a report from the Wall Street Journal,one of Texas' oldest oil fields, in decline for decades, has become one of the hottest places in the country to drill for crude, as energy companies create clusters of wells with layers of horizontal branches.

The Permian Basin—86,000 square miles centered on Midland, Texas—has been pumping oil since the 1920s, though production peaked at about 2 million barrels a day in the early 1970s. For decades, geologists have known that oil could be found in different layers of rock piled up like a stack of geologic pancakes.

But now drillers are starting to tap those layers simultaneously from a single site—and are committing billions of dollars to do so.

"I think the Permian is going to have years of surprises in it and most of them are going to be good," Apache CEO Steven Farris said in a conference call with analysts earlier this month.

Because of the Permian's many thick layers—Wolfcamp, Cline and Spraberry are the names of just a few—a group of wells on one site can potentially tap into several different oil reservoirs, each wellbore going down just far enough to reach its targeted layer and then turning sideways.

About 70% of the wells drilled in the Permian this year are vertical, but as companies better understand the geology they will increasingly start to drill horizontally, allowing each well to tap more oil, said Robert Christensen, an energy analyst with Cannacord Genuity.

Drilling in the Permian isn't easy, however. In many areas the surface layers of rock are much harder than in some other oil fields, so it can take longer and cost more to drill. A sharp fall in oil prices could make operations there uneconomic.

And some of the layers are low quality compared with the Bakken Shale in North Dakota and the Eagle Ford shale in Texas, where oil production has soared in the past few years thanks to horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing.

Permian oil has grown more modestly, from about 850,000 barrels a day in 2008 to 1.3 million barrels this year. But analysts expect the daily rate will rise more—to as much as 1.9 million barrels per day by 2018 according to Bentek Energy, an energy-market analysis company.

Occidental Petroleum Inc the largest producer in the Permian, said it plans to spend $500 million there in 2014 and has created a new "exploitation team" to identify more drilling locations.

Apache Corp. the second-largest producer in the region, said its daily oil production in the Permian grew 18% to hit a record; it plans to increase its investments there following the recent sale of operations in Canada and Egypt.

Spending in the Permian Basin has already more than tripled since 2008, from about $6 billion to $18 billion in 2012, according to research firm Wood Mackenzie, and is expected to top $19.8 billion by the end of 2013.

For energy companies, one benefit of working in a place with established oil wells is that drillers don't have to rush in before their leases on land expire; most leases automatically continue in effect once oil starts coming out of the ground (the industry calls this "leases held by production").

European stocks slipped on Wednesday

European stocks slipped on Wednesday, losing ground for the second session, as nagging worries over the global economic outlook and corporate profits kept investors on edge. Shares in European peripheral countries led the retreat, with Spain's IBEX down 0.9 percent and Italy's FTSE MIB down 0.5 percent, with investors eager to book profits on shares from the two countries after a strong outperformance in the past five months.
German retailer Metro bucked the trend, up 3 percent and adding to the previous session's sharp gains, on news that Europe's fourth-biggest retailer is considering a stock market listing of its Russian unit.
Shares in TF1 also featured among the top gainers, up 5.4 percent after France qualified for the 2014 World Cup finals in a relief for the country's biggest private broadcaster.
At 1115 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 0.3 percent at 1,291.64 points, after losing 0.7 percent on Tuesday, while the euro zone's blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 index was down 0.4 percent at 3,037.32 points.

"More and more people are turning bearish, with the newsflow quite negative at the moment, just look at the figures from the OECD and the warning from (billionaire investor Carl) Icahn," said David Thebault, head of quantitative sales trading, at Global Equities.
"That said, the flow dynamics should remain quite strong for European equities, so it's not a bad idea to buy some 'calls' on indexes even if you're negative about the market."
On Tuesday, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development cut its forecast for global growth next year with a sharp downgrade of forecasts for a number of emerging economies such as Brazil and Russia, to which European blue-chips have a strong exposure.
Investors have also been rattled by comments from Icahn, who earlier this week said at the Reuters Global Investment Outlook Summit that the stock market could see a "big drop" because earnings at many companies were fuelled more by low borrowing costs than management efforts to boost results.
European stocks have strongly rallied since late June, with the Euro STOXX 50 jumping 23 percent and the IBEX and MIB surging more than 30 percent, but the rally has lost steam over the past two weeks, hurt by concerns over the pace of economic growth as well as a batch of disappointing corporate results.

Bubbles in the U.S. and Japan threaten everyone's stability, Andy Xie

Japan and the United States are using asset bubbles to revive their economies. They are struggling to manage the speed of bubble expansion or contraction. This dancing on a pinhead brings big uncertainty to the global economy. When they fail, a global recession may follow.

As hot money chases the bubbles in Japan and the United States, the BRIC bubble has deflated halfway. So far no big blowup has occurred, due to continuing loose monetary policy around the world. A soft landing is possible. But, the price is a prolonged slowdown. A major crisis would have prompted them to reform and then recover quickly.

Real economic reforms will occur only when bubble economics, in whatever form it appears, is thoroughly discredited. The first sign would be the replacement of the current generation of central bankers by a new one with a different ideology.

Source: Caixin

Wednesday newspaper Roundup

Barack Obama made a personal appeal to leading senators on Tuesday to postpone new sanctions on Iran. The move came on the eve of crucial nuclear talks. However, the US president still faces fierce opposition from many Republicans in Congress. The US administration had initially appeared to win some political breathing space over its nuclear negotiations after a leading Republican senator left a meeting with Obama and said that no new sanctions were likely until at least next month, the Financial Times says.

A £480m contract to supply 12 British-built helicopters to India was on the brink of collapse last night after a bribery scandal prompted Delhi to abandon the deal. Executives from AgustaWestland, Britain's only helicopter manufacturer, were scheduled to meet India's Defence Ministry in Delhi today in a last-ditch effort to rescue the deal which, since February, has been overshadowed by corruption allegations, according to The Times. 

The number of households that they are struggling to make ends meet each month has risen by more than 800,000 compared to a year ago, research shows. The soaring cost of living has left an estimated 3.5m households without enough income to cover all their bills every month - a rise of 30% from 2.7m last year, according to a report from Legal & General. The figure is now equivalent to almost a fifth (18%) of all households compared to one in 8 just a year ago, adding weight to Labour leader Ed Miliband's claim that Britain is facing a cost of living crisis despite the recovery in economic growth, The Daily Mail says. 

The US would impose a one-time 20% tax on an estimated $2trn of cash held overseas by American multinationals under a proposal from Democrats on the Senate finance committee that would reshape international tax policy. The proposal by Max Baucus, the veteran Montana lawmaker who chairs the panel, was unveiled on Tuesday as a way to stoke momentum for a sweeping rewrite of the US tax code, which is facing uncertain political prospects, the Financial Times writes. 

The Chairman of the US Federal Reserve Bank last night pledged that it would maintain its $85bn-a-month asset purchase scheme. Ben Bernanke, in one of his final speeches before handing over to Chairman-elect Janet Yellen, said that the Fed's Open Market Committee "remains committed to maintaining highly accommodative policies for as long as they are needed", The Times reports. 

Investment banking giant JP Morgan Chase & Co last night signed a $13bn (£8bn) agreement with the US government to settle claims that it had overstated the quality of mortgages sold to investors in the run-up to the financial crash. The civil settlement - the largest ever reached between a government and a company - marks the end of weeks of tense negotiations between representatives of JP Morgan, the largest US bank, and government agencies under pressure to hold banks accountable for wrongdoing that led to America's housing crisis, The Scotsman explains. 

The Co-op Bank's £1.5bn recapitalisation could be "at risk", the troubled lender was warned as it continued to face the fall-out from damaging revelations about the private life of its disgraced former chairman. Lord Myners, the former City minister, warned the growing scandal over the sex life and alleged drug use by Paul Flowers, the Co-op Bank's chairman until his resignation in June, risked scuppering a rescue deal for the bank and could lead the lender's backers to rethink the terms of recent recapitalisation plan, The Daily Telegraph says. 

Source: LiveCHarts

UK stocks declined on Wednesday

UK stocks declined on Wednesday as investors adopted a cautious approach ahead of the release of the minutes from the latest Federal Reserve policy meeting this evening.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will release details of its October meeting this afternoon as markets wait to hear about the central bank's decision to maintain its stimulus programme last month.

However, comments from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke last night were in focus this morning after he reiterated that any tapering of asset purchases remains dependent on incoming economic data, as he held back from shedding any light on the timetable for an impending withdrawal.

"This comes before the FOMC meetings minutes will be released later today which will undoubtedly lead to volatility as investors attempt to decipher the underlying sentiment of the FOMC," said Alex Conroy, Financial Sales Trader at Spreadex.

Retail sales, consumer price inflation and existing-home sales data is also due out today from the US this afternoon. 

Meanwhile, investors closer to home will be watching closely for the release of the minutes from the Bank of England's latest policy meeting.

Source: LiveCharts

ASIA: STOCKS TURN MOSTLY NEGATIVE AHEAD OF FED MINUTES

Japan's Nikkei share average lost its grip on earlier gains on Wednesday, as recent demand for banking stocks dried up and investors turned cautious ahead of a raft of US economic data that could shed light on the direction of Federal Reserve policy. 

The Nikkei dropped 0.33% to 15,076 in Tokyo while the broader Topix also shed 0.3% or 3 points to 1,233. Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 43 points at 23,700, despite weakness elsewhere in Asia as financial stocks, such as Bank of East Asia and Bank of China pushed ahead.

Focus is expected to turn to minutes of the Fed's October policy meeting while upcoming US retail sales and inflation figures are also due out later on Wednesday. 

Investors will also be closely watching the policy announcement due out on Thursday from the Bank of Japan, as well as the most recent survey data scheduled for release on Chinese manufacturing. 

The latest trade data from Japan showed the nation's exports climbed 18.6% in October from the previous year, better than forecasts for a 17.3% gain. Japanese imports rose 26.1% however, bringing the trade deficit to over ¥1trn, wider than the ¥810bn deficit expected.

Yen sensitive stocks such as Kyocera, Tokyo Electron and Fanuc headed lower as the yen strengthened slightly, with the dollar trading at ¥100.

Source: LiveCharts