IAC shines spotlight on video streaming service Vimeo

As one of the media properties tucked away within IAC/Interactive Corp's vast group of online holdings, executives are putting the spotlight on Vimeo, breaking out the number of users and revenue for the first time.

IAC revealed that Vimeo has an audience of more than 100 million unique users, 400,000 paying subscribers and about $40 million in revenue over the past 12 months ending October.

As a video web site, Vimeo competes with Google's YouTube and other streaming video services though it is known for attracting a niche audience of creative professionals.

Founded in 2004 by a group of filmmakers under media mogul Barry Diller's IAC, Vimeo has been grouped with company's other media properties such as Ben Silverman's Electus production studio.

Anyone can post content to Vimeo's platform or watch it for free, but the company charges $60 or $200 a year for more comprehensive editing tools depending on the package.

"We have begun to turn our attention to how do we build a business around the viewers," said Kerry Trainor, Vimeo's chief executive officer.

Part of that strategy is giving Vimeo subscribers a way to charge for their own content. Vimeo takes a 10 percent cut of the revenue.

"Vimeo has proven there is an entire world of really high quality content out there, just as YouTube showed the power of broadcasting," Trainor said.

Jason Helfstein, a research managing director at Oppenheimer & Co, estimates that Vimeo's average valuation at the mid-point is about $500 million.

"It has been one of IAC's most successful startups," he said.

Source: Reuters

Asia shares edge ahead, Tokyo climbs six month peak

Asian share markets crept cautiously higher on Monday, encouraged both by the prospect of extended stimulus in the United States and real economic reform in China.

A weaker yen helped Tokyo's Nikkei add another 0.2 percent to reach a six-month peak. The index amassed its biggest weekly rise in four years last week.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.5 percent, having gained 1.3 percent on Friday for its best daily rise in almost two months.

Singapore shares gained 0.3 percent as data showed exports beat forecasts in October.

It is another important week for U.S. monetary policy as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke speaks on "Communication and Monetary Policy" on Tuesday.

The Bank of  Japan holds its policy meeting on Wednesday and Thursday and is expected to maintain its ultra-loose policy. 

The U.S. dollar was trading up at 100.30 yen on Monday, near a two-month high of 100.43. The euro bought 135.20 yen not far from the Oct 22 peak of 135.52, a peak not seen since November 2009.

"Our China economists think that if these reforms are implemented successfully it will substantially reduce the downside risks to China's economy."

In commodity markets, spot gold was steady at $1,287.05 an ounce, having crawled away from last week's trough of $1,260.89.

Brent Crude for January delivery eased 25 cents to $108.25 a barrel. U.S. crude for January also shed 25 cents to $94.24, having suffered their sixth weekly drop last week due to a larger-than-expected rise in inventories.

Source: Reuters

Bachelet triumphs in Chile election but faces runoff

Leftist candidate Michelle Bachelet was the clear winner in Chile's presidential election on Sunday, although she will have to wait until a second-round runoff next month to seal her victory.

With nine candidates running, the vote was fractured and Bachelet, seeking her second term as president, fell just short of the 50 percent she needed for an outright first-round victory.

Bachelet, who led Chile between 2006 and 2010 as its first female president, clinched just under 47 percent of the vote. Runner-up Evelyn Matthei of the ruling right-wing coalition was second with 25 percent.

The two will now go head-to-head in a runoff on December 15.

Bachelet is promising an ambitious program of tax and education reform to tackle inequality in the top copper exporting country, while Matthei has pledged to largely continue the business-friendly policies of the current administration of President Sebastian Pinera.

Source: Reuters

China: Plans to raise retirement age as work force shrinks

As we've just talked about, low birth rate is also partly to blame for the rapidly aging society. And the CPC has announced China will raise the retirement age to fill the gap between shrinking labor force and ageing population.

According to figures by the United Nations, one-child-policy has caused the number of working-aged people in China— meaning those aged 15 to 64— to dramatically shrink.

According to the United Nations, from 2010 to 2030, China’s labor force is expected to lose 67 million workers. And the elderly population is projected to soar, from 110 million in 2010 to 210 million in 2030.

By 2050, seniors will account for an estimated one-quarter of the population. All these trends are intensifying the urgency for reform.

Source:  CCTV

Chinese TV industry needs innovation, not imports

It was more than three decades ago that the first foreign TV drama was aired in China. And many more shows have not just followed, but also spawned imitators.

But while imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, originality is far more satisfying. And that's what's under discussion at the Sichuan TV Festival in Chengdu.

Looking for an edge in the TV and film industry.

Chinese TV producers want to know what makes a hit in a country with the biggest audience numbers in the world.

Some get a boost by buying the rights to popular overseas shows--in more ways than one.

"We learn from foreign programs, to use continuous means of shooting and production, and to enhance our capability to produce better shows. We have also produced shows which combine local culture and customs." Li Jin, president of Chengdu Broadcasting & TV Station, said.

But experts say what the industry really needs is innovation, not just imports.

"China in many ways is presented with the same issues as Canada was, there is more than one way to tell a story, the story telling techs in China and in America are quite different, CCTV documentary channel 9 has really gotten in long way in terms of reaching out to more international cooperation, to try to work through those issues, the story telling is different, we just need to learn how to manage those differences." Paul Lewis, president of Discovery Channel, Bellmedia, said.

Concerns of authenticity have been clouding some of the popular shows.

The Super Girl singing competition, which drew 400 million viewers, the combined population of US and UK, was generally described as the unofficial Chinese version of American Idol.

Let’s Shake It, a popular dancing show featuring celebrities and professional partners, is said to be a copy of the UK’s Strictly Come Dancing.

But a new trend is for Chinese television stations to actually buy the copyright of popular foreign productions.

Where are we going, dad, is a celebrity parenting reality TV show. The rights were obtained from the South Korean holder.

The Voice of China, is adapted from The Voice of Holland, which has sold it copyright to dozens of countries.

New ideas from overseas may be a way to bring in viewers in the short run. But the industry will have to find inspiration from within if it wants to keep audiences turned on and tuned in.

Source:  CCTV

Media reaction to key reform plans in China

While the CPC Central Committee targeted 16 areas for advanced reforms at its key meeting earlier this week, world media reports have focused on planned changes to the one-child policy and the decision to end China’s system of re-education through labor.

The New York Times reported that "the planned changes to population policy and punishment, two areas where reforms have been debated and delayed, gave the decision significance beyond the economy."

The BBC reported that "the policy has become increasingly unpopular and leaders fear the country’s ageing population will both reduce the labour pool and exacerbate elderly care issues." A report by Reuters was headlined: "China unveils boldest reforms in past decades."

Source: CCTV

Japanese PM calls S. Korea a "foolish country"

South Korea is in an uproar after Japanese Prime Miniter Shinzo Abe called it a "foolish country". Abe made the remark to close aides while comparing Japan's two closest neighbors - South Korea and China - according to the weekly Shukan Bunshun magazine.

Aides were also quoted as saying Japan is studying economic sanctions against South Korea under a "strategy to conquer" the neighboring nation.

He said even global electronics giant Samsung could collapse overnight if Japanese financial institutions cut off support to the South Korean economy.

A South Korean official has said that relations between South Korea and Japan will face a lot of difficulties if Abe keeps making remarks disparaging the South Korean government.

Source:Shukan Bunshun magazine. CCTV.

Japan: 3 key issues in negotiations over secrecy bill changes

Diet debates on a bill aimed at protecting state secrets and designed to tighten penalties for public servants who leak such information have reached a crucial stage, prompting the ruling coalition and some opposition parties to step up their talks over revisions of the legislation.

With the aim of passing the bill in the current Diet session, the government and the ruling parties are negotiating with the opposition Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) and Your Party over possible modifications of the envisaged law.Diet deliberations on the issue have largely focused on three issues:
-The range of information to be designated as classified secrets.
-The establishment of an independent body charged with examining the government's operation of the system under the proposed legislation.
-The protection of media freedom.

Source: NewsOnJapan

Swiss chocolate maker Barry Callebaut opens factory in Japan

The opening of a Swiss-owned chocolate factory northwest of Tokyo is a small but sweet milestone in Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's crusade to lure foreign investment to Japan after decades of keeping local industries protected from outside competition.

Zurich-based cocoa and chocolates maker Barry Callebaut spent 18.5 million Swiss francs ($20 million) to build the factory, which opened Thursday on the site of a former brewery in Takasaki, smack in the middle of the country. The company aims to help sate the Japanese appetite for chocolate: about 2 kilograms (4 1/2 pounds) of chocolate a year for every person in lean times or fat, which makes this $11.4 billion market the biggest in Asia.Faced with Japan's economic eclipse by China, Abe hopes to double foreign investment this decade, a goal set long ago by one of his predecessors, Junichiro Koizumi, but never reached. Foreign investment in Japan is just a fraction of the levels in other wealthy countries, a legacy of mercantilist policies that helped foster giant exporters such as Toyota.
So far, both foreign and Japanese companies remain wary: deregulation and tax incentives are feeble weapons against the demographic odds of a country whose population is fast aging and already shrinking.

Source: NewsOnJapan

Shanghai Art Fair bigger than ever

Thousands of paintings and sculptures are now on display at the 17th Shanghai Art Fair in the city’s Changning District. The four-day fair at Shanghai Mart features collections from a record-high 143 galleries from all over the world.

It’s the fourth year that the Austrian art gallery Steiner has taken part in the Shanghai Art Fair. But this is the first time it has put works by Vincent Van Gogh and Egon Schiele on display. That became one of the highlights of the show, and attracted a large number of visitors.

One gallery dealer says she’s happy to see repeat visitors coming in, not only for investment purposes, but also because they appreciate the artworks and the stories behind them.

"Our Chinese translators tell the story about the long story about Egon Schiele... Chinese people are very interested, and we’re very happy we can bring in information from Europe. Maybe some Chinese people have never been to Europe, and then can see here," said Corinna Steiner of Gallery Steiner.

Buying art for pleasure or investment is still relatively new in China. Last year, people here bought and sold more than 100 billion yuan worth of art - mostly paintings. The fair organizers say they want to nurture more middle class people to collect art, and say many have the wrong impression about it.

"Many people think that a collector must be very rich, or the the value of artwork they buy must rise in the future. But I think that once you have a passion for art, you can also decorate your home with your favorite art. That's also the key to a healthier art trading market," said Chen Yuren, director of SMG Art Channel.

To achieve that goal, the fair is promoting sculptures that sell for 24,000 yuan each. An art gallery from Taiwan is promoting limited edition woodblock paintings for around 100,000 yuan each, and says it has sold more than ten.

Some exhibitors at the fair say they’re interested in taking advantage of Shanghai's new pilot Free Trade Zone, where Christie's auction house stored all 149 items for its first independent art auction on the mainland last month. But some smaller foreign exhibitors aren’t ready to jump in yet.

"For the very high end of the market, wonderful. For the middle level of the market, like I would position myself, how can I create traffic in the Free Trade Zone? That’s the question," exhibitor Philippe Staib said. 

"If I have to do everything myself, I have to consider the cost of renting the space, the difficulty to bring the customer, and the difficulty to do sales."

Foreign galleries may bring art into the Free Trade Zone's bonded storage area without paying tax, but they still have to pay up to 20 percent tax on any business they do outside the zone.

 Source: CCTV

US approves 3rd shale gas export to Japan

The US Energy Department has approved a plan involving Japanese major appliance firm Toshiba to export natural gas to Japan.

The department on Friday authorized the natural gas project in the state of Texas.Under the plan, Toshiba will secure 2.2 million tons of liquefied natural gas every year, starting from 2019. It plans to sell the gas to power companies in Japan.
Japan has been increasingly depending on thermal power generation. Its nuclear reactors are all offline.

Source: NewsOnJapan

Japan uses offsets to meet Kyoto emission goal

Japan met its Kyoto Protocol obligations to lower greenhouse gas emissions by planting trees and buying carbon credits as actual emissions rose, media reported on Sunday, days after the country watered down targets for cutting them further by 2020.

Environment Minister Nobuteru Ishihara will release the preliminary figures on November 20 in Warsaw, where some 190 nations are meeting from November 11-22 to work on a global climate pact, the Nikkei and Asahi newspapers said.

Japan, the world's fifth-biggest greenhouse gas emitter, was obliged under Kyoto to cut emissions by 6 percent from 1990/91 levels to 1.186 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent a year on average over the five years to March 2013.

The Nikkei business daily said actual emissions rose by 1.4 percent to 1.279 billion tonnes, but Japan met its target with offsets for planting trees and through the government and companies purchasing carbon credits from abroad.

  Source:   NewsOnJapan

China: Tsinghua University identifies new tumor marker

Scientists at China’s Tsinghua University have announced they have identified a protein that shows the presence of cancer, making it easier for doctors to make a diagnosis.

Researchers at Tsinghua University show that the protein, "H-S-P 90 alpha" is five times more prevalent in people with cancer than healthy people. The scientists discovered the elevated levels of the protein in lung cancer tumors and are continuing their research to determine if it can used as a marker to identify liver and stomach cancers.

Prior to the discovery, there were 31 tumor markers, all of which were discovered and identified by scientists in other countries. 

Source: CCTV

Suntech Solar-Panel Factories to Keep Operating

   According to a report from the Wall Street Journal,"Suntech Power Holdings Co. mired in more than $2.3 billion in debt, would pay back about 30% of what it owes to Chinese creditors in a deal that would also keep its solar-equipment factories humming under new management".

"The move to keep the former operations off  counter to Beijing's efforts to rein in industrial overcapacity and is a  China's onetime solar-power champion operating runautionary tale for overseas investors eager to gain exposure to China's booming economy. U.S. creditors are owed more than $500 million in Suntech convertible bonds but it wasn't clear whether they would recoup their investment".

Shunfeng Photovoltaic International,a smaller rival of Suntech, said Sunday that a court in Suntech's hometown of Wuxi approved Shunfeng's purchase of Suntech's main assets in China. A Shunfeng spokeswoman said the company wasn't available for comment.

Under the deal, Shunfeng will take over the subsidiary, Wuxi Suntech Power Co., in exchange for repaying a portion of Suntech's Chinese debt. Although Chinese creditors are owed more than $1.75 billion, they voted last week in favor of the deal, which allows them to recover about 30% of their claims, Shunfeng said.

Shunfeng said it would pay three billion yuan ($492 million) to Suntech, with the proceeds earmarked for Chinese creditors. Shunfeng said it would kick in an additional 10 million yuan for losses incurred by Wuxi Suntech before it was pushed into Chinese bankruptcy. The Wuxi government agreed to be responsible for any claims or losses exceeding that amount, Shunfeng said.

Shunfeng also pledged to invest an additional three billion yuan in Wuxi Suntech within two years, some of which will go toward upgrading its factories. Shunfeng said it agreed to pay all of Wuxi Suntech's back taxes.

The deal would ensure that Wuxi Suntech's three factories, which produce solar cells and solar panels, will keep operating, Shunfeng said. Solar cells are a key component in solar panels.

A factory that makes solar cells had been closed because it was considered obsolete, Shunfeng said. A second factory, which produced solar cells with a capacity 1.6 gigawatts a year, has been idle since August of last year. A third factory, which can produce 2.4 gigawatts a year of solar panels, has been operating at about 60% capacity since November 2012.

At its peak, Suntech employed more than 17,000 people and could produce as much as 2.4 gigawatts a year of solar cells and solar panels. Today, the company has about 5,600 employees, according to court documents.

Shunfeng said that its largest shareholder, Cheng Kin Ming, will pay for the deal so that the company won't be held responsible for payment if it decided to back out. Shunfeng will reimburse Mr. Cheng if the deal closes.

Mr. Cheng, who is based in Hong Kong and also known as Zheng Jianming, purchased 30% of Shunfeng's shares last year and since has cobbled together a vertically integrated solar-power supply chain from the remnants of what once were China's largest solar manufacturers. Mr. Cheng this year acquired more than a fifth of LDK Solar,once the world's largest manufacturer of solar wafers, a key component of solar panels.

Local governments have promoted "blind investment," which has led to severe overcapacity in sectors such as solar energy, said the official, Yang Weimin, deputy director at the Office of the Central Leading Group for Financial and Economic Affairs. Mr. Yang said the "core problem" with China's economy is "excessive allocation of resources" and "unreasonable intervention" by local governments.

Suntech's deal with Shunfeng still could be delayed by a court in the Cayman Islands, where Suntech is incorporated. Suntech recently filed for liquidation in the Cayman Islands to avoid being pushed by U.S. creditors into involuntary bankruptcy in the U.S.

Shunfeng said Friday that it received a letter from Suntech's court-appointed liquidators saying that Suntech isn't allowed to sell its Chinese assets. Shunfeng said the objection should be raised with the Wuxi court and that it would discuss the matter with Suntech's Chinese court-appointed administrator.

WSJ: Beijing Plans to Loosen Control Over IPO System

  According to a report from the Wall Street Journal,"China's leaders vowed to revamp the country's IPO system, transforming it from one under which the government decides which companies can list to a Western-style system in which companies can go public on their merits".

"The shift is a significant loosening of government control over China's struggling stock markets, which have performed dismally despite strong economic growth. The change in rules for initial public offerings would remove a major regulatory obstacle that has long been criticized for distorting supply and demand and artificially inflating valuations of new listings in one of the world's largest capital markets".

"In a 20,000-word document released Friday, that serves as the blueprint for economic changes in the next decade, Beijing called for "refining a multilevel capital market system and pushing for reforms on a registration-based stock issuance system." What it says is that companies will be given various options to raise money, including bonds and stock listings on different exchanges, and that the IPO process will be revamped.

Although lacking details, that single sentence is the first and strongest pledge by China's top leaders to adopt a Western-style, market-oriented mechanism for one of the most popular channels of corporate fundraising.

One criticism of the system is that it can take years for companies to get listed.

The process in China can include roughly 10 rounds of reviews lasting several years before a listing aspirant receives approval from the securities regulator, which determines whether the company has met thresholds in terms of revenue, profit and the like. And even then, because of restrictions on timing, they aren't free to list at will.

In contrast, under a registration-based system, which is widely used in developed markets, regulators determine only whether companies have met specific legal and financial requirements, and then allow them to list, giving investors the choice of whether to buy the stocks. Companies and investors decide the scale, valuation and timing of new share offerings.

China's system has prompted many of China's most innovative and ambitious private firms, including technology companies such as Alibaba.com Corp. and Baidu, to seek listings in Hong Kong and New York, analysts say. Just this month, two Chinese lenders—Bank of Chongqing Co. and Huishang Bank Corp. —raised a combined US$1.78 billion via IPOs in Hong Kong.

According to one Chinese investment banker, implementation of the new system will have to wait until at least next March, when the country's legislative body at its annual meeting will need to amend the Securities Act.

In the immediate term, Beijing's pledge to overhaul its IPO policy is widely expected to boost stock markets when they reopen Monday, with shares of brokerages such Citic Securities  Co.  and Haitong Securities, likely to surge further, analysts said. Rumors of the rules, which were release after markets closed Friday, send shares of Citic up 6% and Haitong up 7% ahead of the news.

   The reform will be a long process but eventually, the reform will make  the stock market's pricing mechanism function better," said Huang Cendong, an analyst at Sinolink Securities".

Emirates seal huge deal at Dubai Airshow

Air carriers in the Persian Gulf region splashed out over 150 billion US dollars on new plane deals on the first day of the Dubai Airshow. Leading the buying spree is the Dubai-based Emirates Airlines.

The country’s state-owned carrier has ordered 150 Boeing 777s and 50 Airbus Superjumbos in a deal worth up to 99 billion US dollars. The five-day event is taking place at Dubai’s new international airport.

Once it is fully completed in 2020, it will be the world’s biggest airport, capable of 160 million passengers annually. About 1,000 exhibitors from the global civil and military aviation industries have gathered for this year’s airshow, doubling the size of the event.

Participants include 60,000 trade people who are eyeing deals amid a strong rebound in the business in the Middle East. Statistics show that air traffic growth in the Middle East has outperformed all other regions in the world so far this year.

Source: CCTV

China: Local Governments to decide start of 2nd-child approvals

The 30-year-old one-child policy will be eased, allowing couples to have two children if one of the parents is an only child. According to the National Health and Family Planning Commission, local governments will decide when and how to implement the new policy, based on their region’s specific situation.

Guangdong in South China is very likely to be the first province for a pilot try. The commission has also played down fears of a sharp jump in births. It estimates the total population of 2020 will be what it calls "significantly" less than 1.43 billion. It projects a "pile-up" of births over a short period of time, but says the new-born population will be roughly equal to that in 2000, which is 13.79 million.

A recent survey indicates up to 10 million couples are eligible to have a second child. 60 percent are interested in doing so. These couples will to apply for approval. If the two parents come from different regions, they can apply to either of their local governments. The commission warns that family planning remains the state’s responsibility, and there are penalties for violations.

Source:  CCTV

Meet Britain's top tech startups

British technology firms continue to grow at a rapid pace despite the uncertain economic environment, pushing into areas from television and media to payment processing and internet dating.
They may be small, but the UK's leading technology companies are expanding at a quite phenomenal rate.

1. Infectious Media

Given Google's astonishing growth, it is no surprise that a firm linked to internet advertising comes out on top. Based in London, with offices in Paris and Hamburg,Infectious Media was founded in 2008 and has achieved a stellar growth rate of 9,774%. It specialises in real-time bidding for website advertising, processing more than 40bn advert decisions per month.

2. Avecto

The second-fastest growing company has capitalised on the flipside of technology – the growing problem of cyber-security. Based in Manchester,Avecto is a Windows security specialist and has posted a growth rate of 4,731% over the last five years.

3. AlertMe

The third-placed company has benefited from the booming demand for energy meters, which monitor power use in homes and are at the forefront of attempts to drive down bills. Based in Cambridgeshire's Silicon Fen,AlertMe specialises in cloud-based services that allow consumers to control and monitor their homes. Partnering with companies such as British Gas, with massive customer bases, AlertMe has grown 3,393% since 2008.

4. Mobile Account Solutions

Can't tell the difference between an iPhone 5S and an iPhone 5C, or worried whether BlackBerry will be around next year? Hertfordshire-based Mobile Account Solutions answers those questions by providing and managing mobiles for businesses – and has grown by 3,332% since 2008. It keeps up with rapid changes in mobile technology, replacing handsets within 24 hours if needed.

5. Lovestruck.com

Given the success of online dating sites, it is inevitable that one would make the top 10. The dating company for busy people, Lovestruck aims to "help you find other gorgeous singles who live, work – or simply are – near you". It accomplishes this through geo-targeting, or matching you to people close by. Operating in London and the home counties, Lovestruck's growth rate has been 2,658%.

6. Monitise

Monitise is a company that helps make banking, paying and buying with a mobile device possible. Based in London, it has grown by 2,319% over the last five years.

7. Sixteen South

Belfast-based Sixteen South specialises in children's TV programmes and its hits include Pajanimals and Driftwood Bay. The latter uses software that replicates stop-motion animation, bringing Ray Harryhausen into the 21st century. It has grown 2,214% since being founded in 2008.

8. FreeAgent

FreeAgent exists to banish that bugbear of every freelancer and small business: the tax return. The Edinburgh-based accounting software service allows users to send invoices and manage expenses, and has grown by 2,128%.

9. Equal Experts UK

Like a digital version of Savile Row, London-based Equal Experts employs a network of freelance developers to produce bespoke software. Clients include O2 and the British government, helping the business achieve growth of just over 2,000%.

10. Backbone Connect

Backbone Connect specialises in data centres, offering services ranging from cloud storage to internet connections and virtual private networks. It has grown 1,810%.

Source: theguardian

Itaú BBA, Revisão de Cenário Brasil Crescimento PIB 2013, projeção 2014

PIB mais forte no segundo trimestre eleva crescimento do ano, mas não altera o quadro de enfraquecimento da economia. O PIB cresceu 1,5% no segundo trimestre em relação ao primeiro, após ajuste sazonal. O resultado superou as expectativas. Destacaram-se o crescimento elevado da agropecuária, da indústria e dos investimentos. Esse resultado mais forte contribuiu para a elevação da nossa projeção de crescimento do PIB deste ano, de 2,1% para 2,3% . No entanto, não alterou a perspectiva de redução de ritmo da economia no segundo semestre. A produção industrial caiu 2,0% em julho e deve fechar o trimestre em contração. Nesse cenário, o PIB deve recuar 0,5% neste trimestre. Para 2014, mantemos a projeção de 1,7% para a expansão do PIB

Indicadores de confiança mais baixos reforçam quadro de atividade fraca. Os indicadores de confiança do consumidor e do setor de serviços se recuperaram das quedas em julho, embora não totalmente no caso dos serviços. Na indústria, houve queda adicional no mês passado. De maneira geral, os indicadores de confiança estão mais baixos, reforçando o cenário de enfraquecimento da atividade econômica. O investimento deve sentir mais os efeitos da queda da confiança. De fato, os dados de produção e importação de bens de capital recuaram em julho.    

Para os próximos meses, projetamos uma aceleração gradual da inflação medida pelo IPCA para 0,4% em setembro, subindo para uma média mensal de 0,75% no último trimestre. A alta da inflação no final do ano será determinada por fatores sazonais, pelo impacto da taxa de câmbio mais desvalorizada, pelo cenário menos favorável para preços de grãos e pelo provável reajuste dos combustíveis. Um risco de baixa, no curto prazo, é o comportamento da inflação de alimentos. A queda na margem tem sido mais persistente do que o antecipado.

 Itaú BBA

Typhoon Haiyan raises fear over global warming threat as Philippines leads attack on eve of key talks

"Developing nations have launched an impassioned attack on the failure of the world's richest countries to live up to their climate change  pledges in the wake of the disaster in the Philippines.

With more than 3,600 people now believed to have been killed by Thypoon Haiyan, moves by several major economies to backtrack on commitments over carbon emissions have put the world's poorest and most wealthy states on a collision course, on the eve of crucial high-level talks at a summit of world powers.

Yeb Sano, the Philippines' lead negotiator at the UN Climate change summit  being held this weekend in Warsaw, spoke of a major breakdown in relations overshadowing the crucial talks, which are due to pave the way for a 2015 deal to bring down global emissions".

"The diplomat, on the sixth day of a hunger strike in solidarity for those affected by Haiyan, including his own family, told the Observer: "We are very concerned. Public announcements from some countries about lowering targets are not conducive to building trust. We must acknowledge the new climate reality and put forward a new system to help us manage the risks and deal with the losses to which we cannot adjust."

Munjurul Hannan Khan, representing the world's 47 least affluent countries, said: "They are behaving irrationally and unacceptably. The way they are talking to the most vulnerable countries is not acceptable. Today the poor are suffering from climate change. But tomorrow the rich countries will be. It starts with us but it goes to them."

Source: theguardian

Nobel prize-winning author Doris Lessing dies aged 94

"Doris Lessing,the Nobel prize-winning author of The Golden Notebook and The Grass is Singing, among more than 50 other novels ranging from political to science fiction, has died aged 94.
Born in Iran, brought up in the African bush in Zimbabwe – where her 1950 first novel, The Grass Is Singing, was set – Lessing had been a London resident for more than half a century. In 2007 she arrived back to West Hampstead, no. rth London, by taxi, carrying heavy bags of shopping, to find the
doorstep besieged by reporters and camera crews."Oh Christ," she said, on learning that their excitement was because at 88 she had just become the oldest author to win the Nobel prize in literature. Only the 11th woman to win the honour, she had beaten that year's favourite, the American author Philip Roth".

Later she remarked: "I'm 88 years old and they can't give the Nobel to someone who's dead, so I think they were probably thinking they'd probably better give it to me now before I've popped off."

The citation from the Swedish Academy called her "that epicist of the female experience, who with scepticism, fire and visionary power has subjected a divided civilisation to scrutiny". 
Her 1962 novel The Golden Notebook was described as "a feminist bible", and her fellow laureate J M Coetzee called her "one of the great visionary novelists of our time" 

Source:  theguardian

Italia: Ministro Saccomanni: «Nessun sacrificio in più Debito, piano per ridurlo»

Ma quale bocciatura!». Il ministro dell’Economia non ci sta. All’indomani del giudizio preliminare della commissione Ue sulla legge di Stabilità (è la prima volta che accade dopo l’entrata in vigore dell’accordo cosiddetto two pack), Fabrizio Saccomanni respinge commenti acidi e conclusioni affrettate: «Non ci sarà nessuna manovra aggiuntiva, né dovremo studiare interventi supplementari». Dato per scontato che gestire le finanze in un Paese con il debito al 133% l’anno prossimo è fatica di Sisifo, Bruxelles ha detto, a chiare lettere, che la correzione dei conti pubblici è insufficiente. La nostra crescita 2014 è stimata dall’Europa solo allo 0,7%, contro l’1,1% delle previsioni del governo, dunque indebolendosi il denominatore bisognerà tagliare (o tassare di più) per avvicinarsi al pareggio strutturale, obiettivo ormai inciso nella nostra Costituzione. O no?

Corriere della Sera

EU: Growth on Horizon but policy must strengthen the recovery

 “The European economy is starting to turn the corner. We expect growth of 1.4% in the EU in 2014 and 1.1% in the Euro Area. But as today’s disappointing industrial production data reminds us, much more needs to be done to create a path to long-term sustainable growth. Governments and the EU must take sufficient action to reduce the macroeconomic imbalances that have contributed to the recent economic crisis.”

   The 1.4% growth for the EU is still far below the level necessary for raising living standards and reduce unemployment. He also said the forecast underlines the need for faster structural reforms and greater priority to economic competitveness
 Markus J. Beyrer,Director general
 BusinessEurope's Economic Outlook

Endividado terá a chance de limpar o nome em feirão em São Paulo

Os endividados com nome sujo terão nova oportunidade de regularizar sua situação na próxima semana. A Serasa, empresa de informações financeiras, realiza entre os dias 19 e 23 de novembro nova edição de seu feirão Limpa Nome.

O evento será realizado das 8h às 18h no estacionamento do Mais Shopping, ao lado do Terminal Santo Amaro, localizado na avenida Padre José Maria.

Até agora, 13 empresas confirmaram presença no feirão: Bradesco Cartões, Bradescard, Cartões American Express, Bradesco Financiamentos, Santander, Caixa Econômica Federal, Banco Pan, HSBC, Losango, Eletropaulo, Pernambucanas, Recovery e Cred System.

Folha de Sao Paulo

Jeff Bezos fundador de Amazon

Com patrimônio de US$ 27 bilhões (cerca de R$ 62 bilhões), Bezos,fundador de Amazon ainda força os funcionários de sua empresa a pagar estacionamento, e houve momentos em que preferia postar ambulâncias de serviços particulares de saúde nas imediações de seus armazéns, durante ondas de calor, a pagar por condicionares de ar a mais.

Em certo nível, é necessário que ele seja sobreumano, porque basta ler a história para que você se sinta cansado em nome do protagonista, tantas as batalhas: contra os pessimistas de Wall Street, a Barnes & Noble, o Wal-Mart, a Apple, o eBay, o Google, as editoras de livros, o Netflix, as autoridades tributárias estaduais --a lista é longa.

Se isso soa mais que suficiente para monopolizar a atenção de um homem, você está errado. Bezos também comanda uma companhia de capital para empreendimentos e foi um dos primeiros investidores no Google, Twitter, Uber e Business Insider, entre outras empresas. E há sua recente aquisição de um modesto veículo jornalístico chamado "Washington Post".

Source: 

The Everything Store - Jeff Bezos and the age of Amazon"
AUTOR Brad Stone