WSJ: Back to Office Space: New York Developers Are Changing Strategy on Luxury Condos

"The office market is starting to gain enough momentum in the next couple years where we're going to see office market become a better value than residential conversion," said Josh Kuriloff, a senior broker at Cushman & Wakefield.

For Mayor Bill de Blasio, the challenge is to balance the need for more affordable housing with the need to increase the number of jobs, which depends on having enough office space for startups or relocations.

"Ensuring that there is adequate office supply for growing industries is critical," said Thomas McKnight, an executive vice president at the city Economic Development Corp. "At the same time, we want to make sure there are adequate housing opportunities."

Some planners have been concerned about the decline of cheap office space in older properties, which are known in the real-estate industry as Class B and Class C buildings. They think it might put a damper on the growth of startup companies in the city's hottest business sectors.

A study released in December by the city's Economic Development Corp. estimates that high-growth companies will need 17 million square feet of space in the next 11 years, to 2025. During the same period, the report predicts, the amount of space in Class B and Class C properties could shrink by 7.8 million square feet—in part because of conversions.

If these projections come true, the study warns, high-growth companies "may have fewer affordable options for New York City office locations and may have to consider alternative office markets."

The city used to encourage conversions. During the 1990s and early 2000s, it offered incentives to downtown landlords who converted commercial buildings into residential units.

"By all accounts, it was wildly successful—almost too successful," said architect Vishaan Chakrabarti, who is a professor at Columbia University and is a partner at SHOP Architects. "Generally what happens in our marketplace, residential is so much more attractive than commercial that it sort of devours all the space."

Those incentives have expired, and Mr. Chakrabarti said he hopes the city will now consider programs to preserve and update Class B and Class C office space.

"We don't want to lose all of our old office buildings to residential conversion," he said. "We're going to run out of space for these startups."

But the appeal of conversions is declining for developers, too, as demand drives up office rents. The average asking rent for a Class B and Class C office building was $45.93 a square foot in the first quarter, up 5% from a year earlier and 15% from 2010, according to data from the real-estate research firm Reis Inc.

In 2012, private-equity firm Savanna purchased two loft-style buildings, at 245 and 249 W. 17th St. in Chelsea, with an eye toward converting them into high-end housing. At the time, Eastern Consolidated, the broker on the deal, projected office rents of $60 a square foot for the buildings.

Savanna ultimately decided to keep the buildings as office space; rents are now above $70 a square foot, according to Peter Hauspurg, chairman and CEO of Eastern Consolidated. Twitter signed on as a tenant in January.

Eastern Consolidated also brokered the long-term lease at a former garage at 430 W. 15th St., in the heart of the Meatpacking District. The developer, Atlas Capital, considered converting the space to a hotel but settled on office space and could get as much as $80 a square foot in rent, Mr. Hauspurg said.

"When the rents were $40 to $50 a square foot, it wasn't even close that anyone would consider office," said Mr. Hauspurg. "It was only when things got up to the $80 a square foot market that the developers said, 'Wow.' "

LaSalle Investment Management Raises Its Bet on Real Estate in Asia

        The WSJ reports,"LaSalle Investment Management has raised $1 billion this year to invest in real-estate assets in Asia, in the latest sign that investors are making bolder bets in areas that are still enjoying strong growth.

LaSalle, a unit of JLL,  said that of the $1 billion, $585 million was raised for its fourth Asian opportunity fund, which is targeting industrial real estate in China and commercial property in Japan and Australia. The remaining amount raised is for institutional investors with separate mandates.

"Asia has become a lot more appealing," said Mark Gabbay, co-chief executive officer of LaSalle Asia Pacific. "The underlying fundamentals are attractive: Demographics, job growth and liquidity conditions are still good."

In the real-estate private-equity world, opportunity funds typically buy challenging properties, not trophy buildings. Managers of the $1 billion that LaSalle raised say they are looking for buildings that aren't completely leased that they can refurbish, boost occupancy and rental rates and then sell to a buyer with less appetite for risk.

LaSalle, which manages $50 billion of real-estate assets globally, is looking for shorter-term investment deals in Asia, and hopes to hold these assets for about three years on average.

In 2012, for instance, the fund invested 7.8 billion yen ($76.8 million at current exchange rates) in an office building about 20 minutes from the central business district in Osaka. It plans to sell the building to a Japanese real-estate investment trust.

Some investors are now willing to take on more risk by allocating more money to such buildings, whose returns can reach as high as 20%. Returns from high-quality buildings with high occupancies tend to be lower, but so is the risk, Mr. Gabbay added.

Economic growth in some parts of Asia has been slowing, but its growth rates are still stronger than those in the U.S. and Europe. Beijing on Wednesday is expected to report that gross domestic product growth reached 7.4% in the second quarter, in line with GDP growth in the first quarter, according to a median forecast of 21 economists polled by The Wall Street Journal. The economy of the 18-nation euro bloc grew less than 1% in the first quarter of 2014, and the European Central Bank forecast that GDP growth for the euro-zone economy will reach 1.2% for 2014.

Investors in the LaSalle fund include sovereign-wealth funds and pension funds from the U.S., Middle East and Europe. These investors typically avoid risk, but some are getting more adventuresome.

"Investors are concerned about their real-estate investments in a persistently low interest-rate environment," said Mr. Gabbay. He also noted that some are questioning if some high-quality buildings in Asia's gateway cities are overvalued".

IMF,Managing Director.Christine Legarde. Supporting the European Recovery.............

Supporting the European Recovery in a Rapidly Changing World
Today's Challenges for Euro Zone Recovery
  Quote of Madame Christine Legarde's speech.
"This brings me to my second question—while bearing in mind this changing global context, what key challenges do policymakers face today?
The good news is that the European economy is recovering from the crisis. Confidence is improving and financial markets are upbeat. Perhaps too upbeat.
How do we sustain and strengthen the recovery, while making sure that growth is strong, lasting, and more inclusive? Without this, it will be difficult to tackle the legacies of the crisis: high unemployment and high debt. So high in fact, that they seriously impact our future.
Indeed, there is the danger of a vicious cycle: persistently high unemployment and high debt-to-GDP ratios jeopardize investment and lower future growth.
What is Europe to do? First, it needs to tackle structural road blocks that hurt innovation, job creation, and productivity.
As Mario Draghi said last week in his memorial lecture to honor Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa:
“Markets can be opened through EU legislation. But it is only through structural reforms that firms and individuals can be enabled to take full advantage of that openness.”
I agree. There has been progress, but there is more to do.
If all euro area economies would close 10 to 20 percent of the gap in product and labor markets relative to best practices in the OECD, our estimate is that euro area GDP could be 3½ percent higher in 2019 than we currently forecast today.
These structural reforms would need to be accompanied by other measures that we have discussed in our most recent Article IV consultation with the euro area (which was published on Monday):

• Monetary policy should remain supportive until private demand has fully recovered, and the ECB has achieved its price stability objective. Stubbornly low inflation can undermine the recovery.
• The fiscal policy stance for the euro area as a whole is broadly neutral and that is appropriate. In the event of a negative growth shock, automatic stabilizers should be allowed to work.
• Some economies that have the fiscal latitude to do it should pursue a more resolute public investment policy.
• Balance sheets need to be repaired to help improve confidence and revive credit and investment.
• Banks should be encouraged to take advantage of benign market conditions to raise capital. Stronger national insolvency regimes will help repair corporate balance sheets.
• Complete the work on a banking union. There has been substantial progress, but a common fiscal backstop is still needed to break the link between banks and sovereigns.

3. Toward a more integrated and dynamic Europe
This brings me to my third and final point: the need for deeper economic integration. I do not want to discuss the political side of things here, but there are three economic themes that are relevant in my view.
First, it is imperative to maintain a highly educated labor force that is mobile across borders. The global competition for skilled labor is steep, and the euro area cannot afford to let its talent go to waste.
From this perspective, the fact that youth unemployment is so high—an average of 24 percent across the region—is nothing short of a catastrophe. If you are unemployed at this age, acquired skills tend to languish, and it is difficult to acquire new ones. As importantly, the capacity to learn and future employability also decline rapidly.
Moreover, as a rapidly ageing society, Europe is becoming ever more reliant on its younger workers to support the economy and sustain its social safety net.
Let me just say this very clearly: Europe depends on this generation of workers, both to hold its own in an ever more competitive world economy, and to carry the burden of the retiring baby boomers.
Its own survival requires that Europe gets the young back to work. It might be useful to look here to the Erasmus programs, or to the extensive use of the European Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) with good collaboration between the university and the business worlds, but the needs are here and solutions remain to be found.
Second, more developed and diversified regional capital markets can support innovation, investment, and long-term growth. In particular, the securitization of lending to SMEs could reduce reliance on bank funding, and alleviate credit constraints for firms. It would help cross-border investment and boost the growth of other types of funding.
At the same time, it is important to reverse financial fragmentation, allowing liquidity to flow across borders. The Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM), to be introduced later this year, should help in this respect.
And, more generally, banking union really means that it does not matter where banks are located in Europe—they should be able to lend anywhere at competitive terms, subject to the same prudential norms as other banks operating in the same market.
Third, new markets, open markets, and more efficient markets are good for productivity and competitiveness. Free trade agreements with large trading partners will open new doors for the euro area’s products.
Deeper integration with world markets would improve productivity and plug countries into global supply chains. Implementing the Services Directive would open up protected professions and increase competition.
Conclusion
In closing, let me quote again from the Declaration of 1950:
“Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan. It will be built through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity.”
I think I have pointed out enough areas where concrete achievements are needed and certainly possible. I have perhaps raised more questions than provided answers, but I know that to find the solutions to these critical challenges, a dialogue such as we have today is a key step on the right path.
With this, I look forward to our discussion. Thank you".

IFAD: China's Rural Poverty Reduction Satisfactory

        Rural poverty in China has reduced satisfactorily under programs funded by a United Nations agency, but insufficient management is hampering progress.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is a financial institution under the United Nations aimed at eliminating rural poverty and increasing food safety in developing countries.

In 2013, the Independent Office of Evaluation of the IFAD undertook the first Country Programme Evaluation (CPE) of China, assessing the IFAD-China partnership over the period of 1999-2013.

The CPE assessed 13 projects with IFAD lending amounting to 434 million U.S. dollars (about 2.69 billion yuan). The money was received by local governments to help poor farmers and ranchers.

The CPE concluded the projects to be "satisfactory".

Programs demonstrated innovative agricultural methods. Village Livestock Service Stations in Inner Mongolia involved training vets and setting up facilities for artificial insemination to increase the number of sheep.

However, technologies could not be used across provincial borders as regional government financing and implementation discourage the use of one area's resources to benefit another.

The CPE said IFAD-China cooperation should be improved and focus more on targeted strategies to ensure more poorer people benefit from schemes.

The findings also stated that more plans and budgets are needed to support policies, knowledge management, partnership building (including both private and public institutions), and promotion of innovation and the scaling up of such innovation.

China is the second largest borrower from the IFAD with 46.27 percent of the rural population and 9.5 percent of the whole population living below the national poverty line.

The findings were presented on Thursday at the CPE of the People's Republic of China National Round-table workshop.

Source: Xinhua

Xinhua: China approves U.S. 41 billions as RMB Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor

    Eighty-four overseas institutions have been approved as RMB Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (RQFII) between 2011 and June of this year, China's securities regulator said Friday.

China have granted a combined 250 billion yuan (40.61 billion dollars) in RQFII quotas to these institutions, the regulator revealed.

The 84 financial institutions are from Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, London, Singapore, France, the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Germany, Zhang Xiaojun, a spokesman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, said at a regular press conference.

Financial institutions from the ROK and Germany are allowed to conduct RQFII business in accordance with relevant laws and regulations starting Friday, said Zhang.

China granted 80 billion yuan RMB each in investment quotas to the ROK and Germany earlier this month under the RQFII program. Launched in 2011, the RQFII is aimed at widening investment channels for overseas RMB-denominated funds on the Chinese mainland's capital market.

Xinhua: China Telecom Giants form Joint Venture

BEIJING, July 18 (Xinhua) -- China's three state-owned telecom giants established a joint venture company on Friday to share infrastructure and save on operational costs.

The company, named China Communications Facilities Services, has registered capital of 10 billion yuan (1.62 billion U.S. dollars), with China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom holding 40 percent, 30.1 percent and 29.9 percent of shares respectively.

It is expected to reduce unnecessary construction of iron towers and related telecom facilities and save investment of 30 billion yuan in the sector in the next five years, according to company chairman Liu Aili.

The company will be open to private investment in about one year to 18 months and will develop a mixed-ownership structure later, said Liu.

Perupetro:Peru En junio producción fue de 72,000 bopd. 2015 se proyectan 27 pozos exploratorios.

18:34. Lima, jul. 14. La Agencia de Promoción del Sector Hidrocarburos (Perupetro) proyectó que para el 2015 las empresas de hidrocarburos realizarán perforaciones en 27 pozos exploratorios, lo que significa diez más que en lo se prevé al cierre de este año.
"Para el año 2015 se tiene programado que el número de pozos exploratorios se eleve a 27, y progresivamente llegar a un mínimo de 40 pozos exploratorios por año", indicó el presidente de Perupetro, Luis Ortigas.
En el año 2013 se registraron siete pozos exploratorios, y en el primer semestre de este año se han perforado ocho pozos exploratorios y tres se encuentran en curso, tanto en la selva como en la costa.
"Pensamos terminar este año con 17 pozos exploratorios, sin embargo para nosotros no es nada porque aspiramos, como ya lo he dicho anteriormente, a tener entre 30 hasta 50 pozos exploratorios por año", comentó Ortigas.
Por otro lado, señaló que la producción de hidrocarburos en lo que va del año asciende a 380,000 barriles de petróleo equivalente diarios, proyectando para el cierre del año llegar a la meta de 400 mil.
En junio, la producción de petróleo alcanzó los 72,000 barriles, siendo un incremento de 15 por ciento, respecto a similar mes del año pasado.
Explicó que dicho incremento se debe a la mayor producción de los lotes Z-1 (de la empresa BPZ) y el lote 67 (a cargo de la empresa Perenco).
Para el segundo semestre también se tiene programado que los lotes 131 (de Cepsa) y 95 (de Gran Tierra), reinicien sus pruebas de producción de pozos exploratorios.
También indicó que en el primer semestre del 2014 la recaudación del canon y sobrecanon por la producción de hidrocarburos ascendió a 540 millones de dólares.

Xinhua Commentary: Latin America: from "backyard" to development vanguard

 Ever since the 1823 declaration of the Monroe Doctrine, U.S. politicians habitually refer to all countries south of the Rio Grande as "America's backyard."

Latin Americans frown at the tag. Language wonks point at the fact that although in the United States "backyard" has a friendly connotation, in Spanish America it means "corral," the part of a house for keeping chickens and planting banana trees.

The treachery of translation aside, the term has also become obsolete in its intended sense. As U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry acknowledged in November -- half a year after he had stirred up strong protest in Latin America by citing the analogy, the era of the Monroe Doctrine is over.

As a matter of fact, Kerry's statement was just a belated recognition of an already profoundly changed regional landscape. Latin American countries have outgrown the so-called U.S. sphere of influence and become equal players on the world stage.

In parallel, the 33 countries -- rich in resources, adamant on development and committed to integration -- have embarked upon a path of steady growth and global cooperation that promises a Latin American century.

It is under such paradigm-shifting circumstances that China-Latin America relations have been galloping forward on the fast track. The two-way trade reached a record high of 261.57 billion U.S. dollars in 2013, and UN figures show that China will overtake the European Union as the region's second largest trading partner in 2016.

That should cause no surprise. Win-win cooperation is booming between the world's largest developing country and the increasingly dynamic emerging-market region because it accords with the needs and aspirations of both sides.

More importantly, that is no ground for complacency. The two sides have only picked up the low-hanging fruit, and much more is waiting for them to harvest by cooperating more broadly, deeply and creatively.

For starters, China and Latin American countries are yet to give full play to their complementary economic advantages. China's deep coffers and advanced technology and Latin America's enormous wealth of natural resources are still in need of the right recipe for them to unleash their full potential.

Meanwhile, the two sides should close ranks more tightly in the building of an equitable world order as well as in the battles against climate change and other global challenges.

In order to better promote China-Latin America cooperation, it is advisable that dialogue and cooperation mechanisms be established between China and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States as soon as possible.

China's sincerity is genuine and its commitment steadfast, as can be demonstrated by the facts that Beijing firmly supports the integration of Latin American and Caribbean countries and that Chinese President Xi Jinping is paying his second visit to the region since taking office in March last year.

So Xi's upcoming meeting with Latin American leaders is worth looking forward to. It presents a great opportunity for the two sides to further cement mutual understanding and trust and chart the course for future cooperation.

For Latin America, the summit has an extra layer of meaning: It will infuse fresh vigor into its historic transformation from the "backyard" of the United States to a vanguard in global development.

China, Brazil vow to consolidate partnership

China and Brazil pledged Thursday to further promote bilateral cooperation and consolidate their comprehensive strategic partnership.

During their talks here, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Brazilian counterpart, Dilma Rousseff, summarized the successful experiences in the two countries' 40-year-old diplomatic relationship and charted the course for future bilateral cooperation.

"This year marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of China-Brazil diplomatic relations. Bilateral ties have been developing steadily in the last 40 years, with political and strategic mutual trust as well as common interests reaching unprecedented heights," said Xi.

China and Brazil have become a "community of shared destiny," he added.

As two major developing countries and emerging-market economies, China and Brazil are both at a crucial stage of development, said Xi, urging the two sides to work for a more balanced international power structure and promote world prosperity and stability.

For her part, Rousseff said Brazil and China, as the largest developing country respectively in the West and East Hemispheres, share the same views on many strategic issues.

Brazil stands ready to exchange reform experiences and strengthen all-round cooperation with China, said the president, adding that it is highly important for her country to do so.

Brazil is boosting investment in transportation, infrastructure, agriculture, information, logistics and innovation in science and technology, and welcomes a broader involvement of Chinese enterprises, Rousseff said.

The railway project running from the Peruvian Pacific coast to the Brazilian Atlantic coast will play an important role in promoting Brazil's economic growth and lifting regional development, she said, pledging to "work together with China and Peru to build this project into a satisfactory one."

The Brazilian president said her country supports the expansion of people-to-people and educational exchanges with China, welcomes more Confucius Institutes in Brazil and encourages more Brazilian youths to study in China.

Rousseff suggested that Brazil and China boost cooperation within the frameworks of the United Nations and the Group of 20 (G20), push forward the implementation of the International Monetary Fund reform, advance the establishment of global Internet regulations and governance systems, and promote sustainable development of the world.

The two countries should build a long-term and stable cooperative partnership in mining and oil exploitation, launch strategic cooperation in high-speed railway construction, join hands in building the Brazil-Peru transcontinental railway, and enhance cooperation in finance, science and technology innovation, Internet and people-to-people exchanges, he said.

Following their talks, the two sides issued a joint statement on further deepening China-Brazil ties. According to the document, they signed 56 agreements during Xi's state visit to Brazil.

The document called for more robust exchanges between the two countries' governments, parliaments, parties and social organizations.

The two sides agreed to keep dialogue on Brazil's recognition of China's market economy status, and Brazil will take prompt measures in this aspect, the statement said.

China and Brazil are committed to strengthening transparent, non-discriminatory and inclusive multilateral trade mechanisms represented by the World Trade Organization.

There is huge cooperation potential in energy and mineral exploration, the two sides said, adding they prioritize two Chinese firms' participation in the consortium that last year won the right to exploring the Libra ultra-deepwater deposit, the South American country's largest oil field.

Two Chinese companies inked a deal with leading Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer to purchase 60 E190 airplanes. Brazil also welcomes the State Grid Corporation of China to invest in, construct and manage power transmission projects in Brazil.

The two sides agreed to attach greater importance to China's relationship with Latin America, adding that the forum between China and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), based on equality, mutual benefit and common development, will further promote South-South cooperation.

According to the statement, the two sides believe that the international community should work together to deal with Internet security threats based on mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit.

Beijing and Brasilia agreed to reform and improve the international financial system, and increase the voice and representation of emerging economies and developing nations.

Brazil is the first leg of Xi's ongoing Latin America tour, which will later take him to Argentina, Venezuela and Cuba.

  Source: Xinhua

China Focus: Home prices continue to fall, further drops expected

China's home prices continued a downward trend in more cities in June, pointing to a sluggish property market that is complicating the broader economy as growth falters, official data showed on Friday.

New home prices in 55 of a sample of 70 major cities showed month-on-month drops in June, compared with 35 in May, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in a statement.

Only eight cities, including Beijing, saw month-on-month gains, down from 15 in May.

Data showed the average home price in these 70 cities slipped 0.47 percent from the previous month, marking a second consecutive monthly drop following a 0.15-percent fall in May.

Fifty-two cities saw price drops for existing homes in June.

However, on a year-on-year basis, new home prices in most cities are still higher than a year ago, with only Wenzhou City seeing a price drop in June.

The data added to signs that the property market is experiencing what analysts called an "adjustment period" after torrid growth in previous years.x Earlier NBS data showed property sales volume was down by 6.7 percent year on year during the January-June period, compared with a 5.9-percent drop in the first five months, while total area of property sales dropped 6 percent year on year in the first half of the year.

Seeing no signs of warming in the market, many local governments have started to adjust their policies to boost sales.

Last week, the eastern Chinese city of Jinan became the latest region to lift home purchase restrictions. So far, around 20 regions, mostly second- and third-tier cities where inventories are high, have lifted or eased restrictions on home purchases that were imposed in early 2011 as a tool to cool the market.

Unlike the previous easing measures, which usually led to a rebound in the market, this round of loosening seems to have had little impact as expectations of further price drops remain.

Zhuang Jian, senior economist with Asian Development Bank, said the recent adjustment came because previous rises have reached the limit, and the price easing trend will last for a while.

Chen Sheng, executive director of China Real Estate Data Academy in Shanghai, agreed. "Inventory pressure in first-tier cities is relatively low and the housing market will likely recover in the latter half of next year. But second- and third-tier cities will face a longer adjustment period," he noted.

The slowdown in the property market came amid subdued strength in the broader economy, bringing challenges to policymakers as the housing market has been an important growth engine for China.

China's growth accelerated to 7.5 percent in the second quarter of 2014 after dipping to 7.4 percent in the first quarter, the latest NBS data showed. But economists warned that renewed setbacks may come from the property downturn.

While admitting the cooling housing market would be a drag on growth, Zhuang said China's pledge to increase investment in infrastructure, railways and affordable housing will help offset the impact.

In the long run, the gradual deflation of the property bubble will help foster a healthier and steadier market that will benefit future growth, he added.

Source: Xinhua

Datafolha mostra Dilma e Aécio em empate técnico em eventual segundo turno

A presidente Dilma Rousseff 
                                         (PT) e o senador Aécio Neves (PSDB) estão tecnicamente empatados em um eventual segundo turno nas eleições presidenciais de outubro, mostrou pesquisa Datafolha divulgada nesta quinta-feira, que apontou ainda estabilidade nas intenções de votos para os principais candidatos no primeiro turno.


Dilma aparece com 36 por cento dos votos em primeiro turno, contra 20 por cento de Aécio Neves e 8 por cento de Eduardo Campos (PSB), em pesquisa Datafolha realizada nesta semana. Na pesquisa anterior, realizada nos dias 1 e 2 de julho, Dilma aparecia com 38 por cento, Aécio com 20 por cento e Campos com 9 por cento.

O percentual dos eleitores indecisos subiu para 14 por cento ante 11 por cento no levantamento anterior, enquanto 13 por cento disseram que vão votar em branco ou anular o voto -- mesmo percentual da pesquisa anterior.

A grande mudança no quadro eleitoral foi verificada em uma eventual disputa em segundo turno entre Dilma e Aécio.

Dilma aparece com 44 por cento das intenções de voto contra 40 por cento de Aécio. Como a margem de erro da pesquisa é de 2 pontos percentuais para cima ou para baixo, os dois candidatos estão tecnicamente empatados. Na pesquisa anterior, Dilma aparecia na dianteira no segundo turno com 46 por cento dos votos, contra 39 por cento de Aécio.

Contra Campos em um segundo turno, Dilma venceria por 45 a 38 por cento, ante 48 e 35 por cento na pesquisa anterior.

A pesquisa também mostrou que a aprovação (ótimo/bom) do governo da presidente Dilma recuou para 32 por cento, ante 35 por cento na pesquisa anterior; enquanto os que acham o governo ruim/péssimo passou a 29 por cento, ante 26 por cento.

A pesquisa Datafolha encomendada pela TV Globo é a primeira realizada desde o início oficial da campanha eleitoral em 6 de julho. Foram ouvidos 5.377 eleitores em 223 municípios na terça e quarta-feira desta semana. O nível de confiança da pesquisa é de 95 por cento.

Fonte: Reuters

Argentina bonds rally on chatter of investor flexibility

Argentine dollar-denominated bonds rallied on Friday in over-the-counter trading on market chatter that "holdout" investors suing for the full payment of bonds were open to the idea of reinstating a court stay.

Recession-hit Argentina has until July 30 to settle with the New York-based hedge funds or face another painful debt default that would prolong its banishment from international capital markets and pile more pressure on an ailing currency.

Its government says it needs a suspension, or stay, of the U.S. federal court order that triggered the deadline to negotiate further with the funds, which rejected the terms of 2005 and 2010 debt restructuring agreements after the country's $100 billion default in 2002.

"The rumours of a possible stay are affecting asset prices, but there is no concrete news," bond trader Roberto Drimer told Reuters.

Lawyers representing the holdouts said on June 24 the hedge funds would be willing to accommodate the government on timing to let it pay other bondholders if talks to settle the dispute had made good progress ahead of July 30. [ID:nL2N0P51WC]

A source close to the situation regarding the holdouts' position told Reuters: "Their position is unchanged and it will remain unchanged."

However, debt holdout NML Ltd on Friday said the Argentine government still refuses to meet or negotiate a resolution to the debt dispute.

"We hope it chooses to avoid this dead-end path,” NML said in a statement.

The price of Argentina's dollar-denominated Discount bond due in 2033 was up 1.8 percent to 91. Its dollar-denominated Par bond due in 2038 rose 3.6 percent to 52.20.

The holdouts placed an ad in a local daily on Wednesday to warn President Cristina Fernandez's government that time was running out to cut a deal, urging Argentines to demand their leaders behave in a "serious and responsible manner."

Fernandez fired back with typically fiery rhetoric that the demands of the funds, portrayed by the government as vultures, were impossible to meet.


NO TALKS PLANNED

While two separate Argentine delegations held talks in New York with a U.S. court-appointed mediator last week, there have been no negotiations this week that have been acknowledged publicly. The two sides have not met face-to-face, raising questions over Argentina's commitment to finding a resolution.

Asked whether further talks were planned for the week beginning July 21, a government source said: "Nothing has been confirmed yet."

JP Morgan's Emerging Markets Bond Index Plus <11EMJ> showed yield spreads between Argentina and comparable benchmark U.S. Treasuries have narrowed by 29 basis points to 640 as of 12:35 EDT (1635 GMT). Total returns on the day are up 2.06 percent, far better than the overall index which is up just 0.18 percent on the day.

Argentina has exhausted its legal options to get around a 2012 ruling by U.S. District Judge Thomas Griesa that it pay holdouts $1.33 billion, plus accrued interest.

Griesa ruled Argentina could not service its restructured debt until it settled with the "holdouts" and blocked a June 30 interest payment, leaving the funds in limbo and triggering a 30-day grace period.

Griesa will on July 22 hear arguments next Tuesday related to the banks and payment agents caught up in Argentina's sovereign debt crisis.

Analysts say that although the holdouts legal position is strong, a fresh default would not be in their interest.

"In that case, the situation will become really ugly and there won't be any money for anyone," said Alberto Bernal, head of emerging markets at Miami-based investment bank and broker Bulltick Capital Markets.

Source: Reuters

Alibaba Hires Zhang Qiang to Run Alibaba Pictures Production Company

         The WSJ reports,"Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. has tapped a top executive with state-controlled China Film Group Corp. to run its film-production studio, according to people familiar with the matter. It is the latest sign that the e-commerce giant intends to become a powerful force in China's fast-growing entertainment industry.

Zhang Qiang, a vice president for China Film Group, has resigned to become head of Alibaba Pictures Group, said people familiar with the hiring.

Alibaba paid more than $800 million in June for a majority stake in Chinese film- and television-production studio ChinaVision Media Group Ltd.  , and then renamed it Alibaba Pictures Group.

Alibaba, which is preparing for a U.S. listing that could be one of the largest in history, has been beefing up its presence in China's entertainment industry. The company hopes to take stakes in Chinese film studios and commission original material, as well as acquire the rights to TV shows or films it can run online, according to people familiar with the matter.

China Film Group distributes most films in China, a tightly closed market that foreign companies want to break into because of its booming box office. Mr. Zhang has been the public face of its China Film Co. subsidiary, which has been striking deals with Hollywood studios such as Legendary Pictures LLC and Paramount Pictures to produce big-budget movies that it hopes will appeal to Chinese and overseas audiences".

Alibaba Teams Up With Brazil Postal Service Firm

               The WSJ reports,"for the past few months, Alibaba has been going around the world — France, Australia, Singapore and Italy to name a few–signing agreements with governments and logistics providers to attract more overseas merchants to its Chinese online marketplaces.

In the latest, Alibaba said Friday it will team up with Correios, Brazil’s state-owned postal services company, to help the country’s small businesses sell their products in China through Alibaba’s websites using its Alipay electronic payment system.

The partnership with Correios is an attempt to make more Brazilian businesses aware of Alibaba’s services. From the Brazilian government’s perspective, Alibaba could provide local businesses with better access to China’s vast consumer market. Alibaba said it will work with Correios to improve the logistics procedures between Brazil and China, without providing details.

Last month,  Alibaba said it signed an agreement with the government of Italy to simplify the procedures for Italian retailers to sell their products on Alibaba’s Tmall.  In May, Alibaba reached a similar agreement with the government of France.

Also in May, Alibaba announced a deal to buy a minority stake in Singapore Post, the city-state’s main postal service, for roughly $250 million. Alibaba and Singapore Post also agreed to create a joint venture to provide logistics services. That deal came just a day after Alibaba partnered with Australia Post to help Australian merchants sell goods to Chinese customers using Alipay".

Copper facing biggest weekly drop since mid-March

Copper fell to a two-week low on Friday, and its weekly performance headed for the biggest drop in 18 weeks, on concerns about the Chinese property sector and an outlook for increased production.

Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 1.38 percent at $6,996.50 a tonne at 1451 GMT, having touched a session low of $6,962 a tonne, its weakest since July 2. Copper has dropped nearly 3 percent this week, the biggest weekly drop since mid-March.

China's new home prices fell in June from May for a second straight month, and analysts forecast the falls would continue.

Also, an expected copper surplus in the second half of this year has contributed to price concerns. Evidence of plentiful supplies emerged on Friday when data showed weekly copper inventories in Shanghai warehouses rose by 28.9 percent.
Several companies also increased their guidance for output this week. Rio Tinto increased full-year production guidance for copper. Anglo American Plc also reported higher copper output for the first half of the year.
The increase comes despite supply-side setbacks this year in leading producers including Indonesia, Zambia and Chile.

"Given this wide range of problems on the supply side, one might have expected global copper supplies to have dropped quite sharply," Nic Brown, head of commodities research at Natixis, told the Reuters Global Base Metals Forum.

"It is testament to the strength of the new pipeline of supply that mine output in the year to date has probably risen by 4 percent or more (year on year)."


DEMAND CONCERN

China's Huatong Road & Bridge Group said on Wednesday that it might not be able to repay a $65 million debt due next week, possibly becoming the first borrower to default in the country's largest bond market.

"We are increasingly worried about China's property market. New dwelling commencements are down 18.6 year on year in the first five months, the sharpest decline since 2009," analyst Matt Fusarelli of AME Group said.

In the United States, consumer sentiment dipped in early July while an index of consumer expectations weakened for a third straight month.
Aluminium traded at $1,976.75 a tonne, down 0.62 percent following a strong rally over five consecutive sessions this week. The metal touched a 16-month peak on Wednesday at $1,993 a tonne.

Nickel traded at $18,600 a tonne, down 3.13 percent and having earlier hit its lowest since late June. Traders were downbeat about its prospects given rising stocks and a 38 percent gain already this year.

Also a drag on nickel, an Indonesian mining official said the country had resumed exports of metal ore concentrates, ending a six-month stoppage. Prior to the stoppage, Indonesia was the world's top exporter of nickel ore.

The focus next week will be on a flash reading of China's manufacturing health, as well as U.S. inflation, new home sales and durable goods orders.

Source: Reuters

Indonesia resumes metal concentrate exports after 6-month halt

 Indonesia has resumed some exports of metal ore concentrates after two firms gained permits to ship iron ore, zinc and lead, a mining ministry official said, the first shipments of their kind since the country changed its export rules in January.

The rule change, which banned unprocessed ore exports and levied an escalating tax on metal concentrate shipments, was part of a policy to force miners to build smelters and process minerals domestically.

Unprocessed ore exports are seen by the government as a waste of Indonesia's resource wealth and are still banned. Copper concentrate shipments remain at a standstill as some miners say the tax is in breach of their contracts.

Disputes and confusion over the rules halted about $500 million of monthly mineral ore and concentrate exports. Until this year, Indonesia was the world's top exporter of nickel ore and a major supplier of iron ore and bauxite.

Last week three shipments of iron ore, lead and zinc concentrate left the country after two firms agreed to pay the escalating tax, coal and minerals director-general Sukhyar told reporters late on Friday.

"There are two firms that have started to export; Sebuku Iron Lateritic Ores (SILO), and Lumbung Mineral Sentosa," Sukhyar said, adding that SILO had sent two shipments or around 100,000 tonnes of iron ore concentrate and Lumbung had shipped around 8,000 tonnes of lead and zinc concentrate already.

The tax on exports increases from 20 percent this year to 60 percent in the second half of 2016 for all metals but copper, for which the base rate was set at 25 percent.

They finally wanted to pay it," Sukhyar said, referring to the escalating tax that has been rejected by U.S. copper miners Newmont Mining Corp <NEM.N> and Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc <FCX.N>, whose exports have not resumed.

The stoppage has led Newmont to declare force majeure and file for international arbitration.

SILO expected to export 8 million tonnes of iron ore concentrate a year, while Lumbung should ship 29,000 tonnes a year, he added. Both companies were exporting to China, Sukhyar said.

Separately, Sukhyar said there were now 76 firms with smelter projects more than 6 percent complete, up from 66 the government reported earlier this year. The initial list does not include any plans for copper smelters.

"They have made good progress," Sukhyar said, referring to miners adapting to minimum processing requirements introduced in January. He stopped short of identifying the firms in the latest data or stating what metals would be produced. 

Source: Reuters

GLOBAL MARKETS-U.S. shares rebound, euro briefly dips below $1.35

U.S. stocks rebounded and European markets recovered a bit on Friday but the euro dipped below $1.35 for first time since February after a Malaysian airliner was downed in eastern Ukraine and Israel stepped up a ground assault in Gaza.

German Bund yields fell to near record lows as investors bought assets perceived as safe havens after Thursday's crash, a potentially pivotal moment in the worst crisis between Russia and the West since the Cold War. 

European shares <.FTEU3> underwent more selling after falling heavily on Thursday, but stocks on Wall Street rose after the S&P 500 suffered its worst decline since April 10.

MSCI's 45-country all-country world index  rose 0.27 percent, while the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index <.FTEU3> was flat at 1,362.82 after being down earlier.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> rose 47.69 points, or 0.28 percent, to 17,024.5. The S&P 500 <.SPX> gained 8.19 points, or 0.42 percent, to 1,966.31 and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> added 33.182 points, or 0.76 percent, to 4,396.628.

"It seems counterintuitive given the ruthlessness with which the market sold off yesterday, but in the broader context the markets are generating a lot of attractive themes," said Peter Kenny, chief market strategist at Clearpool Group in New York, citing a growing U.S. economy and corporate earnings.

World leaders demanded an international investigation into the downing of the Malaysian Airlines plane with 298 people on board over eastern Ukraine. Kiev and Moscow blamed each other for a tragedy that stoked tensions between Russia and the West.

Russian markets took the heaviest hit. Dollar-traded stocks in Moscow <.IRTS> were down another 1.75 percent to put their losses for the week at about 8 percent. The roublerecovered almost half a percent on the day but was heading for its biggest weekly loss in more than a year.

Israel announced the start of a Gaza ground campaign on Thursday after 10 days of aerial and naval bombardments failed to stop Palestinian rocket attacks.

Gold dipped as buyers cashed in on some of its 1.5 percent overnight jump. The Japanese yen and U.S. government bonds - the safe haven investors usually head for - both gave up some ground.

The dollar rose 0.21 percent to 101.36, while the euro fell 0.12 percent to $1.3510, after earlier briefly dipping below $1.35.

Brent crude oil climbed to around $108 a barrel, extending sharp gains on heightened geopolitical risk. Brent was up 10 cents at $107.99 a barrel. U.S. crude fell 34 cents to $102.85 a barrel.

Source: Reuters

Israel Invaded Gaza Because of Palestinian Rocket Fire, Says Netanyahu

        The WSJ reports, "Israeli ground forces invaded the Gaza Strip because all other means to stop rocket fire from Palestinian militants had failed, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday.

Hours after Israeli soldiers were ordered into Gaza to destroy tunnels used to smuggle arms into the coastal enclave, the Israeli premier said there was no guarantee of 100% success. But, he added, "We are doing all we can to achieve the utmost."

After 10 days of aerial bombardment and a failed Egyptian-sponsored cease-fire, Israel's widening military operation to establish what it described as a new "reality" with the Islamist movement Hamas began at about 10 p.m. local time Thursday.

By Friday morning, 17 Palestinian fighters and one Israeli soldier, possibly in a friendly-fire incident, were dead, the Israeli military said.Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, immediately condemned the ground assault as "a dangerous step, the consequences of which haven't been calculated," according to a statement from the group.

Palestinian health officials in Gaza said the death toll for the conflict rose to 260 dead, with nearly 2,000 wounded, figures they say includes high numbers of civilians. One Israeli civilian has also been killed.

Israel's ground incursion was accompanied by heavy airstrikes and the most widespread warnings yet to Palestinian residents, urging them to vacate their homes or risk harm. The operation spanned the length of Israel's 36-mile border with Gaza, the military said".