China's retail sales rose 13.4 %

Retail sales in China rose 13.4 percent in August from a year earlier, slightly accelerating from the 13.2-percent increase in July, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Tuesday.

Retail sales, a key indicator measuring consumer spending in the world's second-largest economy, also climbed 12.8 percent year on year in the first eight months of the year to 14.81 trillion yuan (2.39 trillion U.S. dollars).

The August growth represented the indicator's fastest pace of increase registered this year, indicating an improvement in the country's domestic demand, analysts said.

Retail sales rose 1.17 percent in August from July. The July figure increased 1.24 percent from June, the NBS said.

Meanwhile, industrial production expanded 10.4 percent in August from one year earlier, accelerating from July's 9.7-percent advance. Urban fixed-asset investment was up 20.3 percent in the January-August period, also improving from a 20.1-percent rise registered in the January-July period.

Source: Xinhua

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Sony revival:Mobile products,Gaming and Digital Imaging

Sony Corp. unveiled a new smartphone on Wednesday in its push to become the world's third-biggest maker of smartphones after Samsung and Apple.

Sony's Chief Executive Kazuo Hirai told a news conference in Berlin, where Europe's largest consumer electronics trade show will open its doors this week, the Sony Xperia Z1 will be available in September.

"The Xperia Z1 embodies everything Sony has to offer," said Hirai, who is under pressure from U.S. hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb to split up the company to revive its electronics business.

The new waterproof smartphone will come with a 5-inch display and have a 20.7 megapixel rear-facing camera.

Hirai in 2012 identified mobile products, gaming and digital imaging as the core of a rebound in consumer electronics after more than a decade of decline for the pioneer of personal music players and compact discs. It had a record loss of $5.74 billion in the 2011/12 fiscal year.

Of those three priorities, mobile has since emerged as the best near-term hope for Sony although it has a long way to go.
Sony's goal is to fend off challenges from China's Huawei Technologies and ZTE Corp and Korea's LG Electronics to secure the No. 3 slot in the global smartphone market, behind Samsung and Apple which between them account for about half of all smartphones sold.
Sony has forecast smartphone sales to rise more than 20 percent to 42 million in the year to next March.

Source: Reuters

Japan to welcome S. Korea's entry to TPP

Japan would basically welcome South Korea if it decides to participate in Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade negotiations, Yasutoshi Nishimura, senior vice minister at the Cabinet Office, said Monday.

The remark came after a South Korean newspaper reported the same day that the South Korean government is considering announcing its bid later this month to join the TPP talks."The TPP is not a closed framework," Nishimura, who is in charge of TPP issues, told reporters. Japan made its debut in the U.S.-led free trade negotiations in July.

Japan scrambles jets in response to drone

Japan scrambled fighter jets Monday after an unidentified drone flew near Tokyo-controlled islands at the centre of a bitter dispute with China, a defence ministry spokesman said.

It was the first reported incident of its kind.Japan's Air Self-Defense Force sent an unspecified number of jets to the area, the official said.
The drones did not enter Japanese airspace, the official said.

Source: NewsOnJapan

China-Japan-Corea FTA has bright outlook yet problems remain

The establishment of a free trade zone between China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) would definitely help the regional economy. Yet talks surrounding the free trade agreement (FTA) face many uncertainties.

"China is willing to work with other countries to optimize trade structure and cooperate in fields like energy and resources, high-end manufacturing, finance, tourism and agriculture," Gao said.

Countries in the region should consolidate consensus and promote the establishment and perfection of a cooperative mechanism through such platform as the Summit Forum on Northeast Asian Cooperation, he added.

n 2012, the three countries' combined gross domestic product totalled 14.3 trillion U.S. dollars, accounting for about 20 percent of the world's total and 70 percent of Asia's total. The economic scale of the three countries is only behind European Union and North America.

Meanwhile, the combined import and export volume totalled 5.4 trillion dollars, or 35 percent of the world total.

Once the free trade zone is in place, the super-large market with 1.5 billion people will help economic development.

However, experts warn that the talks over the FTA face political, economic and social obstacles.

Zhang Yushan, a researcher with the Jilin Academy of Social Sciences, said while China has advantages in agriculture and the textiles industry, Japan and ROK have advantages in traditional industries as well as in service sector.

"The three parties must resolve their existing differences, give consideration to each other's sensitive industries, and expand mutual openness on the above basis," Zhang said.

Analysts say "the lack of political trust is the biggest obstacle to the free trade zone".

Source: Xinhua

Apple: Generazione 2013 degli Iphone

Stasera a Cupertino Tim Cook e soci presenteranno la generazione 2013 degli iPhone. “Degli” iPhone perché una pletora di rumors ci ha detto nelle ultime settimane che stavolta Apple mostrerà almeno due diversi smartphone. Uno, identificato come 5S, prenderà il posto dell’iPhone 5 come modello top di gamma. L’altro, ed è questa la vera novità dell’evento, si posizionerà in una fascia di mercato più abbordabile e dovrebbe chiamarsi iPhone 5C. Dove la “C” starebbe per “Color”, visto che arriverà in più colori diversi. Ma anche – dicono alcuni- perChina. Il Celeste Imperosarebbe  sec l'unicoPaese in cui Apple vendera il modello a basso costo: lo testimonierebbe l’evento previsto a Pechino l’11 settembre
 in cui molti aspettano anche l’annuncio della partnership con China Mobile, primo operatore cinese e testa di ponte fondamentale per guadagnare consensi nel primo mercato mondiale per gli smartphone in cui Apple è scesa sotto il 5% delle vendite.
Qualcosa in più da capire per il modello superiore, iPhone 5S. All’interno dovrebbe esserci un nuovo processore più potente (A7), un taglio da 128 GB di Ram oltre a un dual-led Flash sul retro e prevedibili miglioramenti nell’ottica della fotocamera. La novità più significativa sarà il tasto Home, con un sensore biometrico per il riconoscimento dell’impronta digitale. Quest’ultimo aspetto sarebbe legato all’iPhone come strumento di pagamento elettronico ma sarà interessante vedere che cosa Apple ha previsto sul lato software e servizi.

Paolo Ottolino
Corriere della Sera

Microsoft:aperto anche nel settore dell'intrattenimento

Si scrive Microsoft e si legge «avanti tutta». Dopo aver assestato un colpo nella telefonia mobile, acquistando il produttore finlandese Nokia, a partire da oggi il servizio Xbox Music di brani musicali in streaming sarà disponibile gratuitamente per tutti via web.
Adesso, dopo due mesi e poco più di primi passi mossi nel recinto dei propri clienti, Xbox Music apre all'intera utenza. Lo streaming gratuito è accompagnato da messaggi pubblicitari. 
Puntando su musica e intrattenimento,ilcolosso alla ricerca di un Ceo dimostra di volersi confermare come realtà attiva sul fronte di dispositivi e servizi e non solo su quello del software, come ha commentato l'analista di Raymond James Michael Turits. Piaccia o no, questa è la bicicletta (per cercare di rimanere competitivi). Microsoft ha deciso di pedalare con convinzione.

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Russian proposal opens new U.S. options in Syria strike debate

Russia's potential "breakthrough" plan to put Syria's chemical weapons under international control but would keep the pressure on Damascus by asking Congress to authorize U.S. military strikes.
 Obama said "he would pause any military action if Syria would relinquish control of its chemical weapons arsenal".

Congress sought to buy more time to explore Russia's offer. Democratic Senate leader Harry Reid pushed back a Wednesday test vote on authorizing military strikes to possibly later in the week.

"I don't think we need to see how fast we can do this. We have to see how well we can do this," Reid told his colleagues.

Kerry suggested in London, in response to a reporter's question, that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad could avoid a military strike by surrendering his chemical arsenal.

Russia pounced on the comment, and Syria also said it was open to a proposal to put the weapons under international control.

Obama said he prefers a diplomatic solution in Syria, but is still sceptical.

Source: Reuters

Les fabricants d'ordinateurs: l*avenir les tablettes-PC

Chez Lenovo, on dit "PC Plus". Chez Sony, il s'agit d'"hybrides", tandis que chez Acer on évoque plus prosaïquement les "tablettes-PC". A l'IFA, le Salon européen de l'électronique grand public qui se termine mercredi 11 septembre à Berlin, le petit monde du PC parle d'une seule et même voix : l'avenir passe par l'avènement d'appareils "tout-en-un", combinant les avantages de la tablette et ceux de l'ordinateur portable.

Lors de la présentation de leurs nouvelles gammes de produits, Lenovo et Sony ont tous deux fait la part belle à ce segment balbutiant. L'un a dévoilé la seconde version de sa Yoga, et l'autre son Vaio Fit. Deux modèles de PC-tablettes relativement similaires.

"Avant, l'ordinateur ne disposait que de deux interfaces, clavier et souris. Désormais, il existe aussi le tactile. La forme du produit évolue donc", explique Gianfranco Lanci, directeur Europe, Moyen-Orient et Afrique de Lenovo, le groupe chinois, numéro un mondial du PC depuis juillet.

I droni che consegnano pacchi sul balcone

Un abitante della città cinese di Dongguang, nel sud del Paese, ha fotografato un oggetto volante non identificato che volava a bassa quota e ha pubblicato l'immagine su Weibo. Non si trattava però di un Ufo, dato che l'oggetto riportava il logo di una nota compagnia di spedizioni locale, la SF Express. Era semplicemente una delle prima sperimentazioni di consegna a domicilio tramite drone, un'usanza che promette di diffondersi presto a Pechino e dintorni grazie alla legislazione più lassista rispetto a quelle di altri Paesi. 
Non si conoscono i dettagli tecnici del drone, dato che la SF Express non ha voluto rivelarli completamente. Quel che si può vedere dalle immagini e capire da quel che è emerso dai servizi dei media locali è che si tratta di un drone a 8 rotori, in grado di volare a una quota massima di cento metri, con una buona autonomia, una capacità di carico stimata intorno ai 3 kg e dotato di un sistema di navigazione satellitare in grado di renderlo autonomo nel viaggio. La consegna avviene con un margine di errore di due metri, correggibile da un operatore da remoto. Di sperimentazione si tratta ma le prospettive per un suo impiego sono ottime, almeno a sentire i commenti di SF Express. La soluzione si presta a risolvere problemi di consegna durante le ore in cui il traffico a terra è congestionato. Ma è potenzialmente interessante anche l'applicazione per le consegne in località rurali impervie e remote e per la consegna 'al piano', o meglio 'alla finestra', nei sempre più numerosi grattacieli cinesi. 

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Kazakhstan will sell 8.33% of Kashagan oil project to China

 Chinese President Xi Jinping struck a deal with Kazakhstan on Saturday giving China a stake in its giant Kashagan oil project, a highlight of his tour of Central Asia to secure hydrocarbons for the world's largest energy consumer.

The $5 billion deal further increases China's rising clout in post-Soviet Central Asia, once Russia's imperial backyard, and blocks an attempt by global rival India to get a stake in the oilfield, the world's largest oil discovery in five decades.

"The two countries have agreed on China's shareholding in the development of the Kashagan deposit," Xi told a news briefing after talks with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

"The two governments hail and support this agreement."

Oil and gas deals, including on building an oil refinery in Kazakhstan, are among 22 agreements worth some $30 billion reached during Xi's visit, Nazarbayev said.

Under the Kashagan deal, Kazakhstan will sell 8.33 percent of the offshore oilfield in the Caspian Sea to China for about $5 billion.

CNPC will also pay up to $3 billion to cover half of Kazakhstan's financing of the second phase of Kashagan's development, KazMunaiGas head Sauat Mynbayev told reporters. This phase is expected to start after 2020.

Another draft agreement, seen by Reuters, would guarantee loans from The China Development Bank and The Export-Import Bank of China - worth respectively $3 billion and $5 billion - to Kazakhstan's state holding firm Baiterek, which promotes innovation and industrial projects.

The Kazakh deal comes after Astana decided in July to use its pre-emptive right to buy an 8.4-percent stake in Kashagan that U.S. oil major ConocoPhillips was selling for $5 billion.

Houston-based ConocoPhillips, whittling down its worldwide portfolio of assets, announced last year it had agreed to sell the stake to ONGC (ONGC.NS), the overseas arm of the Indian state-run company.

The sale to CNPC blocks India's plan to enter Kashagan.

Kashagan and neighboring fields in the North Caspian hold estimated reserves of 35 billion barrels of oil, with between 9 billion and 13 billion barrels recoverable.

A multinational consortium developing the field has invested some $50 billion in about 13 years, making it the costliest oil project in the world.

During Kashagan's development, production will be gradually increased to 370,000 barrels per day in the second stage from 180,000 bpd in the first stage in 2013-14, according to North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC), which is developing the field.

Italy's ENI , U.S. major ExxonMobil ,Royal Dutch Schell and France's Total, each hold 16.81 percent stakes in Kashagan. Japan's Inpex  owns 7.56 percent.

Source:  Reuters

China's consumer price index slows to 2.6 percent in August

 China's consumer price index, a main gauge of inflation, slows to 2.6 percent year on year in August, down from 2.7 percent in July, the National Bureau of Statistics said Monday.

China's producer price index (PPI) fell 1.6 percent in August from the same month last year, the National Bureau of Statistics said Monday.

Precious Metals Prices 08.09.13 10.31 p.m. Eastern Time

Gold Prices  Futures     3months    US$  1,388.59

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Japan anticipates Olympic boost, but Fukushima shadows linger

Japan savoured its victory on Monday in the race to host the 2020 Olympic Games, anticipating an economic boost to spur its revival from two decades of stagnation and help it recover from the devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

The decisive win over rivals Madrid and Istanbul is also likely to strengthen the fortunes of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who put his reputation on the line in a bold gamble that victory would boost national confidence, a key ingredient in the success so far of his aggressive pro-growth policies.The economic impact of the win was estimated by the Tokyo bid committee at more than 3 trillion yen ($30 billion) with the creation of 150,000 jobs. If the Nikkei stock index follows the examples of the London and Athens bourses after those cities won the games, it could see a one to three-month rally.
But Tokyo, which in 1964 became the first city in Asia to host the Olympic games, won the right to host the world's biggest sporting extravaganza despite concerns over the leaking Fukushima nuclear plant 230 km (140 miles) from the Japanese capital.

Source: NewsOnJapan

Emerging market crisis may derail global recovery

The emerging market (EM) crisis currently under way in Asia and Latin America may derail the incipient global economic recovery, according to QNB Group. 
The financial turmoil unleashed by the Federal Reserve (Fed) announcement that it will start tapering its asset-purchasing program soon, has led to large capital flight from most EM, a large weakening of their currencies, and higher long-term interest rates globally. If the Fed starts QE tapering in its forthcoming meeting on Sept. 17-18 as announced, this is likely to unleash further EM capital flight, thus undermining their economic growth and reducing global export demand. 
This will inevitably have a knock-on effect on the relatively weak growth in the US and the incipient recovery in Europe. 
On June 19, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke announced a tapering of its QE policies contingent upon continued positive US economic data. 
This announcement marked an end to three waves of QE that have flooded US financial markets since 2009 with an estimated $2.9 trillion (19.3 percent of US GDP), according to the economic research of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. 

The opportunities to invest QE resources have been limited in advanced economies given the near zero interest rates in Europe,Japan and the U.S. Global financial institutions therefore used a significant portion of this liquidity to invest in EM, which offered higher returns. This led to higher EM exchange rates, lower interest rates, and to some extent higher growth momentum.

  The announcement in June 19th by  Chairman Bernanke that the Fed may, start tapering its bond buying,was like an alarm sign to Global financial Institutions(GFI).   As has been the case in previous EM crises, it pays to be the first one out of the door, because exchange rates are still high and it is easier to liquidate large financial investments when foreign exchange liquidity is still plentiful. Accordingly, GFI have rushed to liquidate their EM investments since the Fed announcement in order to cash in their capital gains and avoid being faced with policy measures that could restrict their capital movement. The result has been a panic selling of EM exchange rates. 

The Fed announcement has also lowered demand for government bonds globally, thus leading to higher long-term interest rates in EM and, to a lesser extent, in advanced economies. 

Today's EM crisis has serious implications also for advanced economies. Unlike in the 1990s, advanced economies are today more than ever dependent on EM for their own growth. China, the US, Germany and Japan were the world's largest exporters in 2012 and an increasing share of their exports have flown to emerging markets in recent years. A significant decline in EM growth would inevitably have a knock-on effect on their own exports and therefore on their growth momentum. This comes at a critical time in the global recovery, where the United States is still showing relatively weak economic growth and Europe is slowly coming out of a two-year long recession. A significant slowdown in EM economic growth could therefore put in jeopardy the recovery in advanced economies as well.

Source: Arab News

Japan Q2 GDP revised up to 0.9 pct

 Japan's economy expanded 0.9 percent in April-June from the previous quarter, government data showed on Monday, revised up from a preliminary 0.6 percent increase.

The result matched the median market forecast in a Thomson Reuters poll of economists.

The revised gross domestic product figure translates into an annualised 3.8 percent growth, up from an initial reading of 2.6 percent and against a median market forecast for a 3.7 percent increase, the data released by the Cabinet Office showed.

The upward revision underscores the view Japan's economy is on track for a moderate recovery and may heighten the case for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to proceed with a scheduled sales tax increase from next year.

Source: NewsOnJapan

CNPC sign agreement with Gazprom to import natural gas

The China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) said on Friday that it has signed a framework agreement with Russian energy giant Gazprom to import natural gas.

The agreement is a breakthrough after years of negotiation on bilateral gas cooperation, and paves the way for a final deal that the two companies have agreed to sign at the end of this year, said the CNPC in a statement.

Gazprom will start delivering gas to China in 2018, said the CNPC.

China XD Electric, GE form alliance

China XD Electric Co., Ltd. announced on Friday a strategic alliance with the General Electric Company to tap China's vast electrical infrastructure market.

The Shanghai-listed company in May of this year transferred a 15 percent stake worth 3.38 billion yuan (546 million U.S. dollars) through private placement, making the U.S. conglomerate its second-largest shareholder after parent company China XD Group, which now holds a 51.10 percent stake.

The two companies also agreed to form a joint venture to distribute GE's electrical grid solutions to XD's local customers.

The alliance between the two companies is a crucial step for China XD Electric in implementing its "going abroad" strategies, said Zhang Yalin, board chairman of the company.

Zhang said the move would help the company build its advantages in the traditional market while serving the the structural adjustment of China's energy industry.

XD Electric will benefit from GE's advanced management experience to boost the company's "soft power" in its efforts to expand globally, he added.

Dan Janki, president and CEO of GE Energy Management, said cooperation between the two sides will enable them to offer solutions to China's rapidly growing transmission and distribution industry. The cooperation will also sharpen GE's competitiveness in the Chinese market, he said.

China XD Electric is one of China's largest primary equipment providers and exports to over 40 countries.

Source: Xinhua

China's exports rise 7.2 % in August

China's exports rose 7.2 percent year on year to 190.61 billion U.S. dollars in August, according to customs figures released on Sunday.

The growth rate was 2.1 percentage points higher than July.

Imports also rose last month, gaining 7 percent to 162.09 billion U.S. dollars, the General Administration of Customs said in a statement.

Total foreign trade grew 7.1 percent in August over the same month in 2012 to 352.7 billion U.S. dollars, said the statement.

Trade surplus widened by 8.4 percent year on year to 28.52 billion U.S. dollars last month, the highest since January this year.

Chinese authorities have exempted all outbound goods, transport vehicles and containers from inspection and quarantine fees from Aug. 1 to Dec. 31 this year.

Meanwhile, the government has pledged consistency and stability of its macroeconomic policies. Added to this, there has been a proactive fiscal policy and a prudent monetary policy.

In August, imports and exports with the European Union, China's largest trade partner, rose 3.2 percent, while that with the United States, China's second-largest trade partner, rose 9.2 percent.

Trade with ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) members increased 13.3 percent. Trade with Japan shrank 6 percent during the period.

Mei Xinyu, a foreign trade expert at the Ministry of Commerce, said that European and U.S. economies recovered with increasing demand, while Chinese companies were given an extra competitive edge by macro stability at home.

Sunday's data showed that exports of electronics and machinery products grew by 6.7 percent to reach 106.45 billion U.S. dollars in August, accounting for 55.9 percent of total exports.

China's manufacturing sector saw a strong recovery last month, offering further signs that the world's second-largest economy is moving out of the shadows of a protracted slowdown.

Data from China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing showed that the sub-index for new export orders in August jumped to a 16-month high of 52.4 percent, which is convincing evidence of a strong recovery.

Source: Xinhua

The Global Competitiveness Index 2013-14

Europe fails to tap Caspian Sea's surging gas supplies

European countries are losing out to China in their quest to source natural gas from the Central Asian states.Moving away from dependence on Russia and Middle East hydrocarbons was a key energy objective of European countries in the 1990s, and the oil and natural gas resources along the Caspian Sea was seen as a vital alternative.
Instead, European oil dependence on Russia and the Middle East has grown from 75% in 2000 to 84% by 2010. In addition, EU reliance on gas imports has also risen from 49% to 62% during the period.
EU countries such as Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Slovakia all depend on Russia for over 60% of their gas imports. In addition, countries aspiring to be EU members such as Moldova, Turkey, and Ukraine rely on Russia for over 65% of their imports.
Central Asia is estimated to hold more than 11% of world proven gas reserves, primarily in Turkmenistan, which has lagged behind Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan in attracting outside investments. 
But while China has moved swiftly to source supplies from Central Asian states of Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, Europe has been distracted by a crippling economic recession.
"European gas demand is likely to continue to struggle for the next five years, facing competition from cheaper coal and the promotion of renewables, while also suffering due to poor economic performance," said the Economist Intelligence Unit in a new report.
"As a result, the sense of urgency in opening up the Caspian region's gas supply to European customers--while still viewed as important--has somewhat dissipated. Nevertheless, it is still important for south-east European states, where dependence on gas from Russia is the strongest."

Source: Zawya

China and Kazakhastan increasing economic ties

China and Kazakhstan are important cooperation partner of each other and have achieved fruitful results in pragmatic cooperation, Xi said in an address at the founding ceremony of the China-Kazakhstan Entrepreneurs Committee.

China is the largest trade partner of Kazakhstan, while the Central Asian country is China's largest investment destination within the Commonwealth of Independence States (CIS), he noted.

Xi listed that China and Kazakhstan jointly built China's first cross-country crude oil pipeline and first 

international border cooperation center, and that China helped Kazakhstan construct its first major 

hydropower station since independence.

These cooperation achievements have not only brought tangible benefits to the two peoples, but also provided unremitting drive force for the development of China-Kazakhstan relations, he said.

The China-Kazakhstan Entrepreneurs Committee is the first bilateral business cooperation mechanism China set up with a Central Asian country, which testifies to the high level of pragmatic cooperation between the two countries as well as their business sectors' eagerness to deepen cooperation, Xi said.

He also encouraged the committee to come up with a package of new projects in such fields as interconnection, agriculture, high-tech and clean and new energy, so as to further the development of China-Kazakhstan cooperation both in scale and on level.

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, also present at the founding ceremony, said Kazakhstan and China are good partners and have made outstanding achievements in cooperation in economy and trade.

Xi's visit to Kazakhstan has prompted the two sides to reach a series of important agreements, and thereby effectively boosted bilateral cooperation, Nazarbayev said.

He said Kazakhstan is willing to expand cooperation with China in areas like energy and interconnection, and to revive the Silk Road.

Nazarbayev called on the newly founded committee to actively boost exchanges between the two countries' companies and open up a new prospect for bilateral cooperation in economy, trade and investment.

Source: Xinhua

Intervistato dalla Cbs, Assad ha annunciato ritorsioni in caso di attacco.

Il presidente siriano Bashar Assad minaccia una ritorsione in caso di attacco americano. E avverte che in caso di intervento armato di Usa e Francia, gli amici della Siria, le milizie libanesi di Hezbollah e l'Iran (tutti uniti dalla comune fede sciita) effettuerebbero rappresaglie. Dopo l'intervista della settimana scorsa al francese Le Figaro, il presidente siriano parla ancora con i media occidentali. E questa volta lo fa con l'americana Cbs. Quella con il giornalista Charlie Rose è la prima intervista di Assad a una emittente americana in circa due anni. Il presidente siriano ha ribadito di non essere dietro l'attacco con armi chimiche del 21 agosto, ripetendo che non ci sono prove dell'evento.

  Secondo Assad, ha riferito Rose, un attacco potrebbe diminuire le capacità delle sue truppe (come vorrebbe Barack Obama) ma così facendo si concederebbe un vantaggio alle frange qaediste dell'opposizione.

   Charlie Rose ha intervistato Assad nel palazzo presidenziale di Damasco. L'intervista sarà trasmessa interamente sulla Cbs lunedì sera, lo stesso giorno in cui il presidente americano Barack Obama concederà interviste a sei reti americane nella sua azione a tappeto per convincere il Congresso e gli americani a sostenere l'azione militare in Siria.

L'INTERVISTA AL NUMERO UNO DI VODAFONE

L'INTERVISTA AL NUMERO UNO DI VODAFONE: vendita del 45% di Verizon wireless

«Grazie alla vendita passiamo da 6 a 8 miliardi di sterline di investimenti, vuole dire circa 10 miliardi di euro di capitali da impiegare ogni anno. Il consolidamento è inevitabile. E l'Italia rimane centrale per Vodafone». La soddisfazione è scontata: con 130 miliardi di dollari si tratta del secondo più grande deal di sempre dopo Vodafone-Mannesmann (del '99) e prima, tanto per dare un'idea, della scalata di America Online a Time Warner (2000), dell'acquisizione di Abn Amro da parte di Rbs, Santander e Fortis (2007) e anche della fusione Exxon-Mobil ('98). 

Nella vendita del 45% di Verizon Wireless c'è un trade-off: da una parte Vodafone lascia gli Usa, mercato maturo che ancora produce un enorme cash-flow, dall'altra ottiene una cassa invidiabile che, forse, in questo momento non ha nessuno. Come avete ponderato la scelta? 
«Non siamo usciti dal mercato americano perché non ci siamo mai stati. In Verizon avevamo un investimento finanziario e se il brand Vodafone è oggi in America è grazie all'acquisizione di Cable&Wireless. L'investimento in Verizon ha quintuplicato il valore da quando lo abbiamo fatto. Anche Verizon migliora il suo profilo di cassa e utili grazie a una transazione che riporta loro concentrati sull'America e noi sull'Europa e sui mercati emergenti». 

In questo processo di consolidamento Vodafone è già in posizione per diventare la At&t europea? 
«Non direi che vogliamo diventare la At&t perché sembra che abbiamo bisogno di copiare le loro strategie. Siamo già l'operatore europeo per eccellenza e siamo molto forti anche in India, Africa e Oceania». 

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