Precious Metals Prices

Gold Price Futures        3 months    US$   1,308.92

Silver Price Futures       3 months    US$       21.44

About China's Ghost Cities reported by Western Press

In article published today in the Wall Street Journal, about the ghost cities in China, that several western media have reported it says that "according to CLSA analyst Nicole Wong, those reports might be missing the forest for the trees—or in this case, missing the people for their timing. Ms. Wong, who recently returned from a tour of 137 projects in three Chinese cities often cited for their ghostly developments, says that the presence of empty apartments is thanks to some unusual quirks of China’s real-estate landscape.

Specifically, she noted at Tuesday’s CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets Investors’ Forum in Hong Kong, new Chinese apartments are typically sold as virtual concrete shells that buyers must outfit, installing everything from showers to flooring to kitchen sinks to make them move-in ready. Accordingly, Ms. Wong notes, many such “ghost” developments take awhile to gain traction—especially as it’s often the sale of the land they’re sitting on that allows the city to fund subsequent facilities and transportation links that will eventually help make them mature neighborhoods"

.When buildings are first completed they are actually not that habitable, so it takes a long time before most people want to move in,” Ms. Wong said.

In a report on her findings, Ms. Wong notes that buildings completed between 2008-11 in Zhengzhou,Ordos and Wenzhou—often cited as instances of an overly frothy property market—have typically seen tenants move in over a three-year period. Among such buildings, Ms. Wong’s survey found an average of 48% take-up in the first 12-18 months, another 19% in the next year, and then yet another 15% in the year after that. Such a delay, she says, can be attributed to the fact that residents need time not only to fully outfit their units, but many also like to wait until their neighbors have done so as well to avoid moving in before the dust clouds and drilling sounds have subsided.

In the case of Henan’s Zhengzhou—frequently dubbed China’s “largest ghost city”—Ms. Wong notes that a number of media portrayals of the city’s newer areas have used photographs taken between 2010-12, before the metro system connecting the district to the city’s more established neighborhoods was completed. On her most recent visit there in August, Ms. Wong said she saw many cars, “hordes of pedestrians” and considerable ground activity in addition to curtains and air-conditioners installed in numerous residential buildings".

Draghi says ECB attentive to lower excess liquidity

Credit volumes are not yet showing the effect of the improvement in banks' funding conditions and the European Central Bank remains committed to keeping interest rates low for as long as necessary, President Mario Draghi said on Monday.

Draghi, who has committed the bank to taking further action if need be to keep market interest rates low, also said it was paying close attention to the lower level of additional funds in the banking system resulting from repayments of emergency funding by banks.

Excess liquidity refers to the level of cash in the system beyond what banks need to cover their day-to-day operations. Excess liquidity is now at 221 billion euros, according to Reuters calculations.

Draghi said that while banks paying back loans they have taken from the ECB, it could also result in higher market rates.

"While repayment of central bank credit is certainly a sign of normalization, the resulting reduction in excess liquidity can reinforce upward pressures on term money market rates," Draghi told the European Parliament in his quarterly testimony.

"We will remain particularly attentive to the implications that these developments may have for the stance of monetary policy."

Source:  BNN

Fed underlying message,economic recovery is weak

The euphoria with which investors in the U.S. stock market greeted the Federal Reserve's decision to stick with its easy-money policy has begun to evaporate, as the message the Fed was sending about a less-than-stellar economy sinks in.

An economy still in need of a safety net may be too weak to produce robust earnings growth, meaning that the Standard & Poor's 500 valuation, now at its most expensive on a price-to-earnings basis since 2010, becomes harder to justify.

The Standard & Poor's 500 is up 20 percent so far this year and hit new highs last week, boosting the index's forward p/e ratio to 14.94, its highest since early 2010. At that time, though, company earnings were improving more rapidly than now as business activity rebounded from the depths of the recession and financial crisis in 2007-2009.

Profit growth for 2013 is expected at about 6 percent, a far cry from the 31 percent achieved in 2010. That undermines the case for further gains in stock prices and has led some investors to consider reducing their earnings forecasts.

Source: Reuters

Farmer Mac is trying to convince investors .

Farmer Mac - the farm loan equivalent of its cousins Freddy Mac and Fanny-Mae

owes its existence to the last time a U.S. farm bubble burst. Now, the company is trying to convince investors it would survive another one.

The market isn't giving the company a vote of confidence yet. Just five years ago, Farmer Mac had to be rescued by its creditors after its large positions in Lehman Brothers and Fannie Mae went sour. Now, the revived company must prove to skeptical investors that it can withstand a sharp decline in the price of farmland that analysts expect to come in the next year. That open question - and the inability of Congress to pass an updated five-year farm bill, which provides crop insurance and other subsidies that farmers rely on - has been weighing on the company's stock price.

Shares of Federal Agricultural Mortgage Co.- a government-sponsored enterprise that functions as a secondary market for farm, rural utility and rural development loans - are up approximately 6 percent for the year and 35 percent over the last 12 months. This year has seen a widespread market rally that has pushed the benchmark Standard and Poor's 500 index up more than 20 percent.

After collapsing to around $3 in late 2008, the stock price has since recovered to pre-crisis levels of around $34. Still, the stock trades at a price to earnings ratio of 5.5, close to half the valuation of small lenders like PennyMac Financial Services  and of its own five-year average P/E of 10.1, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Source: Reuters

Domanda chiave: Quanto vale Cinese Tencent?

E’ cinese, si chiama Tencent (dieci centesimi) ma in Borsa vale molto di più: questa settimana ha superato i 100 miliardi di dollari. Un servizio dell’Economist si chiede però se valga davvero così tanto. Da dove nasce loscetticismo del settimanale inglese, che riporta una più generale perplessità dei mercati?
 Tencent vuol dire al tempo stesso social network e videogiochi online. Come altre Internet company a Pechino e dintorni, ha cominciato il suo percorso copiando successi occidentali. Qq, il suo servizio di instant messaging, era un clone di Icq, un’azienda israeliana acquisita dall’americana Aol. Ma, diversamente dai giganti della Rete come Google e Twitter, ricava i suoi guadagni dal suo (immenso) mercato interno.

Al momento, Tencent ha volumi e profitti superiori a quelli di Facebook: nei primi sei mesi del 2013, un fatturato di 4,5 miliardi di dollari e utili lordi di 2,5 miliardi di dollari contro, rispettivamente, i 3,3 e gli 0,9 della rivale fondata da Mark Zuckerberg.

L’azienda cinese fa una cosa parzialmente diversa. Prima, anch’essa regala i servizi: Qq è usato da 800 milioni di persone e così pure il suo WeChat, una app di social networking che assomiglia molto a Whatsapp. La differenza arriva dopo. Una volta che l’utente è “agganciato” in un videogioco, Tencent lo convince a pagare i “servizi a valore aggiunto”, che possono essere armi virtuali, costumi bizzarri per i loro avatar o stanze da Vip, naturalmente online. E mentre Google, Facebook e soci traggono i profitti dalla pubblicità, Tencent guadagna da questi “kit” digitali.

 I principali rivali di Tencent in la Cina  sono Baidu, che domina le ricerche online aiutata dalla soppressione governativa di Google, e il colosso dell’ecommerce Alibaba. Nella corsa al dominio del mercato, tutt’e tre hanno fatto acquisizioni costose, ciò che ha intensificato la preoccupazione tra gli investitori sui costi di questa gara.

Tencent, scrive l’Economist, potrebbe avere una posizione di vantaggio nell’mcommerce grazie alla vasta popolarità di WeChat, usato sugli smartphone.Per accrescerla, spende molto: giorni fa ha annunciato l’acquisto di una grossa quota di Sogou, con l’obiettivo di creare un colosso dei motori di ricerca attraverso una fusione con la sua Soso. 

Da qui la domanda chiave: quanto vale, veramente, Tencent? Forse 100 miliardi di dollari sono troppi,
scrive l'Economiste.

US PMI Manufacturing Index Flash Index 52 8 for August

Composite growth in the manufacturing sector is slowing this month according to the PMI flash index for mid-September which is at 52.8 vs 53.1 for the final August reading and vs 53.9 for the mid-month August reading. Especially soft is the leading component of the composite, that is new orders which is at 52.7 vs 55.7 in August and 56.5 at mid-month August. This is the lowest rate of order growth in Markit's sample since April.

Other readings on orders are mixed with new export orders falling into contraction, to 49.1 and down nearly 3 points from August for the lowest reading since June. But on the plus side is total backlog which moved back into the growth column to 50.6 for a 1 point gain. 

A strength in today's report is output which is up nearly 3 points to 55.3 for the best rate of monthly growth since March. This reading hints at a September gain for the manufacturing component of the industrial production report which surged in August.

Other readings include slowing in employment growth and steady and mild pressure for both input and output prices. Inventory data show easing rates of destocking.

There are more negative than positive indications in today's report as the slowing in new orders points to slowing for future output, though current output looks very solid. Next manufacturing data on the Econoday calendar will be tomorrow with the Richmond Fed report for September followed on Wednesday by the durable goods report for August.

Source:Bloomberg

BP is set to gain from the reopening of a North Sea gas field

BP is set to gain from the reopening of a North Sea gas field that has lain dormant for three years because of international sanctions against Iran, the Mail on Sunday reported. The Rhum gas field is jointly owned by BP and National Iranian Oil and once supplied 5% of UK gas output. With UK-Iran relations thawing, the Government is close to agreeing a sanctions waiver for the field, giving a multi-million pound boost to BP and the Iranian company.

Source: The Daily Telegraph

Chinese VP stresses peaceful use of space

Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao on Monday called for peaceful exploration and use of space so as to serve the interests of people and countries all over the world.

Addressing the opening ceremony of the 64th International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2013), Li said space resources are the common wealth of mankind, and various countries enjoy equal rights to use such resources.

It would be a blessing for mankind if space technologies are used for peace; if they are used for war, it would be a human disaster, he said.

China is willing to share experiences with other countries in using space technologies to boost economic development, according to the vice president.

Adhering to the concept of cooperative space exploration, China will boost international exchanges and cooperation so as to achieve peaceful use of space and common development of humankind, he vowed.

The conference is scheduled to run from Sept. 23 to 27.

With its theme "Promoting Space Development for the Benefits of Mankind," the event has attracted around 3,600 people including leading space scientists, academics, researchers, industry and commerce executives, students and young professionals from 74 countries and regions.

The IAC, organized by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF), the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA), and the International Institute of Space Law (IISL), is the largest space-related conference world-wide. China hosted the 47th IAC in Beijing in 1996.

A record total of 3,600 scientific papers were submitted to the IAC this year. A total of 318 papers will be presented on posters, among which 217 are from China.

Source: Xinhua

China, Venezuela agree to extend economic ties

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has begun his first state visit to China since taking office in April. He has held talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing. Earlier he met with leaders from Chinese companies, witnessed the signing deals on energy, agriculture and public welfare projects.

President Maduro has been posting his blog about his meetings with Chinese company leaders and described the morning as "fruitful". He announced on his micoblog that "I have met with leaders of China National Petroleum Corporation. We have agreed to start a joint venture to drill in Junin 10. And we have agreed on the preliminary output."

Other deals have been signed covering agriculture, water conservation, public transportation, and telecommunication and housing construction.

Relations between China and Venezuela strengthened greatly during Maduro’s nearly seven-year stint as foreign minister during Chavez’s administration.

Trade between the two countries reached almost 24 billion US dollars in 2012. Venezuela is now China’s fourth largest trading partner in Latin America.

Source:  Xinhua

Eurozone modest recovery: The Markit Eurozone PMI Composite index hit a 27-month high

The Eurozone recovery gathered steam in September and employment may be poised for a turnaround, according to the Markit Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) data published for the region on Monday.

The Markit Eurozone PMI Composite index hit a 27-month high, signaling the largest rise in activity since June 2011. It rose to 52.1, from August's reading of 51.5, beating the consensus forecast of 51.9. 

Markit noted that business activity has now risen for three consecutive months and that September rounded off the strongest quarterly expansion since the second quarter of 2011. 

Worth noting, the PMI manufacturing indicator actually dropped slightly from 51.4 to 51.1, missing expectations for an increase to 51.7. Readings above 50 imply an expansion in the sector. 

Also on the negative side, employment continued to fall although the decline was the smallest since employment began falling in January 2012.

"It is particularly encouraging to see the business situation improved across the region," Markit Chief Economist Chris Williamson said, adding that even though Germany continued to lead the recovery, the euro area's second largest economy France saw the first increase in business "since early 2012 (while) elsewhere growth was the strongest since early-2011". 

Williamson noted the continued drop in employment but found it "reassuring that the rate of job losses eased to only a very modest pace, suggesting that employment could start rising again soon". 

In any case, Williamson admitted that the overall growth rate remained "modest" .

Source: LiveCharts

Precious Metals Prices

Gold Price Futures   3 months    US$   1,320.31

Silver Price Futures  3 months    US$       21.48

FireEye's IPO signals red hot interest in cybersecurity

The shares of cybersecurity company FireEye Inc leapt 80 percent in their trading debut on Friday in a sign of how red hot cybersecurity is on Wall Street at the moment, and even inspired at least one peer to accelerate plans to go public.

FireEye, whose debut ranks as the sixth biggest first-day close in the United States this year, is the latest in a string of successful public offerings from technology companies.

However, its valuation might raise some eyebrows among investors who(once again) still recall the dotcom bubble, when unprofitable companies launched with outsized growth expectations.

FireEye and ad technology company Rocket Fuel Inc, which also went public on Friday and whose shares have nearly doubled in value, are helping to set the stage for other high profile technology offerings later this year and in 2014. These include Twitter, Box and Dropbox.

Source: Reuters

China September HSBC PMI hits six-month high of 51.2

Growth in China's factory sector accelerated to a six-month high in September, a preliminary survey showed on Monday, as stronger domestic and foreign demand added to recent signs of a tentative turnaround in the world's second-largest economy.

The flash HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) climbed to 51.2 this month from August's 50.1, hitting a high not seen since March. A breakdown of the data showed ten of 11 sub-indices rose in September.

The flash PMI gives the earliest reading of China's monthly economic performance, and should cheer investors worried about a sharp economic slowdown after a previous rebound in activity proved short-lived.

A PMI reading over 50 points indicates expanding activity while one below that suggests contraction.

Monday's PMI joins other data earlier this month suggesting China's economy has bottomed out, with factory activity growing at its fastest in 17 months in August, comfortably surpassing expectations.

Exports also fared better than expected last month, as sales to southeast Asia and the United States boosted performance

Qu Hongbin, a HSBC economist, said the pick-up in manufacturing would give China's authorities scope to restructure the economy and boost domestic consumption, thereby cutting dependence on exports and investment.

Russia: CPC to Get Commercial oil flows from Kashagan Oil Field

The Caspian pipeline, CPC, will be ready to get commercial oil flows from the newly launched Kazakh Kashagan oil field only in the spring, a senior official at Russia's oil pipeline monopoly said Friday, suggesting an alternative route for the oil.
"We are counting on receiving Kashagan's oil in commercial volumes through the CPC likely in March-April," Mikhail Barkov,Transneft's vice president said, adding that meanwhile Transneft's Samara pipeline could serve as an alternative.
He has said the expansion program of the CPC, where Transneft is a shareholder, is behind schedule by up to a year.

Kazakhstan expects Kashagan, the world's biggest oil find in decades, to achieve commercial production in October and produce about 8 million tons of crude in 2014.
A CPC spokesman in Moscow said the shipments from Kashagan would begin in late October.

 

 

MICEX

RTS

• Company profile
• Articles about company

Source: The Moscow     Times

Green cars take center stage at auto show

The 21st Indonesia International Motor Show (IIMS), one of Asia's biggest automobile shows, kicked off on Thursday at the Jakarta International Expo (JIExpo) in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, with automakers aiming to step up their sales of eco-friendly cars.

Several automakers, such as Suzuki, Ford and Subaru, unveiled their new cars, while other automakers also revealed their concept cars.At the show, PT Suzuki Indomobil Sales introduced a 1,000 cubic-centimeter (CC) eco-car variant - Karimun Wagon R, slated to be its LCGC version.
"The car has been used in Japan since 1993 and around 4 million units were sold in Japan in the last 20 years," said Suzuki sales director Davy Tuilan.
Suzuki will start massive production of the car soon and launch it after October, but it still waited for the final verification from the Industry Ministry, he said. A number of customers have pre-ordered the cars, Davy said.
Meanwhile, Daihatsu and Honda also introduced their concept cars.
Honda made a world premiere of its low multi-purpose vehicle (LMPV) Honda Mobilio.
Honda is expected to produce the 1,500 cc Mobilio in its plant in Karawang, which was scheduled to start operating in 2014, Honda Prospect Motor president director Tomoki Uchida said.

Japanese firm begins oil production in Iraq

"A Japanese company in southern Iraq has begun the full-scale production of crude oil.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and other officials attended a ceremony on Saturday at the Garraf oil field to mark the occasion.

Japan Petroleum Exploration Company, or JAPEX, began production on August 31st. It jointly developed the field with a Malaysian firm.

Maliki said in a speech that the 2 companies in partnership with Iraq will increase oil production in Iraq and help lead the country to prosperity.

Garraf is a mid-sized oil field with an estimated reserve of 1.3 billion barrels.

JAPEX plans to produce about 35,000 barrels a day. Daily output is expected to reach 230,000 barrels in 2017. That's more than 5 percent of Japan's total imports.

Oil exports to Japan could start as early as next year.

Japanese firms were involved in crude-oil development in Iraq in the 1970s. But this is the first time a company has been involved there in full-scale production.

JAPEX president Osamu Watanabe said the company was able to begin production much earlier than other oil firms. He said the donation of a soccer field to the local community and dialogue efforts contributed to security.

The minister at the Japanese embassy in Iraq, Kansuke Nagaoka, said a Japanese firm is fully operating in Iraq for the first time since the Iraq War. He said he hopes others can follow suit".

Source: NewsOnJapan

Germany: Merkel won, But Faces Tough Talks

"Angela Merkel's conservatives won a stunning victory in Sunday's general election, sharply increasing their share of the vote by some eight points to around 42 percent and putting her on track for a third term.It's the best result for the conservatives since the heady days of 1990, when Germans handed then-Chancellor Helmut Kohl, Merkel's former mentor, his third term in a wave of gratitude for his role in reunifying the nation.

 Merkel's junior coalition party, the pro-business Free Democratic Party crashed out of parliament according TV  based projections which put them below the 5% needed for parliamentary representation.

"We can already celebrate today because we did great," a beaming Merkel, 59, told ecstatic supporters at the CDU's headquarters in Berlin.

 If her conservatives have indeed won an absolute majority, and that is beginning to look unlikely as more results come in, she will face the prospect of governing with a wafer-thin majority of seats and a hostile upper house of parliament with the power to block her policies.

If the conservatives have fallen just short of a majority, they will need to find a coalition partner, the most likely candidate being the center-left Social Democratic Party , which will want to extract the highest possible price for its cooperation in a so-called grand coalition, both in terms of cabinet posts and policy concessions.

The prize, however, would be a left-right government with an overwhelming majority in both houses of parliament. She wouldn't have to worry about backbench rebellions against upcoming euro bailouts or domestic reforms, which she will finally have to address after years of postponement.

The SPD was at around 25.5 percent, up slightly from 23.0 percent in 2009, according to projections. The Greens were at just over eight percent, down from 10.7 percent in 2009.

The anti-euro Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which was formed in February and calls for an "orderly dismantling of the euro zone," came close to the five percent threshold. Public broadcaster ARD had them at 4.8 percent and ZDF at 4.9 percent in election night projections".

Source: Spiegel International

 

Biometrics hacking team use photo finger print to get through Touch ID

"In a rather nervous video and associated blogpost , Chaos Computer Club appears to demonstrate how they can get through Touch ID by taking high-resolution photographs of a fingerprint. Ironically, they claim the hack can be completed with “materials that can be found in almost every household” then go on to say that a 2400 dpi resolution photograph of the fingerprint must be used.

The group claims that Touch ID was only a little bit more difficult to get through compared to other fingerprint sensors, since the iPhone 5s’ scanner is extremely high-resolution. They go on to state that fingerprints should not be used as a secure method of authentication since they are left on so many surfaces and can be picked up very easily.

A large crowdfunded bounty was created to reward the first group to "crack" Touch ID. In

this case CCC is using conventional methods rather than software cracking,but the video

proof makes a solid case that it is effective. solid case that it is effective. The chances that someone will be able to take a 1200 dpi photograph of your fingerprint without your knowledge, however, is slim".

Source: 9to5Mac

Sony, e il nuovo smartphoneXperia Z1 e gi accessori fotografici Cyber-Shot QX100

Nella competizione dei cameraphoneSony si inserisce a gamba tesa. All’Ifa di Berlino il colosso giapponese ha infatti presentato il nuovo smartphoneXperia Z1 e gli accessori fotografici Cyber-shot DSC-QX100 e QX10 con il chiaro obiettivo di mandare in soffitta le vecchie fotocamere compatte. Il trend è quello giusto visto che secondo uno recente studio negli Usa il 58% dei possessori di smartphone utilizza solo il cellulare per scattare foto. Il numero è destinato inevitabilmente a crescere se, come è probabile, la qualità degli scatti fatti con il cellulare continuerà a migliorare in modo rilevante .

L’ultimo smartphone di Sony ha ulteriormente migliorato la valida fotocamera del modello precedente Z, montando ora un obiettivo G Lens con un grandangolo di 27 millimetri, zoom 3x, apertura focale 2.0 e sensore Cmos 1/2.3 da 20,7 megapixel, il tutto affiancato dal valido processore Bionz. Traducendo in linguaggio comune queste caratteristiche, tutto ciò significa che le foto scattate risultano molto buone, con una sorprendente definizione e una resa cromatica particolarmente fedele. Lo Z1 già con l’equipaggiamento di base è sufficiente a soddisfare le esigenze anche del fotoamatore evoluto, ma Sony ha previsto la possibilità di aggiungere al terminale anche due ulteriori accessori: le Cyber-shot DSC-QX100 e QX10. 

Questi prodotti sono in realtà delle vere e proprie macchine fotografiche indipendenti che sfruttano il software e lo schermo del cellulare (non solo lo Z1, ma qualsiasi Android e iOS scaricando l’applicazione PlayMemories). Si collegano al dispositivo tramite NFC o via WiFi e consentono di catturare foto e video offrendo qualche plus aggiuntivo. Il vantaggio principale risiede nella qualità dell’ottiche e dei sensori. La QX10 dispone di un zoom ottico 10x con sensore da 18,2 megapixel reali e stabilizzatore SteadyShot, mentre la QX100 monta addirittura un sensore Cmos Exmor R da 1 pollice con 20,2 megapixel e lenti Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnart T. Entrambi i modelli si possono montare sullo Z1 con un’apposita cover, oppure su altri telefoni usando un aggancio universale, ma possono essere utilizzati anche staccati dal cellulare, offrendo una libertà di movimento tale da effettuare scatti decisamente creativi.

Uno Smartphone di qualita' - Lo è soprattutto se si considera che lo Z1 viene commercializzato a 699 euro, cifra certo rilevante ma in linea con tutti gli altri top di gamma in commercio. Il prodotto di Sony però ha i numeri per competere con i suoi avversari grazie a un display Full HD Triluminos da 5 pollici, finalmente migliorato, robusto processore Qualcomm Snapdragon 800, 4G LTE, e la collaudata resistenza ad acqua e polvere (P55 e IP58), questa volta senza avere la necessità di coprire il jack dell’auricolare. Tra gli elementi distintivi di questo modello che ci ha sorpreso maggiormente, dopo la fotocamera, è la batteria: 3000 mAh consentono di non dipendere più dalla presa elettrica. Grazie anche alla modalità Stamina, che spegne le funzioni per risparmiare energia quando non sono in uso e le riavvia quando occorre, si arriva tranquillamente al secondo giorno di utilizzo.

Corriere della Sera

"GTA V" atteint le milliard de dollars de recettes en trois jours

Le cinquième opus de "Grand Theft Auto", déjà le jeu vidéo le plus cher jamais réalisé, est désormais aussi celui ayant atteint le plus vite le milliard de dollars de recettes, dépassant même certaines sorties de films, a annoncé vendredi 20 septembre son éditeur.

Les ventes ont dépassé le milliard de dollars après seulement trois jours de commercialisation, selon Take Two Interactive Software, propriétaire du label Rockstar Games sous lequel le jeu est sorti mardi. "Nous pensons que ceci marque l'arrivée la plus rapide à ce seuil important pour un produit de divertissement, en incluant les jeux vidéo et les longs métrages", a commenté la société dans son communiqué.

Le Monde

Guerra, nostra generazione a di fronte a sé 2-3milliardi di consumatori in piú,rispetto che aveva 10 anni fa.

Viviamo «un momento straordinariamente particolare, e credo unico come generazione di imprenditori. Un momento che ha grandissime opportunità e un rovescio della medaglia: per poter giocare la partita occorre avere una certa dimensione. L’Italia è indietro, è vero, ma può ancora colmare il gap».

Da nove anni Andrea Guerra è amministratore delegato di Luxottica, la società quotata fondata da Leonardo Del Vecchio al primo posto in Italia nella sezione moda-lusso della ricerca di Kpmg per CorrierEconomia. E che con i suoi oltre 7 miliardi di euro di ricavi nella sola produzione e distribuzione di occhiali è anche una delle più grandi aziende italiane.

La nostra generazione — spiega Guerra — per la prima volta può dire di avere di fronte a sé 2-3 miliardi di consumatori in più rispetto a quelli che aveva 10 anni fa: non c'è stata una generazione precedente il cui mercato si sia allargato tanto. Inoltre, abbiamo vissuto e stiamo vivendo una rivoluzione tecnologica che non riguarda solo Internet ma i sistemi informativi, l’intelligenza artificiale, le biotecnologie, le nanotecnologie... 

 «Se uno vuole essere un giocatore nel mondo, rispetto alla sua industria, deve essere di una certa dimensione — dice l’amministratore delegato di Luxottica—. Perché tutti questi Paesi in grandissima crescita oggi, sono per prima cosa dei continenti, con le loro regole, i loro limiti, le loro imposizioni e la loro cultura e non possiamo dire più che siamo in Europa perché il Brasile è diverso dal Messico, la Thailandia dall’Indonesia, la Cina dall’India

Corriere della Sera

Euro Bailout Fund: Germans Pay Less Than Their Neighbors

A new study shows Germany transfers less money per citizen into the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) than other euro-zone countries, SPIEGEL has learned. Although Germany contributes a larger portion of the permanent euro bailout fund than any other country -- 27 percent -- it also has the largest population and strongest economy in the European Union.
When the contributions of the ESM member countries are adjusted according to each country's respective population, Germany ranks fifth. That's the finding of a review of the Luxembourg-based euro fund authored by EU parliamentarian Elmar Brok, a member of Germany's conservative Christian Democrats.

According to his assessment, each German taxpayer contributed an average of €264.80 ($358.46) to the ESM over the past year. Luxembourg, by comparison, contributed €373 per person, with Ireland, the Netherlands and Finland also paying more per capita than Germany.

Source: Spiegel International

Digital Innovation:Real Time Bidding and Mobile Advertising

Real-time bidding is a programmatic buying of advertising placements.It involves computerized, algorithm-driven trading that allows for quick buying of ad impressions according to pre-set parameters. Recently, Twitter is the latest tech company to enter the RTB race with this month's acquisition of MoPub, an ad exchange with a real-time bidding platform. 

On the desktop, automated buying of display ads has already made huge inroads.
But it is in mobile where programmatic buying may make the most difference. That's because smartphones are advertising platforms that we carry in our pockets, and with RTB that means marketers can reach us in real-time, and target potential customers according to location and context.

  Source: BussinessInsider

Christine Lagarde: The Euro Zone and the Emerging Markets do matter for the U.S. Economy.

The critical role of the United States in the Global Economy.
The recovery gaining strength here is good news for America—and good news for the world. Admittedly, U.S. growth will be more modest this year than we would want—still well below 2 percent. Even so, it should accelerate significantly next year, by about one percentage point.
Indeed, the fundamentals of the U.S. economy have been improving gradually. Households have lowered their debt and benefited from the recovery in house prices and the strong performance of the stock market. The housing sector is looking brighter, with ample potential for construction activity to pick up further. The private sector is yet again proving to be the primary engine of growth and job creation—and the main reason for weak growth this year is the very large ongoing fiscal adjustment, a theme I will return to shortly.
  Job creation is fundamental for local or global recovery. The latest labor indicators in the U.S.
have been mixed. The unemployment rate has declined to 7.3 percent in August, but the participation rate has continued to decline, and employment remains well below pre-crisis levels. So the issue of jobs remains paramount.
  So what should U.S. policymakers do?
  First, fix public finances.
it would have been more advisable to have a slower pace of fiscal consolidation in the short run without using the blunt instrument of sequester—more action is needed to reduce long-run pressure on the budget. This includes addressing entitlement spending and higher revenues.
  Second, the exit from unconventional monetary policies should be gradual, linked to progress in the recovery and employment, and that it should be clearly communicated and in a dialogue.
   Third, finish the financial reform.
   Progress has been done,in terms of new capital and liquidity standards for banks.
   But policymakers need to turn their attention to the outstanding danger zones, especially derivatives and shadow banking. 
   Financial sector reform, of course, is not the sole responsibility of the United States. It needs to be tackled in many countries and regions, ideally in a coordinated and consistent way to ensure the healthy function of the entire global financial system.
   This brings me back to the point of global connections.
   The United States plays a unique role in the global economy. I am thinking, for instance, of global trade—of which the U.S. accounts for 11 percent. The U.S. also represents 20 percent of global manufacturing value-added. I know that you recognize the potential of an even bigger market.
  
America’s global financial ties are even deeper. Foreign banks hold about $5½ trillion of U.S. assets, while American banks hold about $3 trillion of foreign claims. Meanwhile, close to half of the S&P500’s sales originate from foreign operations.

These interconnections have great benefits for the United States. But they are not without risks—two-way risks—and we saw some of these play out during this crisis.

We all remember, five years ago, how the collapse of one U.S. bank ushered in a harsh new reality across sectors, across countries, and across the world. As those tensions traveled across the Atlantic, for example, they exposed tensions in Europe.

Considering that 20 percent of U.S. exports are destined for Europe, and that more than half of U.S. overseas assets are held in Europe, you clearly have a large stake in the recovery there.

And yet, despite the risks, I know that you are also deeply aware of how much can be gained from engaging with the rest of the world.

 The recovery of the Euro Zone and the Global economy does matters for U.S. Economy.

 As the needs of our member countries have changed over time, so too the IMF has refined, repurposed and restocked its toolkit.

During this crisis, this has included a significant increase in our financial support, with over $300 billion in loans in over 50 countries—not just in Europe, but also in many other parts of the world, including in Africa and other low-income nations. We also introduced more flexible types of support that act as insurance for crisis prevention and have helped countries like Colombia, Mexico, and Poland.

Above all, the IMF has given much greater emphasis to global interconnections in its analysis—in particular, economic spillovers between countries, and also the critically important financial sector. To be effective into the future, we must continue to evolve and anticipate what lies ahead.

What I have tried to describe today is a journey. A journey that the United States and the IMF have taken hand-in-hand. As our leading shareholder and steadfast partner for nearly 70 years, we have worked together for a mutual goal of global stability and shared prosperity.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce plays a vital role in this journey. Your focus on trade, on openness, on jobs, and on growth is essential—to helping the U.S., to helping the world, and to helping the IMF do its job.

Speech of Christine Legarde at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce