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Segway knocks Bolt off his stride at the Bird’s Nest

BEIJING A television cameraman and his Segway succeeded in doing what none of Usain Bolt’s rivals could in the 200 meters final at world championships on Thursday — knock the Jamaican off his stride, and his feet, during his lap of honor. Bolt was taking the p... More »

China stocks plummet again as Beijing sits on sidelines

SHANGHAI Chinese stocks tumbled again on Tuesday, despite a rebound in markets elsewhere in Asia, as investors despaired at the lack of policy action from Beijing in response to recent data suggesting the downturn in the world’s second-largest economy is deepe... More »

French economy minister says must not underestimate China risks

BERLIN French Economy Ministry Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday developments in China pose a risk that should not be underestimated. He was speaking at an event with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in the German capital. (Reporting by Andreas Ri... More »

China’s yuan weakens as stock market extends decline

SHANGHAI, China’s yuan dipped against the dollar on Tuesday after closing at its weakest level since 2011 on Monday, hit by another slump in the mainland’s stock market and a weak central bank midpoint. Traders said they believed the yuan’s current range betwe... More »

Global stocks, dollar rebound but China smashed again

LONDON Volatile global markets got some respite from the latest blood-letting on Tuesday as bargain hunters nudged up Asian and European stocks, though China, at the center of the rout, was smashed again. The dollar and oil prices saw their first rises in five... More »

Myanmar’s military chief says armed forces will respect vote

NAYPYITAW Myanmar’s powerful commander-in-chief has reiterated that the military will respect the outcome of the country’s Nov. 8 election, seen as a crucial test of Myanmar’s reform process. Senior General Min Aung Hlaing said that the main concern of the arm... More »

Dollar gets respite vs yen, but China worries linger

SINGAPORE/TOKYO The dollar rose against the yen on Tuesday, pulling up from a slide to seven-month lows the previous day, but the outlook remained clouded by worries of a China-led slowdown in global growth. Traders said a rise in U.S. stock index futures and ... More »

Boeing raises China 20-year aircraft demand

BEIJING Boeing Co (BA.N) on Tuesday raised its forecast for China’s aircraft demand over the next 20 years despite a slowing economy and a tumbling stock market that have triggered a worldwide slide in equity and commodity prices. The U.S. plane maker expects ... More »

FIFA dismiss Indonesia claims they will visit Jakarta

FIFA have dismissed claims by Indonesia that they will visit Jakarta in October with a view to overturning the soccer ban on the Southeast Asian nation for government interference. Indonesian Youth and Sports Minister Imam Nahrawi said on Friday FIFA would sen... More »

North, South Korea reach agreement to ease tensions

SEOUL North and South Korea agreed early on Tuesday to end a military standoff that sparked an exchange of artillery fire and had ratcheted up tension on one of the world’s most heavily-fortified borders. Under an accord reached in the early hours, following m... More »

Japan finmin says yen rises ‘rough’, undesirable for economy

TOKYO Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso warned market players against pushing up the yen too much further, saying that its spike against the dollar overnight was “rough” and undesirable for the economy. Aso said that while there was no immediate plan for G20 ... More »

In Toshiba scandal, the ‘tough as nails’ target setter

TOKYO Tom Scott, a former U.S. executive at Toshiba Corp (6502.T), remembers his former boss Atsutoshi Nishida as an aggressive leader who could motivate staff but also rattle them with tough sales targets and an occasional dressing down. “He gave me goals tha... More »

Apple’s Cook reassures investors on China, stock boomerangs

Apple Inc’s Chief Executive Tim Cook took an unusual step of reassuring shareholders on Monday in comments to CNBC about the iPhone maker’s business in China ahead of a dramatic 13 percent drop and rebound in its stock that put it in positive territory. Chines... More »

Novelist Ishiguro’s notes and works head to Texas library

AUSTIN, Texas The sweeping archives of award-winning novelist Kazuo Ishiguro will be heading to a University of Texas research library, including a discarded opening chapter for his best-known book, “The Remains of the Day,” the university said. The novelist, ... More »

Made in Denmark love match as Harto proposes

COPENHAGEN European Tour journeyman Andreas Harto stole the show at the Made In Denmark event by proposing to his girlfriend during the tournament in Farso on Friday. The Dane celebrated sinking a five-foot birdie putt at the par-three 16th by going down on on... More »

NBCUniversal invests $200 million in BuzzFeed

Comcast Corp’s NBCUniversal said on Tuesday it had invested $200 million in online publisher BuzzFeed, the latest move by the media conglomerate to tap into a younger audience. NBCUniversal invested $200 million last week in Vox Media, owner of tech-focused we... More »

China lets yuan fall further, fuels fears of ‘currency war’

SHANGHAI China’s currency fell to a four-year low on Wednesday, slumping for a second day, after a central bank devaluation on Tuesday, and government sources believe the yuan may be allowed to slide even further to help the country’s exporters. The yuan trade... More »

News Corp profit beats as cost cuts in news business pay off

News Corp (NWSA.O) reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday, helped by cost cuts in its news and information services business that includes Dow Jones and the Wall Street Journal. Shares of the company, controlled by Rupert Murdoch, rose a... More »

Stocks, yields stumble after China lets yuan fall again

NEW YORK Stocks, the U.S. dollar, and emerging market currencies around the world remained under pressure for a second day on Wednesday after China’s yuan weakened again, a day after the country devalued its currency. Major Wall Street averages pared losses by... More »

Sculptor Kapoor says China work copies his Chicago ‘Bean’

LONDON British-Indian sculptor Anish Kapoor said on Wednesday he would take legal action based on copyright concerns after noting a close similarity between a huge stainless-steel, globe-like sculpture in China and his “Cloud Gate” sculpture in Chicago. The sc... More »

India hits Nestle with $99 million lawsuit after noodle scare

MUMBAI/ NEW DELHI The Indian government has filed a lawsuit against Swiss food firm Nestle’s Indian unit, seeking 6.4 billion rupees ($99 million) in damages on behalf of consumers after the country’s worst packaged food scare in a decade. Nestle, the first fo... More »

China central bank under pressure to weaken yuan further

BEIJING China’s move to devalue its currency reflects a growing clamor within government circles for a weaker yuan to help struggling exporters, ensuring the central bank remains under pressure to drag it down further in the months ahead, sources said. The yua... More »

Indonesia’s president reshuffles economy team as growth sags

JAKARTA Indonesian President Joko Widodo put two experienced technocrats into economic management posts on Wednesday in a cabinet reshuffle designed to reassure investors worried about a policy drift that has allowed growth to slip to a six-year low. Widodo’s ... More »

Police search Uber offices in Hong Kong and arrest five drivers

HONG KONG Police raided the Hong Kong offices of taxi-hailing service Uber Inc on Tuesday and arrested five drivers for the “illegal use of vehicles for hire”, police said. A Hong Kong police senior inspector, Bruce Hung, said undercover police officers had us... More »

Indonesia’s chief economic minister says leaving post

JAKARTA Indonesia’s chief economic minister, Sofyan Djalil, said on Wednesday he will leave that post and take over the national planning ministry. “I have been moved to the national planning ministry,” the 61-year old told reporters at the presidential palace... More »

India seeks $99 million in damages from Nestle after food scare

MUMBAI The Indian government has filed a class action suit for 6.4 billion rupees ($99 million) against Nestle’s Indian unit on behalf of the country’s consumers, citing unfair trade practices and the sale of defective goods. Nestle is the first foreign firm t... More »

Malaysia opposition party files suit against PM, state fund 1MDB

KUALA LUMPUR A Malaysian opposition party on Wednesday filed a civil suit against Prime Minister Najib Razak and indebted state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), saying they had violated electoral rules and a new election should be held. 1MDB, whose ad... More »

Myanmar evacuates thousands as worst floods in decades hit

YANGON Myanmar was evacuating parts of a city on Wednesday after mudslides wiped away hundreds of houses and torrential rain threatened further damage in the worst floods to hit the country in decades. The government in Hakha, the capital of impoverished Chin ... More »

China July property investment slows further, sales improve

BEIJING China’s real estate investment growth continued to slow in the first seven months of 2015 due to weak new construction, but property sales and housing investment improved, indicating a mixed recovery in the struggling property market. Property investme... More »

Alibaba’s Suning deal a riposte to growing might of rival JD.com

BEIJING “Tragedy” – that was Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA.N) founder Jack Ma’s prediction for the fate of rival JD.com Inc (JD.O) in comments published earlier this year. On Monday, Alibaba signaled it is no longer writing off its smaller competitor, making... More »

Facebook struggles to sell advertising in India

SAN FRANCISCO/MUMBAI, August 12 Facebook is trying to lure skeptical advertisers in India with features such as free email support for questions about advertising and advice on increasing sales in a bid to boost revenue from its second biggest market. Facebook... More »

China July fiscal spending jumps 24 percent to three-month high

BEIJING Government spending in China jumped by nearly a quarter in July to a three-month high as authorities accelerated spending on state projects and hiked wages of civil servants as planned, data showed on Wednesday. Beijing hopes faster government spending... More »

Serena shakes off rust, Bouchard woes continue at Rogers Cup

TORONTO Serena Williams shook off some hard-court rust before rolling to a 2-6 6-3 6-0 win over Italy’s Flavia Pennetta at the Rogers Cup on Tuesday, but the home crowd failed to fire up local favorite Eugenie Bouchard, who slumped to another first round exit.... More »

Presidential candidate Trump: China devaluation will devastate U.S.

WASHINGTON Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Tuesday said China’s devaluation of the yuan would be “devastating” for the United States. “They’re just destroying us,” the billionaire businessman, a long-time critic of China’s currency policy, sa... More »

Korea’s Chung to formally launch FIFA bid in Paris

SEOUL South Korea’s Chung Mong-joon will formally launch his bid to become president of world soccer’s scandal-hit governing body FIFA on Aug. 17 in France, the home of rival Michel Platini. Chung, a former FIFA vice president and fierce critic of outgoing pre... More »

USA Track & Field refutes allegation by athlete

USA Track & Field (USATF) on Tuesday released a detailed breakdown of how it spends its money in response to an allegation made by runner Nick Symmonds that the body spends a tiny proportion of its income on athlete support. Symmonds, who won the 800 meters at... More »

China slowdown has some U.S. investors moving to consumer stocks

NEW YORK/BOSTON The slowdown in the Chinese economy, which prompted the Chinese government to devalue the yuan currency on Tuesday, has already hammered the shares of U.S. industrial companies. Yet some contrarian U.S. fund managers say there is still room to ... More »

Exclusive: Macquarie to enter U.S ETF market making business

Australia’s Macquarie Group (MQG.AX) is entering the U.S exchange-traded fund market making business, officials told Reuters in an interview. Market makers provide ETF issuers with an array of services, including providing seed capital and distribution. They u... More »

Global axis shifts as China reserves dwindle: James Saft

China’s massive foreign currency reserves are dwindling at a more than half-trillion-dollar annual pace, a trend which may tighten global credit conditions. China’s central bank said its reserves fell by $43 billion in July to $3.65 trillion, in the first ever... More »

Cosmonauts complete spacewalk outside space station

MOSCOW A pair of Russian cosmonauts began their working week on Monday by cleaning the windows of the International Space Station (ISS), floating 250 miles (400 km) above the Earth’s surface. Station commander Gennady Padalka and flight engineer Mikhail Kornie... More »

Box Office: ‘Fantastic Four’ bombs with $26.2 million weekend

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Scathing reviews and an indiscreet tweet left “Fantastic Four” on the slab after the franchise reboot flopped at the weekend box office. Fox’s hopes of rejuvenating the comicbook characters and turning the super-team into a cinemati... More »

German carmakers buy Nokia maps to fend off digital rivals

FRANKFURT/HELSINKI German carmakers BMW (BMWG.DE), Audi (VOWG_p.DE) and Mercedes (DAIGn.DE), will pay around 2.5 billion euros ($2.75 billion) to buy Nokia’s maps business, a transformational deal that will help them to develop self-driving cars. Daimler BMW a... More »

Kerry seeks to convince Gulf Arabs on Iran deal

DOHA U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry began talks with Gulf states in Qatar on Monday, seeking to convince them of the merits of last month’s nuclear deal with Iran and to discuss the battle against Islamic State militants and the war in Syria. Most Gulf Ara... More »

Blatter gives up IOC membership as FIFA exit nears

KUALA LUMPUR FIFA President Sepp Blatter was relieved of his International Olympic Committee ex officio membership on Monday, seven months before he will be replaced as the head of soccer’s governing body, IOC President Thomas Bach said on Monday. Blatter woul... More »

Sheikh Ahmad coy about who should succeed Blatter

KUALA LUMPUR As the candidates hoping to succeed FIFA’s outgoing president Sepp Blatter continue to lobby for support, the political kingmaker who could have a big influence on who gets the job says world soccer has more to worry about than picking its next bo... More »

Dollar bulls take a breather, euro awaits Greek bourse reopening

LONDON The dollar fell against a basket of currencies on Monday, weighed down by below-par wage growth data late last week that clouded the outlook over when U.S. interest rates are likely to rise. U.S. short-dated yields fell and the dollar was sold on Friday... More »

IAAF chief denies suggestion of negligence in doping tests

KUALA LUMPUR The head of world athletics said on Monday that any suggestion his organization had been negligent in drug testing of athletes was “laughable”. “There are allegations made, no evidence,” IAAF president Lamine Diack told Reuters in the Malaysian ca... More »

China and Asia on shaky ground as factories step back in July

SYDNEY Headwinds for the world’s second-biggest economy intensified at the start of the third quarter, with manufacturing conditions in China deteriorating to their worst in two years in July and triggering fresh slides in global commodity prices. Similar busi... More »

Western companies look hard at China as growth slows

LONDON The Chinese slowdown is forcing many Western companies to take a hard look at their businesses there, leading many to reduce investments, costs and product lines and to tackle increasing bad debts. Double digit growth rates during the first decade of th... More »

Asian stocks near 2015 lows on China worry, dollar steadies

HONG KONG/TOKYO An index of Asian shares outside Japan fell close to this year’s lows on Monday thanks to a deepening selloff in commodities and fresh concerns over slowing growth in China, while the dollar held its ground against a basket of currencies. In li... More »

With British Open in the bag, Park looks for new goals

SEOUL South Korea’s Park In-bee had once hoped to win all the top tournaments in women’s golf before her career came to an end. After winning the British Open on Sunday, the 27-year-old now finds herself searching for new goals. Park’s three-shot win over comp... More »

Mobile key to growth, Sorrell tells IOC

KUALA LUMPUR Olympic chiefs must pump more content to mobile devices, and extend the allure of the Games outside its 17-day window to stay relevant to young people, marketing guru Martin Sorrell said on Sunday. “You need to evolve to new consumption behaviors ... More »

India court concludes hearing Maggi noodles case

MUMBAI An Indian court has concluded hearing a case filed by Nestle India challenging a local regulator’s report that Maggi instant noodles contained excess lead, a lawyer for the company said. The Bombay High Court will give a judgment at a later date, Rajesh... More »

E&Y Japan arm launches internal probe of Toshiba audit

TOKYO The Japanese affiliate of Ernst & Young LLC has launched an in-house investigation into its audit of Toshiba Corp in the wake of the electronics maker’s $1.2 billion accounting scandal, a person with knowledge of the matter said. Ernst & Young ShinNihon ... More »

Comcast’s NBC blocks Sling TV ads, Dish says

NEW YORK Dish Network Corp said on Friday that Comcast Corp’s broadcast television network NBC is not airing ads promoting its Sling TV video streaming service in some markets. While NBC, part of Comcast’s NBCUniversal film and TV unit, has banned Sling TV ads... More »

Stocks, copper fall on China, Europe growth concerns

NEW YORK Global equity markets dropped on Friday and copper fell to a six-year low as weaker-than-expected data from China and the euro zone exacerbated concerns over global economic growth. Brent and U.S. crude oil futures settled at their lowest since March ... More »

Second half of 2015 begins on shaky note

LONDON/NEW YORK The global economy started the second half of the year on shaky ground with China’s factory sector activity contracting in July at the fastest pace in 15 months and euro zone manufacturing weaker than expected, although U.S. activity picked up.... More »

Toshiba CEO quits over accounting scandal

TOKYO Toshiba Corp’s (6502.T) chief executive Hisao Tanaka and a string of other senior officials resigned on Tuesday for their roles in the country’s biggest accounting scandal in years. Tanaka will be temporarily replaced by Chairman Masashi Muromachi after ... More »

‘BRICS’ bank launches in Shanghai, to work with AIIB

SHANGHAI Officials from the world’s largest emerging nations launched the New Development Bank (NDB) on Tuesday, the second of two new policy banks heavily backed by Beijing that are being pitched as alternatives to existing institutions such as the World Bank... More »

Shaken Fanning not giving up on surfing despite shark attack

SYDNEY A visibly shaken Mick Fanning arrived home in Australia on Tuesday saying he would not turn his back on surfing despite needing a “miracle” to survive a shark attack off the coast of South Africa at the weekend. The three-times world champion was paddli... More »