BUSINESSWednesday 21 March 2018

PAGE | 23PAGE | 22 QC discusses challenges facingprivate sector

Nakilat’s fleet transition proves cost-effectiveSATISH KANADY THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Nakilat’s strategic ‘fleet transition programme’ has helped improve the company’s fleet operational efficiency in a signif-icant way in 2017. The consoli-dation of Nakilat’s fleet to in-house management has led to increase in operational efficiency to 99.7 percent and reduced operational costs by about 6 percent, the company’s annual report tabled before the annual general assembly yesterday, showed.

Nakilat achieved a remarkable milestone with the completion of its first phase of the fleet transition prgramme, which saw 10 of Nakilat’s wholly-owned vessels being consolidated under its in-house ship management. The transition was carried out in two stages, with four vessels transitioned in 2016 and another six vessels transitioned in 2017, bringing the fleet size managed by Nakilat Shipping Qatar

Limited (NSQL) to 18 vessels, comprising 14 LNG and four LPG carriers.

“The transition of ten addi-tional LNG carriers to Nakilat’s in-house managed fleet during the year has led to significant improvement in the company’s fleet operational efficiency and reduction of operational costs”, said Ahmad Saif Al Sulaiti, Vice Chairman of Nakilat’s Board of Directors.

Addressing the annual general assembly Al Sulaiti said the year 2017 had witnessed Nak-ilat’s resilience by successfully deploying strategic steps towards maintaining its global leadership in LNG transportation, and the integral role it plays in Qatar’s LNG supply chain. The company reaffirmed its commitment to business excellence by taking cal-culated measures to ensure no interruptions or impact to its worldwide operations, and has not missed a single shipment worldwide even under the unjust blockade imposed on Qatar by

neighbouring countries and the challenges of the global energy industry.

Nakilat prudently charted its course and pursued a long-term business consolidation and diver-sification strategy, which included the expansion of its ship management activities, he said.

Nakilat Chief Executive Officer Abdullah Al Sulaiti said: “Nakilat’s steady financial results is a true reflection of the com-pany’s strength and resilience. Notwithstanding the challenging business environment, the company successfully capitalized on prof i table growth

opportunities and pursued cost optimization initiatives to achieve cost efficiency and greater synergy across the organization. This, coupled with our long-term agreements with well-established charterers, has allowed Nakilat to maintain a steady cashflow. Looking forward, we will

continue to steer on steadily with our strategic business plans and effective risk management to continue delivering positive value to our shareholders, and towards achieving our vision to be a global leader and provider of choice for energy transportation and mar-itime services.”

The annual general meeting ratified all items on the agenda, including the proposal by the Board of Directors to distribute cash dividends to the share-holders equal to 10 percent of the nominal value of its capital.

Commercial Bank awards winners of ‘Save & Win’ campaignCommercial Bank, officials, Amit Sah (third left), EGM, Consumer Banking; Bouchra A M Sebbata (third right), AGM, President of High Net Worth Clients; Reham Sabri Thawabi (second right), AGM and Head of Branch Network; Martin Andrew Leong (second left), AGM, Retail Consumer Banking; and Abeer Marwan Al Kalla (right), Head of Marketing Communications and Branding; with one of the winners at “Save & Win” prize awarding ceremony held at the D-Ring Branch of the bank in Doha yesterday. PIC: SALIM MATRAMKOT/THE PENINSULA

Oil rises to 3-week high on Venezuelan concernsREUTERS

NEW YORK: Oil prices rose to their highest level in three weeks yesterday as and the possibility of further falls in Venezuelan output helped offset the negative impact of growing US crude production.

Brent crude futures for May delivery rose $1.75 to $67.80 a barrel, a 2.7 percent gain by 12:09 p.m. EDT (1609 GMT), their

highest level since late February. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for April delivery rose $1.72 to $63.78 a barrel, a 2.8 percent gain.

The more active May US crude futures rose $1.76 to $63.89 a barrel. Worries about falling production in Venezuela, whose output has been halved since 2005 to below 2 million barrels per day (bpd) due to an economic crisis, supported oil markets.

The International Energy Agency said last week Venezuela was “vulnerable to an accel-erated decline” and that the Latin American country could trigger a renewed drawdown in stocks.

However, increased output in the United States, Canada and Brazil has capped oil price gains. The ramped up production threatens to undermine cuts made by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries

in an effort to draw down a global supply glut.

Appetite for US crude is adding to the headache facing Opec. A widening discount of WTI to Brent crude makes it more attractive for foreign refiners to process US oil. Brent is the benchmark for several Middle East and other global crudes. The premium of Brent crude to WTI rose above $4 a barrel yesterday.

THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Ahlibank has announced that Qatar Airways will be the latest Ahlibank Credit Card Pearl Rewards partner.

Ahlibank credit card holders can now redeem their Pearl Points for Qmiles with Privilege Club, Qatar Airways’ loyalty programme. This gives access to complimentary flights to over 150 destinations across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, South Asia, Asia Pacific and North and South America. Privilege Club members can also redeem Qmiles for flight upgrades, excess baggage allowances and complimentary flights with any of Qatar Airways’ Airline Partners.

Hassan Ahmed AlEfrangi, Ahlibank’s Deputy CEO – Retail Banking, said: “I am pleased to announce Qatar Airways, a global award winning airline, as our latest Credit Card Pearl Rewards Partner. This is part of our ongoing programme to widen the redemption options available to Ahlibank cus-tomers and underpins our

strategy to provide customers with the most personal banking experience.”

Ehab Amin, Chief Com-mercial Officer, Qatar Airways said: “Qatar Airways is delighted to partner with Ahli Bank to offer even more options to earn Privilege Club Qmiles. Qatar Airways Priv-ilege Club is our way of saying thank you to our frequent fliers. Through this part-nership, Privilege Club con-tinues to be even more rewarding and enables members to enjoy an exclusive range of benefits when choosing to travel with Qatar Airways.”

Accumulating Pearl Points and redeeming for Qmiles is very simple. Ahlibank cus-tomers can redeem their Pearl Points by filling the Pearl Rewards Redemption from their nearest Ahlibank branch, by calling the contact centre on +974 4420 5222 or through ahlibankonline.com.qa.

To qualify, customers should be a member of Qatar Airways Privilege Club to redeem Pearl Points for Qmiles.

Ahmad Saif Al Sulaiti (centre), Vice Chairman, Nakilat, addressing the annual general assembly yesterday, as Abdullah Al Sulaiti (left), Nakilat’s Chief Executive Officer; and Ali Ahmed Al Kuwari, Board Member look on.

The fleet size managed by Nakilat Shipping Qatar Limited (NSQL) has grown to 18 vessels, comprising 14 LNG and four LPG carriers.

Google launches initiative to fight fake newsREUTERS

BENGALURU: Alphabet Inc’s Google is launching the Google News Initiative, to weed out fake news online and during breaking news situations, it said in a blog post yesterday.

Google said it plans to spend $300m over the next three years to improve the accuracy and quality of news appearing on its platforms.

In a separate blog post, Google said it was launching a tool to help subscribe to n e w s p u b l i c a t i o n s . Subscribe with Google will let users buy a subscription on participating news sites using their Google account and manage all their subscriptions in one place.

Ahlibank names Qatar Airways as its Pearl Rewards partner

8,977.85 +87.93 PTS0.99%

QSE FTSE100 DOW BRENT7,061.27 +18.34 PTS0.26%

24,742.99 +132.08PTS0.54% Dow & Brent before going to press

$63.42 +1.36

7th edition of Cityscape

Qatar in April

QFC & Netherlands Embassy organise Global Money WeekYousuf Mohamed Al Jaida (second left), Chief Executive Officer, Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) Authority, engaging with students participated in Global Money Week’s financial education classes aimed at educating the youth about the value of money, spending it wisely and saving it for the future. QFC has partnered with the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to organise this nation-wide initiative in Qatar, where 17 schools took part in the interactive and fun workshops to help gain key money management skills.

22 WEDNESDAY 21 MARCH 2018BUSINESS

QC discusses challenges facing private sectorTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: Qatar Chamber board member Ali Abdul Latif Al Misnad has said that the chamber is committed to providing all possible support for the private sector in order to do its expected role in the economic boom to achieve the National Vision 2030.

He was addressing a seminar hosted by the Chamber in the presence of officials from four ministries including ministry of economy and commerce, ministry of interior, ministry of transport and communication and ministry of administrative development, labour and social affairs.

The seminar titled “Challenges in services provided by government bodies to the privates sector” was attended by a large number of businessmen and representatives of local companies.

Officials from the Qatar Ports Management Company “Mwani” were also present.

The seminar focused on five issues including the extension of

renewing the commercial registration to five years and unifying expiry dates of all documents in one fixed date, high fees of separating the branch from the mother company, the ban imposed on companies violating regulations and laws.

It also discussed challenges in transport and freight sector, as well as the approval of competent bodies to transfer the employee from one company to another without obtaining approval from the first company.

With regard to ban on companies, director of Labour Inspection Department at the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social

Affairs Mohamed Ali Al Meer said that the objective of banning companies which violate the labour regulations is to give them a chance to solve all problems facing them not to punish them.

He noted that this ban is electronically implemented in accordance with legal procedures.

Al Meer called upon all

companies to abide by the WPS to avoid being banned.

Regarding extending the renewal of commercial registration to five years, Ayed Manahi Al Qahtani, director of Commercial Registration and Licensing at the Ministry of Economy and Commerce, said that the issue is currently being examined at the Consultative

Council.On his part, Jabor Al Sulaiti,

Strategy & Business Development Manager at Qatar Ports Management Company- Mwani, said that all obstacles facing maritime transport are solved and new routes were inaugurated against the backdrop of the unjust blockade imposed on the country.

Al Sulaiti noted that shipping

fees are maintained according to world standards, affirming that it is important to put into account the high prices of insurance and the length of marine trip.

He pointed out that services and handling fees have been decreased by 50 percent of the applicable fees at Al Ruwais Port further to Emiri directives in support for the private sector.

Ali Abdul Latif Al Misnad (third right), Board Member, Qatar Chamber addressing the seminar session along with other officials from various ministries.

Texas A&M at Qatar hosts international shale gas expertsTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: Texas A&M University at Qatar hosted shale gas experts from Qatar, Europe, the United States and Australia for a daylong symposium to present results of ShaleXenvironmenT, a multidisciplinary international research project funded by the European Commission under the Horizon 2020 programme.

Securing abundant, affordable and clean energy is a critical scientific and techno-logical challenge. Shale gas has emerged as a crucial piece of the energy puzzle, but exploi-tation of shale gas is challenging and its environmental footprint is poorly quantified. The ShaleXenvironmenT project aims to assess the environ-mental footprint of shale gas exploitation in Europe and suggest ideas for approaches on managing shale gas exploi-tation, impacts and risks in Europe — and eventually worldwide.

About 80 people from Qatar’s local industry and aca-demic institutions attended the symposium, which was chaired by Dr Ioannis G Economou (pic-tured), associate dean for aca-demic affairs and a professor of chemical engineering at Texas A&M at Qatar.

Economou said that shale gas and shale oil technology is transforming the energy industry worldwide, yet despite the growing interest for such technologies, there are still major challenges to be addressed at various levels.

Economou said, “During this e v e n t , w o r l d - l e a d i n g researchers presented

state-of-the art developments in chemical engineering, petroleum engineering and geo-sciences related to the topic. There has been a great exchange of ideas that will hopefully lead to new R&D projects for the benefit of the country, the region and the world.”

Texas A&M at Qatar Dean Dr. César O. Malavé said, “Texas A&M University is in the fore-front of new breakthrough developments in shale tech-nology through research per-formed in its research centers and institutes. At Texas A&M at Qatar, we are proud to have strong partnerships with aca-demic institutions and industry — in Qatar and around the world, and we aim to play a key role in creating sustainable solutions to real-world chal-lenges by generating new knowledge through research and collaborative partnerships. We hope that this symposium provided a platform for creating synergy in the scientific com-munities in Qatar, Europe and elsewhere to forge new collab-orative research initiatives for the future.”

Maersk says CFO quits after organisational changesREUTERS

COPENHAGEN: Danish shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk said yesterday its chief financial officer has decided to leave the company after only 16 months in the role.

The departure of Jakob Strausholm, who took the role as chief finance, strategy and transformation officer in December 2016, comes after Maersk decided to separate the

finance role from its IT and digital transformation function, the company said.

The change comes amid a major restructuring and digital drive which Maersk hopes will simplify the process of moving goods around the world.

“Digitalisation is changing our business model and the way in which we drive and implement our strategy. With this organisational change, we expand our management

capacity within digitalisation to accelerate the transformation,” Chairman Jim Hagemann Snabe said in a statement.Maersk did not say who would head the two functions.

After after Strausholm’s departure on March 31 the exec-utive board will consist of CEO Soren Skou and Vice-CEOs Claus V. Hemmingsen, Vincent Clerc, Soren Toft and Morten Engelstoft, Maersk said.Maersk shares were down 2.9 percent at 0900 GMT.

China’s CEFC chairman to quit European roleAFP

PRAGUE: Chinese oil tycoon Ye Jianming, chairman of CEFC China Energy, will quit the firm’s European operation CEFC Europe, according to the regional headquarters in the Czech capital Prague.

“CEFC Europe was informed of a change being prepared in the shareholder structure where Ye Jianming will no longer be present as shareholder nor in company management,” the firm said in a statement.

It did not specify whether Ye would quit CEFC alto-gether or only the European operation.

The Czech presidency said that its Chinese interloc-utors said Ye was under investigation in China for “a suspected violation of the law,” without providing details. It added that the company itself was not being probed.

CEFC dismissed a media report earlier this month that said Ye was under investi-gation, insisting there was “no factual basis” to it.

Asked whether Ye would remain an advisor to Czech President Milos Zeman, the head of state’s spokesman said there was no decision yet.

“We are waiting for this whole case to be examined,” spokesman Jiri Ovcacek told the CTK news agency.

The firm’s European headquarters is located in the Czech Republic, where it has invested an estimated ¤1.5bn ($1.8bn) and employs 4,000 people.

“CEFC China continue to consider its Czech projects to be one of its priorities,” CEFC Europe statement said. It added that a “new share-holder would join CEFC Europe” soon, without elaborating.

Czech media reports identified the new share-holder as Chinese state-owned investment firm CITIC and said it would have a 49 percent stake in the energy company.

The privately-owned CEFC is an exception in China, where the energy sector is dominated by public giants Sinopec and CNPC under close state supervision. The oil and gas conglomerate is among China’s top 10 private firms.

Ryanair to buy stake in Niki Lauda airline in challenge to LufthansaREUTERS

GERMANY: Ryanair has agreed to buy a majority stake in the new Austrian leisure airline founded by former motor racing champion Niki Lauda in a major push on the German and Austrian markets dominated by Lufthansa.

The Irish airline, Europe’s largest low-cost carrier, has agreed to buy an initial 24.9 percent stake in Vienna-based Laudamotion, formed out of insolvent carrier Niki, formerly part of Air Berlin.

That will rise to 75 percent “as

soon as possible”, subject to EU regulatory approval, the airlines said in a statement. Ryanair will lease Laudamotion six crewed planes to increase its fleet to 21 planes this summer and to 30 planes within three years. Ryanair currently operates a fleet of 430 Boeing 737s.

Niki, which flies to tourist des-tinations from Germany and Austria using Airbus A320 planes, was seen as the most attractive part of insolvent Air Berlin and this deal sees it end up in the hands of Ryanair, after attempts by Lufthansa and British

Airways-parent IAG to secure it. Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary had been a fierce critic of Lufthansa’s initial plans to buy much of Air Berlin. After dropping the Niki plans, Lufthansa has ended up with Air Berlin unit LGW, but also took on 77 of the defunct carrier’s fleet of around 140 leased planes.

Lufthansa also recently overtook Ryanair as Europe’s largest airline by passenger numbers and the Laudamotion acquisition could help Ryanair to regain the title.

“This Laudamotion part-nership is good news for Austrian

and German consumers/visitors who can now look forward to real competition, more choice and lower fares,” O’Leary said in a statement.

Niki Lauda needed partners to help get Laudamotion off the ground and was working with Thomas Cook’s Condor and was also in discussions over leasing crewed planes to Lufthansa’s budget arm Eurowings.

Lauda said yesterday the talks with Eurowings continued. Condor CEO Ralf Teckentrup said it planned to start marketing Laudamotion flights this week, as

agreed. The deal gives Lauda-motion “unbelievable sales power,” Lauda told journalists onboard a flight from Vienna to Duesseldorf. “I met O’Leary recently and we came to an agreement relatively quickly,” he said.

Ryanair will invest less than €50m ($62m), though will provide an additional €50m in funding for start-up and operating costs in the first year.

Laudamotion will start flying from Germany this week, from Switzerland in April and from Austria in June, Lauda said.

Extending commercial registration renewal period to five years is currently being examined at the Consultative Council.

23WEDNESDAY 21 MARCH 2018 BUSINESS

Cityscape Qatar gears up for 7th editionTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: An expanding economy, rampant demand for investment, and a resilient real estate sector in Qatar are the driving forces behind a part-nership between Qatari-based Elan Group and Cityscape to jointly organise the seventh edition of Cityscape Qatar, the country’s only international real estate event.

Taking place from April 23 to 25 at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center, Cityscape Qatar will be held under the patronage of H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, Prime Minister and Interior Minister.

The event aims to connect exhibitors from Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Turkey, and UK with thousands of receptive real estate investors looking for investment opportunities in Qatar and globally

This year, Cityscape Qatar will include more than 10,000 sqm of exhibition space and will include several leading local and international developers, such as: United Developers, UDC, Msheireb Properties, Just Real Estate, Ezdan Holding Group, Al Bandary Real Estate and many more.

Last year’s Cityscape Qatar saw a massive uptake in visitor numbers, which revealed the appetite for real estate in the country. Cityscape Qatar offers a plethora ofinvestment choices with high capital growth pros-pects and a clear regulatory framework, making it a ‘go to’ market for savvy investors looking for secure long-term gains.

“Our aim, together with our partner Elan Group, is to not onlycreate a platform for devel-opersto launch new and exciting projects underway in Qatar,but to enable both local and cross-border real estate investment, which has the potential to shape the future of the real estate industry, as well as facilitate a knowledge-based dialogue that tackles the sector’s most pressing needs in today’s eco-nomic climate,”say show organisers.

Looking at real estate, property consultant DTZ says the sector is showing consid-erable resilience.

They maintain that the transaction volume has shown an increase of 8 percent and 12 percent in October and November last year respec-tively, compared to corre-sponding months in 2016.

This year’s Cityscape Qatar will feature a range of exclusive deals and offers on projects from the country and around the world. Running parallel to the exhibition, are the Cityscape Qatar Conference and Cityscape Qatar Talks, which will include a stellar programme of topics and speakers covering the full spectrum of real estate investment and development.

Finance Ministers and Central Bank Presidents pose for the official photo at the G20 Meeting of Finance Ministers in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Federal Reserve set to raise ratesAFP

WASHINGTON: The Federal Reserve began its two-day policy meeting yesterday which is expected to produce the first of at least three increases in the key interest rate this year.

With economic forces gath-ering that are likely to fuel inflation in 2018, the central bank could raise the benchmark lending rate four times to prevent the world’s largest economy from

overheating after a decade of recovery. That prospect has investors on edge as stock prices remain at dizzying heights.

Newly-installed Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell (pictured) will hold his first press conference at the conclusion of the meeting Wednesday, after being sworn in last month and his words will be closely scrutinized for hints about the likely pace of rate hikes. The Fed also will update its forecasts for the

economy and how aggressively officials think the central bank will have to act in coming years.

“The members will be looking at a variety of factors, but they can be summarized simply: Is growth strong and is inflation moving back toward its target?” economist Joel Naroff wrote in a client note. Since the Fed last met in January, economic data have been mixed and forecasts for eco-nomic growth in the first quarter have dimmed. Weak data on

retail and auto sales, durable goods orders and the housing market as well as soft con-struction spending and a wid-ening trade deficit have disap-pointed in recent weeks.

The event will be held from April 23 to 25 at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center. G20 meet calls for ‘dialogue & actions’ on trade

REUTERS

BUENOS AIRES: The world’s financial leaders yesterday reaf-firmed their commitment to fighting protectionism but called for “further dialogue and actions” on trade, just days before U.S. metals tariffs take effect and U.S. President Donald Trump readies sanctions on China.

Finance ministers and central bankers of the world’s 20 biggest economies, the G20, issued the change to their communique as a two-day meeting in Buenos Aires drew to a close amid worries about the potential for a global trade war.

The statement added a phrase that was not in their initial draft, which stresses the need for further talks on trade issues.

“International trade and investment are important engines of growth, productivity, inno-vation, job creation and devel-opment,” the G20 said. “We reaffirm the conclusions of our leaders on trade at the Hamburg Summit and recognize the need for further dialogue and actions. We are working to strengthen contribution of trade to our economies.”

Many G20 officials fought hard at the meeting to preserve language from the Hamburg

Summit, which was signed by Trump in July 2017, which said that G20 countries would “con-tinue to fight protectionism including all unfair trade prac-tices.” The new G20 language on the need for trade dialogue comes as Trump is readying plans to punish China with tariffs over its intellectual property practices.

In the final communique, the G20 ministers repeated their tra-ditional pledges to refrain from competitive devaluations and avoid targeting their foreign exchange rates for export advantage. But they also added some new language on exchange rates, emphasizing stability and

flexibility: “Strong fundamentals, sound policies, and a resilient international monetary system are essential to the stability of exchange rates, contributing to strong and sustainable growth and investment. Flexible exchange rates, where feasible, can serve as a shock absorber,” the communique said.

The G20 also called for con-tinued international monitoring of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, and their risks. It said these assets raised issues with consumer and investor protec-tions, market integrity, money laundering and terrorist financing.

24 WEDNESDAY 21 MARCH 2018BUSINESS

US bans Petro digital currencytransactions REUTERS

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order barring any US-based financial transactions involving Vene-zuela’s new ‘Petro’ cryptocur-rency, as US officials warned that it was a “scam” by Pres-ident Nicolas Maduro’s government to further undermine democracy in the Opec country.

“The ‘petro’ is a desperate effort by a corrupt regime to defraud internat ional investors,” a senior US admin-istration official told reporters, strongly warning that any trans-actions in the petro digital cur-rency would violate US sanctions.

“Investing in the ‘petro’ should be viewed as directly supporting this dictatorship and its attempts to undermine the democratic order in Venezuela,” the official added.

Trump’s order bars “all transactions related to, pro-vision of financing for, and other dealings in, by a United States person or within the United States, any digital cur-rency, digital coin, or digital token,” issued by Venezuela’s government since January 9, the White House said in a statement.

Maduro is hoping crypto-currencies will help Venezuela skirt US financial sanctions as it struggles under hyperinflation and a collapsing socialist economy.

Venezuela rejected the sanctions, which it says are illegal under international law.

“These unilateral sanc-tions... constitute a new imperial aggression aimed at intensifying the attack on our people,” the government said in a statement.

The order comes as the Trump administration is actively exploring options to sanction Venezuela’s oil sector.

On February 20, Maduro said the newly launched oil-backed petro cryptocurrency raised $735m in the first day of a pre-sale. Maduro also said last month Venezuela is pre-paring a new cryptocurrency called “petro gold” that will be backed by precious metals.

Any US transactions of the Venezuelan petro conducted before Monday’s order would be considered on a case-by-case basis, a second US admin-istration official said.

“We would base our licensing determinations on the facts and circumstances of those particular applications,” the second official added.

National Conference on Air TransportAugustin de Romanet (left), CEO of French international airport operator- ADP Group; talks with Jean-Marc Janaillac, CEO of Air France-KLM; as they arrive to attend the opening of the National Conference on Air Transport (Assises du Transport Aerien) yesterday in Paris. The conference aims at finding a national air transport strategy to boost the sector.

UK rate hike in May still likely despite inflation dropAFP

LONDON: Britain’s annual inflation rate slowed in February as food and transport costs rose by less than one year ago, official data showed yesterday.

Despite the drop in the inflation rate, analysts said they still expected the Bank of England to raise interest rates in May, as wages growth continues to recover.

“The Consumer Prices Index 12-month rate was 2.7 percent in February 2018, down from 3.0 percent in January 2018,” the Office for National Statistics said in a statement yesterday.

Inflation jumped last year and remains at an elevated level after Britain voted to leave the European Union in 2016. The Brexit referendum pushed down the pound, in turn hiking the cost of imported goods.

“It looks like the impact of a weaker pound is finally wearing off and inflation is gradually heading back towards” the Bank of Eng-land’s 2.0-percent target, noted Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown stockbrokers.

“In theory that relieves some of the pressure on the Bank of England to raise interest rates, though falling inflation is very much in their script, so these latest figures don’t really alter what we can expect from the bank in the coming months.”

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is expected to keep its key interest rate on hold at 0.50 percent following a regular policy meeting this week, ahead of a predicted quarter-point rise at its May gathering, according to analysts.

This is because official data due today is expected to reveal another pick-up in UK wages growth, consultants Capital Economics said in a note to clients.

“As a result, we still think that the MPC will raise interest rates... in May,” they added.

The pound dropped after the report, paring a gain of as much as 0.3 percent to trade little changed at $1.4018 as of 11:17 a.m. in London.

German prosecutors raid VW over carbon dioxide emissionsAFP

BERLIN: German authorities said they had again raided the head-quarters of the world’s largest carmaker Volkswagen in a probe over financial market manipu-lation related to excessive exhaust emissions from its vehicles.

“Papers and large volumes of data” were confiscated from 13 VW offices in Wolfsburg early this month, a spokesman for Brunswick prosecutors told b u s i n e s s m a g a z i n e Wirtschaftswoche.

Investigators added that the

probe concerns who at the company was responsible for financial statements issued by Volkswagen in late 2015 that were “objectively false”.

VW’s statements responded to suspicions its vehicles used more fuel and emitted more of greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) than claimed in its advertising.

It said in November 2015 that around 800,000 vehicles might be affected, reckoning the potential financial risks to the group at around ¤2bn ($2.5bn).

But in December it said that after testing it found only 36,000

vehicles had suspiciously high CO2 output.

“Based on information from this CO2 investigation as well as the broader probe on exhaust issues, there are sufficient indi-cations that this representation was incorrect,” the prosecutors told Wirtschaftswoche.

“Volkswagen is convinced that it fulfilled its obligations to publish ad-hoc financial infor-mation,” a spokesman told AFP, while confirming prosecutors’ confiscation of its files in early March.The CO2 emissions inves-tigation touches on both diesel and petrol motors. It is separate

from other probes relating to the “dieselgate” scandal over Volkswagen’s 2015 admission that it manipulated 11 million diesel vehicles worldwide to cheat reg-ulatory emissions tests for nitrogen oxides (NOx), which are harmful to human health.

As well as the CO2 probe, Brunswick prosecutors have since June 2016 been investigating former VW chief executive Martin Winterkorn and former finance director -- now supervisory board president -- Hans Dieter Poetsch for market manipulation.

Meanwhile Stuttgart prose-cutors are investigating present

VW boss Matthias Mueller on sus-picion that he knowingly delayed informing financial markets about the NOx emissions cheating.

Investors lost huge amounts of money after the “dieselgate” scandal broke as VW shares lost 40 percent of their value in just two days. Shareholders are pur-suing the firm for billions of euros in compensation, arguing exec-utives should have informed them sooner of the risks.

Investigators have also yet to establish who at Volkswagen was responsible for the diesel emis-sions cheating.

Mnuchin takes heat from global finance chiefs over trade BLOOMBERG

FRANKFURT: Global finance chiefs were unusually blunt in warning that the US had put the international trade order at risk as President Donald Trump pushes ahead with his “America First” agenda by imposing steep tariffs on steel and aluminium.

Finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 nations told US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Monday that multilateral, rule-based trade is an essential pillar of the global economy, according to three people familiar with the discussions. But US officials are standing firm and telling coun-terparts gathered in Argentina that they won’t give up their eco-nomic and national security interests, according to a Treasury official.

“The trip to the G-20 will focus on advancing the Trump administration’s global economic agenda to level the playing field for US companies and workers,” Mnuchin said in a emailed statement on Monday.

Trade has taken centre stage in the debate after Trump slapped import tariffs on aluminium and s t e e l , w i t h a n

informal poll of delegates singling out protectionism as the biggest threat to global growth. A euro-area official identified protec-tionism as one of the four medium-term risks to the world economy, listing financial dereg-ulation, a sharp repricing of

financial assets and procyclical fiscal policies as the other threats.

Mnuchin didn’t address trade or the proposed tariffs during Monday’s discussion, according to two sources familiar with the talks.

“The G-20 will continue to

emphasize the importance of free trade,” Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Monday.

“Trade policies and trends affect the global economy, and I’d like to pay close attention to them.”

The Brazilian and Japanese delegations were among those questioning the US, and were joined by officials from other countries including Germany, South Korea, Italy, France and Saudi Arabia, the sources said.

G-20 delegates from Europe were particularly vocal heading into the two-day gathering in Buenos Aires, and appealed to their US counterparts that a col-lapse of the world’s multilateral trade system must be averted at all cost.

“Protectionist measures would increase uncertainty” and risk delivering a blow to the euro area’s synchronized economic expansion, French central bank chief Francois Villeroy de Galhau said in a speech on Sunday. His Dutch colleague Klaas Knot iden-tified “some medium-term clouds” relating to trade on the horizon of an otherwise favourable growth outlook.

Officials have torn up parts of the first draft of the group’s communique, which repeated pledges for countries to refrain from unfair trade practices and included a warning that the global economic expansion would be thrown into jeopardy if governments turn inward. On

Monday, delegates stripped ref-erences to risks from inward-looking policies, which some saw as a veiled reference to US protectionism.

Delegates are having trouble finalizing the communique, as nations push back against US requests to delete the term “mul-tilateral” from the statement, Pierre Moscovici, European com-missioner for economic and financial affairs, said in an interview. “Avoiding multilater-alism in a multilateral organi-zation makes no sense,” he said.

Argentina and South Korea have asked for concessions before tariffs take effect on Friday, while Canada and Mexico are shielded due to negotiations to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement. The top US trade negotiator has been leading discussions to exempt countries from the tariffs if they meet certain criteria, including joining the US in pushing back against Chinese trade policies, according to a European official.

“Protectionist measures haven’t had positive results in the long run,” Brazil’s Finance Min-ister Henrique Meirelles said on Monday. “These type of measures are negative for everybody.”

US Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin (L) and IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde sit for the family picture of the G20 Meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, in Buenos Aires, on March 19, 2018. Global economic leaders are holding a two-day meeting in Buenos Aires.

Venezuela is preparing a new cryptocurrency called “petro gold” that will be backed by precious metals.

Amazon hints at acquiring some Toys ‘R’ Us storesBLOOMBERG

NEW YORK: Amazon.com Inc. has looked at the possibility of expanding its retail footprint by acquiring some locations from bankrupt Toys “R” Us Inc., according to people with knowledge of the situation.

The online giant isn’t inter-ested in maintaining the Toys “R” Us brand, but has considered using the soon-to-be-vacant spaces for its own purposes, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are

private. Such a move would let Amazon quickly expand its brick-and-mortar presence, coming on the heels of buying Whole Foods Market Inc. and its more than 450 locations last year.

The Seattle-based company also has opened its own line of bookstores and a convenience-store concept.

Additional stores would give Amazon space to showcase its popular Echo line of devices, which run on the Alexa voice-activated platform. Amazon sees

voice as the next interface for people to access technology, supplanting computer mouses and touch screens, and the ben-efits may be easier to demon-strate in a real-world setting.

A bigger network of stores also would put inventory closer to where shoppers live, poten-tially enabling quick delivery to e-commerce customers.

Meanwhile, Toys “R” Us’ Canadian unit is up for sale, along with its operations around the world. Its division in the UK is currently being wound down.

25WEDNESDAY 21 MARCH 2018 BUSINESS

China’s premier pledges more open economyREUTERS

BEIJING: Voicing hopes that Beijing and the United States could avoid a trade war, Premier Li Keqiang told the close of the annual parliament session that China would open its economy further, so that foreign and Chinese firms can compete on an equal footing.

Fears of a global trade war mounted after US President Donald Trump’s imposed hefty import tariffs on steel and alu-minium earlier this month and, according to sources in Wash-ington, the United States is set to unveil new tariffs specifically tar-geting China by the end of this week.

“I hope both China and the US will act rationally, and not be led by emotions, and avoid a trade war,” Li told reporters in a televised news conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Those hopes would be damaged if, as sources say, Washington goes ahead with plans for new tariffs on up to $60bn worth of Chinese tech-nology and consumer goods annually, in a move to fulfil Trump’s campaign promises to get tough on China and its trade practices.

For the world, the potential fall out from any trade conflict between its two biggest econ-omies posed the more pressing danger.

Without going into detail, Li told his once a year press con-ference that China will improve access to its services and manu-facturing sectors while further lowering import tariffs, including those on cancer-related drugs.

“China’s economy has been so integrated with the world’s, that closing China’s door would mean blocking our way for devel-opment,” Li said.

“China’s aim is to ensure that both domestic and foreign firms, and companies under all kinds of ownership structure, will be able to compete on fair terms in China’s large market.”

During his half-hour closing speech, President Xi was heavy on aspirational themes and he delivered a strong message on Taiwan, which is claimed by China as part of its territory.

“Any actions and tricks to split China are doomed to failure and will meet with the people’s condemnation and the pun-ishment of history,” he said, to loud applause from the almost 3,000 parliamentary delegates.

China has been infuriated by Trump’s signing legislation that

encourages the United States to send senior officials to Taiwan to meet Taiwanese counterparts and vice versa.

Xi made repeated references to a resurgent nation of 1.3 billion people which would “ride the mighty east wind of the new era” and was on the cusp of matching the country’s greatest achieve-ments in its long history.

At the same time he reit-erated increasing global concerns over China’s rise were unjustified and added: “Only those who are in the habit of threatening others will see everyone else as a threat.” “We will not impose our will on anyone.”

When Xi’s top economic adviser Liu He visited Wash-ington recently, the Trump administration pressed him to find ways to reduce China’s $375bn trade surplus with the United States. “We are unwilling

to see a big trade deficit, not only with the US,” Li said. “We hope trade will be balanced.” In his remarks, Li said that as China widens access to its markets, there will be no forced transfers of technology, and China will better protect intellectual property rights.

Trump says Beijing has forced US companies to transfer their intellectual property to China as a cost of doing business there, though China has insisted that technology transfers are not a condition of gaining market access.

A source who had direct knowledge of the Trump admin-istration’s thinking told Reuters last week that the tariffs expected to be announced this week would chiefly target information tech-nology, consumer electronics and telecoms and other products ben-efiting from US intellectual

property. But they could be much broader and hit consumer products such as clothing and footwear, with a list eventually running to 100 products, this source said.

“We hope the US could ease restrictions on high-tech or high value-added product exports,” Li said.

“We will strictly protect intel-lectual property. We hope this important means for balancing China-US trade will not be missed, otherwise we will lose a chance to make money.”

Before the press conference, Li introduced China’s four new

vice premiers, including Liu He, widely regarded as China’s new economic tsar. But adhering to protocol, it was the preimier who did all the talking.

Li said China was confident of achieving its 2018 economic targets. The government aims to expand its economy by around 6.5 percent this year, having easily surpassed the same target in 2017.

China’s financial sector was in good shape and banks have enough provisions, Li said, adding that regulators would take “res-olute measures” to tackle financial risks.

German investor confidence plungesAFP

FRANKFURT: Confidence among investors in Europe’s largest economy Germany plunged in March, with a monthly barometer dropping to its lowest level in 18 months, reflecting fears of a transatlantic trade war.

A regular survey of 220 analysts and investors from the ZEW institute gave a reading of 5.1 points -- a slump of 12.7 points from February’s level and far below the 13.1 forecast by analysts.

The last time confidence among financial players was so low was in the months after Britain’s June 2016 vote to quit the European Union.

“Fear of a global trade conflict caused by the USA is causing the experts to look more cautiously into the future,” ZEW chief Achim Wambach said in a statement.

The institute’s polling was carried out between March 5 and 19, when a war of words between Washington, Brussels and national capitals in Europe was at its height.

US President Donald Trump announced plans to slap tariffs of 25 percent on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminium, with the European Union vowing levies on American products like orange juice and motorcycles in response.

Germany, home to the world’s largest carmaker Volkswagen and other giants of the sector, would be espe-cially hard hit. The heated rhetoric has troubled financial markets and dampened con-fidence in the economy, which in Germany had been in spar-kling form after a year of pow-erful growth.

There was a glimmer of hope for US-EU trade ties Monday, as German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said it was “possible to find a solution that can still avoid a decline into a heavy trade conflict” after meeting US officials in Washington.

And “the outlook remains positive, with still very good judgements about the present state of the economy,” ZEW head Wambach noted.

Porsche targets higher 2018 profitREUTERS

STUTTGART: Porsche SE, the majority shareholder in Volkswagen (, is targeting higher net profit this year as Europe’s largest automaker keeps pushing operational changes following

its emissions scandal. Net profit will increase to between ¤3.4bn and ¤4.4bn ($4.2bn-$5.43bn) this year from 3.33 billion in 2017, Porsche SE said yesterday.

The guidance was based on Volkswagen’s expectations for future business and noted

“continuing uncertainties” related to the emissions scandal, it said.

Net liquidity may come in between ¤0.7bn and ¤1.2bn after 937 million last year. The company has proposed a div-idend of ¤1.76 per preference share.

FROM LEFT: Hans Dieter Poetsch, CEO of Porsche Automobil Holding SE; Matthias Mueller, member of the executive board for strategy and corporate development; and Philipp von Hagen, member of the executive board for investment management pose during the company’s annual press conference at the Porsche museum in Stuttgart, southwestern Germany, yesterday.

Italy exports first gas as Snam seeks to build trading hubBLOOMBERG

ROME: Italy exported natural gas for the first time last week, part of an effort by the nation’s pipeline operator to build up southern Europe as a center for trading the commodity.

Snam SpA is working to increase the flexibility of its system so that gas from southern Europe and Africa can reach central Europe. Chief Executive Officer Marco Alvera wants to establish a trading hub for the fuel in southern Europe that would add options to satisfy demand and put to use storage facilities in Italy.

The milestone, which took years of planning and investment by Snam, will deepen the connections between Italy’s network an the heart of the gas trading business in northern Europe. Britain and the Nether-lands have the two main hubs for the commodity in Europe, and Alvera would like to build Italy’s importance to the industry.

Switzerland has drawn about 3 million cubic meters of

gas a day from Italy since March 14, according to data released by the pipeline operator on Monday. Snam invested in facil-ities that reverse the flow of the import pipeline, which usually brings Russian gas into Italy.

“We expect to increase our investments in favor of the security and flexibility of the Italian gas system, which on several occasions over the last few months has shown greater reliability compared to other European countries,” Alvera said in a strategy presentation to investors last week.

There were dry-runs of the new capability in February, rep-resenting the first time Italy has ever exported the fuel. The pipeline now has reverse flow valves that allow it to move gas in both directions.

The current capacity at the junction of Gries Pass is 5 million cubic meters. That will be boosted to 40 million cubic meters after further investments, the company said in its strategy presentation last week.

The grid upgrade is due to be completed by October 2018.

EU offers UK ‘improved equivalence’ for financial servicesBLOOMBERG

BRUSSELS: The European Union will consider offering the UK “improved equivalence” for financial services after Brexit, according to the latest draft of the bloc’s negotiating position, a system Britain has rejected as “wholly inadequate.”

It’s not clear what “improved” would mean. What is clear is that the EU is rejecting the UK’s bid for its banks to have access to the EU on the basis of mutual recognition of rules.

British institutions would only be able to trade in the EU if its rules are deemed equivalent by the European Commission -- a unilateral approval that can be withdrawn at short notice.

Equivalence also means limited access to the bloc’s single market and accepting rules without having a say in making them -- something the UK gov-ernment and its banks reject. The

commission has already started to review financial services leg-islation, to ensure that equiva-lence rules are appropriate for the situation after the withdrawal of the UK, according to the doc-ument seen by Bloomberg.

“Regarding financial services, the aim should be reviewed and improved equivalence mecha-nisms, allowing appropriate access to financial services markets, while preserving financial stability, the integrity of the single market and the autonomy of decision making in the European Union,” reads the draft. “Equivalence mechanisms and decisions remain defined and implemented on a unilateral basis by the European Union,” it says.

The addition is in an annex to the draft guidelines and will be discussed by EU ministers meeting later. Earlier drafts didn’t mention financial services explicitly although they made clear that the trade agreement the EU intends

to strike with the UK wouldn’t make special provisions for services.

Market access for services would only be allowed “under host state rules, including as regards right of establishment for providers, to an extent consistent with the fact that the UK will become a third country and the union and the UK will no longer share a common regulatory, supervisory, enforcement and judiciary framework,” according to the bloc’s guidelines.

UK banks and the government have long given up hopes of retaining passporting rights -- the single market access that allows them unhindered operation across borders. But they are now pushing for a system of mutual recognition. They want a set of rules that are more durable and not subject to unilateral withdrawal.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond (pictured) has

tried to make the case that a good deal on financial services, which allows the City of London to remain a financial hub, is in both sides’ interest. He also argues that any trade deal with the EU that excluded services wouldn’t be fair.

He has described equivalence as “wholly inadequate,” saying any arrangement has to be “recip-rocal” and “reliable.” But the EU has said the UK’s decision to leave the single market means it can’t pick and choose the bits of the EU

internal market where it wants to maintain access. It argues that financial stability is at stake, as well as the integrity of the single market.

The commission has recently started to address some short-comings of its equivalence regime. In December, it proposed to tighten the procedure for allowing firms access under MiFIR, a reg-ulation that includes a third-country regime for a range of investment services. The aim was to set out the requirements for equivalence “in greater detail,” according to the commission.

In an apparent nod to the UK, the commission made clear that an equivalence recognition wouldn’t be easy to obtain. The assessment would have to be “very detailed and granular and also assess supervisory conver-gence with the EU” when it comes to third countries whose firms may be of “systemic importance” to the bloc, the commission said.

China’s Premier Li Keqiang speaks during a press conference after the closing session of the National People’s Congress in Beijing, yesterday.

China will improve access to its services and manufacturing sectors while further lowering import tariffs, including those on cancer-related drugs.

China aims to expand its

economy around 6.5% this year.

26 WEDNESDAY 21 MARCH 2018BUSINESS

QATAR STOCK EXCHANGE

QE Index 8,977.85 0.99 %

QE Total Return Index 15,665.76 0.99 %

QE Al Rayan Islamic

Index - Price 2,304.34 1.12 %

QE Al Rayan Islamic Index 3,668.66 1.12 %

QE All Share Index 2,621.82 1.34 %

QE All Share Banks &

Financial Services 2,909.44 0.42 %

QE All Share Industrials 2,987.58 1.84 %

QE All Share Transportation 1,877.50 0.29 %

QE All Share Real Estate 1,912.47 2.77 %

QE All Share Insurance 3,272.20 4.12 %

QE All Share Telecoms 1,143.34 2.53 %

QE All Share Consumer

Goods & Services 5,388.65 0.28 %

QE INDICES SUMMARY QE MARKET SUMMARY COMPARISON WORLD STOCK INDICES

GOLD AND SILVER

20-03-2018Index 8,977.85

Change 87.93

% 0.99

YTD% 5.33

Volume 23,946,188

Value (QAR) 521,454,703.65

Trades 7,376

Up 27 | Down 17 | Unchanged 119-03-2018Index 8,889.92

Change 87.12

% 0.99

YTD% 4.30

Volume 15,840,708

Value (QAR) 335,933,509.00

Trades 5,195

EXCHANGE RATE

GOLD QR154.1075 per grammeSILVER QR1.9118 per gramme

Index Day’s Close Pt Chg % Chg Year High Year Low

All Ordinaries 6040.8 -23.9 -0.39 6256.5 5887.3

Cac 40 Index/D 5234.65 11.81 0.23 5567.03 5051.21

Dj Indu Average 24610.91 -335.6 -1.35 26616.71 20379.55

Hang Seng Inde/D 31549.93 36.17 0.11 33484.08 29129.26

Iseq Overall/D 6636.36 -34.19 -0.51 7257.41 6469.04

Kse 100 Inx/D 44309.74 770.14 1.77 45494.52 40169.62

S&P 500 Index/D 0 0 0 2872.87 2532.69

Currency Buying SellingUS$ QR 3.6305 QR 3.6500

UK QR 5.0720 QR 5.1431

Euro QR 4.4537 QR 4.5163

CA$ QR 2.7629 QR 2.8169

Swiss Fr QR 3.7957 QR 3.8498

Yen QR 0.03389 QR 0.03455

Aus$ QR 2.7833 QR 2.8380

Ind Re QR 0.0554 QR 0.0565

Pak Re QR 0.0311 QR 0.0323

Peso QR 0.0692 QR 0.0706

SL Re QR 0.0231 QR 0.0236

Taka QR 0.0429 QR 0.0439

Nep Re QR 0.0346 QR 0.0353

SA Rand QR 0.3016 QR 0.3076

INTERNATIONAL MARKETS - A LIST OF SHARES FROM THE WORLD

Aarti Drugs-B/D 527.7 -15.85 1922

Aban Offs-A/D 157.75 -0.4 152466

Acc Ltd-A/D 1556 -3.7 12240

Ador Welding-B/D 395.45 -10.75 5561

Aegis Logis-A/D 245.75 0.55 14700

Alembic-B/D 61.6 -0.25 65273

Alok Indus-T/D 3.03 -0.1 379738

Apollo Tyre-A/D 262.15 1.1 57643

Asahi I Glass-/D 333.15 0.1 5440

Ashok Leyland-/D 145.85 0.2 2399700

Bajaj Hold-A/D 2550 21.65 1498

Ballarpur In-B/D 13.15 -0.31 129157

Bannari Aman-B/D 1600 0 1439

Bata India-A/D 690.85 13.8 43398

Bayer Crop-A/D 4070 -34.15 10456

Beml Ltd-A/D 1048.4 20.1 78512

Bhansali Eng-B/D 165.5 1.4 127947

Bharat Ele-A/D 149 0.55 334359

Bharat Heavy-A/D 84.05 0.3 358686

Bharatgears-B/D 174.15 -3.1 11641

Bhartiya Int-B/D 425 1.95 1376

Bom.Burmah-X/D 1202.2 13.1 40564

Bombay Dyeing-/D 264 -3.6 467024

Canfin Homes-A/D 522.55 -7.6 60629

Caprihans-X/D 85.1 0 3131

Castrol India-/D 202.15 2.1 63191

Century Enka-B/D 310.4 -0.75 8052

Century Text-A/D 1154.15 -4.15 28612

Chambal Fert-A/D 166.8 2 75143

Chola Invest-A/D 1449.8 10.9 11227

Cimmco-T/D 88.85 1.6 2274

Cipla-A/D 552.5 -6.85 742653

City Union Bk-/D 175.4 -0.4 30618

Colgate-A/D 1044.9 9 19753

Container Cor-/D 1198 0 8992

Dcm Shram Ind-/D 220 7.6 10014

Dhampur Sugar-/D 155 3.5 71376

Dr. Reddy-A/D 2157.4 39.2 27081

E I H-B/D 171.5 5.45 11472

E.I.D Parry-A/D 277 -4.05 14067

Eicher Motor-A/D 28317.45 896.2 2114

Electrosteel-B/D 27.05 -0.1 81794

Emco-B/D 12.15 -1.05 169088

Escorts Fin-Xt/D 3.62 0.17 9594

Escorts-A/D 828 2.65 49796

Eveready Indu-/D 382.8 -0.2 5246

F D C-B/D 266.9 0 2386

Federal Bank-A/D 91.55 0.8 304559

Ferro Alloys-X/D 9.39 0.23 220466

Finolex-A/D 664 1 3715

Forbes-B/D 3001.7 11.2 4050

Gail-A/D 437.75 -4.45 97717

Garden P -B/D 33.3 -0.65 14032

Godfrey Phil-A/D 833.5 -1 2813

Goodricke-X/D 326.3 -8 19069

Goodyear I -B/D 1195 13.35 4608

Hcl Infosys-A/D 52.9 -0.65 354919

Him.Fut.Comm-A/D 26.8 -0.55 1467706

Himat Seide-X/D 338.8 1.55 7109

Hind Motors-T/D 7.85 0.19 74389

Hind Org Chem-/D 26.2 -0.15 189083

Hind Unilever-/D 1314 4.55 63901

Hind.Petrol-A/D 354.85 2.55 117494

Hindalco-A/D 217.9 2.95 1980454

Hous Dev Fin-A/D 1800 24.55 170821

Idbi-A/D 73.65 0.5 7732678

Ifci Ltd-A/D 20.55 0.05 9818887

India Cement-A/D 142.95 1.4 191597

India Glycol-B/D 467 -10.75 27095

Indian Hotel-A/D 128.9 0.2 320759

Indo-A/D 92.7 2.35 47522

Indusind-A/D 1716.45 -4.45 248388

J.B.Chemical-B/D 285.75 -3.7 2219

Jagson Phar-B/D 28.4 0.4 3725

Jamnaauto-B/D 79.5 0.65 257246

Jbf Indu-B/D 109.25 -5.05 229303

Jct Ltd-X/D 2.94 -0.03 302411

Jindal Drill-B/D 150.5 0.5 3647

Jktyre&Ind-A/D 149.8 0.65 106179

Jmc Projects-B/D 553.8 -14.3 2912

Kabra Extr-B/D 120.7 0.25 6990

Kajaria Cer-A/D 561.6 3.95 14693

Kakatiya Cem-B/D 257.2 -2.45 2634

Kalpat Power-B/D 452.25 -0.35 23670

Kalyani Stel-B/D 288.25 -11.85 18787

Kanoria Chem-B/D 70.35 0.1 12695

Kg Denim-X/D 53 -0.75 9086

Kilburnengg-X/D 78 1.7 15425

Kinetic Eng-Xt/D 70.1 1.1 3741

Kopran-B/D 61 0.25 33498

Lakshmi Elec-X/D 610 -1.7 2431

Lakshmi Mach-A/D 6636.1 -14.4 1897

Laxmi Prcisn-B/D 42.25 0.5 1000

Lloyd Metal-X/D 15 0.1 41055

Lupin-A/D 771.85 6.55 71049

Lyka Labs-B/D 48.1 -0.4 25453

Mafatlal Ind-X/D 277 16 17155

Mah.Seamless-B/D 445.2 -3.55 2428

Maha Scooter-B/D 2215.9 15.6 16002

Mangalam Cem-B/D 311.65 -4.95 5006

Maral Overs-B/D 33.45 -0.5 26010

Mastek-B/D 546.55 12.25 118920

Max Financial-/D 426 -4.4 159042

Mrpl-A/D 113.75 1.3 63882

Nagreeka Ex-T/D 29.95 -1.45 5660

Nagreeka Ex-T/D 29.95 -1.45 5660

Nahar Spg.-B/D 90.4 -3.15 12094

Nation Alum -A/D 65.9 -1.4 429395

Navneet Edu-B/D 141.5 -3.85 4564

Neuland Lab-B/D 714.4 -18.8 3575

Nrb Bearings-B/D 156 -1.7 2981

O N G C-A/D 174.6 -2 207817

Ocl India-B/D 1330 13.45 2589

Oil Country-B/D 34.25 -2.25 73458

Onward Tech-B/D 93.6 -0.45 9552

Orchid Pharm-M/D 13.65 -0.7 182518

Orient Hotel-B/D 44.1 -0.05 6227

Patspin India-/D 16 -0.8 13921

Radico Khait-A/D 320.7 -1.4 138717

Rallis India-A/D 223.5 -2.45 17606

Rallis India-A/D 223.5 -2.45 17606

Reliance Indus/D 446.95 6.5 111204

Ruchi Soya-B/D 17.75 0.1 112751

Saur.Cem-X/D 72.2 -1.65 23889

Sterling Tool-/D 382.25 -4.55 1165

Tanfac Indu-Xt/D 123.15 2.6 13626

Tanfac Indu-Xt/D 123.15 2.6 13626

Thirumalai-B/D 1827 -43.25 7258

Til Ltd.-B/D 442.3 -0.9 1301

Timexgroup-T/D 45.8 0.65 19204

Tinplate-B/D 203.9 -2.55 195151

Ucal Fuel-B/D 253.7 -1.75 16795

Ucal Fuel-B/D 253.7 -1.75 16795

Ultramarine-X/D 299 1.5 18212

Unitech P -B/D 6.07 -0.03 13334318

Univcable-B/D 128.5 -0.7 6769

3I Group/D 907 13.8 368138

Assoc.Br.Foods/D 2490 -7 220434

Barclays/D 216.7 -0.3 13531904

Bp/D 458.5 -1.25 6646642

Brit Am Tobacc/D 4028 -2 1333812

Bt Group/D 226.25 0.55 11061982

Centrica/D 134.35 -1.35 5655705

Gkn/D 420.6 -3.6 2957267

Hsbc Holdings/D 700.8 5.2 4705605

Kingfisher/D 338.2 0.7 2926431

Land Secs./D 950.2 13.4 801004

Legal & Genera/D 264.7 3.7 3957106

Lloyds Bnk Grp/D 67.69 0.56 35871517

Marks & Sp./D 274.8 2.2 1487031

Next/D 4744 35 126086

Pearson/D 770.6 5.4 651860

Prudential/D 1905.5 27 1014414

Rentokil Initi/D 268.5 3.6 942063

Rolls Royce Pl/D 904.6 12.2 526889

Rsa Insrance G/D 632.2 7.6 401191

Sainsbury(J)/D 233.5 0.1 1557128

Schroders/D 3416 27 56140

Severn Trent/D 1733 -12 167227

Smith&Nephew/D 1315 -5 322201

Smiths Group/D 1554 -6 465978

Standrd Chart /D 752.6 -2.2 813451

Tate & Lyle/D 550.2 11.4 539263

Tesco/D 206.9 0.3 5547775

Unilever/D 3761 -15 471049

United Util Gr/D 685.6 -4.6 484416

Vodafone Group/D 198.4 -0.24 9180647

Whitbread/D 3842 20 54179

COMPANY CLOSE NET VOLUME NAME CHG TRADED

COMPANY CLOSE NET VOLUME NAME CHG TRADED

COMPANY CLOSE NET VOLUME NAME CHG TRADED

COMPANY CLOSE NET VOLUME NAME CHG TRADED

COMPANY CLOSE NET VOLUME NAME CHG TRADED

LONDON

27WEDNESDAY 21 MARCH 2018 BUSINESS VIEWS

Apple grabs two-year lead in 3D sensing raceSONAM RAI AND STEPHEN NELLIS/REUTERS

Most Android phones will have to wait until 2019 to duplicate the 3D

sensing feature behind Apple’s Face ID security, three major parts producers have told Reuters, handicapping Samsung and others on a technology that is set to be worth billions in revenue over the next few years.

The development of new fea-tures for the estimated 1.5 billion smart phones shipped annually has been at the heart of the battle for global market share over the past decade, with Apple, bol-stered by its huge R&D budget, often leading.

When the iPhone 5S launched with a fingerprint-sensing home button in Sep-tember 2013, for example, it took its biggest rival Samsung until just April of the next year to deliver its own in the Galaxy S5, with others following soon after.

The 3D sensing technology is expected to enhance the next generation of phones, enabling accurate facial recognition as well as secure biometrics for payments, gesture sensing, and immersive shopping and gaming experiences.

Tech research house Gartner predicts that by 2021, 40 percent of smartphones will be equipped with 3D cameras, which can also be used for so-called augmented reality, or AR, in which digital objects cling tightly to images of the real world.

“This kind of functionality is going to be very important for AR,” said Gartner analyst Jon Erensen. “I think that is some-thing where you don’t want to get left behind.” According to parts manufacturers Viavi Solu-tions Inc, Finisar Corp and Ams AG, bottlenecks on key parts will mean mass adoption of 3D sensing will not happen until next year, disappointing earlier expectations.

That means that China’s Huawei, Xiaomi and others could be a total of almost two years behind Apple, which launched Face ID with its iPhone X anni-versary phone last September.

In particular, Android pro-ducers are struggling to source vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers, or VCSELs, a core part of Apple’s Face ID hardware.

“It is going to take them a lot of time, the Android-based cus-tomers, to secure capacity throughout the whole supply chain,” said Bill Ong, senior director of investor relations from Viavi, seen as the only

major supplier of optical filters needed for the 3D sensing modules.

“We may have a potential introduction of a second handset maker into 3D sensing at the end of this calendar year. (But) the volumes would be very low. In 2019 you clearly will see at least two or more android-based phones,” he added.

Ong declined to name the company that might launch an Android phone with 3D face rec-ognition this year but said that Viavi was in talks with all the major smart phone makers to supply the filters.

Some Android phones with 3D sensing capabilities have hit the market in small numbers, such as the Asus ZenFone AR released last year, but those models didn’t use the sensors for

facial recognition like the iPhone X does.

Apple, Huawei and Xiaomi all declined to comment, as did Samsung, whose current phones use a standard camera for facial recognition.

FIREPOWER Apple’s effort to get ahead with the technology is the latest evidence of an aggressive approach by the Cupertino-based company to making the most of the techno-logical advances its financial fire-power can deliver.

The iPhone maker’s $390m deal in December to secure sup-plies from VCSEL-maker Finisar was one such move. Another is Apple’s discussions with major cobalt producers to nail down supplies for lithium-ion rechargeable batteries that power its mobile phones.

“Apple is always very focused on its supply chain,” says Gartner’s Erensen. “When it comes to new technologies like this and implementing them to new phones, it’s one of the ways that Apple can really can be aggressive, differentiate and take advantage of the position they have in the market.” Several sector analysts say their channel checks show Apple was initially sourcing VCSELs chiefly from California-based Lumentum and that bottlenecks in production there last year also spurred the $390m deal with Finisar.

Lumentum, which declined to comment, is ramping up

additional manufacturing capacity for VCSELs and edge-emitting lasers for the first half of fiscal 2019, according to the company’s earnings call.

It will also be helped by the purchase this week of another optical components producer Oclaro Inc. Finisar too, expects to expand in 2019.

All of that, however, still leaves the major Android pro-ducers searching for their own supplies of VCSELs.

Craig Thompson, vice pres-ident of new markets at Finisar, says interest in the technology is universal across the sector.

“Each customer has their own adoption timeline and rollout plan, which we can’t discuss, but we expect the market opportunity for VCSEL tech-nology to increase substantially in 2019,” he says.

Another producer, Austria-based Ams, also expects to have VCSEL chips widely available next year and says it has won a large deal with one phone maker.

“As part of a combined external and internal VCSEL supply chain where an external volume production supply chain is available to us, we are cur-rently building internal VCSEL production capacity in Sin-gapore,” Moritz Gmeiner, head of investor relations for AMS, told Reuters.

“I expect this capacity to be available for mass production next year.”

Apple Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing, Phil Schiller, introduces the iPhone x during a launch event in Cupertino, California, US, on September 12, 2017.

Funds trim bullish oil positions, but no rush for exit

JOHN KEMP REUTERS

Hedge funds continue to turn more cautious on the outlook for oil prices, but the liqui-dation of former bullish positions is very

gradual, suggesting most see price risks close to balance.

Hedge funds and other money managers cut their net long position in the six most important futures and options contracts linked to petroleum prices by 23 million barrels in the week to March 13.

Funds have trimmed their net long position in six of the last seven weeks by a total of 268 million barrels, according to position records published by regulators and exchanges.

But managers still hold a net long position across the petroleum complex that is 906 million barrels higher than at the end of June 2017 (http://tmsnrt.rs/2HKextT).

The entire adjustment has come from the bullish side of the market, with long positions cut by 277 million barrels since Jan. 23. Bearish short positions have actually declined by 10 million barrels in the same period.

Long positions in Brent, NYMEX and ICE WTI, U.S. gasoline, US heating oil and European gasoil total 1,347 million barrels compared with just 131 million barrels of short positions.

As a result, long posi-tions outnumber short ones by a ratio of more than 10:1, not far below the record ratio of 12:1 set almost two months ago.

The liquidation of bullish positions shows no sign of accelerating. There are no signs of significant fresh short selling. And the hedge fund positioning remains exceptionally lopsided.

Fund managers have become slightly more cautious about the prospect of a further increase in oil prices following the strong rally between June and January, but few are willing to bet prices will drop back much.

The fund community still expects oil prices to rise further, but it has inevitably and logically become slightly less bullish given prices have risen by more than $20 (almost 50 percent) already.

Fund positioning in the oil market continues to look stretched and remains a source of consid-erable downside price risk if and when portfolio managers try to realise more of their profits.

But the fact liquidation has so far been gradual, there has been no rush for the exit, and prices have remained steady, have given bullish managers more resilience and confidence.

Prices appear capped on the upside by the threat of increasing output from US shale pro-ducers, but supported from below by strong con-sumption growth and Opec’s determination to continue cutting inventories.

For now, traders seem comfortable with prices moving in a relatively narrow range around $65 per barrel for Brent, which is contributing to the fall in volatility to its lowest level since 2012-2014.

How dotcom survivors built a $950m startup in IndiaSARITHA RAI BLOOMBERG

BENGALURU: Tech startups are typically founded by young entre-preneurs with more passion than experience. This is as true in India as it is in Silicon Valley. Then there’s Bigbasket, whose founders are veterans of the dotcom bust and mostly north of 50. Drawing on their successes and failures, they’ve turned their six-year-old startup into India’s biggest e-grocer and are taking on a host of competitors, including Amazon and brick-and-mortar chains operated by the nation’s biggest conglomerates.

Bangalore-based Bigbasket delivers everyday cooking essen-tials like ghee (clarified butter), diced coconut and fragrant basmati rice, as well as 18,000 other items from bread to laundry detergent to eight million cus-tomers in 25 Indian cities. It’s mostly targeting upwardly mobile young Indians keen to avoid

traffic and the drudgery of super-market runs. Last month, Big-basket raised $300m in an Alibaba-led round that valued the grocer at $950 million-just shy of unicorn status.

In a country where groceries account for half of the almost $1 trillion retail market, Bigbasket is using knowledge learned the hard way during the dotcom era (don’t expand too quickly or use discounts to acquire shoppers) and latter-day innovation (putting vending machines inside apartment buildings; building a supply chain of competitively priced organic produce).

“We want customers to get hooked, and make our service harder to replicate,” says Hari Menon, 56, co-founder and chief executive officer. He, along with V.S. Sudhakar (58), Vipul Parekh (53), Abhinay Choudhari (47) and VS Ramesh (62), founded Big-basket parent Supermarket Grocery Supplies Pvt, in December 2011 in a nondescript

building in Bangalore’s humming Indiranagar neighborhood.

Bigbasket’s founders had their first brush with e-commerce back in 1999 when they started Fabmart.com to sell books, toys and groceries online. “Those were the dial-up days, there were no payment gateways, and the internet user base was more hype than reality,” recalls co-founder Sudhakar, standing in a Bigbasket warehouse where women shake soil from mounds of vegetables before packing them into ready-to-ship bundles. “Back then, it’d take 50 seconds for a page to download.” It didn’t take the men long to realize that the world-let alone India-wasn’t quite ready for online shopping, and they pivoted to physical stores under the name Fabmall. They soon merged with a brick & mortar grocery chain before getting acquired by another conglom-erate. By 2006, the founders had sold out and begun angel investing.

In 2011, they were approached to regroup for an online grocery. Plenty of people told them to stay away from per-ishable produce in a country so obsessed with freshness that shoppers surreptitiously break okra tips and sink their finger-nails into cucumbers. The founders pressed on all the same.

But their timing was propi-tious: smartphones were prolif-erating, broadband was becoming affordable, and online payments were in place. Even so, when they pitched the concept, venture firms kept bringing up Webvan, the Bay Area e-grocer that famously flamed out in 2001. The founders revised their pitch to make clear that enough had changed to make the venture viable, and eventually persuaded private equity investor Ascent Capital to put up $10 million.

Delivering fresh food is chal-lenging everywhere, but India presents steeper obstacles. The country lacks a cooling

infrastructure-walk-in freezers, chill rooms, refrigerated trucks and so on. That precluded Big-basket from buying produce directly from farms. So for the first year, every morning at 3:30, the founders visited a riotous wholesale fruits and vegetable market to buy produce, then picked up other items from a wholesaler. Eventually, Bigbasket put together its own refrigerated warehouses and a fleet of trucks. These moves let the company source the food more cheaply and eventually in 2016 led them to launch Express, a 90-minute delivery service for milk, eggs, bread and emergency supplies.

By investing in “the dysfunc-tional food and grocery supply chain,” says Arvind Singhal, chairman of retail consultancy Technopak Advisors, “Bigbasket’s managed to get a head start.” Still, there was a lot of competition, including LocalBanya, Sequoia-backed PepperTap and SoftBank-funded Grofers.

Hedge funds and other money managers cut their net long position in the six most important futures and options contracts linked to petroleum prices by 23 million barrels in the week to March 13.

The 3D sensing technology is expected to enhance the next generation of phones, enabling accurate facial recognition as well as secure biometrics for payments, gesture sensing, and immersive shopping and gaming experiences.

Delivering fresh food is challenging everywhere, but India presents steeper obstacles. The country lacks a cooling infrastructure-walk-in freezers, chill rooms, refrigerated trucks and so on. That precluded Bigbasket from buying produce directly from farms.

28 WEDNESDAY 21 MARCH 2018

INsightback to BUSINESS

CAPITALCOMMENT

Smartphones are damaging this generation’s mental healthTHE PENINSULA

DOHA: Around 2012, some-thing started going wrong in the lives of teens.

In just the five years between 2010 and 2015, the number of US teens who felt useless and joyless – classic symptoms of depression – surged 33 percent in large national surveys. Teen suicide attempts increased 23 percent. Even more troubling, the number of 13- to 18-year-olds who committed suicide jumped 31 percent.

In a new paper published in Clinical Psychological Science, my colleagues and I found that the increases in depression, suicide attempts and suicide appeared among teens from every background – more privileged and less privileged, across all races and ethnicities and in every region of the country. All told, our analysis found that the gener-ation of teens I call “iGen” – those born after 1995 – is much more likely to experience mental health issues than their millennial predecessors.

What happened so that so many more teens, in such a short period of time, would feel depressed, attempt suicide and commit suicide? After scouring several large surveys of teens for clues, I found that all of the possibilities traced back to a major change in teens’ lives: the sudden ascendance of the smartphone.

All signs point to the screen Because the years between

2010 to 2015 were a period of steady economic growth and falling unemployment, it’s unlikely that economic malaise was a factor. Income inequality was (and still is) an issue, but it didn’t suddenly appear in the early 2010s: This gap between the rich and poor had been widening for decades. We found that the time teens spent on homework barely budged between 2010 and 2015, effec-tively ruling out academic pressure as a cause.

However, according to the Pew Research Center, smart-phone ownership crossed the 50 percent threshold in late 2012 – right when teen depression and suicide began to increase. By 2015, 73 percent of teens had access to a smartphone.

Not only did smartphone use and depression increase in tandem, but time spent online was linked to mental health issues across two different data sets. We found that teens who spent five or more hours a day

online were 71 percent more likely than those who spent only one hour a day to have at least one suicide risk factor (depression, thinking about suicide, making a suicide plan or attempting suicide). Overall, suicide risk factors rose signif-icantly after two or more hours a day of time online.

Of course, it’s possible that instead of time online causing depression, depression causes more time online. But three other studies show that is unlikely (at least, when viewed through social media use).

Two followed people over time, with both studies finding that spending more time on social media led to unhap-piness, while unhappiness did not lead to more social media use. A thirdrandomly assigned participants to give up Facebook for a week versus continuing their usual use. Those who avoided Facebook reported feeling less depressed at the end of the week.

The argument that depression might cause people to spend more time online doesn’t also explain why depression increased so sud-denly after 2012.

What’s lost when we’re plugged in Even if online time doesn’t directly harm mental health, it could still adversely affect it in indirect ways, espe-cially if time online crowds out time for other activities.

For example, while con-ducting research for my book on iGen, I found that teens now spend much less time

interacting with their friends in person. Interacting with people face to face is one of the deepest wellsprings of human happiness; without it, our moods start to suffer and depression often follows. Feeling socially isolated is also one of the major risk factors for suicide. We found that teens who spent more time than average online and less time than average with friends in person were the most likely to be depressed.

Teens are also sleeping less, and teens who spend more time on their phones are more likely to not be getting enough sleep. Not sleeping enough is a major risk factor for depression, so if smartphones are causing less sleep, that alone could explain why depression and suicide increased so suddenly.

Depression and suicide have many causes: Genetic pre-disposition, family environ-ments, bullying and trauma can all play a role. Some teens would experience mental health problems no matter what era they lived in.

But some vulnerable teens who would otherwise not have had mental health issues may have slipped into depression due to too much screen time, not enough face-to-face social

(Written by Jean Twenge, Professor of Psychology, San Diego State University This article was published by World Eco-nomic Forum in collaboration with ‘The Conversation.’)

Privacy issues emerge as major business risk for FacebookSAN FRANCISCO/REUTERS

Facebook faces substantial business risks from new European Union privacy rules set to take effect in May, a looming reality that came into stark relief over the

weekend with revelations that a controversial political con-sulting firm had improperly obtained personal data on 50 million Facebook users.

Privacy experts said the disclosure that a researcher had sold Facebook data collected via a personality quiz to the con-sulting firm Cambridge Analytica is a prime example of the kinds of practices that the new General Data Protection Regu-lation, or GDPR, is supposed to prevent or punish.

The danger faced by Facebook going forward is two-fold: Complying with the rules means letting European users opt out of the highly targeted online ads that have made Facebook a money machine. Violating GDPR mandates could subject the California company to fines of up to 4 percent of annual revenues.

Had the Cambridge Analytica incident happened after GDPR becomes law on May 25, it “would have cost Facebook 4 percent of their global revenue”, said Austrian privacy cam-paigner and Facebook critic Max Schrems. Because a UK company was involved and because at least some of the people whose data was misused were almost certainly European, GDPR would have applied.

Shares in Facebook fell on Monday by 7 percent, their biggest drop since 2014, wiping nearly $40 billion off the value of the firm founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg.

Schrems first raised concerns in 2011 about how easy it would be for third-party apps to harvest data from the unwitting friends of Facebook users. Facebook says it has tightened its controls on such practices since it dis-covered the alleged abuses by Cam-bridge Analytica in 2015.

Schrems has founded a non-profit, called None Of Your Business (NOYB), that is hiring lawyers and exploring avenues for “strategic litigation” over GDPR privacy violations.

According to whistleblower Chris-topher Wylie, who formerly worked with Cambridge Analytica, the con-sulting firm used the data to help then-U.S. presidential candidate Donald

Trump to predict and influence choices at the ballot box.“The fact of the matter is that Facebook lost control of the

data and wasn’t adequately monitoring what third-parties were doing,” said Scott Vernick, a partner and an expert in privacy and data security at the Philadelphia law firm Fox Rothschild.

Vernick said the maximum GDPR fine could come into play in an incident like this because of the number of users affected and what appears to have been inadequate monitoring of third-party data practices.

Facebook said it changed its policies in 2014 to “to give much less data, especially about friends,” Facebook Vice President Andrew Bosworth said in a Facebook post on Monday.

“We conduct a robust review to identify potential policy vio-lations and to assess whether the app has a legitimate use for the data,” the company said on Monday. “We actually reject a signif-icant number of apps through this process.” Compliance with GDPR rules could cost Facebook a significant amount of money. Deutsche Bank analysts in January estimated that Facebook’s overall revenue could be lowered by 4 percent in a scenario in which 30 percent of EU users opt out of targeted ads, reducing the effectiveness and likely price of ads shown by 50 percent.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang

I hope both China and the US will act rationally, and

not be led by emotions, and avoid a trade war.

Gold edges lower ahead of Fed rate decisionREUTERS

LONDON: Gold prices edged lower yesterday as the dollar strengthened ahead of a meeting of the Federal Reserve at which the US central bank is expected to raise interest rates for the first time this year.

The looming Fed meeting has helped push gold down nearly 4 percent from a 1-1/2-year high in January. Higher interest rates are negative for gold because they raise bond yields, reducing the appeal of non-yielding bullion, and tend to boost the dollar, making gold more expensive for users of other currencies. Spot gold was down 0.3 percent at $1,312.97 an ounce

at 1002 GMT, while the dollar was slightly stronger against a basket of major currencies. US gold futures for April delivery were 0.4 percent lower at $1,312.50 an ounce.

“The market has fully priced in a rate hike,” Saxo Bank analyst Ole Hansen said. Investors were instead looking ahead to guidance on the pace of future rate increases, with the Fed likely to take a cautious approach that would help lift gold prices, he said. “With inflation not really picking up, rising geopolitical risk, trade wars looming and a flattening yield curve - this is not a backdrop that gives the Fed any urgent need to step up the speed of rate hikes.”

The danger faced by Facebook going forward is two-fold: Complying with the rules means letting European users opt out of the highly targeted online ads that have made Facebook a money machine.

In just the five years between 2010 and 2015, the number of US teens who felt useless and joyless – classic symptoms of depression – surged 33 percent in large national surveys. Teen suicide attempts increased 23 percent.