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| Angola LNG output at 20 pct capacity, full run end-2014-Sonangol Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 12:48 AM PDT By Shrikesh Laxmidas LUANDA (Reuters) - Angola LNG's output will fall short of design capacity through 2014 after upstream problems including a rig disaster forced it to bring forward new supplies from other blocks, a senior executive at state oil company Sonangol said on Tuesday. The $10 billion project is operated by U.S. oil major Chevron with a 36.4 percent shareholding, while Sonangol has a 22.8 percent stake. Other stakeholders include Total, BP and ENI. ... Full Story | Top |
| China official PMI seen hitting 18-month high in October Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 12:42 AM PDT  By Natalie Thomas BEIJING (Reuters) - China's manufacturing activity in October likely grew at its fastest rate since April 2012, a Reuters poll showed, adding to signs of a stabilization in the world's No.2 economy as the government readies a series of key economic reforms. The official manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) is forecast to reach 51.2 from September's 51.1, according to the median estimate of 11 economists, remaining well above the 50 point line separating expansion from contraction. ... Full Story | Top |
| Ailing broadcaster CME looks to Time Warner for capital boost Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 12:41 AM PDT PRAGUE (Reuters) - Lossmaking broadcaster Central European Media Enterprises (CME) said on Wednesday it needed more money to stay afloat and was trying to secure extra financing from its main shareholder, Time Warner. CME, which has been battling a slumping advertising market in central and eastern Europe, said it no longer expected to make a core profit this year, blaming a weaker outlook in its Czech and Slovak markets. ... Full Story | Top |
| Africa's Ecobank chairman to stand down after governance allegations Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 12:40 AM PDT LAGOS/ACCRA (Reuters) - Pan-African lender Ecobank (ETI) said on Wednesday its chairman Kolapo Lawson will stand down with immediate effect, in a bid to restore confidence in a bank rocked by governance issues. Ecobank has seen its image take a hit from allegations by suspended head of finance Laurence do Rego that she was asked to misstate 2012 results and that assets were being unnecessarily sold at a loss. Nigeria's security and exchange commission is investigating the allegations, which Ecobank denies, although its chief executive has said transparency could be improved. ... Full Story | Top |
| African Barrick to beat output target, cost cutting on track Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 12:39 AM PDT LONDON (Reuters) - Tanzania-focused miner African Barrick Gold said it would exceed its annual production target and was on track with a cost cutting plan, giving hope that the company's new boss is starting to turn the company around. The FTSE 250 company, whose poor performance meant it was under pressure even before a gold price rout began in April, said it would beat the upper end of its 600,000 ounce production range. It had said in July that output would be at the upper end of the 540,000 to 600,000 ounce guidance. ... Full Story | Top |
| Eni cuts full-year output guidance on Libya, Nigeria Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 12:39 AM PDT  MILAN (Reuters) - Italian oil and gas group Eni cut its production outlook for the year on Wednesday because of problems in Libya and Nigeria. In a statement, state-controlled Eni said major start-ups in Kazakhstan, Algeria and Angola would not be enough to offset the impact of factors in the two African countries. Eni, the largest foreign major in Libya and Africa, had previously guided investors to expect production in 2013 to be in line with the previous year. Chief Executive Paolo Scaroni also said the group would launch a share buyback programme worth up to 6 billion euros in coming ... Full Story | Top |
| Freed French hostages leave Niger after 3 years in Sahara Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 12:22 AM PDT NIAMEY (Reuters) - Four Frenchmen held hostage in the Sahara desert by al Qaeda-linked gunmen for three years left Niger on a French government plane on Wednesday morning. The men, who were kidnapped in 2010 while working for French nuclear group Areva and a subsidiary of construction group Vinci in northern Niger, were freed on Tuesday after secret talks. A Reuters correspondent at Niamey airport said the four men boarded the jet with two French ministers, including Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, dispatched to pick them up. "I am very happy. ... Full Story | Top |
| Tough market forces Rio to shut Madagascar operations Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 12:12 AM PDT LONDON (Reuters) - Global miner Rio Tinto will shut its mineral sands mining operations in Madagascar for two months from the start of November, blaming poor market conditions and a global inventory build-up. Rio's Madagascar operations produce ilmenite, a primary source of titanium dioxide, a pigment which reflects and scatters light and is used in paint, plastics, sunscreen and toothpaste. Rio is the largest producer of titanium dioxide feedstocks, but like its smaller rivals, has been hit by weak prices and demand, dampened by high inventory volumes. ... Full Story | Top |
| A perpetual rough: sand, shells, "browns" of Libyan golf Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 12:12 AM PDT  By Marie-Louise Gumuchian TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Among the rubbish-strewn bushes and occasional bullet shells on the rocky ground, nine flimsy flags flapping in the breeze mark the holes of a golf course along Tripoli's Mediterranean coast. The occasional volley of automatic rifle fire in the distance is yet another of the unique "hazards", and a reminder of the chaos that still reigns in many parts of Libya. The course is mostly empty except for a few workers building what one day may become a clubhouse and a dog sniffing discarded water bottles, fish bones and trash peppering the fairway. ... Full Story | Top |
| Top Kenya tea prices fall for fifth straight week Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 12:06 AM PDT  NAIROBI (Reuters) - The average price of top Kenyan tea weakened for a fifth straight week to $3.63 per kilogramme from $3.74 at last week's sale, traders said on Tuesday. The east African nation is the world's largest exporter of black tea, an important source of its foreign exchange. Africa Tea Brokers (ATB) said in a market report the Best Broke Pekoe Ones (BP1s) fetched $2.67-$4.58 per kg, from $2.65-$4.82 per kg attained at last week's sale. Brighter Pekoe Fanning Ones (PF1s) sold at $1.96-$2.54 per kg, compared with $2.00-$2.68 per kg at the last auction. ATB said 21. ... Full Story | Top |
| Twitter goes for more eye-catching look Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 12:05 AM PDT  By Gerry Shih SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Twitter was born in 2006 as a stream of SMS text messages. Before going public in 2013, it's now reveling in images. The company tweaked its design Tuesday to favor image- and video-sharing by showing visual media directly within the Twitter timeline. Users previously had to click on a tweet to view the embedded multimedia. ... Full Story | Top |
| Despite low rating, Myanmar business climate improving Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 12:03 AM PDT By Pairat Temphairojana BANGKOK (Reuters) - For a country rolling out economic reforms at a startling pace, Myanmar's lowly ranking among the likes of Eritrea and Chad for ease of doing business might set off alarm bells for would-be foreign investors. The good news for firms seeking to tap the country's natural resources, tourism potential and urgent infrastructure needs is Myanmar is making progress in preventing the rampant graft, bureaucracy and cronyism that under military rule made it one of the world's riskiest places to do business, according to the International Finance Corp (IFC), the private-sector arm of the World Bank. Myanmar's inaugural ranking of 182 from 189 countries covered in the World Bank's annual Doing Business report on Tuesday should not be taken at face value, said Charles Schneider, the resident IFC representative in Yangon. Since replacing a military regime in March 2011, Myanmar's quasi-civilian government has introduced a wave of economic, political and social reforms, which convinced Western countries to restart development aid and suspend most of the sanctions that for two decades prohibited trade and investment. Full Story | Top |
| Guinness Ghana net profits tumble 96 pct in 3 months to September Wednesday, Oct 30, 2013 12:00 AM PDT  ACCRA (Reuters) - Guinness Ghana Breweries Limited said on Tuesday that its net profit for the three months to September 2013 fell by 96 percent to 177,000 cedis from 4.6 million cedis in the same quarter last year. The company did not give any reason for the drop in earnings in its filing with the Ghana Stock Exchange. Net turnover dropped slightly by 2 percent to 66.038 million cedis from 67.273 million cedis. Full Story | Top |
| South Africa's rand, bonds steady ahead of Fed, mining tensions a worry Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 11:57 PM PDT  JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The rand steadied against the dollar early on Wednesday, trading at mid-October levels while investors waited for a Federal Reserve interest rate decision to set the tone for the rest of the week. South Africa's currency was at 9.8825 to the dollar at 0637 GMT, not far off a 9.8945 close in New York on Tuesday. The local unit, last at these levels against the dollar on October 16, is under pressure as the U.S. currency enjoys a reprieve from selling last week. The U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
| Taiwan says Hon Hai among six winners of 4G licenses Tuesday, Oct 29, 2013 11:54 PM PDT TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan's National Communications Commission (NCC) said on Wednesday six companies would pay T$118.65 billion ($4.03 billion), more than triple the original offer price, for 12 domestic fourth-generation (4G) mobile spectrum licenses as the bidders try to seize market share in the high-margin business. The world's largest electronics assembler, Hon Hai Precision Industry, won two licenses as it seeks diversify beyond its traditional contract manufacturing business. ... Full Story | Top |
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