The Latest: Suspect arrested in Georgia officer shooting

CEDARTOWN, Ga. (AP) - The Latest on the shooting of two police officers in Georgia (all times local):

5:50 p.m.

Authorities say they have captured a man they say shot two Georgia police officers, killing one of them.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Vernon Keenan said Friday that Seth Brandon Spangler surrendered to officers following a manhunt in Polk County, about 60 miles (95 kms) northwest of Atlanta.

Spangler faces charges of murder and aggravated assault in the slaying of 29-year-old Polk County police Officer Kristin Hearne and shooting of Officer David Goodrich.

Police say Goodrich was responding to a stolen vehicle call around 11 a.m. Friday, and Hearne came as backup. Keenan said Spangler and a woman they identified as Samantha Roof came out of the woods and were acting suspiciously when questioned by officers. Keenan said Spangler then drew a gun and shot the officers.

Spangler surrendered to officers several hours later after a manhunt. He wasn't wearing any clothes when he was arrested.

Keenan said Roof will also face charges.

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2:45 p.m.

A county official in Georgia says one police officer is dead and another wounded after they were shot while approaching a stolen car.

Barry Atkison is an assistant county manager for Polk County in northwest Georgia. He said two suspects have been arrested in the Friday shootings and a third was still being sought by police.

Atkison said the officers were responding to a call about a suspicious vehicle that had been reported stolen to police. He said one officer had called the other to serve as backup and both were shot as they approached the vehicle.

Atkison said the wounded officer was shot in the chest, but seemed to have only a minor injury as the bullet struck the officer's protective vest.

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1:52 p.m.

Authorities say a Georgia police officer has been shot.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a brief statement that the shooting happened Friday in Polk County, about 60 miles (95 kms) northwest of Atlanta.

Spanish court orders Google to delete app used for Catalan independence vote

MADRID, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Catalonia's High Court on Friday ordered Google to delete an application that it said Catalan separatists were using to spread information about a disputed independence vote this Sunday.

The court said the "On Votar 1-Oct" application on the Google Play smartphone app store opposed an order in September from Spain's Constitutional Court to suspend the referendum while it determined its legality.

The court also ordered Google to block any future applications developed by the gmail address "Onvotar1oct@gmail.com", according to a written ruling. Nobody at Google in Spain was immediately available to comment.

Catalonia's government said on Friday it was determined to go ahead with the vote which Spain's government calls illegal.

The Latest: Officials say 22 dead, 32 hurt in India stampede

MUMBAI, India (AP) - The Latest on a stampede at a Mumbai train station (all times local):

2:40 p.m.

Police have increased their count of the number of people injured in a deadly stampede on a crowded Mumbai pedestrian bridge to 32.

Officer Rajaram Patel says nearby hospitals are treating the 19 women and 13 men for their injuries.

Authorities are investigating what caused the stampede on a raised staircase of a pedestrian bridge linking two commuter railway stations in India's west-coast financial capital.

Indian broadcasters showed images of some people leaping over the railing to escape the crush, while others were crushed in the melee or fell underfoot and were trampled.

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1:20 p.m.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed his condolences to the families of people who died in a stampede in India.

Authorities have said 22 people were killed in the crash and 27 were injured. Mumbai police appealed to citizens to donate blood to help the injured.

Modi tweeted, "Prayers with those who are injured."

The crush occurred on a pedestrian bridge between two railway stations. People were crowding under the bridge's canopy in heavy rain, and falling concrete apparently made people surge forward in fear the bridge would collapse.

Railways Minister Piyush Goyal said the incident was being investigated.

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12:45 p.m.

An Indian railways official says the toll from a stampede in Mumbai has risen to 22 dead.

Junior Railway Minister Manoj Sinha says another 27 were injured in the stampede that started on a pedestrian bridge during the Friday morning rush.

The stampede broke out on the bridge connecting two railway stations. People started surging to escape when concrete falling onto the railing made them think the bridge would collapse.

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noon

Police at least 21 people have been killed in a stampede at a railway station in the west-coast Indian city of Mumbai.

City police officer Rajaram Patel says another 20 people were injured when panicked pedestrians pushed forward to the end of an overcrowded bridge, with some people falling underfoot and being trampled.

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11:45 a.m.

Police say a stampede at a Mumbai local train station has seriously injured at least 20 people amid heavy rains in the morning rush hours.

Police said the stampede was triggered by a rumor that a pedestrian overpass collapsed after concrete chunks fell. Chaos prevailed as people surged forward to leave the bridge.

Paramedics have taken the injured to a hospital, the police control room said.

Deadly stampedes are fairly common during Indian religious festivals, where large crowds gather in small areas with few safety or crowd control measures.

VW’s dieselgate bill hits $30 bln after another charge

Volkswagen is taking another $3 billion charge to fix diesel engines in the United States, lifting the total bill for its emissions test cheating scandal to around $30 billion.

Shares in the German car-maker fell as much as 3 percent on Friday, as traders and analysts expressed dismay the company was still booking charges two years after the scandal broke.

“This is yet another unexpected and unwelcome announcement from VW, not only from an earnings and cash flow perspective but also with respect to the credibility of management,” said Evercore ISI analyst Arndt Ellinghorst.

Europe’s biggest automaker admitted in September 2015 it had used illegal software to cheat U.S. diesel emissions tests, sparking the biggest business crisis in its 80 year history. Before Friday, it had set aside 22.6 billion euros ($26.7 billion) to cover costs such as fines and vehicle refits.

On Friday, it said hardware fixes were proving tougher than expected, as it booked an additional 2.5 billion euro provision.

“We have to do more with the hardware,” a VW spokesman said, adding U.S. customers were having to wait longer for their cars to be repaired.

The news relates to the programme to buy back or fix up to 475,000 2 litre diesel cars.



In Europe, where only a software update is required for the 8.5 million affected cars, besides a minor component integration for about 3 million of those, fixes are running smoothly, the spokesman added.

The additional provision will be reflected in third-quarter results due on Oct. 27, VW said.

Ellinghorst, who has an “outperform” rating on VW shares, expects the company to report third-quarter group earnings before tax and interest of 4.04 billion euros.

“You have to ask if this is a bottomless pit,” said one Frankfurt-based trader of the U.S. charges.

At 1040 GMT, VW shares were down 1.8 percent at 135.85 euros. They fell as low as 86.36 euros in the immediate aftermath of the cheating revelations, and are still trading below pre-scandal levels at over 160 euros.

Asked why VW did not see the problem sooner, the spokesman said it had made provisions based on what it expected at the time.

“It has now become clear that we need to do more,” he said.

VW said in September 2015 that around 11 million vehicles worldwide could be fitted with software capable of cheating emissions tests.

Porsche SE, which owns a 30.8 percent stake in VW, said the new provision would also affect its results, but stuck to the wide range for its expected 2017 post-tax profit of 2.1-3.1 billion euros.

Munich prosecutors have arrested a former board member of Porsche in connection with the emissions scandal at VW’s premium brand Audi, a person familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

Audi admitted in November 2015, two months after parent VW’s emissions scandal broke, that its 3.0 litre V6 diesel engines were fitted with an auxiliary control device deemed illegal in the United States.

Reuters

Capital Market scam: Top officials of BGL arraigned

Top officials of BGL Group were on Thursday arraigned before the Chief Magistrate Court, Zone 6, Abuja on charges of criminal conspiracy, breach of trust and cheating.

Those arraigned included the Deputy Managing Director of the Company, Chibundu Edozie, who was docked along with three other accused for allegedly conspiring with some other staff of BGL to commit the offences against the investing public.

The Managing Director of the company, Albert Okumagba, was not in court and was not represented.

They were arraigned pursuant to a petition filed by Mahmoud Usman, Ann Orsule, Sylvanus Ghasarah, Eno Efanga, UN Staff Thrift Credit Cooperative Society of Anambra State (Abuja office) and Adejoke Atte, among others against them before the Securities and Exchange Commission.

However, Mr. Edozie was granted bail in the sum of N1million, with one surety in the like sum who should not be less than a Level 12 officer and resident in Abuja.

Following the arraignment, Chief Magistrate Chinyere Nwecheonwu adjourned the hearing to November 6.

In exercising its regulatory responsibility in the capital market as enshrined in the Investment and Securities Act, ISA, the SEC, through its Administrative Proceedings Committee, APC in May 2016 banned Mr. Okumagba, BGL Managing Director and his deputy, Mr Edozie, from participating in capital market activities for 20 years.

The commission also ordered Mr. Okumugba’s companies to refund to investors over N2 billion for market infractions contrary to Sections 96, 312, 322 and 323 of the Penal Code Law, Chapter 89.

The ban followed complaints by investors against Mr. Okumagba and his company over failure, refusal and or/neglect to liquidate their investments in both the Guaranteed Consolidated dated notes and Guaranteed Premium Notes, among others.

The SEC in a bid to obtain justice for the complainants and grant all parties fair hearing, presented the matter before its APC, which sat and decided on the matter.

“During the proceedings testimonies and documentary evidence were tendered by various parties and upon conclusion of the proceedings its APC arrived at a decision which has been approved by the relevant authority,” SEC stated.

The APC decided that by their actions and/or omissions BGL Securities Ltd, BGL Asset Management Ltd., Messrs. Okumagba, Edozie and other respondents engaged in acts capable of adversely affecting investors’ confidence in the capital market.

Besides, the APC decided that the registration of BGL Securities and BGL Assets Management be cancelled, while Messrs. Okumagba and Edozien be banned from capital market operations for a period of 20 years.

It stated further that the two companies would also pay a fine of N25 million for breaching Rule 1(iii) of the Code of Conduct for capital market operators.

Also banned were Peter Adebola and Ashley Osuzoka for five and four years respectively.

The APC also imposed fines of N100,000 each on the culprits, for breach of the code of conduct for capital market operators and their employees, in addition to an order on the companies to refund N24.03 million to the National Open University Staff Cooperative Multipurpose Society.

Others sanctioned included Ande Ewubare, Victor Inyang, Hilary Eludu, Ehime Alofoje, and Ofem Omni, who were banned for two years and fined N100,000 each, while Nkechi Azubike, Adekunle Alli, Mohan Lalchandani, Anthony Nwozor and Oluwo Oluwale, who were banned for one year and fined N100,000 each.

China's C919 jet could do third test flight "within days" - executive

SHANGHAI, Sept 29 (Reuters) - China's domestically-developed C919 passenger jet is likely to take its third test flight within days or up to two weeks, a senior Commercial Aircraft Corp of China Ltd (COMAC) executive told reporters on Friday.

The narrow-body C919, which will compete with Boeing Co's 737 and the Airbus SE A320, completed its second test flight on Thursday, almost five months after its maiden flight earlier this year in May.

Shi Jianzhong, COMAC Vice President, said a number of issues relating to the plane's technology and its engine had led to the lengthy gap between the C919's first and second flight.

"We were being cautious," he said, speaking at an event to announce the naming of a separate wide-body jet being developed by China and Russia, which will be called the CR929.

Twitter briefs U.S. congressional investigators probing alleged Russia role in election

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) - Twitter officials on Thursday briefed U.S. congressional investigators probing how Russian-backed internet trolls, bots and targeted ads may have been used on the microblogging site to influence last year's election.

Colin Crowell, Twitter's vice president of public policy, was among company representatives who met behind closed doors with Senate Intelligence Committee aides.

The company, which has been criticized as being too lax in policing fake or abusive accounts, was also expected to brief the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee on Thursday, according to committee sources. Both panels are investigating the scope of alleged Kremlin interference in the U.S. election, a charge Moscow has denied.

Twitter did not respond when asked about the briefings.

The intelligence committees on Wednesday asked executives from technology companies including Facebook, Alphabet Inc's Google and Twitter, to testify at a public hearing on Nov. 1 about alleged Russian interference.

The pressure on the companies reflects growing concern among lawmakers in both parties that social networks may have played a key role in Moscow's attempts to spread disinformation and propaganda to sow political discord in the United States and help elect President Donald Trump.

Facebook disclosed this month that suspected Russian trolls purchased more than $100,000 worth of divisive ads on its platform during the 2016 election cycle, a revelation that prompted calls from some Democrats for new disclosure rules for online political ads.

Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, is leading efforts to introduce legislation requiring internet platforms to reveal who is purchasing online political ads, which would bring them in line with rules governing ads on radio or television.

Warner told reporters on Thursday he did not have a Republican co-sponsor for a draft measure he was circulating, but said he was confident there would be bipartisan interest.

He said his bill would have a "self-regulatory effect" on buyers of political ads because "if you're going to call someone something that is totally unfounded ... you would have to stand the scrutiny of actually being examined."

Warner said he had not yet received some 3,000 ads from Facebook suspected of being bought by Russia but that he expected they would be delivered on Friday or Monday.

Key U.S. senators announce deal on self-driving car legislation

Two key U.S. senators said late on Wednesday they had reached a bipartisan deal on sweeping legislation aimed at easing hurdles to getting self-driving cars to drivers.

U.S. Senator John Thune, a Republican who chairs the Commerce Committee, and Senator Gary Peters, a Michigan Democrat, said they reached a deal on the legislation that will be voted on by the committee on Oct. 4.

The pair said they planned to release the text on Thursday. Two sources briefed on the matter said the bill is not expected to include larger commercial trucks, which some Democrats and labor leaders had opposed including, but many Republicans wanted.

General Motors Co, Alphabet Inc, Ford Motor Co and others have lobbied for the legislation. A similar bill was unanimously passed by the U.S. House earlier this month. (Reuters)

Uber to shutter its U.S. auto-leasing business

Ride-hailing firm Uber Technologies Inc on Wednesday said it is shutting down its U.S. auto-leasing business.

"We have decided to stop operating Xchange Leasing and move toward a less capital-intensive approach," an Uber spokesperson told Reuters.

The Xchange Leasing business, which has about 40,000 vehicles and 14 showrooms in the United States, had attracted interest from buyers who were considering buying it outright, according to a Reuters report in August.

Gov. Ambode commissions ‘first state-owned DNA forensic centre in West Africa’

Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, on Wednesday commissioned what he described as the first state-owned DNA Forensic Centre in West Africa, saying the move would go a long way in resolving all forms of crimes, paternity issues and others issues through technology which is the modern trend across the world.

Governor Ambode said the completion and handing over of the centre, located at Odunlami Street in Lagos Island, was a significant milestone and a symbolic manifestation of his administration’s policies in reforming the justice sector and in line with his vision to make the State safe for residents and investors

He said the state government, with the completion of the centre, is joining other advanced countries of the world which had embraced technology to make life easier for people in all spheres of existence.

Mr. Ambode said, “From the domestic front to our places of work; from the way we learn, to doing business, the use of technology has become a way of life. You will therefore understand why our administration had no hesitation in approving this project which serves amongst other things, as an effective method of bringing perpetrators of crime to book and ensuring quick dispensation of justice.”

The governor recalled that from inception, his administration realised that security was key to good governance and sustainability of investment to make life better for the people.

He said that necessitated the heavy investment in security equipment, recruitment and training of security personnel to assist law enforcement agencies in the maintenance of public peace and security.

The interventions, Governor Ambode said, had translated into tremendous success by the reduction in crimes in the state, adding that the DNA Centre underlined the state government’s resolve to stay ahead of criminals through scientific-led investigations.

Giving details of the DNA Centre, the governor said the facility has capacity to provide the police, prosecutors, defence attorneys and private citizens with crime scene processing; serological screening for blood and semen; DNA analysis of bone, teeth and hair; maternal and paternal relationship DNA analysis; expert witness and case handling services; paternal and maternal ancestry DNA analysis; cold case file review and mass disaster human identification.

While assuring that the government would not rest on its oars in coming up with initiatives to secure the State, Governor Ambode said with the commissioning, the government would now move to the second stage of building additional capacity in the areas of Toxicology; Trace Evidence and Controlled Substance Analysis; Fingerprint and Latent prints; Firearms, Ballistics and Tool Marks; Digital Forensics; and Questioned Documents Examination.

According to him, “The development of these other forensic sections at the facility will complement the DNA forensic section and enhance the level of services offered today.

Before now, most, if not all DNA analyses and testings were performed outside Nigeria, a situation that caused longer turn-around times and an overall higher cost of bringing closure to a case.

“I am therefore convinced that the establishment of the Lagos DNA & Forensic Centre will improve the speed and quality of evidence collected to assist our Courts in the quick dispensation of justice. This centre is a definite boost for our administration’s Justice Sector reform programme. It shows that our covenant with Lagosians to create a safe and secure State is being kept,” Governor Ambode said.

In his welcome address, the State’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Adeniji Kazeem, said the centre would assist the state to have a reliable DNA database that would enable investigators and law enforcement officers identify crime patterns and suspects, and also help exonerate or convict suspects.

On his part, the Consul General of United States Embassy in Lagos, John Bray, congratulated Governor Ambode and the people of the State for successfully completing the building of “the first DNA Forensic Centre not only in Nigeria but in West Africa,” saying the development would enhance justice and progress.

Mr. Bray, who had worked as a law enforcement officer in United States for 25 years before being posted to Lagos, said the State Government deserved commendation for the foresight and vision to undertake such project as the DNA Forensic centre, adding that there was no question about the fact that the facility is of world class standard.

On his part, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonishakin, represented by Rear Admiral Lawal Modu Adams, said the centre was a significant milestone in the country’s fight against all forms of crime, including terrorism.

Also, Lagos State Acting Commissioner of Police, Imohimi Edgal, said the completion of the centre was another first by the Lagos State Government and one of the greatest moves by any state government towards boosting security and justice delivery.

He said with the opening of the centre, the State Police Command would now reopen unresolved high-profile cases hitherto frustrated by lack of solid evidence.

“I am perhaps the happiest person here today because this will enhance my job.

We have a lot of pending high profile cases that we have not resolved yet. These cases, we intend to revisit with this new centre coming on board,” Mr. Edgal said.

Saudi women rejoice at end of driving ban long backed by clerics

Saudi Arabian women awoke to news of a royal decree permitting them to drive starting next year - and some were already behind the wheel on Wednesday, even though licences will not be issued for nine months.

"Saudi Arabia will never be the same again. The rain begins with a single drop," Manal al-Sharif, who was arrested in 2011 after a driving protest, said in an online statement.

Online videos showed a handful of women driving cars overnight, after King Salman's decree was announced late on Tuesday.

"I wish I could translate my feelings right now. I feel like no one can understand it fully but us," said Abeer Alarjani, 32, who plans to start driving lessons this weekend.

"Now I'll finally dare to dream for more."

The move represents a big crack in the laws and social mores governing women in the conservative Muslim kingdom. The male guardianship system requires women to have a male relative's approval for decisions on education, employment, marriage, travel plans and even medical treatment.

Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, has been widely criticised for being the only remaining country to forbid women to drive.

King Salman's decree ends a conservative tradition seen by rights activists as an emblem of the country's suppression of women.

It is expected to boost the fortunes of 32-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has ascended to the heights of power in the kingdom in three short years with an ambitious domestic reform programme and assertive foreign policy.

A muted response from Saudi's powerful clergy, which has long backed the ban, suggested power shared between the Al Saud dynasty and the Wahhabi religious establishment could be shifting decisively in favour of the royals.

Many younger Saudis regard Crown Prince Mohammed's ascent as evidence that their generation is taking a central place in running a country whose patriarchal traditions have for decades made power the province of the old and blocked women´s progress.

Sharif, the activist, described the driving ban's removal as "just the start to end long-standing unjust laws (that) have always considered Saudi women minors who are not trusted to drive their own destiny."

DISSENT MUFFLED

The Saudi ambassador to Washington said on Tuesday women would not need their guardians' permission to get a licence, nor to have a guardian in the car when driving.

In a country where gender segregation has been strictly enforced for decades in keeping with the austere Wahhabi form of Sunni Islam, the decree means women will have regular contact with unrelated men, such as fellow drivers and traffic police.

Other rules have loosened recently, with the government sponsoring concerts deemed un-Islamic by the clergy, allowing women into a large sports stadium for the first time and permitting them to dance beside men in a central Riyadh street over the weekend.

Amnesty International welcomed the decree as "long overdue" but said there was still a range of discriminatory laws and practices that needed to be overturned.

That risks inflaming tensions with influential Wahhabi clerics with whom the ruling Al Saud has enjoyed a close strategic alliance since the kingdom's founding.

The state-backed Council of Religious Scholars expressed support for the driving decree. Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz Al al-Sheikh, who has repeatedly opposed women working and driving and said letting them into politics may mean "opening the door to evil", has yet to comment.

Some Islamist clerics are currently in detention in Saudi Arabia following an apparent crackdown on potential opponents of the kingdom´s rulers this month.

Bernard Haykel, professor of Near East studies at Princeton University, said the driving announcement may help explain those arrests.

"They might have raised a storm against the government by mobilising opposition in the name of religion. They have been stymied," he said.

Still, some men expressed outrage at the about-face by prominent clerics, who in the past have sometimes justified the driving ban by saying women's brains are too small or that driving endangered their ovaries.

"Whoever says this is permitted is a sinner. Women driving means great evils and this makes them especially sinful," one Riyadh-based Twitter user wrote.

"Where is the (Grand) Mufti?" said another. "Evil has come to Arabs."

Reuters

Yellen lifts dollar as markets await Trump tax plan

Growing expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will raise interest rates for the third time this year lifted the dollar on Wednesday, and European share prices rose as President Donald Trump's administration prepared to outline a new tax plan.

The dollar rose half a percent to a one-month high against a basket of currencies and yields on interest rate-sensitive two-year U.S. Treasury yields touched their highest since 2008 after Fed Chair Janet Yellen said on Tuesday it would be "imprudent" to keep rates on hold until U.S. inflation hit 2 percent.

Ten-year yields climbed seven basis points to an eight-week high of 2.30 percent, also pushed higher by the prospect of tax cuts that could increase federal borrowing, analysts said.

Wall Street looked set to open modestly higher, index futures showed.

Markets are pricing in a more than 80 percent chance the Fed will raise borrowing costs in December, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool, up from 72 percent a week ago. Several other senior Fed officials are scheduled to speak on Wednesday.

"Yellen's comments gave more certainty about another rate hike by the end of the year," said DZ Bank rates strategist Daniel Lenz.

"Further details of Trump's tax plans and whether this proceeds smoothly will be of interest -- it should be a boost to the economy and mean a generally higher bond yield environment."

On the eve of its unveiling, Trump said lawmakers should expect a "very, very powerful document" that would cut taxes "tremendously" for the middle class.

If passed, the plan would be Trump's first significant legislative win since taking office in January.

"The idea that Trump could be reaching across the aisle, talking about tax cuts to middle and low income households, if it comes to pass, we are talking a pretty material fiscal boost to the U.S. economy. This sort of easy fiscal policy is why the markets are reacting the way they have,” said Mark Dowding, co-head of investment grade at BlueBay Asset Management.

Anticipation of the long-awaited plan helped lift shares in Asia, while a weaker euro pushed European equities higher. A weaker currency is a boon to exporters.

An index of European banks rose 1.5 percent as the pan-European STOXX 600 share index rose 0.3 percent to a 10-week high.

Cyclical sectors that had surged on the prospect of "Trumpflation" resulting from the president's pro-growth campaign pledges were the day's top gainers, with miners up 0.9 percent.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dipped 0.1 percent.

Tokyo shares closed down 0.3 percent

In currency markets, the euro fell 0.4 percent to a one-month low below $1.1750. The single currency traded close to $1.21 earlier this month but was rattled by Sunday's German election, which brought the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party into parliament.

The yen fell 0.5 percent to 112.82 per dollar and sterling lost 0.3 percent to $1.3420 against the resurgent greenback, picking up from as low as $1.3363.

Euro zone government bond yields followed Treasury yields higher. German 10-year benchmark yields rose 6 basis points to 0.47 percent.



OIL AND METALS

Brent crude oil fell as much as 1 percent on the strong dollar and a report of a possible increase in Nigerian exports but held not far from Tuesday's 26-month high.

Brent, the international benchmark oil price, fell as far as $57.83 a barrel, having hit $59.49 on Tuesday.

Copper rose for the first day in six as traders closed positions before the quarter-end and a holiday in China. The industrial metal rose 1.1 percent to $6,485 a ton.

"You see not only that demand in China is doing well, but also that in the longer term demand will increase even more from other sectors, like the electric vehicle industry. At this stage the fundamentals are very supportive of stronger prices," ABN Amro analyst Casper Burgering said.

Gold dipped 0.2 percent to $1,291 an ounce.

Reuters

Amazon says Google has pulled YouTube from Echo Show device in tech face-off

SAN FRANCISCO,  (Reuters) - In a rare public feud between large technology companies, Amazon.com Inc said on Tuesday its Echo Show devices could no longer play videos from YouTube because the site's parent, Google, stopped supporting the service.

The spat is the latest in Silicon Valley in which competitive tensions stood in the way of customers. Amazon and Google square off in many areas, from cloud computing and online search, to selling voice-controlled gadgets like the Echo Show.

In a statement, Amazon said, "As of this afternoon, Google has chosen to no longer make YouTube available on Echo Show, without explanation and without notification to customers. There is no technical reason for that decision, which is disappointing and hurts both of our customers."

Google, owned by Alphabet Inc, said instead that the development was no surprise.

"We've been in negotiations with Amazon for a long time, working towards an agreement that provides great experiences for customers on both platforms," it said in a statement. "Amazon´s implementation of YouTube on the Echo Show violates our terms of service, creating a broken user experience. We hope to be able to reach an agreement and resolve these issues soon."

The Echo Show had displayed YouTube videos without integral features, from video recommendations to channel subscriptions. Google has been in a similar dispute with Microsoft Corp in the past.

It was not clear how many customers were affected. Amazon only started selling the Echo Show in June, which comes with a touchscreen and responds by voice command.

Amazon's suite of Echo devices, including the Echo and Echo Dot, have outsold the voice-controlled Google Home, according to research firm eMarketer. Amazon has ambitions to make it normal for people to control computers by voice - and to place orders for its online retail business by voice, too.

"It´s a bit of a blow to Amazon," said analyst Jan Dawson of Jackdaw Research. "YouTube is one of the big video services that they had in addition to their own. For that to disappear means a big chunk of the possible video content you could watch on Echo Show is now gone."

The Verge, a technology news website, earlier reported the news.

Among recent tech standoffs, Amazon had stopped selling Apple Inc's TV players in 2015 because they did not support its Prime Video service. The two finally reached an agreement earlier this year.

"Things get harder for end users because these companies can´t get along," Dawson said.

Six rockets land near Kabul airport after Mattis arrives

Six rockets landed near Kabul’s international airport on Wednesday after US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis flew to the Afghan capital for talks, an official said.

The volley of missiles struck near the military section of the airport but there were no casualties or immediate claim of responsibility, interior ministry spokesperson Najib Danish told AFP.

Police have cordoned off the area to find the exact location from which the rockets were fired, he said, adding that no flights were cancelled.

The attack came hours after Mattis arrived in the Afghan capital, the first member of Donald Trump’s cabinet to visit the war-torn country since his pledge to stay the course in America’s longest war.

2017 Latin Grammy Awards: Complete List of Nominations

The Latin Grammy Academy has announced the nominations for the 18th Latin Grammys Awards.

This year’s show will be hosted by Latin Recording Academy on November 16 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas from 8-11 P.M. EST.

Puerto Rican superstar Residente leads the pack with nine nominations, followed closely by Maluma (7) and Shakira (6). Other popular nominated acts include Pitbull, Nicky Jam, J Balvin and Camila Cabello.

Album Of The Year
Salsa Big Band — Rubén Blades con Roberto Delgado & Orquesta
Obras Son Amores — Antonio Carmona
A La Mar — Vicente García
Fénix — Nicky Jam
Mis Planes Son Amarte — Juanes
La Trenza — Mon Laferte
Musas (Un Homenaje Al Folclore Latinoamericano En Manos De Los Macorinos, Vol. 1) — Natalia Lafourcade
Residente — Residente
El Dorado — Shakira
Palabras Manuales — Danay Suarez

Record Of The Year
“La Flor De La Canela” — Rubén Blades
“El Surco” — Jorge Drexler
“Quiero Que Vuelvas” — Alejandro Fernández
“Despacito” — Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee
“El Ratico” — Juanes featuring Kali Uchis
“Amárrame” — Mon Laferte featuring Juanes
“Felices Los 4″ — Maluma
“Vente Pa’ Ca” — Ricky Martin featuring Maluma
“Guerra” — Residente
“Chantaje” — Shakira featuring Maluma

Song Of The Year (A Songwriter’s Award)
“Amárrame” — Mon Laferte, songwriter (Mon Laferte featuring Juanes)
“Chantaje” — Kevin Mauricio Jiménez Londoño, Bryan Snaider Lezcano Chaverra, Joel Antonio López Castro, Maluma and Shakira, songwriters (Shakira featuring Maluma)
“Desde Que Estamos Juntos” — Descemer Bueno and Melendi, songwriters (Melendi)
“Despacito” — Daddy Yankee, Erika Ender and Luis Fonsi, songwriters (Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee)
“Ella” — Ricardo Arjona, songwriter (Ricardo Arjona)
“Felices Los 4″ — Mario Cáceres, Kevin Mauricio Jiménez Londoño, Maluma, Servando Primera, Stiven Rojas and Bryan Snaider Lezcano Chaverra, songwriters (Maluma)
“Guerra” — Residente and Jeff Trooko, songwriters (Residente)
“La Fortuna” — Diana Fuentes and Tommy Torres, songwriters (Diana Fuentes featuring Tommy Torres)
“Tú Sí Sabes Quererme” — Natalia Lafourcade, songwriter (Natalia Lafourcade featuring Los Macorinos)
“Vente Pa’ Ca ” — Nermin Harambasic, Maluma, Ricky Martin, Mauricio Montaner, Ricky Montaner, Lars Pedersen, Carl Ryden, Justin Stein, Ronny Vidar Svendsen and Anne Judith Stokke Wik, songwriters (Ricky Martin featuring Maluma)

Best New ArtistPaula Arenas
CNCO
Vicente García
Martina La Peligrosa
Mau y Ricky
Rawayana
Sofía Reyes
Rosalía
Danay Suarez
Sebastián Yatra

Best Contemporary Pop Vocal Album
Hijos Del Mar — David Bisbal
Rompiendo Fronteras — Alejandro Fernández
Flora Y Faῦna — Camila Luna
El Dorado — Shakira
Extended Play Yatra — Sebastián Yatra

Best Alternative Music Album
Jei Beibi — Café Tacvba
Apocalipsis Zombi — El Cuarteto de Nos
La Trenza — Mon Laferte
La Promesa De Thamar — Sig Ragga
Palabras Manuales — Danay Suarez

Best Regional Song (A Songwriter’s Award)
“Compromiso Descartado” — Espinoza Paz, songwriter (Leonardo Aguilar)
“Ganas De Volver” — Horacio Palencia, songwriter (Horacio Palencia)
“Sentimiento Emborrachado” — Raúl Jiménez E. and Chucho Rincón, songwriters (Santiago Arroyo)
“Siempre Es Así” — Juan Treviño, songwriter (Juan Treviño featuring AJ Castillo)
“Vale La Pena” — Edgar Barrera, Martín Castro Ortega and Alfonso Lizárraga, songwriters (Banda El Recodo de Cruz Lizárraga)

Best MPB (Música Popular Brasileira) Album
Dos Navegantes — Edu Lobo, Romero Lubambo, and Mauro Senise
DNA Musical — Alexandre Pires
Silva Canta Marisa — Silva
Até Pensei Que Fosse Minha — António Zambujo
Zanna — Zanna

Best Urban Fusion/Performance
“Si Tu Novio Te Deja Sola” – J. Balvin Featuring Bad Bunny
“Despacito (Remix)” – Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Featuring Justin Bieber
“El Amante” – Nicky Jam
“Dagombas En Tamale” – Residente
“Chantaje” – Shakira Featuring Maluma

Best Urban Music Album
Big Yauran – J Álvarez
El Círculo – Kase.O
Rap Komunion – Arianna Puello
Coisas Do Meu Imaginário – Rael
Residente – Residente

Best Urban Song
“A Chapa É Quente!” – Emicida & Rael
“Coqueta”- Luis Díaz, Alejandro Estrada, Bruno Og & Jonathan Torres
“El Amante” – Nicky Jam, Juan Diego Medina Vélez & Cristhian Mena
“Hey Ma (Spanish Version)” – J Balvin, Camila Cabello, Phillip Kembo, Johnny Michell, Pitbull, Rosina “Soaky Siren” Russell, Jamie Sanderson & Tinashe “T-Collar” Sibanda
“Papa” – Lápiz Consciente & Vico C
“Somos Anormales” – Rafael Arcaute, Igor Koshkendey & Residente

U.S. consumer confidence slips; new home sales hit eight-month low

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. consumer confidence fell in September and home sales dropped to an eight-month low in August due to the impact of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, supporting the view that the storms would hurt economic growth in the third quarter.

Still, relatively high levels of consumer confidence together with continued strong gains in house prices should support consumer spending and keep the economy on solid ground. Rebuilding in the hurricane-ravaged Texas and Florida also is expected to deliver a boost in the fourth quarter.

“Though hurricane disruptions will make spending uneven geographically over the next few months, we expect consumers to remain a primary driver of U.S. economic growth in 2018,” said James Bohnaker, a U.S. economist at IHS Markit in Lexington, Massachusetts.

The Conference Board said on Tuesday its consumer confidence index declined to a reading of 119.8 this month from 120.4 in August, which was the highest reading in five months. It said confidence in Texas and Florida “decreased considerably.”

The survey’s so-called labor market differential, derived from data about respondents who think jobs are hard to get and those who think jobs are plentiful, slipped to 14.5 this month from 16.0 in August.

That measure, which closely correlates to the unemployment rate in the Labor Department’s employment report, still remains consistent with more absorption of labor market slack.

The number of consumers expecting an improvement in their incomes rose marginally to 20.5 percent in September from 19.9 percent last month. The share expecting a drop in income was little changed at 8.3 percent.

Despite being near full employment, the labor market has struggled to generate strong wage growth, frustrating both consumers and policymakers. But rising home prices should continue to underpin consumer spending, even though the housing market is slowing.

The Atlanta Federal Reserve is forecasting the economy to grow at a 2.2 percent annualized rate in the third quarter, slowing from the April-June period’s brisk 3.0 percent pace.

A second report on Tuesday showed the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller composite index of house prices in 20 metropolitan areas rose 5.8 percent in July on a year-on-year basis after increasing 5.6 percent in June.

U.S. financial markets were little moved by the data.

The dollar rose to a one-month high against the euro as investors worried that months of talks to form a coalition government in Germany could hurt the country’s economy and make closer euro zone integration difficult. Stocks on Wall street were little changed, while prices for U.S. Treasuries fell.

HOUSING SLOWING In a third report on Tuesday, the Commerce Department said new home sales decreased 3.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 560,000 units last month, which was the lowest level since December 2016. Sales were down 1.2 percent on a year-on-year basis in August.

New home sales, which are drawn from permits, account for 9.5 percent of overall home sales. The Commerce Department suggested Harvey and Irma likely impacted new home sales data last month.

It said “information on the sales status at the end of August was collected for only 65 percent of cases in Texas and Florida counties” affected by the hurricanes. That compared to a normal response rate of 95 percent.

Harvey weighed on retail sales and industrial production in August.

Last month, new home sales fell 4.7 percent in the South, which accounts for more than 50 percent of the new homes market. Harvey hurt sales of previously owned homes in August and held back the completion of houses under construction.

With Irma slamming Florida in September, housing market activity could remain weak. The areas in Texas and Florida affected by the storms accounted for 14 percent of single-family home permits in 2016.

The housing market was softening even before the hurricanes struck, buffeted by headwinds including shortages of homes available for sale, skilled labor and suitable land for building. Rising prices for building materials are also undercutting the market.

In August, new single-family homes sales also fell in the Northeast and West. They were unchanged in the Midwest.

“The U.S. housing market entered a strange kind of twilight zone over the summer, in which home prices kept rising steadily, but actual home sales activity largely leveled off at fairly underwhelming levels,” said Svenja Gudell, chief economist at Zillow.

Saudi Arabia to allow women to drive for the first time

Saudi Arabia says it will allow women to drive for the first time in the ultra-conservative kingdom.

The kingdom, which announced the change on Tuesday, was the only the country in the world to bar women from driving and for years had garnered negative publicity internationally for detaining women who defied the ban.

Women's rights activists since the 1990s have been pushing for the right to drive, saying it represents their larger struggle for equal rights under the law.

The state-run Saudi Press Agency and state TV reported the news late Tuesday evening, saying a royal order was issued for both men and women to be issued drivers' licenses. A committee will be formed to look into how to implement the new order.

AP

U.S. Treasury sanctions 26 individuals, nine banks over North Korea

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has sanctioned 26 individuals as part of its non-proliferation designations for North Korea as well as nine banks, including some with ties to China, according to the U.S. Treasury Department Office Of Foreign Assets Control Sanctions.

In a list on the office’s website posted on Tuesday, the U.S. sanctions target individuals in North Korea as well as some North Korean nationals in China, Russia, Libya and Dubai.

Dyson To Make Electric Cars By 2020

London (AFP) – British inventor James Dyson, who is best known for his bagless vacuum cleaners, on Tuesday announced a plan to produce electric cars by 2020 with a £2.0 billion (2.3 billion euro, $2.7 billion) investment.

“Dyson has begun work on a battery electric vehicle, due to be launched by 2020,” he said in an email to employees, referring to his company.

“The team is already over 400 strong, and we are recruiting aggressively. I’m committed to investing £2 billion on this endeavour,” he said.

Dyson currently produces vacuum cleaners, hair dryers, fans, heaters and lighting but this is not his first foray into the automotive sector.

The inventor said that in the 1990s he developed a filter that could be fitted on car exhaust systems, but “nobody at the time was interested”.

Due to poor government policies to tackle air pollution, “developed and developing cities are full of smog-belching cars, lorries and buses”, he said.
“It is a problem that others are ignoring.”

Britain in July announced plans to outlaw the sale of new diesel and petrol cars and vans from 2040 in a bid to tackle a pollution crisis.

Woman faces prison for locking disabled sister in closet

CORUNNA, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan woman who authorities say kept her disabled adult sister locked in a closet has been convicted of charges including unlawful imprisonment.

A Shiawassee County jury on Monday also found Candy Lawson guilty of vulnerable adult abuse and embezzlement. Prosecutors say she stole disability benefits that were intended for her sister. Lawson faces prison time when sentenced Oct. 27.

Prosecutors say Lawson gave her sister little food, water or clothing. A construction worker found her in 2015.

Lawson took the stand in her own defense last week, saying the space her sister was kept in was a room, not a closet. She said she needed to lock her sister in at night because she would otherwise wander off. Lawson denied restricting access to food.

Lawson’s lawyer plans an appeal.

Wall St. opens higher as tech stocks recover

Wall Street was higher at the open on Tuesday as technology stocks recovered, although tensions between the United States and North Korea limited gains.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 38.08 points, or 0.17 percent, to 22,334.17. The S&P 500 .SPX gained 4.19 points, or 0.16 percent, to 2,500.85. The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 23.75 points, or 0.37 percent, to 6,394.34.

Kohl's CEO Kevin Mansell to retire next year

Department store operator Kohl’s Corp (KSS.N) said on Tuesday that Chief Executive Kevin Mansell will retire in May 2018.

Chief Merchandising and Customer Officer Michelle Gass will take on the CEO role, the company said in a statement.

Reuters

Uber to withdraw from Quebec: CBC News

Ride-hailing service Uber [UBER.UL] will stop operating in the Canadian province of Quebec, CBC News reported, citing Radio Canada.

Last week, Uber said in a statement that the “new and challenging” provincial regulations “significantly threaten” the company’s ability to continue operating, the report said.

Asked about the news report, Uber spokeswoman Susie Heath said the company would hold a press conference in Montreal at 11.a.m today to discuss the impact that the new Quebec province regulations have had on the ride-sharing industry.

The news comes as Uber battles against a decision to strip the company of its London license, the latest regulatory attack on Uber as the new chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi seeks to rebuild the company’s image.

Reuters

Neymar Injury Was ’Caused By Hatem Ben Arfa’ But PSG Expect His Return Against Bayern In Champions League

Neymar is expected to start for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in Wednesday’s Champions League game against Bayern Munich.

The 25-year-old Brazilian international missed his side’s 0-0 draw at Montpellier on Saturday following a knock in training.

According to Daily Mail citing L’Equipe, that knock came in the form of a clash with team-mate Hatem Ben Arfa, who damaged the world’s most expensive footballers little toe on his right foot.

Alibaba takes control of logistics business, pledges $15 billion to expand network

Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba Group has taken control of logistics unit Cainiao and pledged to spend 100 billion yuan ($15 billion) over five years to build out a global logistics network, underscoring aggressive expansion plans overseas.

Alibaba will invest 5.3 billion yuan to boost its stake in Cainiao Smart Logistics Network to 51 percent from 47 percent, giving it direct control over the loss-making affiliate, suggesting a rough valuation of Cainiao at around $20 billion.

The announcement comes as Alibaba rapidly expands its e-commerce and logistics network abroad to diversify its consumer base, including newly announced direct sales channels in counties around Southeast Asia.

"Our commitment to Cainiao and additional investment in logistics demonstrate Alibaba's commitment to building the most-efficient logistic network in China and around the world," Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang said in a statement on Tuesday.

Cainiao was the focus of an investigation last year by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) into Alibaba's accounting practices.

Alibaba, which will gain an extra seat on Cainiao's board giving it four out of a total seven seats, added that more shares were issued in the funding round to other investors. It did not give details about the other issuances, which would impact Cainiao's valuation.

The investment also signals Alibaba's intention to boost control over China's domestic warehousing and delivery market, increasingly competitive as firms seek to make use of troves of logistics data about the country's Internet-savvy shoppers.

The firm, headed by billionaire magnate Jack Ma, said that the longer-term $15 billion investment would be used to develop its data technology and improve its warehousing and delivery.

The battle to control logistics networks in China has at times created tensions between e-commerce and delivery firms.

In June major logistics company SF Holding cut ties with Cainiao, which provides logistics support directly to Alibaba's top e-commerce platform Taobao. SF Holding claimed Alibaba had requested data unrelated to an existing partnership agreement. Alibaba denied the claims.

Chinese logistics firms have also attracted billions of dollars from equity investors, though many have faced challenges with recent public listings.

Shares of ZTO Express Inc, which raised $1.4 billion from a New York IPO last October, are down 22 percent from the listing price to-date. Best Inc, a Chinese delivery firm backed by Alibaba, raised under half of what it had initially intended to in a U.S. IPO last week.

A person close to Alibaba, who asked not to be named, said Cainiao was not currently considering an IPO.

Alibaba and Cainiao declined to comment.

Alibaba co-founded Cainiao in 2013, with partners including department store owner Intime Group, conglomerate Fosun Group and a handful of logistics companies. It oversees roughly 57 million deliveries a day.

Reuters

Forex: Central Bank Opens Week With $195m Ahead Of MPC Decisions

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Monday boosted the Foreign Exchange (Forex) market by offering a 195 million dollars in three segments of the Forex market.

The acting Director of Corporate Communications, Mr Isaac Okorafor, in a statement, said it auctioned 100 million dollars at the wholesale Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) window of the inter-bank Foreign Exchange market.

He said that the apex bank also intervened in the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and invisible segments, with 50 million dollars and 45 million dollars.

Okorafor reiterated that the Bank’s intervention was to maintain its commitment to sustain liquidity in the market to meet genuine requests as well as deepen flexibility in the foreign exchange market.

He said the CBN would continue to work on achieving the objective of convergence of rates in the various segments of the market, and would continue to strive that the forex market guaranteed transparency in the sale of foreign exchange.

Okorafor said only last week, the CBN threatened to sanction any Deposit Money Bank (DMB) in breach of its earlier directive of March 3.

The directive instructed them to, among other things, open teller points for retail Forex transactions and to have electronic display boards in all their branches, showing rates of all trading currencies.

He said the bank’s firm position was to reiterate its commitment to ensure liquidity in the foreign exchange market, where all genuine requests would be met in line with extant forex guidelines, noting that it would foster more transparency and make the public become aware that the facilities existed.

This week’s intervention is significant, coming in the midst of the Monetary Policy Committee Meeting taking place on Monday and Tuesday.

Monday’s sale follows the major intervention, last week, to the tune of 545 million dollars as the retail Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) received the largest intervention of 285 million dollars.

Other segments include the 100 million dollars offered for wholesale SMIS, 90 million dollars for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) window and 70 million dollars for invisibles such as Basic Travel Allowances, tuition fees and medical payments.

Meanwhile the Naira closed at N363 to a dollar, N485 to the Pound Sterling and N433 to one Euro at the parallel market.

NAN

Fashola denies boasting to fix Nigeria’s power problems in 6 months

Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, Monday denied boasting that he could fix challenges in Nigeria’s power sector in six months.

Many Nigerians continue to mock the former Lagos governor over the comment.

President Muhammadu Buhari less than two years ago named Fashola as head of the ministry.

But the nation’s electricity generation and supply still dwindles​ and unreliable​, a situation the opposition and government critics use to mock the APC the Buhari led-administration.

But in a chat with Arise News, Fashola said he never said he could ​make the sector work in less than a year.

​His words: ​“I remember where I made that statement, I did not say the words they said I said​. ​I was responding to residents who, after we commissioned a power plant in Lekki to serve the water works and street lights in Lekki and Victoria Island, asked me when they can get powers in their homes​.

“And my answer to them was that we would be encroaching the jurisdiction of the Disco without permit from NERC and that if NERC gave us the permission to provide power for them, the plant was there, connecting to them was a matter of six months.”

​Fashola explained that the delay in the confirmation of the chairman-designate for the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) was caused by the stalemate between the Senate and the executive over the interpretation of the powers of the president with regards to appointments into executive bodies not listed in the constitution.

Fashola said: “The role of the government in power has been largely limited. The role of government is policymakers and enablers.

“So, there is a lot of investment coming on stream in generation, gas. New IPPs are coming up and old ones are being made efficient and so we must help the distribution companies to raise their games. One of the things we are doing is to verify their claims to debts and determine how much we are owing them and pay them.

“The other point is to ensure that government, going forward, would not owe Discos. It must budget for power in the way that it budgets for diesel and travels. We have done that in the 2017 budget, we will do it again in the 2018 budget, and enforce compliance by agencies to pay their debt.

“This will help in bringing stability to the liquidity in the power sector, ultimately for the benefit not only of the Discos and entire value chain because government as 40 per cent part-owner makes money if the Discos make money, we will get N4 out of every N10 dividend that they declare.”

On how much the government has invested so far in the Discos considering its 40 per cent share in them, he said: “I honestly can’t tell you the exact money but I think that the answer would need to be verified from the Bureau of Public Enterprises who supervises the interest of the government in those companies, I don’t have those figures, but clearly you hit the nail on the head – the entire value chain has to run in sync.”

Daily Post

Arsenal Present Barry With Signed Shirt For Premier League Appearance Record

Arsène Wenger presenting Gareth Barry with a special signed shirt as recognition for breaking 633rd Premier League appearance record after Arsenal 2-0 win over West Brom on Monday night .

Speaking ahead of the clash, Barry said: “It is a nice moment for myself. I am very proud to reach that number.”

Barry made his debut for Aston Villa in their 3-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday on May 2, 1998.

Congratulations on your @PremierLeague appearance record, Gareth Barry, from all of us at Arsenal 👊 pic.twitter.com/qdU2UVIf5T

— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) September 25, 2017

BlackRock fees in limbo over donation to U.S. presidential candidate

A senior BlackRock Inc executive made a donation to an unsuccessful U.S. presidential candidate last year, an action that may prohibit the world’s largest asset manager from collecting some fees from a state government, a company regulatory filing showed.

Mark Wiedman, a BlackRock senior managing director, donated $2,700 to the presidential campaign of Ohio Governor John Kasich, who was seeking the Republican Party nomination, according to a filing made earlier this year with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and reviewed by Reuters on Monday.

Federal securities rules prohibit companies or their executive officers from making donations to government officials who could influence the hiring of a fund manager or have authority to appoint a person who could do so and then providing asset management services to their governments for a fee. The ban is in effect for two years after the contribution is made.

The state of Ohio uses BlackRock-managed funds, and its relationship with BlackRock “substantially predates” the donation, the filing said.

In the May filing, BlackRock asked the SEC for permission to accept fees from the state of Ohio, saying that exceptions to the rule have been granted before. Without such a ruling, BlackRock said it could face a loss of approximately $37 million.

BlackRock said Wiedman asked for and received a refund of his campaign contribution to Kasich, which was “made because of the personal political beliefs of the contributor and not because of any desire to influence the award of investment advisory business.”

The SEC has not yet responded to BlackRock’s request.

In an emailed statement, BlackRock said its application is “fair and reasonable, and consistent with the intent of the relevant rule.”

“The contribution in question was made solely in support of Mr. Kasich’s presidential campaign and for no other purpose,” BlackRock spokeswoman Tara McDonnell said in the statement.

“Through BlackRock’s robust policies and procedures, we discovered the contribution in question, and both BlackRock and Mr. Wiedman worked together to promptly address the error, including obtaining a refund of the $2,700 contribution,” McDonnell said.

A spokesman for the SEC, Ryan White, declined to comment on the filing. A spokesman for Kasich did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the donation.

Wiedman is global head of iShares and index investments, a booming business within BlackRock that includes its exchange-traded funds. The iShares brand brought in nearly $74 billion of new cash into BlackRock in the second quarter. BlackRock manages $5.7 trillion overall.

Reuters

Lacazette double gives Arsenal 2-0 win over West Brom in EPL

Alexandre Lacazette scored twice for Arsenal to beat West Bromwich Albion 2-0 in the English Premier League EPL on Monday and prolong the north London team's September fightback.

Arsenal lost two of its opening three matches but seven out of a possible nine points have been collected this month on top of victories in the Europa League and League Cup.

Lacazette, playing for the first time with Alexis Sanchez since joining in July for a club-record 60 million euros (then $68 million), combined with the Chile forward for the opener.

Sanchez's free kick in the 20th minute was tipped onto the crossbar by goalkeeper Ben Foster but the ball came back out and Lacazette pounced to tap in.

The lead was preserved before halftime when Jay Rodriguez's header beat goalkeeper Petr Cech but Nacho Monreal produced a goal-line clearance.

Lacazette was on target again from the penalty spot in the 67th after Allan Nyom fouled Aaron Ramsey, giving the France forward his fourth goal in an Arsenal shirt.

It was a disappointing way for West Brom midfielder Gareth Barry to celebrate making a record 633rd Premier League appearance.

The 36-year-old Barry, who has also played for Aston Villa, Manchester City, and Everton, passed the mark set by former Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs. Barry's next target is breaking Giggs' top-flight record of 672 appearances, encompassing matches before the Premier League started in 1992.

AP

Governor Ambode donates 120 generators to Lagos Police

Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode on Monday handed over 120 new 5KVA generating sets to the Lagos State Police Command to power all police formations across the State, with a pledge of continuous support to security agencies to ensure optimal performance.

Speaking at Lagos House in Ikeja while handing over the generating sets to the police, the Governor reiterated the commitment of his administration to ensure the enforcement of rule of law and safety of lives and property in the State, just as he said that his vision was for the State to be among the safest places to live and work in Africa.

Governor Ambode, who was represented at the brief handing over ceremony by the Chairman of Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF), Mr Oye-Hassan Odukale, said the security of residents and investors remain one of the cardinal objectives of his administration, and that government would not relent in coming up with initiatives and programmes to guarantee safety of the people.

He said the generating sets were procured by the Fund to ensure that police formations in the State work optimally in their mandate of safeguarding lives and property.

According to him: “Lagos State is the safest State and we hope to make the State to be among the safest States in Africa which is our objective at the Fund. Anything about security is given high priority by our administration. Lagosians are now feeling safe. The safety that we are experiencing don’t come cheap but I like to assure that at the Fund, we are always willing to move at any time to ensure that we keep Lagos safe,” he said.

The Governor also congratulated the new Commissioner of Police in the State, Mr Imohimi Edgal, and pledged to work with him to ensure the safety of the people.

He said aside the provision of the generating sets, the LSSTF had also been mandated to carry out the installations of the new equipment in all the Divisions and Area Commands in the State.

Besides, Governor Ambode urged police officers to take good care of the generating sets and use them for the purpose meant for the overall benefit and safety of the people.

Earlier, in his welcome address, Executive Secretary of LSSTF, Dr Abdulrazak Balogun said the generating sets would be distributed across the 107 Police Divisions and 13 Area Commands in the State.

He said the procurement of the generating sets was in furtherance of the Light Up Lagos Project of the present administration aimed at ensuring that every nook and cranny of the State are well lit.

He said: “The procurement is also in tandem with Governor Ambode’s vision of a secured and investment-friendly Lagos. Police formations are critical to securing lives and property in the State and it is very important that these stations function optimally. This is why the Lagos State Security Council recommended the provision of power generating sets for these stations and the State Security Trust Fund expeditiously approved the expenditure.”

Responding, the State’s Commissioner of Police (CP), Mr. Imohimi Edgal thanked Governor Ambode for the gesture, saying that the generating sets could not have come at a better time.

While assuring that the generating sets would be put to optimal use, Edgal said that the facility would go a long way to ensuring that the divisional and area commands are well lit up to enable them effectively enforce the laws of the land.

“You can imagine the confidence members of the public will have if divisional headquarters and area commands are lit with the confidence that their matters would be earnestly addressed.

“Power is very essential. Our communication gadgets, especially phones need to be charged. You cannot function anywhere, you can't take complains, you can't give directives to field officers when there is no power. These generating sets are very valuable to us,” the CP said.

President Buhari Arrives Nigeria From London

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday evening arrived Nigeria from London.

The president travelled to London from the United States where he went for the 72nd United Nations General Assembly, UNGA, meeting.

According to Premium Times, the president’s arrival on Monday evening led to a temporary blockage of the airport road, used by thousands of motorists who live in the Nigerian capital.

The president arrived New York on September 18. He left New york for London on Thursday.

Mr. Buhari had been treated in London for an undisclosed illness for over 100 days earlier in the year.

UK’s oldest postcard firm set to close

When was the last time you sent a postcard?

If the pronouncement of UK publisher J Salmon is anything to go by it’s likely to have been a long time ago.

The family-owned firm, which has been publishing postcards and calendars since 1880, will close this December.

The reason? It says instead of penning a card, people are putting photos up on Facebook or Instagram or using WhatsApp to show friends and family at home just how much fun they’re having.

Brothers Charles and Harry Salmon, the fifth generation of the family to run the firm, said the popularity of social media had had a huge impact on the business.

People are also tending to take shorter holidays, meaning they are likely to have arrived home long before their postcards, the brothers – joint managing directors of the firm – said.

As a result the business was no longer viable, they said.

“Increasingly challenging trading conditions and changes to the nature and size of the market for its publications have resulted in uncertainty over the viability of its trade,” the brothers wrote in a letter to suppliers and newsagents.

As a result they were announcing “a proposal to withdraw from publishing”.

‘Replaced by social media’
The number of postcards sold each year is reported to have seen a dramatic slump to about five million from 20 million just 25 years ago.

Jordan Girardin, a travel historian and lecturer, said when postcards were first invented in the late 19th century “there was a need for a more visual experience, a more visible promotion of travel”.

“The cheap postcard that we use just to send a message has been replaced by social media I’m afraid,” he said.

J Salmon, which originally started out as a stationer’s shop and general printing business, has always printed its products in Sevenoaks in Kent.

But the firm said that as well as the drop in the number of postcards sent, “we have also had to consider that there are no more members of the family who wish to join the business”.

BBC

AIG to restructure into three new units, marking CEO's first big move

American International Group Inc (AIG.N) said on Monday it will reorganize into three new business units and will no longer have separate commercial and consumer units, marking the first significant move by new Chief Executive Brian Duperreault.

Under the new structure, AIG will have a general insurance unit, a life and retirement unit and a standalone technology unit. Two of those businesses will be led by longtime Duperreault colleagues whom he recruited to AIG in July.

The shakeup marks Duperreault’s first major action after taking the helm of the company in May after former CEO Peter Hancock stepped down, citing a lack of confidence from the board and investors.

Widely seen as a turnaround expert, 70-year-old Duperreault has said he wants to grow AIG’s businesses. AIG’s stock has underperformed rivals and the broader market for nearly a decade.

Peter Zaffino, former head of Marsh & McLennan Cos Inc’s (MMC.N) brokerage business, whom Duperreault previously named as AIG’s chief operating officer, will be CEO of AIG’s general insurance unit.

The new life and retirement unit will be headed by Kevin Hogan, who has a long AIG history and most recently ran the insurer’s consumer insurance unit.

Seraina Macia, former head of Hamilton USA, the North American arm of Duperreault’s former company, Hamilton Insurance Group Ltd, will be CEO of the technology unit, AIG said.

AIG agreed to buy Hamilton USA for $110 million in May.

Rob Schimek, CEO of AIG’s commercial unit, will leave the company at the end of October, AIG said.

The restructuring ”better aligns with how investors actually prefer to analyze AIG,” said Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst Meyer Shields.

AIG said it expects its year-end financial reporting to reflect the new structure, which will also be aligned with its incentive and performance management plans.

The reorganization comes as the insurer is trying to convince U.S. regulators to shed its “systemically important financial institution” label, which triggers stricter oversight and greater capital requirements.

AIG received the label after it received $182 billion in a government bailout during the financial crisis.

Since the crisis, AIG has sold dozens of businesses, including two Asian life insurance operations and one of the world’s biggest aircraft leasing businesses.

It recently sold a mortgage-insurance unit. It remains the largest commercial insurer in the United States and Canada.

Reuters