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Profit replaces risk as big worry among Europe bank regulators

  Bloomberg After years spent clamping down on risky behaviour at banks and punishing them for past misdeeds, Europe’s regulators have awoken to a new worry: lenders aren’t making enough money. Shrinking profitability has become a “concern for financial stability” because it may reduce banks’ ability to recover from shocks by generating capital or selling stock, Bank of England (BoE) ...

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Super Mario Run’s strong debut clouded by revenue lag

  Bloomberg Super Mario Run, Nintendo Co.’s first full foray into the world of mobile gaming, might be encountering some growing pains. The game was at the top of download rankings in 68 countries, but was the highest grossing game in only 14, according to researcher SensorTower. Nintendo shares closed 4.2 percent lower in Tokyo, wiping out about $1.5 billion ...

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FB measurement mistakes test advertisers’ ardor

  Bloomberg Facebook Inc. built a colossal business based on measuring something older advertising methods cannot: the granular details about people. Two months ago, the company copped to a flaw in that measurement. Then Facebook did it again. And again. On Friday, Facebook revealed faulty metrics with Instant Articles, its mobile publishing system, the fourth disclosure of a measurement error ...

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Smiley faced success for Japan’s emoji creator

  Tokyo / AFP From a humble smiley face with a box mouth and inverted “V’s” for eyes, crude weather symbols, and a rudimentary heart — emoji have now exploded into the world’s fastest-growing language. There are now about 1,800 emoji characters — and counting. They cover everything from emotions and food to professions, are racially diverse and have become ...

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Instagram reaches 600 million milestone

  Relaxnews Instagram has seen 100 million new users sign up over the past six months, pushing its total base to more than 600 million. The image sharing social media platform announced the news on its blog on Thursday, thanking users and adding: “we’re working to make Instagram safer than ever for connection and self-expression.” Recent updates to the platform ...

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Saudi Vision 2030 stirs solar power investment in kingdom

  Bloomberg Private sector investors are showing new interest in Saudi Arabia’s solar energy market, after the nation’s leadership included plans to add 9.5 GW of renewables to the energy supply as part of Saudi Vision 2030, along with opening the way to greater private sector and international investment. Announced in April, the Vision 2030 strategy sets 9.5 GW as ...

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OPEC deal tests oil majors’ appetite for risk and reward

  Bloomberg OPEC’s deal to cut production and boost prices gives oil companies the opportunity to shake off two years of layoffs and slumping profits to start investing again — if they still have the risk appetite. Just ask Patrick Pouyanne, chief executive officer of Total SA. Throughout the downturn he’s consistently warned that tens of billions of dollars of ...

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Oil rises as output cuts seen curbing glut

  Bloomberg Oil rose for the first time in three days after the dollar’s advance stalled and attention shifted back to projected production cuts. Futures rose 2 percent in New York. Prices dropped the past two days as the dollar climbed against major peers after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates, which curbed the appeal of commodities to investors. Goldman ...

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Ethiopia inaugurates hydroelectric dam to double energy output

  AFP Ethiopia on Saturday inaugurated a hydroelectric dam that aims to double the country’s electricity output, but which critics say is a threat to locals and a UNESCO-listed lake in Kenya. The Gibe III dam, which reaches 243 metres (800 feet) in height, is the third-largest dam in Africa and the biggest in a series built along the Omo ...

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