Bloomberg Li & Fung Ltd., the world’s largest supplier of clothes and toys to retailers, reported a 14 percent fall in first-half core operating profit as concerns about the US presidential election, Brexit impact and terrorism hurt sales. Core operating profit dropped to $156 million for the six months ended June from a year earlier, the Hong Kong-based supplier ...

  Bloomberg Coca-Cola Beverages Africa, the bottling joint venture between the U.S. soft-drink maker and brewer SABMiller Plc, may close South African plants and see profit in the country more than halve if the government pushes ahead with a proposed sugar tax. South Africa’s National Treasury last month recommended a levy on sugar-sweetened beverages that would generate almost 11 billion ...

  AP The world’s first self-driving taxis began picking up passengers in Singapore starting Thursday. Select members of the public can hail a free ride through their smartphones in taxis operated by nuTonomy, an autonomous vehicle software startup. While multiple companies, including Google and Volvo, have been testing self-driving cars on public roads for several years, nuTonomy says is the ...

  Bloomberg Aussies are buying Bentleys, BMWs and Mercedes in record numbers even as living standards fall in a sign that rising inequality seen in the developed world is spreading Down Under. Top-end car sales surged to a record 104,277 in the 12 months through July, a 15.7 percent increase on the same period a year earlier, according to an ...

  Bloomberg Steel production in China, the world’s biggest supplier, will probably contract this year and shrink further in 2017 as local demand slows, hurting the outlook for iron ore, according to Li Xinchuang, a vice chairman at the China Iron & Steel Association. “There will be significant declines in the next three months,” said Li, who’s also dean of ...

  Bloomberg India’s ample coal stockpiles may blunt the power of unions planning a strike at Coal India Ltd., the world’s biggest miner of the fuel. Labor groups including All India Coal Workers’ Federation are demanding the company start early wage talks and begin recruiting to fill vacancies, as well as calling on the government to stop selling its shares ...

  Bloomberg An Australian startup is getting some traction with a proposition for mobile-phone users: Watch our ads, and we’ll cut your wireless bill. Called Unlockd, the company has reached half a million customers through deals this year with two carriers to offer users a discount on their rates if they agree to view ads when they unlock their handset ...

  Relaxnews Along with numerous smartphones marked for release this fall — the iPhone 7, new Nexus models, the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 and the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro — several innovative high-tech products are set to go on show in the coming weeks. SMARTWATCHES From September 2 to 7, the Internationale Funkausstellung (IFA) industrial exhibition in Berlin, Germany, will ...

  Relaxnews Use music to push yourself further and harder during your workouts this fall with a pair of high-quality headphones designed especially for exercise. Here we round up some of the new season releases to push your performance to the next level with your favorite playlist and fitness tracking features. SAMSUNG LEVEL ACTIVE HEADSET The new Samsung LEVEL Active ...

  DETROIT / AP With all the attention paid to Tesla Motors’ Autopilot system, you’d think the company was the only one making cars that can almost drive themselves. But many automakers have rolled out cars that do what Teslas do. The difference: Tesla debuted Autopilot, a suite of semi-autonomous driving features, with a swagger, while others tread more carefully. ...