August, 2016

• 11 August

  Alphabet GV CEO to quit venture capital arm

  

    Relaxnews Bill Maris, founder and chief executive officer of Alphabet Inc.’s venture capital arm, will leave the company on Friday after building the firm GV into a Silicon Valley powerhouse. David Krane, a managing partner at the firm formerly known as Google Ventures, will succeed Maris as head of the group, a person familiar with the matter said. Krane, ...

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• 11 August

  Pokemon sued as ‘gamers pose safety threat’

  

    Bloomberg Wahby Park in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, used to be a quiet spot for a dozen or so residents to go for a stroll around sunset. Then came hundreds of smartphone-wielding, garden-stomping Pokemon players. Now a couple in the lakeside neighborhood is suing Niantic Inc. and Nintendo Co. for allegedly turning the park into a nuisance and a ...

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• 11 August

  China’s video game economy a bright spot even without Pokemon

  

    Bloomberg If you want an example of China’s rising consumer class, take a look at the burgeoning demand to play video games. Sales will jump an average 7.4 percent a year from 2016 to 2020, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. That’s higher than the 4.8 percent rate forecast for the industry worldwide, PwC said in its global entertainment and media ...

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• 11 August

  Saving the buzzing bees

  

    Bloomberg Urban rooftops are buzzing across France, but the fad for beekeeping from Montpellier to Lille to Paris — including atop AFP’s headquarters — will do little do reverse declining bee populations, experts say. The northern city of Lille was a pioneer in efforts to defend the bee by providing pesticide-free environments, and it was among the first to ...

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• 11 August

  Rediscovering dance with walking frames

  

    DPA Friederike Kolb is 100 years old and never thought she’s be able to dance again. “When I was a young girl I used to love dancing and I still really love it,” she says. Every Wednesday morning social worker Gerburg Cartus gives quite a special dance lesson at the Frankenhoehe senior citizens home in Mainz, western Germany. The ...

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• 11 August

  OZ bars power grid sale to China, Hong Kong bidders

  

    Bloomberg Australia rejected bids for electricity network Ausgrid from Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing and State Grid Corp. of China, amid growing opposition to selling infrastructure assets to overseas investors. Treasurer Scott Morrison said it would be contrary to national security to allow the offers to proceed in their current form and said the bidders, which he didn’t name, ...

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• 11 August

  IMF, Egypt agree on $12bn loan to fix ailing economy

  

    Bloomberg Egypt reached an initial agreement with the International Monetary Fund over a $12 billion package designed to restore the confidence of foreign investors and ease a crippling dollar shortage hampering economic growth. The three-year agreement aims to “improve the functioning of the foreign exchange markets, bring down the budget deficit and government debt, and to raise growth and ...

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• 11 August

  Solar manufacturers pivot away from US utility projects

  

    Bloomberg The top two US solar manufacturers are shifting away from the biggest domestic market because utilities aren’t signing as many deals to buy electricity from their giant power plants. SunPower Corp. the No. 2 US panelmaker, said it’s turning its attention to rooftop power, while First Solar Inc., the biggest producer, now expects more of its growth to ...

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• 11 August

  Tough times for China’s $15bn energy ambitions

  

    Bloomberg China’s infrastructure investors have had a tough two weeks, with plugs being pulled on at least $15 billion of potential deals in nuclear power and electricity distribution. Britain and Australia refused to sign off on investments where state-owned Chinese companies were ready to provide much-needed funding. In both cases, the long-term utility programs were halted in the later ...

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• 11 August

  Indonesia allows tax amnesty seekers to buy gold, property

  

  Bloomberg For Indonesians seeking to bring back billions of dollars stashed overseas, the government just opened up more avenues to park their funds under a tax amnesty plan. Individuals who sign up to the amnesty will be allowed to invest in assets such as gold, property and infrastructure projects, according to the Finance Ministry. Participants can also move funds between ...

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