Weak and Powerless

Corporate profits drop almost 5 per cent in quarter, set to drag on GDP

Edit Sydney Morning Herald 30 May 2016

Although piled-up inventories can reflect slow or weak sales, their accumulated value goes to the positive side of the national accounts ledger ... Economists agree the main drags on growth will come from soft consumer spending, weak business investment and a quarterly drop in public demand because of one-off defence procurement items in the 2015 final quarter....

Alton Towers owner faces ejection from FTSE 100 index

Edit Scotsman 30 May 2016

The leisure giant has suffered from a weak euro and lower numbers at Alton Towers after a crash on its Smiler rollercoaster left five people seriously injured last summer....

Bill Jamieson: Global investors still distinctly unimpressed

Edit Scotsman 30 May 2016

Sunnier days in markets, the mood improving and the dark days of plunging shares in January seem banished to the past. But investors are far from convinced. They are pulling out of equity funds and dashing for cover ... Notable among those on the retreat is JPMorgan European Income, where even a 3.9 per cent yield seems powerless to stop the discount stretching to 8.3 per cent, near its 12-month high of 9.7 per cent ... ....

Noble Group says CEO resigns, sells U.S. energy unit

Edit Reuters 30 May 2016

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Noble Group , which has been battling to boost investor confidence after an accounting dispute and weak commodity markets, said on Monday its chief executive has resigned. ....

Vietnam Veterans honored posthumously for their ultimate wartime sacrifice

Edit Daily Breeze 30 May 2016

BURBANK >> For decades, softball player Sal Arturo Silva was a powerhouse on the pitching mound and a slugger at home plate. Then one day the decorated Vietnam War veteran began stumbling around the bases, sometimes tripping over his right foot. It became too weak to power the ball. With his failing muscles, he became a slo-pitch pinch hitter ... ....

Aust stocks flat in early trade

Edit Canberra Times 30 May 2016

The Australian share market is trading mildly lower in early trade, with gains in retail and energy shares offsetting weakness in banks and mining stocks ... ....

Narrow escape for patient

Edit The Hindu 30 May 2016

She was asked to stay back at the hospital for a week as she was weak ... However, a senior medical officer said that the patientdid not suffer any injury ... ....

Is there a need for a new export-oriented model?

Edit Dawn 30 May 2016

FINGER-POINTING at the private sector or pulling out depressed global trade figures to justify Pakistan’s weak export performance can’t absolve the government of its responsibilities ... The development partners attribute Pakistan’s under-performance to global price trend, energy deficit, weak investment growth, logistic bottlenecks and narrow export base in terms of markets and products....

S. Korea's business sentiment gets stagnant on corporate restructuring

Edit Xinhua 30 May 2016

The index was based on a BOK survey of 2,797 manufacturers and non-manufacturers. The reading below 100 means pessimists outnumbered optimists ... Manufacturers picked weak domestic demand, economic uncertainties and slowing exports as main difficulties in doing business ... Editor. ying. ....

Japan Retail Sales Stall in April as Abe Mulls Delay to Tax Hike

Edit Bloomberg 30 May 2016

Japan’s retail sales growth stalled, underscoring weakness in private consumption and increasing the likelihood that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will delay a sales-tax increase planned for next year. Sales were unchanged in April from the previous month, the trade ministry reported on Monday ... ....

Sleeping on terraces an invitation to burglars

Edit The Hindu 30 May 2016

A few residents of a house on Gajapathy Street, Ice House, who slept with the doors and windows open on Wednesday night to beat the heat, lodged a complaint with the police next day that burglars had stolen mobile phones and cash from the house. Gajapathy Street is a narrow street located off Dr ... “We wake up early ... Meanwhile, residents of some areas complain that patrolling is weak as the vehicles rarely move around. ....

Google to tackle Android's biggest problem, but it won't be easy

Edit Sydney Morning Herald 30 May 2016

COMMENT. Google is angry — or at least that's what it sounds like when you read Bloomberg's look into the company's relationship with smartphone manufacturers. According to the report, Google is aggressively addressing Android's biggest problem ... The first part is practical ... Advertisement ... Both iOS and Android have inherent weaknesses due to differing philosophies about what a smartphone should be ... But Android's weakness is fragmentation ... ....

Still in the furnace but escaping meltdown

Edit China Daily 30 May 2016

Eager to stay alive, Liaoning-based Ansteel Group opened a new steel plant last month for high-end steel products used in auto and home appliance manufacturing as the steel maker seeks to improve its product offerings amid oversupply of low-end steel and weak demand....