UPDATE 3-ADM profit jumps on higher U.S. grain exports; shares rise

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CHICAGO U.S. agricultural products trader Archer Daniels Midland Co (ADM.N) on Tuesday reported a far better-than-expected third-quarter profit on Tuesday as higher U.S. exports of corn and soybeans boosted volumes and margins.

U.S. farmers have nearly completed what is expected to be the largest corn and soybean harvests on record, which should benefit ADM again in the current quarter.

"With improving market conditions and a large U.S. harvest, combined with the team's solid execution capabilities, we feel good about the remainder of the year and a stronger 2017," Chief Executive Officer Juan Luciano said in a statement.

ADM shares were up nearly 4 percent at $45.25 in premarket trading.

Chicago-based ADM makes money buying, selling, storing, transporting and processing grains and oilseeds around the world. Margins are typically thin, but volumes are massive when crop supplies are abundant and prices are low, as they are now.

Export sales of corn and soybeans from the United States were well ahead of the normal pace in the third quarter due to crop shortages in South America.

Net earnings attributable to the company rose to $341 million, or 58 cents per share, in the quarter, from $252 million, or 41 cents, a year earlier.

Revenue fell 4.4 percent to $15.83 billion.

Excluding items, ADM earned 59 cents per share, beating the average analyst estimate of 46 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

ADM's agricultural services unit, its largest in terms of revenue, gained from the shift in export demand to North America, with earnings totaling a net $195 million, up 31 percent from a year earlier.

Although ethanol earnings trailed a year ago, lower corn prices boosted results in corn processing. Adjusted profit in the segment jumped 30 percent to $214 million in the quarter.

ADM said it is expecting final proposals for a deal for its ethanol-producing corn dry mills by the end of 2016. The company is looking to sell or find a partner for the assets amid frustration over a persistent oversupply in the market that has thinned margins for making the biofuel.

Results in the oilseeds processing business were dragged down by weak soy processing margins, reduced South American crop supplies and a steep quarterly loss at Wilmar International Ltd (WLIL.SI). ADM owns about 23 percent of the Singapore-based vegetable oils processor. Thanks

German minister ups rhetoric against takeovers ahead of China trip

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BERLIN, Oct 29 China is strategically buying up key technologies in Germany while protecting its own companies against foreign takeovers with "discriminatory requirements", German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel was quoted as saying on Saturday.

Gabriel, also vice chancellor and leader of Germany's Social Democrats, heads to China next week after having ratcheted up tensions with Beijing by putting the brakes on the latest Chinese takeovers of German technology companies.

In a guest column for Welt am Sonntag newspaper, Gabriel urged the European Union to ensure a level playing field and adopt a tougher approach with China.

"Nobody can expect Europe to accept such foul play of trade partners," Gabriel wrote, adding that Germany was one of the most open economies for foreign direct investments.

In China, on the contrary, foreign direct investments by European companies are being hampered and takeovers are only approved under discriminatory requirements, he said.

"But China itself is going on a shopping tour here with a long list of interesting companies - with the clear intention of acquiring strategically important key technologies."

Under German law, the government can block takeovers only if they jeopardise energy security, defence or financial stability.

Gabriel is pushing for a Europe-wide safeguard clause which could stop foreign takeovers of firms whose technology is deemed strategic for the future economic success of the region.

Despite her deputy's tough words, Chancellor Angela Merkel views China as a strategically important partner, not only to do business with but also in foreign policy.

It remains one of Germany's most important trading partners and 60 business executives will join Gabriel on his five-day trip. Germany automakers in particular have benefited from China's rapid economic expansion.

This year to date, Chinese investors have racked up 47 deals to buy German targets with a total volume of 10.3 billion euros ($11.3 billion), according to Thomson Reuters data, compared with 29 deals worth just 263 million euros in the whole of 2015.

Deputy Economy Minister Michael Machnig told the Financial Times that Berlin was worried about takeovers that seemed to be driven by the Chinese government or were about gaining access to German technology.

"We need to have the powers to really investigate deals when it is clear that they are driven by industrial policy or to enable technology transfers," he told the FT in an interview. "When necessary, in exceptional cases, maybe even to say we're not going to allow (them)."

Gabriel's visit comes a week after his ministry withdrew approval for Fujian Grand Chip Investment Fund (FGC) to buy chip equipment maker Aixtron, citing security concerns.

The government is also scrutinising the sale of Osram's general lighting lamps business Ledvance to a consortium of Chinese buyers.

Gabriel has struck increasingly protectionist tones since Chinese home appliance maker Midea made overtures back in May for robot-maker Kuka - a national champion in Germany's push to hook up machinery to the internet that it went on to buy. ($1 = 0.9107 euros).

BRUSSELS, Oct 28 European privacy watchdogs warned WhatsApp on Friday over sharing user information with parent company Facebook, and cautioned Yahoo over a 2014 data breach and scanning of customer emails for U.S. intelligence purposes. Thanks.

India offers to buy 200 foreign combat jets - if they're Made-in-India

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NEW DELHI India is offering to buy hundreds of fighter planes from foreign manufacturers - as long as the jets are made in India and with a local partner, air force officials say.

A deal for 200 single-engine planes produced in India - which the air force says could rise to 300 as it fully phases out aging Soviet-era aircraft - could be worth anything from $13-$15 billion, experts say, potentially one of the country's biggest military aircraft deals.

After a deal to buy high-end Rafale planes from France's Dassault was scaled back to just 36 jets last month, the Indian Air Force is desperately trying to speed up other acquisitions and arrest a fall in operational strength, now a third less than required to face both China and Pakistan.

But Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration wants any further military planes to be built in India with an Indian partner to kickstart a domestic aircraft industry, and end an expensive addiction to imports.

Lockheed Martin said it is interested in setting up a production line for its F-16 plane in India for not just the Indian military, but also for export.

And Sweden's Saab has offered a rival production line for its Gripen aircraft, setting up an early contest for one of the biggest military plane deals in play.

"The immediate shortfall is 200. That would be the minimum we would be looking at," said an air officer briefed on the Make-in-India plans under which a foreign manufacturer will partner local firms to build the aircraft with technology transfer.

India's defense ministry has written to several companies asking if they would be willing to set up an assembly line for single-engine fighter planes in India and the amount of technology transfer that would happen, another government source said.

"We are testing the waters, testing the foreign firms' willingness to move production here and to find out their expectations," the person said.

OPERATIONAL GAPS

India's air force originally planned for 126 Rafale twin-engine fighters from Dassault, but the two sides could not agree on the terms of local production with a state-run Indian firm and settled for 36 planes in a fly-away condition.

Adding to the military's problems is India's three-decade effort to build a single-engine fighter of its own which was meant to be the backbone of the air force. Only two of those Light Combat Aircraft, called Tejas, have been delivered to the air force which has ordered 140 of them.

The Indian Air Force is down to 32 operational squadrons compared with the 45 it has said are necessary, and in March the vice chief Air Marshal B.S. Dhanoa told parliament's defense committee that it didn't have the operational strength to fight a two front war against China and Pakistan.

JET MAKERS RESPOND

Saab said it was ready to not only produce its frontline Gripen fighter in India, but help build a local aviation industry base.

"We are very experienced in transfer of technology – our way of working involves extensive cooperation with our partners to establish a complete ecosystem, not just an assembly line," said Jan Widerström, Chairman and Managing Director, Saab India Technologies.

He confirmed Saab had received the letter from the Indian government seeking a fourth generation fighter. A source close to the company said that while there was no minimum order set in stone for it to lay down a production line, they would expect to build at least 100 planes at the facility.

Lockheed Martin said it had responded to the defense ministry's letter with an offer to transfer the entire production of its F-16 fighter to India.

"Exclusive F-16 production in India would make India home to the world's only F-16 production facility, a leading exporter of advanced fighter aircraft, and offer Indian industry the opportunity to become an integral part of the world's largest fighter aircraft supply chain," Abhay Paranjape, National Executive for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Business Development in India said in an email.

U.S. TOP SUPPLIER

Lockheed's offer comes on the back of expanding U.S.-India military ties in which Washington has emerged as India's top arms supplier in recent years, ousting old ally Russia.

Earlier this year Boeing also offered India its twin-engine F/A-18 Hornets, but the level of technology transfer was not clear.

India has never previously attempted to build a modern aircraft production line, whether military or civilian. State-run Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) has assembled Russian combat jets including the Su-30, but these are under licensed production.

"We have never had control over technology. This represents the most serious attempt to build a domestic base. A full or a near-full tech transfer lays the ground for further development," said retired Indian air marshal M. Matheswaran, a former adviser at HAL.

He said the Indian government would be looking at producing at least 200 fighters, and then probably some more, to make up for the decades of delay in modernizing the air force.


BEIJING China's imports of North Korean coal run counter to global sanctions, a senior U.S. official said on Saturday, adding that a U.S. missile system deployed in South Korea should "motivate" Beijing to pressure Pyongyang over its nuclear program.


DOUE-LA-FONTAINE, France French President Francois Hollande said on Saturday he had spoken with British Prime Minister Theresa May to convey the message that Britain should take its share of responsibility for minors from the "Jungle" migrant camp of Calais.

 CAIRO An Egyptian court sentenced two Muslim Brotherhood supporters on Saturday to life in prison and 16 others to 15 years in jail for a violent assault on a Cairo neighborhood in 2013 after the ouster of former president Mohamed Mursi. Thanks.

UPDATE 1-Tesla's Musk adds solar roofs to his clean energy vision

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Tesla Motors Inc Chief Executive Elon Musk on Friday unveiled new energy products aimed at illustrating the benefits of combining his electric car and battery maker with solar installer SolarCity Corp.

The billionaire entrepreneur showed of solar-powered roof tiles that eliminate the need for traditional panels and a longer-lasting home battery, which Tesla calls the Powerwall, aimed at realizing his vision of selling a fossil fuel free lifestyle to consumers.

"This is sort of the integrated future. An electric car, a Powerwall and a solar roof. The key is it needs to be beautiful, affordable and seamlessly integrated," Musk said while showcasing the products on homes that once served as the set of the television show "Desperate Housewives."

Musk is the biggest shareholder in both Tesla and SolarCity, which is run by two of his first cousins. Analysts have been dubious of the deal's proposed synergies, with some suggesting the merger is a way for Tesla to rescue money-losing SolarCity. A vote on the acquisition is scheduled for Nov. 17.

The rollout of the product, expected as soon as next summer, would be "unwieldy" if the two companies are not combined, Musk told reporters.

Having two separate companies "slows things down, makes them more expensive. It's worse for shareholders," he said.

Musk refused to answer a reporter's question about how Tesla's balance sheet would accommodate the acquisition of SolarCity.

By incorporating solar modules into rooftops, Tesla is hoping to succeed with a solar technology that to date has had little success. Just this year, Dow Chemical said it would stop selling a solar shingle it launched five years ago.

Tesla's glass solar roof tiles would look far better than any similar product, Musk said. They can be manufactured in a range of styles, which were demonstrated on the rooftops on the set.

Tesla gave little detail on cost, except to say that the cost of the roof would be less than a conventional roof plus solar. The product will appeal to home builders and people looking to replace their roofs, Musk said, adding that the shingles would be more durable and have better insulation qualities than conventional roofs.

SolarCity co-founder Peter Rive, Musk's cousin, said the solar roofs could easily have a five percent share of the new roof market within a year or two.

The new generation of home and industrial batteries will be available this year.

Oracle Corp should raise its offer to buy NetSuite Inc to $133 per share from the $109-per-share it had proposed in July, NetSuite shareholder T. Rowe Price Group Inc said.

ROME Italy's antitrust watchdog said on Friday it had opened a probe into whether messaging service WhatsApp obliged users to agree to sharing personal data with its parent company Facebook and imposed "unfair" conditions on users.

 Amazon.com Inc may be a "buy" for the vast majority of analysts, but it was a "sell" for a lot of investors on Friday. Thanks.

UPDATE 3-EU data protection watchdogs warn WhatsApp, Yahoo on privacy

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BRUSSELS European privacy watchdogs warned WhatsApp on Friday over sharing user information with parent company Facebook, and cautioned Yahoo over a 2014 data breach and scanning of customer emails for U.S. intelligence purposes.

The popular messaging service's recent change in privacy policy to start sharing users' phone numbers with Facebook - the first policy change since WhatsApp was acquired by Facebook in 2014 - has attracted regulatory scrutiny in Europe.

The Italian antitrust watchdog on Friday also announced a separate probe into whether WhatsApp obliged users to agree to sharing personal data with Facebook.

The European Union's 28 data protection authorities said in a statement they had requested WhatsApp stop sharing users' data with Facebook until the "appropriate legal protections could be assured" to avoid falling foul of EU data protection law.

WhatsApp's new privacy policy involves the sharing of information with Facebook for purposes that were not included in the terms of service when users signed up, raising questions about the validity of users' consent, the authorities, known as the Article 29 Working Party (WP29), said.

A spokeswoman for WhatsApp said the company was working with data protection authorities to address their questions.

"We’ve had constructive conversations, including before our update, and we remain committed to respecting applicable law,” she said.

Facebook has had run-ins with European privacy watchdogs in the past over its processing of users' data. However, the fines that regulators can levy are paltry in comparison to the revenues of the big U.S. tech companies concerned.

The EU data protection authorities also wrote to Yahoo over a massive data breach that exposed the email credentials of 500 million users, as well as its scanning of customers' incoming emails for specific information provided by U.S. intelligence officials.

They asked Yahoo to communicate all aspects of the data breach to the EU authorities, to notify the affected users of the "adverse effects" and to cooperate with all "upcoming national data protection authorities' enquiries and/or investigations.

"The reports (about email scanning) are concerning to WP29 and it will be important to understand the legal basis and justification for any such surveillance activity, including an explanation of how this is compatible with EU law and protection for EU citizens," the watchdogs said in their letter to Yahoo. Yahoo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The regulators will discuss the Yahoo and WhatsApp cases in November.

BERLIN China is strategically buying up key technologies in Germany while protecting its own companies against foreign takeovers with "discriminatory requirements", German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel said on Saturday.

Oracle Corp should raise its offer to buy NetSuite Inc to $133 per share from the $109-per-share it had proposed in July, NetSuite shareholder T. Rowe Price Group Inc said.

 ROME Italy's antitrust watchdog said on Friday it had opened a probe into whether messaging service WhatsApp obliged users to agree to sharing personal data with its parent company Facebook and imposed "unfair" conditions on users. Thanks.

Woodside takes $US350 million stake in Senegal offshore oil deal

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SYDNEY (Reuters)- - Woodside Energy (WPN.AX) has secured a 35 percent stake in three oil and gas tenements off West Africa after buying ConocoPhillips Senegal BV for $350 million.

Woodside CEO Peter Coleman said in a statement on Saturday Woodside would be working with partners to commercialize the promising SNE and FAN deep-water oil discoveries off the coast of Senegal.

"We look forward to working with the Government of Senegal and joint venture participants Cairn Energy, FAR Limited, and Petrosen, the Senegal National Oil Company, to progress the commercial development of the SNE and FAN discoveries," Coleman said.

The deal comes after ConocoPhillips's (COP.N) partner in the SNE field, FAR Ltd (FAR.AX) in August attempted to thwart the arrangement between ConocoPhillips and Woodside, claiming ConocoPhillips had breached their joint operating agreement.

MOSCOW Rosneft has sent a draft mandatory offer to the central bank to buy the shares it does not already own in oil firm Bashneft, the Russian energy company said in a regulatory statement released late on Friday.

U.S. oil drillers cut rigs this week for the first time since June, ending a 17-week recovery in the rig count, even as crude prices mostly held over $50 a barrel this month, the key level analysts said should lead to more drilling.

 FRANKFURT A third firefighter has died of his injuries following last week's explosion at the headquarters of German chemicals group BASF, the company said on Saturday. Thanks.

UPDATE 3-Northrop posts 16.7 pct profit rise, raises full-year forecast

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U.S. weapons maker Northrop Grumman Corp (NOC.N) reported a 16.7 percent rise in quarterly profit on Wednesday, helped by higher sales in its aerospace systems business that makes the center fuselage of the F-35 fighter jets.

Northrop shares hit an all-time high of $229.45 and were still up 3.9 percent at $228.10 in afternoon trading.

Last October, Northrop won the contract to produce the "Raider," the U.S. Air Force's new B-21 long-range bomber. The estimated $80 billion program, expected to produce 100 aircraft, has been shrouded in secrecy since its inception. It is expected to have aircraft ready for combat no sooner than 2025.

The maker of Global Hawk surveillance planes raised its 2016 earnings forecast for the third time this year to a range of $11.55 to $11.75 per share from $10.75 to $11.00. In January, Northrop estimated that 2016 EPS could be between $9.90 and $10.39.

The company now expects full-year sales of $23.9 billion to $24.1 billion, up from $23.5 billion to $24.0 billion.

Analysts, on average, expect 2016 earnings of $11.05 per share, on revenue of $23.82 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Northrop's earnings came a day after Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) reported better-than-expected results and lifted 2016 forecasts, partly due to higher sales from the F-35 program.

The F-35 is the Pentagon's costliest arms program. The U.S. Defense Department expects to spend $391 billion to develop the plane and buy 2,443 of the supersonic, stealthy new warplanes in the coming decades.

Northrop makes the center fuselage for the F-35, which forms a significant portion of the aircraft's internal weapons bay and internal fuel capacity.

Third-quarter revenue at Northrop's aerospace systems business increased 9.4 percent to $2.78 billion.

Help came from increased sales in the F-35 business and increased buying in top-secret programs as well as sales of autonomous systems.

Northrop CFO Ken Bedingfield told analysts on a conference call that the F-35 program now represents about 7 percent of revenue. CEO Wes Bush added that once F-35 production achieves full capacity, the profitability of that program should grow.

Northrop's third-quarter net earnings rose to $602 million, or $3.35 per share, from $516 million, or $2.75 per share, a year earlier. (bit.ly/2eR8BSK)

The profit included a federal tax benefit of $42 million, or 23 cents per share.

Total sales rose 2.9 percent to $6.16 billion.

So far this year Northrop's shares have risen more than 20 percent.


NEW YORK Boeing Co will not cut production of the 777 jetliner by more than two planes a month and is taking more time to decide on whether a cut is even needed, Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg said on Wednesday.

MOSCOW/STOCKHOLM Russia is sharply upgrading the firepower of its Baltic Fleet by adding warships armed with long-range cruise missiles to counter NATO's build-up in the region, Russian media reported on Wednesday. Thanks.

UPDATE 1-Brazil sheds more jobs than expected in September

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BRASILIA Oct 26 Job cuts in Brazil increased unexpectedly in September, according to government data, in another sign that the country's two-year-long recession took a turn for the worse.

Brazil shed a net 39,282 payroll jobs in September, the Labor Ministry said on Wednesday, compared with 33,953 job cuts in August and 95,602 in September 2015.

Economists expected payroll jobs to decrease by 16,000 in September, according to the median forecast in a Reuters poll.

Brazil's economy is expected to shrink more than 3 percent for a second straight year in 2016. With 12 million workers officially considered unemployed, the economy shed 1.6 million jobs over the past 12 months.

In September, the Labor Ministry recorded a net 27,591 job cuts at construction companies and 15,144 job losses at services firms. Manufacturers and retailers reported job gains, but hired only 9,363 and 3,940 workers in the month, respectively.

MEXICO CITY, Oct 26 Mexican factory exports posted their biggest monthly rise in more than seven years in September, powered by increased demand for autos, data from the national statistics agency showed on Wednesday. Adjusted for seasonal swings, factory exports jumped by 7.4 percent in September from August after a decline of 3.5 percent the previous month. The increase was the biggest since August 2009. Exports in the auto industry were up by 7.8
 
SAO PAULO/BRASILIA, Oct 26 The share of loans delinquent for at least 90 days in Brazil was unchanged at a record high in September, a signal that efforts by commercial banks to refinance looming debt maturities are yet to help ease the country's worst credit crunch in two decades. Thanks.

UPDATE 1-Boeing CEO says will not cut 777 output rate by more than 2 a month

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NEW YORK Boeing Co (BA.N) will not cut production of the 777 jetliner by more than two planes a month and is taking more time to decide on whether a cut is even needed, Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg said on Wednesday.

Boeing already plans to cut production of the wide-body plane to seven a month next year from 8.3 currently, and many experts expect a further cut to five a month due to slow sales and transition to a successor jet, the 777X.

The world's biggest planemaker also is studying whether to lift production of 787 Dreamliners to a planned 14 a month from 12, Muilenburg said. The company signaled that it wants to wait until several sales campaigns are finished in 2016 and 2017.

"We expect to have additional clarity on 777 production decisions in the next couple of months," Muilenburg said on a call with analysts.

"On the 787 program we have more time to further assess the implementation of the next production rate increase that is currently scheduled to ramp up to 14 per month at the end of the decade."

Boeing's production rates are bellwethers of market conditions, closely watched by investors for signs of the plane maker's future earnings and cash flow. Sales and profits at Boeing's many suppliers also are affected by changes in Boeing's factory rates.

While noting "hesitation" among airlines for buying wide-body planes such as the 777 and 787, Muilenburg said sales of narrow-body 737s are relatively strong.

He also said that even if Boeing decides to cut wide-body production "we continue to expect commercial aircraft deliveries to grow beyond 900 airplanes per year through the end of this decade," providing reassurance that overall deliveries will continue to rise from the 745 to 750 expected this year.

Earlier on Wednesday, the company beat profit expectations in the third quarter.

Oct 26 U.S. weapons maker Northrop Grumman Corp reported a 16.7 percent rise in quarterly profit on Wednesday, helped by higher sales in its aerospace systems business that makes the center fuselage of the F-35 fighter jets.

* Shares fall as much as 12 pct to $36.91 (Adds comment from conference call; updates shares)

 MOSCOW/STOCKHOLM Russia is sharply upgrading the firepower of its Baltic Fleet by adding warships armed with long-range cruise missiles to counter NATO's build-up in the region, Russian media reported on Wednesday. Thanks.

U.S. business borrowing for equipment up 12 pct in Sept. - ELFA

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Oct 25 Borrowings by U.S. companies for capital investment rose 12 percent in September from a year earlier, the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) said on Tuesday.

Companies signed up for $9.4 billion in new loans, leases and lines of credit last month, said the Washington-based trade group, which reports economic activity for the $1 trillion U.S. equipment finance industry.

The U.S. Federal Reserve's decision to keep interest rates low has spurred businesses to spend more on equipment, ELFA Chief Executive Ralph Petta said in a statement.

However, total new borrowings in the first nine months of the year fell 4 percent, ELFA said.

In September, credit approvals fell to 76.6 percent of all applications submitted from 76.9 percent in August, ELFA said.

There is pent up demand for capital investment, but given the unpredictable domestic environment and the economic headwinds globally, the unevenness may last for several months, said Stan Walker, managing director of JPMorgan Equipment Finance.

ELFA's leasing and finance index tracks the volume of commercial equipment financed in the United States. The index complements the U.S. Commerce Department's durable goods orders report, which it precedes by a few days.

The index is based on a survey of 25 lenders, including Bank of America Corp, BB&T Corp, CIT Group Inc and the financing affiliates or units of Caterpillar Inc , Deere & Co, Siemens AG and Volvo AB .

Separately, the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation, ELFA's non-profit affiliate, said its confidence index rose to 56.0 for October from 53.8 for September.

The index is an indicator of the outlook for the equipment finance market, with a reading above 50 suggesting a positive outlook.

NEW YORK, Oct 25 The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday sold $26 billion of a two-year debt issue at a yield of 0.855 percent, its highest since a two-year note auction held in May, Treasury data showed.

* James Flynn reports 4.51 percent passive stake in Blueprint Medicines Corp as of October 20 - sec filing Source text : http://bit.ly/2eCWk3R Further company coverage:

 DUBAI, Oct 25 Billionaire Mohamed Alabbar, one of Dubai's most prominent businessmen, plans a phone messaging service for the Middle East that aims to compete with services such as WhatsApp. Thanks.