Unilever sales hit by emerging markets slowdown

THE HAGUE: Anglo-Dutch food and cosmetics giant Unilever, seen as a bellwether for global consumer spending, warned on Tuesday of slowdown in sales growth brought on by weakened demand in emerging markets.

“Unilever has seen a weakening in the market growth of many emerging countries in the third quarter and now expects underlying sales growth of 3.0 to 3.5 percent, as opposed to a predicted 5.0 percent,” Unilever spokesman Flip Dotsch told AFP.

“The emerging market slowdown has accelerated as a result of significant currency weakening,” Unilever added in a statement.

The currencies of Brazil and India have been under serious pressure due to expectations that the US Fed will wind down its stimulus programme while growth has been slowing even in China’s powerhouse economy.

These emerging markets contribute to more than half of Unilever’s sales, as the owner of Dove soaps and other common household brands shifted its attention away from developed markets which Unilever said “remain flat to down.”

Unilever’s first half profits for 2013 had jumped by 14.0 percent, while sales were up 0.4 percent to $34 billion, mainly on the back of growth in emerging markets like China, Indonesia, Vietnam and Pakistan.

Decreasing number but still a alarming situation..

The number of world hungry has dropped to one in eight people, but undernourishment remains a significant problem in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia, the UN’s food agency said Tuesday.

At the global level, 842 million people – 12 percent of the world’s population – did not have enough food for an active and healthy life in the period 2011 to 2013, down from 868 million reported for the period 2010 to 2012.

“Around one in eight people in the world were estimated to be suffering from chronic hunger” in the period 2011 to 2013, the Rome-based Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) said in report on food insecurity in the world.

“Africa remains the region with the highest prevalence of undernourishment, with more than one in five people estimated to be undernourished,” it said.

Despite overall progress, marked differences across regions persist.

Sub-Saharan Africa is currently performing the worst on the hunger scale, though there has been some improvement over the last two decades, with hunger declining from 32.7 percent to 24.8 percent.

Southern Asia and Northern Africa also show slow progress, it said.

Western Asia shows no progress in tackling undernourishment: while there are fewer people going hungry here than in other parts of the region, the level of undernourishment has risen steadily since the 1990 to 1992 period.

The FAO said there had, however, been significant reductions in the estimated number of people going hungry in Latin America and Eastern Asia.

The most rapid progress was recorded in South-Eastern Asia, where since 1990 the number of hungry has dropped from 31.1 percent to 10.7 percent.

“Those that have experienced conflict during the past two decades are more likely to have seen significant setbacks in reducing hunger,” the FAO said.

“Landlocked countries face persistent challenges in accessing world markets, while countries with poor infrastructure and weak institutions face additional constraints,” it added

Finally Ancelotti make it clear..

Carlo Ancelotti spoke frankly on Tuesday at the press conference on the eve of Real Madrid's Champions League clash against Copenhagen, to issue a 'mea culpa': "It is normal that people are angry but this is my responsibility and I am going to fix things. It is an extra motivation for me because I want people to enjoy watching Real Madrid play", he said.

The Italian coach also took the opportunity to ask for patience from fans before they see his side in full flight. "The results were good until the last week. We have yet to start playing our natural game. We need a bit more time for the players to get accustomed to the system in the most fluid and natural way possible ".

Ancelotti described the meeting he had with the whole squad on Monday as positive. "It is very important to speak together so that we know what all the players are thinking. We are all in this together, through good and bad, and the player's opinion is crucial".

On the subject of Benzema and his on the field argument with Pepe, Ancelotti was non committal: "Nothing changes whether he plays or not. On the pitch it is normal that the players talk, if Karim does play he will have a good game".

Ancelotti also took time to discuss club President Florentino Pérez and his influence over player signings for this season. "He is the most important man at Real Madrid. He is very intelligent and when we sign a player it is because we are all in agreement", he commented.

Did you know? First Pakistani silent movie makes it to international film fests

One of the earliest silent films to have been released in the subcontinent was Daughters of Today, which was produced in Lahore in 1924. Now, a movie which will be Pakistan’s first silent film, is ready to be submitted to international film festivals including the Gandhara Film Festival & FILUMS (Lahore) festival in Pakistan in 2013-2014. Called Meeeowww Billi aur World War 3, the movie is inspired by the age of silent cinema with a political message on the current situation in Syria and the Middle East.

“When Pakistan came into being in 1947, the talkies or talking films were already the norm worldwide. So Pakistani cinema never experimented with silent films,” says Faraz Waqar, writer and director of Pakistan’s first silent film. “By the time of partition in 1947 and the creation of Pakistan, the age of silent films was over. There has been no silent film made by the film industry in Pakistan after partition.”

The film has been shot entirely in the United Arab Emirates and involves an international team of actors, cinematographers and crew from India, USA, UAE, Australia, Canada, Syria and other Middle Eastern countries.

GSK says sells thrombosis brands, French site

GSK today announced it has reached agreement to sell its thrombosis brands, Arixtra and Fraxiparine, and the Notre-Dame de Bondeville manufacturing site to The Aspen Group,” said a statement.

“The agreement is a further example of GSK’s commitment to increase focus on products with the most growth potential,” it added.

Aspen will acquire global rights to the Arixtra and Fraxiparine brands — excluding China, India and Pakistan — and certain dedicated commercial employees, along with the related Notre-Dame de Bondeville manufacturing site and the majority of employees at the facility.

GSK added that it would use the proceeds for general corporate purposes.

“Arixtra and Fraxiparine are established products that have consistently delivered strong revenues,” said GSK chief strategy officer David Redfern.

“However, our focus is on delivering an unprecedented late-stage pipeline and preparing for the launch of approved medicines.”

London-listed GSK has a shareholding of 18.6 percent in Aspen, which is a top generic drugs maker in the southern hemisphere and is also Africa’s largest pharmaceutical manufacturer.

China unveils rules for Shanghai free trade zone

In the newly established Shanghai free trade zone, China would allow free yuan convertibility and test market-set interest rates as well as cross-border use of the yuan in the zone, China's cabinet, the State Council, unveiled in a plan published on its website Friday.

Moreover, China would ease regulatory curbs on foreign investors seeking to set up operations in the zone, including allowing foreign financial institutions to open solely-owned banks and privately-funded Sino-foreign joint ventures, the statement on the website said.
In addition, restrictions on trade as well as 18 services sectors ranging from finance and shipping to cultural services would be eased.

'It [the zone] should be made an experimental field to push forward reforms, improve the open economy, as well as accumulate experience that can be duplicated and promoted,' the State Council's statement said.
On Sunday, China is to officially inaugurate the Shanghai free trade zone, which will amalgamate four existing trade zones in the city and span 29 square kilometers (11 square miles).
The State Council said the bold new reforms would be implemented in the zone over a period of three years and periodically adjusted.

The State Council document made no specific mention of a reported plan to liberalize China's tightly-controlled Internet in the zone.
Earlier this week, rumors circulated in international media that the government might allow access to Facebook, Twitter and other websites banned in China.
What the State Council did say, however, was that foreign companies might be allowed to offer specialized telecommunications services which would be granted on a case-by-case basis.

Volkswagen opens southern China car plant as sales boom

The Foshan car plant in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong would have a capacity of 300,000 cars annually, Germany's Volkswagen group said Wednesday as it launched production at the site.
At the plant, the German car giant would produce its latest Golf model, as well as in a second phase the A3 model of its Audi subsidiary, Volkswagen (VW) said.

The move coincides with a slump in sales by carmakers within Europe and an announcement last week by Audi that it would open a plant in southern Brazil
Latest of five new plants

'The Foshan branch will offer 6,500 skilled jobs in the first phase, cultivate new talents and improve infrastructure for a more prosperous, more innovative, and more sustainable auto industry in south China,' said Jochem Heizmann, the head of Volkswagen in China.

The Foshan plant is the latest of five new car factories to be inaugurated by Volkswagen in the Asian country this year. Attempting to become the world's biggest auto maker by 2018, the 12-brand carmaking group has earmarked investments in China worth 14 billion euros ($18.8 billion) until 2016.
The group seeks to boost its China production from currently 2.8 million vehicles to about 4 million in 2018. China has become Volkswagen's largest market, soaring 23 percent last year alone.
VW China Chief Heizmann also said the group was planning to built another car factory at the Foshan site, seeking to double production in four years.

Volkswagen operates the Foshan plant in a joint venture with Chinese carmaker First Automotive Works (FAW). The German manufacturer announced Wednesday, it would seek to raise its stake in the partnership from currently 40 percent to 50 percent. In Volkswagen's other Chinese joint venture with Shanghai Automotive Industry, the German car group already owns already 50 percent.
Europe sales down
Last week, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association ACEA said the car sales figure in Europe during the January-August period was the lowest since it started keeping track in 1990.
For August, new car registrations fell 5 percent from a year ago to 653,872, the association said.
Germany saw a 5.5 percent drop, despite a stronger economy than in other members of the 17-county eurozone. Registrations fell 10.5 percent in France, 18.3 percent in Spain, and 6.6 percent in
Italy. Britain's was the only major market to expand, rising 10.5
Germany's Volkswagen Group was off 11.2 percent in August while France's PSA Peugeot Citroen slid 17.3 percent.

Luxury brands did better. Daimler's Mercedes was up 8.9 percent, and BMW AG rose 9.5 percent.