Asia

Russia and Iran tighten relations in oil field building together five platforms in the Persian Gulf; the deal, which is worth a billion dollars, also involves the gradual transfer to Iran of the necessary offshore technologies, and this "is a dream come true", as stated Ehsanollah Mousavi, managing director of Iranian company TODC.

The agreement was signed by the shipbuilder, russian Krasnye Barrikady and the Iranian company TODC: the project, for $ 1 billion, involves the construction of five offshore platforms in the Persian Gulf. According Ehsanollah Mousavi, CEO TODC (Tasdid Offshore Development Company), the agreement provides for the construction of an offshore platform every two years off the Iranian port of Khorramshahr, situated in the extreme south-west of Iran, on the mouth of the Arvand River (also known as Shatt ul Arab).

CEO Sergio Marchionne has denied the press rumors that were circulating at the weekend about possible news for the Magneti Marelli negotiations between the FCA and Samsung. The rumors that leaked out indicated that the vice president of Samsung Electronics Lee Jae Yong, would be moved to Europe to participate in the appointments to the Board of Directors of Exor, of which he is director.

Chinese import-export still firm in July. Exports of the Asian giant were down by 4.4% on an annual basis, while imports fell by 12.5%, the steepest drop since January. For the first few analysts predicted a decline of 3%, 7% for the latter.

Imports were well down in 21 of the last 24 months, exports in 12 of the last 13. The balance was a surplus net trade balance of 52.31 billion dollars, the highest since January. And so, in the first 7 months of the year, China’s imports from the rest of the world decreased by 10.5% on annual basis (-8% in 2015), while exports fell by 7.4%.

Support at 100.70 holds, meaning there is still a good chance of a rally, first up to 103 and then up to 105 yen. The former resistance is created by the monthly pivot point, while the latter a lot denser supply zone is much less likely to let the price increase further. There the bulls will encounter the six-month down-trend and the 55-day SMA. Alternatively, if the scenario suggested by the indicators materialises and both 100.70 and 100 fall victim to the selling pressure, we will expect a bullish correction to start only circa 97 yen, when the rate meets the lower bound of the bearish channel.

Abe’s cabinet approved a new package of fiscal stimulus measures by 28 thousand billion yen, approximately 244.5 billion euro.

The goals of the operation are the revival of GDP to 1.4%, new measures to protect children, financial subsidies to 22 million low-income people, loans 10,700 billion yen for investment in infrastructure and 7 billion and a half for the direct fiscal spending for the national and local governments.

For the first time Tokyo will be led by a woman. The elections, which were held on Sunday to elect a new local governor, the third in three years, have seen the victory of Yuriko Koike, previously the first woman to head the Defense Ministry.
The victory, in the metropolis of 13 million residents, was obtained with a gap of more than a million votes over second classified, the rival Hiroya Masuda, supported by the Liberal Democratic Party of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

British Airways increasing talk Arabic. Qatar Airways has announced that it has reached the 20.01% stake in the former British flag carrier. It is the fourth time in three months that increases its shareholding in Anglo-Spanish group that includes, among others, British Airways, Iberia and Vueling, taking advantage of more than 20% decline blamed by the vote on Brexit.

China undermines the US from the top step of the podium of the largest banks in the world. According to the annual survey of R & S Mediobanca on international banks, in 2015 the largest commercial bank by assets was the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), with 3.146 billion euro, exceeding the US Jpm Chase (2.989 bn). In third place, unchanged, BofA to 2.557 billion.