BEIJING, Sept 15 (Reuters) - U.S. grain merchant Archer-Daniels-Midland Co (ADM.N) said on Wednesday that it had launched a new flavour production facility in China to meet growing demand for beverages and healthy foods.

The new facility - ADM Food Technology (Pinghu) Co Ltd, located in the eastern province of Zhejiang and about one hour away from Shanghai - marks a further expansion by the global grains trader in the nutrition segment.

Nutrition is one of ADM's three main businesses and the company aims to increase the segment's contribution to overall net profits to more than a quarter in the next three to five years, from about 15% currently, Leo Liu, President, Nutrition, Asia-Pacific, ADM, told Reuters.

On the Pinghu plant, Liu said it would serve as ADM's new flavour supply hub for China and the wider Asia-Pacific region, adding it will also be part of ADM's global flavours supply chain, serving clients based in Europe and Americas.

"The reason why...

Sept 14 (Reuters) - Apple Inc (AAPL.O) unveiled the iPhone 13 and a new iPad mini on Tuesday, expanding 5G connectivity and showing off faster chips and sharper cameras without raising the phone's price.

The Cupertino, California-based company did not announce any blockbuster features or products, but analysts expect customers hanging onto older models like the iPhone X will be eager to upgrade. To encourage trade-ins, participating wireless carriers are offering incentives ahead of the year-end holiday season that to make the new phones free to some customers.

The iPhone 13 will have a new chip called the A15 Bionic that enables features like automatically translating text. The phone also has a better display, longer battery life and a Cinematic mode for automatically changing focus while taking videos. Apple said the iPhone 13 will have custom 5G antennas and radio components for faster speeds and will come in five colors. read more

The phone will start at...

LONDON, Sept 15 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Swedish Match (SWMA.ST) can feed Philip Morris International’s (PM.N) M&A addiction. The nicotine pouch and oral tobacco maker on Wednesday said it would spin off its cigar business to become a smoke-free company. That makes it more attractive for PMI Chief Executive Jacek Olczak and his ambitious non-combustible goals.

The Marlboro Man buying Swedish Match is hardly a new idea. But the maker of Scandi Snus tobacco pouches has always looked expensive, and could become even more so sans cigars. While some institutional investors shun tobacco outright, others consider a company’s direction of travel. Thus ditching its cigars may mean more demand for Swedish Match shares. After Wednesday’s 4% gains, it trades at 22 times this year’s earnings. By comparison, $160 billion PMI, a Big Tobacco outperformer, trades at 17 times.

But medium-term financial returns may not be Olczak’s top priority. He wants PMI to generate over half...

LONDON, Sept 15 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The travelling IT salesman may be a dying breed. Darktrace (DARK.L) shares soared nearly 10% on Wednesday after the $6.5 billion British cybersecurity firm raised its sales and margin forecasts for the year ahead. Revenue in the 12 months to June surpassed expectations, growing 41% to $281 million. But the Cambridge-based group, which uses machine learning to detect anomalies in IT systems, also benefitted from a 92% collapse in travel and entertainment costs due to pandemic movement restrictions. Chief Executive Poppy Gustafsson now expects an adjusted EBITDA margin of 2%-5%, from 1%-4% previously.

Before the outbreak of Covid-19, her army of salespeople schmoozed clients in high-end hotel suites and technology jamborees. When Covid struck, they retreated to Zoom, yet still pulled in new business. Over the past year, Darktrace’s customer base swelled 45%. A technology company splashing out on plane tickets and hotel rooms to win...

LONDON, Sept 15 (Reuters Breakingviews) - British inflation leapt to 3.2% in August from 2% the previous month, the sharpest increase in the annual rate on record, data showed on Wednesday. As in the United States, pandemic-related distortions are muddying the waters. The UK government subsidised eating out a year ago and the hospitality sector got a temporary reduction in value-added tax. The question for the Bank of England, as for the Federal Reserve , is whether high inflation persists.

Supply chain disruptions have boosted prices of goods on both sides of the Atlantic. And some sectors are struggling to recruit staff , pushing up wages. Brexit is accentuating these problems. Yet inflation may prove less of a problem for the UK central bank. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is raising taxes on workers next year to pay for health and social care read more , which will leave households with less disposable income. The corollary of reduced price pressures may unfortunately...

LONDON, Sept 15 (Reuters) - A unit in Afghanistan's central bank leading a 15-year effort to counter illicit funding flows has halted operations, four staff members said, threatening to hasten the country's slide out of the global financial system.

Since 2006, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Center of Afghanistan (FinTRACA) has gathered intelligence on thousands of suspicious transactions and helped convict smugglers and terrorist financiers, according to its website.

UN officials have said the Taliban, who seized Kabul on Aug. 15, made hundreds of millions of dollars from the drugs trade and other illicit sources when they were fighting government troops. The group has vowed there would be no drug cultivation in Afghanistan from now.

Information on FinTRACA's website indicated the Taliban were among those in its sights, while the staff Reuters spoke to said the group had been a target since its launch.

They declined to be named because...

Sept 15 (Reuters) - China's Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development has told major banks that Evergrande (3333.HK) will not be able to make loan interest payments due Sept. 20, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Evergrande, the country's No.2 property developer, is still in talks with banks on the possibility of extending payments and rolling over some loans, Bloomberg reported, adding that the housing ministry has convened a meeting with banks this week.

MADRID, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Fashion brand Zara owner Inditex (ITX.MC) has outpaced Swedish rival H&M (HMb.ST) in its efforts to bounce back from the coronavirus crisis, with second-quarter sales rising above pre-pandemic levels.

The world's biggest fashion retailer's sales in the quarter edged above levels seen before the pandemic as most stores reopened and people rushed to renew their wardrobe after store closures imposed to curb the spread of the virus.

Rival H&M's (HMb.ST) sales grew less than expected from a year ago in the three months through August, and remained lodged below pre-pandemic levels. H&M said lockdowns and restrictions hampered its development, particularly in Asia. read more

Inditex Executive Chairman Pablo Isla said that sales in stores and online were progressively recovering across all brands and markets, despite some restrictions in Asia due to the pandemic.

"We have had a strong start in the autumn winter season,"...

TOKYO, Sept 15 (Reuters) - The dollar held recent ranges against peers on Wednesday after softer-than-expected U.S. inflation figures tempered immediate expectations about Federal Reserve tapering while disappointing Chinese data weighed on the yuan and Aussie.

The dollar index stood at 92.632, little changed from Tuesday, when it dropped following the inflation data only to recover on haven demand as stocks slid on Wall Street.

The index has meandered between 92.3 and 92.9 over the past week as several Fed officials have suggested the U.S. central bank could reduce its buying of debt securities by the end of the year, even after a much-weaker-than-expected payrolls report at the start of the month.

While elevated inflation has kept pressure on policymakers, data overnight showed the U.S. consumer price index, excluding the volatile food and energy components, edged up just 0.1% last month. read more

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) holds its...

A look at the day ahead from Dhara Ranasinghe.

News that inflation came off the boil in the United States last month was a win for those in the "inflation is transitory" camp and markets cheered the news too. But not so fast.

Not only was relief in equity and bond markets short-lived but there are plenty of other signs that the inflation debate is far from over.

Take data out this morning in Europe showing British inflation hit a more than nine-year high last month after the biggest monthly jump in the annual rate in at least 24 years. read more

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 15 (Reuters) - South Africa's FirstRand (FSRJ.J) will end funding for new coal-fired power stations and coal mines and has lowered the cap on its coal exposure as part of moves to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, it said on Wednesday.

South Africa's banks are the biggest on the continent, with the likes of FirstRand major lenders to fossil fuel projects, especially in oil and gas, and are increasingly under pressure from environmental groups to turn off the taps.

FirstRand, which had previously said it would continue supporting coal due to its importance to the South African economy, said it would no longer fund new coal-fired power stations and would stop all funding for new coal mines from 2026.

"It is the long-term ambition of FirstRand to be net-zero by 2050 across operational and financed emissions," it said in a statement announcing its updated coal policy.

It added that the group will also reduce the cap on its coal financing...

NEW YORK, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Wall Street lost ground on Tuesday as economic uncertainties and the increasing likelihood of a corporate tax rate hike dampened investor sentiment and offset signs of easing inflation.

Optimism faded throughout the session, reversing an initial rally following the Labor Department's consumer price index report. All three major U.S. stock indexes ended in negative territory in a reminder that September is a historically rough month for stocks.

So far this month the S&P 500 is down about 1.8% even as the benchmark index has gained over 18% since the beginning of the year.

"There is a possibility that the market is simply ready to go through an overdue correction," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research in New York. "From a seasonality perspective, September tends to be the window dressing period for fund managers."

The advent of the highly contagious Delta COVID variant has driven an increase in...

LONDON, Sept 15 (Reuters) - A unit in Afghanistan's central bank leading a 15-year effort to counter illicit funding flows has halted operations, four staff members said, threatening to hasten the country's slide out of the global financial system.

Since 2006, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Center of Afghanistan (FinTRACA) has gathered intelligence on thousands of suspicious transactions and helped convict smugglers and terrorist financiers, according to its website.

UN officials have said the Taliban, who seized Kabul on Aug. 15, made hundreds of millions of dollars from the drugs trade and other illicit sources when they were fighting government troops. The group has vowed there would be no drug cultivation in Afghanistan from now.

Information on FinTRACA's website indicated the Taliban were among those in its sights, while the staff Reuters spoke to said the group had been a target since its launch.

They declined to be named because...

MEXICO CITY, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Mexico's telecommunications regulator IFT said on Tuesday it had authorized the plan for U.S.-based Spanish-language broadcaster Univision to acquire the content business of Mexico's Grupo Televisa in a deal to create a new company.

The two companies in April announced a plan to create a new firm called Televisa-Univision, which will feature Spanish-language video content from both broadcasters, including soap operas known as telenovelas, sports and movies.

The IFT said in a statement its analysis did not find anti-competitive effects.

"No anti-competitive effects derived from the transaction are expected in these coinciding activities of Univision Holdings and Grupo Televisa, largely due to the marginal participation of Univision Holdings in Mexico," the IFT said.

The transaction, partially financed by a $1 billion Series C preferred investment led by the SoftBank (9984.T) Latin American Fund, with participation from...

STRASBOURG, Sept 15 (Reuters) - The European Union on Wednesday pledged to increase financial support to help poorer countries fight climate change and adapt to its impacts, and called on the United States also to step up.

"We will now propose an additional 4 billion euros for climate finance until 2027," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a policy speech at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

"But we expect the United States and our partners to step up too. This is vital, because closing the climate finance gap together, the U.S. and the European Union, would be such a strong signal for global climate leadership."

The EU already contributes $25 billion per year in climate funding, von der Leyen said.

Climate finance is expected to be a decisive issue at the United Nations' COP26 summit in November, where world leaders will attempt to agree commitments to cut emissions faster to try to stave off catastrophic climate...

LONDON, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Global stocks eased on Wednesday as weaker-than-expected Chinese data cast a pall over economic recovery and a spike in UK prices fueled the intense debate over inflation's staying power.

The STOXX (.STOXX) index of 600 European companies eased 0.16%, slipping further away from its lifetime high of mid-August. The MSCI All Country World Index (.MIWD00000PUS) was down 0.18%.

"The weak China retail sales data is a shocker and shows that unless you get the Delta variant under control, any recovery is going to be difficult," said Michael Hewson, chief markets analyst at CMC Markets.

"There is a slow realisation that we have seen peak economic growth perhaps, certainly the summer rebound is done," Hewson said.

A burst of data out of China showed growth in its factory and retail sectors continued to falter in August with output and sales growth hitting one-year lows as fresh coronavirus outbreaks and supply disruptions threatened...

HONG KONG, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Asian shares fell on Wednesday as weaker-than-expected Chinese economic data reinforced worries about slowing global growth, amid fraught nerves over pandemic-related business disruptions and central banks' plans to taper stimulus.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) dropped 0.61%, while Tokyo's Nikkei (.N225) shed 0.49%, moving off a more than 31-year closing-high the day before.

After the data, Chinese blue chips (.CSI300) were down 0.73%, but pared earlier losses on hopes Beijing will roll out more stimulus.

However, futures indicated a steadier open for European and U.S. equity markets, with the pan-region Euro Stoxx 50 futures up 0.08% and FTSE futures 0.11% higher.

A burst of data out of China showed growth in its factory and retail sectors continued to falter in August with output and sales growth hitting one-year lows as fresh coronavirus outbreaks and supply disruptions...

PARIS, Sept 15 (Reuters) - BNP Paribas Asset Management (BNPP.PA) has agreed to buy a majority stake in Dynamic Credit Group, a Dutch asset manager and specialist lender with 9 billion euros ($10.6 billion) of assets under management, the companies said on Wednesday.

BNP Paribas said the deal would allow Dynamic Credit access to a larger distribution network. The price of the acquisition was not disclosed.

Dynamic Credit's portfolio mainly consists of Dutch mortgages, which BNP Paribas said had good growth potential.

"Given their attractive risk-return profile and low capital charge under Solvency II, Dutch mortgages are a very attractive investment for institutional investors in the ongoing low interest rate environment. Investments in Dutch mortgages are expected to continue to grow steadily," said BNP Paribas.

The Dutch government's main policy advisory body said in August that economic growth in the Netherlands was set to be stronger than previously...

HONG KONG, Sept 15 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Yum China (9987.HK) has bad news for China’s economy. The $26 billion operator of Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell in the People’s Republic warned read more that the rapid spread of the Delta variant would cause its adjusted operating profit to drop by about 50-60% year-on-year in the third quarter. The recent outbreak, which has impacted 16 provinces, per Yum, has officials in China locking back down, even though Reuters Covid Tracker shows the country is reporting an average of 39 new cases per day, 1% of the peak, with no deaths reported since April. Nevertheless Yum either closed or halted dine-in service at more than 500 stores in August.

Chinese retail sales rose by a meagre 2.5% in August from a year ago, much slower than expected, and surveys showed the services sector – of which restaurants are a part – went into monthly contraction. This puts Yum’s expansion schedule into question. It is sticking with plans to open...

Sept 15 (Reuters) - Apple supplier Foxconn's (2354.TW) electric vehicle project with Byton has been put on hold due to the Chinese startup's worsening financial situation, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing unidentified sources with knowledge of the matter.

"The [Byton] project is not officially terminated yet, but it is very challenging to proceed at this moment," one of the sources told Nikkei Asia.

Foxconn said in January that the Apple assembler and the Nanjing Economic and Technological Development Zone had agreed to start building electric sport-utility vehicles in 2022 for Byton. read more

A few Foxconn employees are still stationed at Byton's factory, another source said, but "they are wrapping things up and preparing for the end when it becomes necessary."

Some higher-level talent involved in the project has even left Foxconn, the report added.

Foxconn's plans to build factories in the United States and Thailand to...

A look at the day ahead from Dhara Ranasinghe.

News that inflation came off the boil in the United States last month was a win for those in the "inflation is transitory" camp and markets cheered the news too. But not so fast.

Not only was relief in equity and bond markets short-lived but there are plenty of other signs that the inflation debate is far from over.

Take data out this morning in Europe showing British inflation hit a more than nine-year high last month after the biggest monthly jump in the annual rate in at least 24 years. read more

LONDON, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Investors managing more than $10 trillion on Wednesday published an ambitious blueprint for energy companies seeking to tackle climate change, including sharp cuts to greenhouse gas emissions and a winding down of oil and gas production.

The unprecedented initiative - dubbed the Net Zero Standard for Oil and Gas - details 10 required standards to help money managers compare companies' strategies and understand whether they are aligned with United Nations-backed efforts to reduce global carbon emissions to net zero by 2050.

Oil and gas companies such as BP (BP.L) and Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) have published targets and strategies aimed at battling climate change, but the huge variation in scope, definitions and ambition makes analysis and comparison exceedingly difficult for investors.

At the same time, pressure has grown on portfolio managers and banks to ensure that their investments chime with the 2015 Paris accords to limit...

Sept 14 (Reuters) - Apple Inc (AAPL.O) unveiled the iPhone 13 and a new iPad mini on Tuesday, expanding 5G connectivity and showing off faster chips and sharper cameras without raising the phone's price.

The Cupertino, California-based company did not announce any blockbuster features or products, but analysts expect customers hanging onto older models like the iPhone X will be eager to upgrade. To encourage trade-ins, participating wireless carriers are offering incentives ahead of the year-end holiday season that to make the new phones free to some customers.

The iPhone 13 will have a new chip called the A15 Bionic that enables features like automatically translating text. The phone also has a better display, longer battery life and a Cinematic mode for automatically changing focus while taking videos. Apple said the iPhone 13 will have custom 5G antennas and radio components for faster speeds and will come in five colors. read more

The phone will start at...