MILAN, Aug 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Leonardo Del Vecchio’s successors have inherited vast wealth, but also some tricky investment questions.

The rags-to-riches Italian entrepreneur died in June leaving an estimated $26 billion fortune. His main bequest is a 32% stake in $74 billion EssilorLuxottica (ESLX.PA), which makes Ray-Ban and Oakley sunglasses and Varilux lenses. The company, which Del Vecchio founded as Luxottica and affectionately called “la fabbrica” (the factory), is likely to remain in family hands. The fate of Del Vecchio’s nearly 20% stake in Italian investment bank Mediobanca (MDBI.MI), and a related 10% shareholding in $24 billion insurer Assicurazioni Generali (GASI.MI), is less certain.

Responsibility for running the family vehicle Delfin has passed to EssilorLuxottica Chief Executive Francesco Milleri. He first crossed paths with Del Vecchio as an IT consultant in the mid-2000s and won his mentor’s trust after spearheading Luxottica’s digital...

TOKYO, Aug 9 (Reuters) - SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T) is accelerating asset sales after its flagship Vision Fund unit booked nearly $50 billion in losses in just six months, but Chief Executive Masayoshi Son faces narrowing options and slumping valuations, analysts said.

Son said on Monday that he is in discussions to sell asset manager Fortress, without commenting on a valuation. SoftBank also raised $2.4 billion selling shares in T-Mobile US (TMUS.O) during the latest quarter, while unloading a variety of other holdings.

But as valuations fall, easy options for raising cash are getting harder to come by.

Aug 9 (Reuters) - China's top auditor is conducting a review of the $3 trillion trust industry, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

China's trust industry has been a key part of the country's shadow banking business, which helps channel deposits into risky investments via products often designed to dodge capital or investment regulations.

For the past month, China's National Audit Office has been inspecting the books of at least 20 trust firms to gauge the risks they pose to financial stability, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

The firms are being asked to report on their risky loans to developers and any plans to dispose of them, the report added. (https://bloom.bg/3bN54GO)

DUBAI, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Iran made its first official import order using cryptocurrency this week, the semi-official Tasnim agency reported on Tuesday, a move that could enable the Islamic Republic to circumvent U.S. sanctions that have crippled the economy.

The order, worth $10 million, was a first step towards allowing the country to trade through digital assets that bypass the dollar-dominated global financial system and to trade with other countries similarly limited by U.S. sanctions, such as Russia. The agency didn't specify which cryptocurrency was used in the transaction.

"By the end of September, the use of cryptocurrencies and smart contracts will be widely used in foreign trade with target countries," an official from the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade said on Twitter.

NEW YORK, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Planning to squeeze some travel out of the rest of summer? Good luck – you will need it.

Flight cancellations have already soared past last year's total. Delays affected 890,000 flights in the first half of the year. Prices have shot up as pandemic-weary travelers are desperate to go anywhere. Luggage 'graveyards' are piling up at airports worldwideas missed connections increase.

Welcome to the travel apocalypse.

A look at the day ahead in markets from Alun John

The lull before U.S. inflation data affords a moment to reflect on a darkening geopolitical backdrop.

Ukraine's creditors are due to vote later on Tuesday on a government proposal to defer payments on its international bonds. Tensions remain high in Taiwan, and a Donald Trump story broke overnight - just like the old days - as FBI agents raided the former President's gilded Mar-a-Lago estate.

MILAN, Aug 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Leonardo Del Vecchio’s successors have inherited vast wealth, but also some tricky investment questions.

The rags-to-riches Italian entrepreneur died in June leaving an estimated $26 billion fortune. His main bequest is a 32% stake in $74 billion EssilorLuxottica (ESLX.PA), which makes Ray-Ban and Oakley sunglasses and Varilux lenses. The company, which Del Vecchio founded as Luxottica and affectionately called “la fabbrica” (the factory), is likely to remain in family hands. The fate of Del Vecchio’s nearly 20% stake in Italian investment bank Mediobanca (MDBI.MI), and a related 10% shareholding in $24 billion insurer Assicurazioni Generali (GASI.MI), is less certain.

Responsibility for running the family vehicle Delfin has passed to EssilorLuxottica Chief Executive Francesco Milleri. He first crossed paths with Del Vecchio as an IT consultant in the mid-2000s and won his mentor’s trust after spearheading Luxottica’s digital...

Aug 8 (Reuters) - Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O) on Monday warned its second-quarter revenue would drop by 19% from the prior quarter on weakness in its gaming business, sending the chip designer's shares down about 8%.

The company reported preliminary results for the second-quarter, just days after chipmaker Intel Corp , Qualcomm (QCOM.O) and Sony Group (6758.T) forecast weak sales on demand concerns for personal computers and phones.

The gaming industry, largely considered to be recession proof, is beginning weaken as consumers weigh purchases of discretionary items such as video-game consoles.

Aug 8 (Reuters) - Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O) on Monday warned its second-quarter revenue would drop by 19% from the prior quarter on weakness in its gaming business, sending the chip designer's shares down about 8%.

The company reported preliminary results for the second-quarter, just days after chipmaker Intel Corp , Qualcomm (QCOM.O) and Sony Group (6758.T) forecast weak sales on demand concerns for personal computers and phones.

The gaming industry, largely considered to be recession proof, is beginning weaken as consumers weigh purchases of discretionary items such as video-game consoles.

Aug 9 (Reuters) - China's top auditor is conducting a review of the $3 trillion trust industry, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

China's trust industry has been a key part of the country's shadow banking business, which helps channel deposits into risky investments via products often designed to dodge capital or investment regulations.

For the past month, China's National Audit Office has been inspecting the books of at least 20 trust firms to gauge the risks they pose to financial stability, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

The firms are being asked to report on their risky loans to developers and any plans to dispose of them, the report added. (https://bloom.bg/3bN54GO)

MUMBAI, Aug 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Gautam Adani is a different sort of Indian tycoon. The 60-year-old university dropout and son of a trader is a first-generation entrepreneur who has become the world’s fourth-richest man by building and buying critical energy and infrastructure assets at lightning speed. There is none of the obvious financial profligacy that broke many of his rivals in recent years, but other concerns cast a shadow over the billionaire who is starting to get too big to fail.

At some $220 billion, the combined market value of the Adani group’s seven publicly traded companies, all of which carry the industrialist’s name, has increased tenfold in three years. Gautam Adani leads as chairman and is flanked by his wife, brother, two sons and some nephews in various roles. The family’s power rests with large equity stakes of up to 75%, including in the flagship Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS) which houses data centres, roads and airports and incubates new...

A look at the day ahead in markets from Alun John

The lull before U.S. inflation data affords a moment to reflect on a darkening geopolitical backdrop.

Ukraine's creditors are due to vote later on Tuesday on a government proposal to defer payments on its international bonds. Tensions remain high in Taiwan, and a Donald Trump story broke overnight - just like the old days - as FBI agents raided the former President's gilded Mar-a-Lago estate.

NEW YORK, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Planning to squeeze some travel out of the rest of summer? Good luck – you will need it.

Flight cancellations have already soared past last year's total. Delays affected 890,000 flights in the first half of the year. Prices have shot up as pandemic-weary travelers are desperate to go anywhere. Luggage 'graveyards' are piling up at airports worldwideas missed connections increase.

Welcome to the travel apocalypse.

August 8 (Reuters) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N) bought more shares of Occidental Petroleum Corp (OXY.N), surpassing the 20% stake where it could record some of the oil company's earnings with its own and potentially add billions of dollars of profit.

In a regulatory filing on Monday night, Berkshire said it paid about $391 million for nearly 6.7 million Occidental shares between Aug. 4 and Aug. 8.

The purchases gave Berkshire 188.4 million Occidental shares, or 20.2% of reported shares outstanding, worth $11.3 billion.

Aug 8 (Reuters) - Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O) on Monday warned its second-quarter revenue would drop by 19% from the prior quarter on weakness in its gaming business, sending the chip designer's shares down about 8%.

The company reported preliminary results for the second-quarter, just days after chipmaker Intel Corp , Qualcomm (QCOM.O) and Sony Group (6758.T) forecast weak sales on demand concerns for personal computers and phones.

The gaming industry, largely considered to be recession proof, is beginning weaken as consumers weigh purchases of discretionary items such as video-game consoles.

MUMBAI, Aug 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Gautam Adani is a different sort of Indian tycoon. The 60-year-old university dropout and son of a trader is a first-generation entrepreneur who has become the world’s fourth-richest man by building and buying critical energy and infrastructure assets at lightning speed. There is none of the obvious financial profligacy that broke many of his rivals read more in recent years, but other concerns cast a shadow over the billionaire who is starting to get too big to fail.

At some $220 billion, the combined market value of the Adani group’s seven publicly traded companies, all of which carry the industrialist’s name, has increased tenfold in three years. Gautam Adani leads as chairman and is flanked by his wife, brother, two sons and some nephews in various roles. The family’s power rests with large equity stakes of up to 75%, including in the flagship Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS) which houses data centres, roads and airports and...

Aug 8 (Reuters) - Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O) on Monday warned its second-quarter revenue would drop by 19% from the prior quarter on weakness in its gaming business, sending the chip designer's shares down about 8%.

The company reported preliminary results for the second-quarter, just days after chipmaker Intel Corp , Qualcomm (QCOM.O) and Sony Group (6758.T) forecast weak sales on demand concerns for personal computers and phones.

The gaming industry, largely considered to be recession proof, is beginning weaken as consumers weigh purchases of discretionary items such as video-game consoles.

Aug 8 (Reuters) - Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O) on Monday warned its second-quarter revenue would drop by 19% from the prior quarter on weakness in its gaming business, sending the chip designer's shares down about 8%.

The company reported preliminary results for the second-quarter, just days after chipmaker Intel Corp , Qualcomm (QCOM.O) and Sony Group (6758.T) forecast weak sales on demand concerns for personal computers and phones.

The gaming industry, largely considered to be recession proof, is beginning weaken as consumers weigh purchases of discretionary items such as video-game consoles.

SAO PAULO, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Itau Unibanco (ITUB4.SA) on Monday beat profit expectations and substantially raised its loan growth forecast for this year even as it boosted provisioning for bad credits, reflecting higher Brazilian interest rates.

Brazil's largest lender said second-quarter recurring net profit rose 17.4% from the previous year to 7.67 billion reais ($1.50 billion), beating analyst expectations of 7.48 billion reais, as compiled by Refinitiv.

The bank also said its loan book is likely to grow between 15.5% and 17.5% this year, above a previous estimate of 9%-12%.

August 8 (Reuters) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N) bought more shares of Occidental Petroleum Corp (OXY.N), surpassing the 20% stake where it could record some of the oil company's earnings with its own and potentially add billions of dollars of profit.

In a regulatory filing on Monday night, Berkshire said it paid about $391 million for nearly 6.7 million Occidental shares between Aug. 4 and Aug. 8.

The purchases gave Berkshire 188.4 million Occidental shares, or 20.2% of reported shares outstanding, worth $11.3 billion.

NEW YORK, Aug 8 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Monday appeared skeptical that Ben & Jerry's deserved an immediate injunction against its parent Unilever Plc to restrict the marketing of its ice cream in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which Ben & Jerry's said was against its values.

U.S. District Judge Andrew Carter said at a court hearing in Manhattan that he was unsure Ben & Jerry's had shown it faced "imminent harm" following Unilever's June 29 sale of the ice cream maker's Israeli business to local licensee Avi Zinger.

The unusual dispute shows the challenges Unilever faces as it encourages its brands, which number more than 400, to have social missions that the company says help drive sales.

Aug 8 (Reuters) - Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O) on Monday warned its second-quarter revenue would drop by 19% from the prior quarter on weakness in its gaming business, sending the chip designer's shares down about 8%.

The company reported preliminary results for the second-quarter, just days after chipmaker Intel Corp , Qualcomm (QCOM.O) and Sony Group (6758.T) forecast weak sales on demand concerns for personal computers and phones.

The gaming industry, largely considered to be recession proof, is beginning weaken as consumers weigh purchases of discretionary items such as video-game consoles.

Aug 8 (Reuters) - Insurer American International Group Inc beat market estimates for quarterly profit on Monday as a jump in underwriting income cushioned the blow from lower investment returns.

Net premiums written in the company's general insurance business rose 5% on a constant currency basis in the April-June quarter to $6.9 billion, while underwriting income climbed 73%.

That helped AIG - one of the world's biggest commercial insurers - report adjusted after-tax income attributable to common shareholders of $1.19 per share. Analysts had expected a figure of $1.10 a share, according to Refinitiv IBES data.