Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370: 'Credible Lead' Shifts Debris Hunt to New Area

A Republic of Korea P-3 Orion aircraft takes off from the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base Pearce during search for the missing Malaysia Airlines MH370, near PerthReuters

Naval vessels and aircraft will be scouring a fresh search zone in the southern Indian Ocean for debris of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, following a "new credible lead" from radar data, Australian authorities say.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), which is spearheading the operations, has announced the dramatic shift in the search location which will be 1,100kms further northeast in the Indian Ocean.

The agency said in a statement: "The new search area is approximately 319,000 square kilometres and around 1,850 kilometres west of Perth. The new information is based on continuing analysis of radar data between the South China Sea and the Strait of Malacca before radar contact was lost."

The latest shift is based on the finding that the Malaysian jetliner was travelling faster than it was originally thought. The increase in speed would have caused more fuel consumption, eventually reducing the distance travelled by the airliner over the southern Indian Ocean, said AMSA.

The latest evidence emerged from the international investigation team in Kuala Lumpur.

AMSA added: "The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), Australia's investigation agency, has examined this advice and determined that this is the most credible lead to where debris may be located. ATSB advises the potential flight path may be the subject of further refinement as the international investigative team supporting the search continues their analysis."

The satellites are also being adjusted to map the new search zone.

Ten surveillance jets and six naval vessels from six nations – Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and the US - involved in the activities have been deployed to press ahead with the task.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has said he has been informed of the recent developments in the search operations.

Abbott added: "This is a credible new lead and will be thoroughly investigated today. Ten aircraft, six vessels and satellites will focus on the new search area. This is an extraordinarily difficult search, and an agonising wait for family and friends of the passengers and crew."

"As I have said from the start, we owe it to them to follow every credible lead and to keep the public informed of significant new developments. That is what we are doing."

Bulls Bet on Adidas Bounce Ahead of 2014 Brazil World Cup

Traders believe the 2014 soccer World Cup will help Adidas's stock recover from a 15% slump.Adidas

Adidas stock may have dropped some 15% so far this year but options traders are betting the upcoming World Cup soccer tournament will help the sporting goods giant recover.

Adidas traders hold more bullish options than bearish ones. There were 95,424 calls outstanding on 24 March, compared with 83,399 puts, while five of the six most-owned contracts were bullish, Bloomberg data showed.

Calls betting on a 13% jump in stock price to €88 by June, from around €78 currently, had the largest open interest among bullish wagers, the data showed.

Adidas and FIFA, the organiser of the soccer World Cup, have extended a commercial relationship to 60 years. That has fuelled optimism, according to Jean-Paul Jeckelmann, chief investment officer of Banque Bonhote & Cie.

However, Trung-Tin Nguyen, a Zurich-based hedge-fund manager at Trimax Capital, believes Adidas optimism should be tempered by the backdrop of the Ukraine crisis.

Adidas's stock has dropped as tensions between Russia and the West over Ukraine escalated.

Russia is Adidas's third-largest market worldwide, according to company spokeswoman Katja Schreiber, who refused to comment on the options trading.

"I'd like to know who's so bullish while the outlook is so muted," Nguyen.

"There's a foreign-exchange risk, and the company's sales exposure to Russia does intensify that issue. While the World Cup could be a trigger, it's more of a hype than anything else, and the revenue resulting from it may well be overestimated," Nguyen added.

Adidas is competing against Nike, the world's largest sporting goods retailer, for domination in soccer. The German firm has said sales from soccer would rise to a historic high of €2bn (£1.6bn, $2.7bn) this year.

The 2014 soccer World Cup tournament, where Adidas is supplying the official match ball and uniforms to eight teams, begins on 12 June in Sao Paulo.

"With the significant drop we've seen this year, investors see it as a good entry level before the significant FIFA World Cup event in Brazil," said Bismark Badilla, a fund manager at Lexinta, where he manages assets worth $300m.

"Not only will the company be in the news cycle at least through the second quarter of 2014, but it may also provide a boost to profit and revenue. There's positive surprise potential after the company's lower outlook," Badilla told Bloomberg.

"Investors are shrugging off the negative news and are focusing on June, when it's just going to be soccer, soccer, soccer.

"The sector tends to do well going into the main competitions. That should help the stock," Jeckelmann, who helps manage $1.5bn in equities, said on 24 March.

Earlier, Adidas's earnings forecast fell short of market estimates. Adidas cited weakness in currencies such as the Russian rouble and Argentine peso as reasons behind the performance outlook.

Profit this year is expected to hover between €830m and €930m and chief executive Herbert Hainer has said turmoil in Ukraine posed a further risk to the business.

T20 World Cup 2014: Meet Amit Mishra, the Unsung Hero of India and Hyderabad

Mishra has always been a star player for Sunrisers Hyderabad - now he is transferring that form to the national side.Pal Pillai/IPL/SPORTZPICS

Before the tournament, if you'd asked a neutral who would be India's key players, most would have pointed to MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh or Virat Kohli - pedigree players who live in the limelight and have done it for their country time and time again.

Few would have picked out a 31-year-old leggie who has a test bowling average of 43 and has just two five-wicket hauls in 33 test and ODI internationals. But Amit Mishra, having been overlooked for the last two World Cups, has emerged as India's hero during the opening two matches thus, his variations of flight and spin perfectly attuned to the conditions.

Mishra doesn't rip the ball like Warne or bamboozle the batsman like Ajmal. He is tidy without being metronomic, and his appearance suggests a shy, self-effacing man who may lack the confidence to dominate matches at the highest level.

But appearances can prove deceptive. Mishra has bagged the man-of-the-match award in both of India's first two matches, reward for his four wickets in 48 balls at an average economy rate of five runs per over. Time and again the batsman have tried to hoik him away but been deceived by the flight and turn, and made to look foolish as a result.

Seasoned observers may have seen this coming. Mishra's bowling average is far better in ODIs than tests - in the fifty-over format his wickets cost just 21 runs apiece, and he averages not far off the two wickets per game he has managed thus far this tournament. In the Asia Cup which preceded this competition, Mishra conceded just 49 runs in 20 overs, an economy rate of 2.45 - the best by any bowler in the tournament.

There's also the compelling evidence provided by the Indian Premier League, where Mishra has starred for Sunrisers Hyderabad. The IPL ruthlessly exposes those who flinch in the glare of the spotlight, and Mishra has consistently shown himself capable of thriving in it.

Those close to Mishra believe he is a 'confidence player' - the sort of man who needs the faith of his captain to perform. Some players, such as Warne or Kevin Pietersen, are born with belief in their own ability. Otherwise need an transfusion every time they step onto the field. Mishra, it seems, belong in this group.

Mishra's captain at the Sunrisers, Shikar Dhawan, is clearly capable of coaxing the best from him. So is Dhoni; India's veteran captain is happy to give his leggie the fields he wants, allowing him to throw the ball up without fear of being exposed. Unlike many spinners at the World T20, Mishra is happy to take the pace of the bowl - Dhoni's expert cajoling allows him to do this with little inhibition.

Although he relies on the conventional leg-break, Mishra is happy to throw in the odd googly every now and then. Its rarity makes it a particularly potent weapon; batsmen aren't looking for it, so they're often surprised when it comes down. Mishra may not have the myriad variation of Ajmal or Narine, but his accuracy more than compensates.

India's strategy, of bowling first and suffocating the opposition with spin, is playing into the hands of their leggie. Mishra is part of a side built to bowl slowly, and the sound fielding habits inculcated by coach Duncan Fletcher ensure he is always well-supported. This team is perfectly set up for him to thrive - and, so far, it's showing.

Russia Looks to Skirt Sanctions with Free Trade Zone in Egypt

Russia and Egypt are discussing a free trade zone that could see the North African state importing Russian liquifeid gas(Reuters)

Russia has reacted to the threat of increased Western sanctions by resuming talks with Egypt about creating a free trade zone.

Russia and the West are currently embroiled in the biggest stand-off since the Cold War. Following Russia's annexation of the Crimea region, Washington and Brussels have responded by imposing asset freezes and travel bans on a number of individuals and a bank with close ties to the Kremlin.

The free trade project has been on hold since 2011, when Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak was overthrown at the height of the Arab Spring. The country has endured three years of political and economic uncertainty since then.

While the talks have resumed, the free trade zone will not be implemented until the Egyptian presidential elections later in the year. The country is yet to announce a date for the ballot, but the former army chief Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi is widely expected to win.

"There were talks about this [creation of the free trade zone with Egypt] before 2011. ... Now we have agreed to resume these negotiations and to discuss sectors of cooperation," Russian Agriculture Minister Nikolai Fydorov said.

"The final decision will be made after the election campaign in Egypt, official documents will be appearing after it," he told reporters in Moscow.

The prospective free trade area would include Egypt, along with the customs union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.

As well as the free trade proposal, Fydorov said that officials at the Russian-Egyptian commission for trade development had discussed a number of joint projects.

The talks focused on energy, including Russian supplies of liquefied gas, a possible nuclear deal and other commodities.

Trade between the two countries has expanded in recent years. Egypt is currently the largest importer of Russian wheat, taking 20% of Russian exports in 2013/14.

Egyptian Industry and Investment Minister Mounir Fakhry Abdel-Nour said that co-operation between Egypt and Russia would continue to increase.

"You have expressed your wish to expand exports, primarily of wheat ... and we want to develop exports of vegetables and fruit. It would help widen our cooperation," Abdel-Nour told the meeting.

Indian Drugmaker Lupin Buys Mexico's Laboratorios Grin

Lupin's factory in Goa, India, is seen in this 2011 handout photograph.Lupin via Bloomberg

Lupin, India's fourth-largest drugmaker, has agreed to buy Mexican eye treatments maker Laboratorios Grin for an undisclosed amount.

The move marks Lupin's entry into Mexico's $275m ophthalmic market.

Grin, which makes branded generic drugs, is the fourth largest player in Mexico's ophthalmic segment, according to Lupin.

The acquisition also marks Lupin's entry into Latin America, a market the Mumbai-based firm has said could contribute a large part to its future growth.

Lupin's stock finished flat in Mumbai, valuing the firm at some $6.97bn (£4.19bn, €5.06bn)

Sarabjit Kour Nangra, pharmaceutical analyst at Mumbai-based Angel Broking said in a note to clients: "Lupin announced the acquisition of 100 % equity stake in Laboratorios Grin. The acquisition marks Lupin's foray into the high growth Mexican and the larger Latin American pharmaceuticals market.

"Mexico is one of the fastest growing pharmaceutical markets in the world valued at over $13.5bn and growing at 9‐10% annually."

"Incorporated in 1955, Grin is a specialty pharmaceutical company engaged in the development, manufacturing & commercialisation of branded ophthalmic products. Grin is a leading ophthalmic player and a trusted brand in Mexico.

"Laboratorios Grin recorded revenues of approximately $28m in CY2013 and has over 275 employees. The acquisition will provide a lot of synergies to [Lupin] and add to its ophthalmic pipeline. We remain neutral on the stock," Nangra added.

Grin is Lupin's second acquisition this year.

In February, the company purchased Netherlands-based Nanomi, which has the technology to develop complex injectable products - a segment many Indian generic drugmakers have increased focus on.

Lupin was founded by Indian billionaire Desh Bandhu Gupta.

US Mulls Sale of Crude Oil Reserves to Punish Russia For Crimea Annexation

Oil Barrels.Creative Commons

As the US and its European allies seek to punish Moscow for annexing the Crimea region of Ukraine, America could push down global oil prices by as much as $12 a barrel by selling 500,000 barrels a day from its strategic reserve.

America's emergency stockpile of oil stands twice as large as the amount required by an international agreement. US business leaders including George Soros have proposed tapping some now to rebuke Russia and US lawmakers are contemplating a sale.

The lower prices would cost Russia about $40bn in lost income from oil and gas sales, or equivalent to 2% of its economy, said Philip Verleger, a consultant who worked in the Ford and Carter administrations.

Selling American oil is a more immediate option than allowing more exports of natural gas, which requires infrastructure that does not still exist, Verleger told Bloomberg.

While US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz has rejected the idea, it was raised before a congressional hearing on 26 March, less than a week after Soros discussed the subject in Berlin.

The last major drawdown was a 30-million-barrel sale in 2011 amid turmoil in Libya.

Minimal Effect

The impact of a sale on oil prices would be small and brief, according to Tom Finlon, director of Energy Analytics Group. Prices quickly recovered after previous releases, Finlon told Bloomberg.

The reserve exists to make up for shortages in an emergency, not to manipulate prices, said Edward Chow, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic & International Studies in Washington.

Strategic Reserve

"We have plenty of oil, we don't need this oil, we can sell this oil today and put economic pressure on Russia," said Verleger.

"With more domestic oil production and decreasing oil imports, the US will rely less on the [Strategic Petroleum Reserve] to replace disrupted supply," Elizabeth Rosenberg, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security in Washington, told the House Committee on Foreign Affairs at 26 March hearing.

"Therefore, it has increasing flexibility to use this stockpile to influence the market for other, possibly geopolitical, reasons."

"America can and should be an energy superpower," Senator Mary Landrieu, chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said this week at her first hearing as head of the panel.

"The last thing [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and his cronies want is competition from the US in the energy race," she added.

The US administration said this month it would sell five million barrels of crude from the reserve to test the distribution system, including a pipeline whose flow was recently reversed.

The test sale has nothing to do with Ukraine, Moniz said on 21 March.

Oil Inventory

The US holds 696 million barrels in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, housed in underground salt caverns in Texas and Louisiana, according to the US Energy Department.

The world's leading oil consumer is committed to holding enough oil to cover 90 days of imports, but it has enough for more than 200 days at present, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The stockpile was created in 1975 to protect against supply disruptions following an Arab embargo.

KFC China Revamps Menu and Marketing Plan Following Food Safety Scare

A KFC China storeReuters

Yum! Brands KFC fast food franchise in China is revamping its menu and plans a marketing offensive, in a bid to repair its tainted public image after food safety concerns.

The company has introduced a new menu to its 4,600 restaurants in over 900 cities. It would also undertake new marketing strategies for boosting its brand name and enhance consumer engagement.

The measures mark "the next phase of the company's aggressive and comprehensive restage of the KFC brand in China," according to a company statement.

"Our menu revamp is unprecedented in KFC's 27-year history in China and in the quick-service restaurant industry because we are introducing 15 products simultaneously. Going forward, we plan to do a similar menu update at least once a year with innovative and delicious products," said Sam Su, Chairman and CEO, Yum! Restaurants China.

"KFC's Restage also includes redesigned product packaging, an enhanced service model, contemporary staff uniforms, gradual roll-out of a new store design, and a number of digital initiatives including a new mobile app, E-menu and prepay take-out option," Su added.

The company also leveraged Chinese celebrities such as Chen Kun and Ke Zhendong to promote its products.

Food Security Scare

KFC has been Yum's key brand in the China market. The company suffered a severe blow to its reputation after official media reported that chicken it used had been fed excess antibiotics in late 2012. China sales at established restaurants fell 4% during the fourth quarter of 2013, following the news.

Yum has been working hard to rebuild trust among consumers in China, where it is remaining the market leader with more than 6,200 stores under KFC, Pizza Hut Casual Dining, Pizza Hut Home Service, East Dawning and Little Sheep brands.

Its market share in China held flat over the past five years, with around 41.2% in 2012, according to data from research firm Euromonitor.

Yum! opened 740 new units in China in 2013 including 428 new KFCs, and expects to open at least 700 new units in 2014.

KFC also has the largest home delivery business in China, with 70% of delivery orders being placed online.

Philippines and MILF Muslim Rebels Sign Historic Peace Deal

Members of a Muslim group participate in a unity walk before the start of a program to mark the upcoming signing of the final agreement between the Philippine government and Muslim rebels in ManilaReuters

The Philippines government and the country's largest Muslim rebel group have signed an historic peace agreement after 17 years of negotiations.

The deal between President Benigno Aquino's administration and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) was completed at a presidential palace signing in the capital Manila.

Over the course of four decades, the insurgency killed over 120,000 people while displacing millions.

"The comprehensive agreement on Bangsamoro [a Muslim homeland] is the crowning glory of our struggle," Moro Islamic Liberation Front chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim said at the signing ceremony in Manila.

The deal will see the creation of a Bangsamoro autonomous government with its own budget and police force while.

"We are hoping that with the singular goal to achieve peace and development in the region, we will be able to breach all these differences and unite everybody towards the common cause," said Miriam Ferrer, the chief government negotiator.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, currently involved in the MH370 search effort, was the main mediator of the peace deal. Approximately 500 MILF rebels were invited to the ceremony while the signing was witnessed by President Aquino and MILF chairman Ebrahim.

The rebels were fighting against the Filipino government for autonomy in the southern region of Mindanao, which they view as their homeland. The group has vowed to lay down their weapons after the peace deal.

The autonomous Bangsamoro government will receive 75 percent of taxes from the region and 75% from the region's natural resource.

Senior officials have said that they do not expect all splinter groups of the insurgency to embrace the peace deal but eventually they will see the "dividends of peace".

"The people in the Bangsamoro homeland are quite happy that there will be a conclusion to this conflict," said Abhoud Syed Lingga, a senior MILF member.

"We do not expect everybody to join now, because they are not even sure if the agreement will be implemented," Lingga added.

China Rural Bank Run Highlights Public Anxiety Over Nation's Financial System

People gather in front of a branch of Jiangsu Sheyang Rural Commercial Bank, in Yancheng, Jiangsu province, on 25 March, 2014.Reuters

Two small rural lenders in China suffered bank-runs earlier in the week following speculation that one of them was going bankrupt. The panic was sparked by alleged failures to allow customer withdrawals.

The incidents, though isolated, won national airplay. China's financial system saw its first onshore default this month, despite assumptions that Beijing would always intervene to prevent institutions from collapsing.

Pursued by Reuters, Jiangsu Sheyang Rural Commercial Bank and the Rural Commercial Bank of Huanghai refused to comment on the run on their branches.

Yancheng police said on the force's official microblog that they had detained a person suspected of spreading rumours.

China's banks are tightly controlled by the state and bankruptcies are virtually unheard of.

People gather in front of a branch of Rural Commercial Bank of Huanghai in Yancheng, Jiangsu province, on 26 March, 2014.Reuters

However, parts of the coastal Jiangsu province, where the two rural lenders operate, have witnessed a surge in the number of loan guarantee, or "danbao" companies and rural credit co-operatives.

These often shadowy private financial institutions promised higher returns on deposits than banks, but many have since collapsed, probably explaining why customers queued outside the two banks this week.

Banks, unlike credit co-operatives, provide regulation-ordained guarantees by virtue of stringent capital requirements.

Systemic Risks

Any default of loans in China does not indicate systemic risks in the world's second-largest economy, Premier Li Keqiang has unequivocally stated.

Li, speaking at a press conference on 13 March, after the closing ceremony of the Chinese National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, said that debt risks in China were under control.

Chaori Solar

Earlier in the month, Chinese solar equipment maker Shanghai Chaori Solar Energy Science & Technology missed a deadline to make interest payments on its corporate bonds, resulting in the country's first domestic default.

Analysts described the Shanghai Chaori default as China's "Bear Stearns moment" - possibly a slight exaggeration.

The loss-making firm had warned earlier it could repay less than 5% of the 89m yuan ($14.3m, £8.6m, €10.4m) in interest due on 1bn yuan worth of bonds issued in 2012.

Shadow Banking

While Beijing has praised its much-debated shadow banking system, saying it played a positive role in boosting its economy, critics argue that it fuelled the country's debt levels.

Analysts warn that default risk is very high in shadow banking products, and they expect more bad news from the sector.

Shadow banking has experienced rapid growth in China in recent years, with trust assets surging 46% in 2013 to a record 10.9tn yuan.

Lending by institutions outside China's formal banking system now account for 84% of gross domestic product, according to JPMorgan.

Missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370: Thai Satellite Finds 300 Floating Objects in Indian Ocean Search Area

Pilot and crewmen fly at high altitude aboard a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) AP-3C Orion aircraft after searching for the missing Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 over the southern Indian OceanReuters

A Thai satellite has detected 300 floating objects in the southern Indian Ocean near the search area for the missing Malaysian Airlines MH370 airliner.

According to Thailand's Geo Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISDA), the objects were spotted around 2,700km (1,680 miles) southwest of Perth by the "Thaichote" satellite.

Anond Snidvongs, director of GISDA, said that the satellite images showed "300 objects of various sizes" in the southern Indian Ocean. The images were taken on 24 March and took two days to process before being relayed to Malaysian authorities.

Anond said the objects were 200km (125 miles) from the search area where a French satellite had spotted 122 objects.

Whether the floating objects are from Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 remain unclear.

The search for the aircraft, now focused on a remote stretch of the southern Indian Ocean, has resumed after a temporary suspension due to bad weather.

Eleven aircraft and five ships are involved in the search of the southern Indian Ocean area, officials said.

British company Immarsat used new data techniques to reveal that the plane concluded its eight-hour flight by plummeting into the southern Indian Ocean.

Grief has replaced hope for the families of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 passengers after a text-message was sent declaring that not one of the 239 passengers aboard the airliner had survived.

Malaysia Airlines MH370 Debris Hunt: Australia Suspends Indian Ocean Search Due to Bad Weather

Flight Lieutenant Russell Adams (L) and Flight Engineer Scott Jones look out from the cockpit of a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) AP-3C Orion aircraft while searching for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 over the southern Indian OceanReuters

Bad weather has forced Australia to suspend the ongoing search for debris of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in a remote stretch of the southern Indian Ocean.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has announced that vessels and surveillance aircraft will not be heading to the search zone.

AMSA said on its Twitter account: "All planes are returning to Perth & ships are leaving search area."

Six military jets, five commercial aircraft and five ships – HMAS Success and four Chinese vessels - were expected to take part in the debris hunt nearly 2,500kms off Perth.

The military aircraft planned to be deployed included two Australia's P3 Orions, Japan's Gulfstream jet and a P3 Orion and the US Navy's P8 Poseidon.

Although several floating objects have been sighted both by satellites and volunteer observers aboard search aircraft, none of them have been confirmed to be directly linked to the missing jetliner.

Australian jets had earlier spotted three objects but they could not be relocated despite many attempts.

This will be the second time the search operations are being suspended owing to stormy weather.

The search crew is likely to resume its hunt later if the weather clears.