Iraq Crisis: Cameron Warns of IS Militants' Threat on 'Streets of Britain'

Iraq Crisis: David Cameron warns against IS militants' threat on 'the streets of Britain'Neil Hall/Reuters

David Cameron has warned that the Islamic State Sunni militants, who are presently ravaging Iraq, could grow bolder and pose a direct threat to the UK.

The prime minister, in a column entitled "Isis Poses a Direct and Deadly Threat to Britain" in the Sunday Telegraph, has argued that it is not enough to supply humanitarian aid to the suffering people in Iraq, but the security operations against the Sunni insurgents must also be stepped up.

"True security will only be achieved if we use all our resources - aid, diplomacy, our military prowess - to help bring about a more stable world."

"If we do not act to stem the onslaught of this exceptionally dangerous terrorist movement, it will only grow stronger until it can target us on the streets of Britain."

Following the establishment of an Islamic Caliphate spanning Iraq and Syria, Cameron warns the advancing militants could gobble up more territories.

"Even today it has the ancient city of Aleppo firmly within its sights. And it boasts of its designs on Jordan and Lebanon, and right up to the Turkish border. If it succeeds, we would be facing a terrorist state on the shores of the Mediterranean and bordering a Nato member."

Cameron's assessment comes at a time when the Church of England has criticised the Tory administration for lack of a coherent policy to tackle growing Islamist extremism.

In a letter to Cameron, the Bishop of Leeds Right Rev Nicholas Baines expressed his concern over the handling of the crisis and the persecution of Christians in Iraq.

Baines's letter, which is also backed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, and "many" clergy members, was published in his website.

He writes: "Behind this question is the serious concern that we do not seem to have a coherent or comprehensive approach to Islamist extremism as it is developing across the globe."

Death Toll from Landslides and Floods in Nepal and India Reaches 77

A woman walks past a damaged bus after a landslide in Sindhupalchowk district, Nepal.(Getty)

The death toll from landslides and flooding caused by torrential Monsoon rains in Nepal and northern India has climbed to at least 77.

Heavy downpours in Nepal over the past three days have left up to 1,500 people stranded, as heavy tides of water, mud and rocks swept away houses.

The rainfall also damaged roads across the country's western plains near the Indian border, and poor visibility hampered helicopter rescue efforts.

Home ministry spokesman Laxmi Prasad Dhakal told AFP that 36 people have suffered injuries due to the floods and 75 are missing.

"Because of the damage to roads in the area, we can only deliver relief supplies, like tents and medicines, by helicopter," he said.

Power cuts in the Bardiya district further frustrated rescue efforts, and in the neighbouring Banke district, several homes were washed away, causing a number of fatalities.

Banke district official Jeevan Oli said: "We've recovered four bodies, including two children. We're looking for four more people whose hut was swept away last night."

Home ministry spokesman Shanker Koirala told the Press Trust of India that the government evacuated 12,000 people from the Banke and Bardiya districts over the weekend.

India landslides

Meanwhile in India, heavy rains triggered landslides and flooding that have claimed at least 24 lives since Friday. In the Uttarakhand state, seven people were killed in their sleep by a landslide after monsoon rains battered the region this week.

District magistrate Chandresh Yadav told AFP: "Seven people were killed while one woman was pulled alive by rescue workers from the debris of a house which collapsed due to overnight rain."

Rescue operations were launched in the northern Indian state of Bihar after thousands of people were affected by flooding in the region.

Anirudh Kumar, special secretary at the Disaster Management Department, said around 45,000 people have been affected by floods in Darbhanga district alone.

Jordan and Russia Sign Nuclear Power Plant Construction Agreement

Russia has come to a deal with Jordan to build the Middle Eastern country's first nuclear power station.(Wikimedia Commons)

The Kingdom of Jordan has announced it has struck a deal with the Russian state energy provider, to build the country's first nuclear power plant.

The Jordanian administration announced the country will soon conclude an atomic cooperation agreement with Russia, whose state atomic energy company, Rosatom Corporation, will construct an atomic power station in Jordan.

Khaled Toukan, the chief of the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission, announced the multi-billion dollar-deal with Rosatom Corporation told reporters, "The deal will be signed in Moscow with state-owned nuclear technology giant Rosatom Corporation."

He added that the Russian firm, which oversees both civilian and military nuclear power and nuclear weapons companies, as well as research institutes and nuclear and radiation safety agencies in Russia, will conduct studies on the environmental impact of the project, and its impact on infrastructure, roads, and the ability of local power grids to deal with the produced power.

Reactor study deal

In September the two countries will sign a second agreement to start conducting studies on the nuclear power station, Toukan added.

The studies will include an environmental impact assessment, cooling the reactor, financing for the venture, the cost of building the reactor and the cost of electricity it generates, he said.

The studies, which will cost some $65m (£38.9m, €48.5m), will be financed by Jordan and completed in two years.

In October 2013, Jordan announced that it has selected Russia to build the country's first two nuclear reactors in a bid to produce atomic energy within the next decade.

Under the deal, Rosatom has agreed to take on 49% of the plants' $10bn construction and operation costs on a build-own-operate basis; with the government shouldering the remaining 51% and retaining a majority share in the two 1,000MW nuclear reactors the country plans to build in the country before 2022.

Jordan has become the third Arab state to pursue peaceful nuclear energy after the United Arab Emirates announced plans to build four reactors with a combined 5,600MW capacity by 2020, and Egypt reaffirmed its plans to establish a 1,000MW reactor by the end of the decade.

Glencore Arm Pacorini Logistics Sues Qingdao Port for $58.4m

China's Qingdao Port is mired in a fraud probe.(Reuters)

Pacorini Logistics, the metals warehousing unit of Glencore, has dragged China's Qingdao Port, which is at the centre of a major fraud probe, to court.

Pacorini has filed two legal proceedings against Qingdao Port's Dagang Branch and Qingdao Hongtu Logistics, the port said in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

The Qingdao Maritime Court will hear both cases on 28-29 October, Reuters reported.

Lawsuits

In the first suit, Pacorini said it suffered losses owing to refusals by the port and Qingdao Hongtu Logistics to deliver 8,085 tonnes of aluminium ingots stored at the port's bonded zone.

The goods were worth about 120.1m yuan ($19.54m, £11.7m, €14.6m) based on market value, and Pacorini has demanded that the goods be delivered or to be compensated accordingly.

In the second suit, Pacorini has sought damages of $38.89m against the port and Qingdao Hongtu for not delivering 112,731 tonnes of alumina, Qingdao Port said.

"Given there is no contractual relationship between the company and Pacorini Logistics… the company initial assessment is that the legal proceedings are without merits," Qingdao Port said in a statement, adding that it will "vigorously contest" the allegations.

Qingdao, China's third-largest terminal, is under investigation by authorities over allegations that commodity traders used duplications of warehouse receipts to borrow multiple times on the back of a single cargo of iron ore.

The alleged financing scandal has prompted global banks and trading houses, including Standard Chartered, HSBC and Mercuria Energy Trading, to file lawsuits over their exposure that has topped $900m, the news agency said.

Qingdao port is already being sued by Citic Resources for $108m.

Crude Trades Fall as Supply Fear Eases and Demand Concerns Rise

Es Sider export terminal in Ras Lanuf, Libya.(Reuters)

Crude-oil futures logged strong gains on 15 August, but ended lower for the week, amid weakening demand expectations and as supply-disruption fears subsided.

Brent October contract finished $1.46, or 1.4%, higher at $103.53 a barrel on Friday.

But the European benchmark lost 2% for the week as a whole.

US September contract finished $1.77, or 1.9%, higher at $97.35 a barrel on Friday.

But the light, sweet crude shed 0.3% for the week.

Downbeat Eurozone growth data has fuelled demand concerns, hitting prices.

In addition, the prospect of higher output from Opec-member Libya, which plans to reopen its largest oil export port, Es Sider, also weighed on prices, analysts said.

Moreover, weak supply-demand fundamentals are holding Brent in a contango structure — where the front-month contract is cheaper than future contracts — triggering demand for floating storage, traders told Marketwatch.

Brent picture.Bloomberg, Commerzbank C&M

Commerzbank Corporates & Markets said in a note to clients: "At $104 per barrel [on 15 August], the Brent oil price is close to its nine-month low. In this market, contracts with immediate maturity are cheaper than contracts due in six months, whereas in the USA futures contracts with longer maturities are less expensive. Such a constellation is fairly uncommon: In 2008 it was due to a temporary market distortion coming on the back of the bursting of the oil market bubble; in late summer 2005 Hurricane Katrina was the trigger.

"This time, the catalyst should be the record-high processing levels of US refineries. Despite buoyant US production, crude oil inventories at Cushing have fallen to a new five-year low. In Europe, on the other hand, demand for crude oil is weak due to the ample supply of mineral oil products from the USA and Russia and because of additional shipments from West Africa."

"Whilst this structural shift is partly sustainable due to the price advantage of US refineries, which benefit from cheap US oil, we nonetheless believe the current price discount at the short end of the Brent oil market could be overdone. [14 August's] contract rollover triggered a counter movement, which ought to continue in the week ahead," Commerzbank added.

Global Demand

Global demand for oil is set to grow at a slower pace than previously estimated as the world's economy slows, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said earlier in the week.

The Paris-based energy watchdog cut its estimated growth in demand to one million barrels a day, 180,000 barrels a day less than its previous estimate. Demand in the second quarter was lower than expected, the IEA said.

Gold Prices Hinge on Tensions in Ukraine, Iraq and Gaza As Well As US Fed

Gold prices could trade sideways next week.Reuters

Gold prices could trade sideways next week as the yellow metal could be compelled to contend with opposing forces.

As many as eight of 20 analysts polled in a Kitco Gold Survey said they expected gold prices to trade higher next week, while eight predicted that prices will drop and four forecast prices to trade sideways.

While ongoing geopolitical tensions in Ukraine, Iraq and Gaza could prop up prices, improving US data could dent the precious metal's safe-haven status.

Gold will also take its cues from the minutes of the latest US Federal Reserve FOMC meeting and from a Fed conference next week, where chief Janet Yellen is due to speak.

Adrian Day, chairman and chief executive officer of Adrian Day Asset Management, said: "Though geopolitical tensions have declined significantly in the last few days, one would be foolhardy to believe there could not be another flare-up in any number of world hotspots. This is keeping a bid in the gold market."

Phil Streible, senior market strategist at RJO Futures, said: "Russia is trying to establish a peaceful situation, Iraq is having a leadership change and the Israeli conflict has a ceasefire, so geopolitical risks are falling, pushing gold prices lower."

Commerzbank Corporates & Markets said in a note to clients: "...As the World Gold Council (WGC) also stressed in its report published [on 14 August], gold ETFs have admittedly seen outflows of 40.5 tons in the second quarter, but this was only one tenth of the outflow in the corresponding year-ago period (over 400 tons).

"...Since demand for jewellery, bars and coins has proved very weak of late, overall demand for gold is again more dependent on investors."

"However, investment demand is probably not sufficient to make up completely for weak physical demand in Asia at present, especially since coin sales in the West are likewise modest. On the supply side, second-quarter mining output was up 4% year on year to 765.3 tons, according to the WGC. It is thus on track to exceed last year's record high. Supplies of gold scrap have largely remained at around 262.7 tons, no doubt due in part to low prices," Commerzbank added.

Asia Demand

Chinese and Indian demand for gold jewellery has tumbled, amid faltering output growth in both developing powerhouse economies and after consumers took "a more needs-based approach".

The World Gold Council (WGC) report said global demand for jewellery made from the metal slumped by 30% on an annual basis to 509.6 tonnes in the three months to 30 June, 2014. Jewellery accounts for around half of all gold demand.

During the period, India and China purchased 154 tonnes and 143 tonnes respectively of gold, representing annual falls of 50% and 48%.

In the corresponding quarter in 2013, India had purchased 310 tonnes and China 276 tonnes as consumers reacted to a sharp decline in gold prices.

Gold Ends Lower

US gold futures for delivery in December finished at $1,306.20 an ounce on 15 August.

Prices were down 0.37% for the week.

Spot gold traded 0.6% lower at $1,305 an ounce.

Lenovo's $2.3bn Acquisition of IBM Server Unit Cleared by US

Lenovo bought IBM's server unit for $2.3bn amid PC downturn.Reuters

International Business Machines (IBM) has said the US authorities have cleared the sale of its server unit to China-based PC maker Lenovo, after reviewing the deal for national security.

"IBM is pleased to announce it has received notice from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) of the successful conclusion of the committee's review of the divestiture of its x86-based server business to Lenovo," the company said in a statement.

"The clearance by CFIUS of this transaction is good news for both IBM and Lenovo, and for our customers and employees. The parties now look forward to closing the transaction."

The company added that the approval of its $2.3bn (£1.4bn, €1.7bn) sale to Lenovo would enable it to focus on system and software innovations in areas such as cognitive computing, Big Data and cloud. In addition, current x86 customers will have better clarity and confidence under Lenovo.

The CFIUS, which checks if the sale of US businesses to foreign companies would affect national security, has been reviewing the deal announced in January.

The Wall Street Journal earlier reported that US security officials were worried that IBM servers could be accessed remotely by Chinese spies or hackers as a result of the deal.

China's Ministry of Commerce approved the sale in July.

Lenovo in 2005 acquired IBM's PC unit, making the Chinese group the largest manufacturer in the sector.

The approval comes as trade and political relations between the US and China have deteriorated over spying concerns, after the US Justice Department charged five Chinese military members with hacking the systems of US companies to allegedly steal trade secrets.

Lenovo is also acquiring Google's Motorola Mobility mobile phone division for $2.9bn. The deal is expected to be completed in the third quarter, subject to regulatory approvals.

"While our top priority now is full participation in the regulatory approvals process, I am confident that from day 1 after closing, these businesses will quickly begin contributing to our performance and develop into pillars for long-term, sustainable growth," Lenovo CEO Yang Yuanqing said about the acquisitions in its latest earnings statement.

Argentina's Eurobond Holders Looking to Appeal US Ruling to Block Coupon Payments

Pro-government demonstrators beat drums in front of an image of late President Nestor Kirchner placed over the Economy Ministry in Buenos Aires' financial district.Reuters

Holders of Argentine bonds denominated in the euro are challenging a US court ruling that barred the country's coupon payments to them in connection with its lawsuit with the so-called vulture funds.

Lawyers for the bondholders filed a notice in Manhattan federal court, challenging judge Thomas Griesa's ruling on 6 August to block Argentina's payments to its restructured bondholders until it also pays the holdout creditors.

The bondholders argue that their bonds do not come under US law, and should be treated under English and Welsh law.

Argentina has been engaged in a long legal battle with hedge funds led by Elliott Management and Aurelius, which refused to take part in the country's debt restructuring. About 92% of the country's creditors agreed to swap debts and accept less money.

The "holdout" US hedge funds had bought debt cheaply after Argentina's economic crisis, and are demanding full payment on the bonds.

Accusing the holdout creditors of taking advantage of its debt problems, Argentina noted that it could not afford to pay them, as full payment would cause similar claims from restructured bondholders.

In a major blow to the government, the US court earlier gave a ruling that bars Argentina from paying the holders of its restructured debt unless it pays the hedge funds. District judge Griesa has also blocked Argentina's coupon payment to restructured bondholders through Bank of New York Mellon.

The country's persistent attempts to reach a settlement with the so-called vulture funds failed, and it fell into its second default in 13 years.

Argentina earlier ordered Bank of New York Mellon – the intermediary between the country and bondholders – to make the payouts despite Griesa's order. However, the judge ordered the bank to hold on to the money.