China top leaders say to keep policy unchanged: Xinhua

[BEIJING] China is sticking to its current fiscal and monetary policy settings, the state news agency quoted top leaders as saying on Friday.
The Xinhua news agency quoted leaders of the Communist Party of China as saying after a meeting chaired by President Xi Jinping that economic growth in the first quarter was stable and within a "proper range".
Growth in the world's second-largest economy cooled to an 18-month low of 7.4 per cent between January and March, fuelling speculation that the government may loosen policy to bolster activity.
But officials have only eased policy at the margins and in measured steps, such as reducing the reserve requirement ratio, or the amount of cash that banks keep at the central bank, for just the smallest banks.

BJP expected to do well in regional party strongholds

[CHENNAI] India's opposition Bharatiya Janata Party was set to make gains in two big states in the south and east that began voting yesterday in the sixth phase of a mammoth general election that could help it build a stable majority in parliament.

US consumer sentiment up more than expected in April

[NEW YORK] US consumer sentiment rose in April to a nine-month high as views on current and near-term conditions surged, a survey released on Friday showed.
The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's final April reading on the overall index of consumer sentiment came in at 84.1, beating an expectation of 83.0 in a Reuters survey and up from 80.0 the month before. The preliminary April reading was 82.6.
The headline number was the highest reading since July 2013. "Perhaps the more important question is whether consumer confidence will show greater resistance to the backslides that have repeatedly occurred in the past few years," survey director Richard Curtin said in a statement.
"Resilience is dependent on positive long term economic expectations. While near term expectations have improved substantially, longer term expectations for personal finances as well as the overall economy have not improved as much."

US: Wall St opens lower on Amazon, Ford results

[NEW YORK] US stocks opened lower on Friday as a number of bellwether names, including Amazon and Ford, fell following their quarterly results, overshadowing positive numbers from Microsoft.
Amazon shares fell 7.5 per cent to $310.80, while Ford was off 3.1 per cent at $15.82. Microsoft, a Dow component, rose 1.1 per cent to $40.29.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 53.49 points, or 0.32 per cent, at 16,448.16. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 4.91 points, or 0.26 per cent, at 1,873.70. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 28.07 points, or 0.68 per cent, at 4,120.27.

Chris Lynn helps Kolkata Knight Riders escape with stunning 2-run win over Royal Challengers Bangalore in Match 11 of IPL 2014

After an intense drama for 40 overs, all it took was one sensational catch to turn a losing match in to a surprise win. Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) stole a two-run win as Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) messed up and choked in chase of 151 in the 11th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2014. Needing nine in the last over, Chris Lynn took a blinder in the deep to dismiss AB de Villiers which saw the match swing in a matter of seconds. Bangalore where in control of the match for 39 overs of the match until the last over mess-up.

It was one of those old Sharjah wicket, shiny and flat with plenty of runs on offer. On such a relatively easy wicket. Kolkata had squandered crucial opportunities after being put in to bat by Bangalore. They lost two quick wickets at the start including that of Gautam Gambhir.

Kolkata started off with two fast bowlers, Umesh Yadav and Morne Morkel bowling consistently at over 140kphs. Morkel almost touched 150 on one occasion. It helped the opening pair of Parthiv Patel and Yogesh Takawale. Both the batsmen weren’t power-hitters and the pace helped the immensely. Parthiv started off the chase with a cut shot past point for four. But it was Takawale who was a revelation. The right-hander took his chance against a pacey Morkel. In the last over of the powerplay, he hit three boundaries which included edges flying towards the fence as well.

The duo completed the fifty-run stand in the seventh over. With Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Yuvraj Singh to come, this was more than a dream start. It seemed as though the pacers were forcing things to move quickly to their own disadvantage. It was the introduction of Jacques Kallis which worked for Kolkata. Though he was hit for a boundary, Kallis kept his length full and straight. Takawale trying to work the ball away on the leg again was struck plumb in front. Takawale’s 40 from 28 balls helped Bangalore pocket the momentum early on. With the majority of Sunil Narine overs yet to come, it was something Bangalore would have planned for. The opening stand lasted for 67 runs. Parthiv too was dismissed soon after in the next over with the leading edge caught by Chris Lynn.

Kolkata clawed their way back with some tight overs, but Kohli was never the one to let go off control in a run-chase. There was an intense phase in the middle when Morkel tested Yuvraj with some short deliveries and as expected the southpaw struggled to fend it off. But a similar ploy from Umesh in the next over proved costly as Yuvraj regained ground with a pull shot for six. And the pacer committed a crime by delivering a short ball to Kohli as well. Since there was not a gigantic target to chase, every boundary eased the pressure.

Kohli was soon at his usual best stroking the boundaries at will. The two deft touch for boundaries in the 13th over showed how casual Kohli appears in any run-chase. And any remaining pressure on Yuvraj too persihed as he smartly looked for the singles and twos, allowing Kohli to be more aggressive. On some other day, Yuvraj would have stumbled trying to score off Narine, but the situation allowed him to play orthodox shots in the gaps. Gambhir had also used up Morkel at the start.

When it looked the duo will cruise to the target, Narine produced a brilliant delivery to breach Kohli’s defence. The Bangalore skipper departed only to see the entry of AB de Villiers. There was a brief period after that which saw Yuvraj struggling and the required rate rising a bit but De Villiers was always going to make it look easy.

Needing 18 in the last two, De Villiers hit a boundary. But Yuvraj’s struggle meant the target was down to nine in the last with the southpaw dismissed for 31. After a single each on the first three deliveries of the Vinay Kumar over, De Villiers then skied which looked set to be caught Lynn in the deep. But teh fielder slipped, and when he was about to regain ground, he managed to control the catch falling inches inside the fence. With a boundary needed on the last ball, Albie Morkel failed to capitalise on a full-toss and the Kolkata team barely realised that they pocketed a losing match. A frustrated Kohli admitted that it was Bangalore’s match to lose than Kolkata winning it. In hindsight, the 33-ball 31 from Yuvraj would come under scanner as a comfortable chase turned in to a nightmare for Bangalore.

Despite the nervous win, Kolkata’s biggest worry now will be the form of Gambhir who has registered three ducks in a row. The bright spot of the match was Lynn though. The Brisbane batsman who replaced Shakib Al Hasan scored briskly at the start which allowed KKR to overcome the loss of two quick wickets and that catch in the end turned out to be ore precious than his batting. Kallis once again was impressive with his all-round performance scoring a solid 43 and then conceding 26 in his four overs.

Brief scores:

Kolkata Knight Riders 150 for 7 in 20 overs (Jacques Kallis 43, Chris Lynn 45; Varun Aaron 3 for 16, Yuzvendra Chahal 1 for 26) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 148 for 5 in 20 overs (Yogesh Takawale 40, Virat Kohli 31; Sunil Narine 1 for 17, Jacques Kallis 1 for 26) by 2 runs.

Man of the Match: Chris Lynn

IDA launches 2 programmes to boost innovation

The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) yesterday launched two parallel programmes to give Singapore innovations a shot in the arm.
One of them is an accreditation programme for small, innovative start-ups; the other is a programme at the IDA Labs to foster interest in technology and collaboration among Singaporeans, especially students.
The first programme, called Accreditation@IDA, aims to help innovative technology start-ups build their credentials, and so make them ready to handle projects by government agencies and large enterprises.
The programme is targeted at Singapore-based start-ups with less than $10 million in turnover and at companies involved in high-growth infocomm and enterprise-software products.

Encouraged' by Narendra Modi's remarks on ties: Pak envoy Abul Basit

NEW DELHI: Pakistan on Wednesday said it was "encouraged" after BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi's remarks regarding ties with foreign countries and asserted that it was looking forward to a stable government here to engage "quickly, comprehensively and meaningfully".

Making a strong pitch for resumption of dialogue process, Pakistan high commissioner Abul Basit said talks were the only way to resolve outstanding issues and no one nation does any "favour" by talking, indicating that stopping of talks by India was not good for bilateral ties.

Interacting with women journalists here, Basit also said his government was committed to change the bilateral narrative of conflict into one by cooperation and mutual trust.

Asked about BJP's view that all those who do not support Modi should go to Pakistan, the high commissioner said, "I have seen all the statements and remarks (by his party and him) but the best statement came on Tuesday night from the prime ministerial candidate and I feel much more encouraged.

"His (Modi) response when a question was asked about Pakistan was very positive and that gives us hope that positive things will come... I am indeed encouraged."

In an interview on Tuesday, Modi had asserted that he would take forward former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's principles on foreign policy and said, "I believe mutual respect for one another and cooperation should be the basis for relationships with foreign nations."

Basit also downplayed BJP leader Giriraj Singh's remarks that all those who don't respect Modi should go to Pakistan, saying these were "rhetorics" used during electioneering.

The Pakistani envoy also said that his government was "keenly looking forward to a government with which Pakistan (can engage) quickly, comprehensively and meaningfully... and move from conflicting relations."

Strongly favouring the resumption of dialogue, Basit said Pakistan hopes that there were resumption of talks to resolve outstanding issues. "We should also preserve and build on past agreements and treaties," he added, citing examples of Indus water treaty and some understanding on demilitarisation of Siachen.

Asked about a perception that 'Pakistan was most dangerous country', Basit said, "Pakistan was not most dangerous country but most misunderstood country".

US: Stocks rise on earnings, big pharma deals

[NEW YORK] US stocks opened modestly higher on Tuesday following solid earnings and huge deals announced by major pharmaceutical companies.
Six minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 19.52 (0.12 per cent) to 16,468.77.
The broad-based S&P 500 added 2.88 (0.15 per cent) at 1,874.77, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index rose 17.94 (0.44 per cent) to 4,139.48.
Strong or solid quarterly reports came from Netflix and Comcast, while McDonald's results came in below expectations.

Toyota wants to use more hybrid system parts made in China

[CHANGSHU, China] Toyota Motor Corp wants locally procured parts to make up at least half the components in the gasoline-electric hybrid propulsion systems for the Corolla and Levin cars it plans to start making in China next year.
Shinichi Matsumoto, Vice President for Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing in China, said Toyota needs that level of local content in order to bring down prices of hybrids and to generate more sales in the world's biggest auto market.
Toyota, which currently pays costly tariffs and transport fees for bringing key components from Japan to assemble hybrid vehicles in China, aims to slash costs by using many locally procured materials and parts, Mr Matsumoto told reporters on Tuesday.
"My feeling is that unless the local procurement ratio reaches 50 per cent, we can't call it 'localised'," he said at a research and development centre in Changshu, about 80 kilometres west of Shanghai. He was referring to number of parts procured specifically for the hybrid system. "Ultimately, our goal is to localise 100 percent."

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