Monsanto pulls new GM seed from Indian market

On August 25, the US agribusiness giant Monsanto announced that it was withdrawing an application seeking approval for its next generation of pest-resistant cotton seeds in India.

The application was scrapped due to “regulatory uncertainties and ongoing discussions”, a spokesperson for Monsanto confirmed. The move underlines the agrochemical company’s refusal to comply with Indian Government proposals that would force Monsanto to share its technology with local seed companies.

Millions of farmers are set to suffer from Monsanto’s decision to pull the new GM seed

The dispute was ignited back in March, when a small group of local seed-makers began refusing to pay royalties for using Monsanto’s GM technology to produce cotton seeds. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi quickly responded to this local protest by cutting the royalties paid to Monsanto by 70 percent. The move caused the company to warn that it would “re-evaluate every aspect of our position in India”.

The Indian Government has since refused to reverse the price cut, despite mounting pressure from Monsanto, which has prompted the company to take the unprecedented decision to pull their new strand of GM seeds from the nation. The move could see further losses for the company, as they may be forced to shelve their new cotton seed, Bollgard III, for several years.

Since introducing its first generation of genetically modified seeds to India in 2002, Monsanto’s biotech crop technology has completely transformed India’s agricultural industry, with around seven million cotton farmers now reliant on the company’s pest-resistant seeds. As a result, millions of farmers are set to suffer from Monsanto’s decision to pull the new GM seed, as they will be forced to depend on an older strain of cotton seed, which experts fear is beginning to lose its efficiency.

The latest move in this royalties row is also a blow to Modi, who wants to attract more foreign investors to India in order to boost the nation’s economic growth.

As this bitter Monsanto dispute will further fuel anxieties over the treatment of foreign companies in India, securing new international investment may prove to be something of a real challenge for Modi.

US Treasury Department criticises European Commission’s Apple tax probe

The US Treasury Department has issued a sharp criticism of the European Commission (EC) ahead of the release of its findings into Apple’s corporate tax payments in Ireland.

In a white paper released by the US Treasury Department, the body warned that Brussels was becoming a “supranational tax authority” that is threatening international agreements on tax reform. It stated the Directorate-General for Competition is expanding its designated role of the enforcement of competition and state aid law.

“The cases cited by the commission do not give taxpayers prior notice that the commission would interpret its powers in this way or that selectivity would no longer be a meaningful precondition to a finding of state aid”, the report read. Earlier this year, the Obama administration also argued publically that the EC was unfairly targeting US companies with its investigations.

JPMorgan has estimated that in a worst-case scenario, Apple’s unpaid tax bill could be as high as $19bn

The criticisms come ahead of the EC finalising its investigations of an alleged ‘sweetheart’ tax deal between Apple and Ireland, the Financial Times reported. The probe began in 2013 and is focusing on the practice of ‘transfer pricing’, where a company moves its profits to low-tax jurisdictions via internal transactions.

The EC accused Irish authorities of offering Apple a special deal to reduce its tax bill, one that was not made available to other companies and was therefore potentially a breach of EU state aid rules. The US Senate has criticised Apple in the past for paying a two percent tax rate – a significant decrease of the headline 12.5 percent rate. Apple and the Irish finance ministry have denied any wrongdoing.

The EC is scheduled to release its findings next month. JPMorgan has estimated that in a worst-case scenario, Apple’s unpaid tax bill could be as high as $19bn.

Apple isn’t the only US firm that has fallen between the crosshairs of the EU. Last year it ruled Starbucks was given a sweetheart tax deal in the Netherlands, stating the company avoided paying between €20m and €30m ($22.6-$33.9m) in taxes.

Investors pull £5.7bn out of UK post-Brexit

The latest market figures reveal that the outcome of the EU referendum prompted investors to pull out a total £5.7bn ($7.54bn) from equity funds domiciled in the UK. While June saw withdrawals to the value of £2.27bn ($3bn), in July a further £3.55bn ($4.7bn) of redemptions were made, making it the worst month for UK funds in the last three years.

According to data provider Morningstar, £438m ($579m) was also pulled from UK property funds. Some investors chose to move their capital to less risky funds in the country, such as government and corporate bonds, while others looked to markets elsewhere.

As such, Morningstar’s data revealed that in July investors poured €15.8bn ($17.82bn) into mutual funds that are domiciled in the Europe, thus indicating a marked increase in appetite for the European fund market.

Some investors chose to move their capital to less risky funds in the country, while others looked to markets elsewhere

“UK investors were selling funds quite heavily in July. [They] sold equity funds and flocked to money market funds”, said Ali Masarwah, Morningstar’s Editorial Director for Europe, Middle East and Africa. “It is typical to buy into money market funds when you see risks. It is basically shifting money into cash.”

Consequently, across June and July, outflows from UK funds were experienced by around two thirds of asset managers. According to the Financial Times, Columbia Threadneedle suffered the biggest hit, with investors pulling out £662m ($875m). Fundsmith, Jupiter and Aviva Investors, on the other hand, saw inflows of over £90m ($119m) each.

Although such figures may cause grave concern for asset managers working with UK-based investment and property funds, withdrawals have since begun to settle, while sales have also started to increase. As such, it seems the activity witnessed in June and July may have indeed just been the initial reaction to Brexit, with many expecting a return to normality in the coming months.

What does remain a concern, however, is whether the UK’s property market can withstand the aftermath of Brexit without being hit with too big a blow to both sales and value. Only time will tell.

Former Fannie Mae CEO reaches $100,000 settlement with the SEC

On August 22, former Fannie Mae Chief Executive Daniel Mudd reached a settlement with US regulators, ending a bitter five-year battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In December 2011, Mudd was accused of misleading investors in the months leading up to the financial crisis by downplaying the risks of subprime mortgages.

As the former CEO of mortgage funding giant Fannie Mae, Mudd was one of the most senior executives sued by the SEC over his role in bringing about the 2008 banking crisis.

Under the terms of the settlement, Fannie Mae will contribute $100,000 on Mudd’s behalf to the US treasury, which sees the former CEO escape paying any personal fine for his financial malfeasance.

Under the terms of the settlement, Fannie Mae will contribute $100,000 on Mudd’s behalf to the
US treasury

Following the multi-billion dollar bailout of Fannie Mae and its sister company, Freddie Mac, in September 2008, Mudd was one of six top former executives sued by the SEC on securities fraud charges. Each of the other five cases ended in equally modest settlements, with Mudd’s case concluding the SEC’s investigation of Fannie Mae.

Reuters reported that Mudd said of the settlement: “I appreciate Fannie May and the current leadership of the SEC stepping in to end a case that never should have been brought.” Over the course of the five-year case, Mudd has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

With Mudd at the helm, Fannie Mae reported in 2007 that risky subprime mortgages accounted for just 0.2 percent of its loans, when the true figure was over 10 times higher. When the US housing bubble finally burst in 2008, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were bailed out for a record $187bn – over half of the total budget allocated to bank rescues by the US government. Despite reporting losses of over $400bn in the years following the 2008 crisis, Fannie Mae started reporting profits again in 2012.


For more in-depth analysis of the world of Wall Street banking regulations, look out for World Finance’s upcoming report on the topic

Viacom CEO to step down, ending fight for control of the company

Media giant Viacom has announced that its Chief Executive Officer, Philippe Dauman, has resigned, ending a battle for control of the company that has dragged on for months.

Viacom’s current Chief Operating Officer, Thomas Dooley, will temporarily replace Dauman. Dooley will be acting as interim CEO until September 30, when the board will decide on a permanent replacement.

Dauman’s resignation is part of a settlement that ends a prolonged battle for control of the company between himself and majority shareholder Sumner Redstone.

Dauman’s resignation is part of a settlement that ends a prolonged battle for control of the company

Redstone’s National Amusements controls 80 percent of voting shares in Viacom. The battle for control started in May, when Redstone removed Dauman and Director George Abrams from the board of the National Amusements Trust. Redstone was reportedly unhappy with the poor performance of the company and Dauman’s plan for Viacom to sell a portion of its stake in Paramount Pictures.

Dauman and Abrams responded by issuing a lawsuit against Redstone, arguing he was being manipulated by his daughter Shari Redstone and was unfit to make a sound decision. Ms Redstone said the accusation was “absurd”.

Under the settlement Dauman will be staying on as Non-Executive Chairman of the company until September 13, giving him the opportunity to present Viacom’s board with the plan for the Paramount Pictures sale. As reported by Reuters, Dauman will also receive a $72m pay out.

Viacom is also appointing five new board members, as suggested by National Amusements.

Viacom has been struggling for some time to compete with other Hollywood studios and generate hit series on its TV networks, which include MTV and Comedy Central. The Los Angeles Times reported Viacom’s net income fell 27 percent in its most recent quarterly earnings report.

National Amusements blasted the results in a statement at the time: “In recent years, the company’s senior management has overseen a steep erosion of revenue growth, earnings, operating performance, financial capacity and shareholder returns – with Viacom ranking at or near the very bottom of industry peers across many of these critical metrics.”

Urjit Patel appointed as Governor of the Reserve Bank of India

Two months after the surprise resignation of Raghuram Rajan as Governor for the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Narendra Modi regime has appointed Deputy Governor Urjit Patel to the post. Patel will step up to his new role following the official end to Rajan’s term on September 4.

Since Rajan’s announcement in mid-June, there has been much speculation about his successor, along with growing concerns regarding India’s monetary policy looking forward. Many feared that Modi might name someone that would take greater risks in a bid to further accelerate India’s economic growth; promoting Patel, however, marks a clear indication of continuity for the RBI.

“He is a very orthodox economist”, Jahangir Aziz, Head of JPMorgan’s Emerging Market Economics department, told the Financial Times. “He is not going to be the one who says, ‘let me sacrifice a little bit of macroeconomic stability to get a little bit of growth’.”

By electing a new governor who is known for his steady approach, it is clear that macroeconomic stability remains a top priority

Having completed a PhD in economics at Yale University, Patel started his career at the IMF, where he soon climbed the ranks to become the organisation’s Deputy Resident Representative in New Delhi. Then, following some years working as a consultant to the Finance Ministry, Patel went on to head India’s leading infrastructure financier for 10 years. He was appointed as the Deputy Governor of the RBI in 2013.

While serving as Deputy Governor, Patel created the country’s new monetary policy for inflation targets, thereby ending India’s controversial framework for motive-driven interest rate decision-making. The new policy has ultimately made India’s inflation rate more manageable.

By electing a new governor who is known for his steady approach, it is clear that macroeconomic stability remains a top priority for Modi. The decision has also eased any market concerns that arose in the months following Rajan’s announcement.

What remains to be seen, however, is how Patel will handle the clearing of bad debts and whether he will stick to Rajan’s plan to recognise all bad loans by 2017.

Patel will head the institution at a pivotal point in its history, given that interest rates will soon be decided by a monetary policy committee. Previously, this had been the sole responsibility of the governor.

As demonstrated by Modi’s rule thus far, he is especially keen to push forward India’s economic development, while also creating a new role for the country within the global economy. Although pushing growth is important for Modi’s plans to instate India’s new economic status, stability remains key, which thus explains his decision to focus on continuity and stability for the RBI.

US to begin closure of privately owned prisons

On August 18, the Obama administration announced that 14 privately owned prisons across the US are set to close within the next five years. Currently housing around 22,000 inmates, the private correctional facilities will not have their contracts renewed by the US Department of Justice.

Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates announced the decision in a memo to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, highlighting safety and security issues within private institutions.

“Private prisons served an important role during a difficult period, but time has shown that they compare poorly to our own Bureau facilities”, Yates explained. She went on to add that private institutions “do not maintain the same level of safety and security” as state-run facilities.

Private prisons have often come under fire for both their treatment of inmates and profits made from the long sentences of those incarcerated

The decision follows last week’s release of a damaging report on private prisons, which revealed that contract prisons are significantly more dangerous than their state-run counterparts. Investigators determined that inmate-on-inmate assaults were 28 percent higher in private prisons, while assaults on staff were nearly twice as frequent.

Reporters also found that there were more than fives times as many complete lockdowns occurring at contract prisons, with private institutions also experiencing a higher number of weapons confiscations per capita. Furthermore, inmates at private correctional facilities were found to be more likely to make complaints regarding treatment by staff, medical care and food standards.

On Wall Street, the momentous announcement delivered a significant blow to the stocks of private prison companies. Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), the largest private prisons operator in the US, saw its stocks plummet by 52 per cent within hours of the news. By midday, trading of stocks of CCA and its competitor, the GEO Group, had to be temporarily halted due to their volatility.

Contact prisons have been heavily scrutinised over their 10-year history in the US. Introduced over a decade ago as a means of dealing with soaring prison populations, private prisons have often come under fire for both their treatment of inmates and profits made from the long sentences of those incarcerated.

While the phasing out of private facilities will only affect a small percentage of the nation’s prison population, it may mark the beginning of a much wider effort by the US Department of Justice to overhaul the country’s troubled justice system.

Harley-Davidson pays $12m to US authorities to settle emissions dispute

Motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson will make a payment of $12m to US authorities to end a dispute relating to the emission levels of its bikes. In spite of the payment, Harley-Davidson insists it has done nothing wrong.

The allegation relates to the sale of the Screamin’ Eagle Pro super tuner. This after-market part allows a motorcycle to generate more power, but in the process causes it to produce more emissions. US authorities claim Harley-Davidson has sold 340,000 of the devices since 2008.

Harley-Davidson maintains it has done nothing wrong, insisting the devices were sold only for use in off-road or closed course racing competitions and not public roads. According to the BBC, Harley-Davidson described the settlement as “a good faith compromise”.

Ed Moreland, Harley-Davidson’s Government Affairs Director, said: “For more than two decades, we have sold this product under an accepted regulatory approach that permitted the sale of competition-only parts. In our view, it is and was legal to use in race conditions in the US.”

Harley-Davidson will also destroy its remaining stock of super tuners, and plans to sell a version of the product that complies with clean air regulations.

The US Justice Department also ordered Harley-Davidson to pay an additional $3m to local environmental projects, with the Justice Department’s Assistant Attorney General John Cruden describing the settlement as a significant step towards the goal of stopping the sale of illegal parts.

The settlement comes a little under a year after vehicle emissions were thrown into the spotlight by the revelation Volkswagen (VW) had been cheating on its emission tests. Over 11 million diesel vehicles worldwide were affected by the revelation, and the German carmaker has so far struggled to recover from the revelation, with legal proceedings continuing to drag on. To date, it has set aside over €16bn to cover the cost of the scandal.

VW’s supplier Bosch has also been accused of being a “knowing and active participant” in the fraud, according to lawyers representing US VW owners, Fortune reported. VW is yet to comment on the filing.

Fed declines to raise interest rates

The US Federal Reserve has released the minutes from its July FOMC meeting, in which participants declined to raise interest rates. Members of the FOMC expressed familiar sentiments and concerns. While participants were generally positive about the outlook for the US economy, global concerns and sluggish inflation dampened the possibility of domestic optimism leading to a rate rise.

As the minutes noted: “Members judged that the information received since the committee met in June indicated that the labour market had strengthened and that economic activity had been expanding at a moderate rate.” It was noted that job growth was strong in June, following March’s disappointing results, with many members noting that the labour market remained “solid, and slack had continued to diminish”. While business investment was seen to have softened, all agreed that household spending had picked up.

Two key concerns still persisted: low inflation and the outlook of the global economy

However, two key concerns still persisted: low inflation and the outlook of the global economy. While members judged that near-term risks to the domestic outlook had diminished, “some noted that the UK vote, along with other developments abroad, still imparted significant uncertainty to the medium- to longer-term outlook for foreign economies, with possible consequences for the US outlook”.

At the same time, inflation has continued to run below the Fed’s target of two percent. According to the minutes: “Members continued to expect inflation to remain low in the near term.” Although there was some expectation of a potential raise in inflation in the medium term, “in light of the current shortfall of inflation from two percent, members agreed that they would continue to carefully monitor actual and expected progress toward the Committee’s inflation goal”.

It was concluded that after “assessing the outlook for economic activity, the labour market, and inflation, as well as the risks around that outlook, members decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 0.25 to 0.5 percent at this meeting”.

The Fed seems to be stuck on a loop. While it recognises a continuously improving US domestic outlook – particularly when it comes to employment – the persistence of low inflation and global risks to the US economy means that it is reluctant to risk a rate rise.

US housing market picks up

The US housing market appears to be picking up, according to the latest data released by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). In August, builder confidence in the market for the construction of single-family homes rose by two index points. Its score is now 60, as measured by the organisation’s Housing Market Index (HMI), released in collaboration with Wells Fargo.

“Builder confidence remains solid in the aftermath of weak GDP reports that were offset by positive job growth in July”, NAHB’s Chief Economist Robert Dietz noted. “Historically low mortgage rates, increased household formations and a firming labour market will help keep housing on an upward path during the rest of the year.”

In August, builder confidence in the market for the construction of single-family homes rose by two index points

The HMI is based on a survey in which market actors are asked to give their assessment of the general economic outlook of the US and housing market conditions, including present sales figures of new homes, expected future new home sales, and the level of interest from prospective buyers. Any reading over 50 is an indication of optimism.

August saw gains in the first two components in particular, with current sales rising by two points to 65, and expected sales rising by one point to 67. However, buyer traffic weakened by one point to 44.

Regionally, results also diverged. The south of the US saw gains on an already strong reading, up by two points to 63, while the west went unchanged, sitting at 69. The midwest and northeast were comparatively weaker, with the northeast gaining one point to the low figure of 41, while the midwest dropped two points to 55.

As has been the case for a number of years, the northeast and midwest are increasingly seeing people migrate to many southern and western states – occasionally termed ‘the sunbelt’ – lured by better job prospects. Of the 11 fastest-growing American cities with populations over 50,000 in 2016, all are located in southern or western states, with nearly half located in Texas alone.

BHP Billiton reports record loss of $6.4bn

After a catastrophic year, BHP Billiton has posted a record annual loss of $6.4bn. It is the first annual loss the company has recorded since BHP and Billiton merged in 2001. After stripping away one-off costs, the miner reported underlying earnings of $1.22bn.

The global slump in commodity prices and the cost of the Samarco mine tragedy have both weighed heavily on BHP’s results this year.

The full impact and extent of the Samarco mining disaster is yet to become clear. The 2015 collapse of the Brazilian dam jointly maintained by BHP and Vale left at least 19 people dead, 700 homeless and polluted more than 400 miles of river. It is the worst manmade disaster to have occurred in Brazil’s history.

The global slump in commodity prices and the cost of the Samarco mine tragedy have both weighed heavily on BHP’s results this year

In a statement, BHP said the results of an external investigation into the disaster would be published in the coming weeks. The mining company has already approved a $1.3bn provision after the disaster, but the BBC reports it is still facing a $48bn compensation lawsuit that is likely to drag on for years.

However, the biggest impact to the Anglo-Australian miner’s profits came from the worldwide slump in commodity prices. It is a situation affecting the entire mining industry, thanks to slowing growth in China hurting international demand.

“While commodity prices are expected to remain low and volatile in the short-to-medium term, we are confident in the long-term outlook for our commodities, particularly oil and copper”, said BHP Billiton’s Chief Executive Andrew Mackenzie in a statement.

The company has also cut its payout to shareholders, paying a final dividend of 14 cents per share for an annual dividend of 30 cents, down 75 percent on the previous year. Earlier this year it ended it progressive dividend policy, where shareholders received gradually higher payouts.

PwC sued for $5.5bn over bank collapse

Accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has been taken to court in Florida for failing to spot a billion-dollar scam that contributed to the collapse of the Taylor Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corporation and the lender’s parent company, Colonial Bank. The case is the largest accounting negligence lawsuit to ever go to trial.

Between 2002 and 2009, executives for Taylor Bean & Whitaker crafted loan documents for a number of mortgages that either did not exist or had been pledged to other investors. By 2007, Colonial reportedly held $1.5bn in non-existent loans, which contributed to the bank’s 2009 collapse – the sixth-largest US bank failure in history.

Taylor Bean & Whitaker was the largest customer of Colonial’s mortgage lending division. Executives at the firm were jailed after the fraud was exposed, including former chairman Lee Farkas.

By 2007, Colonial reportedly held $1.5bn in non-existent loans, which contributed to the bank’s 2009 collapse – the sixth-largest US bank failure in history

At debate are PwC’s clean audits of Colonial Bank’s documents between 2002 and 2008. Lawyers on behalf of trustees for the Taylor Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corporation are claiming PwC was negligent in its audits and missed the significant cases of fraud.

If PwC had identified the scam earlier, they claim, it could have saved the bank from collapse. Taylor Bean & Whitaker’s trustees are seeking $5.5bn in damages.

“Year after year, Pricewaterhouse didn’t do their job, they didn’t follow the rules and they failed to detect the fraud”, said an attorney for the trustee Steven Thomas in the opening statements of the trial.

The case raises the question of whether a financial auditor is responsible for identifying fraud. In a 2007 interview with The Wall Street Journal, PwC’s Global Chairman, Dennis Nally, said the audit profession has always had a responsibility for the detection of fraud. Nally retired in June this year.

Beth Tanis, a lawyer for PwC, said in a statement to the Financial Times: “As the professional audit standards make clear, even a properly designed and executed audit may not detect fraud, especially in instances when there is collusion, fabrication of documents, and the override of controls, as there was at Colonial Bank.”

Japan experiences slower growth than expected in second quarter

New preliminary data released on August 15 revealed that Japan’s economy grew much less than expected in the second quarter. Instead of an annualised growth rate of 0.7 percent, as predicted by economists earlier in the year, only 0.2 percent was actually achieved. There is now far greater pressure on the Japanese Government and Prime Minister Shinzō Abe to create sustainable long-term growth.

As indicated by the newly released figures, the country’s sluggish growth can be attributed to slow private consumption, which was compounded further by the global economy’s ongoing poor performance.

Japan’s sluggish growth can be attributed to slow private consumption, which was compounded further by the global economy’s ongoing poor performance

Despite growth of 0.1 percent in the first quarter, during the period from April to June, Japanese exports fell by 1.5 percent, thus reflecting how low demand from overseas and a stronger yen have affected the industry. Capital expenditure also dropped by 0.4 percent for the second consecutive quarter, which is particularly discouraging given that this area is viewed by Tokyo as a key component to strengthening the economy.

While Abe’s stimulus programmes are failing to create consistent growth, the Bank of Japan’s loose monetary policy has helped to reduce mortgage rates, which in turn resulted in a five percent surge in housing investments.

Nonetheless, overall it seems that ‘Abenomics’ is simply not providing the sustainable growth that parties both in and out of Japan had anticipated. In turn, further action by the Bank of Japan is expected in September, following its comprehensive assessment of Abe’s stimulus programmes.

Following the data release, Finance Minister Taro Aso explained there is a strong need for the government to implement structural reforms as a means of boosting both domestic and foreign demand. As such, a big overhaul to Japan’s policy framework may be the only way forward for this struggling economy.

China’s economy disappoints in July

According to a range of indicators, China has seen a slowdown of economic activity in July, suggesting that the country’s economy could be running out of steam. Data released on Friday showed that July’s industrial production output stood at six percent higher than a year before, down from June’s 6.2 percent year-on-year growth.

China also saw fixed asset investment such as in buildings or factories in non-rural areas grow by only 8.1 percent between January and July – the slowest rate of growth in 17 years. In particular, fixed asset investment from private firms declined sharply. This means that state firms now heavily dominate fixed asset investment in China. Real estate investment has also markedly slowed.

July’s industrial production output stood at six percent higher than a year before, down from June’s 6.2 percent year-on-year growth

Earlier released data from the Caixin PMI for China also showed that the country’s service sector output slipped in July, with its measure falling from 52.7 in June down to 51.7 in July. At this level, the country’s service sector is still expanding – anything over 50 is an expansion in the PMI gauge – but the new figure shows a marked slowdown.

One area that has seen strong growth in China is the car industry. July saw car sales rise at the fastest monthly rate in over three years. As Reuters reported: “Auto sales grew 23 percent year-on-year to 1.9 million vehicles in July from a year earlier, the highest monthly growth since January 2013, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said on Friday.”

However, much of the growth can be attributed to a recent government tax cut on small engine vehicles, as well as weak comparative growth in the prior year.

According to the Nikkei Asia Review, economists are predicting that China’s central bank will cut interest rates in response to the country’s slowing economy: “JP Morgan expects another 25 basis points as soon as October.”