Facebook leads social pack in US, Twitter sputters: study   

Facebook remains the dominant social network for US Internet users, while Twitter has failed to keep apace with rivals like Instagram and Pinterest, a study showed Wednesday. 

PHOTO: AFP

AUG 19, 201510:36 PM

[WASHINGTON] Facebook remains the dominant social network for US Internet users, while Twitter has failed to keep apace with rivals like Instagram and Pinterest, a study showed Wednesday.

The Pew Research Center report found 72 per cent of Americans who are online currently use Facebook, a modest uptick of one percentage point from a year ago and five points higher than in 2012.

Because the vast majority of Americans use the Internet, the figures suggest 62 per cent of all US adults are on Facebook, according to Pew.

The study showed Pinterest, the bulletin-board style network, was used by 31 per cent of those surveyed while Facebook-owned photo-sharing network Instagram grabbed 28 per cent, with both showing significant growth.

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Twitter's share remained stuck at 23 per cent, the same level as last year, although it rose from 16 per cent in 2012.

Facebook has an added advantage over its rivals because its users are "highly engaged," according to the survey, which found 70 per cent of Facebook users saying they log on daily, including 43 per cent who do so several times a day.

That compared with daily engagement of 59 per cent for Instagram users, 38 per cent of those on Twitter and 27 per cent of Pinterest users.

LinkedIn, a social network oriented toward career enhancement, saw its user base decline to 25 per cent of online adults, from 28 per cent in 2014. But those who use the platform daily rose to 22 per cent from 13 per cent a year earlier.

Some 10 per cent of online adults said they used Tumblr, the blogging platform acquired two years ago by Yahoo. That compared with six per cent the last time Pew asked in December 2012.

Tumblr is popular among younger adults with 20 per cent of those between the ages of 18 and 29 reporting they use it, Pew found.

The survey mirrored the global picture for the major social networks. Facebook last month said its monthly active user based grew to 1.49 billion. Twitter's user base increased only marginally to 316 million.

Pew found that Facebook was notably popular among women, garnering 77 per cent of those who are online, and the 18-29 age group, where 82 per cent use the social network.

The Pew survey also showed considerable interest in messaging applications which allow smartphone users to bypass carrier networks.

Some 36 per cent of smartphone owners said they used messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Kik or iMessage.

These apps are especially popular among young adults, and were used by 49 per cent of smartphone owners between the ages of 18 and 29, Pew found.

"The emergence of messaging apps is noteworthy as these communication tools serve different social needs than traditional online social networks," said lead author Maeve Duggan, a researcher at Pew.

"The data also show how swiftly an already complex terrain of interaction is becoming more varied." The Pew report is based on telephone interviews conducted from March 17 to April 12 among a national sample of 1,907 adults, including 1,612 Internet users, with a margin of error between 2.6 and 4.6 percentage points, depending on the subgroup.

AFP

      

Eurozone yields stabilise as global inflation slowdown fears ease

Eurozone bond yields settled on Wednesday after a sharp rise the previous day caused by a surprise uptick in UK inflation, with investors wary that a similar reading in the United States later could make a Federal Reserve rate hike imminent. 

PHOTO: REUTERS

AUG 19, 20154:07 PM

[LONDON] Eurozone bond yields settled on Wednesday after a sharp rise the previous day caused by a surprise uptick in UK inflation, with investors wary that a similar reading in the United States later could make a Federal Reserve rate hike imminent.

Tuesday's UK data, showing core inflation hitting a five-month high, eased some concerns that a wavering Chinese economy would fuel a significant slowdown in inflation on a global scale.

Such worries have pushed yields sharply lower in recent weeks as parts of the market expected the Fed and the Bank of England to put aside any plans for a near-term rate hike. Some analysts and investors even made the case that the European Central Bank might be forced to extend its 1 trillion euro bond buying programme beyond its scheduled end in September 2016.

But eurozone yields held at higher levels on Wednesday even though Chinese stock markets extended their recent plunge.

US inflation data is due at 1230 GMT and minutes from the Fed's last meeting will be released later. Both will be scoured for clues on whether the Fed will raise interest rates next month for the first time in nearly a decade.

German 10-year Bund yields held steady at 0.64 per cent. Yields on lower-rated euro zone bonds in Spain , Italy and Portugal were 1 basis point higher, having risen 4-9 bps the previous day. They traded at 2.00 per cent, 1.81 per cent and 2.48 per cent, respectively.

Bund futures were 6 ticks lower at 154.76. "The upside surprise in UK inflation put pressure on the Bund future while weaker Asian stock markets provide support,"said Benjamin Schroeder, rate strategist at Commerzbank. "The US CPI release might lead to some stabilisation, but even then the focus might remain more on the near-term developments where commodities continue trading subdued, and an early Fed hike might be feared to turn out as a policy error which could choke off the underlying price momentum." Fitch upgraded its credit rating for Greece on Tuesday, saying the bailout deal the country struck with foreign lenders reduced the chance of default. The rating is now CCC, up from CC.

German lawmakers are expected to vote overwhelmingly in favour of Greece's third bailout on Wednesday, even though Chancellor Angela Merkel faces a rebellion in her own party ranks.

Greek 10-year yields were 7 basis points higher at 9.35 per cent, having fallen from almost 20 per cent in the past five weeks.

On the supply side, Germany sells two-year bonds at an auction later on Wednesday.

REUTERS

    

IMF extends SDR update as it eyes inclusion of China's yuan

AUG 20, 201512:21 AM

[WASHINGTON] The IMF said Wednesday that it had extended by nine months the scheduled revision of its elite currencies basket, giving more time for adjustment to the potential inclusion of China's yuan.

The move prolongs from year-end until September 30, 2016, the official update of the "special drawing rights" (SDR) basket, which takes place only every five years.

The review would adjust the weightings of the four powerful currencies involved - the dollar, yen, euro and pound - but this time also could mean adding the yuan, also known as the renminbi (RMB), to the mix as well.

China, now the world's second-largest economy, asked last year for the yuan to be added to the grouping.

On August 4, the IMF said the currency, which has been tightly managed by the Chinese central bank, fell short of meeting all the standards for inclusion, particularly on being "freely usable" in international finance.

However, a senior IMF official at the time said that he expected changes in that situation by the time an official board decision on the yuan's inclusion was expected in November.

One week later, indeed, Beijing both devalued the currency and moved to let it float more broadly, allowing it to respond further to market forces, which the IMF holds as an important condition for SDR currencies.

The IMF did not mention the yuan in its statement Wednesday, but explained that the update extension was a response "to feedback from SDR users on the desirability of avoiding changes in the basket at the end of the calendar year." "The extension would also allow users sufficient lead time to adjust in the event that a decision were to be taken to add a new currency to the SDR basket." While not a freely traded currency, the SDR is important as an international reserve asset, and because the IMF issues its crisis loans, crucial to struggling economies like Greece, valued in SDRs.

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said last year that the yuan's inclusion is a matter of "when" rather than "if".

AFP

    

Iceland raises key rate by half-point to 5.5%

AUG 19, 20157:37 PM

[REYKJAVIK] Iceland's central bank on Wednesday raised its key interest rate by a half point to 5.5 per cent, citing the risk of inflation following collective wage hikes.

"The inflation outlook has deteriorated markedly," the bank's monetary policy committee wrote in a statement.

The bank forecast the inflation rate will rise to four per cent in early 2016, and predicted economic growth of four per cent in 2015 and three per cent in the two following years.

The increase in the key rate - the seven-day term deposits rate - is the second hike in just two months.

On June 10, the bank raised the rate for the first time since 2012.

The monetary institute's actions can be seen as a preventive measure: the inflation rate is currently 1.9 per cent, below the official target of 2.5 per cent.

After several difficult years for Icelanders' purchasing power, unions managed to obtain wage increases in several sectors during collective salary negotiations held every three years.

The increases worried however the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which warned in June that "Iceland's otherwise strong and stable economic position looks likely to be disrupted by significant wage hikes." The IMF meanwhile forecast inflation of six percent in 2016.

After the worst financial crisis in its history in 2008 followed by recession, Iceland returned to growth in 2011, boosted by a strong tourism sector and healthy exports, particularly in the fishing industry.

AFP

    

Turkey 'swiftly' heading towards snap polls: Erdogan

      

AUG 19, 20157:47 PM

[ANKARA] Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Turkey was "swiftly" heading towards early elections, after efforts to form a coalition government failed.

"We are once again swiftly heading towards an election," Mr Erdogan said in a televised speech in Ankara, adding that the only solution in the current political impasse was turning to the "will of nation".

AFP

Bangkok blast: Thai court issues arrest warrant for unnamed foreign man

A Thai court on Wednesday issued an arrest warrant for the prime suspect in the deadly Bangkok shrine bombing, describing him as an unnamed foreign man shortly after police released a sketch of him. 

PHOTO: AFP

AUG 19, 20157:51 PM

[BANGKOK] A Thai court on Wednesday issued an arrest warrant for the prime suspect in the deadly Bangkok shrine bombing, describing him as an unnamed foreign man shortly after police released a sketch of him.

The warrant, issued by Bangkok's Southern Criminal Court, accuses an "unnamed foreigner of premeditated murder, attempted murder and bomb-making" over the blast that killed 20 people and wounded scores more on Monday.

The sketch of a bespectacled, apparently young man with light stubble and a full head of hair, was published on Wednesday afternoon based on security camera footage taken around the blast site that has been widely shared.

From the sketch it is not immediately clear if he is a foreigner and police have not said how they reached that conclusion.

The warrant is the first major step towards identifying a suspect revealed to the public after he was seen on CCTV calmly leaving a backpack at the Erawan shrine moments before the bomb went off.

Police say the bomber had to have acted with accomplices, with force spokesman Prawut Tavornsiri suggesting there may be "at least two others" involved in the incident and the Thai police chief saying the attack was carried out by a "network."

The attack occurred on Monday evening as worshippers and tourists crowded into the Erawan shrine in the Thai capital's commercial heart, shredding bodies and incinerating motorcycles.

At least 11 foreigners were killed, with visitors from Britain, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia among the victims.

Another 68 people remained in hospital, 12 of whom were in critical conditions.

AFP

    

Toyota extends halt to Tianjin operations on health concerns

Toyota Motor Corp said on Wednesday its operations near the Chinese port of Tianjin will remain closed at least until Sunday, extending a suspension originally set through Wednesday, due to safety concerns after last week's deadly chemical explosion in the area. 

PHOTO: REUTERS

AUG 19, 20157:15 PM

[TOKYO] Toyota Motor Corp said on Wednesday its operations near the Chinese port of Tianjin will remain closed at least until Sunday, extending a suspension originally set through Wednesday, due to safety concerns after last week's deadly chemical explosion in the area.

Toyota also said the Changchun plant of Sichuan FAS Toyota Motor Co Ltd was affected by delays in parts shipments from Japan and would not be operational on Aug 20 and 21, although it would make up for lost production by scheduling two substitute production days.

Toyota, which operates two assembly lines near the Tianjin port and another line in a different part of the city, said it has not yet been able to confirm that the sites are safe. The Chinese government has said there were about 700 tonnes of the deadly chemical sodium cyanide in the warehouse that blew up.

"Since we have been unable to confirm the safety of the area in the vicinity of the blast, we have decided to keep production offline," the company said in an email.