Reuters - Before the Bell

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Wednesday, September 6, 2017

U.S. stock futures flat as North Korea tensions, Hurricane Irma weigh

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Wednesday as investors curbed their risk appetite due to simmering tensions on the Korean peninsula and concerns that the Category 5 hurricane Irma could hit the United States.

July air passenger traffic demand up 6.8 percent year-on-year: IATA

Global air travel demand in July rose 6.8 percent year on year, slowing from 7.7 percent growth recorded in June, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Wednesday.

German state CDU backs automotive outsider as next VW CEO

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The man forecast to become premier of the German state of Lower Saxony, Volkswagen's second-biggest shareholder, says someone from outside the car industry should succeed chief executive Matthias Mueller when his contract expires in 2020.

Sports Direct AGM ends, result of chairman vote to come later

SHIREBROOK, England (Reuters) - The annual shareholders' meeting of Sports Direct has concluded with the firm saying the results of investor votes will be announced through the Regulatory News Service (RNS) later on Wednesday.

Oil up after Harvey fallout; Hurricane Irma heads into Caribbean

SINGAPORE/LONDON (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Wednesday as strong global refining margins and the reopening of U.S. Gulf Coast refineries provided a more bullish outlook after sharp drops due to Storm Harvey.

China's Anbang, HNA considered buying insurance group Allianz: sources

HONG KONG (Reuters) - China's Anbang Insurance Group Co Ltd [ANBANG.UL] and HNA Group Co Ltd [HNAIRC.UL] separately considered buying stakes in German insurer Allianz SE as part of plans to create a global financial empire, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Toshiba board reaches no verdict on new Western Digital chip proposal: sources

TOKYO (Reuters) - Toshiba Corp's board, under pressure to clinch a deal for its prized memory chip unit soon, met on Wednesday to review a revised bid proposed by Western Digital Corp but no agreement was reached, people familiar with matter said.

Asian traders look to snap up U.S. crude in wake of Hurricane Harvey

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Some oil traders in Asia are looking to snap up crude cargoes from the United States after Hurricane Harvey closed U.S. refineries, denting local demand and pushing out the price spread between U.S and Atlantic Basin crude benchmarks.

Nissan takes EV battle to Tesla with longer-range Leaf

CHIBA, Japan (Reuters) - Nissan Motor Co Ltd launched a revamped Leaf electric vehicle (EV) on Wednesday, going head-to-head with Tesla Inc's Model 3 and hoping to blunt criticism of limited driving ranges undermining EVs' mass-market appeal.

Simmering Korea tensions hit global stocks and dollar

LONDON (Reuters) - Global shares fell and the dollar dipped against the Japanese yen on Wednesday as still-simmering tension over the Korean peninsula kept investors wary of taking on risk.