Reuters - Before the Bell

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Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Billionaire Branson targeted in $5 million scam 'straight out of le Carre'

LONDON (Reuters) - Richard Branson, billionaire founder of the Virgin group, has revealed he was targeted by a fraudster posing as Britain's defense minister who tried to get him to contribute $5 million to a supposed secret ransom payment.

Europe's aviation agency advises against using Kobe Steel products

PARIS/TOKYO (Reuters) - Europe's aviation regulator has advised aircraft manufacturers to stop using parts supplied by Kobe Steel until their safety can be verified, following product data manipulation by the Japanese company.

Dow set to open above 23,000 for the first time

(Reuters) - The Dow Jones Industrial Average was poised to open above 23,000 for the first time on Wednesday following a series of upbeat earnings reports from marquee companies.

Habitual cheat: Kobe Steel faked product data for more than 10 years - source

TOKYO (Reuters) - When cheating becomes habitual, the consequences could be costly.

Citing data scandal, local government delays Kobe Steel coal plant assessment

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Kobe Steel, embroiled in a data falsification scandal in its metals business, was dealt a fresh blow as a local government suspended an environmental assessment of its plans to build a large coal-fired plant on the site of an old steelworks.

World markets steady as China congress starts and monetary policy gets back in focus

MILAN (Reuters) - World stocks stayed near peaks and currencies moved in tight ranges on Wednesday as China's Communist Party conference opened and the focus in Europe turned to speeches from top euro zone central bankers before next week's key policy meeting.

U.S. SEC charges Rio Tinto, former top executives with fraud

SYDNEY/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday charged mining company Rio Tinto Plc and two of its former top executives with fraud, saying they inflated the value of coal assets in Mozambique and concealed critical information while tapping the market for billions of dollars.

Factbox: Excerpts from U.S. SEC fraud filing against Rio Tinto former top executives

(Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged mining company Rio Tinto and two of its former top executives with inflating the value of coal assets in Mozambique and concealing critical information while tapping the market for billions of dollars.

Taiwan ministry expresses 'deep concern' about Qualcomm's antitrust fine

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan's economics ministry said it is "deeply concerned" about the antitrust agency imposing a $775 million fine on Qualcomm Inc , in a rare public display of disagreement between authorities.

Mitsubishi Motors to seek growth in China, U.S. as it moves on from scandal

TOKYO (Reuters) - Mitsubishi Motors Corp said it plans to boost sales by 30 percent over three years, setting ambitious goals for growth in China and the United States as well as a comeback in Japan where has been hobbled by a mileage cheating scandal.