UBS posts 14 per cent drop in net profit in second quarter + MORE Jul 29th

HANOI, Vietnam – The Vietnamese government said the toxic pollution a Taiwanese-owned company has acknowledged discharging from its steel complex has harmed the livelihoods of more than 200,000 people, including 41,000 fishermen.
The pollution from a unit of Formosa Plastics Group also decimated tourism in central provinces, the Thanh Nien newspaper on Friday quoted the government saying in a report to the National Assembly.
Formosa acknowledged late last month that it was responsible for the pollution and pledged to pay $500 million to clean it up and compensate affected people.
An estimated 115 tons of fish washed ashore along more than 200 kilometres (125 miles) of Vietnam’s central coast in April, the report said adding 140 tons of farmed fish and 67 tons of farmed clams have died.
The incidents sparked rare protests across the country.
The report said the government must learn from the incident and carry out proper oversight of the environment, especially when the country wants to attract more foreign investment following the signing of the 12-member trade pact, the Trans Pacific Partnership, that includes the United States and Japan…

VANCOUVER – An Angus Reid Institute online poll has found that most respondents support a tax on foreign buyers of Metro Vancouver homes but at the same time doubt how effective the move will be at cooling the region’s red-hot real estate market.
Nine of every 10 people who responded to the poll conducted between July 26 and 28 say they support the new property transfer tax. But only six out of 10 believe the initiative will help improve access to the local market for local buyers and increase vacancies for renters.
The poll was released Thursday, the same day the British Columbia legislature passed a law introducing an additional 15-per-cent tax on homebuyers in Metro Vancouver who aren’t either Canadian or a permanent resident. The new policy comes into effect Aug. 2.
The provincial government has been facing increasing pressure to take action to address skyrocketing housing prices across the Lower Mainland, which encompasses Canada’s most expensive real estate market…

LONDON – Barclays plc said Friday second-quarter earnings rose 19 per cent as the bank expressed confidence it could weather the uncertainty of Britain’s exit from the European Union.
Core pretax profit rose to 2.36 billion pounds ($3.11 billion) from 1.98 billion pounds a year earlier, the London-based bank said. Barclays’ core businesses include those it plans to continue operating after it sheds riskier assets and focuses on Britain. Net income for the entire company fell 41 per cent to 677 million pounds.
“The picture in the second quarter is one of strong and accelerating progress against our strategy,” CEO Jes Staley said in a statement. “We remain confident that it is the right plan for Barclays, and see no reason to adjust it, or the pace of delivery, in light of the vote by the U.K. last month to exit the EU.”
Barclays announced plans earlier this year to split itself in two as Britain forces lenders to separate riskier investment banking from retail operations…

GENEVA – Swiss bank UBS has reported a 14-per cent drop in net profit in the second quarter, citing “pronounced low client activity” amid economic and geopolitical uncertainties and other market weakness.
The company said net income fell to 1.03 billion Swiss francs ($1.05 billion), from 1.21 billion francs a year earlier. The latest figures topped an average of analysts’ estimates expecting net income of 495 million francs.
UBS said operating income fell slightly in its two largest divisions, wealth management and investment banking, while rising slightly in wealth management Americas.
The bank said market volatility, macroeconomic uncertainty and “heightened geopolitical tensions” made worse by Britain’s vote to leave the European Union dampened clients’ appetite for risk and lowered transaction volumes.
It said such conditions were unlikely to change in the foreseeable future.
The post UBS posts 14 per cent drop in net profit in second quarter appeared first on Canadian Business – Your Source For Business News.

The latest round of earnings reports for Canada’s largest gold miners show an industry intent on reducing debt and rebuilding confidence