<p>Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras accused Greece’s creditors of trying to “humiliate” Greeks with more cuts as he defied a growing drumbeat of warnings that Europe was preparing for his country to leave the euro. The unrepentant address to lawmakers after the collapse of talks with European and IMF lenders at the weekend was the clearest sign yet that the leftist leader has no intention of making a last-minute U-turn and accepting austerity cuts needed to unlock frozen aid and avoid a debt default within two weeks. Meanwhile, the White House warned that an agreement was needed to avoid shaking financial markets further and Tsipras assured US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew that Athens aimed to bridge the differences with creditors.<br><br><strong><img alt="" src="http://bw-image.s3.amazonaws.com/JP-Morgan-Chase-%26-Co_BLO-300.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 133px; margin: 3px; float: right;">Plan B: </strong>HSBC Holdings and JPMorgan Chase are in talks to relocate parts of their businesses to Luxembourg from the UK as they weigh the possibility of a British exit from the EU. JPMorgan is close to setting up a bank based in Luxembourg to handle the clearing of euro zone transactions, paving the way for the US bank to transfer more of its business out of the UK in the event of a Brexit, according to a newspaper report. The banks are also considering the tougher rules imposed by the EU for conducting business outside the euro zone. The changes are not likely to lead to a large number of jobs moving to Luxembourg, and London would remain the European headquarters of JPMorgan for the present, the paper cited. Representatives at HSBC and JPMorgan were not available for comments. A British exit would take some time to implement after a vote to leave, JPMorgan said.<br><br><strong><img alt="" src="http://bw-image.s3.amazonaws.com/asian-girl-shutterstock-200.jpg" style="width: 150px; height: 217px; margin: 3px; float: right;">Call Upgrade:</strong> Singapore’s three telecommunications operators — Singapore Telecommunications, M1, and StarHub — said they would stop providing older 2G mobile technology services in the wealthy city state from 1 April 2017, as rising smartphone ownership has led to higher data usage rates. “To cater for consumers’ increased demand for mobile data and faster access speeds, the spectrum currently used for 2G will be used to provide faster, more advanced 3G and 4G services,” the companies said in a statement.<br><br><strong>Copycat Action: </strong>China’s Alibaba plans to launch an online video service that mimics US streaming giant Netflix, a report said, marking the e-commerce giant’s latest move to expand its business scope. Alibaba will offer Tmall Box Office via its own set-top box and smart televisions that use its operating system in about two months, president of Alibaba’s digital entertainment business Liu Chunning said. Alibaba did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<br><br><strong>Joint Ride: </strong>General Motors will re-enter the US medium-duty truck market next year with Chevrolet-branded vehicles supplied by Japanese truck maker Isuzu Motors, people familiar with the matter said. The long-time partners have in the past jointly developed trucks such as the Chevy Colorado pickup, sold as the i-Series by Isuzu. GM sold its stake in Isuzu in 2006 after a 35-year capital alliance, as it faced financial difficulties, and later announced its exit from the medium-duty truck market when its problems escalated and it filed for bankruptcy in 2009.<br><br><strong><img alt="" src="http://bw-image.s3.amazonaws.com/Colt-defense_BLOOMBERG-300.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 133px; margin: 3px; float: right;">Gunned Down:</strong> Colt Defense, the 179-year-old gunmaker that supplies M4 carbines and M16 rifles for the US and foreign militaries, filed for bankruptcy, amid delayed government sales and declining demand. The West Hartford, Connecticut-based firearms maker listed assets of as much as $500 million and debt of as much as $500 million in a Chapter 11 filing in bankruptcy court in Wilmington, Delaware. Wilmington Trust Company is listed as the biggest unsecured creditor with a $261-million claim. Colt’s current sponsor Sciens Capital Management has agreed to act as a stalking horse bidder for all of its assets and liabilities related to existing agreements, according to a statement from the gunmaker.<br><br><strong>Power Of Two: </strong>Blackstone Group and Carlyle Group are making a joint bid for NCR Corp in a leveraged buyout that would be the year’s biggest at more than $10 billion, including debt, people familiar with the matter said. Blackstone and Carlyle, the world’s two largest private equity firms, have joined forces to outbid other buyout firms and acquire Duluth, Georgia-based NCR, which manufactures cash registers and ATMs. The auction for NCR is several weeks away from completion, the people said. Other buyout firms vying for NCR include Apollo Global Management and Thoma Bravo, the people said. Some of the other private equity firms that are competing could also team up, the people added. There is no certainty that the Blackstone and Carlyle consortium will prevail, or even that NCR will agree to a sale with any party, the people said. The company has been exploring options in recent months in light of shareholder pressure.<br><br><strong><img alt="" src="http://bw-image.s3.amazonaws.com/General-Motors-World-Headquarters_250.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 206px; margin: 3px; float: right;">Green Gift:</strong> The White House announced $4 billion in pledges from major foundations and institutional investors to pay for innovations that reduce carbon pollution. US President Barack Obama is also helping to make the investments easier. Vice-president Joe Biden will draw attention to the effort during a Clean Energy Investment Summit at the White House. The White House said the investment commitments come from hundreds of organisations from Sierra Club Foundation to Goldman Sachs. Among the initiatives is the creation of a non-profit group that would identify and assess companies and commercial investments that result in projects that are both profitable and aim to address climate change.<br><br><strong>Kickbacks?</strong> US authorities are examining payments made by Nike under a 1996 soccer sponsorship deal with Brazil for possible evidence of any wrongdoing by the company or others. Citing people familiar with the matter, allegations of corruption around Nike’s $160-million agreement to sponsor Brazil’s national team are discussed in barely veiled terms in the Justice Department’s indictment of officials in soccer’s governing body, FIFA. The indictment describes a multinational US sportswear company that struck a deal to sponsor the Brazilian federation, and then cut a side deal with a sports-marketing middleman, who allegedly used payments from the company for bribes and kickbacks. The people familiar with the matter confirmed the company is Nike.<br><br><br>(This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 13-07-2015)</p>
