<div id="article-byline"> Dustin Volz and Eric Auchard | WASHINGTON/FRANKFURT</div>
Officials across the globe scrambled over the weekend to catch the culprits behind a massive ransomware worm that disrupted operations at car factories, hospitals, shops and schools, while Microsoft on Sunday pinned blame on the U.S. government for not disclosing more software vulnerabilities.
Cyber security experts said the spread of the worm dubbed WannaCry &#8211; &#8220;ransomware&#8221; that locked up more than 200,000 computers in more than 150 countries &#8211; had slowed but that the respite might only be brief amid fears new versions of the worm will strike.
In a blog post on Sunday, Microsoft President Brad Smith appeared to tacitly acknowledge what researchers had already widely concluded: The ransomware attack leveraged a hacking tool, built by the U.S. National Security Agency, that leaked online in April.
&#8220;This is an emerging pattern in 2017,&#8221; Smith wrote. &#8220;We have seen vulnerabilities stored by the CIA show up on WikiLeaks, and now this vulnerability stolen from the NSA has affected customers around the world.&#8221;
He also poured fuel on a long-running debate over how government intelligence services should balance their desire to keep software flaws secret &#8211; in order to conduct espionage and cyber warfare &#8211; against sharing those flaws with technology companies to better secure the internet.
&#8220;This attack provides yet another example of why the stockpiling of vulnerabilities by governments is such a problem,&#8221; Smith wrote. He added that governments around the world should &#8220;treat this attack as a wake-up call&#8221; and &#8220;consider the damage to civilians that comes from hoarding these vulnerabilities and the use of these exploits.&#8221;
The NSA and White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the Microsoft statement.
Economic experts offered differing views on how much the attack, and associated computer outages, would cost businesses and governments.
The non-profit U.S. Cyber Consequences Unit research institute estimated that total losses would range in the hundreds of millions of dollars, but not exceed $1 billion.
Most victims were quickly able to recover infected systems with backups, said the group&#8217;s chief economist, Scott Borg.
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California-based cyber risk modeling firm Cyence put the total economic damage at $4 billion, citing costs associated with businesses interruption.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday night ordered his homeland security adviser, Tom Bossert, to convene an &#8220;emergency meeting&#8221; to assess the threat posed by the global attack, a senior administration official told Reuters.
Senior U.S. security officials held another meeting in the White House Situation Room on Saturday, and the FBI and the NSA were working to help mitigate damage and identify the perpetrators of the massive cyber attack, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.
The investigations into the attack were in the early stages, however, and attribution for cyber attacks is notoriously difficult.
The original attack lost momentum late on Friday after a security researcher took control of a server connected to the outbreak, which crippled a feature that caused the malware to rapidly spread across infected networks.
Infected computers appear to largely be out-of-date devices that organizations deemed not worth the price of upgrading or, in some cases, machines involved in manufacturing or hospital functions that proved too difficult to patch without possibly disrupting crucial operations, security experts said.
Microsoft released patches last month and on Friday to fix a vulnerability that allowed the worm to spread across networks, a rare and powerful feature that caused infections to surge on Friday.
Code for exploiting that bug, which is known as &#8220;Eternal Blue,&#8221; was released on the internet last month by a hacking group known as the Shadow Brokers.
The head of the European Union police agency said on Sunday the cyber assault hit 200,000 victims in at least 150 countries and that number would grow when people return to work on Monday.
MONDAY MORNING RUSH?
Monday was expected to be a busy day, especially in Asia, which may not have seen the worst of the impact yet, as companies and organizations turned on their computers.
&#8220;Expect to hear a lot more about this tomorrow morning when users are back in their offices and might fall for phishing emails&#8221; or other as yet unconfirmed ways the worm may propagate, said Christian Karam, a Singapore-based security researcher.
The attack hit organizations of all sizes.
Renault said it halted manufacturing at plants in France and Romania to prevent the spread of ransomware.
Other victims include is a Nissan manufacturing plant in Sunderland, northeast England, hundreds of hospitals and clinics in the British National Health Service, German rail operator Deutsche Bahn and international shipper FedEx Corp
A Jakarta hospital said on Sunday that the cyber attack had infected 400 computers, disrupting the registration of patients and finding records.
Account addresses hard-coded into the malicious WannaCry virus appear to show the attackers had received just under $32,500 in anonymous bitcoin currency as of (1100 GMT) 7 a.m. EDT on Sunday, but that amount could rise as more victims rush to pay ransoms of $300 or more.
The threat receded over the weekend after a British-based researcher, who declined to give his name but tweets under the profile @MalwareTechBlog, said he stumbled on a way to at least temporarily limit the worm&#8217;s spread by registering a web address to which he noticed the malware was trying to connect.
Security experts said his move bought precious time for organizations seeking to block the attacks.
(Additional reporting by Jim Finkle, Neil Jerome Morales, Masayuki Kitano, Kiyoshi Takenaka, Jose Rodriguez, Elizabeth Piper, Emmanuel Jarry, Orathai Sriring, Jemima Kelly, Alistair Smout, Andrea Shalal, Jack Stubbs, Antonella Cinelli, Kate Holton, Andy Bruce, Michael Holden, David Milliken, Tim Hepher, Luiza Ilie, Patricia Rua, Axel Bugge, Sabine Siebold, Eric Walsh, Engen Tham, Fransiska Nangoy, Soyoung Kim, Mai Nguyen and Nick Zieminski; Editing by Mark Heinrich and Peter Cooney)

More disruptions feared from cyber attack; Microsoft slams government secrecy

<a class="inline_quotes" href="http://data.cnbc.com/quotes/BTC%3D-USS" target="_self" data-gdsid="76662810" data-inline-quote-symbol="BTC=-USS" rel="noopener">Bitcoin</a> is &#8220;fully valued&#8221; and could see a pullback in the short term after hitting $1,600 for the first time on Monday, according to one investor, but the price could go as high as $4,000 over the next 14 months.
The cryptocurrency has been on an <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/27/bitcoin-jumps-to-a-new-all-time-high-above-1300-capping-20-april-surge.html" target="_self" rel="noopener">upward move since April</a> and was trading around $1,575.52 by early afternoon trading in London after hitting an all-time high $1,601.05 during morning trade, according to the Coindesk bitcoin price index.
In the last 30 days, bitcoin has risen over 33 percent.
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Negative bitcoin news
The rally may seem perplexing given that there have been a number of setbacks for the cryptocurrency.
These include:
<ul>
<li>The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/10/reuters-america-us-sec-rejects-application-to-list-bitcoin-etf.html" target="_self" rel="noopener">deciding to reject</a> a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) proposed by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. This is now <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/26/bitcoin-price-sec-winklevoss-etf-review.html" target="_self" rel="noopener">under review</a> however. An ETF would have given further credibility to bitcoin and helped more institutional investors get involved.</li>
<li>A fierce debate over the future of bitcoin&#8217;s structure. The <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/17/bitcoin-price-blockchain-fork-ethereum.html" target="_self" rel="noopener">full explanation can be read here</a>.</li>
<li>Issues with some exchanges, particularly Bitfinex, which cut off their access to the banking system meaning customers couldn&#8217;t make withdrawals in fiat currency.</li>
</ul>
So why the rally?
At the same time, there have been some positive developments.
Firstly, <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/12/bitcoin-price-rises-japan-russia-regulation.html" target="_self" rel="noopener">Japan legalized the cryptocurrency</a> as a payment method recently and this has led to a greater amount of bitcoin being bought with yen, according to Aurelien Menant, founder and CEO of Gatecoin, a regulated blockchain assets exchange based in Hong Kong.
The second reason could be to do with a change in the code of another cryptocurrency called litecoin.
What happened with litecoin and why does it matter to bitcoin?
Last month, there was a change in the code behind the technology that underpins litecoin. It is known as Segregated Witness (SegWit) and it allows the speed of transactions using the cryptocurrency to increase.
This has given hope that bitcoin could see a similar thing.
Fork debate recap
To understand the issue, it&#8217;s key to look at how bitcoin transactions are processed. Transactions by users are gathered into &#8220;blocks&#8221; which is turned into a complex math solution. So-called miners, using high-powered computers work these solutions out to determine if the transaction is possible. Once other miners also check the puzzle is correct, the transactions are approved and the miners are rewarded in bitcoin.
But there is a big backlog in transactions and the speed at which these are processed is slowing. That&#8217;s because the rules of bitcoin only allow a certain amount of transactions through in one block.
In mid-March, the price of bitcoin saw a big drop because the community was afraid of a so-called &#8220;hard fork&#8221; which could <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/17/bitcoin-price-blockchain-fork-ethereum.html" target="_self" rel="noopener">have led to two blockchains forming</a>, and therefore two separate cryptocurrencies.
But the example of litecoin shows that a so-called &#8220;soft fork&#8221; can happen which would increase the block size for bitcoin without major disruption.
&#8220;That example of a successful soft fork in litecoin has made people start to think that we could get a successful SegWit implementation in bitcoin and that could increase capacity and move us to the next level,&#8221; Daniel Masters, director at Global Advisors Bitcoin Investment Fund (GABI), told CNBC by phone.
GABI is an investment fund that is listed on The International Stock Exchange on the Channel Islands.
And what does this mean for price?
While bitcoin has seen a recent rally, previous peaks have seen sharp pullbacks in prices. Masters said the price rise has been &#8220;violent in the short-term&#8221; with bitcoin &#8220;fully valued for the moment&#8221;. This could lead to a pullback to around $1,100.
However, the long-term outlook remains strong.
&#8220;In the 8- to 14-month horizon, my forecast would be around $4,000,&#8221; Masters told CNBC.
Others also expect high prices. Gatecoin&#8217;s Menant said prices should climb beyond $3,000 this year.

Bitcoin hits $1,600 for the first time and one investor says it could rally to $4,000 in a few months

<div class="inline-player"> By Anita Balakrishnan | @MsABalakrishnan</div>
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<li>Apple&#8217;s market capitalization hit a new record of $800 billion</li>
<li>It remains the world&#8217;s most valuable public company after earnings</li>
<li>Warren Buffett praised the iPhone</li>
<li>Drexel Hamilton says Apple could be a trillion-dollar company with iPhone 8</li>
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<a class="inline_quotes" href="http://data.cnbc.com/quotes/AAPL" target="_self" data-gdsid="8016" data-inline-quote-symbol="AAPL">Apple</a>&#8216;s stock continues to hit new highs — and on Monday, investors pushed Apple&#8217;s total market value to over $800 billion.
Apple shares briefly surpassed a price of $153.44 a share, and with Apple&#8217;s 5.214 billion shares outstanding, according to its <a class="inline_asset" title="http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/AAPL/3444379778x0xS1628280-17-4790/320193/filing.pdf" href="http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/AAPL/3444379778x0xS1628280-17-4790/320193/filing.pdf" target="_self">latest quarterly report</a>, that makes its total market capitalization just over $800 billion.
Shares hit a high of $153.70 on Monday, before closing at $153 a share, up 2.7 percent.
The iPhone maker reported <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/02/apple-earnings-q2-2017.html" target="_self">mixed quarterly earnings</a> last week, selling fewer phones than expected, though at more expensive prices. But chief executive <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/tim-cook/" target="_self">Tim Cook</a> attributed some of the slowdown to the fact that consumers are holding out for the next launch, anticipated in September.
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Wall Street seems to agree — analysts have upped the stock&#8217;s 12-month price target nearly 30 times so far this May, according to FactSet. Drexel Hamilton analyst Brian White released Apple&#8217;s highest price target on the Street on Monday, which at $202 a share would put Apple over the <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/08/apple-just-got-its-most-bullish-forecast-yet-worth-1-trillion-in-a-year.html" target="_self">$1 trillion mark this year.</a>
While that number may seem eye-popping, the company is already 80 percent of the way there — at least in the view of investors, who consider the company&#8217;s future earnings and cash, as much as its current product line up.
&#8220;What we&#8217;re starting to see here are dark clouds around this valuation of Apple — which has been with the company for several years — starting to part ways,&#8221; White told CNBC&#8217;s &#8220;<a href="http://www.cnbc.com/halftime/" target="_self">Fast Money: Halftime Report</a>&#8221; on Monday.
Despite the company&#8217;s <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/02/apple-record-market-cap-776-6-billion-ahead-of-earnings.html" target="_self">record-high market capitalization</a>, the iPhone 8, repatriation of foreign cash and new innovations on the horizon could fuel more upside for Apple shares, White said. Plus, the company&#8217;s weak performance in China could be turning a corner, White predicts.
<blockquote>Shares of Apple popped on Monday, after famed investor <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/warren-buffett/" target="_self">Warren Buffett</a> also praised the company, calling the iPhone &#8220;<a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/08/billionaire-investor-warren-buffett-says-its-very-easy-to-see-where-apple-is-with-consumers-at-any-time.html" target="_self">a very, very, very valuable product</a>.&#8221;</blockquote>
Apple is also one of many technology companies that have been buoyed by a recent rally in the stock market. The Nasdaq 100, for example, closed at an all-time high on Friday.
<blockquote>&#8220;Our numbers are actually pretty conservative going into what I think will be a big cycle,&#8221; White said.</blockquote>
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<h4 class="subtitle">Apple&#8217;s rise to $800 billion</h4>
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Apple market cap tops $800 billion for the first time

<div class="source">Uptin Saiidi</div>
So, you have your own startup idea you can&#8217;t get it out of your mind. How do you bring it to life?
During InnovFest unbound, an event in Singapore that connects startups with corporates, CNBC asked three entrepreneurs who built their own businesses how they got started. The roster included Malcolm Rodrigues, CEO of MyRepublic, an internet services provider; Shaul Olmert, CEO of online publishing platform Playbuzz; and Steve Melhuish, co-founder of PropertyGuru, a real estate listings platform.
1. It&#8217;s always the right time to launch your startup.
Despite global venture funding going down last year, the market is still ripe for startups, those who have done it say. &#8220;There&#8217;s always excuses that it&#8217;s not the right time, but it always is,&#8221; said Playbuzz&#8217;s Olmert, who spent most of his career climbing the corporate ladder before taking the leap into his own venture.
&#8220;I think everybody should do a startup,&#8221; Rodrigues added. &#8220;It changes how you view life. Whether you do it when you&#8217;re out of school or when you&#8217;re 40 years old, you&#8217;re never too late. However, he warned that if you don&#8217;t have your own idea that excites you, then it&#8217;s best to go into a corporate job.
Ideally, however, entrepreneurs get started on failing early, he joked. &#8220;You&#8217;re going to fail three times before you&#8217;re successful, so do it early, get it out of the way.&#8221;
2. When you reach your breaking point, jump the corporate ship.
Melhuish spent more than a decade working for a corporation in the telecom space, before starting his real-estate platform. After leaving a corporate job, he took 6 months off to travel throughout Southeast Asia. &#8220;There&#8217;s a big world out here and it was a big change.&#8221;
So, you have your own startup idea you can&#8217;t get it out of your mind. How do you bring it to life?
During InnovFest unbound, an event in Singapore that connects startups with corporates, CNBC asked three entrepreneurs who built their own businesses how they got started. The roster included Malcolm Rodrigues, CEO of MyRepublic, an internet services provider; Shaul Olmert, CEO of online publishing platform Playbuzz; and Steve Melhuish, co-founder of PropertyGuru, a real estate listings platform.
1. It&#8217;s always the right time to launch your startup.
Despite global venture funding going down last year, the market is still ripe for startups, those who have done it say. &#8220;There&#8217;s always excuses that it&#8217;s not the right time, but it always is,&#8221; said Playbuzz&#8217;s Olmert, who spent most of his career climbing the corporate ladder before taking the leap into his own venture.
&#8220;I think everybody should do a startup,&#8221; Rodrigues added. &#8220;It changes how you view life. Whether you do it when you&#8217;re out of school or when you&#8217;re 40 years old, you&#8217;re never too late. However, he warned that if you don&#8217;t have your own idea that excites you, then it&#8217;s best to go into a corporate job.
Ideally, however, entrepreneurs get started on failing early, he joked. &#8220;You&#8217;re going to fail three times before you&#8217;re successful, so do it early, get it out of the way.&#8221;
2. When you reach your breaking point, jump the corporate ship.
Melhuish spent more than a decade working for a corporation in the telecom space, before starting his real-estate platform. After leaving a corporate job, he took 6 months off to travel throughout Southeast Asia. &#8220;There&#8217;s a big world out here and it was a big change.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_122355" style="width: 810px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-122355" class="wp-image-122355 size-full" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/shutterstock_334043420.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="600" />Photo: Shutterstock</div>
&#8220;I like to have more control over my destiny and being an entrepreneur allows you to control things a bit better.&#8221;
3. Avoid the naysayers. Better yet, ignore them.
Entrepreneurship isn&#8217;t built into everyone&#8217;s DNA. &#8220;I was a very happy corporate soldier for a while, and then things started going wrong for me,&#8221; Olmert recalled. &#8220;I realized not everything I touch turns to gold. I was suffering maybe an early mid-life crisis.&#8221;
That&#8217;s when he came up with the idea to start Playbuzz.
&#8220;Not a single person I shared my idea with told me I should go for it,&#8221; he said. &#8220;At a certain person I realized, even though nobody encouraged me, I&#8217;m still obsessed with this idea and I said &#8216;I&#8217;m doing it anyway.'&#8221;
4. Millennials are here, so embrace them.
PropertyGuru has adapted for a more millennial-centric work environment, adding flexible work schedules, hot desks instead of permanent work stations, and even created a different performance structure that recognizes employees more often.
&#8220;The reality is millennials are here, you cant avoid them,&#8221; co-founder Melhuish said. &#8220;They&#8217;re probably the most creative and disruptive, in a positive way. We can&#8217;t sit here and complain about how they&#8217;re a pain to manage.&#8221;
Rodrigues added that millennial culture exists because of technology. &#8220;You can sit in your mother&#8217;s basement, have a one gig connection, code an app, launch it without every leaving home and you don&#8217;t spend a lot of money doing it.&#8221;
He added: &#8220;I love millennials because its a dawn of a new age. It&#8217;s about self-expression and individuality.&#8221;
5. Empower your team to try every department.
&#8220;The world is moving so fast and startups are inherently more risk-taking,&#8221; Melhuish said. He cited an employee who joined the customer service team and later went to work in sales. That person then moved countries several times, all while working for the same company.
&#8220;Startups enable that, but corporate are more about managing risk,&#8221; he added.
6. The morning routine is overrated.
Some execs swear by their morning routine, which often includes an early morning email inbox cleaning or meditation session. Those things are just not for everyone.
Melhuish said he wished he&#8217;d spend ten minutes doing meditation and an hour workout every morning, but his reality is different. &#8220;I don&#8217;t really have a solid routine. I keep it flexible.&#8221;
Rodrigues said his routine depended largely on geography. &#8220;It depends on what country you&#8217;re in. Mornings are my busiest time. &#8220;You&#8217;re bombarded with so much information.&#8221; Instead, he takes evenings to calm down and relax.
In general, Olmert is against any kind of rigid routine. &#8220;Structuring a routine is like trying to impose your idea on a world, rather than respond to it,&#8221; he said.
7. Stay focused on the big picture.
Despite growing fast and having offices around the world, Olmert occasionally gets nervous about his business.
&#8220;Sometimes you doubt yourself, but you need to ask the questions to reach the point where you&#8217;re confident in what you&#8217;re doing,&#8221; Olmert said.

7 tips to execute your startup idea, from 3 entrepreneurs who did it

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The constant connectedness of life in 2017 often puts a premium on speed: the sooner, the faster, the better. &#8220;The more output you produce, the better your shot at stumbling onto greatness,&#8221; according to organizational psychologist and &#8220;Option B&#8221; co-author, Adam Grant.
Not so, says best-selling author <a class="inline_asset" href="http://www.newyorker.com/contributors/malcolm-gladwell" target="_self">Malcolm Gladwell</a> — instead, greatness is about performance.
&#8220;In any kind of high-stakes job where the penalty for error is high, you can&#8217;t afford to have hares,&#8221; <a class="inline_asset" title="https://heleo.com/conversation-malcolm-gladwell-on-why-we-shouldnt-value-speed-over-power/13687/" href="https://heleo.com/conversation-malcolm-gladwell-on-why-we-shouldnt-value-speed-over-power/13687/" target="_self">Gladwell tells Grant</a> during an interview at Wharton Business School.
Gladwell, who studied <a class="inline_asset" title="http://gladwell.com/outliers/outliers-q-and-a-with-malcolm/" href="http://gladwell.com/outliers/outliers-q-and-a-with-malcolm/" target="_self">individuals who have achieved remarkable success</a> for his book &#8220;Outliers,&#8221; uses lawyers as an example of where the relationship between speed and performance can break down.
&#8220;We do not want the high output, lots-of-errors lawyer,&#8221; says Gladwell.
&#8220;Can you imagine a lawyer who said, &#8216;Here&#8217;s the contract, take a look. If it turns out it&#8217;s not right we can just go back and do another version later,'&#8221; says Gladwell. &#8220;Are you kidding? That&#8217;s a disaster.&#8221;
Gladwell continues: &#8220;In the financial crisis, someone put the comma in the wrong place and ended up paying $20 a share for Lehman and not $2 a share. Who was the person who read that document at 2:00 in the morning? The hare.&#8221;
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<div class="group-container ">&#8220;IN ANY KIND OF HIGH-STAKES JOB WHERE THE PENALTY FOR ERROR IS HIGH, YOU CAN&#8217;T AFFORD TO HAVE HARES.&#8221;&#8211; Malcolm Gladwell, best-selling author</div>
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In some cases, working more slowly, producing less but higher quality work results in greater levels of success. For instance, the publishing industry pressures writers to write quickly, but Gladwell says quality work takes time.
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&#8220;As a writer, my principal observation about why other writers fail is that they are in too much of a hurry,&#8221; says Gladwell. &#8220;I don&#8217;t think the problem with writing in America right now is a failure of output. I think it&#8217;s a failure of quality.&#8221;
The New Yorker, which Gladwell writes for, is a good example.
&#8220;The New Yorker is a hit-driven enterprise, that probably eight articles a year account for 90 percent of people&#8217;s interest in the product, and so to the extent you could encourage people to write fewer hits, you&#8217;re better off.&#8221;
Generalizing that speed is correlated with competence is a good way to miss out on some very talented people, according to Gladwell.
He suggests using apprenticeships or trial periods when hiring, which he says are a version of privileging power over speed. By giving potential hires a reasonable period of time to demonstrate their competence, managers are able to assess the strength of candidates without biasing for how fast they work.
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Gladwell concludes: &#8220;Let&#8217;s create a safe space for the neurotic tortoise.&#8221;
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Malcolm Gladwell: Here’s why you should slow down and do less

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Emmanuel Macron has fought off populist opponent Marine Le Pen and won the race to become France&#8217;s next president.
The centrist candidate secured approximately 65 percent of votes to far-right Le Pen&#8217;s 35 percent, according to a Kantar Sofres poll, in what has been one of the most significant elections in France&#8217;s recent history.
Macron&#8217;s win signals a victory for both pro-Europeans and pollsters, who correctly predicted his lead. CNBC takes a look at the En Marche (translated as &#8220;onwards&#8221;) party leader&#8217;s next steps towards the Elysee Palace.
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What happens now?
Macron will be inaugurated within the week, with many commentators suggesting May 11 as the most likely date.
At this point he will replace the outgoing President Francois Hollande and attentions will turn to the upcoming parliamentary elections.
On June 11 and 18, French citizens will once again head to the polls for two rounds of voting to elect the country&#8217;s 577 members of parliament.
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<a class="" href="http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000616409" data-videoid="3000616409" data-videotype=""><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" title="French structural reforms will take years: Economist" src="http://fm.cnbc.com/applications/cnbc.com/resources/img/editorial/2017/05/07/104451621-1ED1-ESB-DavidOwen-050717.600x400.jpg?v=1494186074" alt="French structural reforms will take years: Economist" width="600" height="400" /></a>
<div class="headline">French structural reforms will take years: Economist  <time>Friday, 5 May 2017 | 9:39 AM ET | 03:24</time></div>
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The June elections will be the first test of Macron&#8217;s presidential authority. The independent En Marche movement currently has no parliamentary seats, and without parliamentary backing Macron will be unable to <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/02/macron-victory-start-of-political-upheaval-for-france.html" target="_self">enact his reform proposals</a>.
However, the latest OpinionWay-SLPV Analytics polls &#8211; the first for the June elections &#8211; suggests that Macron is on track to win 249 to 286 seats. This would put him ahead of centrist and conservative parties&#8217; 200 to 210 seats; the Socialist left&#8217;s 28 to 43; and the far-right National Front&#8217;s 15 to 25.
Once the seats have been filled on June 18, Macron&#8217;s next task will be to appoint his prime minister.
What does this mean for markets?
Global markets soared when Macron emerged as the front runner in the <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/23/france-presidential-election-results-exit-polls-2017.html" target="_self">first round of voting on April 23</a> and will be buoyed further as the risk of an EU break-up abates.
<a class="inline_quotes" href="http://data.cnbc.com/quotes/EUR%3D" target="_self" data-gdsid="617254" data-inline-quote-symbol="EUR=">The euro</a> jumped to six-month highs against the dollar when markets opened Sunday evening. The single currency reached $1.1010 as fears over a Le Pen-endorsed departure were quashed.
The euro closed at $1.0995 Friday, marking a somewhat muted increase of 0.13 percent. Commentators had predicted that the euro could rise as high as 5 percent against the dollar in the days preceding the vote.
Elsewhere, the French <a class="inline_quotes" href="http://data.cnbc.com/quotes/.FCHI" target="_self" data-gdsid="585994" data-inline-quote-symbol=".FCHI">CAC</a> index is likely to continue its rally as markets <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2017/05/04/macron-win-stocks-markets.html" target="_self">celebrate their anticipated outcome</a>. The benchmark reached a more than nine-year high Thursday last week after Macron appeared the victor in the final televised debate ahead of Sunday&#8217;s vote.
Meanwhile, other European bourses are expected to show relief as the integrity of the EU remains intact. Germany&#8217;s <a class="inline_quotes" href="http://data.cnbc.com/quotes/.GDAXI" target="_self" data-gdsid="569857" data-inline-quote-symbol=".GDAXI">DAX</a> broke through its all-time ceiling following Macron&#8217;s success in the first round.
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<a class="" href="http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000616400" data-videoid="3000616400" data-videotype=""><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" title="Subdued atmosphere at losing National Front headquarters" src="http://fm.cnbc.com/applications/cnbc.com/resources/img/editorial/2017/05/07/104451603-1ED1-ESB-ClaireFournier-050717.600x400.jpg?v=1494181096" alt="Subdued atmosphere at losing National Front headquarters" width="600" height="400" /></a>
<div class="headline">Subdued atmosphere at losing National Front headquarters  <time>Friday, 5 May 2017 | 9:34 AM ET | 02:20</time></div>
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However, with a Macron win largely priced in by markets, the likely duration of these gains is unclear.
At the other end, gold is likely to see some volatility to the downside in the short term at least. Typically a hedge in times of political uncertainty, the election of an establishment president could spark and unwinding in safe-haven trades.
What does this mean for French politics?
Though he is an independent candidate who brought France&#8217;s traditional ruling parties to their knees in the first round, Macron is largely considered a continuation of mainstream politics in France.
He promises major reforms in labor and taxation to boost the country&#8217;s growth prospects, as well as a 50 billion euro ($54.7 billion) stimulus package; however, his stance on fundamental issues such as EU membership and currency remains firmly with the status quo.
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<div class="caption">Far right Presidential candidate Marine Le Pen addresses voters.</div>
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Nevertheless, the success of Le Pen in this close-fought race has shown the country&#8217;s deep-rooted political discontent.
With employment, immigration and continued terrorist threats at the top of people&#8217;s concerns, Macron will have a fight on his hands to win over both his fellow politicians and citizens of this deeply divided nation during his five-year term.
What does this mean for Europe?
Europe will breathe a collective sigh of relief as France&#8217;s commitment to the European project is upheld.
Under a Le Pen victory, the EU would have faced the prospect of significant overhauls, a referendum on the membership of one of its founding members, and the potential collapse of its currency union. However, 39-year-old Macron has said that he is dedicated to an outward-looking France, including maintaining its future within the EU.
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<div class="embed-container image">Europe will now turn its focus to Germany&#8217;s Federal election in September and on-going Brexit negotiations. With a pro-European French president now in place, the EU will have a strengthened hand as talks with Britain develop.</div>
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&#8220;From the perspective of what it means for the U.K. I think it means it&#8217;s going to be tough, but, in fairness, given everything we&#8217;ve seen over the course of the last three weeks, we already knew it was going to be tough,&#8221; Simon Derrick, chief currency strategist at BNY Mellon, told CNBC shortly after the result.
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<a class="" href="http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000616411" data-videoid="3000616411" data-videotype=""><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" title="What Macron's victory could mean for Brexit" src="http://fm.cnbc.com/applications/cnbc.com/resources/img/editorial/2017/05/07/104451627-1ED1-ESB-SimonDerrick2-050717.600x400.jpg?v=1494187112" alt="What Macron's victory could mean for Brexit" width="600" height="400" /></a>
<div class="headline">What Macron&#8217;s victory could mean for Brexit</div>
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Macron is France’s next president — here’s what happens next

African history has gone through <a href="http://rjh.ub.rug.nl/index.php/groniek/article/viewFile/16429/13919">many incarnations</a> as an academic discipline.
Most recently, there’s been <a href="http://erepo.usiu.ac.ke/bitstream/handle/11732/1158/project_muse_267336.pdf?sequence=4&amp;isAllowed=y">a global turn</a> in African historiography. This shift has been prompted by a greater awareness of the powerful forces of globalisation and the need to provide an African historical perspective on this phenomenon. This has helped to place the continent at the centre of global – and human – history.
It’s important to explain the role of Africa in the world’s global past. This helps assert its position in the gradual making of global affairs. As an approach, it’s a radical departure from <a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/article/empty-land-myth">colonial views</a> of Africa. It also complements the radical post-colonial histories that appeared from the 1950s and 1960s. And it may offer another framework for thinking through the curriculum reform and <a href="https://theconversation.com/decolonisation-debate-is-a-chance-to-rethink-the-role-of-universities-63840">decolonisation debate</a> that’s emerged in South Africa’s universities over the past few years.
<h2>The history of African history</h2>
Afrocentric history emerged strongly during the 1950s and 1960s, in tandem with Africa’s emergence from colonial rule. Newly emerging histories served as an antidote to the pernicious views of imperial and colonial historiography. These had dismissed Africa as a dark continent without history.
But demonstrating that Africa has a long, complex history was only one step in an intellectual journey with many successes, frustrations and failures.
The long 20th century ended. A new one beckoned. It brought new sets of challenges. South Africa euphorically defeated apartheid. The <a href="https://www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Decolonization-of-Africa.pdf">decolonisation project</a> that started during the 1950s in west and north Africa was completed. These achievements were overshadowed by a horrific post-colonial genocide in Rwanda. Another genocide loomed in the Sudan. Coups, civil wars and human rights abuses stained the canvas on which a new Africa was gradually being painted.
Africa’s woes were deepened by the emerging HIV/AIDS pandemic. State-driven, pro-poor policies and programmes founded during the early post-colonial period atrophied. This decay was driven by hegemonic global neoliberal economic policies.
And the study of history on the continent took a knock. <a href="http://www.assaf.org.za/files/2011/09/2011-Humanity-final-proof-11-August-2011.pdf">Student numbers declined</a> as post-colonial governments shifted their priorities. Global funding bodies focused their attention on applied social sciences and science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines.
Nearly two decades into the new century there’s been another shift. The subject of history, alongside other <a href="http://www.assaf.org.za/files/2011/09/2011-Humanity-final-proof-11-August-2011.pdf">humanities disciplines</a>, is attracting growing attention aimed at averting their further decline. This can be explained in part by the subject’s own residual internal resilience and innovative research in newer areas of historical curiosity. There’s an emerging interest in history as a complementary discipline. Students of law, education, and political science are taking history as an additional option.
In South Africa in particular, history cannot be easily ignored, although it is contested. The country is still redefining itself and charting its new course after decades of apartheid and colonialism. However, a great deal of newer interest in history as a subject can be ascribed to university student movements. These movements have garnered greater public attention for ongoing debates about decoloniality and decolonised curricula.
Decoloniality is a radical concept. Its main aim is to degrade the coloniality of knowledge. In South Africa, the decolonisation movement has been tied to bread and butter issues: tuition fees and access to higher education. Decoloniality affords both the language and the reason for seeking to dismantle what are regarded as western and colonial systems and structures of knowledge production and dissemination.
<h2>Rethinking decolonisation</h2>
But while decolonisation is riding a wave of academic interest, the histories of precolonial Africa are receding as an area of primary research focus. The histories of resistance to colonialism continue to resonate with current struggles for transformation and decolonisation. They have long been popular among historians in and of Africa. Indeed, several social and political movements have used decolonial interpretations of African history as their currency.
However, questions continue to be asked about the kind of history curriculum that should be studied at university level at this moment. And what are the purposes of such curricula? Is an African history module a necessarily transformed one? What new conceptual and methodological tools should be deployed to describe and explain colonial encounters from a decolonial lens? What modes of ethics should inform such approaches?
The challenges go beyond the conceptual aspects of decolonisation in the domain of African history. There are historical structural formations, hierarchies and tendencies within academia that are rooted in coloniality. These make it a huge challenge to articulate newer forms of knowledge. At the same time, decoloniality should operate through other forms and frameworks. This will allow it to find application beyond its own self-defined frames.
In addition, new approaches should challenge received wisdom and develop new kinds of curiosity. Newer curriculum should, for instance, grapple with the fact that there is no single Africa. A unitary model of Africa is a colonial invention. Ordinary people’s identities form and evolve via multiple networks and knowledge forms. An Africa approached from its diverse histories and identities could help forge new, purposeful solidarities and futures.

African history is a discipline on the rise – and one that raises many questions

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala | Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance | Thomson Reuters Foundation
* Any views expressed in this article are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
<blockquote>Education is the strongest antidote to poverty and we have the opportunity to dramatically expand access to this remedy</blockquote>
Vaccinations of 1.6 million children are halting an outbreak of measles in <a href="http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/new-measles-immunisation-effort-counter-outbreaks">Cambodia</a>. In drought-stricken Somalia, 450,000 people are being <a href="http://www.gavi.org/library/news/press-releases/2017/cholera-vaccination-campaign-begins-in-somalia/">immunized </a>against the spread of deadly cholera. And in Brazil, 3.5 million doses of yellow fever vaccine are being <a href="http://www.who.int/csr/disease/yellowfev/vaccination-in-Brazil/en/">deployed </a>to quell a potential epidemic.
All this happened in the past month, thanks to vaccines.
Nearly two decades ago, global leaders initiated a ground-breaking effort to get new and underused vaccines to the world’s poorest people. At the time, millions of children were dying each year from preventable diseases. The solution was ambitious but feasible: create a financing facility that would mobilize and leverage funds to vaccinate as many children as possible. What became known as the Gavi Vaccine Alliance has saved more than seven million lives. And over the past 20 years, child mortality has <a href="http://www.healthdata.org/research-article/child-and-adolescent-health-1990-2015-findings-global-burden-disease-injuries-and">plummeted </a>in nearly every country around the world.
Today we’re faced with a need that is just as urgent: we are endangering the futures of more than 800 million children who will not have access to quality education. By 2030, these young people will lack the basic secondary school-level skills necessary for 21st century jobs. They will not be able to shape their own futures or the economies of their countries, most of which – like my home country Nigeria – are struggling to climb out of poverty. Without the stabilizing foundation that an education provides, our youth might feel hopeless and turn to violence, fueling conflict and threats to global security.
We cannot afford to let this happen. But is there a clear solution? Can we vaccinate the world against poverty?
The answer is “yes,” but any solution will require both political will and a clear vision of what can be achieved. I am a member of the<a href="http://www.educationcommission.org/"> Education Commission</a> – a group of political, business, and civil society leaders from countries as diverse as Australia, Mexico, Pakistan, the UK, and Tanzania who work together to ensure that the world’s children are all in school and learning.
Our message is clear. The strongest antidote to poverty is quality education, and we have the opportunity to dramatically expand access to this remedy through a breakthrough financing plan for an International Finance Facility for Education.
We recently presented the proposed Facility during the World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings. At a series of gatherings in the U.S. capital – with development experts, African finance ministers, and more – the demand for such a Facility was evident, and we intend to act on this need.  In July, we’ll take the same proposal to the G20 Summit in Germany. It’s been shaped by listening to hundreds of people across 80 countries, representing a wide variety of organizations and sectors, including many young people.
The Facility would be built on a partnership between international donors and developing countries that have a deep desire and commitment to improve learning for their children. These latter countries would do much of the hard work, committing to scale up their investment in education from the current average of 4% to 5.8% of their GDP – up to $3 trillion annually by 2030 – and implementing meaningful reforms to ensure children are in school and learning. But even these high levels of spending plus external assistance from donors won’t be enough to cover costs. This is where the Facility comes in, working with the world’s development banks to coordinate funding and create attractive financing packages that multiply the impact of donor dollars to fill this funding gap.
Once in operation, the Facility could mobilize upwards of $13 billion annually for education by 2020. This would double the available external support we give today. Together with the commitments of developing countries, that will go a long way toward putting those 800 million children on track for healthier, more fulfilling, and productive lives. This investment in human capital would strengthen their families, communities, and countries, and make our world more stable and prosperous. That’s good news for everyone.
We know from experience that an innovative public-private partnership like Gavi can work. But can global leaders bring the same energy, funding, and focus to the challenge of dramatically expanding access to education? We hope that they will say yes, and give education funding a much-needed shot in the arm.
Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is the Chair of Gavi and the former Minister of Finance of Nigeria

Can we vaccinate the world against poverty?

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Jamie Freed and James Regan | SYDNEY
Elliott Management will meet with BHP Billiton&#8217;s Australian shareholders this week as the activist investor pushes for strategic changes at the world&#8217;s biggest miner, two sources familiar with the matter said on Monday.
The sources, who could not be named because they were not authorised to speak publicly about the issue, told Reuters that Elliott was seeking feedback from other investors about its proposed overhaul of BHP.
Elliott&#8217;s U.S. office did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours.
Over the past year, Elliott has built up a 4.1 percent stake in BHP&#8217;s British arm and last month told the company it had failed to deliver &#8220;optimal&#8221; value.
Elliott, led by U.S. financier Paul Singer, demanded BHP spin off its U.S. oil assets, ditch a corporate structure built on dual listings in London and Sydney and hand back more money to shareholders.
BHP swiftly rejected the approach, saying the costs of the changes would outweigh the benefits.
But Elliott could be gaining some traction according to investors.
Analysts said Elliott would likely push its case for a revamp of BHP&#8217;s U.S. oil business, after BHP on April 26 said it was progressing the sale of onshore U.S. petroleum interests at two key fields.
BHP said the plan had been in the works prior to Elliott going public with its proposals.
&#8220;It&#8217;s clear they (Elliott) aren&#8217;t going to just give up,&#8221; said Shaw and Partners analyst Peter O&#8217;Connor.
I&#8217;m not surprised they are here, they have been conspicuous in their absence,&#8221; he added.
BHP declined to comment.
(Reporting by Jamie Freed and James Regan; Editing by Richard Pullin and Joseph Radford)

Elliott to court BHP’s Australian shareholders on overhaul say sources

Ed Stoddard | JOHANNESBURG
Illicit capital flows into and out of developing economies ranged from $2 trillion to $3.5 trillion in 2014, with Africa the region most vulnerable to the flight of capital needed for investment and other purposes, according to a new study.
Released on Monday by Washington-based think-tank Global Financial Integrity (GFI), the report comes before the World Economic Forum on Africa in Durban this week, where the region&#8217;s development and financial challenges will be in the spotlight.
It shows that combined, illicit outflows and inflows amounted to 14.1 to 24 percent of total developing country trade from 2005 to 2014, the last year for which comprehensive data are available.
<blockquote>&#8220;The massive flows of illicit capital shown in this study represent diversions of resources from their most efficient social uses in developing economies and are likely to adversely impact domestic &#8230; economic growth,&#8221; the report said.</blockquote>
The GFI report looked at both illicit outflows, which rob poor countries of capital that could be taxed or invested, and illicit inflows, which could point to cash being funnelled to tax havens or to be laundered.
In 2014, illicit outflows were estimated to have drained $620 billion to $970 billion from developing economies. Illicit inflows were put at $1.4 trillion to $2.5 trillion.
Over the decade of 205 to 2014, GFI found, sub-Saharan Africa led all regions for illicit outflows, estimated at 7.5 to 11.6 percent of its total trade.
Some development economists have argued sub-Saharan Africa &#8211; widely regarded as relying on aid inflows and the charity of industrialised nations &#8211; is actually a net exporter of capital to the rest of the world because of these trends.
Developing Europe &#8211; mostly comprising Eastern European and former Soviet republics, including Russia &#8211; was the leader for illicit inflows, estimated at 12.4 percent to 21.0 percent of the region&#8217;s total trade.
Illicit capital is mostly channelled through mis-invoicing of trade &#8211; exports and imports are booked at different values to avoid taxes or to hide large transfers of money.
(Editing by Larry King)

Illicit capital flows in developing world as high as $3.5 trillion in 2014

Ahmed Elumami | TRIPOLI
Libya&#8217;s oil production has risen above 760,000 barrels per day (bpd), its highest level since December 2014, the National Oil Corporation (NOC) said on Monday.
Chairman Mustafa Sanalla said in a statement that the NOC was working on plans to increase production further. He has previously set a goal of boosting output to 1.1 million bpd by August.
(Reporting by Ahmed Elumami; Writing by Aidan Lewis; editing by Susan Thomas)
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Libya’s oil production hits highest output since 2014 – NOC

Patrick Markey and Samia Errazzouki | ALGIERS/RABAT
The United Nations Security Council unanimously backed attempts to restart talks between Morocco and the Polisario independence movement over the Western Sahara conflict, and extended its peacekeeping mission there for another year.
The resolution came after the U.N. mission confirmed the Polisario had withdrawn troops from the Guerguerat area of the territory, a vast swath of desert bordering the Atlantic Ocean that has been contested since 1975.
They had faced off in Guerguerat since 2016 with Morocco, which pulled its forces back earlier this year.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres earlier this month called for Morocco and the Polisario Front, which fought a war over the region until a 1991 ceasefire, to enter new negotiations that would include proposals from both sides.
&#8220;This action should improve the prospects of creating an environment that will facilitate early implementation of Mr. Guterres&#8217;s determination to relaunch the negotiating process,&#8221; the U.N. spokesman said in a statement noting Morocco&#8217;s early pullback and confirming Polisario&#8217;s withdrawal.
Morocco claimed Western Sahara after colonial Spain left, but Polisario fought a guerrilla war for independence for the Sahrawi people there until the U.N.-backed ceasefire.
U.N. talks have long failed to broker an agreement on how to decide on self-determination. Morocco wants an autonomy plan under Moroccan sovereignty. But Polisario wants a U.N.-backed referendum including on the question of independence.
The U.N. resolution on Friday extended the U.N. peacekeeping mission, known as MINURSO, until April 30, 2018 and called on the parties to resume a fifth round of talks.
Against a backdrop of decades of past political failures and mistrust, the resolution noted Morocco&#8217;s 2007 autonomy proposal and welcomed Rabat&#8217;s &#8220;serious&#8221; efforts to progress.
It also emphasised Polisario&#8217;s 2007 proposal, which calls for a referendum between independence, integration with Morocco and self-governance.
Past attempts to broker a deal have been fallen apart over details mostly on referendum terms, including who should be allowed to vote.
REGIONAL HOPES
Morocco&#8217;s foreign ministry said in a statement the kingdom was satisfied with the resolution, and hoped for a &#8220;real process&#8221; toward a solution, which it said should be the autonomy initiative.
Morocco also called for neighbouring Mauritania as well as Algeria, which backs Polisario and maintains tense relations with Rabat, to be involved in negotiations.
&#8220;All parties must assume their responsibilities, Algeria must assume its responsibility,&#8221; Foreign Minister Nacer Bourita told reporters in Rabat. &#8220;Algeria is the missing key.&#8221;
That position has in the past been rejected by Polisario which sees the conflict only between itself and Rabat.
Algeria&#8217;s Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra on Saturday called the resolution a victory for the Sahrawi cause that put the process &#8220;back on track&#8221;, according to the APS state news agency.
The dispute also reflect splits in the security council. France backs former colony Morocco, and Polisario&#8217;s self-declared Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic has been supported by some non-permanent council members and South Africa.
Friday&#8217;s UN resolution noted the need for more support for Sahrawi refugees who fled the conflict and have since lived in camps in the south of Algeria.
Since the 1991 ceasefire, the region has effectively been split by an earthen wall separating an area controlled by Morocco that it claims as its southern provinces, and territory controlled by the Polisario with a U.N.-mandated buffer zone between them.
U.N. peacekeepers intervened in a standoff last year after Moroccan forces crossed beyond the earthen wall in Guerguerat near the Mauritania border and Polisario responded by dispatching troops to the area.
(Additional reporting by Michelle Nichols in New York; Editing by Toby Chopra and John Stonestreet)

UN Security Council backs new Western Sahara talks push

MacDonald Dzirutwe | HARARE
Zimbabwe has met all conditions to clear arrears to the World Bank and African Development Bank, paving the way for possible future funding from the International Monetary Fund, its finance minister said on Thursday.
The southern African nation in October last year cleared its 15-year-old financial arrears with the IMF, in a major step towards its first loan programme with the Fund since 1999.
Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa said in a statement that facilities negotiated by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to repay the $1.75 billion arrears had been &#8220;scrutinised and scrutinised&#8221; by the World Bank and AfDB, who were satisfied.
&#8220;Clearance of debt arrears is expected to open the door to foreign finance inflows and possible debt treatment by the Paris Club and non-Paris Club Bilateral Creditors through an IMF financing programme,&#8221; Chinamasa said.
He did not give details on where cash-strapped Zimbabwe had obtained the money to clear the arrears.
President Robert Mugabe&#8217;s government is struggling with dwindling foreign exchange inflows and acute shortages of cash that meant that banks have been limiting withdrawals.
Without foreign funding, the government has relied on tax inflows to support its budget, 90 percent of which goes towards paying its civil service.
(Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Tom Heneghan)

Zimbabwe says has met all conditions to clear arrears to World Bank & AfDB

Arjun Kharpal
<ul>
<li>Nintendo is aiming for operating profit of 65 billion yen this fiscal year, which if realized, would represent a 121 percent rise from the 29.4 billion yen operating profit it reported for the year ended March 31, 2017.</li>
<li>Nintendo said it is aiming for 10 million units of sales for the new Switch console this fiscal year.</li>
</ul>
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<a class="inline_quotes" href="http://data.cnbc.com/quotes/7974.T-JP" target="_self" data-gdsid="6767" data-inline-quote-symbol="7974.T-JP">Nintendo</a> said on Thursday that it expects profit for its current fiscal year to jump by 121 percent, hitting a seven-year high, thanks to strong sales of its new Switch console, older hardware and mobile gaming efforts.
The Japanese gaming giant forecast for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2018:
<ul>
<li>Net sales of 750 billion yen ($6.7 billion)</li>
<li>Operating profit of 65 billion yen</li>
<li>10 million units of the Switch consoles to be sold</li>
</ul>
On Thursday, Nintendo reported earnings for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017. The key figures are:
<ul>
<li>Net sales of 489.1 billion yen, a 3 percent year-on-year decline, but beating its own guidance</li>
<li>Operating profit of 29.4 billion yen, a fall of 10.7 percent year-on-year</li>
</ul>
Nintendo&#8217;s forecasts, however, set it up for a strong year ahead. Its forecast of 65 billion yen of operating profit, if realized, would mark a 121 percent increase. It would also be the biggest profit since the fiscal year ended March 2011. The company is aiming to sell 10 million Switch units. The console, which went on sale last month, has already seen 2.74 million units sold, with 5.46 million units of software sold.
It&#8217;s a positive announcement to kick of the fiscal year for Nintendo, after spending much of the previous 12 months trying to consolidate its business. The company has launched a number of mobile games including <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2016/08/08/pokemon-go-earns-200-million-in-first-month-beating-candy-crush.html" target="_self">last summer&#8217;s hit &#8220;Pokemon Go&#8221;</a> and more recently &#8220;Super Mario Run&#8221;. Mobile had been an area Nintendo had previously lost out on, but it is now making strong progress and expects it to be one of its &#8220;major pillars of profits&#8221; in the mid-to-long-term.
Thanks to its efforts in mobile, Nintendo&#8217;s brand has also seen a strong revival, and the company has managed to tap into some of the nostalgia around its past games and consoles. Last year, the company released a <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2016/11/11/nintendo-nes-classic-short-supply-buy-one-online-ebay-for-1000.html" target="_self">Nintendo Classic Edition</a>, which came with pre-installed games and cost $59.99. It quickly sold out with some going on eBay for <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/20/nintendo-snes-mini-release.html" target="_self">as much as $5,000</a>. Nintendo said the NES Classic launched to &#8220;widespread popularity&#8221;.
And the knock-on effect has been seen in sales of Nintendo hardware. The company said the 3DS handheld console, which was released in 2011, saw a 7 percent year-on-year rise in sales. This was helped by strong titles such as &#8220;Pokemon Sun&#8221; and &#8220;Pokemon Moon&#8221;, which gained popularity because of &#8220;Pokemon Go&#8221;.
&#8220;The release of the smart device application &#8216;Pokemon Go&#8217; led to increased sales of software in the Pokémon series and drove the Nintendo 3DS family hardware sales growth outside of Japan,&#8221; Nintendo said in its earning statement.
Investors have been supportive of Nintendo&#8217;s turnaround efforts with shares up 60 percent in the last 12 months. The stock also has 5 strong buy ratings, 10 buy ratings, 5 holds, 1 sell and 1 strong sell, showing the bias is generally positive towards the company&#8217;s shares. The mean price target on the stock is 31,175 yen, which represents around 14 percent upside from Thursday&#8217;s close, Reuters data shows.
&#8220;The brand has been reinvigorated and now with that revitalized branding of the licenses, this year and into next year is about pushing on with new differentiated cutting edge tech,&#8221; Neil Campling, head of global technology, media and telecom research at Northern Trust Capital Markets, told CNBC by phone.
</div>

Nintendo’s comeback is starting to take hold as it forecasts a 121% profit surge this year

Sophia Yan
Robots are likely to replace 50 percent of all jobs in the next decade, according to Kai-Fu Lee, founder of venture capital firm Sinovation Ventures and a top voice on tech in <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/china/" target="_self">China</a>.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the wave of the future, the influential technologist told CNBC, calling it the &#8220;singular thing that will be larger than all of human tech revolutions added together, including electricity, [the] industrial revolution, internet, mobile internet — because AI is pervasive.&#8221;
<blockquote>&#8220;It is the decision engine that will replace people,&#8221; Lee said, adding that AI capabilities far exceed those of humanity.</blockquote>
For example, he said, companies in which his firm has invested can accomplish feats such as recognizing 3 million faces at the same time, or dispersing loans in eight seconds.
<blockquote>&#8220;These are things that are superhuman, and we think this will be in every industry, will probably replace 50 percent of human jobs, create a huge amount of wealth for mankind and wipe out poverty,&#8221; Lee said, later adding that he expected that displacement to occur in the next 10 years.</blockquote>
Lee&#8217;s views on technology are widely followed in part because he previously headed Google China before founding his venture capital firm. He has also held executive posts at many other major tech companies, including Apple and Microsoft, and he has celebrity status in the industry and in China — with millions of social media followers on multiple platforms.
Speaking with CNBC from the Global Mobile Internet Conference in Beijing, Lee tackled the big question: Will human still have a place in the world as machines grow more intelligent?
The answer, he said, is that nothing can replace human-to-human interaction.
&#8220;Touching one&#8217;s heart with your heart is something that machines, I believe, will never be good at,&#8221; he said, explaining that service jobs should be considered &#8220;first-class&#8221; employment.
And while all of this change is happening, traditional companies like banks, insurance firms and hospitals, are simply moving to slow, Lee said. And it&#8217;s too bad, he added, because they &#8220;possess the biggest treasure&#8221; in the form of troves of data.
&#8220;Because AI is about taking data into insight and decision, so I anticipate [the] internet sector, entrepreneurial sector, to continue to grow and in many cases displace and even wipe out traditional companies in China,&#8221; he said.
Chinese tech tycoons like <a class="inline_quotes" href="http://data.cnbc.com/quotes/700-HK" target="_self" data-gdsid="2284" data-inline-quote-symbol="700-HK">Tencent</a> and <a class="inline_quotes" href="http://data.cnbc.com/quotes/BABA" target="_self" data-gdsid="" data-inline-quote-symbol="BABA">Alibaba</a>, for instance, have forged the way in mobile payments — it&#8217;s become pervasive for consumers to pay for everything from rent to transportation through mobile wallets and transfers. Meanwhile, China&#8217;s giant state-owned banks are just barely starting to catch on, Lee said.

Artificial intelligence will replace half of all jobs in the next decade, says widely followed technologist

<a class="inline_quotes" href="http://data.cnbc.com/quotes/NFLX" target="_self" data-gdsid="26444" data-inline-quote-symbol="NFLX">Netflix</a> is to introduce original content in <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/china/" target="_self">China</a> in a licensing deal with local video streaming service <a class="inline_asset" href="http://iqiyi.com/" target="_self">iQiyi.com</a>, the U.S. company said on Tuesday.
Netflix has struggled to break into the Chinese market, where streaming services are subject to strict data storage regulations and foreign films and television are routinely censored.
Content air times will parallel other regions, a spokeswoman said, who declined to say comment further on the tie-up.
Netflix has played down the possibility of its entry into China in the past year despite its otherwise rapid global expansion.
In October co-founder and Chief Executive Reed Hastings said that prospects for a direct streaming service in the country were slim, and the firm had made no progress in obtaining government approvals.
<a class="inline_asset" href="http://iqiyi.com/" target="_self">iQiyi.com</a> is one of China&#8217;s largest streaming services and is backed by search giant <a class="inline_quotes" href="http://data.cnbc.com/quotes/BIDU" target="_self" data-gdsid="44607" data-inline-quote-symbol="BIDU">Baidu</a>. In February it raised 1.53 billion to take on local rivals in a hotly contested market.
This month Netflix forecast a global increase of 3.2 million subscribers in the second quarter, far outpacing analysts&#8217; estimates of nearly 2.4 million.

Netflix breaks into China’s massive market with new deal

By Alwyn Scott | NEW YORK
GE Power, a division of General Electric Co, has signed a services deal with Algerian utility Sonelgaz SPE valued at more than $3 billion, the largest services agreement ever for GE Power and one that creates hundreds of jobs in Algeria, GE said on Monday.
Under the 20-year contract with the subsidiary of Sonelgaz, GE will train more than 1,000 workers in Algeria and create about 300 jobs through its Algerian suppliers and its own operations there, Steve Bolze, chief executive officer of GE Power, said in an interview.
The agreement builds on GE&#8217;s growing footprint in Algeria, where it has had a presence for four decades. GE Power, based in Schenectady, New York, signed a $2.7 billion deal with Sonelgaz SPE in 2013 to supply large gas turbines and related technology to nine power plants in the country.
In 2014, GE signed a $400 million agreement to build an industrial complex to produce gas and steam turbines under a joint venture with Sonelgaz called General Electric Algeria Turbines. The complex is due to come on line next year, instead of 2017 as originally planned, Bolze said. It is due to deliver its first turbine in 2019.
GE was able to expand the latest deal after its acquisition of Alstom&#8217;s power and grid businesses in 2015. &#8220;The service agreement, and digital, will cover the total plant, everything from the gas turbines to the rest of the equipment,&#8221; Bolze said.
The agreement calls for GE to provide long-term maintenance and operations services for 10 power plants in Algeria.
GE also will install gas technology upgrades that increase the plants&#8217; power output by 420 megawatts and will deploy its industrial internet software applications using its Predix operating system, GE Power&#8217;s second-largest such agreement, it said. The agreement is expected to save Sonelgaz $2 billion in gas costs over 20 years, GE said.
The agreement also positions GE for work with Sonelgaz on maintenance and operations services in other parts of Africa.
GE will use its ALGESCO joint venture with Sonelgaz to repair turbines and set up a repair center. GE will also use Sonelgaz affiliate MEI to make replacement parts for GE turbines, GE said.
(Editing by Chris Reese and Jeffrey Benkoe)

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More disruptions feared from cyber attack; Microsoft slams government secrecy

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Zimbabwe says has met all conditions to clear arrears to World Bank & AfDB

Nintendo’s comeback is starting to take hold as it forecasts a 121% profit surge this year

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Netflix breaks into China’s massive market with new deal

GE Power’s $3 bln deal creates hundreds of jobs in Algeria

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