BOC Aviation to buy five planes from Air China worth $1.5 billion at list prices www.reuters.com

Aircraft lessor BOC Aviation Ltd (2588.HK) said on Monday it would buy five new planes from Air China (601111.SS), worth a combined $1.5 billion at list prices, and would lease them back to the carrier.

Deutsche Bank defended by German firms www.bbc.com

Leading German firms have rushed to defend Deutsche Bank amid concerns over the troubled lender's financial health.
Executives from Siemens, Daimler, Munich Re and BASF told German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung they backed the bank.
"We stand with Deutsche Bank," BASF chairman Juergen Hambrecht said.
Deutsche Bank is facing a $14bn ($11bn) fine in the US for mis-selling mortgage-backed bonds before the financial crisis of 2008.
Its shares fell sharply last week on fears the fine could cripple the bank, at one point dropping to their lowest level in 30 years.

India ratifies Paris climate agreement www.bbc.com

India, one of the world's largest greenhouse gas emitters, has ratified the Paris global climate agreement.
Under the deal, India has committed to ensuring that at least 40% of its electricity will be generated from non-fossil sources by 2030.
CO2 emissions are believed to be the driving force behind climate change.
Last December in Paris, countries agreed to cut emissions in a bid to keep the global average rise in temperatures below 2C.
The Paris deal is the world's first comprehensive climate agreement.
It will only come into force legally after it is ratified by at least 55 countries which between them produce at least 55% of global carbon emissions.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced last month that India would ratify the agreement on 2 October, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of the struggle for independence from Britain.
"India has deposited its instrument of ratification of the Paris Agreement with the United Nations," the UN said in a statement on Sunday.
The US and China - together responsible for 40% of the world's carbon emissions - both formally joined the Paris global climate agreement earlier this month.
India accounts for about 4.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and became the 62nd country to ratify the agreement.
The European Union is expected to do so in the near future, taking approvals past the 55% of emissions threshold.
Paris agreement: Key points
To keep global temperature increase "well below" 2C and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5C
To peak greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible and achieve a balance between sources and sinks of greenhouse gases in the second half of this century
To review progress every five years
$100bn a year in climate finance for developing countries by 2020, with a commitment to further finance in the future
Once the deal comes into force, countries that have ratified it have to wait for a minimum of three years before they exit

AIIB to form international advisory panel www3.nhk.or.jp

The China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, or AIIB, is planning to ask former leaders from around the world to join an international advisory committee.

Germany's Merkel cannot afford to bail out Deutsche Bank: media www.reuters.com

German Chancellor Angela Merkel cannot afford to bail out Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) given the hard line Berlin has taken against state aid in other European nations and the risk of a political backlash at home, German media wrote on Saturday.

Samsung: Have 'exploding' Galaxy Note 7s burned the brand? www.bbc.com

Samsung is resuming sales of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones in South Korea following a safety recall. They are set to return to Europe on 28 October.
The company asked customers to return their handsets after some users reported their phone had "exploded" during or after charging.
The firm said that battery problems were behind phones catching fire.
Samsung had sold about 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7 devices across the world before the recall.
In South Korea about 80% of those sold have been returned to be replaced.
In Europe and North America the figure is lower but still way above 50%, according to company sources.
Samsung insiders say that 95% of the people returning their handset are opting to continue with a Samsung model. There is - they say - huge customer loyalty.
But there has clearly been a big cost, one on which a monetary value is impossible to determine exactly.
Tarnished
Firstly, Samsung has lost a month of its carefully planned sales pitch in the campaign against Apple and its new iPhone 7.
Secondly, the brand has been tarnished. Samsung has prided itself on making the most of its components. It doesn't outsource as much as its rivals do.
That boast of superior quality sounds hollower after the recall.
Thirdly, even if most of the offending phones have been returned and replaced, substantial numbers are still out there.
Airlines have presented passengers with a warning notice on check-in, saying the Galaxy Note 7 should not be checked in or switched on in the cabin even in flight-mode.
Will the airlines now lift the ban?
In the crucial Chinese market, the iPhone has a huge cachet. Samsung has been squeezed between Apple's offerings and Chinese phones.
Batteries that might catch fire won't have helped it in that competition.

Mercedes Races To Record $320 Million F1 Revenue www.forbes.com

The Mercedes Formula One team has revealed that its revenue last year accelerated 38.5% on 2014 to hit $316.1 million, its highest since the German auto manufacturer bought the outfit from former boss Ross Brawn in 2009.

The rise in revenue was fuelled by increased prize money payments from winning the championship in 2014 and signing a suite of sponsors including clothing company Hugo Boss, printer manufacturer Epson and technology firm Qualcomm.

It comes on the eve of Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix, where the team is expected to take a third consecutive championship further vindicating Mercedes’ strategy of giving its outfit an entrepreneurial core. Team boss Toto Wolff owns 30% of the outfit with 10% in the hands of non-executive chairman, former F1 champion Niki Lauda, and the remainder held by Mercedes.

The 44 year-old Mr Wolff is not just an experienced businessman but also a former driver which makes him ideally-placed to liaise with the three key divisions which drive an F1 team – commercial, sporting and engineering. Having a single decision-maker in the driving seat gives the team a streamlined reporting structure which has allowed it to operate like a speedboat in the world of F1 where success is down to quick decision-making. As Mr Wolff has a significant stake in the business, he is also incentivised to boost its fortunes. Testimony to this, Mercedes won its first F1 title in 2014, the year after Mr Wolff joined.

“We are in a very fortunate position because our key stakeholders understand our business. They know that if you try and run an F1 team like a corporate multinational, it doesn’t go. You need to be independent, agile and capable of taking quick decisions,” says Mr Wolff.

In contrast, the teams owned by rival manufacturers like BMW, Toyota and Honda were structured more like committees and it didn’t pay off. Toyota invested an estimated $2.1 billion in its F1 team but never won a single race over its eight-year time in the series which came to an abrupt end with the economic downturn in 2009.

Similarly, Honda only won one race as a team owner but had burned up around $1.4 billion by the time it bowed out in 2008. It has since returned to F1 but only as an engine supplier to the McLaren team which is currently languishing in sixth place. It couldn’t be much more of a different story for Mercedes.

In 2014 and 2015 Mercedes took both the teams’ title and won the drivers’ championship with Lewis Hamilton at the wheel and his team-mate Nico Rosberg coming second. But that’s just the start. Last year it notched up 12 one-two victories – a new record in F1 – with its drivers getting on the podium 32 times which was also more than any other pairing had previously achieved.

The team is on track to make history again this year as Mr Rosberg goes into Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix leading the standings ahead of Mr Hamilton by just eight points with his nearest rival, Red Bull Racing driver Daniel Ricciardo, trailing 86 points behind. These sustained results on track have made Mercedes a magnet for sponsors which in turn has driven its commercial success.

China's manufacturing activity expands again, non-manufacturing PMI rebounds www.xinhuanet.com

BEIJING, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- China's manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) stood at 50.4 in September, unchanged from August, while the non-manufacturing PMI increased to 53.7 from the previous month's 53.5, official data showed Saturday.

Google rebrands cloud business, adds more artificial intelligence www.reuters.com

ADB assesses Mongolian economy www.news.mn

Economic growth in Mongolia will rise to 0.3% by the end of 2016 and by 1.4% in 2017, says the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Underground mining of Oyutolgoi and agriculture have propped up Mongolian economic growth. ADB’s annual economic flagship publication, writes that inflation in Mongolia will reach 3.2% by the end of the year, and rise further to 5.4% in 2017.