COMPANY NEWS IN BRIEF

BHP profit hit by pandemicBHP Group reported a lower-than-expected annual profit on Tuesday, as the miner warned of slowing economic growth outside China due to the impact of a coronavirus-led downturn.While a sharp economic recovery in China helped BHP report a 4% rise in annual iron ore output last month and fuelled optimism over future growth, uncertainty over demand growth elsewhere continues to persist."We expect most major economies will contract heavily in 2020, China being the exception," chief executive officer Mike Henry said. The world's largest listed miner also said it was looking to divest its thermal coal operations and intends to focus on higher-quality coking coals.Underlying profit attributable from continuing operations for the year ended June 30 fell to US$9.06 billion from US$9.47 billion a year earlier, missing estimates of US$9.42 billion, according to Refinitiv IBES data.The profit miss was in contrast to rival Rio Tinto, which rode its iron ore-rich portfolio to beat profit estimates last month. – Nampa/ReutersCiti sues Revlon IncCitigroup Inc filed a lawsuit on Monday against Revlon Inc lender Brigade Capital Management LP, asking the hedge fund to return its portion of the US$900 million that was mistakenly sent out by the bank to the cosmetic company's lenders.Last week, Citi repaid a nearly US$900 million loan made to Revlon, a day after lenders sued the cosmetic company over its restructuring tactics, according to reports, but the repayment was made in error."When Citibank discovered the mistake, it promptly asked the recipients to return its money," the bank said in a Southern District of New York Court filing. Citi said Brigade refused to return its share and instead converted about $175 million for its own use.The bank is now in contact with watchdogs including the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve about the situation, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Citi quickly caught the payment error and was taking steps to recover the funds, the bank said in an emailed statement. Brigade did not immediately respond to a request for comment. – Nampa/ReutersCarnival hit by attackCruise operator Carnival Corp said on Monday it launched an investigation into a ransomware attack on one of its brand's information technology systems.The company did not identify the brand that was affected and declined to provide more details, as the investigation process was at an early stage.The attack adds to the woes of the company that has been already struggling with suspension of its cruises for months due to the Covid-19 pandemic amid travel restrictions across the world.Certain data files were downloaded during the attack, Carnival said, and added that there was no assurance that information technology systems of its other brands will not be adversely affected.Ransomware is a type of malicious program used by hackers to take control of files in an infected system and then demand hefty payments to recover them. – Nampa/ReutersEpic to block Apple's removal Epic Games said on Monday it was seeking to block Apple Inc's removal of "Fortnite" from its app store and has asked a judge to prevent any retaliatory action against its other games in the store.In its filing, Epic chief executive Timothy Sweeney said "Fortnite" had 350 million registered users as of June 2020, but that Apple's move will stop them from getting the updates needed to play the game's most popular mode."Apple’s actions will 'break' Fortnite for millions of existing players," Sweeney wrote, saying Epic updates the game every few weeks. "Because iOS users can no longer update the game, they will be unable to play Fortnite with most other players, who will have the then-current version available on other platforms" such as PCs.The videogame maker also said Apple will terminate all of Epic Games' developer accounts and cut it off from its development tools starting Aug. 28.In addition to making its own titles, Epic also makes tools for other game developers such as the Unreal Engine, which helps game developers create three-dimensional graphics. – Nampa/ReutersLagardere under pressureFrench media group Lagardere's board backed an extension of Arnaud Lagardere's mandate as managing partner and outlined a new strategy on Monday, pushing back against growing shareholder pressure for new leadership.A new "strategic roadmap" approved by the board will focus on the group's travel retail and publishing divisions as growth drivers, overseen by a newly enlarged management board, Lagardere said in a statement.The supervisory board also approved Arnaud Lagardere's four-year renewal "in order to stabilise the group's governance in a period without precedent," the company statement said.The move marks the latest twist in a French boardroom saga sparked by activist fund Amber Capital, which now owns 20% of the underperforming group - whose titles include Paris Match and has been pushing for change.It comes days after French billionaire Vincent Bollore, whose Vivendi owns 23.5% of Lagardere, effectively switched sides by striking a pact with Amber to press joint demands for four board seats. – Nampa/Reuters

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