The Traderszone Network

China’s economic growth slowed in the third quarter to its weakest since the 2008/09 global financial crisis as a slumping property market dragged on manufacturing and investment, adding to concerns about flagging global growth. The slowdown reinforced expectations that Beijing will need to unveil more stimulus measures to avert a sharper slowdown, though analysts appeared divided over whether policymakers would continue to roll out more modest support steps or take more aggressive action such as cutting interest rates.

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“Staples is in the process of investigating a potential issue involving credit card data and has contacted law enforcement,” company spokesman Mark Cautela said in a statement.  “If Staples discovers an issue, it is important to note that customers are not responsible for any fraudulent activity on their credit cards that is reported on a timely basis.” The office supply retailer disclosed the investigation after security reporter Brian Krebs reported on his blog Krebsonsecurity.com that several banks have identified a pattern of payment card fraud suggesting that several Staples stores in nor

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Billionaire investor William Ackman, whose fund is the largest shareholder in Allergan Inc., and Valeant Pharmaceuticals said the botox maker’s Chief Executive Officer David Pyott tried to discredit Valeant as it was making a hostile takeover bid, court documents showed. Ackman’s hedge fund has been working with Valeant for months to craft a deal for Valeant to buy Allergan, but Allergan has rejected all of Valeant’s overtures and tried to find other potential partners to avoid a deal.

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AbbVie, which last week said its board of directors had withdrawn its recommendation to proceed with the Shire purchase, blamed the unraveling on last month’s rules changes by the U.S.

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State-backed China CNR Corporation is making a pitch to sell its high-speed trains to California, signaling China’s growing export ambitions for such technology after building the world’s longest network in just seven years. It marks the first concrete attempt by China to sell high-speed locomotives abroad and establish itself as a credible rival to sector leaders such as Germany’s Siemens, Canada’s Bombardier and Japan’s Kawasaki.

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Valeant CEO Michael Pearson said a possible revised stock and cash bid would be worth more than $200 per share, assuming that Valeant’s stock rises, and would include more cash. Allergan stock was up 1.7 percent at $180.45. Valeant’s third-quarter results were keenly anticipated for their potential impact on Valeant’s bid for Allergan, maker of anti-wrinkle injection Botox. Unlike most quarters in which, according to critics, one-time charges related to acquisitions obscure Valeant’s performance, the company made few deals as it stalked Allergan.

The hedge fund, which earlier supported a deal with Valeant, told Allergan CEO David Pyott that it would now support a deal with Shire, the sources said. It was not immediately clear whether Allergan would pursue such a deal. Paulson had a 1.9 percent stake in Allergan, making it one of the company’s top 10 shareholders, according to Thomson Reuters data as of June 30. Paulson was also Shire’s third-largest shareholder, according to the data.