1 of 3. Christie's auction house CEO Steven Murphy is interviewed at his office in central London January 16, 2013.

LONDON | Wed Jan 16, 2013 8:02pm EST

LONDON (Reuters) - When the public sits up and notices the art market, it is usually when an anonymous buyer pays a mind-boggling sum to acquire a prized painting or sculpture.

In 2012, Edvard Munch's "The Scream" fetched a record $120 million, a Mark Rothko abstract soared to $87 million and a Renaissance drawing by Raphael sold for $48 million - all in a year when making ends meet was most people's priority.

Yet Steven Murphy, the first American to head the auctioneer Christie's since its creation in 1766, is convinced the key to future success after another bumper year of sales lies not with the "one percent", but a much broader pool of art lovers.

The 58-year-old, who worked in publishing and music before his surprise appointment to the head of the world's largest auction house two years ago, wants to rid the art world of its stuffy image as a club exclusively for the rich.

"It's sexy and it's cool and it's news to talk about the most important work in a single sale on a single evening, but one has to be careful of the myopia as a business of focusing only on that very important activity," Murphy told Reuters.

"Twenty percent of our buyers this past year were brand new to Christie's, never bought here before," he said in an interview at the company's headquarters in central London, sitting beneath a small Picasso being sold next month.

He was referring to one of the encouraging statistics in the company's annual sales report, which on Thursday showed record revenues of 3.9 billion pounds ($6.3 billion) in 2012, a rise of 10 percent on 2011.

In 2009, when the art market contracted sharply due to the global financial crisis, sales were just 2.1 billion pounds.

ASIA DOWN BUT NOT OUT

The overall increase in 2012 came despite a slump in Christie's auction sales of Asian art, which fell by a quarter to 415 million pounds after providing the engine for growth in recent years.

Competition from Chinese auctioneers and the end to a speculative bubble in some Asian art contributed to the decline, but Murphy said the region had the potential to grow again longer term.

"I think the opportunity in Asia is far bigger than any of us in the art business have truly tapped into," he said.

In contrast, Christie's saw private sales surge 26 percent to 631 million pounds, and Murphy expected deals behind closed doors to be key in maintaining growth in 2013 and beyond.

"Look for a big increase in our private sales activity," he said. "Our current clients want to do more of that."

Murphy, whose laid-back manner stands out in the London art scene, said he was convinced more private sales did not mean less business in the auction room, still the mainstay of Christie's income.

A key part of Murphy's strategy since arriving has been to build its online presence, both by attracting visitors to the website and encouraging them to bid over the internet.

From six online-only auctions in 2012, the company will hold more than 30 in 2013, and while digital sales tend to be for more modestly priced items, Edward Hopper's "October on Cape Cod" sold for $9.6 million to an internet bidder in November.

EXPLOSION IN INTEREST IN ART

"One of the things that is driving the opportunity for a company like Christie's is cultural," he said.

"There is a huge cultural surge around the world toward the experience of art. Museum attendance is way up on the previous year and the year before that ...People are accessing art on their iPads, on their laptops, on their iPhones."

By expanding its online presence, Christie's aims to capture more business in the mid- to lower-tier markets, away from the multi-million-dollar deals that grab the headlines.

Murphy pointed to a 20 percent rise in sales at Christie's South Kensington offices, which specialize in lower-end art and antiques.

For Christie's, that sector is key in terms of the bottom line because profits from it outstrip those from more high-profile post-war, contemporary, impressionist and old master art, Murphy said.

He believes that only a "tiny percentage" of clients are buying art purely as a "commodity", or alternative investment at a time when stocks and bonds have delivered modest returns while some artists' values soar.

"From the top end, no-one has bought a Rothko for more than $30 million who doesn't want the Rothko and at the middle and lower end the purchaser of the 20,000-pound Jasper Johns lithograph ... really wants that work," he argued.

"What is happening is that people of wealth are choosing not to invest in other areas, and therefore they have more available for the activity they already love, so it's not money management as much as personal choice."

And if equities start to pick up again?

"I am here to say that when the markets go up there is more money to spend so actually our sales go up, so we don't want to see the stock market do anything but go up."

Christie's, a private company owned by French billionaire Francois Pinault, does not report profit or loss, only sales.

Its main rival is Sotheby's, slightly smaller in terms of sales. Sotheby's, listed in New York, posted auction sales of $4.4 billion last year versus $5.3 billion at Christie's.

Murphy confirmed the company was in the black. When asked whether it was more profitable now than when he joined in late 2010, he replied: "I can say that we're very happy. There's wind in our sails."

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

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BEIJING | Thu Jan 10, 2013 7:24am EST

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's carbon intensity, or its emissions relative to economic output, fell more than 3.5 percent in 2012, outperforming its average annual target, China's chief climate change official said on Thursday.

China aims to cut carbon intensity by 17 percent during the 2011-2015 period, which means an annual average target of around 3.5 percent. Intensity is the amount of carbon dioxide emitted per unit of gross domestic product.

"The situation last year was relatively good. Based on a preliminary estimate, China could achieve a more than 3.5 percent fall in carbon intensity," said Su Wei, director general of climate change department of National Development and Reform Commission.

Cutting carbon intensity allows China to meet international demands for it to curb emissions and also keep its priority that development must come first while many Chinese still live in poverty.

The government is currently drawing up a national plan on climate change till 2020, which is expected to be finalized soon, Su said.

China recently published a new industrial carbon emissions plan. Steel, nonferrous metals and petrochemical sectors are required to cut CO2 intensity by 18 percent by 2015 compared with the 2010 level.

By 2020, China aims to cut its carbon intensity by 40 to 45 percent versus the 2005 level, a target that is stimulating a sharp increase in investment demand in energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Its efforts to control emissions are also paving the way for creation of a carbon market, which requires accurate measurements of the carbon emitted.

China's biggest listed steelmaker, Baoshan Iron and Steel, is among the industrial companies that must participate in a pilot carbon trading scheme in Shanghai, the local government said last month.

China will need 1.24 trillion yuan ($199.2 billion) in energy conservation investments in 2011-2015, an increase of 50 percent from the level in 2006-2010, according to a research report released by Tsinghua University on Thursday.

The investment in China's renewable energy sector in 2011-2015 will increase 37.5 percent to 1.8 trillion yuan, the report showed. ($1 = 6.2262 Chinese yuan)

(Reporting by Wan Xu and David Standway; editing by Jane Baird)

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n">(Reuters) - Shares of Herbalife (HLF.N) plunged again Friday, feeling the brunt of heavy selling in a week where prominent short-seller Bill Ackman called the company a "pyramid scheme."

The stock closed 19 percent down at $27.27, its lowest in nearly two years.

The selling continues a bad run for the stock, which has been hit hard in recent days as Ackman said he was shorting the stock, giving a three-hour presentation Thursday where he called the weight management company's model unsustainable.

Pershing Square Capital Management said on Friday it had launched a website that provides information about the company, including source data that was used in the presentation.

Shares have fallen 36 percent in the last three days and have lost nearly two-thirds of their value since hitting a life-high in April.

Ackman, known for agitating for management change at companies his fund invests in, has targeted Herbalife via one of his biggest short positions in years.

Ackman said he had been building his short position in the company's stock for several months and that he was so sure of his position that he believed the company's stock price would eventually go to zero.

More than 42.2 million Herbalife shares had changed hands on Friday, far surpassing the 2.8 million shares traded on average over the past 50 days.

Similar stocks in the space were also down. Nu Skin Enterprises Inc (NUS.N), a skin products company, closed 14 percent lower at $34.51. Blyth Inc (BTH.N), which sells nutritional supplements through its ViSalus unit, closed down 8 percent at $14.75.

Herbalife said on Friday it would hold an analyst day in the week of January 7 to respond to Ackman's claims.

Option volume on Herbalife hit an all-time high on Friday, a day that also marks the expiration of December equity options. Herbalife traders exchanged 136,000 puts and 85,000 calls, or 11 times the combined daily average, according to options analytics firm Trade Alert.

Out of that volume, 41 percent were December contracts that expire after market close. The most popular contracts are the December $27.50 strike put followed by the May $22.50 strike put.

(Reporting By David Gaffen, Doris Frankel and Maria Ajit Thomas; Editing by M.D. Golan and Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)

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1 of 6. People walk in front of a logo of Softbank Corp at its branch in Tokyo, in this file picture taken March 2, 2011. Japan's Softbank Corp said on October 12, 2012 that it is in talks with Sprint Nextel Corp about investing in the U.S. telecoms firm, but nothing has been decided.

NEW YORK/TOKYO | Sun Oct 14, 2012 11:13pm EDT

NEW YORK/TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese mobile operator Softbank Corp is near a $20 billion deal to acquire control of U.S. carrier Sprint Nextel Corp, sources familiar with the matter said, as the firm led by billionaire Masayoshi Son seeks a foothold in the U.S. market.

A deal, which the sources said could be announced as early as Monday, would be Japan's biggest overseas buy, and would also give Sprint ammunition to potentially acquire peers and build out its 4G network to compete better in a U.S. wireless market dominated by AT&T and Verizon.

Softbank shares tumbled more than 7 percent early on Monday, and have lost more than a fifth of their value since news first broke of the firm's interest in Sprint. Investors are concerned that Son, who has a reputation for taking risks, may be offering too much.

Under the deal taking shape, the sources said Softbank would buy some $12 billion worth of Sprint shares and spend another $8 billion on new Sprint securities. The Japanese firm would initially buy $3 billion of bonds convertible into Sprint stock at $5.25 a share, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. It would also buy $5 billion in stock directly from Sprint, and offer $7.30 a share for stock it buys in the public markets. Sprint closed on Friday at $5.73.

Sprint, led by CEO Dan Hesse, has net debt of about $15 billion, while Softbank has net debt of about $10 billion. Adding the $2 billion of net debt of eAccess Ltd, which Softbank recently agreed to buy, would raise "post-deal gearing levels to unacceptable heights", Societe Generale said in a client note on Friday.

"It's the same (market) reaction as when Softbank said it was going to buy Vodafone a few years ago. Everyone came out and said it was far too expensive," said Fumiyuki Nakanishi, general manager of investment and research at SMBC Friend Securities.

Softbank acquired Vodafone's Japan unit for $15.5 billion in a landmark deal in 2006 that propelled the firm into the mobile carrier business.

CLEAR FOR CLEARWIRE

Sprint confirmed on Thursday it was in talks with Softbank about an investment that could involve a change in control. If Softbank takes a 70 percent stake of Sprint for $20 billion, that would imply the No. 3 U.S. wireless company was worth about $28.6 billion, some two-thirds greater than its market capitalization at Friday's close.

On Friday, Standard & Poor's put its "BBB" long-term rating on Softbank on 'credit watch with negative implications', saying the deal "may undermine Softbank's financial risk profile" and would pressure its free operating cash flow for at least the next few years.

A tie-up between Sprint and Softbank could see the U.S. firm use some of the proceeds to buy the part of Clearwire Corp it doesn't already own, given that company's attractive spectrum assets, analysts and investors have said. Clearwire stock soared on Friday.

An alliance with Sprint could also give Softbank leverage when dealing with Apple Inc, helping bolster its domestic position against KDDI Corp, which also now offers the iPhone in Japan, and market leader NTT Docomo, which is yet to offer the Apple smartphone.

A Tokyo-based Softbank spokesman reiterated on Monday that the company was in talks about making an investment in Sprint, but no agreement had been reached. Sprint representatives were not immediately available to comment, and a Clearwire spokesman declined to comment. CNBC's David Faber reported the news earlier on Sunday.

Softbank is in talks with Japan's leading banks - Mizuho Financial Group Inc, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group - to borrow up to $23 billion for a deal, people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday.

The banks involved in the syndicated loan could provide a commitment letter as soon as this week, the sources said.

A deal for Sprint at around the levels mentioned by sources - and including a follow-on deal for MetroPCS - would lift the tally of outbound deals by Japanese firms to a record $80 billion this year, Thomson Reuters data shows, underscoring a strong appetite for overseas assets seemingly unaffected by signs of slowing global growth.

SECOND STEP

With Sprint in hand, Softbank may also look to acquire smaller U.S. carrier MetroPCS Communications, Japanese media have reported. Sprint has had a long interest in MetroPCS, which earlier this month agreed to merge with T-Mobile USA, part of Deutsche Telekom AG.

A takeover of Sprint would require approval from U.S. regulators, including the Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission. Given the importance of telecommunications to U.S. national security, any deal would also likely warrant a review by the inter-agency Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, according to one Washington-based attorney who advises on mergers and acquisitions

The attorney said that Japan's status as a close U.S. ally would help Softbank win approval for the deal.

($1 = 78.3550 Japanese yen)

(Additional reporting by Sophie Knight, James Topham and Andrea Shalal-Esa.; Editing by Gunna Dickson and Ian Geoghegan)

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BEIJING | Sun Oct 14, 2012 10:37pm EDT

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's annual consumer price inflation ticked down to 1.9 percent in September from August's 2.0 percent, official data showed on Monday, leaving plenty of room for further policy easing to shore up growth.

The headline consumer inflation number matched the forecast of economists polled by Reuters.

Analysts say consumer inflation running well below the 4 percent annual target set by the government leaves room for policymakers do more to support the economy, which Q3 data due on October 18 is likely to confirm has suffered a seventh successively slower quarter of annual growth.

"This is little surprise in the inflation data. It's mainly caused by the drop in food costs," said Zhou Hao, an economist at ANZ Bank in Shanghai. "On monetary policy, we can only say that there is a little more room for further policy easing. Exports have showed signs of stabilisation, but the economy still needs some policy loosening."

The National Bureau of Statistics said China's producer price index in September dropped 3.6 percent from a year earlier, which was also in line with forecasts.

It marked the seventh straight month of producer price deflation, hurting corporate profits and underpinning expectations that consumer inflation will stay tame in the coming months.

The central bank is widely expected to ease policy further, having cut interest rates twice since June and trimmed banks' required reserves three times since November.

Easing consumer prices and outright falls in factory gate prices are signs that the world's second-biggest economy is struggling to escape the tug of a global slowdown that has set China on course for its weakest full year of growth since 1999.

Yi Gang, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, said in a speech at last week's annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund that he expected inflation to be about 2.7 percent for the full year, with growth around 7.8 percent.

But he said signs of resurgence in property prices, which the government has fought for more than two years to rein in, posed a dilemma for policymakers.

Real estate directly affects about 40 different business sectors in China and the government-induced slowdown is widely regarded by analysts as putting an extra brake on the economy.

(Reporting by Lucy Hornby; Editing by Alex Richardson)

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A customer looks at products on sale at a supermarket in central Beijing June 12, 2012.

BEIJING | Sun Oct 7, 2012 9:00am EDT

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's retail sales growth slowed during the Golden Week holiday, local media said on Sunday, providing a snapshot of increasingly important sources of demand in the world's second-largest economy.

Overall retail sales revenue grew 15 percent to hit 800.6 billion yuan ($127.4 billion) during the National Day holiday, which coincided with the Mid-Autumn Festival to provide a rare eight-day break, China's state television China Central Television said.

That marked a cooldown from the 17.5 percent growth last year during a seven-day holiday. No further details were given,

The Golden Week holiday, when millions of people take time out to travel and spend more than usual, brings huge discounts and promotions as retailers battle for market share.

Economists are watching China's 1.3 billion consumers closely during the National Day Golden week holiday, running from Sept 30 to Oct 7, amid escalating worries about China's hard landing. ($1 = 6.2849 Chinese yuan)

(Reporting by Judy Hua and Koh Gui Qing; editing by Ron Askew)

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TOKYO | Thu Aug 9, 2012 2:42am EDT

TOKYO Aug 9 (Reuters) - Olympus Corp reported a 60 percent fall in quarterly operating profit and a deterioration in a key barometer of its ability to meet financial obligations, adding pressure on the scandal-hit Japanese company to enter into a capital deal.

For the April-to-June quarter, operating profit was 2.12 billion yen ($27.05 million), the company said on Thursday. Shareholders' equity fell to 2.2 percent of total assets.

The drop in the shareholders' equity ratio from 4.6 percent in March further pushes Olympus away from the 20 percent level widely regarded by analysts as indicative of corporate financial stability.

The 93-year-old manufacturer of cameras and medical equipment, has been in talks with several Japanese companies including FujiFilm Holdings on a capital tie-up as it tries to mend its severely depleted balance sheet hit by a massive accounting scandal last year.

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