LONDON (ShareCast) – (ShareCast News) – Greece is to hold a snap general election, likely to be on 20 September, just weeks after securing a new €86bn bailout deal with it international creditors. Fresh elections called by prime minister Alexis Tsipras on the very first day of the bailout programme, will plunge Greece back into short-term political uncertainty. – Financial Times Britain and Iran will take an important step towards r-establishing full diplomatic relatons this weekend when Philip Hammond reopens the British embassy in Tehran after a four-year gap. Hammond will travel to the Iranian capital to reopen the mission which was close in 2011 after a mob attack. – Financial Times Pressure is building on Saudi Arabia from members within the O rganisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) to agree to an emergency meeting to arrest plummeting oil prices. The Telegraph understands that Opec’s secretary general, Abdulla Salem el-Badri, has spoken to Saudi officials on behalf of members within the group who are coming under extreme economic pressure from oil prices dropping towards levels of $ 40 per barrel. – The Telegraph Smartphone sales in China , the world’s biggest market, have fallen for the first time as the country’s authorities attempt to restore investor confidence in the rapidly cooling economy. Sales fell 4 per cent year-on-year during the second quarter of 2015, according to research from Gartner (NYSE: IT – news) . The fall contributed to the slowest worldwide growth since 2013, with around 330 million units sold globally during the second quarter, a year-on-year increase of 13.5 per cent. – The Telegraph Companies bidding for government contracts worth over £10m will be expected to demonstrate a clear commitment to apprenticeships , David Cameron has announced, as part of a government push to create three million more apprenticeship places this parliament. From 1 September 2015, all bids for government procurement contracts – which are worth £50bn a year – will be expected to demonstrate that they have “a reasonable proportion” of their workforce in an apprenticeship or formal training programme. – Guardian
