financializer news A weblog highlighting financial topics making news in the international media.

transition official: Incoming White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus floated a 5% tariff on imports in meetings with key Washington players last week, according to two sources who represent business interests in Washington, according to CNN. But the senior transition official who spoke to CNN Thursday on the condition of anonymity said the higher figure is now in play. A senior Trump transition official said Thursday the team is mulling up to a 10% tariff aimed at spurring US manufacturing, which could be implemented via executive action or as part of a sweeping tax reform package they would push through Congress. Such a move would deliver on Trump's America First campaign theme, but risks drawing the US into a trade war with other countries and driving up the cost of consumer goods in the US. And it's causing alarm among business interests and the pro-trade Republican establishment. Read More Aides to Ryan and Brady declined to say they had common ground with Trump, but acknowledged they are in deep discussions with transition staffers on the issue. The senior transition official said the transition team is beginning to find common ground with House Speaker Paul Ryan and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, pointing in particular to the border adjustment tax measure included in House Republicans' Better Way tax reform proposal, which would disincentivize imports through tax policy. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

cash: Police say the cash was a hard-earned bonus set aside to spend on presents before it went missing, according to Nine News Australia. Victorian Police say they are not treating the case as a theft and have appealed for anyone who knows the whereabouts of the cash to come forward. The man, who has not been identified, misplaced 5250 in a wad of notes rolled up in a rubber band outside a paint store in in Queens Parade, Clifton Hill, on Thursday. We ask in the spirit of Christmas that you hand it over to the Collingwood Police Station, a Victoria Police spokesperson said. As the wife-to-be of a tradie, with our own family to provide for, I can only imagine the emotional hell his family would be going through right now, wrote Melissa Rogan. A post to the Victorian Police Facebook page titled imagine trading places has attracted hundreds of comments many hoping for a happy resolution for the family. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

voters: Dr Nahan's flashy neckwear may be what voters take away from the announcement, since information about Government finances is a sure-fire path to boredom for many, according to Australian Broadcasting Corporation. But with a poll to be held within months, and WA's finances in a precarious position, there is good reason for voters to care about much more than the Treasurer's fashion sense. ABC News Andrew O'Connor Map WA As WA Treasurer Mike Nahan walked in to deliver his final economic update ahead of next year's state election, he joked his festive tie was designed to distract attention from the dire numbers in the mid-year review. So what is the mid-year review and what's in it Photo Dr Nahan says simply cutting expenditure will not get WA's debt under control. While the deficit for this year is now set to be 526 million less than previously feared, the state will still be a record 3.39 billion in the red. Alan Porritt AAP As the name suggests, it is an update of forecasts of revenue and expenditure which were made in the 2016-17 budget in May. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

wesfarmers: Blackwood is the country's largest distributor of industrial and safety supplies and its Canning Vale depot will have 630 solar panels installed on its roof in the New Year, according to Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Wesfarmers is an enormous company but it is also Australia's largest private employer so there is an enormous connection with the community already, said Wesfarmers sustainability lead Patrick Heagney. ABC News Ursula Malone Map Canning Vale 6155 Mum and dad investors are using their savings to fund a half-a-million-dollar solar energy project at the Wesfarmers-owned Blackwoods distribution depot at Canning Vale in Western Australia. We have an internal target to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, so this is something we're very proud of. Mr Heagney said it was the biggest single solar installation in the Wesfarmers group, and the first funded by community investors. The 200-kilowatt system will supply a quarter of the business's electricity needs. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

woman: There's no social care, no support, according to The Guardian. My mum, a cheerful, seldom sulky woman, always did her best for me but we got stuck. Me, disabled, a wheelchair user and mum, my primary carer. Me feeling the angst of obligation, seamed with guilt, and my mum gritty in her duty to my needs. Especially when, bitten by the punk revolution, I took to presenting myself in a defiance of multicoloured hair extensions, goth makeup and a preponderance of black. Our shopping relationship attained new levels of mutual frustration at Christmas. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

australia: And offering 10 days paid leave across all workers in Australia would cost between 85 million and 120 million a year for the whole economy, according to Nine News Australia. That's less than one-fiftieth of one per cent of existing payroll costs in Australia and less than one per cent of the estimated economic costs from domestic violence, the institute argues in its report, released on Thursday. Research undertaken by the Australia Institute's Centre for Future Work suggests only about 1.5 per cent of women and 0.3 per cent of men are likely to use such leave in any given year if it was available. The cost of doing nothing is enormous, since domestic violence imposes an ongoing economic burden every day on all segments of society, including governments and employers, centre director Jim Stanford said. Finance Minister Mathias Cormann was recently criticised for arguing such leave, which Labor and unions support, would damage Australia's international competitiveness. The extra payroll costs associated with extending this provision are so tiny they can hardly be measured. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

bondholders: The deed will probably be done by Christmas, with losses imposed on junior bondholders, according to The Guardian. It is tempting to think this outcome was inevitable. The Italian government on Wednesday granted itself the funds for a rescue package. The crisis at Italy's third-largest lender has bubbled away for most of 2016 and the bank has a long and grim record of disappointing its backers. But, turn the clock back just a few months, and there were realistic hopes that recapitalisation by the private sector would succeed. Over the past five years, it has raised 8bn in capital but churned out losses of 15bn. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

cent year: In Toronto, the S&P/TSX composite index climbed 12.93 points at 15,305.89, inching higher with help from a rise in industrials, utilities and real estate stocks, according to The Toronto Star. The index, which is weighted heavily in commodities, has been on a tear this year, gaining more than 17 per cent year to date. Frank Gunn / THE CANADIAN PRESS By Linda Nguyen The Canadian Press Wed., Dec. 21, 2016 North American stock markets exhibited little movement Wednesday, with trading volumes tapering off ahead of the Christmas holiday long weekend. Investors had held a bleak picture for the S&P/TSX at the start of the year, when it opened at 12,927.15 amid low oil prices and a poor outlook for the energy industry. Article Continued Below That deal finally materialized on Nov. 30 when OPEC agreed to decrease production by 1.2 million barrels a day starting in January. But as the months progressed, hope began to build over the prospects of a supply cut from OPEC members. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

year: While next week will certainly be worse in terms of winding down for the year, the process has already started in earnest and we expect Christmas carols and last minute shopping to be today's focus, Lyngen and Kohli said in a note to clients, according to Market Watch. Global risk appetite was subdued on Wednesday as investors avoided placing new bets ahead of the new year, Lyngen and Kohli added. The yield on the 10-year Treasury TMUBMUSD10Y, -0.23% fell 2.2 basis points to 2.544%, while the two-year yield TMUBMUSD02Y, 1.12% declined 2.2 basis points to 1.202%. The yield on the 30-year bond TMUBMUSD30Y, -0.16% shed 2.5 basis points to 3.123%. Trading volumes in the Treasury market were roughly half of their recent levels, according to Ian Lyngen and Aaron Kohli, a team of fixed-income strategists. U.S. stocks finished slightly lower on Wednesday, with the Industrial Average DJIA, -0.12% closing shy of the milestone 20,000. On Thursday, investors will grapple with inflation data, while Friday brings a reading on new-home sales. On Wednesday, a housing report showed that sales of previously owned homes rose modesty in November amid lean inventory and rising prices, but the pace of sales, which ran at a seasonally adjusted annual 5.61 million pace, according to the National Association of Realtors, was the best since 2007. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

countries israel: They could also see action should there ever be a military conflict between the two countries, according to Deutsche Welle. Israel feels threatened by Iran, and Iran refuses to acknowledge the existence of the state of Israel. The Dolphin-class submarines, made by Germany's Thyssen Krupp Marine Systems TKMS are to conduct reconnaissance missions off the coast of Iran. Netanyahu is up in arms about the nuclear deal between Iran and the UN Security Council and Germany, which US President Barack Obama has said will make the world a safer place. Israel's new Dolphin-class submarines could also be retrofitted to carry nuclear warheads. The Israeli prime minister is convinced that Iran remains dedicated to becoming a nuclear power. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

economy: When India does achieve this level of GDP, it will be a very symbolic milestone for India as the size of its economy surpasses that of its former colonial master, according to Deutsche Welle. How has India achieved this status What measures, do you think, have contributed to the economic growth A key factor in the convergence of India's total GDP to the UK GDP level is due to India's more rapid GDP growth rate. Whether the exact year in which this occurs is 2017 or 2018 will be dependent on real GDP growth rates and exchange rates. For example, in the current fiscal year, the Indian economy is forecast to grow at 6.9 percent while the UK economy is estimated to grow at 2.1 percent. This highlights the very large gap in living standards and per capita GDP between India and the UK. Biswas 'India is still a relatively low-income economy' An important factor that has gradually improved India's economic performance has been the economic reforms and liberalization process that has occurred since 1999. Nevertheless, on a per capita household income basis, India's average per capita GDP in 2017 is projected to be 1,766 1,691 euros while the UK's per capita GDP is estimated to reach 36,000. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

exchange-traded fund: The ETF is the largest exchange-traded fund tracking the asset and a popular way to make bets on the precious metal, according to Market Watch. According to Fact Set data, the fund has seen outflows for 28 straight sessions, a record. Investors have fled from gold since last month's U.S. presidential election, with the SPDR Gold Trust GLD, -0.24% seeing a massive spike in outflows. Almost 4.7 billion has been withdrawn from the 30.2 billion fund since the election, making it one of the hardest hit of any fund in the ETF universe. Investors have been betting that massive corporate tax cuts and environmental and financial deregulation Trump has proposed will accelerate economic growth, making the yellow metal less attractive as an asset Read Peter Schiff sheds no tears as a Trump rally hammers gold, Dow nears 20,000 See also opinion India, not Trump, is the real reason behind the crash in gold prices The gold ETF is down 11.3% since the election, recently falling to its lowest level since February. Gold tends to have an inverse correlation with the stock market, which has been in rally mode since the unexpected election of Donald Trump in early November. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

climate plan: After a Calgary speech to business owners, Trudeau was asked whether he was committed to his climate plan, which includes a national price on carbon, even if it makes Canada less competitive with the U.S. under the incoming president, who has sent mixed messages on the climate issue, according to The Toronto Star. Let's see what the president actually does once he becomes president and what he says and let's not overreact ahead of time. TODD KOROL / REUTERS By The Canadian Press Wed., Dec. 21, 2016 CALGARY Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says if the United States takes a step back on fighting climate change under Donald Trump, Canada will capitalize. But the challenge of climate change isn't a debate or linked to a political ideology. We know that this is the way the world is going and if the United States wants to take a step back from it, quite frankly, I think we should look at that as an extraordinary opportunity for Canada and for Canadians. It's a fact, Trudeau responded Wednesday. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

delay: CNN The latest evacuations from eastern Aleppo resumed Wednesday after a brief delay, according to Syrian state television, according to CNN. No reason was given for the delay. Please tag CNNiReport in your message. The International Red Cross said snow has been falling and many are struggling to keep warm. With snow falling, it's freezing and many have little means to keep warm. According to Syrian state TV, a number of buses with armed people and their families were leaving the Al-Sokkari area in eastern Aleppo and heading to Al-Rashdin in western Aleppo. var id function make Embed Script d, id var js,fjs;js id;js.charset '' ;fjs fjs ;js.src id ;We took this video near the front line in Aleppo this morning. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

description authorities: Authorities say they're looking for Anis Amri in connection with Monday's market attack in Berlin. context Image Object name Authorities say they're looking for Anis Amri in connection with Monday's market attack in Berlin. description Authorities say they're looking for Anis Amri in connection with Monday's market attack in Berlin. url Police have offered a reward of up to 100,000 euros about 104,000 for information about his whereabouts, and said Amri is under urgent suspicion, according to CNN. If you see this person that we are seeking, inform the police. Anis Amri is being sought in Monday's truck attack, which left 12 people dead and 48 injured at Breitsheidplatz, a wanted notice issued Wednesday by the German federal prosecutor's office said. Please do not put yourself in danger because this person could be violent and armed! the notice said. Police at one point noticed the suspect because he was looking for a gun. Latest developments Read More Amri is 1.78 meters 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs about 75 kilograms 165 pounds . The suspect was arrested in August with forged documents en route to Italy, but a judge released him, an official says. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

eu approaches: But worries are growing over prospects for 2017 as signs emerge that the Brexit vote's blow to the pound is stoking inflation and hitting people's spending power, according to The Guardian. As the starting date for negotiations over leaving the EU approaches, the pound has come under fresh pressure in recent weeks and been prone to further downward lurches with every political mention of Brexit most recently from Scotland's first minister Nicola Sturgeon raising the prospect of a new independence vote for Scotland. Buoyant consumer spending, a low unemployment rate, rising house prices and continued growth for the country's dominant services sector point to a strong finish to the year, defying earlier forecasts from the Bank of England and others that the economy would grind to a standstill. How has the Brexit vote affected the UK economy December verdict Read more To track the impact of the Brexit vote on a monthly basis, the Guardian has chosen eight economic indicators, along with the value of the pound and the performance of the FTSE. The dashboard for December shows a better than expected performance in four of the eight categories. Six months on from the vote to leave the EU, the latest batch of figures show wage growth remains solid, headline unemployment remains low, business activity continues to expand and house prices are still rising. Two were as expected, one was worse and inflation was higher than economists had forecast, fanning fears that household budgets will be squeezed by higher prices next year. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

golsworthy: Wei Long Grape Wine Co has proposed a facility with an annual crush of 84,000 tonnes outside of Mildura and the project was in the planning approval stages, according to Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Planning consultant James Golsworthy who is heading up the applications for Wei Long said he was concerned an objection to the plans could mean a delay in construction and operation. ABC Rural Emma Brown Map Red Cliffs 3496 China's third-largest winemaker has proposed an 80 million winery in Victoria's north-west. The objection was concerned about the impact increased traffic would have on local roads and how the development would affect water and power supply to other properties. This is a matter for VCAT the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal should Zilzie choose to take the matter to VCAT, he said. Mr Golsworthy said fellow Sunraysia winery Zilzie Wines had lodged the objection and he was concerned if it escalated it would significantly delay the project. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

management structure: The management of a handful of listed firms with a relatively scattered shareholding structure seems to have been caught unprepared - notably China Vanke, the country's No.1 homebuilder, and CSG Holding, the top Chinese architecture glass by insurers is justified to a certain degree in the current financial market, according to Global Times China. In financial regulatory terms, new investing rules announced by the insurance regulator since 2012 have helped in creating external policy conditions for stakebuilding. The accumulation of shares appears to have created ripples in the capital market, as well as sent shockwaves into the corporate management structure of listed firms. Listed firms with a dispersed ownership structure also make it possible for investors to accumulate shares at much more affordable prices. More importantly, stakebuilding allows insurers to reduce negative impacts on their earnings from stock market fluctuations, while scaling up their assets. Furthermore, a shortage of high-quality assets has forced insurers, either being asset-driven or liability-driven, to find high-yield financial assets as the rate of risk-free returns continues on a downward spiral. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

motor vehicles: Meanwhile, it continues to defy regulations like its recent avoidance of a California permit for autonomous driving, which requires disclosure of facts important for public safety, according to Market Watch. Uber did not respond Tuesday to a request for comment about its financials, which were reportedly provided to some private investors, nor its recent spat with the state of California's Department of Motor Vehicles. While most companies that have had as much obvious investor interest and need for capital as Uber would have gone public by this point, Uber remains private and discloses its financial results to only a small, chosen number of people. Earlier this week the Information and The Wall Street Journal reported that privately held Uber lost at least 800 million in the third quarter, excluding taxes and its recently sold China business, putting it on track for a possible operating loss of about 2.8 billion in 2016. Despite pressure from the city of San Francisco's normally tech-friendly Mayor Ed Lee, Uber continues to defy requests that it obtain a permit for conducting self-driving pilots in the city, saying the regulations apply to autonomous vehicles and that its cars are not capable of driving without active physical control or monitoring by a human operator. On the positive side, Uber's sales jumped to 1.7 billion, from 1.2 billion in the second quarter. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

recovery trend: However, the report maintained its earlier assessment on capital spending, saying the improvement in business investment appears to be pausing . With the world's third largest economy to combat persistent deflation, weak consumer and corporate spending has been a difficult problem for the Abe administration, according to Global Times China. On Tuesday, the Bank of Japan, the country's central bank, upgraded its economic assessment saying a moderate recovery trend has continued while exports have picked up. The cabinet office on Wednesday released the monthly economic report for December, saying The Japanese economy is on a moderate recovery . The report said delayed improvement in part can be seen instead of weakness can be seen recently which had been used for nine straight months through November. However, the bank noted that in spite of an upbeat overall assessment based on a flurry of better-than-expected economic data recently, its reflationary efforts still remained pressured. The report also reminded of uncertainties of overseas economy as it is currently difficult to tell details of economic policies of the US President-elect Donald Trump . (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

securities firm: Recently, the central government vowed to keep the US dollar-yuan exchange rate at a reasonable level, so it has grown stricter about controlling capital outflows, according to Global Times China. At the same time, it is seeking to lowering expectations for further yuan depreciation. Much of the investment has been legitimate, but some has violated laws governing overseas investment. Photo CFP A Beijing resident surnamed Xie has bought about 100,000 worth of US currency since the middle of 2016. I judged that the yuan would depreciate further, so I decided to exchange some yuan for US dollars, said Xie, who works at a securities firm and didn't want to disclose his full name. When he started buying the greenback, each US dollar cost him about 6.58 yuan. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

tunuslu: Federal Savc l k, 24 ya ndaki Tunuslu Anis Amri'nin yakalanmas na yard mc olacak bilgiyi verene 100 bin euro d l verilece ini duyurdu, according to Deutsche Welle. Savc l ktan yap lan a klamada dikkatli olunmas uyar s nda bulunuldu ve u ifadelere yer verildi Kendinizi tehlikeye atmay n, zanl silahl olabilir ve iddete ba vurabilir . Zanl birden fazla kimlik ta yor Kuzey Ren Vestfalya eyaleti i leri Bakan Ralf J ger, ar amba g n D sseldorf'ta yapt a klamada Tunuslu phelinin Berlin sald r s n n faili olup olmad n n hen z kesinle medi ini ancak yakalan p sorgulanmas gerekti ini kaydetti. G venlik birimleri sald r ile ba lant s oldu u phesi ile Tunuslu Anis Amri'nin pe inde. J ger, radikal slamc evrelere yak nl tespit edilen zanl n n, ge en y l yetkili kurumlar taraf ndan kamu g venli i a s ndan tehlike arz edenler aras nda s n fland r ld n bildirdi. Bakan, s z konusu Tunuslunun ge erli kimlik belgeleri olmad i in s n r d edilemedi ini belirtti. J ger, s z konusu Tunuslunun 2015 y l n n Temmuz ay nda Almanya'ya giri yapt n iltica ba vurusunun Federal G ve M lteciler Dairesi taraf ndan 2016 y l n n Haziran ay nda reddedildi ini bildirdi. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

managers: The movement encompasses investors such as superannuation funds, banks, fund managers, foundations and governments, all seeking financial returns while using capital to solve pressing social and/or environmental issues, according to The Guardian. This could be in areas such as affordable housing, healthcare and renewable energy. Around the world, the impact investing movement is coming of age, and it is getting increased attention in Australia. And it's also capturing the imaginations and hearts of those looking for ways to align their assets with their values. In Sydney last month, I spoke at the Impact Investment Summit Asia Pacific and spent the week hearing from those building the market in the region. But there's more to be done. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

san: Fireworks detonated in a peal of clattering bursts reminiscent of a war zone, according to Nine News Australia. It was the third time in just over a decade that explosions have hit the popular San Pablito market in Tultepec, about 32km north of Mexico City. Television images showed a flurry of multicoloured pyrotechnics exploding into the early afternoon sky as a giant plume of smoke rose above the market. The detonations struck in the run-up to the busy Christmas holiday, when many Mexicans stock up on fireworks. Some children suffered burns to more than 90 per cent of their bodies and were being sent to the US city of Galveston in Texas for treatment, said Eruviel Avila, the governor of the State of Mexico in which Tultepec is located. People were crying everywhere and desperately running in all directions, said 20-year-old witness Cesar Carmona. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

pogatchnik: Shawn Pogatchnik / AP By Shawn Pogatchnik Associated Press Wed., Dec. 21, 2016 NEWRY, IRELAND The threat of Brexit is delivering a Christmas bonanza to Northern Ireland, where the thousands visiting daily from the euro-using Republic of Ireland are finding bargains driven by the battered pound, according to The Toronto Star. In the malls of Newry, a Northern Ireland town barely 5 miles 8 kilometres from the United Kingdom's only land border with a European Union partner, the surge in cross-border holiday shopping underscores how far the British currency has fallen amid anxiety over the country's promised EU exit. Traffic on the approach roads to Newry is running bumper to bumper as Christmas approaches, and the heavy presence of southern Irish shoppers is obvious as people are finding bargains driven by the battered pound. While the euro is unusually weak against the resurgent dollar, the pound is far weaker, boosting price differentials on most goods. The pound since has endured a precipitous fall and today is worth less than 1.20 euros, about 15 per cent less than a year ago. That's been the case since June, when a majority of British voters including 44 per cent of those in Northern Ireland shocked pollsters by voting to leave the world's largest economic union. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

production prices: It comes as prices have steadily climbed throughout the year, the second consecutive season where global consumption would exceed production, according to Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Prices have also been supported by reports of global cotton stocks decreasing, as China which holds an estimated half of the worlds cotton stocks in reserve works through its stockpiles. ABC Rural Clint Jasper Related Story Cotton forecast double last year and growing as rain falls Map Rockhampton 4700 Attractive cotton prices, cheap water and strong overseas demand has seen Australian cotton growers double their plantings this season. In the year to date, Chinese cotton imports were down 42 per cent compared with the previous year, leaving Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Vietnam to pick up the excess demand. Between March and August next year, China will be looking to start reserve auctions again, but they've probably already sold the highest quality cotton first, Ms Donlan said. Chinese officials recently announced a cutback in imports, in an effort to further reduce stockpiles, but Commonwealth Bank of Australia CBA agri-commodity analyst Madeleine Donlan is tipping that might not last long. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.