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

chinese economy: The Chinese economy is operating steadily in general, but there are changes and worrisome developments, with a complicated and severe external environment and increased uncertainties, said the statement, according to Global Times China. The meeting vowed to encourage the consumption of automobiles and electrical home appliances according to local situations, providing greater policy support where conditions permit, to meet people's demand for green, smart automobiles and home appliances. Optimizing market supply and increasing consumption are playing a greater role in effectively coping with downward pressure on the economy and maintaining stable growth, said a statement released after a teleconference held by the National Development and Reform Commission the Ministry of Commerce and the State Administration for Market Regulation. Rural consumption will see its quality improved and capacity expanded, with measures to support the sale of high-quality industrial products in the countryside, according to the statement. The environment for consumption will be improved, with better infrastructure and stronger protection of consumer rights, and innovations in the retail sector will be encouraged. The supply of high-quality products and services will be increased, and residents' spending power will be strengthened with measures such as special individual income tax deductions. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

gr ie: Others though, may have a lasting beneficial effect on your wallet, according to The Independent. Here's what's happened and why you need to know about it. Some seem to be suspicious in their timing, as if it were a good week to release bad news. Older couples to lose 7,000 a year The government has been accused of sneaking out benefits changes for older couples that could cost them thousands of pounds a year. Until now, pension credit could be paid to couples when one is retired and the other is still under the state pension age. ISOCountry Groups euro at be cy ee fi fr de gr ie it lv lt lu mc mt nl pt sk si sm es va uk gb us us variants 1 33.4, 2 33.3, 3 33.3 Join Independent Minds For exclusive articles, events and an advertising-free read for just 5.99 6.99 9.99 a month Start your free trial Get the best of The Independent With an Independent Minds subscription for just 5.99 6.99 9.99 a month Start your free trial Get the best of The Independent Without the ads for just 5.99 6.99 9.99 a month Start your free trial Watch more Government 'sneaks out' 7,000 pension cut for poorest elderly couples Announced by the Department for Work and Pensions barely 24 hours before this week's big Brexit vote on Tuesday, the way the poorest pensioners will receive state support known as pension credit will change. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

australia: The prime minister says Australia's emissions reduction targets will remain the same, but money will be spent to help Pacific nations tackle the effects of climate change, according to Nine News Australia. Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama urged Australia to move to clean power sources. To improve your experience update it here News National Morrison won't budge on climate plan By AAP9 27pm Jan 18, Morrison is sticking with Australia's climate change targets despite strong criticism from Fiji about the urgent need to move to cleaner energy. From where we are sitting, we cannot imagine how the interests of any single industry can be placed above the welfare of Pacific peoples and vulnerable people in the world over, he said in a speech last night. AAP Mr Morrison said Australia has sensible, achievable commitments that will ensure the economy continues to prosper. Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama has warned Scott Morrison that he needs to change his stance on climate change. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

minds subscription: But new figure still represents a profit per passenger of 7, which is way ahead of most of its rivals, according to The Independent. Winter fares were originally expected to fall by 2 per cent, but the airline says they are down 7 per cent. The predicted range for profits after tax is now 1- 1.1bn, down 9 per cent from the anticipated level. ISOCountry Groups euro at be cy ee fi fr de gr ie it lv lt lu mc mt nl pt sk si sm es va uk gb us us variants 1 33.4, 2 33.3, 3 33.3 Join Independent Minds For exclusive articles, events and an advertising-free read for just 5.99 6.99 9.99 a month Start your free trial Get the best of The Independent With an Independent Minds subscription for just 5.99 6.99 9.99 a month Start your free trial Get the best of The Independent Without the ads for just 5.99 6.99 9.99 a month Start your free trial Ryanair operates a price passive/load factor active strategy, which means it will cut fares to whatever level is necessary to fill its planes currently at a load factor of around 95 per cent. Read more Polish Ryanair passenger flying home ends up 1,000 miles away in Malta But its earnings from ancillaries are increasing partly because of a drastic reduction in the amount of free cabin baggage passengers may take. It has been selling seats from the UK for as little as 9.99, which means it takes an instant loss as it is required to pay 13 in air passenger duty. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

near-zero returns: Now, a younger generation of women is looking at a wider asset range in which to park investments, according to The Japan Times. Like their elders, kiny joshi finance girls who are largely in their 20s and 30s, face a challenging investment landscape with bank deposits offering minimal, near-zero returns. ; Unlike their senior counterparts, however, younger female investors tend to be more frugal and averse to overexposure to any one single asset class. Watanabes, a reference to the metaphorical housewife who invests family savings mostly in foreign exchange. For this reason, many of them are tapping a broader asset universe using mobile-based services to keep costs low. All my savings were in cash, but I thought that's really scary, said Haruka Hirokawa, 32, who works at a call center for a domestic life insurer. While younger female investors account for a much smaller chunk of Japan's investment base than their seniors do, their increasing appetite for yield represents a significant mobilization of personal capital into global financial markets. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

news website: A spokesperson declined to comment on whether there would be further job losses in the UK office, amid speculation that the company's news operation is facing budget cuts to secure its long-term future, according to The Independent. The Buzz Feed editor-in-chief, Ben Smith, told staff in an email that the company remained committed to the UK following Gibson's departure. The news website is one of several online outlets targeted at millennials that rose to prominence in the early part of the decade but are now dealing with many of the same tough challenges that have plagued traditional media businesses. He said We'll miss her personally and as an organisation but I'm also confident that she leaves our British news operation with extraordinary momentum at this wild time. An announcement on who will lead the UK office will be made before Gibson departs in a month's time, although no decision has been made on whether this will be an internal or external appointment. Gibson, a former deputy editor of the Guardian, joined Buzz Feed UK in 2015. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

p spx: The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, 1.38% picked up 342 points, or around 1.4%, to end around 24,713, based on preliminary numbers, according to Market Watch. The Nasdaq Composite COMP, 1.03% rose 1% to around 7,157. The S&P 500 SPX, 1.32% rose 1.3% to end around 2,671. For the week, the Dow was up 3%, the S&P was up 2.9% and the Nasdaq was up 2.7%. Investors pinned hopes on progress in U.S.-China trade talks after a report from Bloomberg News said that Chinese officials would increase imports from the U.S. to close their bilateral trade deficit to zero by 2024. NFLX, -3.99% fell around 4% after revenue growth fell short of expectations. As for corporate news, shares of Netflix Inc. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

percent: Yu tightened his belt No more movies or eating out, according to The Japan Times. He put off buying a computer. ; I pay rent out of my savings, Yu said. As demand for auditing services sank, the 25-year-old accountant in the eastern city of Hangzhou was laid off in December. The downturn is squeezing urban workers and entrepreneurs the ruling Communist Party is counting on to help transform China from a low-wage factory into a prosperous consumer market. Growth in 2019 is forecast at more than 6 percent, down only slightly from about 6.5 percent last year. Headline economic numbers still look healthy. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

boy: Given she is the daughter of one the creators of the iconic festival, which began yesterday, you would expect nothing else, according to Nine News Australia. As a young boy in the 1940s and 50s, Cheryl's father Geoff Brown would sing on the street at the corner of his parent's house in Tamworth. To improve your experience update it here News National Why the Tamworth Music Festival is 'more exciting than Christmas'By Gemma Bath Producer10 54am Jan 19, Byrnes has lived and breathed the Tamworth Country Music Festival from watching Keith Urban perform as a fresh-faced nine-year-old to managing artists and ushering in the stars of tomorrow. Geoff Brown is one of the creators of the Tamworth Music Festival. Supplied He went on to become one of the creators of the festival in the 1970s. Supplied Country legend Joy McKean and Cheryl Byrnes. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

shot: Gold often shines in times of trouble, according to The Guardian. The last time there was a showdown between a US president and Congress over government spending, gold prices shot up to an all-time high, about 1,925 an ounce. And once again, gold is shining. That was when a Republican-controlled House of Representatives, led by John Boehner, sparred with Barack Obama over whether to lift the debt ceiling or risk the US Treasury defaulting on its payments. But even when the government reopens, analysts say the metal's fortunes may soon sparkle after a few dull years. Considering gold prices are hovering around 1,290 an ounce, it's highly unlikely they will return to those earlier heights quickly. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

group: Sign Up The Magazine Current Issue Past Issues Political Animal Politics2018 College Guide and Education Law and Justice Health Care Books Group Republic 3.0Special Reports Successes of Philanthropy Column 2 Policy Donate Subscribe Share Tweet Print Email 728, 90 ; The Trump-Cohen Battle Is Going to Be Epicby Nancy LeTourneau January 18, 2019 11 16 AMPolitical Animal The White House/You Tube Screen Capture Donate Subscribe Share Tweet Print Email The big story on Friday came from Buzzfeed News, according to MSNBC. President Donald Trump directed his longtime attorney Michael Cohen to lie to Congress about negotiations to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, according to two federal law enforcement officials involved in an investigation of the matter. Sign Up-register for our free Weekly Wrap-Up newsletter. Trump also supported a plan, set up by Cohen, to visit Russia during the presidential campaign, in order to personally meet President Vladimir Putin and jump-start the tower negotiations. And even as Trump told the public he had no business deals with Russia, the sources said Trump and his children Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr. received regular, detailed updates about the real estate development from Cohen, whom they put in charge of the project. Make it happen, the sources said Trump told Cohen. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

inflation: Economists expected inflation to be unchanged at 1.7 per cent, according to The Toronto Star. Core measures seen as a better gauge of price pressures remained at about 1.9 per cent.2018 saw inflation finish above the central bank's target for the first time in seven years averaging 2.3 per cent, compared with 1.6 per cent in 2017. The consumer price index gained 2 per cent in December from a year ago, up from November's 1.7 per cent pace, as air-transport prices surged 22 per cent surge. Nathan Denette / THE CANADIAN PRESS file photo Even with the unexpected pickup, the overall inflation picture remains benign, with few signs of the price pressures that could prompt the Bank of Canada to act with more immediacy. While there's nothing here to drive the bank off the sidelines anytime soon, the underlying firmness in prices keeps them very much in play later this year, Doug Porter, chief economist at Bank of Montreal, said in a note to investors. Most economists expect the central bank, after lifting borrowing costs five times since mid-2017, will stay on hold for the next few months before resuming hikes. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

instagram: The subpoenas will instruct the parties to preserve certain documents, including Twitter and Instagram messages and other potential evidence relating to the lawsuit, which the filing argues are highly subject to deletion . The parties have not been called upon to provide evidence in court, according to a report in Business Insider, according to The Guardian. Grimes, Banks and Musk have not commented on the news. Additional subpoenas will be served against the publications Business Insider, the New York Times and tech website Gizmodo. The Guardian has contacted representatives for each party. They claim that Musk made false and misleading statements when he tweeted, in August 2018, that he was considering taking the company private at 420 324 a share. Tesla's investors are suing the company and Musk in a class-action lawsuit. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

production lines: High-end automation has led the world's second largest mobile device maker to leverage synergies in research and development R&D that empower its production lines in South China's Guangdong Province, according to Global Times China. A Global Times reporter recently visited the company's smartphone factory in Songshanhu in Dongguan, a manufacturing hub known as the world's factory. Photo Courtesy of Huawei The Huawei mobile phone you own has been assembled in just 28.5 seconds. At the entrance of a plant spread over an area of 1.4 square kilometers, a number of disc-like plates sit on shelves, which hold raw materials such as Kirin chipset for producing smartphones. If a problem occurs to one component, we would know which upstream supplier provided it and trace it back with this identity an employee at the plant, who preferred not to be named, told the Global Times. Before being moved to production, these raw materials are scanned so that each of them gets an identity. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

stock rally: Although, the Treasury didn't confirm this...the market has bought this for now and if this turns out to be a junk, the selloff would be intense, Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at Think Markets UK, tells clients in a note, according to Market Watch. And of course, one tweet from you-know-who President Donald Trump could also spoil the mood ahead of the long weekend, that will see U.S. markets shut Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. At least that's the hope after a WSJ report on Thursday said the U.S. may ease China tariffs to facilitate a trade deal. On that note, it's worth checking out the Heisenberg Report, which says POTUS, after pushing the Fed to sing like a dove, is boxed in a corner when it comes to the stock rally he so badly wants. You'd think earnings releases were a sideshow these days, though some bad news from Tesla this morning is definitely garnering attention see Buzz . Our call of the day from analysts at Piper Jaffray looks at an important big name that reported late Thursday Netflix and they say the latest results reveal the huge feather in the cap of the video streamer and point to a prime reason to own its shares. If he wants the fledgling stock surge to be some semblance of sustainable, he needs to either end the shutdown, strike a trade deal or, preferably, both, said The Real Heisenberg. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

target-date fund: Thermostats learn our preferences and adjust heating or cooling based on time of day and whether anyone is home, according to Market Watch. Some cars can now even relieve us from the misery of parallel parking. Our smartphone cameras automatically detect faces and focus for perfect snapshots. When it comes to our investments, a similar set-it-and-forget-it mentality has been popular for decades now. Many people became familiar with this concept through the development of 529 college savings plans. It started with mutual funds, migrated to index funds, and now has evolved into the even simpler target-date fund. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

trump administration: The US government is showing its contempt for the rest of the world, Diaz-Canel said via Twitter, according to Global Times China. On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States is considering implementing a law suspended since its creation in 1996, which would allow US citizens to sue foreign companies or individuals over property seized from them by the Cuban government. We vehemently reject this new interventionist provocation which violates international law. The so-called Title III rule forms part of the Helms-Burton Act, which codified all US sanctions against Cuba into law 23 years ago. However, Trump administration on Wednesday suspended it for a period of just 45 days rather than the customary six months, saying it wanted to take a fresh look at allowing it to go into effect. It has been waived by every president ever since, Democrats and Republicans alike, including Donald Trump, due to opposition from the international community. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

wall street: On Thursday, the key market gauge fell 40.48 points. ; The Topix index of all first-section issues closed up 14.39 points, or 0.93 percent, at 1,557.59, after gaining 5.43 points the previous day, according to The Japan Times. Stocks spurted from the outset on purchases activated by the dollar's rise above 109, market sources said. The 225-issue Nikkei average jumped 263.80 points, or 1.29 percent, to end at 20,666.07, the best finish since Dec. 19. The Tokyo market also got a boost from Wall Street's extended advance Thursday, which was supported in part by a newspaper report that said U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had proposed scrapping some or all tariffs on Chinese imports, the sources said. The market attracted futures-linked repurchases heartened by higher stock prices abroad, Shimizu added. The Wall Street Journal report suggested that the United States and China are moving closer to each other in their trade negotiations, helping investors turn less risk-adverse, Mitsuo Shimizu, chief strategist at Aizawa Securities Co., said. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

trump: ByMike Murphy Editor President Donald Trump directed his personal attorney at the time, Michael Cohen, to lie to Congress about plans to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, according to a bombshell report by Buzzfeed News on Thursday night a claim that Democratic lawmakers said if true could prove Trump obstructed justice, according to MSNBC. If the President directed Cohen to lie to Congress, that is obstruction of justice. ETShare Report says Trump directed Cohen to lie to conceal his Russia involvement window.video Domain Reuters President Donald Trump speaks in the White House on Jan. 11. Period. David Cicilline, D-R.I., tweeted Thursday night. Full stop, Rep. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

news operation: A spokesperson declined to comment on whether there would be further job losses in the UK office, amid speculation that the company's news operation is facing budget cuts to secure its long-term future, according to The Guardian. The Buzz Feed editor-in-chief, Ben Smith, told staff in an email that the company remained committed to the UK following Gibson's departure. The news website is one of several online outlets targeted at millennials that rose to prominence in the early part of the decade but are now dealing with many of the same tough challenges that have plagued traditional media businesses. He said We'll miss her personally and as an organisation but I'm also confident that she leaves our British news operation with extraordinary momentum at this wild time. An announcement on who will lead the UK office will be made before Gibson departs in a month's time, although no decision has been made on whether this will be an internal or external appointment. Gibson, a former deputy editor of the Guardian, joined Buzz Feed UK in 2015. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

patrick marleau: Frederik Andersen was terrific, according to The Toronto Star. Nazem Kadri looked like himself. Beat a pretty good team in a fairly entertaining game. Patrick Marleau scored. Jake Gardiner's actual value to the Toronto Maple Leafs continues to be a hot topic among fans. More importantly if my Mailbag emails are the barometer William Nylander looked okay too. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

star: Both documents were reported by the Star Thursday before they were made public.TTC capital plan released Friday says about 24 billion of capital work needed over the next decade and a half in order keep the system in a state of good repair and meet expected ridership growth is currently unfunded, according to The Toronto Star. Cole Burston / Toronto Star File The capital plan says the agency will require 33.5 billion of capital investment over the next decade and a half in order keep the system in a state of good repair and meet expected ridership growth. The TTC capital plan was released Friday along with the agency's proposed 2019 operating budget, which recommended a 10-cent fare increase. A staggering 23.7 billion of those costs, which don't include the expense of building new transit lines, is currently unfunded, according to the TTC. Projects it says are required include increasing capacity on subway lines, replacing the bus fleet, building a new bus garage, buying up to 100 new streetcars, and replacing streetcar track and power systems. Article Continued Below This is the fate now faced by some other major transit systems in North America that allowed their assets to badly deteriorate. Without the investments outlined in this plan, service reliability and crowding will worsen, warns the report, which is signed by TTC CEO Rick Leary. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

weekday mornings: Justin Tallis / AFP - Getty Images file Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports, according to MSNBC. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.SUBSCRIBEJan. 18, 2019, 9 15 PM GMTBy Paul A. Eisenstein Investors punished Tesla on Friday after embattled CEO Elon Musk announced thousands of layoffs and admitted the company's electric cars are overpriced, sending the stock down 13 percent to 302 by the end of the trading day. Tesla electric cars are charged at a Tesla Supercharger station, in Westfields shopping center in west London on Dec. 19, 2017. While we have made great progress, our products are still too expensive for most people, Tesla's 47-year-old CEO said in a letter delivered to the automaker's workforce early on Friday. It's a remarkable comedown for the high-flying stock whose company has suffered both from production struggles and the erratic behavior of its CEO. In September, Musk was forced to step down as chairman by the SEC and pay a 20 million fine for misleading investors in a tweet that he'd secured funding for a buyout of the company. In it, he warned that the road ahead is very difficult, and critical steps must be taken to assure Tesla's continued viability. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

china: Charles Kayonga, Rwanda Ambassador to China Photo Courtesy of Embassy of Rwanda in China Illustration Luo Xuan/GT Editor's Note The trade between China and Rwanda has shown a strong uptrend throughout 2018, with the two countries' trade surging by more than 40 percent year-on-year in the first 11 months last year, according to Global Times China. One of the stimuli behind the trade boost is the online cooperation between the two countries, with Rwanda signing an Electronic World Trade Platform eWTP agreement with Alibaba and selling some of its coffee products on Tmall platform to Chinese customers. Gen. A Rwanda government delegation also visited the headquarters of Alibaba recently to learn about how China established its own digital mechanism from scratch. Gen. The Global Times reporter Xie Jun GT recently interviewed Lt. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

derivatives strategy: Read The government shutdown has become the longest on record History shows past shutdowns have had a negligible impact on stocks, according to Market Watch. So far, that's been the case with the partial shutdown that began on Dec. 21 and entered its 26th day on Wednesday with no end in sight with congressional Democrats and President Donald Trump at an impasse over his demand for funding for a 5.3 billion border wall. Two key risks that we highlighted in the past Fed's monetary policy and trade war have subsided, but new risks have emerged U.S. government shutdown and signs of additional slowdown outside the U.S., wrote Marko Kolanovic, global head of quantitative and derivatives strategy at JPMorgan, in a Wednesday note. The closure has far exceeded the prior record, a 21-day shutdown during the Clinton administration that began in December 1995. The rebound has been attributed in part to a softer tone from the Federal Reserve when it comes to future rate increases, efforts by China to stimulate its economy, and a relative lack of negative news surrounding the U.S.-China trade spat. Read Trump on conference call with supporters We'll be out on shutdown for a long time' Since Dec. 21, the S&P 500 SPX, 1.32% rallied 8% through Tuesday's close as stocks bounced back from a December selloff that took the index below 2,400 on Christmas Eve before giving way to a rebound that saw the large-cap index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, 1.38% exit correction territory. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

european union: Disturbingly, this step, which appears to have taken place late last year, occurred without congressional consultation or apparent notification to the European Union, the lawmakers wrote in a letter published this week, according to Deutsche Welle. Led by the new chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Representative Eliot Engel, the group slammed the unannounced demotion. In a strongly worded letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, 27 congressional Democrats denounced the diplomatic downgrade. Both the substance of this decision and the undiplomatic way in which it was carried out needlessly denigrate trans-Atlantic relations. We ought to support and strengthen our allies, not turn them into foes, the letter concludes. Excerpt of letter by Democratic lawmakers to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Strengthen allies' In the four-page letter, US lawmakers demand answers by January 30 to four specific questions about the downgrade, among them why the decision was made, why Congress was not informed, and how it was reviewed and approved within the Trump administration. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.