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

fashion: Britain's continuing descent into a deep pit was all over his morning's business and economic news, according to The Independent. Take the Markit/CIPS survey of manufacturing as your starter for ten. No such luck. It was up at 55.1, against 52.1 the previous month, with anything above 50 constituting an expansion. Trouble is, it was driven by manufacturers racing to complete orders and stockpiling like it's going out of fashion. That ought to be good news. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

daniel ivascyn: An inversion of the 10-year/3-month measure of the curve has been highlighted by researchers at the San Francisco Fed as a highly reliable recession warning signal, typically preceding a downturn by more than a year, according to Market Watch. However, Ivascyn says investors have become overly anxious about recessionary signals despite evidence that the domestic economy remains solid. In an interview with Market Watch, Daniel Ivascyn, group chief investment officer of Pacific Investment Management Company, or Pimco, said too many market participants were watching for an economic downturn by monitoring the twists and turns of the yield curve, which saw the rate on 10-year Treasurys fall below the 3-month Treasury bill yield on March 22, marking the first such inversion since 2007. He said decelerating U.S. growth and lower terminal interest rates did point to falling yields, but he felt the recent rally was overstretched. He said a combination of technical factors including increased demand for longer-dated Treasurys because of a sharp uptick in mortgage refinancing applications may have amplified a recent bond-market rally, helping an inversion form even as the tight labor market and global growth outlook has yet to point to an imminent end to the U.S.'s second-longest expansion since World War II. Read The yield curve inverted here are 5 things investors need to know The catalyst for the yield-curve inversion were lost on market participants, with the S&P 500 index SPX, 0.00% falling nearly 2%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.30% gave up 1.8% on March 22. Besides growth concerns, the investment manager instead sees other factors that have contributed to the phenomenon of long-term yields falling below their short-term counterparts. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

gig-economy giants: Photo Drew Angerer/Getty Images Gig-economy companies Lyft, Uber, and Postmates are racing to file IPOs this year, a mad dash replete with ever-increasing multibillion-dollar valuations, according to The Independent. But is the rush to start trading on the public markets also a sprint to evade compliance with current labor law Recent financial and lobbyist filings suggest that the gig-economy giants are hoping to get ahead of a wave of enforcement actions, new legislation, regulatory requirements, and lawsuits that could force these companies to finally and formally classify full-time workers as employees. Photo Drew Angerer/Getty Images Members and supporters of the Independent Drivers Guild protest against Lyft's minimum wage for drivers at a hearing outside of the New York state Supreme Court on March 18, 2019. Virtually every major gig-economy company whether its focus is ride-sharing or grocery delivery has fought to treat on-demand workers as independent contractors regardless of the amount of time they work. Despite promises of high pay with flexible hours, ride-share workers have found that they often earn less than 10 an hour after vehicle expenses. The independent contractor classification generally prevents on-demand workers from engaging in collective bargaining and unionization, and it allows the gig-economy industry to avoid paying health-care benefits and unemployment, complying with standard workplace rules guarding against harassment, or ensuring mandatory breaks. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

nora neuteboom: While the local elections have no effect on the leadership at a national level, the People Alliance losing the control over the big cities constitutes a clear warning signal that people are not satisfied with the current economic policy of the regime, wrote Nora Neuteboom, emerging-markets economist, and Georgette Boele, senior currency strategist at ABN AMRO. Last month, Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak announced that Turkey will embark on a round of reforms after the elections, and presented a roadmap for the coming years, according to Market Watch. Given the results of the election, however, we think momentum behind structural reforms is likely to fall somewhat, they said. Erdogan's People's Alliance, comprising the AKP Justice and Development Party and MHP, Nationalist Movement Party lost control of Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir Turkey's three largest cities in terms of population and economic clout. Turkey is highly dependent on foreign investors to fund its burgeoning current-account deficit, most of which is dollar-denominated, which can leave it at the mercy of market gyrations. Caption outside of wrapper for normal article images A failure to bring about structural reforms likely won't appease investors and is likely to stoke further consternation about the integrity of financial markets. The current-account deficit, is a measure of a nation's debt to other countries. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

travel time: The project in question is the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway that Indonesia signed up for in 2015 as part of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative BRI . Despite controversies, the project, part of President Joko Widodo's ambition to upgrade Indonesia's lagging infrastructure, will cut travel time between the two cities in western Java from more than four hours to about 40 minutes, if completed, according to Global Times China. Rabble-rousing rhetoric that fuels suspicion about the prospect of the project is irresponsible and is aimed at driving a wedge in China-Indonesia relations. Bloomberg said, Indonesia may be the next Asian country to spurn China in elections, citing concerns over transparency of a China-invested infrastructure project as well as promises made by Indonesian presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto in January to review the project and also to get a fairer trade deal with Beijing. Subianto pledged to review the BRI project. China's growing economic clout has increasingly become a key election topic in Asia and around the world. But it's too early to say whether he could be elected or whether he would really dump it if elected. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

investor consortia: An Indigenous-owned Trans Mountain would establish real Indigenous decision-making and benefit-sharing in ancestral lands, according to The Toronto Star. DARRYL DYCK / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILE PHOTO A rumoured half-dozen Indigenous investor consortia are angling for the prize. Ottawa is committed to privatizing the Trans Mountain, and it is predisposed to an Indigenous buyer as part of its economic reconciliation agenda with the First Nations. The Prairies-based Project Reconciliation is on the inside track after providing some detail last week on its 6.8-billion proposal for a 51-per-cent stake in the 9-billion megaproject. There can only be one winner, but the other Indigenous bidding groups will be girded to take on other large-scale investments. That sum is Ottawa's cost in buying the 66-year-old pipeline and the estimated expense of tripling its capacity. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

carbon tax: Labor's climate policy, released on Monday, extends the coalition's safeguard mechanism to set up a cap and trade system for industrial polluters, according to Nine News Australia. There will be no carbon tax, carbon pricing mechanism, or government revenue, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said. To improve your experience update it here News National Industry key to Labor's climate plan By AAP12 08pm Apr 1, biggest polluters will have to cut their emissions but could find themselves making money doing so under a Labor government. The 250 biggest polluters must either cut their emissions or buy credits to offset any above a baseline level, and they would again be allowed to buy from international markets. What we need is cuts in pollution. The government has attacked this aspect, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison saying it would force Australian business to spend money on carbon credits for Kazakhstan . Opposition climate change spokesman Mark Butler disagreed, saying Australian companies were allowed to trade in every other kind of international market. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

guy taffo: Leonie Tchatat and Guy Taffo run the non-profit La Passerelle I.D.E. In promotional material, the agency says it specializes in building bridges between forward thinking companies and talented Francophone newcomers, according to The Toronto Star. La Passerelle I.D.E. Low-income kids Well, Leonie and Guy have used the tickets, and their family, and many of us in the office, said one insider at the non-profit the couple runs, called La Passerelle I.D.E. Toronto Raptors and Blue Jay games, Justin Timberlake and Taylor Swift concerts are among the tickets that have been misused. The couple, Leonie Tchatat and Guy Taffo, run a government-funded agency that receives thousands of dollars worth of tickets from a Toronto charity on the condition they will be used to give low-income youth under the age of 18 a special night out. The charity that donated the tickets, Kids Up Front, is investigating and said no tickets have gone to La Passerelle since the Star began making inquiries in February. Seven insiders at La Passerelle all staff, former staff or people who worked on projects for the non-profit say the donated tickets were often in rows close to the action or in a corporate box. You just go and ask, are there any good tickets today said another insider at La Passerelle, who described to the Star a free-for-all atmosphere over the last two years at the non-profit's office at Yonge and Carlton Sts. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

march: Government supporters march during an anti-imperialist rally in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, March 30, 2019, according to The Toronto Star. Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido took his campaign for change to one of the country's most populous states on Saturday, while supporters of the man he is trying to oust, President Nicolas Maduro, held a rival demonstration in the capital after another nationwide blackout. The rationing plan will help deal with the outages that have also cut off water supply and communications for days at a time, Maduro said in a speech on national television in which he also warned against any unrest in reaction to the blackouts. Ariana Cubillos / AP Photo A government supporter donning a Maduro-styled mustache poses for a photo during an anti-imperialist rally in Caracas, Venezuela, Saturday, March 30, 2019. Ariana Cubillos / AP Photo A supporter of Venezuela's self-proclaimed interim president Juan Guaido, with a message on his torso that reads in Spanish Venezuela with Guaido, attends an opposition rally a rally in Carrizal, Miranda State, Venezuela, Saturday, March 30, 2019. Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido took his campaign for change to one of the country's most populous states on Saturday, while supporters of the man he is trying to oust, President Nicolas Maduro, held a rival demonstration in the capital after another nationwide blackout. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

news emails: Simon Dawson / Bloomberg via 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.SUBSCRIBEApril 1, 2019, 1 51 PM GMTBy Reuters Saudi Aramco, the world's biggest oil producer, made core earnings of 224 billion last year, almost three times as much as Apple, figures from the state-owned company showed on Monday ahead of its debut international bond issue. An employee walks past crude oil storage tanks at the Juaymah Tank Farm in Saudi Aramco's Ras Tanura oil refinery and oil terminal in Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia, on Monday, Oct. 1, 2018. Previously reluctant to disclose its financials, Aramco had to reveal them in order to obtain a public rating and start issuing public international bonds. Saudi energy minister Khalid al-Falih said earlier this year the planned bond sale would raise around 10 billion, but banking sources said the transaction could be larger. Despite the huge profit, the state-owned oil giant was rated by credit agencies at par with Saudi Arabia, meaning the kingdom's sluggish economy will weigh on Aramco's cost of borrowing as it prepares its bond market debut. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

cent stake: Two new financial investors may be roped in as minority shareholders to bolster the rights issue, according to The Independent. Post this exercise, the lenders will hold about 30 per cent stake in Jet Airways. Under this plan, the lenders are hoping to raise 5,135 crore through a rights issue at 150 per share. The two new investors will hold 19.9 per cent and 24.6 per cent, respectively, according to a source close to the development. An independent trust managed by lender-appointed trustees will hold 14.9 per cent, and the balance 10.7 per cent will be with the public. Both Naresh Goyal and Etihad will completely exit the company. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

research fellow: Trump administration officials have given tacit approval to Taipei's request to buy more than 60 Lockheed Martin Corp, according to The Japan Times. F-16s, according to people familiar with the matter, setting the stage for the first such deal since 1992. Their arrival would deal more of a political shock than a military blow to Beijing. While a few dozen fighter jets would hardly tip the military balance against the increasing powerful Chinese military, it would signal a new American willingness to back the democratically run island. ; For Beijing, it would be a huge shock, said Wu Shang-su, a research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. It would be, Oh, the U.S. doesn't care how we feel.' It would be more of a symbolic or emotional issue. But it would be more of a political shock than a military shock. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

seats: Thaksin hasn't set foot in the country since 2008 after being accused of corruption in a case he has called politically motivated. ; Provisional results show the Thaksin-linked Pheu Thai party emerged with the most seats after the general election on March 24, which followed almost five years of military rule, according to The Japan Times. He or his allies have won the most seats in every election held since 2001, only to be unseated from government by coups or the courts. The monarch revoked royal decorations given to Thaksin because he fled Thailand after being sentenced to prison, which is an extremely inappropriate behavior, according to a statement posted on the Royal Gazette's website. Pheu Thai says it has built an alliance of anti-junta parties that would have a majority in the lower house of parliament. It's a significant signal that one side is viewed as more favorable than the other, said Punchada Sirivunnabood, an associate professor at Mahidol University who often writes about politics. That claim is disputed by a pro-military party, Palang Pracharath, which says it will seek to form a coalition government after winning the most votes of any single party. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

sessions: Timing is on par with most legislative sessions, according to The Independent. With 12 weeks in the books the legislature is two-thirds of the way through the scheduled 18 week session. The House passed the budget, revenue bill and capital bill. What is somewhat more unusual - at least compared to recent sessions - is how little controversy there has been. That has resulted in fewer partisan disagreements in the legislature thus far. It has been widely reported that both the governor and legislative leaders are seeking more consensus and a friendlier approach in their negotiations this year. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

wasn t: Yet it wasn't an easy time to be an ambitious young woman in Japan, according to The Japan Times. Despite the skyrocketing economy and implementation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act three years before, big Japanese firms often didn't consider recruiting female college graduates. It was a notable year Emperor Akihito ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne, the Nikkei average reached its giddy peak and the Sony Walkman was still a hot-selling gadget. Those who made it through the door were expected to drop out soon to get married. ; Thirty years later, as Emperor Akihito prepares to end the current Imperial era by ceding the throne to his son, Crown Prince Naruhito, Japan's asset bubble is a distant memory. The percentage of women in the workforce has risen, yet mainly as a result of a labor shortage caused by the rapidly graying population. High-tech manufacturing has largely gone elsewhere. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

consultant: The aide told CNN Sunday morning that Pratt was still a consultant but winding things down and transitioning out since we made the decision not to have Warren do high dollar events, according to CNN. News of the departure came at the close of the first quarter fundraising deadline. Elizabeth Warren's finance director, is in the process of leaving Warren's presidential campaign as a result of the senator's recent decision to swear off soliciting money from wealthy donors during the primaries, according to a Warren campaign aide. In the coming days, a more complete picture of the Warren campaign's fundraising efforts is expected to come into focus. The New York Times reported Sunday that Pratt resigned after a Valentine's Day meeting in Washington that eventually grew heated, in which Pratt noted that campaigns often collapse when they run out of money and pleaded with her not to cut off a significant cash stream. Her team has so far not released any early fundraising numbers, raising speculation that she is lagging behind her competitors. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

debate stage: But the lesser-known candidates in the crowded Democratic field face an added challenge meeting the new criteria the Democratic National Committee has established for the first two debates, according to CNN. To get on the debate stage this summer, candidates must either earn at least 1% support in several polls or receive campaign contributions from 65,000 individuals. There's pressure on top-tier contenders to post big numbers. The looming deadline has triggered a frenzied dash for money. Unless we hit our fundraising goals, Elizabeth's voice is at risk of being drowned out, warned one email from the presidential campaign of Massachusetts Sen. Candidates are hitting the fundraising circuit this weekend and sending out dire pleas for donations. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

armando v: He later died at a hospital, according to The Japan Times. The death, which wasn't reported to a federal agency until this month, is the 16th in the U.S. caused by the air bags, which can explode with too much force and hurl shrapnel into drivers and passengers. Armando V. Ortega, 55, of Yuma, died June 11, 2018, three days after his 2002 Honda Civic was involved in a crash near Phoenix, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety. ; Honda said in a statement that the Civic driver was hit by shrapnel and injured. Seven people were killed in Malaysia and one in Australia. About 100 million inflators are to be recalled worldwide. More than 200 people also have been hurt by the inflators, which have caused the largest series of automotive recalls in U.S. history involving as many as 70 million inflators to be recalled by the end of next year. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

capacity china: As a result of slashed capacity in the past years, the steel market has recovered and rendered high profits for producers, prompting some companies to attempt to expand their capacity, according to Lyu, according to Global Times China. China's steel industry reported profits of 470.4 billion yuan around 70 billion US dollars in 2018, surging 39.3 percent year on year, while crude steel output grew 6.6 percent to 928.26 million tons, a record high, official data showed. The move will be part of the country's efforts to maintain high pressure on overcapacity in the sector, said Lyu Guixin, an inspector with the raw material department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology . Methods such as satellite remote sensing and electricity use monitoring will be used to check unwanted steel production, he said at an industry forum. Lyu said whether the government ban on new capacity can be strictly enforced is key to consolidating the achievements of the supply-side structural reform in the steel sector. By the end of 2017, steel overcapacity had already been slashed by over 115 million tonnes. The country fulfilled its goal of reducing the steel industry's capacity by 100 million-150 million tonnes from 2016 to 2020 ahead of schedule. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

cash bonus: Well, some of them, according to The Independent. Drivers who are in good standing with the company and have performed more than 10,000 rides have been given a 1,000 cash bonus with which they can choose to purchase Lyft stock at the IPO price of 72. It has offered its contractor workforce free bank accounts, discounted repair services and near-immediate access to earnings perks intended to keep drivers happy without providing all of the protections or benefits of traditional when the ride-hailing firm began trading on public markets Friday, Lyft sought to put out the message that it isn't just its engineers and executives who will be richly rewarded it's the drivers, too. Trading began at 87.24. Lyft would not say how many of its 1.1 million drivers are eligible to purchase stock at the IPO price. Drivers who performed more than 20,000 rides received a 10,000 bonus. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

chance britain: The implications of the House's decision are grave, according to The Japan Times. Within minutes of the vote which took place as thousands of Brexit supporters protested outside Parliament European Council President Donald Tusk said EU leaders would meet on April 10 to discuss Britain's departure from the bloc. The decision to reject a stripped-down version of May's divorce deal has left it totally unclear how, when or even whether Britain will leave the EU, and plunges the three-year Brexit crisis to a deeper level of uncertainty. ; I fear we are reaching the limits of this process in this House, May told Parliament after the defeat. A succession of European leaders said there was a very real chance Britain would now leave without a deal, a scenario that businesses fear would cause chaos for the world's fifth-biggest economy. But in a special sitting of Parliament, they voted 344-286 against the EU Withdrawal Agreement, agreed after two years of tortuous negotiations with the bloc. White House national security adviser John Bolton said that President Donald Trump sympathized with May, and restated that the United States was keen to sign a trade deal with Britain once it was no longer in the EU. May had framed the vote as the last opportunity to ensure Britain actually left the EU, making a passionate plea to lawmakers to put aside party differences and strongly-held beliefs. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

climate change: To combat climate change, New Zealand has already banned new offshore oil and gas exploration, according to Global Times China. It has pledged transition to 100 percent renewable energy by 2035, she added. New Zealand has identified climate change as one of the defining issues of this generation, Stephanie Lee, climate change ambassador at foreign affairs ministry of New Zealand, said at the United Nations High-level Meeting on Climate and Sustainable Development for All. We will plant 1 billion trees over the next decade, she said, adding the island country in the South Pacific Ocean is cooperating with others to create conditions that enable all countries to prosper. As for African countries, climate change is also a matter of great concern. Noting that at the current emission pace the world will surpass the Paris Agreement goal of 1.5 degrees Celsius around the year 2040, Eva Svedling, state secretary to minister for environment and climate of Sweden, said that we must act based on what science tells us and make more efficient use of energy, increase the use of renewable sources and phase out the use of fossil fuels. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

display: Initially, the company aimed to strike a deal within fiscal 2018, according to The Japan Times. The China-Taiwan consortium is expected to secure some 30 percent of the voting rights in Japan Display with investment totaling 60 billion, the sources said. Japan Display, a major maker of small and midsize liquid crystal displays that is now under business rehabilitation, is in negotiations with the consortium, comprising a Chinese fund and Taiwanese touch-screen manufacturer TPK Holding Co. ; According to the sources, Japan Display hopes to reach a basic agreement with the consortium as early as next week. With INCJ considering additional financial assistance, Japan Display is expected to procure a total of about 100 billion, the sources said. The raised funds will be used mainly for debt repayment and parts procurement for the latest version of Apple Inc.'s iPhone, a major revenue source for Japan Display. INCJ is the top shareholder of Japan Display with a stake of over 25 percent at present. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

home business: The death of the Clippers made official earlier this month creates a new headache for the independent Pacific Association of Professional Baseball Clubs, according to The Independent. The short-season summer league is a small group of Northern California semi-pro teams that expanded from four to six last year. After one season, the city's professional baseball team named after the legendary Joe DiMaggio has struck out on one heck of a curveball the FBI raided the home and business of the team's owners last year, later describing it in court records as a Ponzi scheme. Now that they're down to an odd number, league officials are searching for a traveling team to fill the gap. There is some strong interest from a handful of parties to help bring baseball back to Martinez in 2020, Fightmaster said. But pro baseball in Martinez might not be gone forever, said Pacific Association commissioner Theo Fightmaster. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

trade talks: Liu, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chief of the Chinese side of the China-U.S. comprehensive economic dialogue, was invited to visit the United States next week for the ninth round of high-level economic and trade talks in Washington D.C, according to Global Times China. The two sides discussed the related text of an agreement and achieved new progress. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

washington venezuela: But a vessel that arrived in the waters off Venezuela's Caribbean coast a day earlier offered a more telling sign of a deepening relationship that is so alarming to Washington, according to The Independent. Venezuela has the world's largest known oil reserves, with transport and sales of its thick, sludgy crude long dependent on chemical thinners purchased from the United States. Yuri Cortez/AFP/Getty Images By Mariana Zu iga Anthony Faiola and Anthony Faiola Correspondent covering Latin America, Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, human rights, poverty, globalization and economics Email Bio Follow Anton Troianovski Anton Troianovski Moscow bureau chief covering Russia Email Bio Follow March 29CARACAS, Venezuela After two Russian military planes landed near Caracas this month, the Trump administration issued stark warnings over President Nicol s Maduro's ties to the Kremlin. After Washington barred U.S. companies from selling them to Venezuela in January and warned foreign companies to follow suit Maduro faced a dire predicament How would he stave off the industry's total collapse Like manna from Moscow, an answer arrived in the form of a red-and-black tanker, the Serengeti, that loaded a cargo of thinners off the coast of Malta before arriving in Venezuela on March 22. We keep fighting' Stories of resilience from across Venezuela View GraphicSAN ANTONIO, VENEZUELA - FEBRUARY 19 A girl MOTHER DID NOT WANT HER IDENTIFIED follows her mother towards the border with Colombia in the border town of San Antonio, Venezuela on February 19, 2019. The company that chartered the vessel Russia's state-run oil giant Rosneft. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.