EU plan to cut gas use by 15 percent comes into effect

BRUSSELS - An EU plan to cut gas consumption across the bloc by 15 percent to cope with an energy price crisis spurred by Russia's war in Ukraine comes into effect on Tuesday.

The EU regulation enshrining the plan agreed two weeks ago by the 27-nation bloc was published Monday in the European Union's official administrative gazette, with the stipulation it would take force from Tuesday.

"Considering the imminent danger to the security of gas supply brought about by the Russian military aggression against Ukraine, this regulation should enter into force as a matter of urgency," it said.

The aim is for the EU to be able to bolster its reserves of gas in time for what is likely to be a very tough winter. European households and businesses are being squeezed by skyrocketing energy prices and reduced Russian gas that several member states are dependent on.

The regulation said that EU countries "shall use their best efforts" to cut gas consumption by "at least 15 percent" between August this year and March next year, based on how much they used on average over the previous five years.

Some EU countries, though, had carve-outs from strictly following the rule, which was in any case termed a "voluntary demand reduction".

These were countries not fully connected to the European electricity grid or with gas pipelines to other parts of the EU or unable to free up enough pipeline gas to help other member states.

Hungary, which relies on gas piped in directly from Russia, had demanded the exception. 

Germany, the EU's economic powerhouse, took a major share of the 40 percent of EU gas imports that came from Russia last year. 

Should the European Commission see a "severe gas supply shortage" or exceptionally high gas demand emerging, it can ask EU countries to declare an alert for the bloc. That would make gas cuts binding and limit exceptions.

While the EU has not included Russian gas in its sanctions on Moscow for the war in Ukraine, the Kremlin has drastically cut supplies anyway in what Brussels seems as an attempt to strongarm Europe.

Agence France-Presse

Facebook announces 10,000 EU jobs to build 'metaverse'

PARIS, France - Facebook on Monday announced plans to hire 10,000 people in the European Union to build the "metaverse", a virtual reality version of the internet that the tech giant sees as the future.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been a leading voice in Silicon Valley hype around the idea of the metaverse, which would blur the lines between the physical world and the digital one.

technology might, for example, allow someone to don virtual reality glasses that make it feel as if they're face-to-face with a friend -- when in fact they are thousands of miles apart and connected via the internet. 

"The metaverse has the potential to help unlock access to new creative, social, and economic opportunities. And Europeans will be shaping it right from the start," Facebook said in a blog post. 

"Today, we are announcing a plan to create 10,000 new high skilled jobs within the European Union (EU) over the next five years."

The European hires will include "highly specialised engineers", but the company otherwise gave few details of its plans for the new metaverse team. 

"The EU has a number of advantages that make it a great place for tech companies to invest -- a large consumer market, first class universities and, crucially, top quality talent," the blog post said. 

DISTRACTION FROM BAD NEWS?

The announcement comes as Facebook grapples with the fallout of a damaging scandal, major outages of its services, and rising calls for regulation to curb its vast influence. 

The company has faced a storm of criticism over the past month after former employee Frances Haugen leaked internal studies showing Facebook knew its sites could be harmful to young people's mental health.

The Washington Post last month suggested that Facebook's interest in the metaverse is "part of a broader push to rehabilitate the company's reputation with policymakers and reposition Facebook to shape the regulation of next-wave Internet technologies".

But Zuckerberg also appears to be a genuine evangelist for the advent of the metaverse era, predicting in July that Facebook will transition from "primarily being a social media company to being a metaverse company" over the next five years. 

Facebook bought Oculus, a company that makes virtual reality headsets, for $2 billion in 2014 and has since been developing Horizon, a digital world where people can interact using VR technology. 

In August it unveiled Horizon Workrooms, a feature where co-workers wearing VR headsets can hold meetings in a virtual room where they all appear as cartoonish 3D versions of themselves. 

BLURRING THE LINES

Metaverse enthusiasts point out that the internet is already starting to blur the lines between virtual experiences and "real" ones. 

Stars such as pop diva Ariana Grande and the rapper Travis Scott have performed for huge audiences, watching at home, via the hit video game Fortnite. 

In Decentraland, another online platform widely seen as a forerunner to the metaverse, you can already get a job as a croupier in its virtual casino. 

"No one company will own and operate the metaverse. Like the internet, its key feature will be its openness and interoperability," Facebook said in its blog post. 

It is not the only company pouring millions into developing the technology that could turn a fully-fledged version of the metaverse into reality. 

Epic Games, the company behind Fortnite, announced earlier this year that it had raised $1 billion in new funding, with some of that money set to support its vision of the metaverse.

Agence France-Presse

EU secures 160 million doses of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine

BRUSSELS - The European Union has struck a deal for up to 160 million doses of U.S. firm Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine candidate, the head of the European Commission said on Tuesday, taking the EU's potential stock of COVID-19 shots to nearly 2 billion.

Last week, Moderna said its experimental vaccine was 94.5% effective in preventing COVID-19, based on interim data from a late-stage clinical trial.

"I am happy to announce that tomorrow we will approve a new contract to secure another COVID-19 vaccine," Ursula von der Leyen said, adding the deal "allows us to buy up to 160 million doses of a vaccine produced by Moderna."

Actual purchases will be carried out by EU governments if the vaccine is approved by the EU's drug regulator.

The delivery timeline is unknown. The doses would be enough to vaccinate 80 million people as the vaccine is expected to be administered in two doses.

In August the EU's executive Commission, which co-leads talks with vaccine makers on behalf of member states, said it had held preliminary talks with Moderna over a deal for 80 million doses and an option for 80 million more.

The terms of the contract have not been disclosed.

An EU official involved in the talks told Reuters last week the EU was seeking a price below $25 per dose for Moderna's vaccine..

But Moderna Chief Executive Stephane Bancel said on Sunday the company would charge governments between $25 and $37 per dose, depending on the amount ordered.

A spokesman for the Commission declined to comment on pricing.

It is the sixth supply deal the EU has negotiated with COVID-19 vaccine makers and takes the total number of doses secured by the bloc to 1.96 billion for its population of around 450 million.

Brussels has already struck deals with AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech, Sanofi-GSK, Johnson & Johnson and CureVac.

It is also in talks to buy U.S. firm Novavax's potential COVID-19 vaccine. 

-reuters-

Dating apps leak personal data, Norwegian group says

LONDON — Dating apps including Grindr, OkCupid and Tinder leak personal information to advertising tech companies in possible violation of European data privacy laws, a Norwegian consumer group said in a report Tuesday.

The Norwegian Consumer Council said it found “serious privacy infringements” in its analysis of how shadowy online ad companies track and profile smartphone users.


The council, a government-funded nonprofit group, commissioned cybersecurity company Mnemonic to study 10 Android mobile apps. It found that the apps sent user data to at least 135 different third party services involved in advertising or behavioral profiling.

“The situation is completely out of control,” the council said, urging European regulators to enforce the continent’s strict General Data Privacy Regulation, or GDPR. It said the majority of the apps did not present users with legally-compliant consent mechanisms.

The council took action against some of the companies it examined, filing formal complaints with Norway’s data protection authority against Grindr, Twitter-owned mobile app advertising platform MoPub and four ad tech companies. Grindr sent data including users’ GPS location, age and gender to the other companies, the council said.

Twitter said it disabled Grindr’s MoPub account and is investigating the issue “to understand the sufficiency of Grindr’s consent mechanism.”


Period tracker app MyDays and virtual makeup app Perfect 365 were also among the apps sharing personal data with ad services, the report said.

Match Group, owner of Tinder and OkCupid, said the company shares information with third parties only when it is “deemed necessary to operate its platform” with third party apps. The company said it considers the practice in line with all European and U.S. regulations.

The U.S. doesn’t have federal regulation like the GDPR, although some states, notably California, have enacted their own laws. Nine civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union of California, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, Public Citizen and U.S. PIRG sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission, Congress and state attorneys general of California, Texas and Oregon asking them to investigate the apps named in the report.

“Congress should use the findings of the report as a road map for a new law that ensures that such flagrant violations of privacy found in the EU are not acceptable in the U.S.,” the groups said in a statement.

The FTC confirmed it received the letter but declined to comment further. The creators of the MyDays, Perfect 365 and Grindr apps did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

source: technology.inquirer.net

Asian shares mixed amid uncertainties on Brexit, China trade

TOKYO –  Asian shares were mixed Monday amid uncertainties about Britain’s exit from the European Union and the ongoing trade conflict between the U.S. and China

Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained nearly 0.3% in early trading to 22,548.07. South Korea’s Kospi picked up 0.2% to 2,065.68, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.2% to 26,778.99. The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia lost 0.1% to 6,640.40, while the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.1% to 2,934.30.

Shares fell in Taiwan and were mixed in Southeast Asia.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is trying to win over rebellious lawmakers in time to meet the Oct. 31 Brexit deadline for the UK’s exit from the 28-nation European Union.

A vote over the weekend ended with an amendment that delays the proposed deal, leaving the situation uncertain. And EU officials have not yet responded to Johnson’s reluctant request for an extension of the month’s end deadline.

“The can is not kicked far down the road with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson expected to seek a new ‘meaningful vote’ on his deal as soon as Monday with the countdown to the Brexit deadline,” Jingyi Pan of IG said in a commentary.


Meanwhile, Japan reported that its exports fell 5.2% from a year earlier in September while imports slipped 1.5%. The resulting deficit of 123 billion yen ($1.1 billion) reflected weak exports to China, South Korea and other Asian countries, customs data showed.

The mixed performance to start the week is a continuation of the wobbles that ended last week, when the S&P 500 index logged its second straight weekly gain even though stock indexes ended lower on Friday.

Technology companies led the slide, which erased the major U.S. indexes’ gains from the day before. Communication services, industrials and health care stocks also fell, outweighing gains in real estate companies, banks and elsewhere in the market.

Investors are focusing on company earnings reports, searching for a clearer picture on the impact that the trade war between the U.S. and China is having on corporate profits and the broader economy.

The S&P 500 index fell 0.4% to 2,986.20. The index is just 1.3% below its all-time high set in late July.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1% to 26,770.20 and the Nasdaq lost 0.8%, to 8,089.54. The Russell 2000 index of smaller stocks gave up 0.4% to 1,535.48.

Uncertainty over the standoff between Beijing and Washington has been roiling markets. Negotiators reached a truce last week that kept the conflict over trade and technology from escalating further, but both sides still have many issues to work out before reaching a substantive deal.

ENERGY: Benchmark crude oil dipped 10 cents to $53.68 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It fell 15 cents to $53.78 a barrel Friday. Brent crude oil, the international standard, dropped 20 cents to $59.22 a barrel.

CURRENCIES: The dollar rose to 108.50 Japanese yen from 108.38 yen on Friday. The euro slipped to $1.1158 from $1.1174./gsg

source: business.inquirer.net

EU nations give ultimatum to Venezuela’s Maduro

PARÍS, France – The European Union and several of its member governments gave embattled Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro an ultimatum on Saturday, saying they would recognize opposition leader Juan Guaido as president unless he calls elections within eight days.

But Venezuela’s foreign minister rejected the warnings, saying “nobody is going to give us deadlines or tell us if there are elections or not”.

The coordinated announcements are the most explicit yet from EU countries as the 28-member bloc struggles to draft a joint statement with regards to its position on the crisis in Venezuela.

Here is a roundup of European statements after the United States, Canada and major South American governments recognized Guaido, who proclaimed himself acting president in a challenge to Maduro.

European Union

The European Union “will take further actions” if new elections are not called in Venezuela in the coming days, EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini said. This would include “the issue of recognition of the country’s leadership”.

Spain

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, was the first EU leader to issue an ultimatum, saying that “if within eight days there are no fair, free and transparent elections called in Venezuela, Spain will recognize Juan Guaido as Venezuelan president”.

Spain is closely linked to Venezuela, a former colony, as some 200,000 of its nationals live there.

Spain was “not looking to impose or remove governments in Venezuela, we want democracy and free elections in Venezuela”, Sanchez said.

Germany and France

Germany and France quickly followed, backing the eight-day ultimatum.

French President Emmanuel Macron said in a tweet that “the Venezuelan people must be able to freely decide on their future”.

Also on Twitter, German government spokeswoman Martina Fietz used nearly identical language, adding “complete security” as a necessary condition for elections.

Britain

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said that “after banning opposition candidates, ballot box stuffing and counting irregularities in a deeply flawed election, it is clear (president) Nicolas Maduro is not the legitimate leader of Venezuela”.

“@jguaido is the right person to take Venezuela forward,” he said in a tweet.

“If there are not fresh & fair elections announced within eight days, UK will recognize him as interim president to take forward the political process towards democracy.

“Time for a new start for the suffering ppl (people) of Venezuela.”

The Netherlands

The Netherlands is closely following developments in Venezuela as several of the Dutch kingdom’s Caribbean territories such as Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire are just off the coast of the troubled South American country.

“The Venezuelan people must have the right to determine themselves what their future will look like,” Foreign Minister Stef Blok said, calling for “free, transparent and democratic elections”.

Portugal

Portugal joined its fellow EU members’ call, saying that one week was “an appropriate timeframe” for Maduro to announce fresh elections.

“In our opinion, it is impossible to end the political deadlock and the very serious social crisis in Venezuela without free, transparent and credible elections,” said Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva.

Italy

Italy’s Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi called for “a rapid return to democratic legitimacy, guaranteed by new free and transparent elections” in Venezuela, although his statement contained no mention of a timeframe.

“With heartfelt thoughts for the Venezuelan people and the many with Italian origins, we express our closeness to the families of the victims in the face of the dramatic events taking place,” he said.

Austria, Greece

Austria and Greece have been reluctant to join other EU members’ initiatives to put pressure on Maduro.

Greece’s ruling party Syriza has publicly backed him, with party secretary Panos Skourletis voicing “full support and solidarity” to what to he called “the legal president.” /cbb

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

US sets new trade talks with EU, Japan, Britain

WASHINGTON, United States – US officials announced Tuesday negotiations for separate trade agreements with Britain, the European Union and Japan as part of efforts by President Donald Trump’s administration to rebalance global commerce.

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said the administration notified Congress of its intent to negotiate the three separate trade agreements.


“We are committed to concluding these negotiations with timely and substantive results for American workers, farmers, ranchers and businesses,” Lighthizer said in a statement.

The move follows the Trump administration’s renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico and its push to correct what Trump maintains is an unbalanced trade picture.

In the notifications to Congress on Japan and the EU, Lighthizer cited “chronic US trade imbalances” and said that US exporters have been long “challenged” by tariff and non-tariff barriers in Japan and in Europe.

The goal, he said, is to achieve “fairer, more balanced” trade with the US trading partners.

Lighthizer said the US would seek a trade agreement with Britain as soon as it exits the European Union in 2019.

The letter to Congress said Washington would seek to address tariff and non-tariff barriers and achieve “free, fair and reciprocal trade” with the United Kingdom.

Playing hardball
Trump has been playing hardball with US trading partners, using tariffs and threats in an effort to boost US exports and curb the longstanding deficit in merchandise trade, despite warnings from many US lawmakers and the International Monetary Fund.

Trump in May had ordered Commerce to investigate the possibility of imposing tariffs of up to 25 percent on foreign autos and auto parts, a prospect that alarmed the industry and could have serious repercussions for Japan and Europe.

“We need to work together to de-escalate and resolve the current trade disputes,” IMF chief Christine Lagarde said at an IMF and World Bank gathering in Bali last week.


In this May 21, 2018, file photo container ships are unloaded at the Port of Oakland in Oakland, California.  AP FILE

WASHINGTON, United States – US officials announced Tuesday negotiations for separate trade agreements with Britain, the European Union and Japan as part of efforts by President Donald Trump’s administration to rebalance global commerce.

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said the administration notified Congress of its intent to negotiate the three separate trade agreements.


“We are committed to concluding these negotiations with timely and substantive results for American workers, farmers, ranchers and businesses,” Lighthizer said in a statement.

The move follows the Trump administration’s renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico and its push to correct what Trump maintains is an unbalanced trade picture.

In the notifications to Congress on Japan and the EU, Lighthizer cited “chronic US trade imbalances” and said that US exporters have been long “challenged” by tariff and non-tariff barriers in Japan and in Europe.

The goal, he said, is to achieve “fairer, more balanced” trade with the US trading partners.

Lighthizer said the US would seek a trade agreement with Britain as soon as it exits the European Union in 2019.

The letter to Congress said Washington would seek to address tariff and non-tariff barriers and achieve “free, fair and reciprocal trade” with the United Kingdom.

Playing hardball
Trump has been playing hardball with US trading partners, using tariffs and threats in an effort to boost US exports and curb the longstanding deficit in merchandise trade, despite warnings from many US lawmakers and the International Monetary Fund.

Trump in May had ordered Commerce to investigate the possibility of imposing tariffs of up to 25 percent on foreign autos and auto parts, a prospect that alarmed the industry and could have serious repercussions for Japan and Europe.

“We need to work together to de-escalate and resolve the current trade disputes,” IMF chief Christine Lagarde said at an IMF and World Bank gathering in Bali last week.


Trump has levied or threatened tariffs on goods from economies around the world, notably China, but also on traditional allies such as the European Union.

More tariffs and their countermeasures “could lead to a broader tightening of financial conditions, with negative implications for the global economy and financial stability,” the fund warned.

The new talks, if successful, would address trade with Europe and Japan but leaves the thornier challenge of China, which accounts for more than half the US trade deficit.

The US trade deficit ballooned in August to its highest level in six months, according to government figures showing American consumers snapped up more imported cars and mobile phones.

The total US trade deficit rose 6.4 percent over July to $53.2 billion, overshooting analyst forecasts.

Despite Trump’s efforts to attack the trade deficit, so far this year it has risen 8.6 percent over the same period in 2017.

The gap in goods trade with China rose to $38.6 billion for August and with Mexico hit $8.7 billion — both the highest monthly totals ever.

The August figures suggested retaliatory tariffs imposed by China continued to whipsaw American farmers, whose rural counties Trump’s Republican Party traditionally counts on for political support. /cbb

source: business.inquirer.net

British PM Theresa May loses majority, faces pressure to resign

LONDON—British Prime Minister Theresa May faced pressure to resign on Friday after losing her parliamentary majority, plunging the country into uncertainty as Brexit talks loom.

The pound fell sharply amid fears the Conservative leader will be unable to form a government and could even be forced out of office after a troubled campaign overshadowed by two terror attacks.

After being re-elected with an increased majority in the London commuter seat of Maidenhead, May said Britain “needs a period of stability” as it prepares for the complicated process of withdrawing from the European Union.

She said that while the full results had yet to emerge, her party seemed to have won the most seats and “it would be incumbent on us to ensure we have that period of stability”.

But Leftist opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn, whose Labour party surged from 20 points behind, urged May to quit, saying she had “lost votes, lost support and lost confidence”.

Former Conservative minister Anna Soubry, who just held onto her seat, said May was “in a very difficult place” following a “dreadful campaign”.

With a handful of seats still to be declared, the Conservatives were predicted to win 319 seats, down from 331 in 2015 — yet another upset in a turbulent year since the EU referendum in June 2016.

They were mathematically unable to reach the 326 mark that would give them a majority, meaning they will have to form an informal or formal alliance to forward their agenda.

Labour are expected to increase their share from 229 to 260 seats, resulting in a hung parliament.

May, a 60-year-old vicar’s daughter, is now facing questions over her judgement in calling the election three years early and risking her party’s slim but stable majority of 17.

“It is exactly the opposite of why she held the election and she then has to go and negotiate Brexit in that weakened position,” said Professor Tony Travers of the London School of Economics.

Sterling fell nearly two percent against the dollar on the back of the exit poll, as investors questioned who was now going to control the Brexit process.

Early newspaper editions reflected the drama, with headlines such as “Britain on a knife edge”, “Mayhem” and “Hanging by a thread”.

In a night that threatened to redraw the political landscape once again, the UK Independence Party (UKIP), which won 12.5 percent of the vote two years ago and was a driving force behind the Brexit vote, was all but wiped out, hovering around two percent.

The pro-European Liberal Democrats, who have campaigned for a second EU referendum, increased their number of seats from nine, but their former leader Nick Clegg lost his seat.

Meanwhile the Scottish National Party of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, which has dominated politics north of the border for a decade and called for a new independence vote after Brexit, was tipped to lose around 21 of its 54 seats.

Deputy leader Angus Robertson, one of the strongest SNP performers in the House of Commons, was an early casualty.

‘Pressure to resign’

May, who took over after last year’s Brexit referendum, began the formal two-year process of leaving the EU on March 29, promising to take Britain out of the single market and cut immigration.

Seeking to capitalize on sky-high popularity ratings, she called the election a few weeks later, urging voters to give her a stronger mandate to go into Brexit talks that are expected to begin as early as June 19.

Officials in Brussels were hopeful the election would allow her to make compromises, but this has been thrown into question by the prospect of a hung parliament.

“It creates another layer of uncertainty ahead of the Brexit negotiations,” said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA currency traders.

Despite campaigning against Brexit, Labour has accepted the result but promised to avoid a “hard Brexit”, focusing on maintaining economic ties with the bloc.

Barely a month ago, the center-left party seemed doomed to lose the election, plagued by internal divisions over its direction under veteran socialist Corbyn.

But May’s botched announcement of a reform in funding for elderly care, a strong grassroots campaign by Corbyn and the terror attacks, which increased scrutiny of her time as interior minister, changed the game.

“Even if she manages to get just enough seats it will be seen as a failure and she may indeed be under pressure to resign as leader quite quickly,” said Paula Surridge, senior lecturer at the University of Bristol.

Terror in the campaign

Britain has been hit with three terror attacks since March, and campaigning was twice suspended.

A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a pop concert in Manchester on May 22, killing 22 people.

Last Saturday, three assailants wearing fake suicide vests mowed down pedestrians and launched a stabbing rampage around London Bridge, killing eight people before being shot dead by police.

The attacks led to scrutiny over May’s time as interior minister from 2010 to 2016, particularly since it emerged that some of the attackers had been known to police and security services.

Labour seized on steep cuts in police numbers implemented as part of a Conservative austerity program, although May insisted she had protected funding for counter-terrorism.

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

Eurozone inflation back to positive; Brexit worries weigh

BRUSSELS, Belgium—Eurozone inflation left negative territory in June, statistics showed Thursday, but economic uncertainty from Brexit sparked concerns that damaging deflation could return to Europe.

The rise in consumer prices is welcome news after months of an unprecedented stimulus program by the European Central Bank to jumpstart sluggish growth and low prices in the eurozone.

Consumer prices in June rose a slight 0.1 percent after slipping 0.1 percent in May, the EU’s Eurostat statistics agency said. This was higher than the zero percent forecast by analysts surveyed by data provider Factset.

“Amid the heightened uncertainties triggered by the Brexit vote, some cheery news for the ECB as the eurozone exited deflation in June,” said Howard Archer, chief economist at IHS Global Insight.

Energy prices again drove consumer prices lower, dropping by 6.5 percent, but this was far less than the negative 8.5 percent a month earlier.

Faced with low prices, the European Central Bank has embarked on a series of unprecedented stimulus programs in a desperate battle to kick-start sluggish growth and inflation in the eurozone.

Slow eurozone growth has seen inflation slide in and out of negative territory, threatening a dangerous downward spiral of falling prices and wages. The ECB aims to get inflation back to two percent or just below, a level it deems healthy for growth.

But analysts warned that knock-on effects from the shock decision by voters in Britain to leave the EU could reverse any progress made towards boosting inflation and growth.

At an EU summit on Tuesday, ECB head Mario Draghi warned leaders that the fallout from Brexit could cost the eurozone up to 0.5 percent in GDP growth over the next three years.

“Uncertainty over the effects of Brexit could add to downward pressure on wage growth and increase firms’ reluctance to raise their prices in the coming months,” said Jennifer McKeown, senior European economist at Capital Economics.

The Frankfurt-based central bank this month took the controversial step of buying corporate bonds, its latest weapon in the fight against deflation that also includes negative interest rates for banks.

Critics in powerful Germany however charge that the ECB is overstepping its mandate by lavishing billions on corporate giants and say it could be distorting markets and creating bubbles.

The ECB has already made unprecedented amounts of ultra-cheap loans available to banks on condition they pass it on as credit for businesses and households.

The ECB has also embarked on a major asset purchase program known as quantitative easing, or QE.

source: business.inquirer.net

Brexit, a sign of anti-elite revolt—analysts

PARIS—It was Britain’s poorer and less-educated citizens — angry at not having shared in the economic benefits of a new world order — who pushed it out of the European Union, in a vote that threatens elites, analysts say.

They are those who suffered the worst hangover from the economic crisis, and whose precarious economic position makes them most fearful of rising immigration — to the benefit of far right groups in the EU and Donald Trump in the United States.

“I see the same pattern everywhere I look,” said William Galston, a senior fellow at the US-based Brookings Institution.

“The demographic splits within the UK are exactly the same category for category as the demographic splits within the American electorate in this presidential election.”

Rural areas with high numbers of migrant workers, former industrial hubs and poor areas around cities, those without a university education and older voters were all among the 53.4 percent who voted Brexit.

Galston said this was the same demographic backing controversial Republican candidate Trump in the US, as well as eurosceptic and far-right parties enjoying a rise in support across Europe.

“They mistrust political elites because up until now they haven’t seen any political parties who appear to recognise their discontent and respond to it.”

Galston said while he did not expect these forces to prevail in the United States as they did in the Brexit vote, they were a “major warning signal to established parties throughout Europe”.

‘It’s about what people feel’

Fears are high of a domino effect, with eurosceptic, leftist and far right parties from France to the Netherlands crying victory after the shock Brexit result was announced and calling for similar votes in their own countries.

Political scientist Melanie Sully of the Vienna-based Go-Governance Institute warned Europe was facing a “crisis of democracy” that could be exploited by xenophobic, far right parties.

“If you don’t have any trust in politics, it’s exactly the sort of black hole populists can march into and capture the mood and build on it, to perpetuate their own falsehoods,” she told Agence France-Presse.

At the root of this surge in anti-establishment sentiment is a feeling of fear, loss of control, and traditions and identity lost among those who are struggling economically, analysts say.

“Before we talk about populism, the anti-establishment, we have to talk about the social position of these people. What do they earn? How do they see their everyday lives?” said Tetiana Havlin, a sociologist at the University of Siegen in Germany.

“In everyday life nobody thinks about anti-globalization, anti-establishment. They just see their challenges”, she said.

“This of course gives fertile ground for populism… but in the end this is about what people feel.”

‘The dark side’

Observers point to two main drivers of the surge in scorn for the elite: the hangover from the 2008/2009 economic crisis and the refugee crisis.

“You have a lot of people who took a big hit. These are people who feel economically vulnerable, and when you put demographic fears on top of economic vulnerability this is what you get,” said Halston.

“I don’t think it’s mysterious anymore, we may have been scratching our head a year ago but we should be in no doubt now.”

Many young people who voted Remain are furious at the number of older British voters who backed Leave — lumbering them, as they see it, with the consequences of their decision for decades to come.

Havlin said that many of these voters saw the EU as a source of security and stability when Britain joined in 1973, a time she refers to as “the prosperity years”.

Now older, these voters reeling from austerity and a sense of growing threats at Europe’s borders, feel “threatened and insecure”.

Dominique Moisi, of the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) said the Brexit earthquake was a dark moment in Europe’s history, comparing it unfavorably to the fall of communism.

“Remember Star Wars: there is the light side and the dark side of the force. The light side was the fall of the Berlin Wall. The dark side is Brexit.”

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

Global stocks slide on looming Brexit risk

NEW YORK, United States — World stock markets extended losses Monday as fears heightened that Britain could vote to leave the European Union in next week’s referendum.

Tokyo’s main stocks index dived 3.5 percent to a two-month low point by Monday’s close, as worries over Britain’s EU membership vote on June 23 sparked a rally in the safe-haven yen currency, which in turn hammered shares in Japanese exporters.

Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda trading group, said “risk aversion” continued to drive markets ahead of “a number of key risk events”.

“The UK referendum next week is right at the top of this list given the destabilization effects that a vote to leave the EU could have on global markets,” he said in a note to investors.

US stocks joined the global retreat, falling for a third straight day and pushing the S&P down 0.8 percent. But shares in professional networking company LinkedIn shot up 46.6 percent on news of its $26.2 billion takeover by Microsoft.

Shares of US travel-oriented equities were especially weak, with American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Continental all losing at least 3.5 percent in the aftermath of Sunday’s deadly attack by a lone gunman at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida.

London’s FTSE 100 index lost 1.2 percent. In the eurozone, Frankfurt’s DAX 30 index and the CAC 40 in Paris were both about 1.8 percent lower. Banking stocks weighed in Milan, where the main index slid 2.9 percent to its lowest level since February.

In foreign exchange, the British pound hit two-month lows against both the euro and dollar.

The pound’s latest tumble against the dollar “could be the tip of the iceberg” if Britons opt to quit the EU, said Alex Holmes, of Capital Economics.

The European single currency meanwhile sank as low as 119 yen, the lowest level since February 2013.

Central banks on tap

Markets also are on edge as the US, Japanese and British central banks meet this week.

Few expect any move on interest rates from the US Federal Reserve and Bank of England, but observers are divided over whether the Bank of Japan will announce more stimulus.

“Chances of the Fed raising interest rates this month are nil at this point, with a July raise looking less and less likely,” Mark Vickery, of Zacks Investment Research, said in a note to clients.

For Oanda’s Erlam, the Brexit risk is also playing a role in the Fed’s timing.

“The Fed will meet this week and while the (May) jobs report may have given them a reason to put off raising interest rates again, the closing of the gap ahead of the UK referendum is likely the real reason behind the delay,” he said.

Hong Kong’s main stocks index tumbled 2.5 percent and Shanghai dived 3.2 percent, while Seoul sank 1.9 percent and Singapore 1.6 percent.

source: business.inquirer.net

Eurozone summit reaches deal on Greek bailout

BRUSSELS — European Union’s summit chair Donald Tusk said on Monday that eurozone leaders have unanimously agreed on a bailout deal for Greece.

In a tweet, Tusk said the European bailout program for Greece includes “serious reforms” and “financial support.”

The European Union’s top economy official earlier said he was hopeful for a deal to keep Greece in the euro — and that the German and French leaders will be at the center of it.

Pierre Moscovici played down ideological differences among Greece’s European creditors on Monday, telling France’s RTL radio that the marathon overnight negotiations show there is a “shared willingness to ensure that Greece remains in the euro.”

Earlier also in the negotiations there had been indications of splits among the European countries, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel demanding tough conditions before releasing aid while French President Francois Hollande prioritized unity among the nations that use the euro.

Moscovici said Merkel and Hollande have “solid and direct” relations despite ideological differences and that “there is no solution for Europe” without agreement between the eurozone’s two leading powers.

source: business.inquirer.net

US stocks finish lower as US, EU sanction Russia

NEW YORK–US stocks Tuesday finished lower after the United States and European Union broadened sanctions on Russia, overshadowing US economic data and earnings reports.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 70.48 points (0.42 percent) to 16,912.11.

The broad-based S&P 500 fell 8.96 (0.45 percent) to 1,969.95, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index gave up 2.21 (0.05 percent) at 4,442.70.

The EU, which had been more reluctant than the US to boost its sanctions against Russia, imposed new restrictions on the finance, defense and energy sectors to increase the economic cost to Russia for its intervention in Ukraine.

The US followed with new restrictions on Russia’s energy sector, arms industry and financial institutions.

Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank, attributed Tuesday’s drop in stocks entirely to the sanctions, which followed mixed corporate earnings reports.

“There’s always economic blowback” from sanctions, he said. “Whenever trade is restrained in any way, that creates dislocations and distortions that are generally negative.”

Dow component Pfizer finished 1.2 percent lower after reporting adjusted earnings of 58 cents per share, a penny above analyst expectations. Analysts noted some of the drugmaker’s most successful sellers during the quarter will suffer as key patents expire.

Fellow drugmaker Merck, also in the Dow, gained 1.1 percent after earnings of 85 cents per share bested expectations by four cents. Better sales of diabetes medication Januvia/Janumet, anti-cholesterol drug Zetia/Vytorin and other medicines helped offset the effect of patent expirations.

UPS fell 3.7 percent as the delivery company said full-year earnings would be $4.90-5.00 per share, down from the April forecast of $5.05-$5.30 per share. The company said it was increasing spending to boost capacity for the November-December peak holiday season.

Wal-Mart Stores dropped 0.4 percent after Goldman Sachs downgraded the giant retailer, concluding that the company’s current investment campaign to bolster its presence online and in the small-store market, while “understandable,” will harm earnings in the short run.

But Goldman upgraded Costco Wholesale in the same report, in part because of its strong international growth potential. Costco shares rose 1.5 percent.

Bond prices rose. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury fell to 2.46 percent from 2.49 percent Monday, while the 30-year dropped to 3.22 percent from 3.26 percent. Bond prices and yields move inversely.

source: business.inquirer.net

Ireland officially exits recession

DUBLIN — Bailed-out eurozone nation Ireland exited recession in the second quarter with economic growth of 0.4 percent thanks to solid expansion of its construction sector, official data showed on Thursday.

Ireland fell into recession in late 2012 but returned to growth in the three months to June of this year, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) said in a statement.

Ireland’s economy had contracted during the previous three quarters, the CSO confirmed. A recession refers to two or more consecutive quarters of negative growth.

“Preliminary estimates for the second quarter of 2013 indicate that GDP increased by 0.4 percent in volume terms on a seasonally adjusted basis compared with the first quarter of 2013,” the CSO said.

Ireland’s economy shrank by 0.6 percent in the first quarter.

A breakdown of the latest data showed that Ireland’s construction sector grew by 4.2 percent in the second quarter compared with the first three months of the year.

Ireland’s economy meanwhile contracted by 1.2 percent in the second quarter compared with the equivalent period in 2012.

Ireland was rescued with an 85-billion-euro ($115-billion) bailout from the International Monetary Fund and the European Union in late 2010.

Its economy had been through a period of turmoil in the run-up to the 2008 global financial crisis and after, amid soaring government debt, a property market meltdown, banking crisis and surging unemployment.

Thursday’s data precede what is set to be another painful austerity budget due in a few weeks, with many commentators suggesting a return to growth may offset extra spending cuts or tax hikes.

source: business.inquirer.net

Facebook contest launched to boost EU-Philippines ties

Manila, Philippines—The European Union’s delegation to the Philippines has launched a Facebook profile picture contest in a bid to boost ties between the two countries.

“We like to have a profile picture that will best depict the European Union-Philippines partnership,” Thelma Gecolea, public affairs officer of the Delegation of the European Union to the Philippines, said in a phone interview.

The contest, which starts at noon on July 1, will be open to all Filipino residents aged 13 and above, and will require participants to take photos based on the theme “The European Union-Philippines Partnership.” Entries will be accepted until noon of July 25.

The contest shall reward two winners: one grand winner to be selected by the Delegation of the European Union to the Philippines on August 1; and a second winner, who will be selected for having the “greatest number of Facebook ‘likes’” at noon of August 1. Twenty preselected pictures will be posted on the EU delegation’s Facebook page on July 25 for Facebook users to select their “pick.”

The grand winner will receive a Nokia Lumia and the second winner will receive EU caps, thermos jug, laptop sleeve, and a bluetooth speaker.

For complete contest guidelines visit the EU Facebook group.

Gecolea said the move was also made to boost the EU delegation to the Philippines’ visibility as well as target young Filipinos who maximize the use of social media.

She added that the move was significant and timely for the signing of the landmark Partnership Cooperation Agreement (PCA) between the two countries, saying the agreement would serve as the framework and foundation of the countries’ bilateral relations.

“We see the importance of social media as Filipinos are great users of Facebook and considering that we have foreseen the partnership and cooperation agreement being signed soonest,” Gecolea said.

The agreement would be signed by Foreign Affairs Secretary del Rosario and High Representative Catherine Ashton of the EU Foreign Affairs on July 11 at the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum in Phnom Penh.

The agreement was expected to push negotiations for a free-trade agreement that would allow the Philippines’ greater access to European countries, as well as facilitate trade and investments between the two countries.

source: http://technology.inquirer.net

Japan ready to help in euro crisis at G8 talks

WASHINGTON — Japan said that it stood ready to extend help in stemming the eurozone’s debt crisis as the Group of Eight major industrialized nations opened crisis talks.

Japan, the world’s third largest economy and only Asian power in the elite G8 club, has already been a major contributor to an IMF firewall aimed at holding back Europe’s woes with a $60 billion commitment unveiled last month.

Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda will argue in the talks that Europeans hold foremost responsibility in addressing the crisis, foreign ministry spokeswoman Naoko Saiki told reporters on Friday.

“At the same time, in order to help the Europeans solve the European debt crisis, Japan is ready to extend its assistance,” Saiki said.

“The European sovereign debt crisis may endanger the health of the world economy, so we would like to encourage the Europeans to cope with the matter appropriately as soon as possible,” she said.

Further assistance by Japan could include support for the International Monetary Fund or efforts to increase the safety net in Asia, she said.

The G8 talks at the US presidential retreat of Camp David look set to pit President Barack Obama and newly elected President Francois Hollande, both advocates of pro-growth policies, against German Chancellor Angela Merkel who has championed austerity measures.

Japan straddles both positions in the G8. It has sought to stimulate its economy after last year’s tsunami tragedy but Noda is championing a politically risky plan to double sales tax to rein in a giant public debt.

Noda will hold his first meeting with Hollande on Saturday aimed at part at discussing a proposal to launch talks on an ambitious free trade agreement between Japan and the European Union, Japanese officials said.

source: japantoday.com

EU 'open' to talks on airlines tax, but won't change law

BRUSSELS — EU officials said Sunday they will negotiate with international partners angry at what they see as a climate tax on airlines, but refused to change hotly disputed legislation despite fears in Germany.

“We have always been open to continuing discussions on the possibility of equivalent measures” outside Europe, Isaac Valero, spokesman for European Union climate action commissioner Connie Hedegaard, told AFP.

“This way we hope to reach a global agreement,” he said, referring to a longstanding failure to bring industrialised and emerging powers onto the same page over environmental objectives for big industry.

“But awaiting this global agreement, we are not going to change our legislation,” he underlined.

Hedegaard has insisted that equivalent measures by other countries would lead to like-for-like exemptions from the annual tax bill.

The charges imposed on airlines taking off or landing in Europe entered into force on Jan 1, designed to help the EU achieve its goal of cutting emissions by 20 percent by 2020.

Airlines backed by overseas governments have challenged the scheme’s legality in court, but for the first time Germany has expressed concerns mainly over Chinese threats that it could cancel orders for EU-built Airbus planes.

The growing tensions, with airlines having long warned of an inevitable protectionist backlash from Asia and the Americas in particular, will be debated when EU environment ministers meet on Friday in Brussels.

The German government urged the European Commission on Friday to negotiate with countries opposed to the EU’s airlines carbon emissions fee to “de-escalate” opposition and avoid trade disputes.

Germany’s economics ministry “is viewing the international development at the moment with the EU emissions trade with concern,” spokeswoman Tanja Kraus told reporters, adding that international trade conflicts should be avoided.

According to a report on Thursday, Hong Kong Airlines may cancel a $3.8 billion order for 10 Airbus superjumbo A380 jets after Beijing banned its airlines from paying the EU tax.

Germany anticipates raising $256 million from the tax in 2012, according to Commission figures.

China is among more than two dozen countries including India, Russia and the United States, strongly opposed to the tax.

source: japantoday.com

European regulators reported set to OK Google-Motorola deal

European regulators are set to approve Google's plans to acquire Motorola Mobility Monday, according to Reuters.

That could coincide with the timing of U.S. regulators okaying the deal. On Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Justice Department would likely approve the $12.5 billion acquisition next week.

The Reuter's article, citing "two people with knowledge of the matter," reported that the European Union's approval would be "unconditional." Rivals had been pushing for restrictions to prevent Google from unfairly promoting its products.

Last month, European regulators set next Monday as the date that it would decide the matter. The date is a month later than the commission had originally planned, a delay caused by regulators seeking more time to review additional documents that Google had submitted to support the deal.

Google announced its plans to buy Motorola last August. While Google makes Android, the mobile operating system used on Motorola's phones, the company had never before been in the hardware business. The deal was driven in large part by Google's interest in beefing up its relatively meager patent portfolio with Motorola's trove of intellectual property.

Google intends to run Motorola as a separate company. Motorola has said that it expects the deal to close early this year.

source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57374862-93/european-regulators-reported-set-to-ok-google-motorola-deal/?tag=mncol