Month: February 2018

U.S. President Donald Trump has called a meeting early next week with key senators and Cabinet officials to discuss potential changes to biofuels policy, which is coming under increasing pressure after a Pennsylvania refiner blamed the regulation for its bankruptcy, according to four sources familiar with the matter. The meeting comes as the oil industry and corn lobby clash over the future of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), a decade-old regulation that requires refiners to cover the cost of mixing biofuels such as corn-based ethanol into their fuel. Trump’s engagement reflects the high political stakes of protecting jobs in a key electoral state. Oil refiner Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES), which employs more than 1,000 people in Philadelphia, declared bankruptcy last month and blamed the regulation for its demise. Oil, farm…

The U.S. Defense Department supports moves by the Commerce Department to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, although it would prefer a system of targeted tariffs rather than a global quota or a global tariff. The Commerce Department on Feb. 16 recommended that President Donald Trump impose steep curbs on steel imports from China and other countries and offered the three options to the president, who has yet to make a decision. The Defense Department said in a statement issued Thursday that it was concerned about the potential impact on U.S. allies of the proposed measures and said that was the reason it preferred targeted tariffs. It recommended that while the tariffs on steel should proceed, the administration should wait before pressing ahead with the measures on aluminum. “The…

Saudi Arabia will stage more than 5,000 shows, festivals and concerts in 2018, double the number of last year, as it tries to shake off its conservative image in a drive to keep tourist dollars at home and lure in visitors. The state wants to capture up to a quarter of the $20 billion currently spent overseas every year by Saudis seeking entertainment, lifting a ban on cinemas and putting on shows by Western artists. U.S. rapper Nelly performed in Jeddah in December, albeit to a men-only crowd, and Greek musician Yanni played to a mixed-gender audience. The gradual relaxing of gender segregation risks causing a backlash from religious conservatives, but public objections to a wider program of reforms have been more muted in recent months after several critics were…

General Motors has proposed $2.8 billion of fresh investment into its South Korean operations over the 10 years as part of its plan to restructure the embattled unit, a South Korean senior government official said on Wednesday. The offer comes as the Detroit carmaker and the South Korean government discuss restructuring options at loss-making GM Korea, one of GM's largest offshore operations. The official with direct knowledge of the matter said GM had also asked South Korea to inject funds into GM Korea in which the country's state bank also holds a stake. However, the official added that a close look into GM's proposal was necessary to determine whether the investment plan was sufficient to rescue the unit, which directly employs some 16,000 workers. "We need to have a closer…

South Korea's cryptocurrency industry is anticipating much better times as the market regulator changes tack from its tough stance on the virtual coin trade, promising instead to help promote blockchain technology. The regulator said Tuesday that it hopes to see South Korea — which has become a hub for cryptocurrency trade — normalize the virtual coin business in a self-regulatory environment. "The whole world is now framing the outline [for cryptocurrency] and therefore [the government] should rather work more on normalization than increasing regulation," Choe Heung-sik, chief of South Korea's Finance Supervisory Service (FSS), told reporters. FSS has been leading the government's regulation of cryptocurrency trading as part of a task force. Cryptocurrency operators have drawn a new optimism from Choe's comments, seeing them clearly indicating the government's cooperation in…

South Korea said on Wednesday it is signing free trade agreements with five Central American nations aimed at boosting market access for the Korean auto sector and electronics makers. Trade minister Kim Hyun-chong will meet representatives from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama in Seoul on Wednesday to sign five separate bilateral pacts which will eliminate duties on about 95 percent of traded goods and services, Korea’s trade ministry said in an e-mailed statement. The agreements are subject to parliamentary approval in each country, and is likely to take effect at different times depending on the ratification process. The five trade pacts open South Korea to key Central American countries after its deals with the U.S., the European Union and China helped boost exports. “The South Korea-Central America…

Through medication and narcotics smuggling, ivory and people trafficking, oil theft and piracy, Africa is, by conservative estimates, losing about $50 billion a year in illicit financial flows — more, in fact, than it receives in official development assistance.  A report by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development offers a bigger look at the illegal economy behind the losses and how African and richer nations can fight it. The OECD report zooms in on West Africa, and one sector in particular stands out. Catherine Anderson, who heads governance issues as the OECD, said 80 percent of illicit financial flows from West Africa are generated from the theft of natural resouces, principally oil. But West African countries aren't the only ones losing out from illicit flows, Anderson said. So are developed nations. Migrant trafficking,…

When Markus Rohner flew into Cape Town's airport this month, he found an unexpected line at the men's washroom. With the city facing an unprecedented water shortage, airport authorities had turned off all the sink taps but one, leaving visitors to wait in line to wash their hands, under the watchful eye of a bathroom attendant. "In Johannesburg, there were a lot of jokes about the situation. People were saying to each other: 'Let's go to Cape Town for a dirty weekend,'" said Rohner, who visited both cities recently for his job as a sales and marketing director for a Swiss machinery manufacturer. Cape Town, which is battling to keep its taps flowing as reservoirs run close to dry following a three-year drought, declared a national disaster this month. Without…

Standing by a towering equatorial forest, Jean-Noel Kouame’s new breeze-block house may be beyond the reach of Ivory Coast’s power grid, but it’s perfectly located for solar power entrepreneurs. Buoyed by success in East Africa, off-grid solar power startups are pouring into West Africa, offering pay-as-you-go kits in a race to claim tens of millions of customers who lack reliable access to electricity. At least 11 companies, including leading East African players such as Greenlight Planet, d.light, Off-Grid Electric (OGE), M-KOPE Solar, Fenix International and BBOXX, have moved into the region, most within the last two years. With a potential market worth billions of dollars, major European energy companies such as French utilities EDF and Engie are taking notice too. “It’s important to be there now, because the race has…

For the first time in Ukraine's history, U.S. anthracite is helping to keep the lights on and the heating going this winter following a deal that has also helped to warm Kyiv’s relations with President Donald Trump. The Ukrainian state-owned company that imported the coal told Reuters that the deal made commercial sense. But it was also politically expedient, according to a person involved in the talks on the agreement and power industry insiders. On Trump’s side it provided much-needed orders for a coal-producing region of the United States which was a vital constituency in his 2016 presidential election victory. On the Ukrainian side the deal helped to win favor with the White House, whose support Kyiv needs in its conflict with Russia, as well as opening up a new…

Brazil's political affairs minister Carlos Marun said on Monday that passage of a bill to overhaul the country's costly social security system has effectively ground to a halt in Congress and would become a campaign issue in this year's election. Marun spoke to reporters after the head of the Senate, Eunicio Oliveira, said the federal government's military intervention in Rio de Janeiro would, by the rules of the country's constitution, block any vote on pension reform or any other measure requiring a constitutional amendment. But Marun acknowledged what President Michel Temer's critics believe is the real reason for holding up a pension vote: the unpopular bill never gained enough support and the government faced certain defeat. "We don't have the votes. I couldn't guarantee we would have the votes by…

Latvia's ABLV Bank sought emergency support Monday after U.S. officials accused it of helping breach North Korean sanctions while the country's central bank chief faced bribery allegations, turning up the spotlight on its financial system. The Baltic country, which is a member of the euro zone and shares a border with Russia, has come under increasing scrutiny recently as a conduit for illicit financial activities. Last year, two Latvian banks were fined more than 2.8 million euros ($3.26 million) for allowing clients to violate sanctions imposed by the European Union and United Nations on North Korea. Three others received smaller fines. ABLV said it had sought temporary liquidity support from the central bank after depositors withdrew 600 million euros, about 22 percent of total deposits, following a warning by the…

Latvian Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis assured the country and Europe "there is no sign of danger," after anti-corruption police arrested the head of the Latvian central bank Saturday. "For now, neither I, nor any other official, has any reason to interfere with the work of the Corruption Prevention Bureau," Kucinskis said. Neither Kucinskis nor the police gave any reason why central bank governor Ilmars Rimsevics was arrested. But a police spokeswoman said there will be an announcement "as soon as possible." The Latvian government plans an emergency meeting Monday. Along with heading the Baltic nation's central bank, Rimsevics is also one of 19 governors on the European Central Bank. The U.S. Treasury Department has proposed sanctions against a major Latvian bank for alleged money laundering linked to North Korea's weapons…

The Commerce Department is urging President Donald Trump to impose tariffs or quotas on aluminum and steel imports from China and other countries. Unveiling the recommendations Friday, Secretary Wilbur Ross said in the case of both industries “the imports threaten to impair our national security.” As an example, Ross said only one U.S. company now produces a high-quality aluminum alloy needed for military aircraft. Raise US capacity The measures are intended to raise U.S. production of aluminum and steel to 80 percent of industrial capacity. Currently U.S. steel plants are running at 73 percent of capacity and aluminum plants at 48 percent. Ross emphasized that the president would have the final say, including on whether to exclude certain countries, such as NATO allies, from any actions. China’s Commerce Ministry said…

The uncovering of one of the biggest frauds at a state-owned bank in India has rocked the country's financial sector and brought scrutiny to a billionaire jeweler who counted Hollywood stars among his customers. The nearly $1.8 billion fraud reported at India's second-largest state-owned bank is a blow to the government's efforts to revive the state-owned banking sector, which is already staggering under a mountain of bad debt. Nirav Modi, whose jewelry boutiques span high-end streets from Hong Kong to London to New York and whose diamonds have been worn by Hollywood stars such as Dakota Johnson and Kate Winslet, is being investigated for the fraudulent transactions. His brand ambassador is Bollywood star Priyanka Chopra, who has also carved a niche in the United States. The fraud, which officials say…