Month: August 2018

Uncertainty reigned in Venezuela Saturday after President Nicolas Maduro unveiled a major economic reform plan aimed at halting the spiraling hyperinflation that has thrown the oil-rich, cash-poor South American country into chaos. Ahead of a major currency overhaul Monday, when Caracas will start issuing new banknotes after slashing five zeroes off the crippled bolivar, Maduro detailed other measures he hopes will pull Venezuela out of crisis. Those measures include a massive minimum wage hike, the fifth so far this year. But analysts say the radical overhaul could only serve to make matters worse. “There will be a lot of confusion in the next few days, for consumers and the private sector,” said the director of the Ecoanalitica consultancy, Asdrubal Oliveros. “It’s a chaotic scenario.” ​‘Pure lie’ The embattled Maduro, a…

A budding trade war between the U.S. and Turkey over a detained American pastor is having global consequences. A sharp drop in Turkey's lira, inflation and the threat of loan defaults, could drag down other economies, particularly in emerging markets. Turkey's troubles are causing ripple effects in countries as far away as Argentina and Indonesia, while weighing on Asian currency rates and triggering currency fluctuations. VOA's Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from Washington. ...

Turkey's currency this month has suffered heavy falls triggered by U.S.-Turkish tensions over the ongoing detention of an American pastor. Washington's threat to impose new economic sanctions sparked another steep currency drop Friday. Dorian Jones reports on the economic fall out for people in Istanbul. ...

Tesla shares dropped nearly 9 percent in value Friday, amid reports of CEO and co-founder Elon Musk meeting with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Musk wrote on Twitter last week of his plans to take the company private for a price of $420 per share, writing that he had "funding secured." On Monday, in a blog post, Musk admitted that was not true, as he was still waiting on a finalized deal with his investors, a Saudi Arabian foreign investment fund. "I continue to have discussions with the Saudi fund, and I also am having discussions with a number of other investors, which is something that I always planned to do since I would like for Tesla to continue to have a broad investor base," Musk wrote. Since…

Stocks rose late in the day Friday as investors welcomed signs of progress in resolving the trade dispute between the U.S. and China. The Wall Street Journal reported that the countries hope to have a resolution by November. Industrial, health care and basic materials companies made some of the biggest gains. The report came a day after China said it will send an envoy to Washington for the first talks between the countries since early June. Marina Severinovsky, an investment strategist at Schroders, said stocks could jump if the U.S. and China make real progress toward a trade agreement. But stocks in emerging markets might make even bigger gains. "The rally that could come, if there is a better outcome, would be in emerging markets," she said. "China has suffered…

Unions at Air France-KLM voiced concern after the company appointed Benjamin Smith as the new CEO with the support of the French state. The company said Thursday that Smith, who is 46 and was previously Air Canada's chief operating officer, will fill the role by Sept. 30. Vincent Salles, unionist at CGT-Air France union, said on France Info radio that unions fear Smith's mission is to implement plans that would "deteriorate working conditions and wages." The previous CEO, Jean-Marc Janaillac, resigned in May after Air France employees held 13 days of strike over pay and rejected the company's wage proposal, considered too low. Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire welcomed an "opportunity" for Air France-KLM and expressed his confidence in Smith's ability to "re-establish social dialogue." ...

President Donald Trump says he's asking federal regulators to look into the effectiveness of the quarterly financial reports that publicly traded companies are required to file. In a tweet early Friday, Trump said that after speaking with "some of the world's top business leaders," he's asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to determine whether shifting to a six-month reporting regimen would make more sense. The SEC requires such companies to share profit, revenue and other figures publicly every three months. Some believe executives are making decisions based on short-term thinking to satisfy the market at the expense of the long-term viability of their companies. There are also tremendous expenses tied to preparing quarterly and annual reports. ...

Many of Asia's currencies are losing value against the U.S. dollar this year as China and the United States fight over trade, but analysts say policymakers are handling the dip better now than during past down cycles. China, India, Indonesia and Myanmar, to name just a few, have seen their currencies lose value since the start of 2018. The Indian rupee hit an all-time low in June, and the Chinese yuan lost 3.2 percent over the year through June. Economists point to a range of problems, including possible contagion from financial woes in Turkey and concerns about investing in Asia due to the Sino-U.S. trade war expected to hit China next week with tariffs on goods worth $16 billion. "It's just basically that everything we've worried about now and then…

A federal court in New York has charged 22 Chinese importers with smuggling nearly half-a-billion dollars in counterfeit goods into the United States from China. The fake products include such popular luxury items as Louis Vuitton bags, Michael Kors wallets, and Chanel perfume. Twenty-one of the defendants were arrested Thursday. U.S. attorneys say the suspects allegedly smuggled the China-made counterfeit goods in large shipping containers disguised as legitimate products and brought them into ports in New York and New Jersey. The defendants apparently intended to sell the fake products across the United States with a street value of nearly $500 million. Along with smuggling and trafficking in counterfeit goods, the suspects are also charged with money laundering and immigration fraud. “The illegal smuggling of counterfeit goods poses a real threat…

Russia says the latest U.S. sanctions imposed on Russian, Chinese, and Singaporean companies are “destructive" and "useless.”   The U.S. penalized the three companies Wednesday, accusing them of helping North Korea avoid international sanctions. The Russian Foreign Ministry said Thursday the new U.S. sanctions come when “joint international efforts” are needed toward a settlement in North Korea. Moscow said the sanctions could undermine denuclearization talks. The U.S. has accused a Chinese trading company and its affiliate in Singapore of falsifying documents aimed at easing illegal shipments of alcohol and cigarettes into North Korea. The companies are said to have earned more than $1 billion. A Russian company was also sanctioned for providing port services to North Korean-flagged ships engaged in illegal oil shipments. The sanctions freeze any assets the companies…

A small number of Turks are responding to their president's call to boycott American electronic goods by posting videos in which they smash iPhones with bats, hammers and other blunt instruments. In one video , a man collects iPhones from several youths squatting in front of a Turkish flag, lays the devices on the ground and pounds them with a sledgehammer. "For the motherland!" he says at one point.   In another video, a boy pours a plastic bottle of Coca Cola into a toilet in a show of repugnance for U.S. goods.   American products remain widely used in Turkey, which is locked in a dispute with Washington over an American pastor being tried in a Turkish court and other issues. The two countries have also imposed tariffs on…

Mexico's economy minister on Wednesday said that Mexico and the United States may not meet an August goal to finish bilateral talks to revamp the NAFTA trade deal, which is beset by disagreements over automobile trade rules and other issues. Top Mexican officials started their fourth week of talks with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in Washington over a new North American Free Trade Agreement. Asked if the August goal was still viable, Guajardo said, "That is why we are here. We are fully engaged. We don't know if there will be a successful conclusion." The U.S.-Mexico talks resumed in July, without Canada, after negotiations involving all three members of the $1.2 trillion trade bloc stalled in June. Guajardo said on Wednesday that he had spoken with Canadian Foreign Minister…

Singapore is the setting for new Hollywood movie 'Crazy Rich Asians' - an adaptation of a best-selling novel that explores the insatiable consumerism of new money and old-world opulence in a continent producing more billionaires than anywhere else. While the low-tax financial hub is often called a playground for the rich, Singapore's wealthy tend to live a more conservative, low-key life than Hong Kong's showy socialites or Macau's high-rollers. In step with the film's release in the United States on Wednesday and ahead of its release in the city-state next week, here are five ways to spend your cash in Singapore. 1. Orchid-shaped supercars Cars in Singapore are some of the most expensive in the world, owing to huge government taxes aimed at limiting their number in the tiny island-state.…

Toyota is likely to make 120,000 more cars a year in the Chinese port city  of Tianjin as part of a medium-term strategy that's gathering pace as China-Japan ties improve, said four company insiders with knowledge of the matter. The Japanese auto maker’s plan to boost annual production capacity by about a quarter in the port city will lay the foundation to increase sales in China to two million vehicles per year, a jump of over 50 percent, the four sources said. The Tianjin expansion signals Toyota’s willingness to start adding significant manufacturing capacity in China with the possibility of one or two new assembly plants in the world’s biggest auto market, the sources said. Car imports could also increase, they said. The move comes at a time when China’s…

U.S. retail sales rose more than expected in July as households boosted purchases of motor vehicles and clothing, suggesting the economy remained strong early in the third quarter. The Commerce Department said on Wednesday retail sales increased 0.5 percent last month. But data for June was revised lower to show sales gaining 0.2 percent instead of the previously reported 0.5 percent rise. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast retail sales nudging up 0.1 percent in July. Retail sales in July increased 6.4 percent from a year ago. Excluding automobiles, gasoline, building materials and food services, retail sales advanced 0.5 percent last month after a downwardly revised 0.1 percent dip in June. These so-called core retail sales correspond most closely with the consumer spending component of gross domestic product. Core retail…

Turkey on Wednesday announced tariff hikes on a range of U.S. goods in the latest back-and-forth move amid a deteriorating relationship between the two countries. The extra tariffs apply to imports of vehicles, alcohol, coal, rice and cosmetics. Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said on Twitter the increases were being done "within the framework of the principle of reciprocity in retaliation for the conscious economic attacks by the United States." President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is accusing the United States of waging a targeted economic war on his country, and on Tuesday he proposed a boycott of U.S. electronic goods. "If they have the iPhone, there is Samsung elsewhere. In our own country we have Vestel," said Erdogan. Asked how U.S. President Donald Trump's administration would react to any such Turkish…