Year: 2018

Following Seoul's announcement that South Korean companies have illegally imported North Korean coal, U.S. experts are worried about North Korean trade that contravenes international sanctions. The Korea Customs Service (KCS) announced earlier this month that three South Korean companies illegally imported North Korean coal that was transshipped at Russian ports, in violation of United Nations resolutions. The U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution on August 5, 2017, banning North Korea from exporting coal, iron, lead and other materials. Another resolution later that year, on December 22, called for U.N. members to seize and inspect vessels suspected of transporting prohibited items.  According to the KCS, in seven shipments between April and October of last year, three South Korean companies imported a total of 35,038 tons of North Korean coal and pig iron…

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera said on Tuesday that his overhaul of the country's tax structure would "modernize" Chile's revenue system and stimulate investment by local and foreign companies. The conservative leader said in a televised address that reform would, among other proposals, calibrate taxes paid by conventional companies with those paid by digital technology companies. The reform aims "to create a simpler and more equitable and fully integrated tax system for all Chilean companies." Digital commerce companies with local operations like Netflix and Uber are likely to be affected under the reform. E-commerce is gaining traction in Latin America after a slow start. Last month, an Amazon Web Services vice president met with Pinera to discuss Amazon investing in the country as part of a longer-term regional expansion plan. Pinera,…

Mexico risks losing long-term passenger growth and billions of dollars if it fails to go through with building a new hub in the capital to alleviate congestion, an executive with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Tuesday. Mexico's incoming government last week postponed a decision on whether to complete a partially constructed new airport in Mexico City, saying the public should be consulted on the fate of the $13-billion hub, which the next president initially opposed. President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said the project was tainted by corruption prior to his July 1 landslide election victory, and had pressed for an existing military airport north of the capital to be expanded instead. Without the new airport, around 20 million fewer passengers would fly to Mexico City starting in…

Claudio Belotti knows he cut the denim that became the jeans Meghan Markle wore on one of her first outings as the fiancee of Britain's Prince Harry.   That's because he cuts all of the fabric for Hiut Denim Co., a 7-year-old company that makes jeans in Cardigan, Wales. Belotti is a craftsman with 50 years of experience that gives his work a personal touch — something that's not quite couture but not exactly mass-produced either.   "There's a story behind each one," Belotti said. "You're paying for the skill."   Customer demand for something unique is helping small companies like Hiut buck the globalization trend and set up shop in developed countries that had long seen such work disappear. While international brands like H&M and Zara still dominate the clothing…

South Africa's state-owned Land Bank said on Monday a plan to allow the state to seize land without compensation could trigger defaults that could cost the government 41 billion rand ($2.8 billion) if the bank's rights as a creditor are not protected. Land Bank is a specialist bank providing financial services to the commercial farming sector and other agricultural businesses. President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Aug. 1 that the ruling African National Congress (ANC) is forging ahead with plans to change the constitution to allow the expropriation of land without compensation, as whites still own most of South Africa's land more than two decades after the end of apartheid. Land Bank Chairman Arthur Moloto said in the company's 2018 annual report that the bank has approximately 9 billion rand of…

The bull market in U.S. stocks is about to become the longest in history.   If stocks don't drop significantly by the close of trading Wednesday, the bull market that began in March 2009 will have lasted nine years, five months and 13 days, a record that few would have predicted when the market struggled to find its footing after a 50 percent plunge during the financial crisis.   The long rally has added trillions of dollars to household wealth, helping the economy, and stands as a testament to the ability of large U.S. companies to squeeze out profits in tough times and confidence among investors as they shrugged off repeated crises and kept buying.   "There was no manic trading, there was no panic buying or selling," said Jack…

Beverage giant PepsiCo on Monday purchased Israel's fizzy drink maker SodaStream for $3.2 billion, a boon for a company that has enjoyed a resurgence after being targeted by anti-Israel boycotters in the past. PepsiCo said it was acquiring all SodaStream's outstanding shares at $144 per share, a 32 percent premium to the 30-day volume weighted average price.   Earlier this month, SodaStream reported its strongest results in company history, a 31 percent year-over-year jump in revenues to $172 million, an 89 percent leap in operating profit to $32 million and an 82 percent climb by net profit to $26 million.   PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi called the companies "an inspired match" since both companies aim to reduce waste and limit their environmental footprint.   "Together, we can advance…

U.S. oil giant ConocoPhillips says it has reached an agreement with Venezuela's state-owned oil company to recover nearly $2 billion it was awarded as part of a decade-old expropriation dispute. Monday's statement from Houston-based Conoco says that PDVSA has agreed to recognize the judgement by an international arbitration panel and will make the first $500 million payment within 90 days and the rest over a period of some four years. In exchange, Conoco will suspend legal actions to seize PDVSA's facilities in the Dutch Antilles that had threatened to disrupt Venezuela's already-depressed oil exports at a time of widespread shortages and hyperinflation. PDVSA hasn't commented comment. The award is equivalent to more than 20 percent of cast-strapped Venezuela*s foreign currency reserves. ...

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad says he hopes China will understand his country's "internal fiscal problems" as he seeks to renegotiate billions of dollars worth of Beijing-funded projects. Mahathir spoke Monday in Beijing during a joint news conference with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. Before traveling to China last week, Mahathir suspended three major infrastructure projects that are funded with Chinese loans worth more than $20 billion, including an ambitious rail line and two energy pipelines. The prime minister said he halted the projects due to Malaysia's massive national debt, which has ballooned to $250 billion. The projects were initiated under Mahathir's predecessor, Najib Razak, who has been charged with several counts of corruption in the embezzlement scandal involving the state-owned 1MDB sovereign wealth fund. The scandal led to a stunning…

"For the first time since early 2010, Greece can stand on its own feet," the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) rescue fund said as Athens exited its final, three-year international bailout program on Monday. The ESM allocated about $71 billion over the past three years, after an agreement was reached in August 2015 to help the country cope with fallout from an ongoing debt crisis. "Today we can safely conclude the ESM program with no more follow-up rescue programs," Mario Centeno, the chairman of the ESM's board of governors, said in a statement. "This was possible thanks to the extraordinary effort of the Greek people, the good cooperation with the current Greek government and the support of European partners through loans and debt relief." In 2010, Greece was declared at risk…

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…