Month: July 2017

Thailand’s justice ministry froze some of former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s bank accounts, the ministry and her legal team said on Monday, in relation to a $1 billion fine imposed by the ruling junta over her administration’s rice-subsidy program. She has filed a court petition to revoke the freezing of her bank accounts and to grant an injunction to suspend asset seizures, saying they were unlawful. Yingluck, whose government was ousted by the junta in a 2014 coup, will deliver a closing statement in a separate criminal case over the rice subsidies next week. The program, which helped Yingluck sail to victory in a 2011 election, bought rice from farmers at above-market rates and distorted global prices but proved popular with rural voters. Finance Ministry permanent secretary Somchai Sujjapongse told reporters on Monday that government committees submitted details of 12 bank accounts which belong to Yingluck to the Legal Execution Department, which then took action. Yingluck received a formal notice about her frozen accounts from the department on Monday, her legal team said. Yingluck declined to comment when contacted by Reuters. Her supporters have accused the courts of bias in frequently ruling against Yingluck and her family members. The rice scheme was a policy engineered by Yingluck’s brother, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was toppled in a 2006 coup and lives abroad, to avoid a two-year prison sentence from 2008 for graft in a land purchase case. Thaksin won the hearts of voters in the populous northeast and the …

The U.S. Carrier factory where President Donald Trump says he saved 800 jobs from moving to Mexico notified 300 people last week that they were being laid off. The layoff notices began Thursday, exactly six months since Trump took office. The layoffs are part of a deal Trump made with the company in December to prevent deeper cuts at the Indianapolis plant. The layoffs are the first of a group of 630 job terminations planned for the year as the company moves some of its operations to Mexico. Carrier – owned by United Technologies Company (UTC) – announced in December that its fan coil department would relocate to Mexico by the end of 2017. WATCH: Despite Trump’s efforts, Indiana Carrier lays off employees The Carrier plant, which makes gas furnaces, became an issue in last year’s presidential election when UTC announced plans to eliminate about 2,100 jobs in the state and transfer those operations to Mexico. As a presidential candidate, Trump roundly criticized that decision. After winning the election, Trump worked out a deal with his vice president-elect, Mike Pence, who was then the governor of Indiana, to provide as much as $7 million in tax incentives and training grants for Carrier in exchange for keeping about 700 of those jobs in the state. In a letter sent to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development in May, a human resources manager for Carrier said, “While the entire facility is not closing, the separations are expected to be permanent.” In addition, …

The United States and Britain are launching preliminary talks in Washington on a trade deal that will set up a new trade relationship between the two countries, after Britain’s exit from the European Union. Britain hopes removing barriers under its current EU arrangement will boost trade with the United States by $40 billion by 2030. But as VOA Europe correspondent Luis Ramirez reports from London, no one is expecting these to be easy negotiations. …

The Federal Reserve has already achieved one of its two mandates: With the unemployment rate at just 4.4 percent, the Fed has essentially maximized employment.   It’s the Fed’s other goal — price stability — that’s stayed persistently out of reach. Inflation has been edging further below the Fed’s 2 percent target. Problem is, too-low inflation tends to slow consumer spending, the U.S. economy’s main fuel. Many consumers delay purchases if they think the same price — or a lower one — will be available later.   Low inflation will likely be a key discussion point when the Fed holds its latest policy meeting this week. The central bank has raised its benchmark interest rate twice this year, but no one expects another hike when its meeting ends Wednesday. And unless inflation picks up, some analysts foresee no further rate increase this year.   Fed Chair Janet Yellen deepened the uncertainty earlier this month when she sounded less sure about her position that a slowdown in inflation this year was due to temporary factors. Yellen conceded that Fed officials were puzzled by recent developments. Her remarks lifted financial markets as investors interpreted her words to suggest that the Fed might slow its pace of rate increases.   “In the past, Yellen was pretty confident that inflation would come back, but that is now in doubt,” said Sung Won Sohn, economics professor at California State University-Channel Islands.   Over the past 12 months, the inflation gauge the Fed monitors most closely has risen just 1.4 …

Lucy Harris thinks Britain’s decision to leave the European Union is a dream come true. Nick Hopkinson thinks it’s a nightmare. The two Britons — a “leave” supporter and a “remainer” — represent the great divide in a country that stepped into the unknown just over a year ago, when British voters decided by 52 percent to 48 percent to end more than four decades of EU membership. They are also as uncertain as the rest of the country about what Brexit will look like, and even when it will happen. Since the shock referendum result, work on negotiating the divorce from the EU has slowed to a crawl as the scale and complexity of the challenge becomes clearer. Harris, founder of the pro-Brexit group Leavers of London, says she is hopeful, rather than confident, that Britain will really cut its ties with the EU. “If we haven’t finalized it, then anything’s still up for grabs,” she said. “Everything is still to play for.” She’s not the only Brexiteer, as those who support leaving the EU are called, to be concerned. After an election last month clipped the wings of Britain’s Conservative government, remainers are gaining in confidence. “Since the general election I’ve been more optimistic that at least we’re headed toward soft Brexit, and hopefully we can reverse Brexit altogether,” said Hopkinson, chairman of pro-EU group London4Europe. “Obviously the government is toughing it out, showing a brave face. But I think its brittle attitude toward Brexit will break and snap.” Many …

Authorities in Madrid asked Spain’s anti-trust watchdog on Saturday to investigate whether Uber’s new low-cost airport transfer service constitutes unfair competition. The city council’s request follows the ride-hailing app’s return to the Spanish capital last year after the CNMC competition regulator called for the government to lift a ban on the U.S. company. The firm’s recently launched Uber Airport service offers a tariff of 15-29 euros for a ride between Madrid’s Barajas international airport and the city center. Standard taxi fares for the trip are fixed at 30 euros. “(Uber Airport) could violate several articles of the Law of Unfair Competition and consumer rights, if it is proven that the service is being operated at prices below operational costs and with the sole intention of gaining customers through unfair competition,” Madrid City Council said in statement. No one at Uber could immediately be reached to comment. European regulations Uber, which expanded into Europe six years ago, has come under attack from established taxi companies and some EU countries because it is not bound by strict local licensing and safety rules that apply to some of its competitors. Spanish taxi drivers have held three strikes so far this year, arguing that ride-hailing apps, which are regulated in Spain under VTC licenses typically used for private, chauffeur-driven vehicles, constitute unfair competition because they do not meet current regulations and pay less tax. In May, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) dealt a blow to the company by ruling that it should be …

The state government in India’s capital told Philip Morris International Inc and other tobacco companies Saturday to remove all advertisements from tobacco shops in the city, warning them of legal action if they do not comply. The order, sent by Delhi state’s chief tobacco control officer S. K. Arora, comes days after Reuters reported that Philip Morris was promoting Marlboro cigarettes, the world’s best-selling brand, by advertising them at tobacco shops and distributing free cigarette samples. Government officials say such tactics flout the law. The strategy was laid out in hundreds of pages of internal Philip Morris documents reviewed by Reuters that cover the period from 2009 to 2016.  ​Tobacco ads illegal Indian officials have previously said tobacco advertising using brand names or promotional slogans is illegal under the country’s Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act and its accompanying rules. But Philip Morris and India’s leading cigarette maker ITC Ltd say they comply with regulations and that the law allows advertising inside a kiosk. Arora said the federal health ministry had told him that all brand advertisements, irrespective of where they were placed, were not allowed in the country. Philip Morris and ITC did not immediately respond to requests for comment Saturday. Tobacco companies have continued to advertise at sale points despite repeated warnings from the Delhi state government in recent years. Philip Morris has been paying a monthly fee to some tobacco vendors to display the company’s colorful advertisements, the Reuters investigation found. Arora also told Reuters he “will …

An Australian man who died in a Sydney car crash may be the 18th death linked to faulty Takata air bags, after police said he was killed when hit in the neck by shrapnel from an air bag. Police did not say the air bag in the Honda CR-V was from manufacturer Takata, whose faulty air bags have been linked to 17 deaths and more than 180 injuries worldwide. However, Honda Australia director Stephen Collins confirmed on Saturday that the vehicle involved was linked to the worldwide recall. “The vehicle involved, a 2007 Honda CR-V, was the subject of Takata airbag inflator recalls,” Collins said in a statement, in which he offered the company’s condolences to the family of the dead driver. “Honda Australia is working closely with authorities to provide whatever assistance is required.” Takata has declared 2.7 million vehicles to have potentially defective airbags. Takata Corp filed for bankruptcy last month after being forced to recall around 100 million air bags worldwide, but that figure could be set to double pending an ultimatum set by U.S. regulators. Dozens of models of vehicles and nearly 20 automakers have been affected by the air bag recalls, with Takata’s automaker customers having so far borne much of the estimated $10 billion cost of replacing the faulty products. Some automakers still use Takata inflators for replacements in the recalls, although some including Honda Motor Co, Toyota Motor Corp and Nissan Motor Co have said they will stop using Takata inflators for new contracts …

The Carrier manufacturing facility in Indianapolis, Indiana, owned by United Technologies Company, was in the limelight during the 2016 presidential election when then-candidate Donald Trump criticized UTC’s announcement it was moving jobs from the facility to Mexico. While Trump’s postelection negotiations, including tax incentives, encouraged Carrier to remain in Indianapolis, hundreds of employees still face layoffs this year. VOA’s Kane Farabaugh has more from Indiana. …

President Donald Trump was expected to sign an executive order Friday authorizing a comprehensive review of the U.S. manufacturing sector to help ensure the security of the nation, according to White House officials. White House National Trade Council Director Peter Navarro told reporters Friday industrial supply chains will also be reviewed in the effort to address possible industrial vulnerabilities that may have been created as a result of U.S. factory closings. Administration officials say there is a dearth of U.S. companies that can repair submarine propellers and circuit boards and produce parts such as flat panels in the event of a war. “America’s defense industrial base is now facing increasing gaps in its capabilities,” Navarro said, adding that “certain types of military-grade semiconductors and printed circuit boards have become endangered species.” The order will call for a 270-day review that will be conducted by the Pentagon, along with the departments of Commerce, Energy, Homeland Security, Labor and the National Security Council. The Commerce Department is already reviewing the possibility of imposing steel tariffs for national security reasons as a possible way to reshape international trade without negotiating new agreements with foreign countries. …

Businesses owned by U.S. President Donald Trump have filed requests for visas with the Department of Labor to hire dozens of temporary foreign workers. The news of the requests comes during the White House’s “Made in America Week,” urging American companies to hire American workers, a central theme of Trump’s presidential campaign. The president’s Mar-a-Lago Resort and his nearby golf club in southern Florida are seeking to bring in the workers under the H-2B visa program, which allows companies to hire temporary, non-agricultural workers when American workers can’t be found. The jobs would run during the clubs’ busy season between October and May.   Mar-a-Lago is seeking to hire 70 cooks, servers and housekeepers, while the golf club is looking for six cooks. The Department of Labor certifies companies to apply for the visas, which are issued by the Department of Homeland Security.   Trump announced a one-time expansion of the H-2B visa program earlier this week, increasing the number of available visas from 66,000 to 81,000.  …