Month: July 2017

Amazon.com has launched a social feature called Spark that allows members to showcase and purchase products on its platforms, the retail giant’s first clear move into the world of social media. Spark, which is currently only available for Amazon’s premium paying Prime members, encourages users to share photos and videos, just like popular social media platforms Instagram and Pinterest. The new feature publicly launched on Tuesday for use on mobile devices that use Apple’s iOS operating system. Spark users can tag products on their posts that are available on Amazon and anyone browsing the feeds can instantly find and purchase them on the platform. Users can also respond to posts with “smiles,” equivalent to Facebook’s “likes.” “We created Spark to allow customers to discover – and shop – stories and ideas from a community that likes what they like,” said an Amazon spokeswoman. “When customers first visit Spark, they select at least five interests they’d like to follow and we’ll create a feed of relevant content contributed by others. Customers shop their feed by tapping on product links or photos with the shopping bag icon.” Amazon has also invited publishers including paid influencers and bloggers to post on Spark. Their posts are identified with a sponsored hashtag. Many Amazon users on social media called the service a cross between Instagram and Pinterest with a touch of e-commerce. Brand strategist Jill Richardson (@jillfran8) said: “Been messing with #AmazonSpark all morning and I am LIVING. It’s like Pinterest, Instagram, and my credit …

Asia’s richest man, Wang Jianlin, suddenly finds himself cornered. The giant Dalian Wanda Group, which he heads, is facing a range of regulatory investigations and actions from the Chinese authorities.  The latest move involves asking banks to stop financing overseas forays of the Wanda Group, which owns an array of foreign assets, including a Hollywood studio and AMC Theaters, the biggest exhibitor of movies in the U.S.  The Group faced a regulatory probe into its financial deals in early June, which was followed by an announcement that Wanda had sold off part of its business to a Tianjin based real estate developer for $9.3 billion. The government action against a businessman known for his strong connections with the Communist Party has caused a stir in the business community, with many asking if the government is sending out a political message to all privately owned businesses, informed sources said.  Role of politics “That is a surprising development in a lot of different ways. Wang Jianlin has many friends all through the political establishment in China,” said Christopher Balding, an associate professor of finance and economics at Peking University HSBC Business School.  The industry in China is debating about whether the Wanda Group has been hit by a policy measure or Wang has fallen from the grace of the political establishment.  “I don’t think this [action] is particularly targeting Mr. Wang, the chairman of Wanda Group, or purposefully targeting the Wanda group,” said Peng Liu, professor of real estate and hotel management at the Cornell University. “Actually, those [moves] are in line with the …

Careem, a Middle Eastern rival to Uber, has become the first ride-hailing firm to operate in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Dubai-based Careem, whose name is a play on the Arabic word for generous or noble, launched in Ramallah in June, aiming to bring digital simplicity to the Palestinian territory. There is certainly a market for easier ride-hailing among the nearly 3 million Palestinians living in the West Bank, but the fact the mobile network is still 2G, that electronic payments are not the norm and that Israeli checkpoints are common, make using the service somewhat cumbersome. Yet Careem is optimistic about the potential. “We are planning to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars within the coming year in the (Palestinian) sector,” Kareem Zinaty, operations manager for the Levant region said. “After the investment, it is also an opportunity to create jobs.” Careem, which launched in 2012 and now operates in 12 countries and more than 80 cities across the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia, has said it aims to provide work for one million people across the region by 2018. Careem’s captains While a version of Uber and Israeli app Gett already operate in Israel, they do not venture into Palestinian territory. Drivers are excited to work with Careem, which they hope will help boost their incomes, especially with unemployment in the West Bank running at nearly 20 percent. “It’s a very wonderful opportunity,” said one of the more than 100 new drivers, known as “captains” by Careem. “Most …

The government of Peru’s President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski is no longer considering cutting the value-added tax (VAT) rate due to slumping government revenues as the economy slows, the country’s prime minister said Tuesday. Trimming the VAT rate gradually to 15 percent from 18 percent had been part of Kuczynski’s economic platform as he took office a year ago, before severe flooding and a graft scandal thwarted investments and knocked Peru’s growth outlook. Dropping the plan will likely be welcomed by the right-wing opposition that had feared a VAT reduction would widen the fiscal deficit. But it could be seen as a broken campaign promise by Kuczynski allies who expected a lower rate to stimulate the economy and encourage more people to pay the tax. “Reducing the VAT has been ruled out,” Prime Minister Fernando Zavala told foreign media in a press conference. “Tax revenues haven’t grown in recent months and we think we have to improve that in coming years by making VAT collection more efficient.” Kuczynski named Zavala finance minister while keeping him in his post as prime minister last month after the opposition-controlled Congress ousted the former finance minister over a scandal involving an airport contract. Peru, the world’s second biggest copper, zinc and silver producer, has enjoyed some of the strongest growth readings and slowest inflation rates in the region this century. But the economy will likely slow to 2.8 percent this year from 3.9 percent in 2016, even with the government’s planned fiscal stimulus, Zavala said. …

With corruption charges delaying his unpopular proposal for the overhaul of Brazil’s costly pension system, President Michel Temer is trying to quickly push through a mini tax reform, a presidential aide told Reuters on Tuesday. The simplification of the PIS/Cofins federal social security contributions levied on gross receipts would face easier passage in Congress and allow Temer to show his wavering allies that his administration is still advancing on its promised reform agenda. “There won’t be the political environment to approve pension reform until the issue of the charges is out of the way,” said the aide, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. Federal prosecutors charged Temer last month with taking bribes.  Though his government is confident it has the backing in Congress to stop a trial by the Supreme Court, that support could melt away if his administration is seen to be paralyzed. In a video statement released on social media on Monday, Temer said tax reform was a priority and a bill would be sent to Congress in “very little time.”  He has held talks this week on the tax reform with his economic team and a series of lawmakers. Temer pointed to approval last week of a measure modernizing Brazil’s labor laws as a sign his government is still working. “We know it is difficult to pass pension reform. It is clear there is no climate for that now,” said Lucio Vieira Lima, the deputy leader of the ruling …

U.S. President Donald Trump is looking for ways to defend American-made products by certifying legitimate U.S. goods and aggressively going after imported products unfairly sporting the “Made in America” label, the White House said on Tuesday. Trump, who campaigned on reviving the U.S. manufacturing sector, vowed on Monday that his administration would crack down on “predatory online sales of foreign goods” hurting U.S. retailers. On Wednesday, Trump will discuss with small- and medium-sized manufacturers how to certify their products and keep out foreign counterfeits, a senior administration official told reporters. Their products include gutter filters, flags and pillows. “There’s just too many examples of foreigners slapping on ‘Made in America’ labels to products and the worst insult is when they do it after they have actually stolen the product design,” the official said. The United States loses about $300 billion a year to theft of intellectual property ranging from semiconductors to jeans, the official said. In March, Trump signed an executive order that gave customs officials more authority to stop pirated and counterfeit items, the official told reporters. The White House plans to work with the private sector on the new certification and verification system rather than create new regulations or spend taxpayer money, the official said, citing as a model the LEED system used to rate the environmental sustainability of building projects. …

German automaker Daimler says it is voluntarily recalling 3 million diesel cars in Europe to improve their emissions performance. The Stuttgart-based company, which makes Mercedes-Benz luxury cars, says it is taking the step to reassure drivers and strengthen confidence in diesel technology. Diesels have been under a cloud since Daimler’s competitor Volkswagen admitted equipping vehicles with illegal software that meant they passed emissions tests, but then exceeded limits in everyday driving. There has been a push for diesel bans in some German cities because of concerns about levels of nitrogen oxide emitted by diesels. The Daimler announcement comes hours after the regional government in the company’s home region of Baden-Wuerttemburg agreed to abandon proposals to restrict diesels if older diesels could be mechanically fixed to pollute less, the dpa news agency reported. Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche said Tuesday that “the public debate about diesel engines is creating uncertainty – especially for our customers.” The recall will cover nearly all vehicles made under the EU5 and EU6 emissions standards and start in the next few weeks. The company said it would cost 220 million euros ($254.21 million), but that customers wouldn’t pay anything. Daimler said in May that German investigators had searched its offices in connection with investigations of Daimler employees because of suspicion of fraud and criminal advertising relating to the possible manipulation of exhaust controls in cars with diesel engines. The company has said it is cooperating with the investigation. …

Cake and conversation, it seems, can go only so far to mend longstanding economic rifts between the United States and China. Three months after President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, shared chocolate cake at an amiable summit in Florida, tensions between the world’s two biggest economies are flaring again. Just as officials of the two nations prepare to meet Wednesday in Washington, the Trump administration is considering slapping tariffs on steel imports, a step that risks igniting a trade war. For the United States, it’s a perilous option to address a problem caused largely by China’s overproduction of steel. And Trump is criticizing China again for failing to use its economic leverage to rein in its neighbor and ally, the nuclear rogue state North Korea. Could this week’s U.S.-China Comprehensive Dialogue produce a meaningful breakthrough in economic relations? Most China watchers are skeptical. “I’m not looking for anything worthwhile,” says Derek Scissors, a China specialist at the conservative American Enterprise Institute. For one thing, the points of difference between the two countries run deep. For another, Xi faces political pressures at home and won’t want to cause a stir in Beijing. For all the tensions between the two nations, Trump’s words about Xi himself have remained warm. He has suggested that the personal bond he formed with Xi when the two met April 6-7 at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort can overcome fundamental differences on trade and national security. Last week, the president called his Chinese counterpart a “friend …

Nepalis stand to lose millions of dollars held in high-value Indian bank notes that India banned last year and has yet to exchange, a Nepali central bank official said on Tuesday. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November banned 500 rupee ($7.77) and 1,000 rupee bank notes as part of a drive against unaccounted wealth in India that has also hit Nepal where Indian rupees are widely used. People holding the notes in India were given a little less than two months to exchange them at banks. In March, officials from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) visited Nepal and promised to allow every Nepali citizen to exchange 4,500 Indian rupees ($70) worth of the old notes for new ones. “That was only a verbal assurance but no formal decision from India has come to us,” said Chinta Mani Shivakoti, a deputy governor of the central Nepal Rastra Bank. “Even if this amount was exchanged, individuals holding more than 4,500 Indian rupees risk losing the excess,” Shivakoti said. Nepal depends heavily on funds from workers in India, who sent home $640 million in 2016, or about 3 percent of its gross domestic product. The Indian central bank declined to comment. An Indian Finance Ministry spokesman also declined to comment, saying it was a central bank matter. India fears that if it agrees to Nepal’s demand to allow Nepalis to exchange unlimited amounts, a large number of Indians may launder their ill-gotten old notes through Nepal. Shivakoti said Nepal’s banks hold …

House Republicans on Tuesday unveiled a 10-year budget blueprint that would dramatically increase military spending while putting the GOP on record favoring Medicare cuts opposed by President Donald Trump. The GOP plan, authored by Budget Chairman Diane Black, R-Tenn., would also pave the way for overhauling the U.S. tax code this fall, and would pair that effort with cuts to benefit programs such as food stamps. The plan also lays out a plan to balance the budget inside a decade through deep cuts to a wide swath of domestic programs — though GOP leaders have no intention of actually carrying out the cuts.   Black announced a committee vote for Wednesday, but action by the entire House could be delayed by an ongoing quarrel between the GOP’s tea party and moderate factions over spending cuts.   Medicare is the second largest mandatory program after Social Security, and the House GOP plan again proposes to turn Medicare into a voucher-like program in which future retirees would receive a fixed benefit to purchase health insurance on the open market. Republicans have proposed the idea each year since taking back the House in 2011, but they’ve never tried to implement it — and that’s not going to change now, even with a Republican as president.   The plan, in theory at least, promises to balance the budget through unprecedented and unworkable cuts across the budget. It calls for turning this year’s projected $700 billion or so deficit into a tiny $9 billion surplus by 2027. …

The Trump Administration has launched “Made In America Week” to highlight the importance of U.S. manufacturing and tout its policies to bring more such jobs back home from overseas. But as VOA White House Bureau Chief Steve Herman reports, many Trump family products are made in foreign factories, leading to criticism of the president’s trade campaign. …

The United States on Monday launched the first salvo in the renegotiation of the 23-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), saying its top priority for the talks was shrinking the U.S. trade deficit with Canada and Mexico. In a much-anticipated document sent to lawmakers, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said he would seek to reduce the trade imbalance by improving access for U.S. goods exported to Canada and Mexico under the three-nation pact. For the first time in a U.S. trade deal, the administration also said it wants an “appropriate” provision to deter currency manipulation by trading partners. The move appeared aimed at future trade deals rather than specifically at Canada and Mexico, which are not considered currency manipulators. The 17-page document asserted that no country should manipulate its currency exchange rate to gain an unfair competitive advantage, an often-cited complaint about China in past years. Shortly before the release of the document, President Donald Trump lashed out against trade deals and unfair trade practices, saying he would take more legal and regulatory steps during the next six months to protect American manufacturers. ‘Not earth shattering’ Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland said the U.S. list was “part of its internal process” although a source familiar with Canadian government thinking said the document was “not earth shattering.” Trade experts have argued that shrinking the yawning U.S. trade deficit will not be achieved by revising trade deals but rather by boosting U.S. savings. “The first bullet point shows their …

Foreign fishing vessels, many from China, prowl the waters off West Africa every day. They capture millions of fish — catches that used to go to local boats. The fish are then shipped to China, Europe and the United States, satisfying a global demand for seafood and fueling a multibillion-dollar industry. The foreign vessels make life hard for West African fishermen.   Foreign trawlers from Asia and Europe have cost West Africa’s economy 300,000 jobs and $2 billion in income, according to John Hocevar, a marine biologist with Greenpeace. However, what to do about the problem — and possible damage to regional fish populations — has eluded experts and officials. Chinese presence Exact numbers are difficult to come by, but experts agree no single country has a greater presence off the coast of West Africa than China. In a 2015 report, Greenpeace estimated that, two years earlier, China had 426 distant water fishing vessels off Africa’s West Coast. Between 2000 and 2011, 64 percent of China’s average annual catches, valued at more than $7 billion, came from that area, according to The Pew Charitable Trusts. Fishing isn’t a big part of China’s economy, representing less than one percent of total gross domestic product. But for many in China’s coastal provinces, it’s both a livelihood and way of life, according to Haibing Ma, the China program manager for the Worldwatch Institute, a nonprofit group that researches sustainability. Chinese fishers have traveled to Africa because their own fish stock has nearly run out. …