Month: September 2017

Mexican officials are tallying up the economic losses of the magnitude 7.1 earthquake that caused widespread damage in the capital, as the number of buildings that may need to be pulled down or need major repairs rose to 500.   The death toll in the quake rose to 333, with 194 of those deaths in Mexico City. Authorities pledged a return to normality, but many streets in the capital were still blocked by construction equipment and recovery teams looking to extract the last remaining bodies from the rubble. Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera said 40 to 50 people are still considered missing.   The city government announced a plan of reconstruction loans and aid for apartment dwellers who lost their homes or who may lose them as teetering buildings are pulled down.   But for city businesses like the downtown restaurant Guapa Papa, the result is already all too clear.   Sitting in the entrance of his restaurant Monday, surrounded by caution tape, Antonio Luna said: “This is a bust. It’s already closed due to structural damage to the building.”   He had to let go the three dozen employees at the 1950s-themed restaurant and is just trying to salvage whatever furniture and equipment wasn’t damaged.   “In the end the company let everyone go because it couldn’t continue having expenses,” Luna said.   Mancera said that the city, in alliance with private developers, would handle repairs on buildings that needed touch-ups or minor structural work to be habitable. He offered …

The United States has imposed sanctions on eight North Korean banks and 26 bank executives amid escalating tensions with Pyongyang over its nuclear program. “This further advances our strategy to fully isolate North Korea in order to achieve our broader objectives of a peaceful and denuclearized Korean Peninsula,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Tuesday in a statement. Last week, President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling for new economic sanctions against individuals and businesses that finance trade with Pyongyang’s reclusive communist regime and fund its weapons development. U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis emphasized Tuesday that the U.S. sought a peaceful resolution to escalating tensions with North Korea, despite the regime’s claim that a tweet Monday by Trump was tantamount to a declaration of war. In New Delhi for talks with Indian officials about strengthening U.S.-India ties, Mattis said that while the U.S. military presence on the Korean Peninsula was necessary to deter North Korea’s threats, it also supported diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict peacefully. “And that is our goal, to solve this diplomatically, and I believe President Trump has been pretty clear on this issue,” Mattis said, following a meeting with India’s defense minister. Hope for diplomacy Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Tuesday also stressed that the U.S. would “continue to pursue our diplomatic efforts and hope that’s the way we’ll solve this” On Monday, Trump commented on Twitter that if North Korea carried out its threats, Kim Jong Un’s regime “won’t be around much longer.” …

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen acknowledged Tuesday that the Fed is puzzled by the persistence of unusually low inflation and that it might have to adjust the timing of its interest rate policies accordingly. Speaking to a conference of economists, Yellen touched upon key questions the Fed is confronting as it tries to determine why inflation has remained chronically below its inflation target of 2 percent annually. The Fed chair said officials still expect the forces keeping inflation low to fade eventually. But she conceded that the Fed may need to adjust its assumptions. In noting the persistence of low inflation, Yellen suggested that the Fed will take care not to raise rates too quickly. But she also said the central bank should avoid raising rates too slowly. Moving too gradually, she suggested, might eventually force the Fed to have to accelerate rate hikes and thereby elevate the risk of a recession. Most analysts expect the central bank to raise rates in December, for a third time this year, in a reflection of economic improvement. But the Fed has said its rate hikes will depend on incoming data. In her speech in Cleveland to the annual conference of the National Association for Business Economics, Yellen went further than she has before in suggesting that the Fed could be mistaken in the assumptions it is making about inflation. “My colleagues and I may have misjudged the strength of the labor market, the degree to which longer-run inflation expectations are consistent with …

Hackers breached the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s computer system last year by taking advantage of companies that used authentic financial data when they were testing the agency’s corporate filing system, according to sources familiar with the matter. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Secret Service have since launched an investigation into a 2016 hack into the SEC’S EDGAR system, several of those people said. The sources spoke anonymously because it is not a public investigation. The SEC’s EDGAR system is a crucial network used by companies to file earnings reports and other material information. Spokesmen for the FBI, the Secret Service and the SEC all declined to comment, saying they could neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation. The breach occurred in October 2016 and was detected that same month. The attack appeared to have been routed through a server in Eastern Europe, according to an internal government memo describing the incident, which was seen by Reuters. There was no evidence at the time that data had been improperly retrieved, according to one source familiar with the matter, and the issue was handled internally by the SEC’s Office of Information Technology. Only after the SEC’s Enforcement Division detected a pattern of suspicious trading ahead of company public disclosures did officials go back to the agency’s technology staff and ask if some companies were using authentic data when they were testing the EDGAR system, one of the people said. The person said that “not many companies” …

Equifax CEO Richard Smith announced his sudden retirement Tuesday following a massive data breach at the credit reporting company earlier this year. Smith and Equifax says they learned of the hack in late July but waited until September 7 to inform its customers about the incident, which may have further compromised the personal information of about 143 million Americans. The federal government is investigating the company’s response to the hack and Congress will hold a hearing on the matter next week. Paulino do Rego Barros, Jr., an executive from the Asia Pacific division at Equifax, will serve as CEO while the company searches for a permanent replacement. Equifax, one the largest credit reporting companies in the United States, said hackers were able to obtain names, Social Security numbers, birth dates and addresses of more than 40 percent of the U.S. population. The company said credit card numbers were also compromised for 209,000 U.S. consumers, as were credit dispute accounts for 182,000 people. Smith served as CEO from 2005 until this week. His departure follows the abrupt retirement of Equifax’s chief security officer Susan Mauldin and chief information officer Dave Webb. …

The United States has asked China not to implement its new cybersecurity law and is concerned it could damage global trade in services, a U.S. document published by the World Trade Organization showed on Tuesday. China ushered in a tough new cybersecurity law in June, following years of fierce debate around the move that many foreign business groups fear will hit their ability to operate in the country. The law requires local and overseas firms to submit to security checks and store user data within the country. If China’s new rules enter into full force in their current form, as expected by the end of 2018, they could impact cross-border services supplied through a commercial presence abroad, said the U.S. document, submitted for debate at the WTO Services Council. “China’s measures would disrupt, deter, and in many cases, prohibit cross-border transfers of information that are routine in the ordinary course of business,” it said. “The United States has been communicating these concerns directly to high level officials and relevant authorities in China,” the U.S. document said, adding it wanted to raise awareness among WTO members about the potential impact on trade. “We request that China refrain from issuing or implementing final measures until such concerns are addressed.” The two-page U.S. document said the measures causing concern included the Cybersecurity Law adopted in November 2016 and taking effect June 2017 and various implementing measures connected with that law and the July 2015 National Security Law. The law obliges companies to store …

Global accountancy firm Deloitte has been hit by a sophisticated hack that resulted in breach of confidential information and plans from some of its biggest clients, Britain’s Guardian newspaper said on Monday. Deloitte — one of the big four professional services providers — confirmed to the newspaper it had been hit by a hack, but it said only a small number of its clients had been impacted. The firm discovered the hack in March, according to the Guardian, but the cyber attackers could have had breached its systems as long ago as October or November 2016. The attack was believed to have been focused on the U.S. operations of the company, which provides auditing, tax advice and consultancy to multinationals and governments worldwide. “In response to a cyber incident, Deloitte implemented its comprehensive security protocol and began an intensive and thorough review including mobilizing a team of cybersecurity and confidentiality experts inside and outside of Deloitte,” a spokesman told the newspaper. “As part of the review, Deloitte has been in contact with the very few clients impacted and notified governmental authorities and regulators.” A Deloitte spokeswoman declined immediate comment, saying that the firm would issue a statement shortly. …

Airbnb is launching local tours and other experiences in New York City this week with a special host. Her listing promises an “unforgettable shoe-shopping experience’” and her bio describes her as an “actor, producer, businesswoman” and “proud New Yorker.”   She’s Sarah Jessica Parker of ‘Sex and the City’ fame and she’ll be taking four guests shoe-shopping at Bloomingdale’s, then sending them to the ballet.   Parker’s listing goes live Tuesday, with four spots at $400 each, first come, first served. The money will benefit the New York City Ballet, where Parker is a board member.   Airbnb is primarily known for vacation rentals around the world. Officials in many cities have criticized the company, saying its short-term rentals are reducing long-term housing options for residents and forcing prices up.   …

Poised to reveal a tax plan that is a pillar of  his economic policy and delivering on a campaign pledge, President Donald Trump is promising “The largest tax cut in the history of our country.” Trump’s declarations came as the health care legislation brought forward by Republicans teetered near failure. He said his “primary focus” is the tax overhaul plan, which would be the first major revamp of the tax system in three decades.   Trump has promised economic growth of 3 percent, and insists that slashing taxes for individuals and corporations is the way to achieve it. He said the tax plan that the White House and Capitol Hill Republicans have been working on for months is “totally finalized.” He was speaking on the tarmac at the Morristown Municipal Airport.   Trump’s details weren’t firm. He said “I hope” the top corporate tax rate will be cut to 15 percent from the current 35 percent. House Speaker Paul Ryan has said a 15 percent rate is impractically low, with a rate somewhere in the low- to mid-20 percent range more viable to avoid blowing out the deficit. The rate is “going to be substantially lower so we bring jobs back into our country,” Trump said.   Trump also said “We think we’re going to bring the individual rate to 10 percent or 12 percent, much lower than it is right now.” He did not say whether the tax rate for the wealthiest Americans, now at 39.6 percent would be …

Iraq on Sunday urged foreign countries to stop importing crude directly from its autonomous Kurdistan region and to restrict oil trading to the central government. The call, published in statement from Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s office, came in retaliation for the Kurdistan Regional Government’s plan to hold a referendum on independence on Monday. The central government’s statement seems to be directed primarily at Turkey, the transit country for all the crude produced in Kurdistan. The crude is taken by pipeline to the Turkish Mediterranean coast for export. Baghdad “asks the neighboring countries and the countries of the world to deal exclusively with the federal government of Iraq in regards to entry posts and oil,” the statement said. The Iraqi government has always opposed independent sales of crude by the KRG, and tried on many occasions to block Kurdish oil shipments. Long-standing disputes over land and oil resources are among the main reasons cited by the KRG to ask for independence. Iraqi Kurdistan produces around 650,000 barrels per day of crude from its fields, including around 150,000 from the disputed areas of Kirkuk. The region’s production volumes represent 15 percent of total Iraqi output and around 0.7 percent of global oil production. The KRG aspires to raise production to over 1 million barrels per day by the end of this decade. Kurdish oil production has been dominated by mid-sized oil companies such as Genel, DNO, Gulf Keystone and Dana Gas. Major oil companies such as Chevron, Exxon Mobil and Rosneft also …

Swiss voters rejected raising women’s retirement age to 65 in a referendum on Sunday on shoring up the wealthy nation’s pension system as a wave of Baby Boomers stops working. Authorities pushing the first serious reform of the pension system in two decades had warned that old-age benefits were increasingly at risk as life expectancy rises and interest rates remain exceptionally low, cutting investment yields. But it fell by a margin of 53-47 percent, sending the government back to the drawing board on the thorny social issue. The package turned down under the Swiss system of direct democracy included making retirement between the ages of 62 and 70 more flexible and raising the standard value-added tax (VAT) rate from 2021 to help finance the stretched pension system. It sought to secure the level of pensions through 2030 by cutting costs and raising additional revenue. Minimum pay-out rates would have gradually fallen and workers’ contributions would rise, while public pensions for all new recipients would go up by 70 Swiss francs ($72.25) a month. The retirement age for women would have gradually risen by a year to 65, the same as for men. “That is no life,” complained one 49-year-old kiosk cashier, who identified herself only as Angie. “You go straight from work to the graveyard.” Some critics had complained that the higher retirement age for women and higher VAT rates were unfair, while others opposed expanding public benefits and said the reforms only postponed for a decade rather than solved …

Sunday’s national election in Germany will sound the starting gun for a renewed debate on fixing flaws in Europe’s shared currency to prevent future crises.   France’s new president Emmanuel Macron has made it clear he is willing to push for change to strengthen the euro and is expected to make proposals in a major speech Tuesday. He is pushing for, among other things, a finance minister for the eurozone to oversee a central fiscal pot of money that could even out recessions in individual members.   Even pro-euro policymakers concede their 19-nation currency union contains weaknesses that fed its debt crisis — and leave it exposed to new trouble. But action on fixes has slowed.   Macron’s ideas are not new but several of them have faced resistance from Germany, always allergic to the idea of being handed the bill for other members’ troubles. For example, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her finance minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, have pushed back against the idea of EU-wide insurance on bank deposits meant to keep bank troubles from hitting government finances.   Now there are signs that after its own elections are out of the way, Germany might be more open to change or at a minimum speeding up steps — like the deposit insurance idea — that have stalled. Polls suggest Merkel will win a fourth term. What’s not clear is which party her center right Christian Democratic Union will form a coalition.   “In several ways, the coming 12-18 months represent …

U.S. ride-hailing firm Uber is prepared to make concessions as it seeks to reverse a decision by London authorities not to renew its license in the city, which represents a potentially big blow for the fast-growing company, a newspaper reported. The Sunday Times also quoted sources close to London’s transport body as saying the move was encouraging and suggested the possibility of talks. “While we haven’t been asked to make any changes, we’d like to know what we can do,” Tom Elvidge, Uber’s general manager in London, told the newspaper. “But that requires a dialogue we sadly haven’t been able to have recently.” A spokesman for Transport for London (TfL) declined to comment. The Sunday Times said Uber’s concessions were likely to involve passenger safety and benefits for its drivers, possible limits on working hours to improve road safety and holiday pay. TfL stunned the powerful U.S. start-up Friday when it deemed Uber unfit to run a taxi service for safety reasons and stripped it of its license from Sept. 30, although the company can continue to operate while it appeals. The regulator cited failures to report serious criminal offenses, conduct sufficient background checks on drivers and other safety issues. Uber responded by urging users in London to sign a petition that said the city authorities had “caved in to a small number of people who want to restrict consumer choice.” The move echoed Uber’s strategy in disputes with other cities. By 2200 GMT Saturday, more than 600,000 people had …