Month: October 2017

China has a new richest man, according to the annual Hurun rich list of the country’s top movers and shakers. Xu Jiayin, the chairman of developer China Evergrande Group, has seized top spot – beating out more familiar faces such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s Jack Ma and rival property magnate Wang Jianlin of Dalian Wanda Group. Xu’s reported $43 billion wealth – a gain of around $30 billion against last year – comes on the back of a surge in Evergrande’s shares, up over 450 percent so far this year amid plans to cut debt and focus on profit over scale. The Hurun Report, established in 1999, is the leading China-based organization ranking the wealth of the country’s rich and famous, and its list gives a temperature check on the winners and losers in China. Growth in China stabilized this year, but while the world’s second largest economy averted a hard landing, some major corporations have buckled under the weight of their debt or been sanctioned by authorities over risky investments overseas. Wanda’s Wang – who took top spot for the last two years – dropped to fifth in the list after Wanda sold off much of the firm’s hotel and theme park assets to rivals in July, after coming under regulatory scrutiny over its high leverage. Close behind Evergrande’s Xu were China’s top tech titans – Alibaba’s Jack Ma and Tencent Holdings Ltd’s Pony Ma, who has seen his firm’s value rise on the popularity of its WeChat …

The Trump administration says coal is back and nuclear energy is cool. Not at the expense of natural gas, wind and solar, insists an unusual coalition of business and environmental groups. Dow Chemical, Koch Industries and U.S. Steel Corp. are standing with environmentalists in opposing an Energy Department plan that would reward nuclear and coal-fired power plants for adding reliability to the nation’s power grid and are pressuring the administration to shift course. Energy Secretary Rick Perry says the plan is needed to help prevent widespread outages such as those caused by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria and a 2014 “polar vortex” in the Eastern and Central U.S. The plan aims to reverse a steady tide of retirements of coal and nuclear plants, which have lost market share as natural gas and renewable energy flourish. “The continued loss of baseload generation … such as coal and nuclear must be stopped,” Perry wrote in a Sept. 28 letter urging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to adopt the new rule. “These generation resources are necessary to maintain the resiliency of the electric grid” amid sharp shifts in the U.S. energy market. Perry’s plan coincides with President Donald Trump’s vow to achieve U.S. “energy dominance” while ending what he and other Republicans call a “war on coal” waged by the Obama administration. Perry, who has said he wants to “make nuclear energy cool again,” is certain to face questions about the plan and the opposition at a congressional hearing Thursday. Critics see a …

The ranking of the 50 most powerful women by Fortune magazine is out. The list include such stalwarts as General Motors Mary Barra and PepsiCo’s Indra Nooyi. But it also seven newcomers, including the first foreign-born Latina CEO on the Fortune 500, Geisha Williams. VOA Correspondent Mariama Diallo was at their annual gathering in Washington this week and has this report. …

Billionaire philanthopist Michael Bloomberg has pledged an additional $64 million for the initiatives intended to slash the number of U.S. coal power plants. Bloomberg’s charity announced Wednesday the money will be donated to environmental groups working to replace coal-fired plants with cleaner forms of energy production. The move came after the Trump administration said it would repeal the Clean Power Plan. VOA’s Zlatica Hoke has this story. …

U.S. and Mexican CEOs gathered in Mexico City on Wednesday said it would be better to live with no North American Free Trade Agreement than be saddled with a bad deal, as industry braces for the end of a treaty that drives $1 trillion in annual trade. The CEO meeting ran in parallel to talks near Washington aimed at refreshing the 1994 agreement, with Mexico, Canada and businesses united in opposition to a number of radical U.S. proposals they say would damage the North American economy. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would be open to bilateral trade pacts with Mexico or Canada if a deal cannot be reached to substantially revise NAFTA. “We are all much worse off with a bad agreement than with no agreement,” said Guillermo Vogel, who co-chaired the Mexico City event and is a vice president at Tenaris, a steel company. The meeting, part of a bilateral “CEO dialogue” that meets a couple of times each year, included a closed-door discussion on the NAFTA negotiations addressed by Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray and Economy Minister Idelfonso Guajardo, who are in charge of the negotiations for Mexico. On the U.S. side the event was co-chaired by FedEx’s CEO Michael Ducker and U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Donohue. The event’s organizers declined to say who else attended. American Express, AT&T, GM and Delta were listed on publicity material for an event hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Mexico on Tuesday, where Donohue warned …

Financial markets in Istanbul were pummeled this week as the tit-for-tat visa spat between the Unites States and Turkey escalated. Turkish stocks and currency values fell on Monday before rebounding in Tuesday’s trading. The Oct. 8 decision by the United States to place the NATO ally on the same list of pariah states as North Korea and Iran comes at a critical time for the Turkish economy. Mil Arcega has more. …

Restaurant Veselka has made New Yorkers fall in love with Ukrainian cuisine. Featured in movies and frequented by celebrities, the diner is also a staple for locals. In a city that’s tough on restaurants, Veselka’s longevity is legendary. VOA’s Iuliia larmolenko has the story. …

Worried California vintners surveyed the damage to their vineyards and wineries Tuesday as wildfires sweep through counties whose famous names have become synonymous with fine food and drink. At the Gundlach Bundschu in Sonoma County, workers were not sure the grapes above the winery survived a second night of fires that have destroyed at least two wineries and damaged more. “We haven’t been able to go up and assess the vine damage,” said Katie Bundschu, vice president of sales. “We’re in the process of salvaging what we can.” Speedy, wind-driven wildfires that continued to burn Tuesday came as workers in Napa and Sonoma counties were picking and processing ripe grapes to make chardonnay, merlot and other wines that have made the region a global hot spot. Millions of locals and out-of-staters flock to the counties every year to sample wine, sit in mud baths and soak in the region’s natural beauty. At least five wineries belonging to members have had “complete losses” in facilities, with another nine reporting some damage, said Michael Honig, board chairman of the Napa Valley Vintners trade association and president of Honig Vineyard & Winery. He said the group has not heard from all members, especially those in the most vulnerable parts of the valley. “We don’t have a good idea of how the vineyards have been impacted,” he said. “The silver lining, if there is one to this fire, this situation, is that most of us have brought in 90 percent of our crop for …

Mexico’s richest man, telecom magnate Carlos Slim, said Tuesday that reconstruction from two destructive earthquakes last month will create jobs and spur growth and announced that more than $100 million has been raised for relief efforts. Tens of thousands of homes and apartments were destroyed and will have to be rebuilt following the Sept. 19 magnitude-7.1 quake, which killed 369 people, and an earlier, even more powerful one that struck in southern Mexico on Sept. 7 with a magnitude of 8.1. Slim said Mexico City, which was hard-hit by the later quake, should turn in its recovery phase to the kind of high-rise developments he has constructed. “Even though it was a very sad tragedy … it will be a big factor in spurring economic activity and employment,” Slim said during a news conference called by his charitable foundation. Slim, who at one time was estimated to be the world’s wealthiest person, did not appear concerned about the state of the economy in Mexico, where the peso has fallen nearly 6 percent against the U.S. dollar in the last three weeks. That drop has been blamed on fears of a possible impasse in renegotiations of the North American Free Trade Agreement. But Slim said World Trade Organization rules that would kick in if the NAFTA talks founder are sufficient. “The WTO rules are very stimulating for commerce,” he said. Slim said private donors have raised the equivalent of about $22 million for earthquake relief and his foundation matched those donations …

Attorneys for the Trump administration said a federal judge has no authority to second-guess a presidential permit for the Keystone XL oil pipeline as they seek to stop a lawsuit that would block the project. Justice Department attorneys are due in U.S. District Court in Montana on Wednesday to defend the administration’s March approval of the 1,179-mile pipeline — a lightning rod in the debate over what to do about climate change. The TransCanada proposal would transport Canadian crude oil through Montana and South Dakota to Nebraska, where it would connect with an existing system of lines to carry oil to Gulf Coast refineries. The Obama administration rejected the project before the proposal was revived in March by President Donald Trump, who said it would create jobs and lead to greater energy independence. Conservation groups and Native American organizations that sued over the project argue that an environmental review completed in 2014 was inadequate. They’ve asked U.S. District Judge Brian Morris to revoke its permit. Government attorneys said in their motion to throw out the case that Morris can’t interfere because the Constitution gives Trump authority over matters of foreign affairs and national security. “The remedy that plaintiffs seek — an injunction against the presidential permit — is not available because such an order would impermissibly infringe on the president’s authority,” Justice Department attorney Bridget McNeil wrote. The project’s economics have shifted considerably since the pipeline was proposed in 2008, with low oil prices and the high cost of extracting …

The global economy is expected to expand to a 3.6 percent annual rate this year, up from last year’s rate of 3.2 percent.    Tuesday’s assessment comes from the International Monetary Fund as economic officials from the World Bank and nations around the world gather to discuss growth, jobs, worries, ideas, and pleas for action this week in Washington. The global lender’s experts say improving investment, industrial production, business and consumer confidence are helping economic expansion. The IMF says advanced nations, including the United States, will grow more slowly than developing countries. The report puts U.S. economic expansion at 2.2 percent this year, up from 2016. IMF experts say future U.S. growth is uncertain because proposals to cut taxes and regulations and boost spending on infrastructure have not yet made their way through a divided legislature. The outlook for China has been cut slightly, but remains strong at 6.8 percent this year. The economy in sub-Saharan-Africa is expected to reach a 2.6 percent annual growth rate this year, and 3.4 percent next year. That is a little slower than earlier projections. IMF officials say national leaders need to make reforms now “while times are good.” They urge efforts to boost potential output, reduce inequality, and make national economies more resilient. The global lender also calls on advanced economies to keep interest rates low, at least until inflation begins to rise, and work to strengthen international economic cooperation. The economic experts warn that commercial credit problems in China, faster interest rate …

Some U.S. workers for one of China’s biggest glass manufacturers are trying to organize a labor union at their factory in the Midwest state of Ohio. VOA’s Calla Yu reports on how one Chinese investor is adjusting to doing business in the United States. …

Americans who work for one of China’s biggest glass manufacturers are trying to organize a labor union at their factory in the Midwest state of Ohio. China’s Fuyao Glass came to Dayton, Ohio, two years ago with $600 million to refurbish a closed automobile plant. The investment added about 2,000 new jobs to the local economy and boosted Fuyao’s share of the U.S. auto glass market. But the factory has also been cited for workplace safety violations that employee Larry Yates Jr. says show different ways of doing business. “How they work in China is not how we work over here in America,” he said. “In China, you work seven days a week. You do whatever you’re told to do. And in America, you have rules and regulations and guidance that you have to go by. If you don’t go by those, you’re in trouble.” Federal records show Labor Department inspectors have been to the Fuyao factory more times than to any other similar U.S. plant. The company has been assessed more than $100,000 in penalties for safety and health violations. Yates says this shows it is time for Fuyao employees to organize with the United Auto Workers union, or UAW. “With the UAW being involved, and them helping us, showing us where to go, which way to go, we can make it a safer place to work,” Yates said. “Plus, we would also have a voice on the bargaining table.” Fuyao America President Jeff Liu says the firm cooperates fully …

As the Indian capital, New Delhi, battles deadly air pollution, it might be missing the customary fireworks during the Hindu festival of lights, following a temporary ban imposed by the Supreme Court on the sale of firecrackers   The order has raised a firestorm in the city of about 18 million as it gears up for Diwali on October 19. Complaining that the order strikes at the heart of a quintessential Hindu tradition, critics compared it to banning Christmas trees on Christmas. Jubilant supporters pointed out that the top priority is the health of citizens in a city where the air turns toxic at this time of the year because of slower winds and colder temperatures that trap more pollution. “Let’s try at least one Diwali without firecrackers,” said one judge as the court announced the order Monday. The Supreme Court ban is not new — it was also imposed last year, but only after the festival, when New Delhi was already enveloped in a haze of smog.   The ban was partially lifted last month as Diwali approached, but it has been reimposed in connection with a public interest lawsuit on behalf of three children who are seeking the court’s intervention to better clean up Delhi’s toxic air.   Supporters of the ban hope the preemptive measure will prevent pollution from reaching levels of last year, when air quality was nearly 20 times the safe limit set by the World Health Organization in the days following the festival. Many people …

Labor unions have existed in the United States since the late 19th Century.  They were created to protect the working population from abuses such as sweatshops and unsafe working conditions.  VOA’s Nikoleta Ilic visited an exhibit at the National Museum of American History in Washington to find out how the American labor movement developed and where it stands today. …