Most pet owners are ready to share stories of how their pets have consoled or responded to them during a time of distress. Most were just cute pet stories, until now — as new research is showing that dogs actually feel empathy for others. Sadie Witkowski has more. …
Рада з фінансової стабільності закликає відновити співпрацю з МВФ – Нацбанк
Рада з фінансової стабільності України наголошує на необхідності відновлення співпраці країни з Міжнародним валютним фондом (МВФ), повідомляє Національний банк за підсумками засідання цього органу. Члени ради, яка об’єднує Міністерство фінансів, НБУ та інших фінрегуляторів, під час зустрічі обговорили ризики для стабільності фінансової системи. Затримку з відновленням співпраці з МВФ там назвали ключовим ризиком для фінансової стабільності. «Реалізація структурних реформ, передбачених програмою співпраці з МВФ, є вкрай важливою для макрофінансової стабільності України та доступу до фінансування від МВФ та інших міжнародних партнерів», – йдеться у в прес-релізі цього органу. Там наголосили, що це особливо важливо для збереження попиту на українські зобов’язання в умовах глобальної тенденції виходу інвесторів з активів ринків, що розвиваються, та з урахуванням необхідності здійснювати значні за обсягом виплати за зовнішнім державним боргом протягом наступних двох років. Читайте також: МВФ підтримує український план щодо антикорупційного суду В середині липня прем’єр-міністр Володимир Гройсман заявляв, що уряд продовжує переговори з МВФ про ціну на природний газ для населення і розраховує на компромісний варіант. У березні 2015 року між МВФ і Україною була затверджена чотирирічна програма розширеного фінансування на суму близько 17,5 мільярда доларів США. Наразі МВФ надав Україні за цією програмою близько 8 мільярдів 380 мільйонів доларів. Міністерство фінансів України очікувало на надходження нового траншу кредиту МВФ на початку 2018 року. У квітні в НБУ заявили, що очікують траншу від Міжнародного валютного фонду в третьому кварталі. …
BRICS Leaders Cite Concerns About Protectionist Policies
Leaders from the five BRICS nations sounded the alarm over what South Africa’s president described as recent threats to multilateralism and sustainable global growth — a not-so-coded reference to a brewing trade war between the U.S. and BRICS’ wealthiest member, China. Chinese President Xi Jinping raised his concerns as the three-day summit began in South Africa. “A trade war should be rejected because there will be no winner,” he said. “Economic hegemony is even more objectionable, because it will undermine the collective interest of the international community. Those who pursue this cause will only hurt themselves.” WATCH: Leaders of BRICS Economic Bloc Cite Concerns at Protectionist Policies South African President Cyril Ramaphosa echoed his sentiments. “We are meeting here, ladies and gentlemen, at a time when the multilateral trading system is facing unprecedented challenges,” Ramaphosa said. “We are concerned by the rise in unilateral measures that are incompatible with World Trade Organization rules and we are worried about the impact of these measures, especially as they impact developing countries and economies. These developments call for thorough discussion on the role of trade in growing and in promoting sustainable development, particularly inclusive growth.” BRICS comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The bloc admitted South Africa in 2010 as part of its aim of leveling the global playing field by representing nontraditional powers. U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to slap tariffs on all $505 billion worth of Chinese imports, a move that has caused global concern. Summit watchers …
BRICS Bloc Leaders Cite Concerns Over Protectionist Trade Policies
This year’s summit of the BRICS nations — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — began Wednesday with an expression of concern about the trade war brewing between the United States and BRICS’ wealthiest member, China. BRICS admitted South Africa in 2010 as part of the bloc’s aim of leveling the global playing field by representing non-traditional powers. Leaders say that goal is now more important than ever, given the growth of protectionist trade policies and politics around the globe. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa issued strong words of concern at the opening of the summit in Johannesburg on Wednesday. “We are meeting here, ladies and gentlemen, at a time when the multilateral trading system is facing unprecedented challenges. We are concerned by the rise in unilateral measures that are incompatible with World Trade Organization rules and we are worried about the impact of these measures, especially as they impact developing countries and economies.” Ramaphosa said these developments “call for thorough discussion on the role of trade in growing and in promoting sustainable development, particularly inclusive growth.” To that end, he said, the bloc’s development bank has, since its establishment in 2014, issued $5.1 billion in loans to foster development projects. On the eve of the summit, Ramaphosa met with Chinese President Xi Jinping. China has been attempting to shore up its international relationships amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on Chinese goods. But as South African Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies pointed out in …
Trump Attacks China’s Tariffs on US Farm Products
U.S. President Donald Trump attacked China on Wednesday for targeting American farm products with new tariffs in what he said would be a failed effort to gain a trade advantage over the United States. “China is targeting our farmers, who they know I love & respect, as a way of getting me to continue allowing them to take advantage of the U.S.,” Trump said on Twitter. “They are being vicious in what will be their failed attempt. We were being nice – until now!” Beijng recently imposed new tariffs on an array of American farm produce, including soy beans, corn, wheat, cotton, rice, sorghum, beef, pork, poultry, fish, dairy products, nuts and vegetables. It is part of a tit-for-tat tariff battle that Trump is waging with China in an effort to get Beijing to further open up its markets and end what the U.S. views as onerous requirements that American companies hand over proprietary technology information in order to do business in China. The U.S. has chronically run a trade deficit with China, although Trump overstated the 2017 figure as $517 billion. The U.S. government says the deficit actually was $375.6 billion. With the new tariffs in China, some U.S. farmers, many of them among Trump’s biggest political supporters in the 2016 election, have voiced their dismay at declining sales. With the agricultural financial fallout occurring less than four months before nationwide congressional elections in November, the Trump administration said Tuesday it would provide up to $12 billion in aid …
UN Issues New Warning on Climate Change
In a new warning, the U.N.’s World Meteorological Organization said the world is becoming increasingly vulnerable to the impact of climate change. It said this phenomenon is due to many factors and is not occurring at the same rate or degree around the globe. Parts of the world are feeling the strain of record-breaking heatwaves, drought, devastating floods and raging wildfires. They are having a widespread impact on human health, agriculture, ecosystems and infrastructure. The World Meteorological Organization reports climate change is influencing this trend in varying degrees. The chief of the WMO’s World Weather Research Program, Paulo Ruti, said there is no discernible global pattern of climate change, but, its impact is increasingly visible in certain areas, such as the Arctic. “We have seen wildfires in the Arctic,” he said. “So, there are favoring conditions related to the fact that climate change is acting. So, you are melting the Permafrost, you have much more vegetation that is available. Sometimes you have stronger winds. So, you have several factors.” Another interesting factor, he said, is a discernible increase in storms and lightning, events which also can trigger fires in the Arctic. He said climate change in some places is happening faster than previously predicted. “It depends on what is your target because if it is the Arctic, the answer is yes,” he told VOA. “So, you see an acceleration of the melting in the recent five, six years.” WMO scientist Ruti notes this question needs to be put into context. …
Scientists Discover What Appears to be Water Beneath the Surface of Mars
Scientists announced Wednesday they had discovered what appears to be a body of salty, liquid water beneath the surface of Mars, raising the possibility of detecting life on the Red Planet. The reservoir, spanning about 20 kilometers in diameter under ice on the planet’s southern pole, was found through a radar instrument on the Mars Express Orbiter, which was launched in 2003. Researchers previously discovered signs that water once flowed on Mars. “It’s tempting to think that this is the first candidate place where life could persist [on Mars],” said Roberto Orosei, a professor with the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics. He led the research published in the journal Science. He also said Mars may contain hidden bodies of water that have yet to be discovered. Orosei said the size of the reservoir “really qualifies this as a body of water,” like a lake, and not like “some kind of melt water filling some space between rock and ice.” The scientists say the discovery gives them a roadmap to potentially finding life under the surface. “We are not closer to actually detecting life,” said Dr. Manish Patel, an astrobiologist at Britain’s Open University, in comments published by the BBC. “What this finding does is give us the location of where to look on Mars. It is like a treasure map – except in this case, there will be lots of ‘X’s marking the spots.” Mars is cold, barren and dry, but used to be warm and wet. The researchers say …
Lowering Blood Pressure Cut Risk of Memory Decline: US Study
Aggressively lowering blood pressure significantly reduced the risk of mild cognitive impairment and dementia among hypertension patients in a large government-backed clinical trial, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday. The results, presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Chicago, offer some of the first tangible steps individuals can take to reduce their risk for dementia, experts said. The results come from a landmark 2015 trial dubbed SPRINT involving of more than 9,300 hypertension patients which showed significant cardiovascular benefits in people whose systolic blood pressure – the top number in a blood pressure reading – was lowered aggressively to below 120, compared to a higher target of under 140. The Sprint MIND study looked specifically at the implications of aggressive blood pressure lowering on symptoms of dementia from any cause, and mild cognitive impairment, or MCI, a precursor to dementia. It found that people whose blood pressure was lowered to below 120 had a 19 percent lower rate of new cases of mild cognitive impairment and a 15 percent reduction in MCI and dementia combined. The takeaway of the study, said Dr. Keith Fargo, director of scientific and outreach programs at the Alzheimer’s Association, is “see your doctor and know your numbers,” and if individuals have hypertension, get it treated. “Not only do we already know that it reduces the risk for death due to stroke and heart attacks but we now know it supports healthy brain aging,” he said in an interview. Although the study showed effects on MCI …
Arrests Made in China Rabies Vaccine Scandal
At least 15 officials at a Chinese drug manufacturer have been detained as part of an investigation that it produced false records involving its rabies vaccine. The detained executives include the chair of Changsheng Biotechnology, which was ordered last week to stop production and recall the vaccine after the China Food and Drug Administration discovered it had been falsifying production and inspection records. Premier Li Keqiang issued a statement Sunday denouncing Changsheng for crossing a moral line, and promised to “resolutely crack down” on any actions that endangers public safety. There have no reports of injuries from the vaccine, but the news led to a wave of criticism on social media. Changsheng Biotechnology was forced to stop production of a vaccine for diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis last year after regulators found the vaccine to be defective. China has been working to restore confidence in its food and drug industries, both at home and abroad, after a series of scandals over the last decade over shoddy and tainted products, the most notorious in 2008, when 300,000 children were sickened when they were given milk powder contaminated with the chemical melamine. Six of the children died. …
Мінфін: видатки на виплату пенсій профінансовані на 100%
Міністерство фінансів повідомило, що видатки державного бюджету, які спрямовуються Пенсійному фонду на виплату пенсій, профінансовані стовідсотково, інформує прес-служба Мінфіну на сайті. «Міністерство фінансів інформує про те, що видатки державного бюджету, які спрямовуються Пенсійному фонду на виплату пенсій, профінансовані стовідсотково. Відповідно до помісячного розпису асигнувань загального фонду державного бюджету, видатки на виплату пенсій за січень-липень 2018 року затверджені у сумі 83,4 мільярда гривень», – йдеться у повідомленні. За інформацією Мінфіну, 12 липня 2018 року був перерахований Пенсійному фонду останній платіж на суму 2,5 мільярда гривень. «Окрім того, відповідно до Бюджетного кодексу, Пенсійному фонду на покриття тимчасових касових розривів надаються позики з єдиного казначейського рахунка на виплату пенсій. Так, 23 липня 2018 року з єдиного казначейського рахунка Пенсійному фонду на виплату пенсій було надано позичку у сумі 1,5 мільярда гривень», – зазначили у Міністерстві фінансів. З 21 липня у Києві та деяких інших містах спостерігається затримка з виплатою пенсій. У Пенсійному фонді пояснили, що зміщення строків виплати пенсій у липні зумовлене розривами надходження єдиного соціального внеску, та заявили, що всі пенсії будуть повністю виплачені. Прем’єр-міністр України Володимир Гройсман призначив службове розслідування стосовно дій керівництва Пенсійного фонду України (ПФУ) та його керівників у регіонах щодо ситуації з затримкою виплати пенсій. …
Sergio Marchionne, Who Saved Fiat and Chrysler, Has Died
Sergio Marchionne, a charismatic and demanding CEO who engineered two long-shot corporate turnarounds to save carmakers Fiat and Chrysler from near-certain failure, died Wednesday. He was 66. The holding company of Fiat’s founders, the Agnelli family, announced Marchionne had died after unexpected complications from surgery in Zurich. That came days after a deterioration in his health led the company to hastily appoint a successor. At Fiat Chrysler Automobiles headquarters in the Italian city of Turin, corporate flags flew at half-staff while inside the building, Marchionne’s successor led a minute of silence ahead of an earnings presentation. Workers at a plant near Naples that Marchionne had brought back to life halted production for 10 minutes in tribute. “Unfortunately what we feared has come to pass,” said John Elkann, Fiat heir and head of the Exor holding company. “Sergio Marchionne, man and friend, is gone.” The news agency ANSA reported the cause of death as cardiac arrest. He suffered one while recovering from shoulder surgery late last month, landing him in intensive care, followed by a second, fatal event. Fiat Chrysler declined to comment, citing privacy issues. The Italian-Canadian had planned to step down after first-quarter earnings next year, but the transition was accelerated after the company announced that the complications, which it did not detail, would prevent his return. He also was replaced as CEO of sportscar maker Ferrari and heavy truck and equipment maker CNH Industrial. Marchionne turned around the dysfunctional Fiat and Chrysler, merging …
Затримка пенсій: Гройсман призначив службове розслідування в Пенсійному фонді
Прем’єр вказав, що держава вчасно перераховує всі бюджетні трансферти …
Гривня далі знецінюється: 26,63 за долар
На міжбанківському валютному ринку триває знецінення національної валюти. Як повідомляє профільний сайт «Мінфін», який відстежує перебіг торгів, станом на 11:00 25 липня укладено 60 угод на суму 32,2 мільйона доларів за середньозваженим курсом 26,6360 гривні. 24 липня вперше за чотири місяці Національний банк України встановив офіційний курс на рівні понад 26 з половиною гривень за долар – 26,58. На міжбанківському валютному ринку 24 липня тривало зростання котирувань американського долара, на міжбанку фіксувалося «переважання попиту на тлі низької ліквідності». «Гривневий навіс на транзитних і кореспондентських рахунках НБУ помітно зріс, попри превентивні заходи регулятора щодо вилучення з ринку надлишкової гривневої ліквідності», – вказували фахівці на початку тижня Котирування на рівні понад 26 з половиною гривень за долар є найвищими за останні чотири місяці. Офіційний курс Національного банку України на 30 березня становив 26 гривень 54 копійки за долар. Після цього національна валюта міцнішала до рівня близько 26 гривень за долар. …
US, EU Meet in Hopes of Averting Wider Trade War
A showdown on trade at the White House on Wednesday is expected to result in a standoff — at least for now. A meeting between U.S. officials, led by President Donald Trump, and a European Union delegation, headed by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, is looking to avert the widening trans-Atlantic gap that could turn into a full-scale trade war affecting half of global commerce. “We just want it to be a level playing field for our farmers, for our manufacturers, for everybody,” Trump said, sitting alongside Juncker in the Oval Office. “If we could have no tariffs, no barriers, no subsidies, the United States would be very pleased.” Juncker is putting forth two proposals, according to European officials. One would involve a tariff-free deal not only including the U.S. and EU automakers but those from Japan and South Korea, as well. The other suggestion: a limited U.S.-EU free-trade agreement focused on industrial tariffs. “We are close partners — allies, not enemies — we have to work together,” declared Juncker, who is also hoping to persuade the U.S. president not to impose huge new tariffs on imported cars following Trump’s imposition of such import taxes on steel and aluminum. There are “many countries where they have massive barriers and they have massive tariffs and we have to follow,” Trump said while reporters were in the Oval Office for a brief portion of the meeting. “You could call it retaliation, but I’d rather just say that we want reciprocal. So, whether …
China’s Caffeine War: Fast-growing Luckin Brews Up a Threat to Starbucks
Qian Zhiya may be Starbucks’ worst nightmare. The 42-year-old Chinese entrepreneur says she is betting that her fledgling Luckin Coffee brand will eventually have more cafes in China than Starbucks, and she has Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund and other investors bankrolling her plan. Luckin, which only officially launched in January, has opened more than 660 outlets in 13 Chinese cities thanks to a supercharged growth plan based on cheap delivery, online ordering, big discounts and premium pay for its staff. Its assault comes at a crucial time for Starbucks, which has 3,400 stores in China — its second biggest market after the U.S. — and plans to almost double that number by 2022. And the speed of the attack is a warning to other established consumer brands in China that they too could be vulnerable to a start-up’s attempt to reinvent a market, brand consultants say. Starbucks’ shares were pummeled in June after it warned same store sales growth in China had plunged to zero or worse last quarter, against 7 percent growth a year earlier. Its fiscal third-quarter results are due out on Thursday. Starbucks said some new café openings were cannibalizing customer visits at nearby stores and it also blamed a drop-off in orders through delivery firms. While it did not mention increased competition, investors and analysts said it is clear that Luckin does represent a threat. However, they also point out that Starbucks’ brand has been very resilient to challenges from rivals around the world over the …
Emissions Goals at Risk as ‘Clunker’ Cars Flood Africa, S. Asia
African and South Asian nations could miss national targets to curb greenhouse gas emissions unless rich countries stop using them as dumping grounds for millions of polluting old cars, a study has warned. The report by the Center for Science and Environment (CSE) said the United States, Japan and European Union countries had for years been exporting old, used cars — or clunkers — to nations such as Nigeria and Bangladesh. The secondhand vehicles, which should have been scrapped under domestic regulations, are instead being used by poorer nations where they are contributing to carbon emissions, said CSE, a New Delhi think tank. Weak environmental regulations in poorer economies and stronger emissions regulations in exporting countries are among the factors “inciting this unregulated global trade in clunkers,” Anumita Roychowdhury of CSE said this week. “If this continues unchecked, without the exporting countries sharing the responsibility of addressing this problem, the poorer countries will not be able to meet their clean air and climate mitigation goals,” she said during a news conference on Facebook Live. There are about 2 billion vehicles globally, of which 2 percent, or 40 million, are deemed unworthy for road use in developed nations annually, according to the report. Many of them end up in countries such as Kenya, Nigeria and Ethiopia. Ninety percent of Nigeria’s 3.5 million cars are imported secondhand vehicles, according to data from the management consultancy firm Deloitte. Growing source of pollution These old, poorly maintained and often malfunctioning vehicles become energy guzzlers and emit …
AIDS Drugs Show More Promise for Preventing New Infections
New research shows more promise for using AIDS treatment drugs as a prevention tool, to help keep uninfected people from catching HIV during sex with a partner who has the virus. There were no infections among gay men who used a two-drug combo pill either daily or just before and after sex with someone with HIV, one study found. In a second study, no uninfected men caught the virus if they had sex only with a partner whose HIV was well suppressed by medicines. Both studies were discussed Tuesday at the International AIDS conference in Amsterdam. The United States’ top AIDS scientist, Dr. Anthony Fauci, called the results “very impressive” and “really striking.” About 36 million people worldwide have HIV and 1.8 million new infections occur each year, said Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. “The only way you’re going to end the epidemic is by preventing additional cases of transmission,” he said. The treatment drugs are “tools that, if widely implemented, theoretically could end the epidemic.” Expanding access to them is not only humanitarian but also smart policy, Fauci added. “You get a twofer: You save the life of the person who’s infected … and you’re making it virtually impossible for that person to transmit that infection to their sexual partner.” Until there’s a vaccine, condoms are the best way to prevent HIV infection, but not everyone uses them or does so all the time, so other options are needed. A two-drug combo used …
Mexico, Latam Allies Commit to Free Trade Amid Trump Threats
Led by Mexico, major Latin American nations pledged to deepen commercial and economic ties on Tuesday as they sought to counter the risk of a deepening trade war sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump’s “America First” policy. Leaders of the Pacific Alliance and Mercosur trading blocs met in the Mexican resort city of Puerto Vallarta, seeking to present a united front against potential disruptions stemming from Trump’s threats to slap new tariffs on major markets. “The aim was to strengthen the links between the two most important trade blocs in Latin America,” said outgoing Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, who has spent much of the past two years mired in trade negotiations with Trump. “Today we’re sending the world a clear signal we’re moving onward with regional integration and free trade,” he added. Later this week, top Mexican officials will renew talks with the Trump administration in Washington aimed at renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Mexico is heavily dependent on the United States as an export market and Trump’s threat to pull out of NAFTA have rattled investors and put pressure on the peso currency. Pena Nieto said the Pacific Alliance, which comprises Mexico, Chile, Colombia and Peru, agreed with Mercosur – made up of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay – to explore new ways of cooperation to boost trade in areas of common interest. The eight countries pledged to undertake a series of steps, including making goods trade easier, helping small and medium-sized firms do business …
Mars Making Closest Approach to Earth in 15 Years
Now’s the time to catch Mars in the night sky. Next week, the red planet is making its closest approach to Earth in 15 years. The two planets will be just 35.8 million miles (57.6 million kilometers) apart next Tuesday. And on Friday, Mars will be in opposition. That means Mars and the sun will be on exact opposite sides of Earth. That same day, parts of the world will see a total lunar eclipse. Mars is already brighter than usual and will shine even more — and appear bigger — as Tuesday nears. Astronomers expect good viewing through early August. A massive dust storm presently engulfing Mars, however, is obscuring surface details normally visible through telescopes. The Martian atmosphere is so full of dust that NASA’s Opportunity rover can’t recharge — not enough sunlight can reach its solar panels — and so it’s been silent since June 10. Flight controllers don’t expect to hear from 14-year-old Opportunity until the storm subsides, and maybe not even then. The good news about all the Martian dust is that it reflects sunlight, which makes for an even brighter red planet, said Widener University astronomer Harry Augensen. “It’s magnificent. It’s as bright as an airplane landing light,” Augensen said. “Not quite as bright as Venus, but still because of the reddish, orange-ish-red color, you really can’t miss it in the sky.” In 2003, Mars and Earth were the closest in nearly 60,000 years — 34.6 million …
Prince Harry Joins Elton John to Launch HIV Campaign Targeting Men
Britain’s Prince Harry joined pop star Elton John on Tuesday to launch a campaign to raise HIV awareness among men, warning that “dangerous complacency” about the virus threatened the quest to wipe it out. The billion-dollar project “MenStar” will target men living with or at risk of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa, which has been ravaged by AIDS since the 1980s. “The MenStar coalition is bravely tackling the root cause of this problem — the lack of awareness of HIV prevention amongst hard-to-reach young men,” Harry said at the 22nd International AIDS Conference in Amsterdam. Speaking at the launch, which also featured South African actress Charlize Theron and Ndaba Mandela, the grandson of late President Nelson Mandela, Elton John said: “If we want to end AIDS once and for all, we must make men part of the solution.” Around 36.7 million people around the world have HIV, according to 2016 figures cited by the United Nations’ HIV/AIDS body UNAIDS. Fewer than half of men living with HIV receive treatment compared with 60 percent of women, it said. “It is time there was a global coalition to teach men to protect themselves. And in doing so, it will teach them to better protect not only their wives and girlfriends, their sisters and daughters, but also, critically, their brothers and their sons,” the British singer said. UNAIDS said this month that the fight against HIV/AIDS was “slipping off track” and while deaths were falling and treatment rates rising, rates of new HIV infections …
Ankara Rules Out Compliance with US Sanctions on Iran
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Tuesday ruled out his country’s compliance with U.S. sanctions on Iran, a move that threatens to exacerbate tensions between the NATO allies. “We have told them we will not join these sanctions,” said Cavusoglu, referring to a meeting last Friday with senior U.S. officials in Ankara. “While we are explaining why we will not obey these sanctions, we have also expressed that we do not find these U.S. sanctions appropriate.” Ankara strongly opposes U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to impose sanctions after pulling out of an international agreement with Iran on its nuclear energy program. Stringent sanctions are to start taking effect at the end of August, with measures against Iranian energy exports beginning in November. Energy-hungry Turkey is heavily dependent on its Iranian neighbor for oil and natural gas, while Turkish businesses are eyeing Iran as an increasingly important market. On Friday, Marshall Billingslea, assistant secretary of the Treasury for terrorist financing, visited Ankara to meet with Turkish officials and business representatives. Billingslea described the talks as “positive” and acknowledged the difficulties faced by Turkish companies, but warned, “The Treasury sanctions will be enforced very, very aggressively and very comprehensively.” Washington says no to any waivers for countries trading with Iran, which puts it on a collision course with Ankara. “We’ve seen this in the past. Turkey will not comply with U.S. sanctions. It will not stop importing Iranian gas and oil,” said Sinan Ulgen, head of the Istanbul-based Edam research institution. “Maybe …
Ivanka Trump to Shutter Fashion Line, Focus on Government
U.S. President Donald Trump’s oldest daughter, Ivanka Trump, is closing her fashion line to focus her energies on advising her father’s White House, she said through a representative on Tuesday. Trump, whose fortune comes from real estate development, came into office carrying a broad family business portfolio that trades heavily on the family name. The president has made regular visits to Trump-branded properties during his time in office, prompting some critics to complain that he is using the profile of his office to promote his private businesses. “After seventeen months, without a time frame for her return, Ivanka made the difficult decision that to be fair to the brand’s partners and its employees, the business should be wound down,” a representative for Ivanka Trump’s fashion line said in a statement on Tuesday. The company said licensing contracts would not be renewed and those in place will be allowed to run their course. Trump’s combative style on the campaign trail and as president have drawn the family’s brands into political fights, with some supporters hosting events at the luxury Trump International Hotel blocks from the White House while opponents have called for boycotts of the family’s businesses. In early 2017 retailers including Nordstrom Inc, Sears Holdings Corp and Kmart dropped or sharply scaled back their assortment of Trump-branded products, though they typically attributed those decisions to poor sales rather than political messages. Ivanka Trump’s brand said in a statement that retailers including Bloomingdale’s, owned by Macy’s Inc, Dillard’s and Amazon.com continued …
Britain, EU Formally Start Splitting WTO Membership Agreements
Britain and the European Union formally filed for divorce at the World Trade Organization on Tuesday, following many months of diplomatic preparations to smooth the way for the historic move. The WTO circulated two confidential draft membership agreements among the Geneva trade club’s 164 members, separating Britain’s rights and obligations in merchandise trade from the EU’s for the first time in the WTO’s 23-year history. A separate split of services trade is expected to follow. “It seeks to replicate the concessions and commitments applicable to the U.K. as part of the EU today. An important milestone as we prepare for our departure from the EU,” British Ambassador Julian Braithwaite wrote in a tweet. Britain’s draft document, officially known as its “schedule,” is 719 pages long. “WTO members will have three months to review the schedule, which will be considered to be approved if there are no objections from other members,” the WTO said in a statement. Until now the EU has represented Britain at the WTO, and Britain’s membership rights were not set out distinctly, even though Britain was always a WTO member in its own right. Its June 2016 decision to leave the EU meant disentangling their trade rules to allow Britain to act independently. Britain’s government says that only minimal changes will be needed in the text and it does not expect any difficulties, apart from potentially in agriculture. Seven agricultural suppliers – including the United States, Canada and Australia -have already said they disapprove of the terms …
Bulgarian President Vetoes Amendments to Privatization Law
Bulgaria’s president on Tuesday vetoed controversial amendments to a privatization law that critics say could cost the country lost revenues. The changes — approved by parliament, dominated by center-right GERB party, last Wednesday — would cut in half, to five years, the time that buyers would have to fulfill specific obligations under a privatization contract. But former air force commander Rumen Radev, who won the presidency in November 2016 as an independent, said the proposed changes “do not serve interests of the state and Bulgarian citizens.” Radev said the time to meet obligations should be determined by the type of business being privatized, rather than through legal provisions that create an advantage for the buyer at the expense of the public interest. “The law will entail a review of privatization contracts that is detrimental to the state and society,” he said. Radev’s move followed an announcement by disgruntled citizens that a three-day protest against the new changes would be staged in capital Sofia. Parliament may easily overrule Radev’s veto by at least 121 votes in the 240-seat assembly. However, Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, eager to mute public discontent in one of the European Union’s poorest countries, reacted quickly and ordered his ruling GERB party to draw up and submit a new amendment to the law that would eliminate any suspicions of lobbying. Analysts and politicians, including Deputy Prime Minister Valeri Simeonov strongly criticized the “lobbyist” revisions, saying they would allow ship building and repair company Navibulgar to avoid paying 58 …