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burlveneer-music · 3 years

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VA - Compost Nu Jazz Selection Vol. 3 - Silent Season - Jazzy Walk (compiled & mixed by Art-D-Fact and Rupert & Mennert) - feat. Kyoto Jazz Massive, Wei Chi, Beanfield, & more

After releasing the well-received Compost Nu Jazz Selection Volume 1 (released November 2017) and Volume 2 (released July 2019), Art-D-Fact and Rupert & Mennert again join forces. The third Compost Nu Jazz Selection probably is the most diverse one so far. The track selection process was a pleasant ride through a lot of groundbreaking releases between 1999 and 2004. Selection #3 also contains some memorable tracks which were only released on vinyl by Compost Records, for example the wonderful Grand Unified VIP Mix of Joseph Malik's 'I Don't Want' and Steppah Huntah's energetic broken-beats creation 'Walk This Step'. The continuous mix of Compost Nu Jazz Selection Vol. 3 kicks of with the powerful multi-tempo remix by Quantic (Tru Thoughts label) for Kyoto Jazz Massive's 'The Brightness Of These Days'. With 'Corso' and 'Catalpa' Beanfield features with some true percussion-rich listening pearls. Both tracks were part of the classic 'Human Patterns' longplayer, released back in 1999. After two successful selections we are very proud to release yet another chapter. It was a real honour again to listen through all these wonderful bits from the rich Compost catalogue and to be able to create a new selection + the continuous mix. Enjoy this selection with (electronic) music from the highest quality standard, covering (electronic) music genres like broken beats, future jazz, jazzy (deep)house and UK garage. Hopefully Compost Nu Jazz Selection Vol. 3 will be remembered as a pleasant music journey containing Compost-highlights from back in the days to cheer you up a little in these strange times. Lots of respect to all the producers/artists involved. Selected, mixed and presented with love for the music. Will we be back for a new chapter? Time will tell! About Art-D-Fact, Rupert & Mennert Art-D-Fact, from The Netherlands, is what we call a passionate music enthusiast. For years and years he did non- profit music related activities varying from DJing (border crossing genres), writing reviews for both online and printed magazines like DJBroadcast and the www.dance.nl platform (and still does), (online) radioshows and creatively creating music selections / soundtracks for different purposes. Rupert & Mennert are living in The Netherlands. In very small villages. From there they send their music into the wide world. They are the self-proclaimed archivers of the Compost Vault. This already resulted in loads of Compost Selections (Jazz, Downbeat, House, Experimental, Ambient, Remixes, Vocals, Tech House). They remix tracks (Ensemble du Verre, Timo Garcia, Marbert Rocel), make avant-garde music together with Me Raabenstein (Lagerfeltz) and are always looking for new projects!

#jazz #nu-jazz #electronic #house #disco #compost records #various artists #compilation #2021

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its-veso · 5 years

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AUD/USD: Low Australian growth already priced in, watch Lowe

Australia is expected a second consecutive quarter of unimpressive growth.

After a few misses on the components, AUD/USD already prices in a disappointment.

RBA Governor’s Lowe speech may steal the show.

Australia publishes its Gross Domestic Product report for Q4 2018 on Wednesday, March 6th, at 00:30 GMT. The Land Down Under is late in the following quarter and without any advance publications. While a sole release tends to have more impact than several ones, most of the components are already out, leaving less room for surprises.

Background

However, this was not the case in Q3, when Australia’s GDP growth came out at 0.3%, half the early expectations and a third of the level seen in Q2. The sharp slowdown weighed on the Aussie.

This time, projections are quite low, to begin with. The global mood has changed and everybody is talking about a global slowdown. China, Australia’s No. 1 trading partner took steps to stimulate the economy after forecasting lower growth than in 2018, which was the slowest in 28 years.

Moreover, components leading towards this GDP report have been quite downbeat. Company Operating Profits rose by only 0.8%, and Construction Work Done plunged by 3.1% in Q4, after a similar slide in Q3.

The Reserve Bank of Australia eventually responded to the news[1] by shifting its slightly hawkish bias to a more balanced one. RBA[2] had said that the next move would be up rather than down beforehand.

Expectations and what’s priced into AUD/USD

The disappointing data sets expectations at 0.3%, a repeat of Q3 and a low number in absolute numbers for a country that has not seen an official recession since the early 1990s.

Year over year, a deceleration from 2.8% to 2.5% is on the cards. While still a healthy rate for a developed economy, nobody likes a slowdown.

Nevertheless, markets are now more prepared for poor data all over the world and in Australia in particular. So, AUD/USD may weather a figure such as 0.2% or even 0.1% growth levels after the recent data.

An “as expected” 0.3% QoQ may turn out to be positive for Aussie/USD in the current atmosphere and could result in a “sell the rumor, buy the fact” response. Such an upwards move may be limited to the Asian session and the Aussie may return to falls once Australia is seen as not really bucking the global trend.

Any beat of expectations may trigger a more significant recovery rally. It would take stagnation or a contraction in the economy to sound the alarm bells and perhaps send AUD/USD below the closely-watched 0.70 level.

AUD/USD[3] is trapped in a wedge on the daily chart:

Here is a quote on the big levels to watch, from the latest AUD/USD weekly forecast[4]:

Aussie/USD battles the 0.7100 level. Some support awaits at 0.7080 which was a low point in September and recently supported the pair. It is followed closely by 0.7070 that forms part of the uptrend support line and was a swing low in February. 0.7050 is next before the 0.7080 level seen early in the year.

Some resistance awaits at 0.7120 that was a pivotal line in recent days. 0.7165 was a swing low in November and also supported the pair afterward. The 0.7200-0.7205 region capped the pair in February and serves as fierce resistance. 0.7240 was a high point in early January and 0.7300 capped A$/USD in late January.

Lowe before low growth

RBA Governor Phillip speaks on Tuesday at 22:10 and may steal the show from the GDP data coming out 140 minutes afterward. After hardly altering the rate decision, Lowe may be a bit more outspoken in his Sydney speech about the housing market and the impact on the broader economy, a sensitive topic.

If Lowe is downbeat on growth, a poor figure may already be priced into a higher extent than described earlier. If he sounds a bit more sanguine, expectations may rise, pushing the Aussie higher but perhaps setting the stage for a disappointment when the actual figure comes out.

In the unlikely case that Lowe makes a case for a rate cut, taking one step further to the dovish side, the Aussie will fall and may totally ignore the hard data from the past. It will be already looking to the future.

References

^ news (www.fxstreet.com)

^ RBA (www.fxstreet.com)

^ AUD/USD (www.fxstreet.com)

^ latest AUD/USD weekly forecast (www.fxstreet.com)

from Forex Crunch http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ForexCrunch/~3/3_JZG8qCSa8/

#Forex News #Forex Crunch

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miex-official · 4 years

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GBP/USD defending 1.2900 amid Brexit brinkmanship

GBP/USD trims early-day gains, eases from 1.2945, while staying positive for the second consecutive day.

Moody’s downgraded UK on Friday over virus woes, Brexit worries and budget problems for Tories, BOE’s Bailey also spoke bearish.

EU’s Brexit negotiator Michael Barnier is up for visiting London, UK’s Gove earlier warned “the door is ajar”.

US dollar regains even as risk tone cheers Trump’s push for stimulus, virus vaccine.

Having recently stepped back from the intraday high of 1.2945, GBP/USD wobbles around 1.2925/30 while heading into Monday’s London open. Sterling buyers paid a little heed to the Brexit, coronavirus (COVID-19) woes at home while cheering risk-on mood off-late. However, fears of a no-deal divorce between the UK and the European Union (EU) join the BOE Governor Andrew Bailey’s downbeat comments to probe the bulls. Also challenging the sentiment is the scheduled visit of the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier to England.

Will Barnier’s arrival solve the case?

UK Cabinet Minister Michael Gove’s clear show of disinterest in any further talks if the bloc keeps its head high raised barriers for Barnier’s next round of Brexit talks, to start from Monday in London. However, the recently easy comments from France, conveying that they’re to lose heavily while not leaving British fisheries terms, seem to push the region’s diplomat to witness hesitations in welcome. Even so, the matter is less likely to be solved as fisheries aren’t the only problem. The level playing field is another stumbling block.

While identifying the risk, global rating agency Moody’s have already cut Britain’s rating to “Aa3” from “Aa2,” putting Britain on the same level as Belgium and the Czech Republic, on Friday. Also marking the show of pessimism was BOE Governor Bailey who cited significant downside risks to the economy ahead.

The case is a bit positive on the other hand where US President Donald Trump’s comments that he wants the biggest stimulus plan than House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s proposal seem to have favored the trading sentiment. Mr. Trump also signaled nearness to the virus vaccine, which in turn offered an additional boost to the stock futures and the US treasury yields.

Meanwhile, a 32% spike was noted in the UK’s COVID-19 cases by the end of last week. The updates also suggest a 3.1% uptick in the death toll. This speaks louder of the Tory government’s inability to tame the pandemic with local lockdowns and signals national restrictions to arrive soon.

Other than the virus woes, Brexit worries, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s speech, at noon, will also be the key to watch while forecasting near-term GBP/USD moves.

Technical analysis

The pair rises following its formation of the bullish candlestick pattern on the daily (D1) chart the previous day. The bullish MACD conditions and the successful trading above 100-day SMA are extra price-positive signals that favor the GBP/USD bulls. As a result, the quote can again confront a 50-day SMA level of 1.3011 during its further upside. However, a confluence of the monthly top and 50% Fibonacci retracement of the September month downside, near 1.3077/82, will question the additional rise of the pair. Meanwhile, Friday’s low and 100-day SMA, respectively around 1.2860 and 1.2840, can limit short-term declines of GBP/USD.

For more economic news and events visit: https://miex.io/ #MIEX #tradingplatform

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gst95 · 7 years

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Manchester Animation Festival 2017: A Visit

Further accompanying the compilation was ‘I Want Pluto to Be a Planet Again’ by Marie Amachoukeli and Vladimir Mavounia, a futuristic romance with heavily stylised black-and-white animation, ‘In a Nutshell’ by Fabio Friedli, a fast-paced and hyper-edited attempt to capture all of the objects that define this world and the people that live in it, and of course ‘Scrambled’, a very cute little piece where a teen girl takes some time away from the game on her phone to try and solve the puzzle of a living Rubik’s Cube (which helps to pass the time until her next train arrives). A very good display of work overall, with too many highlights to adequately describe.

As part of a UCLAN trip on 14th November 2014, me and my classmates visited the HOME centre in Manchester for their annual Animation Festival. This was the second time that I attended the event, though writing up about it this time was more of a necessity. A fairly recent construction in the city, HOME is a fairly large and appealing complex, that houses various cinema screens, cafes and display rooms across several floors. You would never believe that the place would be so sizable from the outside alone, but the first entry is a pleasant surprise.

The festival consisted of various screenings of animation-based material over various time slots. The first one I (or we for that matter) attended was a series of student films, many of which had been produced by members of universities and over educational facilities. I had sadly missed the first several minutes, but upon entering I was immediately drawn in by the short film ‘Garden Party’. It was a narratively simple piece, which depicted a series of frogs exploring the remains of what seemed to be a large-scale house party in a mansion, all topped of with an unexpectedly graphic reveal (of what became of the house owner) towards the end. The CG visuals were outstanding for a student-based short, with a sufficient level of detail and realism in the environments and frogs (in both the way they look and move).

Further shorts that followed included ‘Cops & Robbers’, a story of a boy who develops a crush on a girl while playing Cops & Robbers with friends. What I found interesting in this short was the use of a first-person perspective while employing a 2D animation style (”squigglevision” to be exact). Another was ‘The Green Bird’, a nicely-done CG piece about a strange looking bird that tries to get it’s egg to hatch while avoiding the bad weather (and the annoying fly that buzzes around). As much as I’d like to go into detail about the other shorts in the compilation (such as the trippy ‘Good Night, Everyone’, the visually-appealing ‘Contact’, and ‘Hueva Vida’), I’ll leave it at that.

The next screening was another batch of short films, instead done by already renowned people in the industry. The opener was ‘Manivald' by Chintis Lundgren, about a piano-playing male fox who still lives with his mother and develops a same-sex attraction to a wolf mechanic, resulting in a love triangle between the three. This was followed by ‘Johnno’s Dead’, Chris Shepherd’s anticipated follow-up to his original short ’Dad’s Dead’. Here, the main protagonist (upon being granted parole) plans revenge on his former best-friend who framed him for a murderous crime he didn’t commit, which ultimately results in him going after the wrong people. It succeeds the original in terms of it’s impactful violence, downbeat narrative, foul-mouthed narration and kinetic combination of both live-action and animation.

The next showing was a presentation where in person, we got to see Aardman’s Director of Animation Will Becher in person. It was a satisfying presentation overall, as Aardman have always been a studio who I have had great admiration for. Nick went into detail about how the company builds the worlds in their films, which involves a lot of painstaking accuracy, from getting the size of them right (so as the claymation characters will be up to scale with them) to hand-crafting and placing the tiniest of objects and other details around (such as in their 2012 film ‘The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!’).

In addition to this, Will (with apparent permission from Studiocanal) showed everyone exclusive footage of their upcoming feature film ‘Early Man’, about a Stone Age tribe that finds themselves at war with a Bronze Age lord and the threat he possesses to their homeland. Directed by Nick Park, it’s a very slick looking film overall, with a lot of work put into the environments and scale. Will even allowed the crowd to ask questions about the project, one of which was asked by me (regarding an impressive rotating shot in a stadium that included a cheering crowd). After that, we were also offered the chance to look at some actual puppets on display, both of which were being used in the actual production of the film.

The final screening was of a double bill of short films called ‘World of Tomorrow’. Both produced by Don Hertzfeldt, the first was the Oscar-nominated original from 2015, followed by en exclusive showing of it’s highly-anticipated sequel. Done in a basic squigglevision style against a series of hypnotic visuals, both shorts are about a very young girl (’Emily’) who finds herself greeted by her supposed cloned future-self. Her clone describes to Emily about the future and the various advances that have taken place over the years and the soon-to-be end of the world as we know it, while Emily (in a true child-like fashion) remains somewhat curious but oblivious to everything that her clone is saying. Intelligently written and visually surreal, it’s a brilliant duo of shorts that sums up the human condition and our inability to appreciate the present until it inevidently becomes the past.

And that’s that. I had a great time overall, and the work shown here has heavily inspired and motivated me to step up my game in the near future. While I was hoping to attend even more screenings, I nevertheless left feeling satisfied, and would be more than happy to return for next year’s festival. Props to everyone who set up the festival, and those whose work was shown.

#aardman #stop-motion #festival #manchester #uclan #animation #don hertzfeldt

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newstfionline · 4 years

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Headlines

Laura devastated a narrow path north of the Gulf Coast, sparing some population centers (Washington Post) Hurricane Laura carved a deadly, devastating path north from the Louisiana coast on Thursday, destroying some homes and businesses while sparing others, killing at least four residents, uprooting trees and overturning tractor-trailers, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without power and dumping massive amounts of rain on the region. Even as Laura weakened Thursday morning, it still unleashed hurricane-force winds as far inland as central Louisiana, ravaging vulnerable communities before being downgraded to a tropical storm in the afternoon. “We have sustained a tremendous amount of damage,” Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) said at an afternoon news conference, even as he gave thanks that the state had been spared the worst-case scenario for which officials had braced. “We have thousands and thousands of our fellow citizens whose lives are upside down.” Downtown Lake Charles, La., took one of the heaviest hits from Laura’s brutal winds, which shredded trees, peeled off roofs, obliterated buildings and tossed lampposts into the streets. An industrial plant nearby that makes chlorine-based products caught fire, sending caustic smoke throughout the area and leading to a shelter-in-place order.

As virus rages, US economy struggles to sustain a recovery (AP) Home sales are booming. Stocks are setting record highs. Industrial production is clambering out of the ditch it fell into early this year. And yet the U.S. economy is nowhere close to regaining the health it achieved, with low unemployment, free-spending consumers and booming travel, before the coronavirus paralyzed the country in March. Not while the viral outbreak still rages and Congress remains deadlocked over providing more relief to tens of millions of people thrown out of work and to state and local governments whose revenue has withered. Every week, roughly 1 million new Americans are applying for unemployment benefits—a depth of job insecurity not seen in any single week during the depths of the 2007-2009 Great Recession. Economists say that as many businesses have reopened and consumers have begun shopping and spending more, the picture is beginning to brighten, if only fitfully. Most say the economy is growing again. Yet scars are sure to remain from the catastrophic April-June quarter, when, according to the government, the economy collapsed at a 31.7% annual rate—by far the worst quarterly contraction since such record-keeping began in 1947. Some industries, notably those involving travel and hotels and restaurants, could struggle for years. And while the number of confirmed viral infections has been declining, the threat of a major resurgence remains, especially as students increasingly return to schools and colleges. The consumers whose spending drives the bulk of the economy and the economists who analyze it are decidedly downbeat about the prospects for a return to prosperity.

Thousands gather at March on Washington commemorations (AP) Capping a week of protests and outrage over the police shooting of a Black man in Wisconsin, civil rights advocates began highlighting the scourge of police and vigilante violence against Black Americans at a commemoration of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Thousands gathered Friday near the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, where the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his historic “I Have A Dream” address, a vision of racial equality that remains elusive for millions of Americans. And they are gathering on the heels of yet another shooting by a white police officer of a Black man—this time, 29-year-old Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, last Sunday—sparking days of protests and violence that left two dead.

U.S. political divide becomes increasingly violent (Washington Post) There has been a wave of politically tinged violence across the nation in recent weeks after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, rattling communities facing a toxic mix of partisanship and guns ahead of the 2020 election. In a spate of exchanges that have spanned from Kalamazoo, Mich., and Bloomington, Ind., to Chicago and Portland, Ore., people on both sides of the United States’ political and cultural divide have been filmed exchanging punches, beating one another with sticks and flagpoles, or standing face-to-face with weapons, often with police appearing to be little more than observers. On Tuesday night, the violence took an even more ominous turn when a 17-year-old whose Facebook account showed support for the pro-police “Back the Blue” countermovement allegedly shot and killed two people during the unrest in Kenosha, Wis., after police shot a Black man. “We are sort of at the stage of polarization where there are more and more people who are seeking confrontation, where they are not simply satisfied with disagreeing with the other side or yelling at the other side, but they want to confront,” said Mark Pitcavage, a historian and senior research fellow at the Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism. “We are not just a polarized society—we are increasingly a confrontational society now.” Protesters have also been shot, in some cases fatally, in Austin, Portland, Louisville and Albuquerque in recent weeks.

Russian navy conducts major maneuvers near Alaska (AP) The Russian navy conducted major war games near Alaska involving dozens of ships and aircraft, the military said Friday, the biggest such drills in the area since Soviet times. Russia’s navy chief, Adm. Nikolai Yevmenov, said that more than 50 warships and about 40 aircraft were taking part in the exercise in the Bering Sea, which involved multiple practice missile launches. Yevmenov emphasized that the war games are part of Russia’s efforts to boost its presence in the Arctic region and protect its resources. “We are building up our forces to ensure the economic development of the region,” he said. “We are getting used to the Arctic spaces.”

UNICEF reports on remote education problems (Washington Post) At least a third of the world’s schoolchildren are unable to access remote learning when their schools are closed, according to new figures by the U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Experts and advocates are concerned about what that means for the long-term impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic, as schools and governments struggle to keep education on track.

Violence in Colombia (Foreign Policy) At least 39 people have been killed in a wave of violence across Colombia, adding to growing concerns that the country has yet to move past its decades-long civil war despite the government reaching an historic peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in 2016. Despite the end of large-scale warfare, groups including dissident FARC factions, smaller left-wing guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries, drug cartels, and the Colombian military continue to fight over territory in some parts of the country. Colombia has seen 46 massacres so far this year, according to local watchdog Indepaz. Some observers say the blame falls on President Iván Duque, who was always skeptical of the peace deal signed by his predecessor, saying he hasn’t done enough to implement its provisions.

Rio’s governor suspended amid widening corruption probe involving Brazil’s pandemic response (Washington Post) The governor of Rio de Janeiro state was suspended from office Friday by a Brazilian court as part of a corruption probe into alleged kickbacks amid the state’s disastrously chaotic response to the coronavirus pandemic. The accusations against Wilson Witzel, a critic of President Jair Bolsonaro, was another blow to Brazil’s leadership as it struggles with the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic amid mounting suspicion that some officials have used it to line their own pockets. It also illustrated how the coronavirus pandemic in Brazil, a country with a lengthy and notorious history of corruption, has been a bonanza for grifters and fraudsters. As states emptied their coffers to combat the gravest health crisis in national history, which has killed more than 118,000 Brazilians, officials across the country saw an opportunity to get rich, prosecutors allege.

Hungary to close borders to foreigners as of Sept. 1 to curb coronavirus infections (Reuters) Hungary will close its borders to foreigners as of Sept. 1 to curb a rise in coronavirus infections and Hungarians returning to the country from abroad will have to go into quarantine, Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s cabinet chief said on Friday. Gergely Gulyas said Hungarian citizens could leave quarantine only with two negative COVID tests. Exceptions for foreigners’ entry would be military convoys, humanitarian transit and business or diplomatic travel.

Putin Warns Belarus Protesters (NYT) President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia gave an ominous warning on Thursday to protesters in Belarus not to push too hard to topple their country’s embattled president, saying that Russia had formed a special reserve force of security officers to restore order in the event of chaos in its western neighbor. Mr. Putin, speaking in an interview with Russian state television, said he had ordered the creation of a “certain reserve of law enforcement officers” at the request of Belarus’s authoritarian leader, Aleksandr G. Lukashenko. He said the force had not been deployed yet, because “we also agreed that it will not be used unless the situation gets out of control.” Mr. Putin’s remarks sent the strongest warning yet that Russia could use force to halt more than two weeks of protests in Belarus, which he described as “perhaps the closest country to us.” While saying that Belarusians themselves must decide their future after a disputed presidential election on Aug. 9, he added, “We are certainly not indifferent to what is happening there.”

Floods kill 23 in Pakistan financial hub amid house collapses, power cuts (Reuters) Pakistan’s flooded financial capital of Karachi was plunged into chaos on Friday with power cuts, streets under water and cellphone outages caused by heavy rain as authorities said at least 23 people had been killed in downpours the previous day. Record torrential rainfall flooded major city streets and damaged homes and other buildings on Thursday, with more rain expected on Friday. Pakistan’s Meteorological Department recorded 230.5 mm of rain in Karachi on Thursday, the highest ever recorded in a single day. Rainfall in August is the highest since records began 89 years ago.

Virus lockdown brings new misery to long-suffering Gaza (AP) Ahmed Eissa, a father of two living in the Gaza Strip, was already struggling to make ends meet on $7 a day, dealing with frequent electricity cuts and worried that another war might break out. Then the coronavirus found its way into the impoverished Palestinian territory, just as Israel was tightening its blockade in a standoff with Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers, and a strict lockdown has confined everyone to their homes. Now Eissa doesn’t know how he will feed his family. “I don’t have savings and I don’t have a job, so no one would lend me money,” he said. “I won’t beg from anyone.” The restrictions imposed by Hamas are aimed at averting what many fear would be an even bigger catastrophe: a wide-scale outbreak in a population of 2 million people confined to a territory where the health care system has been devastated by years of war and isolation.

Mali junta frees deposed president (Foreign Policy) On Thursday, Mali’s newly-formed junta released deposed President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who had been ousted in a military coup last week along with the rest of the Malian government. Representatives of the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) were dispatched to Mali earlier this week to help find a way to return to civilian rule. They had demanded Keita’s release. Mediators from ECOWAS and the African Union have not made much headway toward the larger goal of restoring civilian rule. Part of the reason is that these organizations and their leaders lack credibility with average citizens, Adem K. Abebe argued in Foreign Policy earlier this week. That’s because they are seen as hypocritical for protecting unpopular incumbents who abuse power while denouncing military coups with widespread support. “The AU and ECOWAS have a credibility problem,” Abebe wrote. “They are not denouncing those who flout laws to hold on to power; they complain only when the military seizes it.”

Flooding in Niger kills 45, displaces more than 226,000 (AP) Officials in Niger say flooding from heavy rains has killed at least 45 people this week and forced more than 226,000 from their homes.

#headlines #news

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businessliveme · 4 years

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Japan May Ease Entry Bans; Asian PMIs Show Fallout: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) — Japan is considering easing entry restrictions on people from four countries in Asia-Pacific that have had success in taming coronavirus outbreaks, according to a newspaper report. Asia’s factory managers remained downbeat in May, even as economies start to reopen.

Wuhan, where the novel coronavirus was first reported, reported no asymptomatic cases on Sunday for the first time since the city started publishing the data. Britain’s government is reported to be working on a stimulus package to lessen the depth of an economic downturn.

U.S. stock futures fell as investors weighed violent protests that have stoked concerns about new infection outbreaks, while Asian equities were largely mixed in early Monday trading.

Key Developments:

Virus Tracker: Cases top 6.1 million; deaths exceed 371,000

China Is Trying to Salvage Its Bruised Electric-Car Industry

Bodies Left on Hospital Beds as Virus Overwhelms Mumbai

How China Tested 11 Million People for Virus in Just Two Weeks

Protests hammer U.S. cities struggling to open after lockdown

Testing on kids is a nervous next step on way to vaccine

Lockdowns push baby boombers to embrace online banking

Subscribe to a daily update on the virus from Bloomberg’s Prognosis team here. Click VRUS on the terminal for news and data on the coronavirus. For a look back at this week’s top stories from QuickTake, click here.

Weak PMIs Show Continued Virus Fallout (9:30 a.m. HK)

Purchasing managers indexes for South Korea, Japan and Taiwan fell, according to data released by IHS Markit on Monday. Readings for Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines improved but remain below 50, the dividing line between contraction and expansion.

The reports add to gloomy data from China, where the official manufacturing PMI published Sunday slipped to a worse-than-expected 50.6.

Japan Weighs Eased Entry Limits: Yomiuri (7:52 a.m. HK)

Japan’s government may relax entry restrictions on people from Thailand, Vietnam, Australia and New Zealand amid signs that coronavirus infections have fallen in those countries, Yomiuri said, citing government officials.

Entry limits may be relaxed as early as in summer, the newspaper reported Sunday. The visitors would be required to carry documentation showing that they had tested negative for the virus before leaving their countries, and would need to be re-tested when they arrive in Japan, according to the report.

U.K. Mulls New Stimulus: FT (6:30 a.m. HK)

The U.K. government is preparing an economic stimulus package to be unveiled in July as it steps up attempts to lessen the depth of the recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the Financial Times reported, citing unidentified officials.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak is working on proposals to invest in training programs, infrastructure and help for technology firms, it said. He will also encourage people back to work as the lockdown to limit the virus leads to a surge in unemployment.

The Treasury on Friday announced an incremental tapering of its job support program in a bid to avert a mass wave of unemployment.

World Bank Says Virus Hurt Palestinians (6:10 a.m. HK)

The Palestinians will need outside help to overcome a poor economic outlook and widening budget deficit made far worse by the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a new World Bank report.

Facing a growth slowdown and sizable deficit, the West Bank and Gaza Strip could see output shrink between 7.6% and 11%, depending on how fast the economy recovers from the virus, the World Bank said. In total, more than 430 cases were reported across the West Bank and Gaza, with three deaths.

Cuomo Links Covid, Protests (5:55 p.m. NY)

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo made a connection between the lockdown triggered by Covid-19 and the eruption of violence over the death of a black man in police custody as he reported the fewest news deaths since the outbreak’s peak in April.

“It’s not a coincidence that the unrest happens in the middle of the pandemic, right?” Cuomo told reporters in Albany. “Those are not separate situations. There’s tremendous stress on everyone.”

Cuomo said the actions of individual New Yorkers in wearing masks and practicing social distancing had brought the daily death toll down from nearly 800 at the peak. “Who changed society to deal with this virus? The people did it,” he said.

EU Tests Business Tax for Virus Fund (5:30 p.m. NY)

The European Union’s budget commissioner wants member states to back new taxes, including a levy on big companies for access to the single market, to help fund the recovery from the economic effects of the coronavirus, the Financial Times reported.

In an interview, Commissioner Johannes Hahn said the tax would be part of a package to cover the EU’s proposed 750 billion euro ($675 billion) fund to help with rebuilding. Hahn said there was no alternative but to give the European Commission new measures of collecting revenue to service debt it would take on under the recovery plan.

Among the obstacles to be overcome is opposition among so-called frugal countries — Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden, the newspaper said. Hahn is from Austria.

U.S. Sends Brazil Drug Touted by Trump (4:30 p.m. NY)

The U.S. is sending Brazil 2 million doses of hydroxychloroquine, a malaria drug touted by President Donald Trump, and 1,000 ventilators, the White House said.

The drug will be used by Brazil’s nurses, doctors, and health-care professionals to fight Covid-19 and to treat Brazilians who become infected. The Food and Drug Administration said the drug should be used in a hospital setting.

The two countries will cooperate on controlled clinical trials to help evaluate the safety and efficacy of the drug for both prophylaxis and the early treatment of the coronavirus, the White House said.

U.S. Cases Rose 1.1%, Slowest Since May 26 (4 p.m. NY)

U.S. cases increased 1.1% from the same time Saturday, to 1.78 million, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg News. The national increase was below the average daily increase of 1.3% over the past week, and the lowest since May 26. Deaths rose 0.7% to 104,081.

New York reported 1,110 new cases, for a total of 370,770, with 57 new deaths, to total 23,905. The state had 299 daily deaths on May 2 and 799 in early April.

New Jersey had 868 new cases for a total of 160,445 and 66 deaths, raising the total to 11,698, Governor Phil Murphy said.

California reported 3,705 new cases, the biggest one-day rise, to reach a total of 110,583, while new deaths fell for a third day, to 57, for a total of 4,213.

Pennsylvania had 511 new cases, bringing the statewide total to 71,926, and 18 new deaths for a total of 5,555.

Maryland reported 763 new cases, for a total of 52,778, with 21 deaths, for a total of 2,411, as Governor Larry Hogan said the rate of positive cases fell to 10.9% from a 26.9% peak on April 17.

Chicago Mulls Delay of Reopening (3:15 p.m. NY)

Chicago may postpone its partial easing of the Covid-19 shutdowns this week after violent protests over the death of George Floyd left devastating wreckage, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Sunday.

The city was set to start reopening on Wednesday then add more city services and some parks on June 8, but Lightfoot said she’s consulting with the commissioner of public health, police superintendent and others to make a determination on the plan.

Access to Chicago’s downtown and central business district is restricted, and public transit into the loop has been suspended.

Europe’s Hot Spots Ease Lockdowns (2 p.m. NY)

As coronavirus death tolls stabilize in some European countries such as Italy, new cases continue to rise steadily elsewhere, particularly in the U.K. Still, governments are under pressure to let shops, factories and services reopen as the European Commission predicts the virus will wipe out 7.7% of the economy this year.

The U.K. will let some schools, outdoor markets and car showrooms open on Monday under social-distancing guidelines, along with some competitive sports, including horse racing. Italy, with the world’s third-highest death toll, is also moving with caution after protests supporting the lifting of restrictions erupted in Rome and Milan.

Europe’s biggest economy, Germany, is only beginning to ease curbs but is planning on holding the world’s largest book fair in October under a strict hygienic regime. Greece will allow visitors from more nations to visit the country from June 15.

Israel Starts Antibody Testing (1:50 p.m. NY)

Israel began serological testing for coronavirus, health ministry officials said, amid concerns a new wave of the outbreak may be starting. The first tests were conducted on foreign workers, and will soon expand to the general population, the officials said. The tests determine how much of the population has already been infected.

The country reported 53 new cases, bringing the total to 17,071, including 285 fatalities. New infections rose following the recent easing of lockdown restrictions.

China Sends Masks, Tests to Africa (12:51 p.m. NY)

China will supply as many as 30 million coronavirus test kits, 10,000 ventilators and 80 million masks a month to Africa to help deal with the pandemic, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a briefing to reporters broadcast on online Sunday.

Ramaphosa held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping about securing the supplies last week, he said. State-owned carriers South African Airways, Ethiopian Airlines Group and Kenya Airways Plc will deliver the shipments.

N.Y. Daily Deaths Fall to 56 (12:20 p.m. NY)

New York reported 56 new deaths, Governor Andrew Cuomo said Sunday at a press briefing. It’s the sixth straight day with under 75 fatalities.

“This reduction in the number of deaths is tremendous progress from where we were,” Cuomo said in Albany. “We have gone through hell and back, but we are on the other side.”

The governor noted daily deaths peaked at almost 800 in early April.

Italy Extends Trend of Fewer Cases (12:05 p.m. NY)

Italy’s new cases remained on a declining trend on Sunday, with 355 more people affected, down from 416 a day earlier. Daily deaths were 75, down from 111 on Saturday. A total of 33,415 fatalities have been reported, with 16,112 — 48% — in Lombardy, the region around Milan that was one of the original virus epicenters in Europe.

The government has said improving data means it will be possible to open borders and lift a ban on inter-regional travel on Wednesday. Some regional authorities vow to keep borders closed to people from regions with high case levels, like Lombardy, the area around Milan, which accounts for 38% of total cases in Italy.

NYC Finance Jobs Tested (11:30 a.m. NY)

New York City’s finance industry won’t recover from the devastation wrought by Covid-19 until 2026, according to an analysis by software firm ThinkIQ that ranks U.S. employment markets.

The region lost about 8% of its finance jobs this year, down from a peak of more than 800,000 in August. Coronavirus isn’t the culprit in all of the cuts. But the lockdown to stem the sppread caused a domino effect on everything from rents to mortgage payments.

ThinkIQ predicts employment will be almost back to 2019 levels in six years. Employment in the leisure and hospitality arena is to reach about 90% of its 2019 level by 2026, the latest year in the forecast.

The post Japan May Ease Entry Bans; Asian PMIs Show Fallout: Virus Update appeared first on Businessliveme.com.

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bigyack-com · 4 years

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Stock Markets in Asia Cautious Ahead of Earnings Announcements: Live Updates

Stock market rally falters, with Asian markets mixed.

A global stock market rally showed signs of faltering on Tuesday, ahead of a slew of corporate earnings announcements that are likely to reveal further damaging effects from the coronavirus outbreak.Japanese shares were trading lower as of midday, while other Asian markets were flat or only mildly positive. Futures markets predicted downbeat openings for Wall Street and Europe as well, one day after the S&P 500 rose nearly 1.5 percent.Companies like Ford, Merck and Starbucks are scheduled to report financial results for the first part of the year on Tuesday. While many companies are taking cautious steps to reopen, the earnings reports may further cloud the hopes for a healthy global recovery.Underscoring the unease, prices for U.S. Treasury bonds, often seen as a safe place to put money in times of trouble, rose during Asian trading, sending yields lower. U.S. oil prices continued their plunge from Monday and were flirting with $10 a barrel at midday in Asia.In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index was down 0.2 percent. The Shanghai Composite index in mainland China was flat. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up 0.5 percent. South Korea’s Kospi index and Taiwan’s Taiex were up 0.2 percent.Minutes after a $310 billion aid program for small companies opened for business on Monday, the online portal for submitting applications crashed. And it kept crashing all day, much to the frustration of bankers around the country who were trying — and failing — to apply on behalf of desperate clients.Some irritated bankers vented on social media at the Small Business Administration, which is running the program. Rob Nichols, the chief executive of the American Bankers Association, wrote on Twitter that the trade group’s members were “deeply frustrated” at their inability to access the system. Until the problems were fixed, he said, “#AmericasBanks will not be able to help more struggling small businesses.”Pent-up demand for the funds has been intense, after the program’s initial $342 billion funding ran out in under two weeks, stranding hundreds of thousands of applicants whose loans did not get processed. Last week, Congress approved the additional $310 billion for small businesses hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Bankers were expecting the money to once again run out quickly, and so on Monday at 10:30 a.m., when round two opened, they were ready to go.But for the second time in a month, the relief effort, called the Paycheck Protection Program, turned into chaos, sowing confusion among lenders and borrowers. A centerpiece of the government’s $2 trillion economic stimulus package, the program offers small companies — typically those with up to 500 workers — forgivable loans of up to $10 million. The S.B.A. is backing the loans, but customers must apply through financial institutions.Employees at TAB Bank in Ogden, Utah, spent last week pulling all-nighters to finish preparing loan applications from 1,100 customers. When the S.B.A. began accepting applications on Monday morning, they started trying to submit their files. But the S.B.A.’s computer system stalled, froze and crashed repeatedly. Five hours later, the bank had gotten only seven loans processed.“I’m beyond frustrated,” said Curt Queyrouze, the bank’s president, who also shared his experience on Twitter. “We wanted to update all of our customers this evening on the status of their applications, but right now, there’s not a lot of good news to give them.”

Stocks rose Monday as investors looked toward reopening.

U.S. stocks rose and global markets rallied on Monday as governments around the world discussed when and how to reopen businesses and get their economies back on track.The S&P 500 rose more than 1 percent. European benchmarks rose 1 to 3 percent after a broadly higher day in Asia.European governments, including Italy and France, have been discussing ways to reopen in recent days. New Zealand is loosening restrictions on retailers, restaurants, construction sites and schools after only one new case of the virus was reported Monday.In the United States, governors in Colorado, Georgia, Michigan and other states are deciding how and when to start easing some social-distancing restrictions. Any opening will be slow and painful, but investors signaled optimism that the recovery could begin soon.The clearest signal of this on Monday was a rally in companies that stand to gain from the lifting of restrictions on travel and public gathering. Department store Kohl’s rose nearly 18 percent, while shares of Nordstrom and Gap were also sharply higher, for example.Hotel operators like Hilton Worldwide and Marriott International also jumped.

The shortage you haven’t heard about: sympathy cards.

Many celebrations and milestones have been delayed, but grief is in abundance, and the greeting card aisle offers a snapshot of the virus’s wicked toll. Sympathy cards are nearly all sold out.CVS, one of the nation’s largest sellers of greeting cards, said that it was seeing “higher demand for sympathy cards than most other types of greeting cards during the pandemic” and was experiencing shortages in certain stores. Shoppers across the country have posted on social media that their local Winn Dixie or ShopRite was running out of cards.Some of the shortages have been caused by distribution problems. Pharmacies and grocery chains, focused on keeping their shelves stocked with household staples, are not allowing card companies to come into the stores and restock regularly.With stores running out and people unable to leave their homes, many card sales have moved online and are at record levels, suppliers say. On Etsy, the online marketplace for crafts and jewelry, searches for sympathy cards more than doubled from March 1 to April 17 compared with the same period a year ago.Before the pandemic, the greeting card industry had experienced declining sales. Some big retailers recently cut back on the aisle space devoted to cards. The parent company of high-end card retailer Papyrus declared bankruptcy in January and closed all of the brand’s stores. But virtual communication has its limits, especially in times of grief. With many people unable to attend funerals or drop off food for a grieving neighbor, or even offer an embrace, mailing a sympathy card seems more necessary.Barbara Macchiaroli’s longtime companion died of the virus the day after Easter in a nursing home. He was 90. They haven’t had a funeral, but the cards — 34 so far — have been arriving at her house every day. The senders have written memories about his beautiful singing voice, his devotion to the local Kiwanis Club and his love of Ford Model A’s.“The cards have comforted me in a way I never expected they would,” she said. “I think it is because I can’t be with people right now.”

Catch up: Here’s what else is happening.

Amazon may have violated federal worker safety laws and New York State’s whistle-blower protections when it fired an employee from its Staten Island warehouse who protested the company’s response to the coronavirus outbreak, according to a letter the office of the New York attorney general, Letitia James, sent the company last week.JetBlue announced on Monday that it would require all passengers to wear a face covering during travel starting May 4. The mask must cover the nose and mouth throughout the entire journey, from check-in to deplaning. JetBlue did not say whether it would provide masks to its passengers.Boeing plans to resume operations in South Carolina next week, bringing several thousand employees back to work on the 787 Dreamliner about a month after sending them home. Those who can work remotely will continue to do so, and managers will tell the recalled workers when to return to Boeing’s complex in North Charleston, the company said.Reporting was contributed by Karen Weise, Gregory Schmidt, Michael Corkery, Sapna Maheshwari, Niraj Chokshi, Stacy Cowley, Carlos Tejada and Daniel Victor. Read the full article

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mikemortgage · 5 years

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May: UK to seek further Brexit delay, try to break logjam

LONDON — With Britain racing toward a chaotic exit from the European Union within days, Prime Minister Theresa May veered away from the cliff-edge Tuesday, saying she would seek a further delay to Brexit as U.K. politicians sought a compromise solution to the crisis.

May made the announcement after the EU’s chief negotiator warned that a disruptive and costly Brexit was likely unless Britain broke the impasse that has paralyzed the government and Parliament.

After failing repeatedly to win Parliament’s backing for her Brexit blueprint, May said the country needed “national unity to deliver the national interest.”

Following the defeat of the government’s plan and a range of lawmaker-written alternatives, May said Britain would need a further delay to its EU departure, currently scheduled for April 12. She offered to hold talks with opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn in an attempt to find a compromise solution.

“This debate, this division, cannot drag on much longer,” May said in a televised statement from 10 Downing St. after an all-day Cabinet meeting.

European Council President Donald Tusk gave a cautious welcome to May’s change of course.

“Even if, after today, we don’t know what the end result will be, let us be patient,” he tweeted — a suggestion the EU would wait for Britain to present a clear plan.

Earlier, EU negotiator Michel Barnier offered a downbeat assessment of the situation.

“As things stand now, the no-deal option looks likely. I have to tell you the truth,” Barnier said in Brussels.

Barnier said “we can still hope to avoid it” if London produced a breakthrough before an April 10 EU summit.

The leaders of the EU’s 27 remaining countries have given the U.K. until April 12 to leave the bloc or to come up with a new plan, after British lawmakers thrice rejected an agreement struck between the bloc and May late last year.

The House of Commons has also failed to find a majority for any alternative plan in two days of voting on multiple options.

May’s statement came after a seven-hour meeting of her fractious Cabinet, which is split between supporters of a “soft Brexit” that keeps close economic ties with the EU, and Brexiteers who believe a no-deal exit is better than compromising.

May’s words seemed to indicate that she was veering away from the possibility of a no-deal Brexit — but also that she has not given up on her own unloved withdrawal agreement.

Her plan is to seek approval for the legally binding agreement — which sets out in detail the terms of Britain’s departure from the EU — after securing cross-party political support for a vision of future ties between the U.K. and the bloc.

If she and Corbyn fail to reach agreement, May said Parliament would get to vote on a range of options — and the government would be bound by the result. It is the first time she has committed to following the instruction of lawmakers.

May didn’t indicate how long an extension she would seek from the EU, though she said she hoped Britain could pass the agreement by May 22, in time to avoid participating in elections for the European Parliament.

Corbyn said he would be “very happy” to sit down with May, even though “so far she hasn’t shown much sign of compromise.”

Corbyn said Labour would present May with its conditions for Brexit, which include a close economic relationship with the bloc through a customs union, maintaining high environmental standards and protecting workers’ rights.

May’s move infuriated pro-Brexit politicians, who say Britain must cut ties to the EU in order to forge an independent economic policy.

“I think people will feel very short-changed,” said former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, a prominent pro-Brexit voice in Parliament.

But May’s words brought relief for those who fear the effects of a no-deal Brexit, which would complicate trade and travel, with new checks on borders and new regulations on dealings between the EU and Britain.

Businesses have warned that the economic impact in Britain could be devastating.

Ford of Europe Chairman Steven Armstrong said “a no-deal Brexit would be a disaster for the automotive industry in the U.K.”

Edwin Morgan, interim director general of business group the Institute of Directors, said May’s statement was “a welcome step towards compromise,” though there remained obstacles ahead.

“We urge the leader of the opposition to work with the prime minister to find a solution,” he said. “Both sides must play ball.”

Britain’s political paralysis — and May’s failure to get Parliament’s approval for the withdrawal agreement she negotiated — have exasperated EU leaders.

French President Emmanuel Macron said that if Britain’s politicians could not agree on a way forward, “they will de facto have chosen for themselves to leave without a deal.”

“We cannot avoid failure for them,” Macron said before a meeting in Paris with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar.

But Varadkar stressed “there’s still time” for May to come to the April 10 summit with “credible” proposals.

Meanwhile, British lawmakers intent on avoiding a no-deal Brexit have drawn up plans to prevent Britain crashing out of the bloc, by accident or design.

“We are now in a really dangerous situation with a serious and growing risk of no deal,” Labour Party legislator Yvette Cooper said.

Cooper introduced legislation, which Parliament is set to consider, this week, that would compel May to seek to extend the Brexit process beyond April 12 in order to prevent a no-deal departure.

——

Raf Casert reported from Brussels. Mike Corder in Halfweg, Netherlands, contributed to this story.

——

Follow AP’s full coverage of Brexit at: https://www.apnews.com/Brexit

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jamieclawhorn · 5 years

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3 reasons why I wouldn’t bother with buy-to-let in 2019

The outlook for the buy-to-let industry continues to be relatively challenging. Not only are mortgages becoming more difficult to obtain due to increasingly stringent affordability tests, the prospects of rising rents may be somewhat limited due to the UK’s uncertain economic outlook. And with the affordability of housing continuing to be relatively low, the prospects for buy-to-let investors could be downbeat.

Rental growth

In previous years, rental growth has helped to boost cash flow for buy-to-let investors. Since there has been a shortage of homes available given the level of demand, rents have generally moved upwards. As such, even low initial yields have not put off too many investors, since the general assumption has been that income returns will rise at a brisk pace over time.

Now though, the UK economy faces an uncertain outlook. The Brexit process may cause disruption in the near term, and consumers could become increasingly concerned about their own financial prospects. And with it being an unprecedented event, a level of caution may remain in place even once a deal or no deal has been decided upon.

Clearly, Brexit could prove to be a good thing for the UK economy. It may catalyse GDP growth and create renewed optimism in the UK’s financial future. However, there is also a risk that it will do the opposite. This could lead to reduced confidence, which may end up translating into a slower pace of rental growth across the buy-to-let industry.

Mortgage availability

While obtaining a mortgage for a buy-to-let property was once relatively straightforward, new rules mean that there are more stringent requirements in place. Prospective landlords must be able to show that the rental income they receive will cover mortgage interest payments even if interest rates rise rapidly in future years. This could make some areas unviable when it comes to obtaining finance for a buy-to-let investment. And with interest rates due to rise over the next few years, the tests on new buy-to-let mortgages may become increasingly robust.

Prices

While house price growth is now viewed as ‘the norm’, the reality is that in previous eras there were periods of severe house price declines. Given the forecast for a rising interest rate and the uncertainty created by Brexit, it would not be surprising for house prices to experience a period of slower growth, or even a fall. And since there may be lower levels of immigration following Brexit, demand for housing may not grow as quickly as had previously been anticipated. As such, the demand/supply imbalance may gradually become less stark.

Since the house-price-to-earnings ratio reached its highest ever level earlier this year of 7.7, affordability remains an issue for many first-time buyers. This could mean that prices naturally fall relative to wages, which could further reduce the appeal of investing in property. And with the stock market having already fallen heavily in recent months, now could be the right time to move out of buy-to-let and into shares.

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Why I wouldn’t bother with a cash ISA after the FTSE 100’s recent stock market crash

Is the Aviva share price set to crash?

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It’s never too early, or too late, to plan to beat the State Pension

My top FTSE 100 high-yield picks for 2019 and beyond

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todaynewsstories · 6 years

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Libya’s Haftar still supports elections but sees others stalling

BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) – Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar, a key figure in the future of the troubled North African country, still supports plans for national elections in December but says other players are not fulfilling their part for the vote to take place.

Khalifa Haftar, the military commander who dominates eastern Libya, arrives to attend an international conference on Libya at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, May 29, 2018. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer /File Photo

His downbeat comments to Reuters add to growing doubts that a French plan, backed by the United Nations, to hold elections aimed at ending seven years of conflict in the oil producer will go ahead.

Haftar is a dominant figure in the east where his Libyan National Army (LNA) last year seized the second-largest city of Benghazi by expelling Islamist and other fighters.

The 75-year old, in written comments to questions submitted by Reuters, refused to say whether he would run in presidential elections as expected, saying only: “Which elections are you talking about ? When they are announced and the door opened to run for them, you will know the answer.”

Haftar is aligned with a government based in the east and is the main rival of Prime Minister Fayez Seraj who leads a U.N.-brokered transitional government based in Tripoli, the capital.

In May, Haftar, Seraj and the leaders of rival parliamentary assemblies agreed verbally under French mediation in Paris to create a framework for elections.

But weeks of clashes between rival factions in Tripoli, some of which are linked to the U.N.-backed government, have shown the difficulties of organizing a vote in a country in chaos.

“The General Command (of the LNA) has not backed down on what it has pledged (regarding elections), and we are ready to play our part in securing elections on the agreed date,” Haftar said in the written response provided by his office.

“But the rest of the parties have breached their commitments … and have not taken any steps to fulfill their role,” he added.

He said the House of Representatives had failed to agree on a constitutional framework by mid-September as planned. The chamber is based in eastern territory controlled by the LNA but is itself badly divided.

For weeks, the HOR has postponed sessions with only few lawmakers showing up. Some have complained about intimidation and violence — one deputy was recently shot in a leg.

“We have now exceeded this date (Sept.16) without any action and without any justification,” Haftar said.

HIS TITLE: FIELD MARSHALL

Previous attempts at peace deals have been scuttled by divisions among rival groups and its foreign backers.

Haftar enjoys the support of Egypt and the United Arab Emirates which are keen on curbing Islamists. He remains popular with those tired of chaos but is seen by others as divisive, especially in western Libya.

Libya slid into lawlessness after the NATO-backed uprising in 2011 that overthrew Mummar Gaddafi.

Haftar launched a campaign in May 2014 in Benghazi that lasted three years, styling himself as a military leader capable of restoring order. He enjoys the official title of “field marshal”.

Critics say he wants to resurrect Gaddafi’s former police state, accusations he denies.

Haftar said the situation in Tripoli remained dangerous despite U.N. attempts to establish a truce between armed groups.

The LNA has talked about expanding to Tripoli but this might entail him having to team up with other armed groups in western Libya.

Writing by Ahmed Elumami and Ulf Laessing; Editing by Richard Balmforth

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dani-qrt · 6 years

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U.S. stock futures edge up as Washington extends tariff exemptions

TOKYO (Reuters) – U.S. stock futures edged up and Australian shares hit seven-week highs on Tuesday after the United States postponed the imposition of steel and aluminum tariffs on Canada, the European Union and Mexico, and offered permanent exemptions for several other allies.

An investor looks at an electronic board showing stock information at a brokerage house in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, China April 16, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer

Spread-betters also expected Britain’s FTSE to creep ahead in opening trade.

Still, uncertainty over an expanding trade dispute between the United States and China as well as worries that Washington may abandon a 2015 international nuclear deal with Iran kept investors on edge. A high-level U.S. trade delegation will be in Beijing for meetings later this week.

S&P mini futures ticked up 0.2 percent, erasing an earlier loss of 0.2 percent.

Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.2 percent while Australian shares gained 0.6 percent, hitting their highest level since mid-March.

MSCI’s dollar-denominated index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.1 percent though only Australia and New Zealand are open. Many markets in Europe and Latin America will be closed on Tuesday as well for public holidays.

U.S. shares lost steam late on Monday as worries about rising costs for companies kept investors on edge, despite solid corporate earnings and strong economic data.

Analysts expect S&P500 companies to report 24.6 percent growth in profits in the January-March quarter, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Yet rising U.S. bond yields and commodity prices pointed to higher costs down the road, with concerns about trade frictions and rising tension in the Middle East seen as potentially amplifying the cost challenge.

FILE PHOTO: A worker walks through an aluminium ingots depot in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, China September 26, 2012. REUTERS/Aly Song/File Photo

An earnings announcement due later on Tuesday from Apple, the world’s largest company by market capitalization, is attracting close attention, given speculation the sales of its flagship iPhone X have been sluggish.

“Earnings have been really strong so far. Microsoft and Amazon had a bumper quarter. The only concern has been Apple, which has been said to be lackluster. Hopefully, unless they come up with downbeat guidance, the market may take it in stride,” said Hirokazu Kabeya, chief global strategist at Daiwa Securities.

The market got a little relief when the United States decided to postpone the start date for steel and aluminum tariffs against the European Union, Canada and Mexico to June.

The United States also reached agreements in principle on tariffs with some other countries, including Australia and Brazil.

The news, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, lifted worries the exemptions would expire on Tuesday, easing investors’ worst fears.

“Markets are kind of expecting the Trump way of negotiation to continue. So I do not think markets are overly concerned about them at this point,” said Masahiro Ichikawa, senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management.

In the currency market, the euro traded at $1.2078, not far from 3 1/2-month low of $1.2055 touched on Friday, after weaker-than-expected German retail sales figures.

FILE PHOTO: Aluminium bar stock is seen inside a factory in Dongguan, China April 10, 2018. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo

Although the data is known to be volatile and is often revised, it added to recent signs that Germany’s economy could be losing some momentum after last year’s surprisingly strong growth. The dollar has been supported against many other currencies thanks to the relative strength of U.S. economy and its yield advantage.

The Federal Reserve is expected to keep interest rates on hold at its two-day policy meeting starting later on Tuesday, with a June hike already priced in.

The British pound stood at $1.3753, having hit a two-month low of $1.3715 on Monday, as recent data suggested a rate hike by the Bank of England this month, once almost seen as a certainty, could be delayed.

The dollar changed hands at 109.25 yen, near Friday’s 2 1/2-month high of 109.54.

The Australian dollar stood at $0.7540, near Monday’s 4 1/2-month low of $0.75255 after the Australian central bank kept its policy on hold as expected.

Oil prices held firm near 3-1/2-year highs after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stepped up pressure on the United States to pull out of an international nuclear deal with Iran, presenting what he said was evidence of a secret Iranian nuclear weapons program.

Some intelligence experts and diplomats said he did not seem to have presented a “smoking gun” showing that Iran had violated the agreement and Iran dismissed Netanyahu’s accusations, calling them propaganda.

But U.S. President Donald Trump, who has threatened to pull the United States out of the international deal unless it is renegotiated by May 12, repeated his criticism of the deal after Netanyahu’s presentation, suggesting he backed the Israeli leader’s remarks.

The White House said on Monday that the information provided by Israel on Iran’s nuclear program provides “new and compelling details”.

U.S. crude futures traded up slightly at $68.72 per barrel, not far from last month’s peak of $69.56, its highest level since late 2014.

Brent crude futures were $74.84 per barrel, near the 3 1/2-year high of $75.47 a barrel set last week.

Reporting by Hideyuki Sano; Editing by Eric Meijer and Kim Coghill

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dragnews · 6 years