International Finance
WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump has agreed to a historic first meeting with Kim Jong Un in a stunning development in America's high-stakes nuclear standoff with North Korea.
Standing in front of the White House, South Korean National Security Advisor Chung Eui-yong announced the first ever meeting between a US president and North Korean leader, which he said would take place by the end of May.
Chung had recently returned from Pyongyang, where he met Kim, who, he said "expressed his eagerness to meet President Trump as soon as possible."
Trump hailed "great progress" in the push to persuade Pyongyang to end its nuclear weapons program.
"Meeting being planned!" he tweeted. "Kim Jong Un talked about denuclearization with the South Korean Representatives, not just a freeze. Also, no missile testing by North Korea during this period of time."
"Great progress being made but sanctions will remain until an agreement is reached."
News of the summit, which South Korean President Moon Jae-in said was "like a miracle", is the latest step in a quickening diplomatic detente.
North and South Korea exchanged envoys as Pyongyang sent a delegation to the Winter Olympics in the South, which Seoul had dubbed the "Peace Games" and which saw the two countries marching under a unified flag.
The thaw came after a period of extreme tension between Washington and Pyongyang that sounded like the growing drumbeat of war.
Just months ago, Trump mocked Kim by calling him "little rocket man". Kim returned the favor by describing Trump as "mentally deranged" and a "dotard."
The United States and North Korea were foes throughout the Cold War and fought on opposite sides of a bloody war in the 1950s.
In the last two decades, they have been engaged in what is perhaps the world's most dangerous nuclear standoff, with 30,000 US military personnel stationed just over the border in the South.
Pyongyang's long race to develop a nuclear weapon capable of hitting the continental United States has proved a problem for successive US administrations.
Trump's strategy has been to ramp up sanctions, tighten the diplomatic screws and regularly threaten military force.
The White House said in a statement that strategy of "maximum pressure" would stay in place, for now.
"We look forward to the denuclearization of North Korea. In the meantime, all sanctions and maximum pressure must remain."
But the prospect of a top-level meeting is a paradigm shift.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP, PA
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump slapped steep trade tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum Thursday, drawing sharp protests from allies at home and abroad amid fears of a global trade war.
Signaling a sharp departure from a decades-long US-led drive for more open and less regulated trade, Trump declared that America had been "ravaged by aggressive foreign trade practices."
"It's really an assault on our country," he declared, announcing the tariffs of 25 percent on imported steel and 10 percent on aluminum, which are used in everything from cars to construction, roads to railways.
Trump said the tariffs - which will come into effect after 15 days - will not initially apply to Canada and Mexico, and that close partners on security and trade could negotiate exemptions.
"Many of the countries that treat us the worst on trade and on the military are our allies, as they call them," he complained.
Leaning on a little-used and decades-old national security clause in US trade law, Trump said he was fulfilling a campaign promise.
"I've been talking about this a long time, a lot longer than my political career," he said. "We've been treated very badly by our past administrations, by presidents that represented us that didn't know what they were doing."
The mercurial 45th president compared his action to those of predecessors George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and William McKinley.
Canada, America's neighbor to the north, was its single-largest source of steel last year, followed by Brazil, South Korea, Russia, Mexico, Japan and Germany.
Regarding alumina and aluminum, Canada was also by far the largest supplier followed by China, Russia and the United Arab Emirates.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP, PA
TOKYO - World share benchmarks were mixed on Friday, with Asia mostly advancing while several European markets lost ground after President Donald Trump announced new tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. South Korea's Kospi jumped 1.1 percent on news Trump plans to meet with North Korea's leader.
France's CAC 40 slipped 0.2 percent to 5,243.37. Germany's DAX lost 0.5 percent to 12,295.99 while Britain's FTSE 100 edged 0.1 percent higher to 7,207.03. Dow futures were little changed at 24,924.00, while S&P 500 futures also were flat at 2743.90.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 0.5 percent to finish at 21,469.20. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.3 percent to 5,963.20. South Korea's Kospi jumped 1.1 percent to 2,459.45. Hong Kong's Hang Seng also rose 1.1 percent, to 30,996.21. The Shanghai Composite index added 0.6 percent to 3,307.17.
Wall Street rallied following reports that Canada and Mexico will be exempted indefinitely from the tariffs and that other countries will be invited to negotiate for exemptions as well. Although the tariffs are likely to hurt some Asian nations, the impact may be not that damaging to countries like Japan that export more to other Asian countries such as China.
Junichi Makino, analyst at SMBC Nikko said the tariffs were more damaging to free trade in principle than to the actual realities of economic growth. The tariffs will lower the profitability of Japan's major companies by 0.02 percent only, he said. "When protectionism grows, this can lead to a trade war."
The Bank of Japan kept its ultra-lax monetary policy intact, as expected, at a policy meeting that ended Friday. Meanwhile, People's Bank of China Gov. Zhou Xiaochuan told reporters China can be bolder about opening its financial markets following progress in developing financial regulation, improving management of financial institutions and Beijing's efforts to promote use abroad of its tightly controlled currency, the yuan.
Benchmark US crude added 27 cents to $60.39 barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It fell $1.03 to $60.12 a barrel in New York overnight. Brent crude, used to price international oils, rose 39 cents to $64.00 a barrel in London.
The dollar rose to 106.72 yen from 105.97 yen late Thursday. The euro fell to $1.2316 from $1.2408.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP, PA
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP, PA
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP, PA
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP, PA
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP, PA
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP, PA
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP, PA
SANTIAGO - Eleven nations signed a slimmed-down version of the Trans- Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement Thursday, moving to lower tariffs just as US President Donald Trump raised them after withdrawing from the deal.
The TPP, which would have represented 40 percent of the global economy and nearly one-quarter of its trade, was left for dead after Trump pulled out to pursue his "America First" agenda.
But the revamped deal, now known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans- Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), is still a significant achievement and a victory for openness, its supporters said at the signing ceremony in Santiago, Chile.
"We are proud to have completed this process, sending a strong message to the international community that opening markets, economic integration and international cooperation are the best tools to create economic opportunity and prosperity," said Chilean President Michelle Bachelet.
The pact includes Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam, representing together 13.5 percent of the global economy.
The 11 states form a market of 500 million people, greater than that of the European Union.
The deal was signed just before Trump slapped steep tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, setting up what many allies both at home and abroad warn could escalate into a global trade war.
Former president Barack Obama's administration pushed for the TPP as a counterweight to growing Chinese commercial power. It not only cut tariffs but required members to comply with a high level of regulatory standards in areas like labor law and environmental protection.
Fernando Estenssoro, of Chile's University of Santiago, says snubbing the pact is "a type of suicide" for the United States.
Washington's absence leaves an open path for China - which remains excluded from the deal - as it negotiates separately with Asian countries and New Zealand.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP, PA
BEIJING - United States trading partners, led by Asian powerhouses China and Japan, lashed out Friday at controversial tariffs on foreign steel and aluminium signed off by President Donald Trump, as fears grew of a global trade war.
Close ally Japan warned the tariffs of 25 percent on imported steel and 10 percent on aluminium "could have a grave impact on the economic relationship" between the world's top and third-largest economies.
Japan's top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said the move could harm the global trading system and the entire world economy and said Tokyo would urge the US to give the country an exemption.
The world's second-biggest economy, China, was also vocal in its opposition, deriding the tariffs as "a serious attack on normal international trade order."
In a sharp reversal from decades of a US-led drive towards more open trade, Trump declared on Thursday that America had been "ravaged by aggressive foreign trade practices."
Both Mexico and Canada rejected Trump's linkage of the levies to ongoing NAFTA talks. Canada's foreign affairs minister termed the two things "separate issues" while Mexico's economy ministry said "the negotiation of the NAFTA should not be subject to conditions outside the process."
The US leader had also added Australia to a list of likely carve-outs, as a "great country" and "long-term partner." However, he took aim at Germany, reviving a longstanding gripe that European NATO allies do not pay their fair share.
"Many of the countries that treat us the worst on trade and on the military are our allies, as they call them," he complained.
The EU, Brazil and Britain were also quick to launch broadsides against the tariffs, which are worth billions of dollars. Major producer Brazil immediately vowed to take "all necessary steps" in order to "protect its rights and interests" in response to the US move.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP, PA
NEW YORK - Health service provider Cigna said Thursday it had reached an agreement to acquire pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts in a cash and stock deal worth approximately $67 billion (euro54bn).
The firms said the deal would create a wider portfolio of health services with greater choice, as well as helping make them more affordable.
"Together, our two organizations will help make the healthiest choices the easiest choices, putting health and pharmacy services within reach of everyone we serve," Express Scripts chief executive Tim Wentworth said in a statement.
The transaction, which has been approved by the board of directors of both companies, offers Express Scripts shareholders $48.75 in cash and 0.24 shares of stock of the combined company for each of their shares.
The statement said the price represents an approximately 31 percent premium to Express Scripts' closing price of $73.42 on March 7, 2018.
The deal also includes Cigna's assumption of approximately $15 billion in Express Scripts debt.
Cigna shareholders will own approximately 64 percent of the combined company and Express Scripts shareholders the remainder.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP, PA
RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer reported net profits of $246.8 million in 2017, 48.58 percent more than the previous year - news that comes amid expectations that it might partner with US aerospace giant Boeing.
Embraer, the world's third-largest aircraft maker, also indicated that its 2017 fourth quarter profits totaled just $35.2 million - 82 percent less than the prior year's $195.2 million in the same period, and substantially below the previous quarter's $110 million.
Earnings of the full year before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization - a figure known as EBITDA - came to $644.7 million in 2017.
As of 1430 GMT the company's shares had tumbled 2.71 percent on the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange.
Embraer said "negotiations continue to advance" with the US giant on the possible Boeing merger, but noted "there are no guarantees."
"Given the complexity of the operation, it is natural that we are spending more time in analysis and talks," Embraer president Paulo Cesar de Souza said in a conference call, saying the parties were "committed to finding an alternative."
Boeing and Embraer have been in talks to combine their operations, which would see Boeing holding up to 90 percent of the new company to be based in Chicago, a person familiar with the talks said in February.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP, PA
MEXICO CITY - Toy-maker Mattel was in a dispute Thursday with a distant relative of the late Mexican artist Frida Kahlo over rights to a Frida Barbie doll released as part of the company's Inspiring Women series.
Kahlo's great-niece Mara de Anda Romeo said Mattel doesn't have the rights to use Kahlo's image. Pablo Sangri, a lawyer for de Anda Romeo, said his client doesn't seek money, but wants Mattel to talk about redesigning the doll.
"We will talk to them about regularizing this situation, and by regularizing I mean talking about the appearance of the doll, its characteristics, the history the doll should have to match what the artist really was," Sangri said.
Critics complain the doll doesn't reflect Kahlo's heavy, nearly conjoined eyebrows, and they say its costume doesn't accurately portray the elaborate Tehuana-style dresses the artist wore.
That is, it's more Barbie-like than Frida-like. Barbie is an American icon that has often been criticized as promoting an unrealistic body image and consumerist lifestyle. Kahlo was a life-long communist who died in 1954 before the doll was introduced.
Mattel said in a statement that it worked with the Panama-based Frida Kahlo Corp., "which owns all the rights."
"The Frida Kahlo Corporation actively participated in the process of designing the doll, Mattel has its permission and a legal contract that grants it the rights to make a doll of the great Frida Kahlo," the company's statement said.
The corporation said it got the rights through Kahlo's niece, Isolda Pinedo Kahlo, more than a decade ago.
The corporation said in a statement that it "celebrates the ideological contributions of Frida Kahlo which have transcended the borders of art and which will influence new generations as a world icon through the Frida Kahlo Barbie, which conserves the essence of Barbie and the legacy of Frida Kahlo."
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP, PA
CARACAS - A trust linked to Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA has filed a lawsuit against major international energy trading firms for their alleged role funneling bribes to corrupt company officials in exchange for rigged oil purchase contracts.
The civil complaint was unsealed Thursday by a federal judge in Miami and alleges the ongoing scheme cheated the socialist-run company of billions in lost revenue since 2004.
The lawsuit comes as the US expands a criminal investigation into corruption at PDVSA, and the Trump administration threatens crippling oil sanctions on the country sitting atop the world's largest crude reserves.
David Boies, the powerful New York attorney representing PDVSA and who is also involved in two other politically charged cases straining relations between the US and Venezuela, said the lawsuit was prompted by the Venezuelan government's determination to show it takes corruption seriously.
"This is an action that Venezuela has taken to re-establish itself as a country where the rule of law applies, where corruption isn't going to be tolerated and where people who violate the public trust will be held accountable," Boies told The Associated Press. "It's a long road, but every long road begins with the first few steps."
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP, PA
BRUSSELS - The EU's top trade official said Friday that "dialogue" with Washington was the bloc's "prime option" as it seeks to win exemptions from US President Donald Trump's controversial new steel and aluminium tariffs.
Brussels has already drawn up a hitlist of flagship American products to target for countermeasures if its exports are affected by the tariffs including peanut butter, bourbon whiskey and orange juice.
EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem said the bloc was "not preparing for battle" but had to be ready to protect its industry. Earlier this week she warned the US tariffs could jeopardize thousands of European jobs.
"Dialogue is always the prime option of the European Union," Malmstroem said, adding that Brussels was "counting on being excluded" from the new duties.
The EU shares American concerns about overcapacity in the global steel sector, Malmstroem said, but warned "this is not the right way to deal with it".
"It is certainly not the right way to include Europe... because we are friends, we are allies, we work together, we cannot possibly be a threat to national security in the US, so we are counting on being excluded," the Swede added.
Malmstroem said Trump's announcement was "not crystal clear" and she would seek clarification when she saw US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer in Brussels on Saturday for long-planned talks that are now a de facto crisis meeting.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP, PA
BRUSSELS - The European Union launched legal action against Britain on Thursday to recover 2.7 billion euros ($3.3bn) in lost customs duties after London allegedly ignored a scam by Chinese importers.
The bloc's fraud watchdog said last year that Britain turned a blind eye to the rampant use of fake invoices and customs claims by Chinese importers for textiles and footwear.
The launch of the so-called infringement action threatens to inflame tense negotiations between Britain and the EU on their trade and customs relations after Brexit next year.
"Today, the European Commission decided to send a letter of formal notice to the United Kingdom because it refuses to make customs duties available to the EU budget, as required by EU law," the commission said in a statement.
Britain now has the right to reply to the allegations by the European Commission, the 28-nation EU's executive and enforcement arm.
If Brussels is still not satisfied it can demand further explanations and eventually take the case to the European Court of Justice, which could then order Britain to repay the money.
The EU said the March 2017 report by the OLAF anti-fraud office had revealed that importers had "evaded a large amount of customs duties by using fictitious and false invoices and incorrect customs value declarations".
"Further commission inspections brought to light a dramatic increase of the scale of that undervaluation fraud scheme operating through the hub in the United Kingdom between 2011 and 2017," it said.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP, PA
PARIS - French water and waste giant Veolia is to seek World Bank arbitration in a bitter dispute after Gabon cancelled its contract, the group said Friday, as Libreville has accused the firm of polluting the country.
The decision to seek international mediation was taken by Veolia's Gabon-based SEEG unit, which has provided water and electricity distribution services in this small central African country since 1997 but lost its contract in February with the government seizing control of its facilities.
The expropriation was denounced by Veolia as a "very serious, illegal act of expropriation", sparking a bitter war of words between the two sides.
"This request was made following the expropriation of its assets and personnel, after the sudden cancellation of the public service concession for the production, transportation and distribution of drinking water and electricity by the Republic of Gabon on February 16," a Veolia statement said.
Gabon said initially it was canceling Veolia's contract because of a "deterioration of the quality of the service provided to users".
Libreville later accused the firm of causing "considerable environmental damage" through oil and fuel spillage at the sites where it operates, raising concerns about its effect on water quality.
But a company spokesman said at the time that SEEG had been audited more than 10 times by the Gabonese authorities over the past decade who had never raised any issues about environmental damage.
And he insisted its water supplies were drinkable and met World Health Organization standards.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP, PA
THE HAGUE - Dutch politicians were up in arms Thursday after ING, the country's leading bank bailed out with public funds in 2008, revealed plans to hike its chief executive's salary by 50 percent.
From January 2018 the "supervisory board proposes to ... raise the gross cash base salary of the CEO by 2.2 percent," ING said in a statement. Top boss, Ralph Hamers, would also receive "fixed shares with a value equal to 50 percent of gross cash base salary".
ING gave no figures, but the pay rise would earn Hamers around three million euros ($3.7m) annually, Dutch media said, highlighting that other ING staff were only awarded a 1.7 percent pay rise.
"In what universe are those at the top in ING living in?" asked MP Jesse Klaver, leader of the green left party GroenLinks in a tweet.
MPs have demanded the chairman of the bank's supervisory board, Jeroen van der Veer, appear before the lower house as early as next week.
Politicians have sought to restore public confidence in the banking sector after the 2008 financial crisis badly shook the Dutch economy.
But ING defended its wages policy saying it was "designed to ensure we offer well-balanced remuneration so we can recruit and retain highly qualified employees".
After a review, the bank had determined the salaries of its executive board "are below the median of the Euro Stoxx 50 benchmark, and in the case of the CEO position, even significantly below."
Concerns had already been raised by the board in the past as "ING needs to be able to attract and retain the best (international) talent", it added.
ING was bailed out to the tune of 10 billion euros after the global financial crisis struck, which it paid off in full plus interest to the Dutch government in November 2014, well ahead of time.
The Amsterdam-based bank is the country's leading lender, and said last month that 2017 profits rose 5.5 percent to 4.9 billion euros, with revenues also up 1.4 percent to 17.7 billion euros.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP, PA
BERLIN - German luxury carmaker BMW said Thursday its 2017 net profit soared 26 percent to a record 8.7 billion euros ($10.7bn), driven by strong demand for electrified vehicles and a tax bump from the United States.
The Munich-based group said deliveries of its electrified vehicles jumped 65.6 percent to 103,080 units, as it plans to put half a million such cars on the road by the end of 2019.
The group, which also owns the Mini and Rolls-Royce brands, said automobile deliveries were up 4.1 percent to 2.46 million vehicles, while revenues rose a corresponding 4.8 percent to 98.6 billion euros.
The lowering of corporate tax in the US from this year also contributed 977 million euros to the bottom line, the group said.
"We can look back on the most successful year in our corporate history and have achieved record levels for revenues and earnings for the eighth year in succession," said Harald Krueger, BMW chairman.
And the group is targeting another record year in 2019 as it eyes a further rise in deliveries in 2018.
"This year we are targeting another new sales record, with deliveries slightly up on the previous year," said Krueger.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP, PA
LONDON - US fast-food chain KFC has re-employed its former delivery supplier in Britain after an embarrassing shortage of chicken forced the closure of hundreds of restaurants.
KFC announced Thursday that Bidvest Logistics would supply 350, or more than one-third of its UK restaurants, but added that new partners DHL and QSL would be kept on board.
"Our focus remains on ensuring our customers can enjoy our chicken without further disruption," a KFC spokesman said in a statement.
"With that in mind, the decision has been taken in conjunction with QSL and DHL to revert the distribution contract for up to 350 of our restaurants in the north of the UK back to Bidvest Logistics."
The spokesman added that some three percent of KFC's 900 restaurants remained shut, while suppliers were still struggling to deliver items such as salads and drinks to outlets that were open.
News of KFC's delivery issues emerged three weeks ago, causing much amusement on social media - and one police department to tweet a request that people do not call the emergency service about the #KFCcrisis.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP, PA
PARIS - The French government signalled Thursday it intends to sell part of its stakes in the Paris airport operator and national lottery firm as business-friendly President Emmanuel Macron seeks to bring in cash to state coffers.
But while the government has decided to reduce its stakes in Aeroports de Paris (ADP) and the Francaise des Jeux (FDJ) lottery, it has yet to confirm how much will be sold off.
The French state currently holds 50.6 percent of ADP, which owns and operates the capital's Charles de Gaulle, Orly and Le Bourget airports, and 72 percent of FDJ.
"We are considering opening up FDJ's capital," Budget Minister Gerald Darmanin on SUD Radio, in the first official acknowledgement that the government is planning such a move.
Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire said the government was "seeking the necessary legislative authorization to sell a certain number of our assets".
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP, PA
LONDON - Ryanair has agreed to recognize Italian pilots' trade union ANPAC, the Irish no-frills airline said Thursday, after agreeing a similar deal in Britain.
The agreement comes after Ryanair suffered a troubled end to 2017, being forced to cancel 20,000 flights through to March this year, mainly because of botched holiday scheduling for pilots.
Against that backdrop, the airline has made concerted moves to improve relations with employees by recognizing trade unions.
"Ryanair today confirmed that it has signed a union recognition agreement with ANPAC, who will now be the sole representative body for Ryanair employed pilots in Italy," a statement said.
"This agreement follows extensive negotiations with ANPAC since Ryanair's December announcement that it was willing to recognize unions for collective bargaining purposes."
ANPAC welcomed Thursday's announcement.
"This is a historic moment for Ryanair pilots in Italy, who for many years have been working to obtain union representation and both secure and uniform working and salary conditions across the different bases in Italy," the union said in a separate statement.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP, PA
SEOUL - The US' third-biggest steel supplier South Korea will ask Washington for an exemption from President Donald Trump's new tariffs and consider filing a complaint to the World Trade Organization if it is refused, Seoul said Friday.
Trump imposed steep tariffs of 25 percent on foreign steel and 10 percent on aluminium Thursday, drawing sharp protests from allies at home and abroad amid fears of a global trade war.
South Korean trade minister Paik Un-gyu expressed his regret at the move in a meeting with steel executives, saying: "If this action takes effect, it would inevitably deal a serious blow to South Korea's steel exports to the US."
The South is a treaty ally of the US, which has 28,500 troops stationed in the country to protect it from the nuclear-armed North, but has found itself on the receiving end of Trump's "America First" economic agenda.
A free trade agreement between the two is being renegotiated at Washington's behest, and talks are currently taking place in Hawaii on cost-sharing for the US military presence, after Trump said on the campaign trail that Seoul should pay more.
The trade ministry will seek consultations with the US Trade Representative at an early date to ask for reduced or no tariffs on the country's steel products, it said in a statement.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP, PA
TOKYO - Japanese steelmaker Kobe Steel named a new CEO on Friday and pledged "fundamental reforms" in the wake of a scandal over fake strength and quality data it submitted to clients.
The firm said its board had appointed Mitsugu Yamaguchi, currently Kobe Steel's executive vice president, to the top role left empty after Hiroya Kawasaki stepped down on Tuesday.
"Under a new structure in the coming future, Kobe Steel intends to fulfil its responsibilities... along with restoring the trust of everyone as quickly as possible," the company said in a statement.
"Kobe Steel will move forward with fundamental reforms to the organization and its corporate culture."
Kawasaki, who had been in the role since 2013, stepped down on Tuesday as a long-awaited report into the scandal revealed the data falsification was more widespread that initially thought.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP, PA
BEIJING - Chinese inflation almost doubled last month to its highest level in four years, data showed Friday, as holiday spending added to growing inflationary pressures in the world's second-largest economy.
The the key consumer price index (CPI) hit 2.9 percent in February, up from 1.5 percent in January and better than the 2.5 percent forecast in a survey by Bloomberg News.
China aims to keep CPI growth at "around three percent" in 2018, Premier Li Keqiang said earlier this week in his annual state-of-the-nation speech to the National People's Congress (NPC), China's rubber-stamp legislature.
The year-on-year figure from the National Bureau of Statistics was fanned by the Lunar New Year - which began on February 16 - as Chinese typically purchase large amounts of food and gifts before the holiday, driving up prices.
Hundreds of millions of Chinese traveling back to their hometowns for the holiday also boost transportation prices.
But with the holiday now past, "year-on-year CPI growth will fall to some extent in March", NBS analyst Sheng Guoqing said.
The producer price index (PPI) - an important barometer of the industrial sector that measures the cost of goods at the factory gate - came in at 3.7 percent on-year.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP, PA
TOKYO - Japan's household spending rose 2.0 percent in January from a year earlier, according to government data released Friday, suggesting demand is gradually recovering in the world's third-largest economy.
The figure, released by the internal affairs ministry, wrong-footed market players who were expecting a drop of 0.95 percent. However, the data are notoriously volatile, with spending down 0.1 percent in December and up 1.7 percent in November.
Japan has notched up eight straight quarters of economic growth - the longest positive run since the 1980s when the Japanese economy was the envy of the world.
But it has struggled to oust fears of deflation, failing to achieve the 2.0-percent inflation rate target set by the central bank, which is thought crucial to boosting the economy.
The government and central bank hope to see a "virtuous cycle", with an export-led recovery having a positive impact on jobs and household income and thereby boosting domestic demand, which accounts for roughly 60 percent of Japan's economy.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP, PA
SAN FRANCISCO - Uber is selling parts of its Southeast Asia operations to local rival Grab, getting a piece of the action in the process, according to US media reports.
Grab is on the cusp of buying Uber's business in some Southeast Asia markets in a deal that would give the California-based smartphone- summoned ride service a stake in its competitor, reported Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal.
The size of the stake could be around 20 percent or more than 30 percent, according to the reports, which cited unnamed sources.
Uber did not respond to an AFP request or comment.
The US ride share titan faces fierce competition in Asia, not only from Singapore-based Grab but from Ola in India, and Chinese rival Didi Chuxing.
Japanese financial titan Softbank has invested billions of dollars in Uber, Didi, Ola and Grab, and is known for seeking synergies between companies in its portfolio.
Didi and Uber ended a ferocious battle in the surging Chinese market in 2016 with a tie-up along the lines of the reported deal with Grab.
Southeast Asia's top ride-hailing firm Grab launched services in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh late last year as it looked to lock down regional domination against main rival Uber.
Grab, which launched in 2012, has poured money into expanding its regional fleet and now has more than 2.1 million drivers in Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia.
Competition between ride-hailing apps has been heating up in Southeast Asia's rapidly expanding market, which is forecast to grow more than five times to $13.1 billion by 2025, according to a 2016 report by Singapore investment firm Temasek.
A KVH SatNews service. Sources: AFP, AP, PA
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