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Now overseas demand is slumping amidst a local credit crunch and a corruption crackdown. A trade agreement and warmer relations with Washington spared its manufacturers from tariffs and sanctions applied to its northern neighbour. Now overseas demand is stuttering. Vietnam's exports of goods and services have been slowingFollow @KatrinaHamlin on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSVietnam's economy grew 8.02% in 2022, the fastest annual pace since 1997, according to data released by the country’s General Statistics Office on Dec. 29. Vietnamese exports were flat in February and fell 23.4% in January compared to a year earlier, according to Refinitiv data released on March 9.

☆ Britain's finance minister flags back-to-work incentives in budget
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, March 11 (Reuters) - Finance minister Jeremy Hunt will set out measures to boost Britain's workforce next week, by offering financial incentives in his budget for parents with young children, disabled people and others to rejoin the workforce. Foreign workers left the country en masse over Brexit, while hundreds of thousands of older people gave up their jobs during COVID-19. The finance ministry said on Saturday that Hunt's fiscal plan, due on Wednesday, will focus on removing barriers that dissuade people of working age from getting jobs. "I want this back-to-work budget to break down these barriers," Hunt said in a statement from the ministry on Saturday. Hunt also plans to allow disabled people and those with long-term health conditions to work without removing their supplementary financial support.

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☆ Georgian ruling party withdraws 'foreign agents' bill after two nights of protest
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Felix Light | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Summary Georgian ruling party pulls foreign agent billMove follows two nights of protests in GeorgiaEU praises withdrawal of foreign agent billProtests to continue, says Droa partyTBILISI, March 9 (Reuters) - Georgia's ruling party said on Thursday it was dropping a bill on "foreign agents" after two nights of violent protests against what opponents said was a Russian-inspired authoritarian shift that imperilled hopes of the country joining the European Union. The Georgian Dream ruling party said in a statement it would "unconditionally withdraw the bill we supported without any reservations". The bill would have required Georgian organisations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as "foreign agents" or face fines. Georgian Dream had previously said the law was necessary to unmask critics of the Georgian Orthodox Church, one of the country's most powerful institutions. The European Union's delegation to Georgia praised the decision to withdraw the bill, writing on Twitter: "We welcome announcement by the ruling party to withdraw draft legislation on 'foreign influence'.

☆ Is the U.S. falling behind China in Africa’s lithium industry?
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Sydney Boyo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The demand for lithium is rising as it has become a critical component needed in electric vehicle batteries. Zimbabwe has been mining lithium for 60 years and the government estimates that its Chinese-owned Bikita Minerals Mine, which is located 300 kilometers south of the capital Harare, has about 11 million metric tons of lithium resources. In December 2022, Zimbabwe passed the Base Mineral Export Control Act that banned the export of raw lithium. That includes Chinese firms Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt , Sinomine Resource Group and Chengxin Lithium Group which have invested $678 million into lithium projects in Zimbabwe. Both the Bikita mine, which is the largest lithium mine in the country, and the Arcadia Lithium mine are Chinese owned.

☆ Rio Tinto to Pay SEC $15 Million Over Foreign Bribery Charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Mengqi Sun | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

Mining and metals company Rio Tinto PLC agreed to pay a $15 million civil penalty to settle a yearslong probe into allegations it violated U.S. foreign bribery law, the Securities and Exchange Commission said Monday. The payments allegedly made by Rio Tinto have prompted multiple corruption investigations in the U.S., U.K. and Australia. Rio Tinto PLC’s American Depositary Shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange. The SEC credited Rio Tinto for cooperating with the investigation by providing documents in a timely manner and for making its employees available for interviews. Rio Tinto consented to the SEC’s order without admitting or denying the findings.

☆ PokerStars Owner Enters $4 Million Settlement With U.S. Over Russia Payments
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Richard Vanderford | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +2 min

The owner of PokerStars and other popular gambling brands will pay $4 million to settle U.S. allegations that the handling of payments to Russia-based consultants violated foreign bribery law. Flutter Entertainment PLC, the Dublin-based owner of FanDuel, Paddy Power and other brands, entered into a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over alleged violations by PokerStars’ previous owner, the Stars Group. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ | Risk and Compliance Journal Our Morning Risk Report features insights and news on governance, risk and compliance. PREVIEWThe SEC, which announced the settlement Monday, said the Stars Group paid about $8.9 million to Russia-based consultants as it pushed for the legalization of poker in that country. “This is a legacy issue, related to a period prior to Flutter’s ownership of the Stars Group,” a spokesman said.

☆ China's Li Keqiang announces lowest GDP target in decades amid major economic leadership overhaul
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Hong Kong CNN —China’s outgoing Premier Li Keqiang has announced the country’s lowest GDP growth target in decades, highlighting the domestic and global challenges the world’s second largest economy still faces despite its decision late last year to ditch draconian anti-Covid measures. It fell well short of the official growth target of “around 5.5%.”“Having declared the end of pandemic, the leaders are sticking to the slowing GDP growth path in the long term by lowering annual GDP target gradually,” said Ken Cheung, chief Asian foreign exchange strategist at Mizuho Bank. “Moreover, China has been downplaying the numeric GDP target and shifted to balance the quality since President Xi’s era,” he said. Premier Li also said the government would only raise fiscal spending by 5.6% this year, which is lower than the growth of 6.1% in fiscal spending in 2022. “After three years of pandemic [measures], it could be more than desirable for governments, especially the local governments, to restore fiscal resilience,” said Citi analysts.

The government said the BBC had failed to respond to repeated requests to clarify its tax affairs related to the profits and remittances from its Indian operations. The documentary, which was only broadcast in Britain, accused Modi of fostering a climate of impunity that fuelled the violence. Reuters spoke to eight Indian journalists, industry executives and media analysts who said that some media which reported critically on the government have been targeted with inspections by government agencies, the suspension of state advertising, and the arrest of reporters. Modi's government has vigorously denied the BBC tax inspection - the first against an international news organisation in decades - was a response to the film. Gupta said there had been complaints after the government reduced its advertising spending but that was not an assault on media freedom.

☆ Trump pledges to stay in 2024 presidential race even if he is criminally charged
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Rebecca Picciotto | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks about the recent derailment of a train carrying hazardous waste, during an event at a fire station in East Palestine, Ohio, February 22, 2023. Former president Donald Trump said on Saturday he will remain in the 2024 presidential race even if he faces criminal charges in the ongoing investigations into his handling of White House documents and alleged 2020 election tampering. Trump launched his 2024 White House bid in November, a week after Republicans lost a number of important midterm races. Ron DeSantis, widely deemed Trump's main competition, would beat Trump if the two came head-to-head. The FBI seized nearly 200,000 pages of documents from Trump's Mar-a-Lago property in September.

☆ West Starts Issuing Fresh Sanctions Against Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Laurence Norman | Andrew Duehren | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The West started rolling out its latest package of coordinated sanctions against Russia, marking the first anniversary of the invasion and setting up for a long-haul effort to squeeze Russia’s economy. U.K. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly kicked off a series of new Western government measures early Friday, saying Britain would place export bans on all items Ukraine has found Russia using on the battlefield. The U.K. also added close to 100 Russian individuals and entities, including officials from state-owned nuclear company Rosatom, to its sanctions list.

Review: Is the Wells Fargo Reflect Card the Best Credit Card for You? Let's get the worst bit out of the way first: The Wells Fargo Reflect® Card earns no rewards for spending. The Wells Fargo Reflect Card Doesn't Have a Rewards ProgramThis card doesn't earn any rewards for your spending. Cell phone protectionThe Wells Fargo Reflect® Card offers up to $600 of automatic cell phone protection when you pay your monthly phone bill with the card. Read our review Read Our Review A looong arrow, pointing rightWells Fargo Reflect Fees and CostsThough the Wells Fargo Reflect® Card doesn't come with an annual fee, there are other fees to watch for.

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☆ Biden’s test: Sustaining unity as Ukraine war enters second year
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

One year ago, President Joe Biden was bracing for the worst as Russia massed troops in preparation to invade Ukraine. Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, was offered help getting out of his country if he wanted it. Now, as Biden prepares to travel to Poland to mark the anniversary of the war, he faces a legacy-defining moment. In Poland, Biden is set to meet with allies to reassure them of the U.S. commitment to the region and to helping Ukraine "as long as it takes." From the beginning of his administration, Biden has argued the world is at a crucial moment pitting autocracies against democracies.

☆ The good news is markets look resilient — but the bad news is just about everything else
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Wizardry aside, let's see why the stock market has proved so resilient this year, even though the economy's providing nothing to cheer for. DataTrek cofounder Nicholas Colas is chalking up stable markets to strong earnings. "The only explanation that makes sense to us for this conundrum of 'bad' news and stable markets is that US corporate earnings power remains resilient," Colas wrote in a Thursday note to clients. Even as markets act like everything's fine, there's still not quite enough optimism among investors to say that markets are nearing a peak, according to Ned Davis Research. A top-ranked stock-picker said January's hot CPI report suggests the stock market is far from the bottom.

☆ U.S. Congress members seek halt to $1 billion Nigeria weapons deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Daphne Psaledakis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"We write to express our concern with current U.S. policy on and military support to Nigeria," the lawmakers said. The United States has paired security assistance to Nigeria with training focused on compliance with international law. Nigerian military leaders denied the program has ever existed and said Reuters reporting was part of a foreign effort to undermine the country's fight against the insurgents. Nigerian military leaders told Reuters the army has never targeted children for killing. Amid international outcry, Nigeria’s defense ministry agreed to cooperate with an investigation by Nigeria’s Commission on Human Rights, which is underway.

☆ U.S. exempts Britain, New Zealand from foreign investment reviews -Treasury
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 10 (Reuters) - The United States on Friday extended the status of Britain and New Zealand as countries exempt from the U.S. foreign investment screening program, the Treasury Department said, having determined that those countries' own screening programs are robust enough. U.S. Treasury's powerful Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) said it made the decision based on the countries' use of their own "robust foreign investment screening program." "The United States thoroughly reviews foreign investment for national security risks, and it is critical that our allies also identify and address risks from malign foreign investment," Assistant Secretary for Investment Security Paul Rosen said. "Today’s actions reflect that our Five Eye allies have all stood up and implemented their own robust foreign investment screening programs. We look forward to continuing to coordinate with all of them on matters relating to investment security."

☆ U.S. Treasury to crack down on Russian sanctions evasion - Adeyemo
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 10 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department will focus in coming months on cracking down on facilitators and third-country providers helping Russia evade Western sanctions, Treasury said on Friday. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told a meeting of academics and other experts on sanctions and U.S. foreign policy that Treasury will increase its focus on countering sanctions evasion, including by those who may "wittingly or unwittingly" help Russia replenish supplies needed for its military fighting in Ukraine. Treasury provided no immediate details on which "facilitators and third-party providers" would be targeted. The Treasury earlier this month imposed sanctions on 22 individuals and entities in multiple countries that it accused of being tied to a global sanctions evasion network supporting Russia's military-industrial complex. Reporting by Andrea Shalal; additional reporting by Daphne Psaledakis, Editing by William MacleanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Gautam Adani’s woes were in banks' plain sight
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Una Galani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

MUMBAI, Feb 8 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Gautam Adani’s recent woes have vindicated persistent doubts in India about the tycoon’s rise. The Indian group dismisses those claims as a “malicious combination of selective misinformation and stale, baseless and discredited allegations”. By contrast, other big Indian groups like Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries (DBKGn.DE) and those carrying the Tata name are more popular with institutional investors. Fee-hungry international banks were much less picky. Deutsche, Barclays and StanChart pocketed $57 million of the $260 million of investment banking revenue generated by the Adani group since Dealogic records began.

☆ Jim Cramer's top 10 things to watch in the market Friday: Jobs way up, stocks down, tech tough
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Every penny gained in other tech stocks on the back of Meta Platforms ' (META) earnings surge this week needs to be given up. High growth, growth, no growth, declining growth ... which box are we in for each portfolio stock? Quarterly revenue beat. I say sell, sell, sell Nordstrom. As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade.

☆ China tells U.S. to remain 'cool-headed' over suspected spy balloon
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

watch nowBeijing urged Washington to remain "cool-headed" Friday, as it investigates reports that a suspected Chinese-operated spy balloon has been hovering over sensitive U.S. airspace. Spotted over MontanaFootage of what appears to be a high-altitude balloon was captured by an eyewitness over Billings, Montana, on Wednesday. A senior defense official said the balloon is still over the U.S. but declined to say where it is now. A senior defense official said authorities are continuing to monitor the balloon closely and will take "all necessary steps" to protect against foreign intelligence collection of sensitive information. The balloon does not pose a threat to civil aviation because of its altitude, the official added.

☆ There's still a lot to like about Apple despite key misses in its December quarter
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Zev Fima | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Despite headline misses, Apple gave us a lot to like under the hood in its fiscal 2023 first quarter. The worst appears to be behind us — and as a result, we reiterate our 1 rating and continue to believe that Apple stock is something to own for the long-term, not trade quarter to quarter. In its December quarter, Apple returned $19 billion via the repurchase of 133 million shares and another $3.8 billion in dividends. Moreover, nearly two-thirds of Apple Watch buyers in the quarter were new to the product. Within Services, we also saw all-time revenue records for cloud services, payment services and music and December quarter records for the App Store and AppleCare.

☆ Top U.S., Chinese and Russian officials tour Africa as global charm offensive gathers pace
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

Janet Yellen, US Treasury secretary, during a news conference with Enoch Godongwana, South Africa's finance minister, at the National Treasury in Pretoria, South Africa, on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023. Yellen met with South African officials including President Cyril Ramaphosa last week, just days after the country's Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor stood alongside Lavrov and vowed to strengthen bilateral relations between Pretoria and Moscow. South Africa was one of 17 African nations to abstain from the U.N. vote in March to condemn Russia's war of aggression. As such, many African nations desire a strong relationship with both the U.S. and China, and U.S. diplomacy will be more effective when not framed as an "us-or-them" proposition. What's more, the BRI projects were "largely uncoordinated and unplanned," he said, with competing Chinese lenders offering credit to African nations, challenging the notion of a coherent centralized "debt trap" policy from Beijing.

☆ Trump kicks off his 2024 campaign: 'We are at the brink of World War III'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Jonathan-Allen-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Jonathan Allen | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

"Through weakness and incompetence, Joe Biden has brought us to the brink of World War III," Trump said. "We’re at the brink of World War III, just in case anybody doesn’t know it. And they're sending, frankly, terrorists, or terrorists are coming on their own, and we can't allow this to happen," Trump said. At both stops, Trump singled out Hunter Biden, the president's son, for derision and appeared to blame the elder Biden for his adult child's problems. The campaign stops Saturday follow a lull since Trump launched his campaign at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida in November.

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