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Beijing condemned the shooting down of the balloon as an "obvious overreaction" and urged Washington to show restraint. Some U.S. Republicans have questioned why the balloon was not shot down before it was allowed to travel across the United States. Senior U.S. officials have offered to brief former Trump administration officials on the details of what the White House said were three China balloon overflights when Donald Trump was president. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said China learned its balloon had drifted over the United States after being notified by Washington. On Sunday, Colombia's military said it sighted an airborne object similar to a balloon after the Pentagon said on Friday another Chinese balloon was flying over Latin America.

[1/4] Spectators watch after a suspected Chinese spy balloon was shot down off the coast in Holden Beach, North Carolina, U.S. February 4, 2023. Regional analysts and diplomats are closely watching China's response after a U.S. fighter jet shot down the balloon - which Beijing says was an errant weather-monitoring craft - in the Atlantic off South Carolina on Saturday. China on Sunday condemned the attack as an "over-reaction", saying it reserved the right to use the necessary means to deal with "similar situations", without elaborating. But while bilateral tension has risen in the past few days over the balloon incident, Beijing and Washington have been seeking to improve ties. Naval Postgraduate School in California, said any Chinese response would be limited.

☆ UBS says seek income as market upside is over and names 10 attractive dividend payers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Alex Harring | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Here's 10 that made the list: AT & T made the list with a dividend yield of 5.5%. UBS has a buy rating on the telecommunications stock with a price target of $24, implying 10.7% upside over Thursday's close. Also rated a buy, UBS raised its price target by $2 in January to $56. American Electric Power , meanwhile, has a 3.6% dividend yield. UBS has a buy rating and a $113 price target, meaning the utility could rally 19.5% from Thursday's close.

☆ U.S. stops granting export licenses for China's Huawei, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The Biden administration has stopped approving licenses for U.S. companies to export most items to China's Huawei, according to three people familiar with the matter. Qualcomm in 2020 received permission to sell 4G smartphone chips to Huawei. Another person said the move was expected to reflect the Biden administration's tightening of policy on Huawei over the past year. Licenses for 4G chips that could not be used for 5G, which might have been approved earlier, were being denied, the person said. Toward the end of the Trump administration and early in the Biden administration, officials had still granted licenses for items specific to 4G applications.

REUTERS/Aly Song/File PhotoJan 30 (Reuters) - The Biden administration has stopped approving licenses for U.S. companies to export most items to China's Huawei, according to three people familiar with the matter. Qualcomm Inc (QCOM.O) in 2020 received permission to sell 4G smartphone chips to Huawei. Licenses for 4G chips that could not be used for 5g, which might have been approved earlier, were being denied, the person said. American officials placed Huawei on a trade blacklist in 2019 restricting most U.S. suppliers from shipping goods and technology to the company unless they were granted licenses. But U.S. officials granted licenses that allowed Huawei to receive some products.

☆ U.S. again asks Mexico to review labor rights issues at VU Manufacturing
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON, Jan 30 (Reuters) - The Biden administration on Monday asked Mexico under a regional trade pact to again probe whether workers at a VU Manufacturing facility in Piedras Negras are being denied labor rights. In September, Mexico and the United States said they had resolved an earlier complaint under USMCA, saying workers at auto-parts plant VU Manufacturing in northern Mexico were able to elect the union of their choice. "Despite this facility taking positive actions in 2022, some of the failures we identified previously appear to be recurring," said U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai on Monday. Michigan-based VU Manufacturing, who produces interior car parts including arm rests and door upholstery, did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Reporting by David ShepardsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Companies U.S. Department of Energy FollowNEW YORK, Jan 26 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on Thursday will announce over $100 million in funding to expand U.S. biofuels production, as the Biden administration works to cut greenhouse gas emissions from transportation and meet climate goals, the department told Reuters. The department plans to award $118 million to 17 projects designed to accelerate the production of biofuels, which can be made from biomass including agricultural waste, soybean oil and animal fats. The DOE's funding includes awards to universities and private companies ranging from $500,000 to $80 million for various pre-pilot, pilot and demonstration projects, the department said. About 16.8 billion gallons of biofuels were consumed in the United States in 2021, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The Biden administration has said biofuels will be needed to lower emissions, including in the aircraft industry with lower-carbon sustainable aviation fuel.

"Credit spreads have rallied across the board since the beginning of the year despite heavy (new bond) issuance and are at multi-month tights. This puts the credit market at odds with economic forecasts and the rates market," Barclays strategists said in a recent note. They said U.S. investment grade bonds rated BBB implied a 30% chance of recession, and CCC rated bonds implied a 35% chance. In the most bullish scenario, investment-grade bond spreads could tighten another 20 to 30 basis points, but they could widen much more if the economic downturn is deeper than anticipated, he added. Reporting by Davide Barbuscia and Matt Tracy; Editing by Shankar Ramakrishnan and Andrea RicciOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.S. lawmakers praise Zelenskiy for fighting corruption, back continued aid
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Patricia Zengerle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Democratic and Republican U.S. lawmakers praised Ukraine's government on Tuesday for taking swift action against corruption and insisted that U.S. military and humanitarian aid to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's government should continue. We expect that President Zelenskiy will follow through with a promise he made that Ukraine is going to change on the corruption front," Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told a news conference days after returning from Kyiv. "We're confident this is a first step in a long journey to change the way business is done," Graham said. "It demonstrates what President Zelenskiy has told us, that there will be zero tolerance for fraud or waste," he said. Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, who was also on the Kyiv trip, praised the Ukrainian military for keeping track of equipment provided by Washington.

☆ Yellen urges Zambia debt restructure after talks with China
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/6] U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen signs a guest book at the State House during her visit, in Lusaka, Zambia, January 23, 2023. REUTERS/Namukolo SiyumbwaLUSAKA, Jan 23 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Monday during a visit to Zambia that it was critically important to restructure the country's debt, and she believes progress could be made after her frank talks with key creditor China last week. Yellen added that Zambia's debt overhang was a drag on its whole economy and that China had been a barrier to resolving the southern African country's debt problem. "I specifically raised the issue with Zambia (with Chinese officials) and asked for their cooperation in trying to reach a speedy resolution. "We will continue to press for all official bilateral and private-sector creditors to meaningfully participate in debt relief for Zambia, especially China," she said.

☆ Russian spy service says HIMARS, other weapons deployed at nuclear power stations in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 23 (Reuters) - Russia's foreign intelligence service (SVR) accused Ukraine on Monday of storing Western-supplied arms at nuclear power stations across the country. In a statement, the SVR said U.S.-supplied HIMARS rocket launchers, air defence systems and artillery ammunition had been delivered to the Rivne nuclear power station in the northwest of Ukraine. "The Ukrainian armed forces are storing weapons and ammunition provided by the West on the territory of nuclear power plants," it said, adding that an arms shipment to the Rivne power station had taken place in the last week of December. Ukraine's many nuclear power stations have been the focus of attention since the start of the conflict. Russian forces seized the defunct Chornobyl nuclear power plant less than 48 hours after troops invaded, and also captured the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant - the largest in Europe - early in the war.

☆ U.S. lawmakers preparing plan to avert debt-ceiling crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Jason Lange | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Congress's rules on the debt ceiling are intended to limit growth of the nation's debt. The White House has said raising the debt ceiling should not be a negotiation. Senator Joe Manchin, have said the administration needs to engage in a debt ceiling negotiation. A 2011 standoff over the debt ceiling lead Standard & Poor's to cut the U.S.'s credit rating, a historic first. Biden is hosting Democratic congressional leaders at the White House on Tuesday.

☆ Failure to cut debt burden of some countries could hamper growth, spark conflict, Yellen says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

She said she believed Chinese officials understood the imperative to reduce the debts of some of these countries, but declined to forecast what China would ultimately do, and when. Yellen, long critical of the pace of China's efforts on debt treatments for Zambia and other countries, on Friday called again for China and other countries to provide "timely," "comprehensive" and "meaningful debt relief to help countries regain their footing." Yellen said U.S. officials expressed specific concern about Zambia, whose debt restructuring effort under the Group of 20 Common Framework has taken much longer to resolve than expected. Failure to act would result in negative spillovers, including conflict, fragility, war, terrorism and migration, she said, sucking up resources that would hamper a country's ability to grow and move forward, Yellen said. Partial debt reductions would allow a country to invest and grow and pay back some of the reduced debt, she said.

☆ The case for investing in China's reopening is strong. Here's how to proceed with caution
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Patti Domm | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Strategists see China's markets easily scoring double-digit gains this year. The case for investing outside the U.S. is strong, particularly with the dollar coming off its highs and looking at further downside. "While China's reopening is undoubtedly a turning point, there remain reasons to be cautious," wrote Barclays equity strategists. But still the prospects for China's economy are much brighter than they were just several months ago. The Covid lockdown has been so damaging to the Chinese economy, they want to get back to a growth path in 2023."

Microsoft said Wednesday it would cut 10,000 jobs worldwide amid a slowing global economy. In a blog post, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said the company was seeking to align its cost structure with projected revenues and where customer demand remained the strongest. “As we saw customers accelerate their digital spend during the pandemic, we’re now seeing them optimize their digital spend to do more with less,” he wrote. Microsoft joins companies including Google's parent Alphabet, Amazon, Facebook and Salesforce among the tech giants that have announced job cuts in recent months. Microsoft has called for 2% revenue growth in the fiscal second quarter, which would be the slowest rate since 2016, CNBC reported.

☆ West must ramp up aid to Ukraine to keep war with Russia from becoming a stalemate, U.K. foreign secretary says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Dan De Luce | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Abigail-Williams-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

The West needs to ramp up military assistance to Ukraine to ensure the war with Russia does not turn into a bloody, open-ended stalemate, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said Tuesday during a visit to Washington. The United Kingdom also said it would provide more heavy artillery and ammunition to help Ukraine roll back Russian forces from its territory. “The U.K. has been very much on the front foot” in its security assistance to Ukraine, Cleverly said. He stopped short of urging the U.S., Germany or other governments also to supply Ukraine with new tanks or other more advanced weapons. Germany has faced growing calls to send its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and to allow other countries that have Leopards to provide Kyiv with them.

☆ Davos 2023: What you need to know about the WEF on Tuesday
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Kathryn Lurie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The European Union will counter the U.S.'s game-changing Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), described in Davos as the most significant climate legislation since the 2015 Paris Agreement, with its own green deal. Liu's visit to Davos contrasts with the conspicuous absence of Russia, a key ally whose invasion of Ukraine China has refused to condemn. What was most needed, Kerry said, was "money, money, money, money, money, money, money." The slopes continued to be dominated by discussions about Davos' hottest topic in 2023 - Chat GPT and generative AI. For daily Davos updates in your inbox sign up for the Reuters Daily Briefing hereEditing by Leela de Kretser and Alexander SmithOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Airfares from China are now 160% higher than before the pandemic, data from travel firm ForwardKeys shows, due to limited supply. Since Jan. 4, Air China (601111.SS), Hainan Airlines (600221.SS) and China Southern Airlines (600029.SS) have filed schedules with the U.S. Department of Transportation proposing to increase flights to as much as daily on some routes. Foreign carriers seeking to add flights to China require approvals from the Civil Aviation Administration of China, which did not respond to a request for comment. However, other flights were paused as it assessed market demand and government regulations. Many Western airlines parked large planes when international traffic plunged and production of new twin-aisle jets has been limited.

☆ Factbox: Countries mandate COVID tests for China travellers
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

SWEDENSweden will require travellers from China to show they have tested negative for COVID before they can enter the country, the government said. FRANCEFrance will require travellers from China to provide a negative COVID test result less than 48 hours before departure. INDIAThe country has mandated a COVID-19 negative test report for travellers arriving from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand. CANADAAir travellers to Canada from China must test negative for COVID-19 no more than two days before departure, Ottawa said. SPAINSpain will require a negative COVID-19 test or a full course of vaccination against the disease upon arrival for travellers from China.

☆ Rolls-Royce sees record sales 2022, no slowdown in spending by the wealthy
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Robert Frank | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Rolls-Royce sold a record number cars in 2022 as demand for its $500,000 vehicles remained strong, despite recession fears, according to CEO Torsten Muller-Otvos. "We haven't seen seen any slowdown or downturn," Muller-Otvos told CNBC. Still, the U.S. was the largest market overall for Rolls-Royce in 2022, accounting for nearly 35% of its global sales, Muller-Otvos said. China, its second-largest market, saw a slight decline in sales but still claimed 25% of global sales and posted its second-strongest year for the company. The company's SUV, the Cullinan, was its best seller in 2022 making up about half of global sales, Muller-Otvos said.

☆ Thorns' Smith voted U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 6 (Reuters) - National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) MVP Sophia Smith was voted the 2022 U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year, the sport's governing body said on Friday, after scoring 11 goals for the national team last year. The 22-year-old forward helped the Portland Thorns to their third NWSL final and scored three braces in international matches. Smith is widely expected to feature in the upcoming World Cup, where the Americans will battle for an unprecedented third successive title. "She is a special player with special qualities, but the best thing is that has the humbleness, work ethic and drive to keep developing all aspects of her game," said U.S. women's national team coach Vlatko Andonovski. Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York Editing by Christian RadnedgeOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ North Korea to boost nuclear warhead production 'exponentially,' leader says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowed to increase the production of nuclear warheads “exponentially” and build a more powerful intercontinental ballistic missile, state media reported Sunday, signaling deepening animosities with the United States, South Korea and others. KCNA cited Kim as saying North Korea is compelled to boost the production “exponentially” to mass-produce tactical nuclear weapons. It said U.S. commitments to defend South Korea and Japan “remain ironclad.”North Korea test-fired more than 70 missiles last year. South Korea acknowledged it failed to shoot down any of the five North Korean drones it said were found south of the border. But South Korea has vowed to bolster its air defense network and get tough on future provocations by North Korea.

☆ Here's a list of places imposing rules on travelers from China as Covid surges
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Authorities around the world are imposing or considering curbs on travelers from China as Covid-19 cases in the country surge following its relaxation of "zero-Covid" rules. Places imposing curbsUnited StatesThe United States will impose mandatory Covid-19 tests on travelers from China beginning on Jan. 5. IndiaThe country has mandated a Covid-19 negative test report for travelers arriving from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Thailand, the health minister said. Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty ImagesJapan will require a negative Covid-19 test upon arrival for travelers from mainland China. South KoreaSouth Korea will require travelers from China to provide negative Covid test results before departure, South Korea's News1 news agency reported on Friday.

U.S. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, had campaigned on overturning Trump's hardline immigration measures before taking office in 2021 but kept Title 42 in place for more than a year. A federal judge last month ruled Title 42 was unlawful in response to a lawsuit originally brought by asylum-seeking migrants represented by the American Civil Liberties Union. Hours later, Chief Justice John Roberts in a brief order issued a stay that will leave Title 42 in place until further notice from the court. DHS last week updated a six-pillar plan that calls for the expanded use of a fast-track deportation process if Title 42 is terminated. In El Paso, shelters have struggled to provide for arriving migrants even as many ultimately are headed to join relatives in other parts of the United States.

REUTERS/Jordan VonderhaarWASHINGTON/CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico, Dec 19 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday said COVID-era restrictions at the U.S.-Mexico border that have prevented hundreds of thousands of migrants from seeking asylum should be kept in place for now, siding with Republicans who brought a legal challenge. U.S. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, had campaigned on overturning Trump's hardline immigration measures before taking office in 2021 but kept Title 42 in place for more than a year. A federal judge last month ruled Title 42 was unlawful in response to a lawsuit originally by asylum-seeking migrants represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). Hours later, Chief Justice John Roberts in a brief order issued a stay that will leave Title 42 in place until further notice from the court. In El Paso, shelters have struggled to house newcomers even as many ultimately are headed to join relatives in other parts of the United States.

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