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☆ U.S. Treasury's Yellen to meet Chinese vice premier ahead of APEC summit
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen discusses "U.S.-China Economic Relationship" during a forum hosted by the Johns Hopkins University at the Nitze Building in Washington, U.S., April 20, 2023. REUTERS/Sarah Silbiger/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Nov 6 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will meet with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng in San Francisco this week to try to deepen a fledgling economic dialogue between the world's two largest economies ahead of a U.S.-hosted summit of Pacific Rim leaders. The Treasury said the Nov. 9-10 meetings will also convene the new economic and financial forums launched in October by the Treasury and China's finance ministry and central bank. Yellen also is keen to discuss what steps Chinese officials are contemplating to support their flagging economic growth, and what circumstances might change their policy path. Instead, Yellen said she was "focusing on specific, high-priority economic topics on which we can make tangible progress."

Persons: Janet Yellen, Sarah Silbiger, Yellen, Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, David Lawder, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: . Treasury, Johns Hopkins University, REUTERS, Rights, Pacific Rim, Treasury, San, Biden, Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, U.S, Washington Post, Thomson Locations: China, Washington , U.S, San Francisco, U.S, Beijing

☆ A top German politician blasted the 4-day workweek, saying no society has ever increased prosperity 'by working less'
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Christian Lindner, the German finance minister, panned the concept of a four-day workweek. 50 German companies are set to trial a four-day workweek starting February. AdvertisementAdvertisementA top politician in Germany has panned the concept of a four-day workweek for full pay, saying it's a hindrance to prosperity. Just 8% would accept lower wages, while 17% rejected a four-day workweek altogether. Workers, too, felt the benefits of a four-day workweek — about 70% reported lower levels of burnout.

Persons: Christian Lindner, Lindner, —, It's, Hans Organizations: Service, Bloomberg, Free Democratic Party, Böckler, ZDF, Workers Locations: Germany, Switzerland, Europe's

☆ China to accelerate issuance of government bonds, finance minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A woman walks in the Central Business District (CBD) on a hazy morning in Beijing, China, October 25, 2021. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBEIJING, China, Nov 5 (Reuters) - China will accelerate the issuance and use of government bonds, state-run news agency Xinhua reported on Sunday citing an interview with new finance minister Lan Foan. "The Ministry of Finance will continue to implement a proactive fiscal policy, focus on improving efficiency, and better play the effectiveness of fiscal policy," said Lan, who also noted the "complex domestic and international situation". Some new local government debt quotas for 2024 have been issued in advance to reasonably ensure local financing needs, he said. The top parliamentary body last month approved the issuance of 1 trillion yuan ($137 billion) in sovereign bonds in the fourth quarter to fund rebuilding of areas affected by floods, state media reported.

Persons: Thomas Peter, Lan Foan, Lan, Liu Kun, Martin Quin Pollard, Wang Shuyan, William Mallard, Christopher Cushing Organizations: Central Business, REUTERS, Rights, Xinhua, Ministry, Finance, Communist Party, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, Rights BEIJING, Shanxi

ROME (AP) — Italian communications company TIM said Sunday that its board of directors has approved the binding acquisition offer by the KKR investment company, following months of negotiations. In a statement, TIM said the approval took the form of a majority vote. The board rejected a non-binding offer for Sparkle, TIM’s undersea cable unit. Italian state TV said the government, under the deal with KKR, would be a significant shareholder. Political Cartoons View All 1234 ImagesThe binding offer values NetCo — TIM’s fixed network assets but excluding Sparkle — at 18.8 billion euros (some $20 billion), said a statement from TIM.

Persons: della Sera Organizations: ROME, TIM, KKR, European Union, TV Locations: Italian, Milan

☆ War with Hamas to cost Israel above $50 billion, Calcalist reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Palestinians search for casualties, at the site of Israeli strikes on houses, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, at the Magazi Refugee Camp, in central Gaza Strip, November 5, 2023. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem Acquire Licensing RightsJERUSALEM, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Israel's war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip will cost as much as 200 billion shekels ($51 billion), the Calcalist financial newspaper reported on Sunday, citing preliminary Finance Ministry figures. Calcalist described the ministry as deeming 200 billion shekels an "optimistic" estimate. Calcalist said half of the cost would be in defence expenses that amount to some 1 billion shekels a day. Another 40-60 billion shekels would come from a loss of revenue, 17-20 billion for compensation for businesses and 10-20 billion shekels for rehabilitation.

Persons: Mohammed Salem, Lebanon's, Calcalist, Bezalel Smotrich, Benjamin Netanyahu, Moody's, Fitch, Steven Scheer, David Evans Organizations: Hamas, REUTERS, Rights, Ministry, Lebanon's Hezbollah, Thomson Locations: Israel, Palestinian, Gaza, Iran, Yemen

The Swiss National Bank and the Swiss Finance Ministry are part of the conversations with lenders, one source said. A representative for the finance ministry said that the issue of bank runs is part of an overall evaluation of the too-big-to-fail regulatory framework in Switzerland. Regulators worldwide have since been grappling with the risk of bank runs, which in the era of digital banking have accelerated in speed. Financial regulators will need to make sure that banks retain adequate financial buffers as advances in technology increase the risk of bank runs, Bank of England executive director for markets, Andrew Hauser, said on Friday at a conference in London. They risk penalizing Swiss banks if they were to be introduced only in Switzerland, one of the sources said.

Persons: SNB, Zürcher, PostFinance, Raiffeisen, Andrew Hauser, Thomas Jordan, Stefania Spezzati, Oliver Hirt, Elisa Martinuzzi, John O'Donnell, Paritosh Bansal, Nick Zieminski Organizations: UBS, Swiss National Bank, Swiss Finance Ministry, Reuters, Swiss, Raiffeisen, Credit Suisse, Regulators, Bank of England, Thomson Locations: ZURICH, Switzerland, Swiss, Zurich, U.S, London, Bern

☆ Carlsberg would rather lose its Russian business than negotiate a deal with Moscow, and it shows how hard it is for companies to exit the market
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The CEO of Danish brewer Carlsberg says Moscow has "stolen" its business in Russia. Moscow seized Carlsberg's assets in July, weeks after the brewer announced it had found a buyer for its Russian business. Carlsberg said it's cutting ties with its Russian business as it can't find an acceptable solution to resolve the issue. AdvertisementAdvertisementDanish brewer Carlsberg operates eight breweries and employs more than 8,000 people through its Russian unit, Baltika Breweries. However, on July 16, Russia seized Baltika.

Persons: Carlsberg, Moscow, —, Jacob Aarup, Andersen, Dmitry Medvedev, Medvedev, they'd, Baltika, Carlsberg's Organizations: Service, Carlsberg, Baltika Breweries, Carlsberg Group, Financial Times, Russian, Unilever Locations: Moscow, Russia, Carlsberg, Ukraine, British

Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng attends a joint press conference following the 10th China-EU High-Level Economic and Trade Dialogue at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China September 25, 2023. He, 68, replaced internationally respected Liu He as one of China's four vice premiers during its annual parliament session in March. The full scope of his portfolio had been largely unclear until Sunday when state media referred to him as the director of a powerful Communist Party economic body. "He Lifeng mainly implements policies from the top leader," said a policy adviser who spoke on condition of anonymity, referring to Xi. "Now under the leadership of the Party ... there will be closer cooperation among the top economic planner, central bank and the finance ministry."

Persons: Lifeng, Florence, Xi Jinping's, Liu, Xi, Liu He, Li Keqiang, Peng Liyuan, Kevin Yao, Laurie Chen, Joe Cash, Ellen Zhang, Marius Zaharia Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Communist Party, Central Financial Commission, Harvard, Investors, State Council, Party, Xiamen University, National Development, Reform Commission, Thomson Locations: China, EU, Diaoyutai, Beijing, Rights BEIJING, China's, Washington, Europe, Quanzhou, Fujian, Xiamen, Tianjin, Lincoln

☆ Israel's defence and finance ministers clash over Palestinian tax payout
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JERUSALEM, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Israel's defence and finance ministers clashed on Wednesday over whether some West Bank tax revenues should be transferred to the Palestinian Authority, underlining the tensions straining the government as Israeli forces push on with the war in Gaza. Defence Minister Yoav Gallant called for tax revenues collected by Israel on behalf of the Palestinians in parts of the West Bank under direct Israeli control, to be disbursed without delay. "I think it is only appropriate to uphold the decision of the cabinet as decided several days ago," he said. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, whose hardline religious nationalist party has strong support among Jewish settlers in the West Bank responded that Gallant was making a "serious mistake" in demanding the release of the funds. "I do not intend to let the State of Israel finance our enemies in Judea and Samaria who support the terrorism of Hamas and finance the 7/10 terrorists who murdered and massacred us," he said in a statement.

Persons: Yoav Gallant, Gallant, Bezalel Smotrich, Smotrich, Benjamin Netanyahu, James Mackenzie, Steve Scheer, Sandra Maler Organizations: West Bank, Palestinian, Gaza ., Hamas, Palestinian Authority, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Israel, Judea, Samaria

Amid the economic turmoil of the pandemic, his government racked up Canada's highest ever deficit. Failing to curb spending now risks "the market dictating to you what you have to do with fiscal policy," said Doug Porter, chief economist at BMO Capital Markets. "I do think they have to trim the sails a bit," he added. "It's going to be easier to get inflation down if monetary and fiscal policy are rowing in the same direction," Macklem said. Fitch Ratings stripped Canada of its triple-A credit rating in June 2020, citing pandemic spending.

Persons: Justin Trudeau, Doug Porter, Chrystia Freeland, Katherine Cuplinskas, Trudeau, Macklem, Desjardins, Randall Bartlett, Simon Deeley, Robert Asselin, DBRS Morningstar, Julia Smith, Steve Scherer, Fergal Smith, Denny Thomas, Josie Kao Organizations: OTTAWA, Trudeau's Liberal, BMO Capital Markets, Finance, International Monetary Fund, of Canada's, BoC, UK, RBC Dominion Securities Inc, New, Business Council of Canada, Fitch, Moody's Investors, Canada, Thomson Locations: Canada, FES, Germany, High, Ottawa, Toronto

☆ Yen languishes as focus turns to Fed
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Against the dollar, the yen fell about 1.7% overnight, touching a low of 151.74 — a whisker from the 151.94 level that prompted intervention a year ago. In the U.S. data showed wages and salaries rose solidly last quarter and while consumer confidence ebbed, it fell far less than markets had expected. The euro declined 0.4% on the dollar overnight and nursed losses at $1.0579. China's Caixin PMI data will be in focus later on Wednesday, ahead of U.S. manufacturing and private payrolls figures — before the Fed meeting. U.S. yields rose in early Asia trade, while Japanese yields fell slightly on thin volumes, leaving the spread between benchmark 10-year rates at 398 bps.

Persons: Alan Ruskin, Sterling, James Malcolm, 10bp Organizations: Resona Bank, U.S, Federal Reserve, U.S . Treasury, New Zealand, The Bank of, Deutsche Bank, UBS Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Asia, The, The Bank of Japan, U.S, London

☆ Japan on standby to deal with 'one-sided' yen moves - top FX diplomat
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-31 | by ( Takaya Yamaguchi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Issei Kato Acquire Licensing RightsTOKYO, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Japan's top currency diplomat Masato Kanda said on Wednesday authorities were on standby to respond to recent "one-sided, sharp" moves in the yen, escalating his warning to investors against pushing down the currency too much. "Speculative trading seems to be the biggest factor behind recent currency moves," Kanda, vice finance minister for international affairs, told reporters on the yen's declines. The situation surrounding yen moves has become "more tense" than before, he said, adding that authorities will "respond appropriately without ruling out any options". After sliding to 151.715 against the dollar overnight on Tuesday, the yen stood at 151.350 in Asia on Wednesday. It intervened again in October 2022 after the yen plunged to a 32-year low of 151.94.

Persons: Masato Kanda, Issei Kato, Kanda, Takaya Yamaguchi, Satoshi Sugiyama, Leika Kihara, Sam Holmes Organizations: Reuters, Finance Ministry, REUTERS, Rights, Bank of Japan, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Asia

[1/4] People leave with goods from a supermarket that had been broken into in the aftermath of Hurricane Otis, in the outskirts of Acapulco, Mexico, October 26, 2023. Hurricane Otis last week hit Acapulco with winds of 165 miles per hour (266 km per hour), flooding the city, flipping roofs from homes and businesses, submerging vehicles, and severing communications as well as road and air connections. Mexico has sent thousands of armed forces members to keep order and help distribute tons of food and supplies. Acapulco residents are still searching for missing loved ones since the Category 5 hurricane hit with unexpected ferocity, far exceeding meteorologists' initial forecasts. State power utility CFE said on Tuesday morning one in four users in Guerrero hit by Otis was still without power.

Persons: Hurricane Otis, Alexandre Meneghini, Jose Luis Martinez, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Abraham Moises Cano, Cano, Lopez Obrador, Guerrero, Otis, Jose Cortes, Josue, Casssandra Garrison Stefanie Eschenbacher, Dave Graham, Alistair Bell, Jonathan Oatis, Grant McCool Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, National Guard, Senate, Tuesday, Thomson Locations: Hurricane, Acapulco, Mexico, Rights ACAPULCO, del Sol, overpaid, Guerrero, Mexico City

☆ Top Israeli economists urge PM to cancel billions of unneeded spending
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

In a letter to Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, the economists - including former Bank of Israel Governor Jacob Frenkel - said expenses as a result of the conflict would cost at least tens of billions of shekels. These funds were highly contentious within the finance ministry since much of the funds were aimed at encouraging ultra-Orthodox men to not join the workforce. "The government must face the challenges as soon as possible and try to restore the citizens' trust in its ability to do so. Netanyahu's office did not immediately comment while a spokesman for Smotrich said there will be a change in reallocating state funding. ($1 = 4.0404 shekels)Reporting by Steven Scheer; editing by Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Netanyahu, Bezalel Smotrich, Jacob Frenkel, Smotrich, Eugene Kandel, Leo Leiderman, Bank Hapoalim, Steven Scheer, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Finance, Bank of Israel, Bank, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Israel

☆ Britain to push ahead with rules for cryptoassets
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-30 | by ( Huw Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Britain said on Monday it would legislate to implement its first set of rules to regulate the crypto sector, requiring market participants to be authorised before they can offer services to consumers. The European Union has already approved the world's first set of comprehensive rules for cryptoasset markets, which are already attracting crypto firms to set up base in the bloc. Britain's finance ministry said it would move ahead as proposed in a February public consultation, requiring firms undertaking cryptoasset activities to be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority. The rules focus on cryptoassets, such as bitcoin, and the underlying distributed ledger technology (DLT) or blockchain that underpins the sector. Crypto firms currently face only requirements to have safeguards against money laundering.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, bitcoin, Crypto, Huw Jones, Andrew Cawthorne, Peter Graff Organizations: REUTERS, European Union, Financial, Authority, Thomson Locations: Britain, United States

A man walks past ATM machines at branch of the NatWest bank in Manchester, Britain September 21, 2017. The bank's shares fell as much as 18% in early trading before closing down 12% - their largest daily drop since the Brexit vote in June, 2016. Farage said in a statement on Friday that he viewed the report as a "whitewash" and its findings "laughable". She added that the review showed she did not leak detailed financial information and had been unaware of "deeply unpleasant and unfair" internal staff comments made about Farage. A NatWest document unearthed by Farage in July found that an internal committee had deemed his views did not align with the bank's own.

Persons: Phil Noble, Nigel Farage, Coutts, Farage, Alison Rose, Travers Smith, Howard Davies, Rose, Mr Farage, Davies, Paul Thwaite, Rick Haythornthwaite, Iain Withers, Lawrence White, Samuel Indyk, Jason Neely, Sharon Singleton, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: NatWest, REUTERS, Financial Conduct Authority, Barclays, Rival, Lloyds, Thomson Locations: Manchester, Britain

BRASILIA, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Brazil's Finance Ministry is preparing a decree that nearly doubles the tax on the sale of firearms and ammunition, arguing that the measure is necessary to boost revenue and reduce crime, according to a draft document seen by Reuters. Prepared by the revenue service at the request of Finance Minister Fernando Haddad, the decree raises the industrial tax on revolvers, pistols, shotguns, carbines, pepper spray, and other equipment from 29.25% to 55%, in addition to also increasing the tax on ammunition. The proposal was sent by the revenue service to the ministry's executive secretary, Dario Durigan, on Wednesday night. The revenue service declined to comment. The move aligns with other actions by leftist Lula, who has consistently opposed policies that encourage the sale and use of firearms.

Persons: Fernando Haddad, Dario Durigan, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Lula, Jair Bolsonaro, Bernardo Caram, Bill Berkrot Organizations: Brazil's Finance Ministry, Reuters, Finance, Thomson Locations: BRASILIA

The Bank of Israel building is seen in Jerusalem June 16, 2020. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has said the government will spend whatever is needed on the war and on compensation. Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron on Monday cautioned that it was "important to continue conducting responsible fiscal policy." The central bank projects the debt-to-GDP ratio growing to 62% this year and to 65% in 2024 from 60.5% in 2022. Israel will have to raise more debt, but the government still has some manoeuvring room, given the relatively low budget deficit and debt-to-GDP ratio before the war as well as its long-term debt portfolio, the ministry official said.

Persons: Ronen, Bezalel Smotrich, Amir Yaron, Steven Scheer, John Stonestreet Organizations: of, REUTERS, Rights, Hamas, Bank of Israel, Thomson Locations: of Israel, Jerusalem, Israel, Gaza

Zambia was the first African country to default in the COVID-19 era, in late 2020, but its restructuring process has been beset by delays. International bondholders also complained they were left out of the process, which started with drawn-out negotiations with bilateral creditors including China. Zambia's three international bonds rose sharply after the announcement, adding as much as 3.9 cents on the dollar, Tradeweb and MarketAxess data showed. The committee of bondholders owns or controls 40% of the outstanding bonds, Zambia's finance ministry added. Earlier this month, Zambia agreed a memorandum of understanding with its official creditors, including China and members of the Paris Club of creditor nations, to restructure about $6.3 billion of debt.

Persons: Situmbeko Musokotwane, Susana Vera, amortization, Rachel Savage, Karin Strohecker, Bhargav Acharya, David Holmes Organizations: Zambia's, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, REUTERS, IMF, Bondholder, Amia, Amundi, RBC BlueBay Asset Management, Farallon Capital Management, Greylock Capital Management, Paris Club, Thomson Locations: Marrakech, Morocco, JOHANNESBURG, Zambia, China, Rosario

☆ China rushes to swap Western tech with domestic options as U.S. cracks down
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

China spent 1.4 trillion yuan ($191 billion) replacing foreign hardware and software in 2022, marking a year-on-year increase of 16.2%, according to IT research firm First New Voice. Two firms awarded the Harbin tenders were subsidiaries of China Electronics Corporation and China Electronics Technology Group Corporation - both heavily targeted by U.S. sanctions. The U.S. Department of Commerce, China Electronics Corporation and China Electronics Technology Group Corporation did not return requests for comment. Despite heavy spending on domestic substitution, however, foreign firms are still dominant suppliers for banking and telecoms database management. Non-Chinese companies held 90% of market share for banking database systems at the end of 2022, according to EqualOcean, a tech consultancy.

Persons: Tyrone Siu, Kendra Schaefer, Mo Jianlei, Eric Zheng, Brenda Goh, Katerina Ang Organizations: REUTERS, Companies Beijing, Reuters, New, Trivium China, Liberation Army, Tech, Chinese Academy of Sciences, BMC, U.S, Cyberspace Security, China Telecommunications Corporation, Qualcomm, U.S . Treasury, Google, Apple, China Electronics Corporation, China Electronics Technology Group Corporation, Microsoft, Adobe, China Tobacco, Microsoft Windows, Chinese Academy of Engineering, European Union Chamber of Commerce, of Commerce, Shanghai, U.S . Department of Commerce, HUAWEI, Huawei, IDC, Financial, Lenovo, HK, Beijing, Thomson Locations: Dongguan, Guangdong province, China, BEIJING, Washington, State, Beijing, Gansu province, Harbin, Xiamen, U.S, American, Shanghai

☆ US 'frankly raised' disagreements with China at first financial working group meeting
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 25 (Reuters) - U.S. officials "frankly raised areas of disagreement" with China at the first meeting of a new financial working group, where financial stability, supervision and regulation were discussed, the U.S. Treasury said on Wednesday. Attendees included senior officials from China's central bank and the U.S. Treasury Department, according to a Treasury statement. "The two-hour virtual meeting included a substantive and wide-ranging discussion on domestic and global financial stability, financial supervision and regulation, sustainable finance, and anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism," the Treasury said. The financial working group and a parallel economic working group were launched last month after U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's visit to Beijing in July aimed at fostering regular communications between the world's two largest economies. The economic working group, led by senior officials from the Treasury and China's Finance Ministry held its first meeting on Monday.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Janet Yellen's, Yellen, Pan Gongsheng, Ismail Shakil, Costas Pitas, David Lawder, Paul Grant, Diane Craft Organizations: REUTERS, U.S . Treasury, U.S . Treasury Department, Treasury, U.S, China's Finance Ministry, People's Bank of China, International Monetary Fund, Bank, Reuters, Thomson Locations: China, China's, Beijing, Marrakech, Morocco, U.S

☆ Mexico sees solid economic expansion but price pressures persist
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Yorio said he sees annual inflation stabilizing at around 4.5% toward the end of the year. However, Bank of Mexico board member Jonathan Heath cautioned that the slowing pace of the inflation rate in recent months should not prompt premature celebration, local media outlet El Financiero reported on Wednesday. We still see a long battle ahead and this inflation phenomenon has really been much more complex than we would have imagined," said Heath. His comments come as the central bank has kept its benchmark interest rate at 11.25% since March, following a nearly two-year rate-hike cycle. Reporting by Ana Isabel Martinez and Isabel Woodford; Writing by Sarah Morland; Editing by Stephen Eisenhammer and Alistair BellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Gabriel Yorio, Yorio, Jonathan Heath, we're, Heath, Ana Isabel Martinez, Isabel Woodford, Sarah Morland, Stephen Eisenhammer, Alistair Bell Organizations: MEXICO CITY, Mexican Senate, U.S, automaking, Bank of, El, Thomson Locations: MEXICO, Latin America, Mexican, Bank, Bank of Mexico

☆ India demands $12 bln in tax from online gaming firms -govt source
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

NEW DELHI, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Indian tax authorities have served notices to online gaming companies demanding about 1 trillion rupees ($12.03 billion) in taxes that they have allegedly evaded, a government source said on Wednesday. In August, India decided to impose a 28% tax on online gaming companies on the total funds deposited to play online games, leading to some firms like Mobile Premier League laying off employees. "The amount for which show cause notices have been issued to online gaming companies is around 1 trillion rupees," the government official, who did not want to be named, told reporters. The finance ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. ($1=83.1180 Indian rupees)Reporting by Nikunj Ohri; Writing by Sakshi Dayal; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Muralikumar AnantharamanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Nikunj Ohri, Sakshi Dayal, Clarence Fernandez, Muralikumar Organizations: Mobile Premier League, Thomson Locations: DELHI, India

☆ Russia's worker shortage is so bad the economy is leaning on the Soviet-era practice of using prison labor, think tank says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia is leaning more on prison labor amid a dearth of available workers. AdvertisementAdvertisementRussia's worker shortage is so bad, the nation is increasingly leaning on prison labor to prop up its ailing industries and make up for a lack of manpower. That exceeded estimates that Russia made the year prior, when budget makers anticipated bringing in just 15.8 billion roubles from forced prison labor. "The Kremlin has sought to integrate prison labor with certain sectors of the domestic economy to solve this issue." "The recent uptick in the use of forced prison labor in Russia is not merely the transient trend of a post-COVID, economically troubled, or war-hurt Russia.

Persons: —, Sergey Sukhankin, Sukhankin, Vladimir Putin Organizations: Service, Moscow Times, Russia's Federal, Jamestown Foundation, Jamestown, Soviet Locations: Russia, Soviet, Ukraine

☆ China names Lan Foan as new finance minister amid stimulus push
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, Oct 24 (Reuters) - China has appointed Lan Foan, a technocrat with little central government experience, as the new finance minister, state media said on Tuesday, as the government ramps up fiscal stimulus in a bid to revive the economy. Lan, 61, who was named the Communist Party chief at the finance ministry last month, has succeeded Liu Kun who had been finance minister since 2018. Previously, Lan was the party chief of the northern Chinese Shanxi province. He transferred to Shanxi in 2021, as the province's vice party chief, before becoming the party chief in December 2022. Liu, China's finance minister since 2018, has surpassed the official retirement age of 65 for minister-level officials.

Persons: Lan Foan, Liu Kun, Lan, Liu, Kevin Yao, Alison Williams Organizations: Communist Party, Hubei University of Finance, Economics, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China, Shanxi, Beijing, Guangdong

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