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☆ China to make 'substantial' COVID policy changes soon - ex-govt expert
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"The situation is changing now and China's 'dynamic zero' will also undergo major changes. Substantive changes will happen soon," he said, according to the recording of the session, which was titled "China's Exit Strategy from Zero-Covid". Chinese health authorities will hold a press conference on Saturday on COVID-19 prevention, according to a notice that said officials from the the National Bureau of Disease Control and Prevention would attend. LOCKDOWNS AND PROTESTSZeng was part of a top team at China's National Health Commission when the virus started to spread from the central Chinese city of Wuhan to other parts of China in 2020. On Wednesday, the country's National Health Commission said the nation should unwaveringly stick to zero-COVID.

☆ Kenya Airways pilots to give decision on strike after govt plea to call it off
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Duncan Miriri | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Kenya Airways planes are seen through a window as the Jomo Kenyatta international airport in Nairobi, Kenya August 1, 2020. REUTERS/Njeri Mwangi/File PhotoNAIROBI, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Kenya Airways PLC's (KQNA.NR) pilots union will give its final decision later tonight on whether to begin a strike on Saturday after the government urged them to it call off, the transport minister said on Friday. He also said he was hopeful the pilots would obey a court order invalidating the strike. "I’m very optimistic that in the next two hours, the pilots will make the right decision," he said of the decision by the pilots expected at 9pm local time (1800 GMT). The Kenya Airline Pilots Association (KALPA) — a union that represents more than 400 pilots at the carrier — has said it is at liberty to call a strike after its strike notice expired.

☆ Pakistan's Sharif lands in Beijing to discuss economy, debt
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Asif Shahzad | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Islamabad and Beijing are considered longtime close allies, and Sharif is also expected to discuss security issues while on his visit. On his two-day maiden visit to Beijing since taking office in April, Sharif will also seek some debt relief from China, in particular the rolling over of bilateral debt, an aide travelling with the prime minister told Reuters. Chinese loans - around $23 billion - make up the largest chunk of Pakistan's $27 billion of bilateral debt. Sharif will be one of the first leaders to meet President Xi since he secured a third term in power. Pakistan has indicated previously that it will seek bilateral debt relief to lessen its balance of payment problems, but it hasn't made any official announcement on whether it will formally ask Beijing for such help.

☆ U.S. FCC commissioner urges govt action on TikTok -Axios
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON, Nov 1 (Reuters) - The federal government should take action to rein in online media platform TikTok Inc, one of the U.S. FCC's commissioners said in an interview, Axios reported on Tuesday. "I don’t believe there is a path forward for anything other than a ban," the Federal Communications Commission's Brendan Carr told the news outlet, citing recent revelations about how TikTok and its Chinese parent ByteDance handle data of U.S. users. Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by Chris GallagherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Ford's shuttered unit argo lays off 78 employees in Austin -govt notice
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Argo AI, the now shut self-driving technology unit of Ford (F.N) and Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE), will lay off 78 employees in Austin on Tuesday, according to a notice to the Texas Workforce Commission. The Pittsburg-based Argo AI earlier this year commenced driverless operations in Austin and Miami. Ford said last week it will wind down Argo, saying creating self-driving "robotaxis" will be "harder than putting a man on the moon." Ford and Volkswagen said some Argo personnel will be offered positions with the automakers. Argo referred questions to Ford and Volkswagen.

☆ Canadian businesses urge federal govt to bring employees back to office
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Oct 31 (Reuters) - Top Canadian business executives called on the federal government to bring public sector employees back to workplaces, saying deficiencies in public services due to virtual work was affecting the business community and individuals. The federal public service sector employed over 319,000 in 2021, according to data from Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. A majority of companies that largely shifted to remote work since early 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic are struggling to bring back employees to offices as they hesitate to give up the comfort of working from home. "We strongly urge the federal government to lead the way to a return to normal that will both foster economic growth and ensure that all Canadians receive the quality of public services that they have a right to expect," the letter said. Reporting by Mehnaz Yasmin in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini GanguliOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Italy's economy grows stronger than expected 0.5% in Q3, easing pressure on new govt
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

* Q3 GDP 0.5% q/q, 2.6% y/y* Easily beats forecasts* Q3 growth founded on domestic demandROME, Oct 31 (Reuters) - Italy's economy grew by 0.5% in the third quarter from the previous three months, preliminary data showed on Monday, a much stronger reading than expected which takes some pressure off the new right-wing government. On a year-on-year basis, gross domestic product in the euro zone's third largest economy was up 2.6%, national statistics bureau ISTAT said. The Treasury said last month that is expected to see a GDP contraction in the third quarter. ISTAT said that assuming GDP was flat quarter-on-quarter in the fourth quarter, full-year growth would come in at 3.9% this year. ISTAT confirmed second quarter growth at 1.1% from the previous three months but revised the year-on-year rate to 4.9% from a previously reported 5.0%.

Gross domestic product grew by 0.5% in the third quarter from the second and 2.6% year on year, national statistics bureau ISTAT said. Both preliminary readings were around half a percentage point higher than expected in Reuters survey of analysts, while the Treasury had said last month it expected a third quarter contraction. The government plans to raise next year's budget deficit to 4.5% of GDP, up from the 3.4% projected last month under current trends, a senior official said. Italian inflation hit 12.8% in October, the highest level since the country's EU-harmonised index was launched in 1996. Full year growth this year will come in at 3.7%, Federico forecast, above Rome's official 3.3% target.

☆ India sets up govt panel to hear social media content moderation complaints
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Under the amended rules, which will come into effect from Oct. 28, a government panel would be formed to hear complaints from users about content moderation decisions of social media platforms. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has had strained relations with many Big Tech companies, and New Delhi has been tightening regulation of firms such as Facebook (META.O), YouTube (GOOGL.O) and Twitter (TWTR.N). Tension over social media content decisions has been a particularly thorny issue in India with companies often receiving takedown requests from the government or removing content proactively. Social media firms are already required to have an in-house grievance redressal officer and designate executives to co-ordinate with law enforcement officials. Reporting by Shivam Patel in New Delhi; Editing by Toby ChopraOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Death toll from floods, landslides in Philippines' south rises to 31 - govt official
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) rescuers evacuate residents from their flooded homes due to a tropical storm, locally named Paeng, in Maguindanao province, Philippines, October 28, 2022. Philippine Coast Guard/Handout via REUTERSMANILA, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Flooding and multiple landslides in a southern Philippines province killed at least 31 people, a senior government official said on Friday, as rescuers searched for missing residents. A heavy downpour caused by an approaching tropical storm caused floods and landslides that affected several municipalities in Maguindanao province, Naguib Sinarimbo, interior minister of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Mindanao, said via phone. Sinarimbo said rescue operations are ongoing for people who are missing, but he could not say how many. Reporting by Karen Lema; Editing by Kanupriya KapoorOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Lukoil's ISAB refinery in Sicily stands to be hit by an embargo on seaborne Russian oil that comes into force on Dec. 5, putting at risk jobs in Italy's poorer south and the country's refining capacity. Although Lukoil is not affected by the sanctions, the ISAB plant has been forced to rely solely on Russian oil after creditor banks halted financing and stopped providing guarantees the refinery needs to buy oil from alternative suppliers. The sources said the government was trying to find ways to ensure the plant can receive financing from lenders and remain operational. The goal is to allow ISAB to buy elsewhere the oil it needs, two of the sources said. A sale to non-Russian buyers would avert the closure of the ISAB plant, which accounts for around 20% of Italian refining capacity and directly employs some 1,000 workers.

Under the provision cited by the RBI for the meeting, the central bank is required to write a letter to the Indian government explaining its inability to meet the target. A source familiar with the matter confirmed that the meeting has been called to discuss the response to be sent to the government. The MPC, established in 2016, is mandated to keep inflation within 2 percentage points on either side of its 4% target. Reuters GraphicsThe central bank has cited a series of supply shocks, most recently due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, as one of the reasons for missing the inflation target. Reuters reported the government was comfortable with the central bank meeting the target over the medium term.

☆ Mexico City govt joins Airbnb to lure 'digital nomads', despite rising rent fears
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Figurines are seen in front of the Airbnb logo in this illustration taken February 27, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File PhotoMEXICO CITY, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Mexico City's mayor said on Wednesday she wants to boost the number of 'digital nomads' in the capital after signing an agreement with short-term rental platform Airbnb, despite fears the influx is pricing residents out of the rental market. Average daily rates for short-term rentals across Mexico City jumped 27% to $93 in August 2022 compared with the same month in 2019, data from market research company AirDNA shows. Airbnb is also opening its platforms for Mexican residents to create tourism experiences around their daily activities, according to Sheinbaum. The partnership between Mexico City's government and Airbnb is also backed by UNESCO, United Nations' cultural agency.

☆ Brazil central govt posts better-than-expected primary surplus in September
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BRASILIA, Oct 27 (Reuters) - Brazil's central government posted a better-than-expected primary budget surplus in September, Treasury data showed on Thursday, boosted by dividends from the state-owned oil company Petrobras (PETR4.SA) and higher tax revenues. The primary surplus reached 10.954 billion reais ($2.1 billion) in September, above the 9.95 billion reais surplus forecast by economists polled by Reuters. The result also came better than the 590 million reais surplus recorded in the same month in 2021. On the revenue side, the Treasury received 12.6 billion reais in dividends from Petrobras, said the government, also benefitting from increased tax revenue over income. In the 12 months to September, the central government recorded a primary surplus of 84.9 billion reais, equal to 1.01% of gross domestic product.

Pappas, 27, an aspiring actress, says it is not the dividend young people hoped for after a ravaging debt crisis and a decade of austerity. He attributes the surge in rents mainly to "an overly depressed market during the (debt) crisis." Loan-to-values on mortgages have dropped to 70-75%, from more than 100% before the debt crisis. Banks' caution underpins financial stability but could also keep young working people off the property ladder for decades. Officials expect about 10,000 young couples aged 25-39 will benefit from the programme offering 1% interest on loans up to 150,000 euros.

Rogers' launched the deal to buy Shaw in March 2021, but the competition bureau blocked it saying it would lessen competition in a market which has among the highest wireless prices in the world. He said since the competition bureau sits under the minister, it is a signal to the bureau to settle. The competition bureau did not reply to an email seeking comment. Champagne's announcement comes as the companies start a two-day mediation process starting Thursday at the Competition Tribunal. Competition bureau has said the sale of Freedom Mobile to Quebecor is not sufficient to overcome its concerns about market concentration.

☆ Paying off hackers is common, says top Australian govt cybersecurity firm
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Byron Kaye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SYDNEY, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Corporate insurers routinely pay hackers a ransom for the return of stolen customer data, a top Australian government cybersecurity provider said on Tuesday, as the country's biggest health insurer revealed the growing scale of a recent breach. "In what other sphere of life do you see reputable corporates pay millions of dollars to criminals and somehow it's all okay?" On Tuesday, Medibank said the criminal had shown data of another 1,000 customers and added that the number was likely to grow. 2 telco, Singapore Telecommunciations Ltd-owned (STEL.SI) Optus, said last month about 10 million customer accounts, equivalent to 40% of the Australian population, had data taken by a hacker demanding payment. The federal government has meanwhile said it would introduce fines of up to A$50 million for companies on the receiving end of data breaches.

☆ BOJ easing and govt FX intervention not contradictory - finmin Suzuki
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Tetsushi Kajimoto | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"Monetary easing aimed at sustainable and stable price hikes including wage growth, and currency intervention in response to excessive market moves, are different in terms of policy objectives, and thus they are not contradictory," Suzuki said. Japanese authorities are in constant touch with U.S. counterparts and stand ready to take appropriate action in the currency market against volatile yen moves, Suzuki said. The minister repeated that the government would not tolerate excessively volatile yen moves driven by speculative trading. "If we leave unattended sharply volatile currency moves, driven by speculative trading, that would affect companies and households," Suzuki said. Japanese authorities are in constant touch with U.S. counterparts and stand ready to take appropriate action in the currency market against volatile yen moves, Suzuki said.

☆ Brazil's Guedes says govt may raise minimum wage above inflation
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BRASILIA, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Brazilian Economy Minister Paulo Guedes on Tuesday said the government of President Jair Bolsonaro could, if re-elected, raise the minimum wage above inflation now that the pandemic is over. Speaking virtually at an event on cooperativism, the minister also denied that the government wants to end the possibility of deducting medical and health expenses from income tax. Reporting by Marcela Ayres; Editing by Mark PorterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Air strike during Myanmar concert kills at least 50 - media, opposition
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Myanmar has been gripped by fighting since the army overthrew an elected government early last year. Resistance movements, some armed, have emerged across the country, which the military has countered with lethal force. Since the coup, open conflict has resumed between the Myanmar army and bitter rival the KIA, which has been fighting on and off for six decades for greater autonomy for the Kachin people. The U.N. in Myanmar said it was deeply concerned and saddened by reports of the attack. Foreign ministers of the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN are due to meet later this week to discuss the Myanmar crisis, its chair Cambodia said on Sunday.

Coins and banknotes of Japanese yen are seen in this illustration picture taken June 16, 2022. That contrasts with Japan's intervention after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami to quell sharp yen rises, in which authorities announced most interventions. "With stealth intervention, authorities can give markets the impression they could be stepping in more frequently than they actually have," said Atsushi Takeda, chief economist at Itochu Research Institute. That means Tokyo will need to rely more on its words - or its silence - rather than reserves to shore up the yen. You could say stealth intervention may be better than nothing, though it's really just buying time."

☆ China chip imports drop 12.4% year-on-year in September - govt data
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Josh Horwitz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SHANGHAI, Oct 24 (Reuters) - China's chip imports fell 12.4 percent in September, according to official customs data published on Monday, continuing a decline amid tensions with the United States and an ongoing chip shortage. The country imported 47.6 billion chip units during the month, compared with 54.3 billion units in September 2021, according to the data, which had been due for release earlier this month but was delayed due to the Communist Party Congress. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterIn the first nine months of 2021, China imported 417.1 billion units of chips, down 12.8 percent year-on-year. Chip imports to China surged in 2021, as tensions between the U.S. and China over technology policy escalated and a global chip shortage caused many companies in China to stockpile supplies. Separate data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that domestic chip output in September fell 16.4% year-on-year to 26.1 billion units.

But most opposition representatives visiting Washington this week told U.S. officials they would not continue backing him or anyone else as their leader for another year of interim government. Venezuelan opposition representatives who attended the meetings in Washington and a spokesperson for Citgo did not immediately provide a comment. The U.S. State Department said it recognized Guaido and coordinates with his administration "on the steps needed to move forward on a negotiated solution that leads to the restoration of democracy to Venezuela." Five of six opposition-party representatives told State Department officials on Tuesday they would not support Guaido or any other interim leader, the four sources said. read moreUnder U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, the United States recognized Guaido as rightful leader in January 2019, and dozens of other countries followed suit.

☆ Prague bourse warns govt about rattling markets the way UK did
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

PRAGUE, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Czech politicians should avoid rattling markets the way Britain has recently, as the country discusses plans for a windfall tax, the Prague Stock Exchange's chief said on Friday, after comments from ruling party members this week sent stocks tumbling. The Czech government has been discussing imposing a windfall tax on excessive profits in the energy and banking sectors since the summer, which has weighed on markets. "Trust is the fundamental value that every capital market aims for in its investors," Prague Stock Exchange chairman Petr Koblic wrote in a commentary in financial daily Hospodarske Noviny. The Czech government is putting a windfall tax in place to fund measures such as a cap on electricity prices, aimed at easing the impact of Europe's energy crisis on its citizens. Czech Finance Minister Zbynek Stanjura said late on Wednesday the government was still "leaning" towards applying it from 2023.

☆ Analysis: Method or madness? Berlusconi's Russia stance hurts Meloni and Italy
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Angelo Amante | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Meloni, leader of the nationalist Brothers of Italy party, has strongly defended Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion in February and has supported Western sanctions against Moscow. Berlusconi's pro-Putin remarks came in front of dozens of Forza Italia lawmakers and Napoli believed the risk of information being leaked to the press was obviously high. Some analysts believe there is no clear strategy behind Berlusconi's comments and that they could backfire and even jeopardise Tajani's chances of becoming foreign minister. Giovanni Orsina, a politics professor at Rome's Luiss university said Berlusconi has demolished his own argument that Forza Italia can be a moderating influence on the government. "It is hard to imagine that this is rational because Berlusconi and his party are the first to be damaged ...

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