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That estimate from Michigan-based Anderson Economic Group (AEG) includes UPS customer losses of $4 billion and lost direct wages of more than $1 billion. A 15-day UPS strike in 1997 disrupted the supply of goods, cost the world's biggest parcel delivery firm $850 million and sent some customers to rivals like FedEx (FDX.N). Roughly 340,000 union-represented UPS workers handle about a quarter of U.S. parcel deliveries and serve virtually every city and town in the nation. A strike could delay millions of daily deliveries, including Amazon.com (AMZN.O) orders, electronic components and lifesaving prescription drugs, shipping experts warned. In fiscal 2019, GM's fourth-quarter profit took a $3.6 billion hit from a 40-day UAW strike that shut down its profitable U.S. operations.

Persons: Patrick Anderson, Anderson, GM's, Bruce Chan, Chan, Lisa Baertlein, Priyamvada, Pooja Desai, Jonathan Oatis, David Gregorio Our Organizations: United Parcel Service, Anderson Economic Group, AEG, UPS, FedEx, stoke, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Teamsters, Consumers, UAW, Teamster, Thomson Locations: U.S, Michigan, Los Angeles, Bengaluru

☆ Slow pace of Biden’s reelection campaign feeds Democrats’ 2024 anxiety
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Edward-Isaac Dovere | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

It’s a persistent sense that the inner circle of advisers to the president and several of the very few aides who have been hired for his reelection campaign dismiss as absurd. “They are so underestimated, and they keep getting it right,” said Jim Messina, former president Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign manager, who has been one of the people privately advising Biden’s team to ramp up gradually. “We will grow and ramp up alongside the Biden campaign, probably in late fall or early next year,” Barnes said. “The most important power of incumbency is taking time to plan and build your campaign while your challenger is busy with a primary,” a Democratic campaign veteran said. “You can raise more now, but President Biden is raising less,” a veteran Democratic fundraiser on the West Coast said.

Persons: –, Joe Biden won’t, Biden, “, ”, Jim Messina, Barack Obama’s, Obama, aren’t, Donald Trump, ‘, “ I’m, Trump’s, David Axelrod, “ Trump, ” Axelrod, Biden’s, Kevin Munoz, Harris, Roe, Wade, Mitt Romney, Trump, Jen O’Malley Dillon, Messina, ” Messina, Roy Cooper, you’re, ” Cooper, Kamala Harris, Lavora Barnes, Julie Chávez Rodriguez, Barnes, ” Barnes, ’ ”, Axelrod, who’s, – “ it’s, Larry Cohen, Bernie Sanders, Obama’s –, Lis Smith Organizations: CNN, Democratic, Trump, GOP, Republicans, MAGA Republicans, Biden, Democratic National Committee, Republican, America, White, North Carolina Gov, ” Michigan Democratic Party, Communications Workers of America, Obama, Biden pessimists Locations: America, Wilmington, Capitol Hill, Washington, Chicago, stoke

☆ China's Q2 GDP seen rising 7.3% y/y but on low base, recovery fades: Reuters poll
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Kevin Yao | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Economic growth is likely to slow to 4.8% in the third quarter and 5.3% in the fourth, with full-year growth expected to reach 5.5%, the poll showed. China's central bank on Monday extended until the end of 2024 some policies which were unveiled in a November rescue package to shore up the real estate sector, including loan repayment extensions for developers. Analysts polled by Reuters expect the central bank to cut banks' reserve requirement ratio (RRR) by 25 basis points in the third quarter, while keeping benchmark lending rates steady. The central bank cut the RRR - the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves - in March. But the central bank is likely to be wary of cutting lending rates further.

Persons: it's, Zhang Yiping, Li Qiang, Devayani Sathyan, Susobhan Sarkar, Jing Wang, Kevin Yao, Kim Coghill Organizations: Beijing, Reuters, Gross, China Merchants Securities, stoke, Thomson Locations: China, BEIJING, Bengaluru, Shanghai

☆ Explainer: What's behind China's failed 'truce' in EV price war?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/2] A Tesla Model 3 electric vehicle (EV) is displayed at the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijing, China September 1, 2022. Toyota (7203.T) offered a discount on its bZ4X EV, and Nissan (7201.T) offered an incentive on its Ariya EV. Volkswagen's (VOWG_p.DE) joint ventures with SAIC and FAW also announced price cuts in China on their ID-series EVs on Friday. AlixPartners said while China's EV market will continue to grow rapidly, intensifying competition and excess capacity will also drive a shakeout. In one example, Chinese automakers have invested $1.4 billion in Thailand since 2020, now dominating the Thai EV market after taking share from the Japanese brands that have long operated there.

Persons: Florence Lo, Tesla, CAAM, Li Auto, Liu Xu, furloughs, AlixPartners, Zhang Yan, Kevin Krolicki, Tom Hogue Organizations: Tesla, Fair for Trade, Services, REUTERS, China Association of Auto Manufacturers, stoke, HK, Volvo, Chery Automobile, Global, Ford, Toyota, Nissan, EV, General Motors, Honda, Consultancy, Consumers, SAIC, GAC, Dongfeng, FAW Group, China's Ministry of Industry, Information Technology, FAW, National Strategy Institute of Tsinghua University, International, Hyundai, Thai EV, Thomson Locations: Beijing, China, Shanghai, Europe, Southeast Asia, Thailand, Singapore

A Meta spokesperson did not specify, when asked, how many staffers had been cut from its teams working on elections. Instead, Meta said the social media giant had invested $16 billion in technology and teams since 2016 to protect its users. For years, the social media giant has invested heavily in teams of personnel to root out sophisticated and coordinated networks of fake accounts. In addition to its in-house team, Meta and other social media companies rely on tips from academics and other researchers who specialize in monitoring covert disinformation networks. The launch of Threads even as Meta trims its disinformation-focused personnel comes at a turbulent and transformative time for those tasked with writing and implementing rules on social media platforms.

Persons: Meta, “, –, ”, Darren Linvill, Elon Musk, Katie Harbath, Nick Clegg, ’ ” Harbath Organizations: CNN, Facebook, Meta, Clemson University’s, Sputnik, Elon, Twitter, YouTube, Republican, Biden, GOP, Meta Global Locations: United States, Taiwan, Ukraine, India, Myanmar, Africa, Louisiana

☆ Buckling bond market casts pall over stocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Tom Westbrook | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Overnight, surprisingly strong partial figures on the U.S. labour market sent a selloff in bond markets into overdrive and pushed the S&P 500 stock index (.SPX) 0.8% lower. Three-year and ten-year Australian government bond yields each rose a dozen basis points on Thursday and a dozen more on Friday morning to hit decade highs. Maybe there has to be some reassessment given the resilience of a lot of economies to higher rates so far." Even well-anchored Japanese government bond yields rose on Friday. Gold , which pays no income, was under pressure from higher yields while trading flat at $1,911 an ounce.

Persons: Jack Chambers, payrolls, Goldman Sachs, HSI, Tom Westbrook, Edmund Klamann Organizations: Japan's Nikkei, Federal Reserve, ANZ, stoke, Private U.S, ADP, U.S, Reserve Bank, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, Asia, Pacific, Japan, Britain, Sydney, U.S, Hong Kong, South Korea, Australia

The VAT rate charged on goods and services rose to 20% from 18%, while that on basic goods such as toilet paper and detergents increased to 10% from 8%, effective immediately, the Official Gazette said. "Reducing the budget deficit is the aim of the latest increase in taxes and fees, and some other steps to ensure fiscal discipline are on the agenda too. The tax increases could raise Turkey's budget revenues by around 2%, Oyak Investment said in a note. Economists said the increased VAT rate charged on goods and services would boost state revenues by around 30 billion lira. Separately, Turkey on Friday also exempted from witholding tax the dividend payments of own shares purchased by companies listed on the Istanbul bourse.

Persons: Tayyip Erdogan, QNB Finansbank, Erdogan, Economists, Ezgi Erkoyun, Burcu Karakas, Orhan Coskun, Jonathan Spicer, Gareth Jones Organizations: stoke, Official Gazette, Bank Insurance, Oyak Investment, Istanbul bourse, Thomson Locations: ISTANBUL, Turkey, Istanbul

☆ New Mexico trail clash echoes culture war across US West
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Andrew Hay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

REUTERS/Andrew HayTALPA, N.M., July 7 (Reuters) - Physiotherapist Spencer Bushnell lives less than a mile from farmer Carlos Arguello in Taos, New Mexico. But they are worlds apart on proposals to lace the foothills they love with up to 71 miles of mountain bike and hiking trails. That put the neighbors on the frontline of a culture war raging across the West as multi-generational families, conservationists and sometimes conservatives fight trail systems sought by incomers and recreationist locals. Two bike trail projects have been nixed in as many months on public land in Oregon and Colorado. Across the United States, Americans are moving to places with trees and trails, many working remotely.

Persons: Spencer Bushnell, Andrew Hay TALPA, Carlos Arguello, Arguello, Bushnell, Carl Colonius, Darryl Maestas, Hispanos, Emily Matheu, Michael Lujan, Andrew Hay, Donna Bryson, Alistair Bell Organizations: . Forest Service, REUTERS, Division, U.S ., USFS, mamas, Thomson Locations: Taos , New Mexico, U.S, Oregon, Colorado, The Taos, Taos, Bend , Oregon, United States, South Korea, Afghanistan, Oakland , California, California

☆ History shows Wall Street can sustain its first half advance. How Jim Cramer is playing it
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Kevin Stankiewicz | In Kevinstankiewicz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

While together, the Nasdaq's nearly 20% annual gain in 1983 was quite respectable, the second half was clearly less fruitful. "I don't like the setup now for the beginning of the second half, although I think the second half could be strong." .SPX YTD mountain S & P 500 YTD peformance For the broader S & P 500, recent history suggests that its first-half strength, rising almost 16%, could be built on over the next six months. "That's why I think a strong first half tends to carry over into a strong second half." Stovall said he can envision some choppiness ahead for the S & P 500.

Persons: Jim Cramer, Jim, Wells, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Stocks, tech's, Sam Stovall Sam Stovall, Stovall, UBS Global Wealth Management Claudia Panseri, Claudia Panseri, Panseri, Jim Cramer's, Spencer Platt Organizations: Nasdaq, Procter & Gamble, Club, JPMorgan, Big Tech, FactSet, Federal Reserve, CFRA Research, CNBC, UBS Global Wealth Management, New York Stock Exchange, Getty Locations: U.S

☆ Extreme weather in Latin America unlocks vicious cycle that further fuels climate dangers
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Nelson Acosta | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HAVANA, July 5 (Reuters) - Extreme weather is wreaking havoc across Latin America, racking up billions worth of damage and unleashing a vicious cycle that leads to higher demand for fossil fuels and more climate change, the World Meteorological Organization said on Wednesday. Temperatures have warmed an average 0.2 degree Celsius per decade over the past 30 years – the highest rate on record, according to the State of the Climate in Latin America and the Caribbean 2022 report. As temperatures rise, extreme weather events become more common, with often unexpected consequences that stoke climate change, the report said. “Many of the extreme events were influenced by the long-running La Nina but also bore the hallmark of human-induced climate change," said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas. "We are facing increasingly strong impacts from climate change, but the decisions adopted in climate negotiations for the implementation of the Paris Agreement do not advance at the same rate," she said.

Persons: Petteri Taalas, Daniel Becerril, Elba Rosa Perez, Nelson Acosta, Dave Sherwood, Marguerita Choy Organizations: World Meteorological Organization, stoke, Nina, REUTERS, El Nino, for Research, Meteorological Institute, Environment, Development, Thomson Locations: HAVANA, America, Latin America, Caribbean, South America, Monterrey, Mexico, El, Havana, China, Cuba, Paris

The rate hike came in the first policy meeting under new Central Bank Governor Hafize Gaye Erkan. The central bank's net reserves rose to $9.19 billion in the week to June 23, its biggest rise on record. Although the central bank's reserves have rebounded since mid-June, state banks are still selling dollars to meet demand from maturing lira deposit accounts known as KKM. Authorities were not seeking to support the lira and the central bank maintained its stance of not selling via state banks, the person added, requesting anonymity. "The committee evaluated that the current monetary policy framework is far from achieving the 5% inflation target, given the inflation outlook and upside risks," the central bank said.

Persons: Tayyip Erdogan, Central Bank Governor Hafize Gaye Erkan, Erkan, Erdogan, Nevzat Devranoglu, Jonathan Spicer, Daren Butler, Christina Fincher Organizations: Central Bank Governor, Reuters, Authorities, stoke, Thomson Locations: Turkey, ANKARA

CNN —The Chinese surveillance balloon that traversed the United States earlier this year before it was shot down did not collect intelligence while flying over the country, the Pentagon said Thursday. “We believe that (the balloon) did not collect while it was transiting the United States or flying over the United States, and certainly the efforts that we made contributed,” Ryder told reporters at a briefing. At the time, Washington had signaled that the balloon did not present a significant intelligence gathering risk. Ryder on Thursday did not get into specifics regarding recent reports that the Chinese high-altitude balloon was using US surveillance technology, but said such a situation would not be surprising. China slammed the remarks, which came on the heels of Blinken’s visit, as an “open political provocation” and repeated their denial that the balloon was meant to spy over the United States.

Persons: Pat Ryder, “, ” Ryder, Joe Biden, Antony Blinken, Ryder, ”, ” Biden, Xi Jinping “, Xi, Blinken’s Organizations: CNN, Pentagon Locations: United States, Washington, American, South Carolina, Beijing, China, stoke

☆ Ukraine's big offensive has hit a few roadblocks, but military experts say don't believe Russia's hype about it being a total failure
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

But military experts told Insider it's much too early to draw any conclusions about the fight. Experts at the time told Insider that a Ukrainian victory was paramount to ongoing international aid and could even redirect the trajectory of the 16-month war. But military strategists told Insider that it's "way too early" for people to be drawing conclusions about the success of Ukraine's fight. The Ukrainians have taken a broad front approach, scanning the front lines to try and find a penetrable place to break through the Russians' defenses, he told Insider. Ukrainian military conducts training on Leopard 2 tanks at the test site on May 14, 2023 in Ukraine.

Persons: It's, —, Ben Hodges, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine's, Hodges, Mick Ryan, Ryan, Serhii Mykhalchuk, Russia stokes, Bradley, that's, Putin Organizations: Service, US Army, Australian Army, Group, Ukraine, New York Times, stoke, Ukraine doesn't Locations: Russia, Ukraine, US Army Europe, Ukrainian, Russian, Europe

☆ Accor plans to add more than 1,200 hotels
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 27 (Reuters) - Accor (ACCP.PA) plans to open more than 1,200 hotels in the next five years, increasing the number of its resorts by more than one-fifth, Europe's biggest hotel group said on Tuesday. Accor also raised its outlook at its capital markets day, forecasting its 2023 revenue per room (RevPAR) to grow by 15% to 20% amid reorganisation plans that were implemented in January. Accor said it plans to return around 3 billion euros to shareholders in that period via dividends and share buybacks. "We expect a positive share price performance today and we will probably upgrade our recommendation on Accor as the updated mid-term guidance is stronger than expected," said analyst Yi Zhong at AlphaValue. ($1 = 0.9153 euros)Reporting by Tristan Veyet and Gaëlle Sheehan in Gdansk; editing by Sherry Jacob-PhillipsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Accor, Sébastien Bazin, Yi Zhong, Tristan Veyet, Gaëlle Sheehan, Sherry Jacob, Phillips Organizations: Europe's, Barclays, Thomson Locations: Accor, AlphaValue, Gdansk

☆ Oil prices climb after Russia mutiny stoke fears of supply disruption
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Clement Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Russia's President Vladimir Putin issues a statement in Moscow on June 24, 2023 as Wagner fighters stage rebellion in the biggest threat to Putin's quarter-century grip on power. Oil prices rose on Monday after an attempted insurrection in Russia stoked fears that energy supplies would be disrupted by potential unrest in one of the world's largest oil producer nations. The armed rebellion by Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner group of mercenary fighters, posed the biggest threat to Vladimir Putin's 23-year grip on power. West Texas Intermediate futures rose nearly 1% to just below $70 a barrel in Asia trading, after shedding almost 4% last week. Brent crude was up 0.95%.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Wagner, Russia stoked, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin's, Brent Organizations: West Texas Locations: Moscow, Russia, Asia

New capacity in China is expected to make up more than half of that growth, according to the International Energy Agency. Reuters GraphicsIn 2023, WoodMac sees China's output growth creating a local surplus of 4.24 million metric tons of ethylene and an even bigger oversupply of propylene at 8.69 million metric tons. Reuters GraphicsMARKET SHARE BATTLENewly launched refinery complexes by state giant PetroChina's (601857.SS) Guangdong Petrochemical and privately-run Jiangsu Shenghong Petrochemical have added to surging petrochemical supply from mega refiners Zhejiang Petrochemical Corp and Hengli Petrochemical (600346.SS) that has come online in recent years. Rongsheng Petrochemical (002493.SZ) and Hengyi Petrochemical (000703.SZ) swung to net losses in the first quarter. While Chinese demand from some sectors such as inexpensive clothing and daily essentials is robust, other sectors such as automative have yet to recover in line with expectations, said Salmon Lee, global head of polyesters at consultancy WoodMac.

Persons: Chen, refiners, China's, Wood Mackenzie, WoodMac, Ganesh Gopalakrishnan, TotalEnergies's, Salmon Lee, Lee, Mohi Narayan, Andrew Hayley, Matthew Chye, Florence Tan, Sonali Paul Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, International Energy Agency, Reuters Graphics, Guangdong Petrochemical, Jiangsu Shenghong Petrochemical, Zhejiang Petrochemical Corp, Hengli Petrochemical, Sinopec, Rongsheng Petrochemical, Hengyi Petrochemical, Thomson Locations: Dalian, Liaoning province, China, Asia, Europe, U.S, Guangdong, Jiangsu, China's, New Delhi, Beijing

☆ Wrexham's Tozer slams EFL towel ban for throw-ins
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

June 24 (Reuters) - Wrexham defender Ben Tozer has criticised the English Football League (EFL) ban on towels to dry the ball before long throw-ins, claiming the tactics are not "anti-football". The new rule on the towel ban approved earlier this month will also prevent players from using items of clothing offered up by fans to dry the ball for better grip. Instead, the EFL will follow the Premier League's example of a multi-ball system to speed up play in its competitions from the 2023-24 season. "I might have upset someone in the EFL because they're trying to ruin my career. But they will first entertain their new-found fans in the United States when they face Chelsea and Manchester United in next month's pre-season tour.

Persons: Ben Tozer, Tozer, I've, Tony Pulis's, Rory Delap, Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhenney, Rohith Nair, Ken Ferris Organizations: Wrexham, English Football League, BBC, Premier League, Tony Pulis's Stoke City, Hollywood, MK Dons, Chelsea, Manchester United, Thomson Locations: Wrexham, United States, Bengaluru

One year after the US Supreme Court struck down Roe v Wade and reignited a worldwide protest movement against restricting abortion access, pro-choice advocates in the UK say little progress has been made to increase access to reproductive health services. Proudman said the decision of the US Supreme Court last year to overturn the landmark Roe v Wade ruling had made her reflect on the state of abortion laws in the UK. So, we’re effectively asking that politicians do the same,” O’Brien told CNN. The recent criminal conviction in Stoke-On-Trent has only highlighted how “restrictive” and “draconian” UK abortion laws are, O’Brien said. ‘Ready to take action’Charities such as BPAS which provide abortion care to women on behalf of the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) maintain that the current abortion laws are making life “more difficult” for providers, clinicians and women themselves.

Persons: Roe, Wade, “, ” Nadia Hirsi, Jennifer Dean, ’, Jenny Wickham, ”, Charlotte Proudman, didn’t, Nadia Hirsi, Ella Valentine, Sana Noor Haq, CNN Jennifer Dean, CNN Proudman, Stella Creasy, Proudman, Katherine O’Brien, we’re, ” O’Brien, O’Brien, Annabel Sowemimo, ” Sowemimo, White Organizations: London CNN, US Supreme, CNN, Trent Crown, Public Prosecutions, Wales, US, Charity, British Pregnancy Advisory, Proudman, Trent, US Centers for Disease Control, National Health Service Locations: UK’s, London, England, Wales, British, Stoke, Trent, USA, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Canada, Poland, Texas, Netherlands

Most economists expect another modest 10 bps LPR cut in the second half - on top of a 25 bps cut in banks' requirement ratio (RRR). The PROC last cut the RRR - the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves -- in March, by 25 bps. Each 5 basis points LPR cut could reduce pre-tax profits of major banks by as much as 1.8%, China Merchants Securities said in a report. "A small rate cut is a useful painkiller for symptoms but cannot alleviate the real problem," said Gary Ng, Asia Pacific senior economist of Natixis. On Friday, China's cabinet discussed policy measures to support the economy.

Persons: COVID, NIM, Wang Yifeng, Wang, Gary Ng, China's, Zhang Ming, Zhang, Morgan Stanley, Kevin Yao, Ziyi Tang, Kripa Jayaram, Sumeet Chatterjee Organizations: People's Bank of China, Reuters, Everbright Securities, China Merchants Securities, Asia Pacific, stoke, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Thomson Locations: China, BEIJING, Beijing, Asia

☆ Inside Netflix's growing M&A machine, who's leading it, and what insiders think the streamer could buy next
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

It then delved further into M&A to kickstart its games business. And the streamer hasn't completely abandoned its build-from-within strategy, as it also announced plans last fall to build its own gaming studio in Finland. He recently was elevated to the Lstaff, a group of 25 Netflix business heads who debate its biggest initiatives. (Netflix ended up doing a partnership in 2019 with that company, Studio Dragon, and its parent CJ ENM.) But leadership has been steadfast that Netflix's M&A mantra hasn't changed.

Persons: Here's, Reed Hastings, It's, it's, who's, what's, Roald Dahl, Dahl, Peter Rabbit, Spry, Harry Potter, execs, Spencer Wang, Michael Porter, Spencer Neumann, who'd, Neumann, Wang, Greg Peters, Ted Sarandos, Bela Bajaria, Scott Stuber, Mike Verdu, Jay MacDonald, Digiday, Ana Milicevic, Hastings, Sarandos, CJ ENM, Mario Organizations: Netflix, stoke, Paramount, Night School, Spry Fox, Disney, Warner Bros, DC Comics, Digital Capital Advisors, MLB, Surf League, Street Journal, Microsoft, Sparrow Advisers, MGM, Amazon, Mario Bros, Activision Blizzard, Epic Games, UBS Locations: Finland, New Jersey, Hollywood

☆ Turkish central bank to hike rates sharply in post-election pivot
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Ali Kucukgocmen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

But the level remains uncertain as the central bank has not given any signals as to its next steps, including the size or pace of potential hikes. Some economists have expressed doubt about Erdogan's commitment to abandoning his unorthodox policy of low rates, which led the central bank to slash its policy rate from 19% in 2021 to 8.5% currently. The median estimate for the policy rate at end-2023 was 30%, with forecasts ranging from 18% to 35%. He named Naci Agbal as central bank governor in Nov. 2020 but, after some sharp rate hikes, replaced him less than five months later. The central bank is scheduled to announce its rate decision at 1100 GMT on Thursday.

Persons: Murad Sezer, Tayyip Erdogan, Hafize Gaye Erkan, Malek Drimal, Erdogan, Mehmet Simsek, Moody's, Naci, Simsek, Ali Kucukgocmen, Marc Jones, Jonathan Spicer, Daren Butler, Christina Fincher Organizations: REUTERS, Societe Generale, stoke, Thomson Locations: Istanbul, Turkey, ISTANBUL

☆ Japan to open up Apple- and Google-dominated phone apps to competition
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] An Apple logo hangs above the entrance to the Apple store on 5th Avenue in the Manhattan borough of New York City, July 21, 2015. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File PhotoTOKYO, June 17 (Reuters) - Japan plans to stoke competition in smartphone app payments, dominated by Apple (AAPL.O) and Google, by banning major app store operators from forcing software developers to use the operators' own payment systems, a government panel said. Apple's iOS and Android from Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google roughly split Japan's mobile OS market. Apple allows users to download iPhone apps only through its own app store, while both Apple and Google require software developers to use proprietary payment systems that charge commissions of up to 30%. Members of the government panel include Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura and Economy Minister Shigeyuki Goto.

Persons: Mike Segar, Yasutoshi Nishimura, Shigeyuki Goto, Kiyoshi Takenaka, Lincoln Organizations: Apple, REUTERS, stoke, Google, Asahi Shimbun, Industry, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, New York City, TOKYO, Japan

☆ Australian PM pledges $1.4 bln for afforable homes
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, June 17 (Reuters) - Australia's centre-left Labor government said on Saturday it would commit A$2 billion ($1.4 billion) to deliver thousands of new affordable homes nationwide, as the country grapples with soaring living costs. "The Labor government that I lead believes that every Australian deserves the security of a roof over their head," Albanese said in Melbourne. "One hundred percent will be public housing, this is money for public housing." Separately, the government wants to establish an A$10 billion housing fund to build at least 30,000 new affordable homes, but has faced opposition in parliament from minor party senators. At June 2021, there were 417,800 households on major social housing programmes, including public housing, up from 378,600 in June 2008, according to government data.

Persons: Anthony Albanese, " Albanese, Albanese, Sam McKeith, Stephen Coates Organizations: SYDNEY, Labor, stoke, Thomson Locations: Melbourne

☆ EV maker Rivian sees stable demand through the year - CFO
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 15 (Reuters) - Electric vehicle maker Rivian Automotive (RIVN.O) expects demand for its pickups and sport-utility vehicles to remain stable through the year, it's finance chief said, even as higher borrowing costs and fears of recession have dented demand across the industry. Rivian is also ramping up production of its in-house drive unit ahead of plan, Chief Financial Officer Claire McDonough said on Thursday at the Deutsche Bank auto conference. "But we've seen really a stable environment throughout the course of this year from a demand vantage point. "Our priority right now is ramping production and driving down costs so that we're starting to really reduce the level of cash burn within the business," McDonough said. Rivian in February decided to lay off 6% of its workforce and last month stood by its annual production forecast of 50,000 cars.

Persons: Claire McDonough, McDonough, Tesla, Akash Sriram, Abhirup Roy, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Rivian, Deutsche Bank, stoke, Thomson Locations: Irvine , California, Bengaluru, San Francisco

☆ Erdogan sees swift steps from new finance minister but says his own monetary views unchanged
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"Some of our friends should not be mistaken, such as (asking) 'Is our president going for a serious change in interest rate policies?'" "But upon the thinking of our treasury and finance minister, we have accepted that he will take steps swiftly, comfortably with the central bank," Erdogan said. Analysts at leading investment banks now expect Turkey's central bank to start ramping up rates at its monetary policy committee meeting on June 22. Erdogan said he told the new central bank governor about his expectations. "God willing, neither our finance minister nor our central bank governor will embarrass us and I think we will hopefully obtain positive results."

Persons: Erdogan, Tayyip Erdogan, Mehmet Simsek, Hafize Gaye Erkan, Simsek, Orhan Coskun, Nevzat Devranoglu, Huseyin Hayatsever, Ali Kucukgocmen, Daren Butler, Peter Graff Organizations: stoke, Authorities, Wall Street, Toksabay, Thomson Locations: ANKARA, Azerbaijan, Turkish, Ankara

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