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☆ Asia’s breakup party is happening under duress
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-04 | by ( Pranav Kiran | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

As with other big breakups in the region however, there are unspoken reasons for him to join the party. Vedanta Resources is in talks with bondholders to extend the maturity by roughly three years on about $3.2 billion of debt due in 2024 and 2025. But even then, Vedanta Resources may still have a funding gap until 2027 under certain conditions, according to JPMorgan. Even if those were sold for as much as $1.5 billion, JPMorgan estimates Vedanta Resources will at most receive only $350 million in net proceeds. For every one share in Vedanta, shareholders will receive one additional share of each of the five new companies.

Persons: Anil Agarwal, Ajay Agarwal, Vedanta, Mukesh Ambani, Una Galani, Katrina Hamlin Organizations: Reuters, Vedanta, Vedanta Resources, London Stock Exchange, JPMorgan, Hindustan, HK, Reliance Industries, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, Mumbai, Hindustan, People’s Republic, Asia, Vedanta

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigerian government workers on Tuesday continued working after last-minute efforts by authorities averted a nationwide strike to protest growing hardship that could have shut down government services in Africa's most populous country. The indefinite strike by Nigerian labor unions scheduled to start Tuesday is being suspended for 30 days, while meetings and talks with the government will be held over the coming days, said Joe Ajaero, president of the Nigeria Labour Congress, or NLC, which is the umbrella body of the unions. Talks with the labor unions have stalled and a slow start to several intervention efforts resulted in last week’s announcement of the strike. One major source of concern has been intervention efforts, which the labor unions said have been slow. “But the adverse outcomes of the measures, the hardship, were much higher than what many of us expected.”

Persons: Joe Ajaero, Bola, ”, Muda Yusuf Organizations: Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Lagos Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Private Enterprise Locations: ABUJA, Nigeria, Africa's, Lagos

☆ Cuban entrepreneurs use 'aquaponics' for efficient food production
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Alien Fernandez | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

That's why two young Cuban entrepreneurs decided to turn to aquaponics to combine the two in a bid to get more bang for their buck and at the same time bolster the island's dwindling food supply, they told Reuters. Aquaponics is an aquaculture system in which wastewater from farming fish is fed to hydroponically grown plants like lettuce that purify the water. "From fish to the production of food plants, everything is natural," Lopez said on a tour of the facility outside Havana, home to arrays of fish tanks and greenhouses. Cuba is facing its worst economic downturn in decades, leading to shortages in food, medicine and fuel that has prompted the communist-run government to seek help from entrepreneurs in finding creative solutions. "There's a logic to it for young people, becoming entrepreneurs, to want to move forward, to be economically prosperous," said Jose Antonio Martinez, a former attorney who co-owns JoJo Aquaponics.

Persons: Joel Lopez, JoJo Acuaponics, Lopez, Jose Antonio Martinez, JoJo Aquaponics, Martinez, Alien Fernandez, Mario Fuentes, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Reuters, Thomson Locations: HAVANA, Cuba, Cuban, Aquaponics, Havana, United

☆ Daniel Ortega Turns Against the Jesuits
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Mary Anastasia O Grady | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Ms. O'Grady joined the paper in August 1995 and became a senior editorial page writer in December 1999. She was appointed an editorial board member in November 2005. In 2012 Ms. O’Grady won the Walter Judd Freedom Award from The Fund for American Studies. In 2009 Ms. O'Grady received the Thomas Jefferson Award from The Association of Private Enterprise Education. Ms. O'Grady received a bachelor's degree in English from Assumption College and an M.B.A. in financial management from Pace University.

Persons: Mary Anastasia O'Grady, O'Grady, O’Grady, Walter Judd, Ms, Thomas Jefferson Organizations: Liberty Fund, The Fund, American Studies, The Association of Private Enterprise Education, International, Network, World Bank, Inter American Press, Assumption College, Pace University Locations: Latin America, Canada, Brazil

☆ Russian missile hits private enterprise in central Ukraine - Kyiv
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KYIV, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Russian forces struck a private enterprise with a long-range cruise missile in the central Ukrainian region of Vinnytsia, wounding three people, Ukrainian authorities said on Friday. Kyiv's air force said it shot down a second missile fired as part of the overnight attack. The missile was downed over the central Kirovohrad region, the local governor said on Telegram. Russia, which launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, conducts regular air strikes on Ukrainian centres far from the front line. The two missiles reported by Ukrainian officials contrasted with earlier in the week when Ukraine reported the largest Russian missile and drone attack on the capital for months.

Persons: Serhiy Borzov, Dan Peleschuk, Tom Balmforth, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: Russian, Thomson Locations: Ukrainian, Vinnytsia, Russia, Moscow, Ukraine

However, in a hopeful sign for growth, conditions did not materially worsen even though the survey showed factories under persistent pressure. China's major manufacturing rivals in the region Japan and South Korea also reported sharp declines in output on Thursday. "It's too early to tell, but today's print suggests that a sequential uptick in growth activity in the third quarter could still be possible," said Louise Loo, senior economist with Oxford Economics. Policymakers remain under pressure to boost domestic demand as the global economy continues to slow. Going forward, "the actual implementation and effectiveness of policy support will be the key indicator to watch," he added.

Persons: It's, Louise Loo, Pan Gongsheng, Frederic Neumann, Bruce Pang, Jones Lang Lasalle, Joe Cash, Qiaoyi Li, Ellen Zhang, Sam Holmes Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, National Bureau of Statistics, PMI, Oxford Economics, Reuters, People's Bank of, Global Research Asia, HSBC, Jones, Thomson Locations: Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China, Rights BEIJING, Japan, South Korea, People's Bank of China, United States, Europe, Asia

☆ The Real Problem With China’s Economy: Xi Jinping’s Government - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-26 | by ( Eswar Prasad | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The numbers portray a stalling economy, but there is a far more profound concern. Chinese consumers and businesses are losing confidence that their government has the ability to recognize and fix the economy’s deep-seated problems. If President Xi Jinping’s government doesn’t tackle this fundamental issue, any other measures will have little impact in arresting the downward spiral. This confidence problem is apparent in the tepid private investment and weak household consumption over the past year. The worrying cognitive dissonance between the government and entrepreneurs became apparent during a recent trip I took to China.

Persons: Xi Organizations: Chinese Communist Party, Technology, Ant, Entrepreneurs Locations: China, United States, Beijing

☆ AOC’s Socialist Sympathy Tour
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Mary Anastasia O Grady | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

☆ Goldman Sachs: Is David Solomon on his way out? The CEO whisperer weighs in
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

New York CNN —David Solomon, CEO and president of Goldman Sachs, is getting bad press — a lot of bad press. And while shares of Goldman Sachs (GS) may be down by more than 5% this year, they’re still up by about 40% since he took over in 2018. Goldman Sachs did not respond to requests for comment for this article. Before the Bell: What is going on at Goldman Sachs? There have been articles purporting that former Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein isn’t happy with the job David Solomon has done and that he has offered to step in to help.

Persons: David Solomon, Goldman Sachs, Marcus, Solomon, they’re, Bell, Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Lloyd Blankfein isn’t, that’s, Lloyd, he’s, That’s, David, ‘, Juliana Liu, Michelle Toh, ” Julian Evans, Pritchard, Zichun Huang, Hang, Lehman, Hillary, Eva Rothenberg, Harry Reid, Hilary Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, Financial Times, Yale School of Management’s, Leadership Institute, Nokia, BlackBerry, Microsoft, Goldman, People’s Bank of China, Reuters, Capital Economics, Hang Seng, The Bank of Korea, Bank Indonesia, country’s National Bureau of Statistics, Harry, Harry Reid International, San Diego International Locations: New York, Lloyd, China, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Asia, Las Vegas, California, Nevada, Southern California, Idaho

☆ Nobel economist Paul Krugman mocks Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy as ignorant on economics
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Joseph Wilkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy's pledge to reform the Fed have provoked mixed responses online. Nobel-prize winning economist Paul Krugman hit out at the "tech bro" in a series of posts on X this weekend. Ramaswamy may be "under the delusion" of having deep insights into monetary economics, wrote Krugman. In response, Nobel-prize winning economist Paul Krugman took aim at the Republican candidate, mocking Ramaswamy's understanding of economics. In an earlier tweet, Krugman called Ramaswamy a "tech bro" and a "monetary crank".

Persons: Vivek Ramaswamy's, Paul Krugman, Ramaswamy, Krugman, Donald Trump, Rich, Ayn Rand, Timothy B, Lee Organizations: Service, Federal Reserve, U.S . Federal, Republican, bros, GOP Locations: Wall, Silicon

The one unanimous conclusion they came to was that Beijing wants a greater state presence in these sectors. Kroeber says the crackdowns are about "defining what the state does, what the private sector does, and creating a more limited sandbox for the private sector to play in." That has left investors now picking the state over the private sector. The CCP's July Politburo meeting reinforced the message, with the top policymaking body pledging to put a floor under the property sector, help indebted local governments heal and boost consumer demand. Huang Yan, general manager of private fund manager Shanghai QiuYang Capital Co, said Beijing will crack down on any sector seen as increasing people's economic burden.

Persons: Aly, Jack, Arthur Kroeber, Kroeber, Zhang Kexing, Xi Jinping, Mao Zedong's, Thomas Masi, Masi, Xi, Nuno Fernandes, Fernandes, Huang Yan, Huang, Kumar Pandit, Pandit, Jason Xue, Ankur Banerjee, Vidya Ranganathan, Sam Holmes Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Ant Group, CSI Medical Services, Beijing Tongrentang, HK, Poly, Beijing Gelei Asset Management, Communist Party's, Investors, Mao Zedong's Marxist, Boston, K Investment Management, Shanghai QiuYang, Somerset Capital, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, Rights SHANGHAI, HONGKONG, Beijing, New York, London, Singapore

☆ The life of Rupert Murdoch's new girlfriend Elena Zhukova — a scientist who used to be mother-in-law to oligarch Roman Abramovich
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Tom Porter | Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

She is the mother of Dasha Zhukova, the ex-wife of the oligarch Roman Abramovich. The pair had a daughter, Dasha Zhukhova. Per the Financial Times, Zhukova left the Soviet Union in 1990, when she was in her thirties. Elena also has twins, a boy and a girl, from another relationship, according to a Guardian profile of Dasha Zhukhova. Murdoch has been married five times, divorcing Jerry Hall, ex wife of Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, in 2022.

Persons: Rupert Murdoch, Elena Zhukova, Dasha Zhukova, Roman Abramovich, Ann Leslie Smith, Murdoch, Zhukova, Wendi Deng, Alexander Zhukhov, Dasha Zhukhova, Alexander, Elena, Abramovich, Dasha, Stavros Niarchos II, Stavros Niarchos, Deng, Jerry Hall, Mick Jagger Organizations: Daily Mail, Guardian, British, Yorker, Soviet, Financial Times, Baylor College of Medicine, University of California, Chelsea FC, The New Locations: Russian, Moscow, Soviet Union, Houston, Los Angeles, New York City

Paraguay's President-elect Santiago Pena speaks during an interview with Reuters ahead of his inauguration, in Asuncion, Paraguay August 7, 2023. His party's diplomatic support for Taiwan has hurt local farmers' grains exports to China, which claims sovereignty over the self-governed island. Taiwan Vice President William Lai is in Paraguay for Pena's inauguration. Relations with the United States will also be in focus after the U.S. government accused Pena's political backer, former President Horacio Cartes, of corruption. Pena also wants to create 500,000 new jobs in five years to boost the South American country's farm-driven economy, dominated by soybeans and beef.

Persons: Santiago Pena, Cesar Olmedo, Pena, William Lai, Horacio Cartes, " Pena, Cartes, Santi, Daniela Desantis, Lucinda Elliott, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS, Colorado, Colorado Party, Pena's, U.S, American, Columbia University, IMF, Thomson Locations: Asuncion, Paraguay, ASUNCION, Taiwan, U.S, China, United States, Washington, Colorado

"The situation is already very bad for dollar-based funds to invest in China's tech sector. There isn't much room for things to get worse," said Beijing-based China Growth Capital partner Wayne Shiong. Biden's move will likely make China-focussed venture capital firms feel more urgency to raise yuan funds from Chinese investors, he said. In response to Biden's executive order, China's commerce ministry said it was "gravely concerned" and reserved the right to take countermeasures. But the executive order is barely going to do anything, and China escalating would risk turning a molehill into a mountain."

Persons: Florence Lo, Joe Biden's, Donald Trump, Weiheng Chen, Wilson Sonsini, Biden, Chen, Wayne Shiong, Biden's, Yuan, Pan, Trump, Derek Scissors, Kane Wu, Michael Martina, Roxanne Liu, Ziyi Tang, Yantoultra, Sumeet Chatterjee, William Mallard Organizations: REUTERS, U.S, Reuters Graphics Reuters, China Growth Capital, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, TECH, Hua Hong Semiconductor, Analysts, American Enterprise Institute, Thomson Locations: China, U.S, HONG KONG, WASHINGTON, Beijing, Washington, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Bengaluru

☆ Many Americans think NASA returning to the moon is a waste of time and it should prioritize asteroid hunting instead, a poll shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Mariel Borowitz | Teasel Muir-Harmony | The Conversation | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

A new report from the Pew Research Center shows most Americans support NASA but not a moon mission. But the specific priorities of the US space program have often been at odds with public opinion. Although somewhat at odds with the national space agenda, this valuation is not new. In addition, the United Nations' open-ended working group on reducing space threats has been meeting since 2022 to help avoid conflict in space. Countries have been working within the United Nations to develop and implement guidelines for the long-term sustainability of outer space activities.

Persons: LOREN ELLIOTT, Johns Hopkins, Jon Emmerich, Elon Musk, Ryan Saunders, Codie Trimble Organizations: Pew Research Center, NASA, Service, Getty Images, Artemis, Pew, SpaceX, AP, Virgin Galactic, . Air Force, 625th Strategic Communications Squadron, Vandenberg Space Force Base, Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, US Air Force, Staff, ViaSat, United Nations, Space Agency Space Locations: Wall, Silicon, United States, AFP, States, Europe, Japan, Canada, China, Russia, Ukraine War, Ukrainian, Ukraine, United

☆ China vows to 'adjust and optimize' property policy in 'tortuous' economic recovery
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Clement Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

The post-pandemic economic recovery will proceed in a "wave-like" fashion in a "tortuous" process, it added. On Tuesday, Hong Kong and mainland China stock markets cheered the Politburo's policy pledges, outperforming broader Asia-Pacific benchmarks. The Chinese property sector saw some of the strongest percentage gains in Hong Kong, with developer Country Garden rebounding more than 14% from a nine-month low. By some calculations, the country's property sector still accounts for up to a quarter of China's annual economic activity. Expanding domestic demandLate Monday, China's top leaders pledged to "actively expand domestic demand" and to "expand consumption by raising income levels."

Persons: Xi Jinping, Li Qiang, China Vanke, Goldman Sachs, China's, Julian Evans, Pritchard Organizations: Getty, Communist, Xinhua, Barclays, Index, CSI, Longfor, China Overseas, Observers, Citi, People's Bank, China's, National, Capital Economics Locations: China, Hong Kong, outperforming, Asia

☆ Beijing Offers Love, but Chinese Entrepreneurs Aren’t Buying It
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-22 | by ( Li Yuan | More About Li Yuan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In the darkest moments of the financial crisis in 2008, former Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao lectured a group of U.S. government officials and business executives in New York. “In the face of economic difficulties,” he said, “confidence is more precious than gold.”The Chinese economy then was teetering. Today it’s sputtering, facing the dimmest prospects in decades, and China’s leaders are learning the hard way exactly what Mr. Wen meant. Beijing unveiled a 31-point set of guidelines on Wednesday to bolster the confidence of the private sector. But in private, others I interviewed dismissed the party’s pep talk in words that can be best translated as, “Save it for the suckers.”

Persons: Wen Jiabao, ”, Wen Organizations: “, Communist Party Locations: New York, Beijing, Hong Kong

"For China, it is 'bad news is good news' at the moment," said Jun Bei Liu, portfolio manager at Tribeca Investment Partners in Sydney. Even before the latest disappointing growth data, a slew of soft economic indicators had shown China's recovery was falling short, slamming the brakes on nascent stock market rallies. Foreign money has been leaving, with worries over China's cyber-security crackdowns and Sino-U.S. flaps over chips and rare metals adding to growth concerns. REVIEWING CHINAGoldman Sachs analysts led by Kinger Lau also believe a 'tactical market recovery' thesis is compelling, and project a 15% 12-month return for the CSI300. "We are conservative about the extent of the policy support down the road," said Alicia Garcia Herrero, chief economist, Asia Pacific at Natixis.

Persons: Jun Bei Liu, Liu, Marcella Chow, CHINA Goldman Sachs, Kinger Lau, it's, Mike Kelly, Alicia Garcia Herrero, Eugenia Victorino, SEB, Victorino, Ting Lu, Jason Xue, Tom Westbrook, Kim Coghill Organizations: Tribeca Investment Partners, CSI, Morgan Asset Management, CHINA, JPMorgan, PineBridge Investments, Nomura, Thomson Locations: China, Sydney, U.S, Asia, Natixis, Shanghai

☆ China to increase support for private firms to bolster recovery
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Ella Cao And Kevin Yao | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Summary Party, cabinet issue policies to support private sectorTo protect private property rights, ensure fair competitionTo create "traffic light" regime for private investorsTo support eligible firms to list and refinanceBEIJING, July 19 (Reuters) - China on Wednesday pledged to make the private economy "bigger, better and stronger" with a series of policy measures designed to help private business and bolster the flagging post-pandemic recovery. The measures include protection for the property rights of private firms and entrepreneurs and steps to ensure fair market competition by breaking down market-entry barriers. They will also create a "traffic light" system to make clear the areas in which private investors are able to invest, as well as encouraging some private companies to issue technology innovation bonds. Private companies will be encouraged to increase investment in areas such as power generation and storage, and the industrial internet. China is also encouraging private enterprises to increase investment in research and development and participate in investment and construction of new types of infrastructure.

Persons: Ella Cao, Kevin Yao, Bernard Orr, Andrew Heavens, Jane Merriman, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Xinhua, Communist Party, Authorities, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China, Xinhua

☆ Mexico’s AMLO Makes Xóchitl a Household Name
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Mary Anastasia O Grady | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

The gathering comes at a time when global investors and banks are warning that confidence is waning in China's economic outlook. Such a meeting, with a clear agenda to discuss challenges facing global fund managers investing in China, is rare, the three sources said, and reflected Beijing's keenness to shore up confidence among foreign investors. Weighed down by strict COVID measures, China's economy grew just 3% in 2022, one of its worst showings in decades. The meeting is organized by China's fund regulator Asset Management Association of China (AMAC). U.S. dollar-denominated fundraising by China-focused venture capital and PE firms this year also had its weakest first half year in the past decade, data from industry tracker Preqin showed.

Persons: Fang Xinghai, didn't, Andrew Collier, Premier Li Qiang, Xie Yu, Julie Zhu, Selena Li, Kim Coghill Organizations: U.S ., Reuters, Canada's, Ontario, China Securities Regulatory Commission, Management Association of China, ., Orient Capital Research, Ant, Premier, Wednesday, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Beijing, U.S, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong

☆ Jack Ma loses more than half of his wealth after criticizing Chinese regulators
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Michelle Toh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Ma, who also co-founded e-commerce firm Alibaba (BABA), has a 9.9% stake in Ant, according to Bloomberg. Chinese regulators pulled the plug on Ant’s $37 billion IPO in November 2020 and ordered the company to restructure its business. In recent years, he has reportedly spent time in Japan, home to his friend and Alibaba investor, SoftBank (SFTBF) CEO Masa Son, and in Hong Kong. In January, Ma gave up control of Ant after it spent two years revamping its business from consumer lending to insurance products at the behest of regulators. Ant and its units were also fined $984 million by Chinese financial regulators last week, for allegedly breaking rules related to consumer protection and corporate governance.

Persons: Jack Ma’s, Ant, Ma, Masa Son, Alibaba Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Bloomberg, Ant Group, CNN Locations: Hong Kong, China, Shanghai, Japan, Tokyo

☆ Chinese ministry holds meeting with Xiaomi, iFlytek and Alibaba Cloud
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

BEIJING, July 11 (Reuters) - China's science and technology ministry held a meeting on July 5 with firms including Xiaomi, iFlytek and Alibaba Cloud to discuss innovation as well as national strategic scientific and technological initiatives, the ministry said on Tuesday. China will support private enterprises to create leading science and technology enterprises, and encourage more talents to gather in leading private science and technology enterprises, the minister Wang Zhigang said in a statement. Reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Himani SarkarOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Wang Zhigang, Himani Sarkar Organizations: Xiaomi, Beijing, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China

☆ Colonial Joe Biden Bullies a Neighbor
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Mary Anastasia O Grady | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

☆ China's state planner holds meeting with private firms, including Baidu
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, July 10 (Reuters) - China's state planner said on Monday it held a meeting with private firms including Baidu (9888.HK) and LONGi Green Energy Technology (601012.SS). This is the second round of dialogue between the NDRC and private firms. Chinese Premier Li Qiang heads the State Council, or cabinet, which oversees the state planner. He has been attempting to reassure the private sector as part of his drive to re-invigorate China's post-pandemic economy. Reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Muralikumar AnantharamanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Li Qiang, Li, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: Baidu, HK, Green Energy Technology, National Development, Reform Commission, State Council, Beijing, Thomson Locations: BEIJING

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