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LONDON, April 5 (Reuters) - As "fragmentation" of politics and economics becomes the new buzzword for a world that appears to be splintering into blocs, the related costs of the new order are only now being totted up. Corporate rethinking of foreign direct investment (FDI) - bricks-and-mortar developments overseas as well as mergers and acquisitions - would make the hit even scarier. And if FDI fragmentation is defined by a permanent rise in cross-bloc barriers to imported investment inputs, the IMF said developments could cut world output by 2% in the long term. "Fragmentation of the global economy will likely put inflation at a higher structural level, and the cost of capital will likely go up, squeezing low-quality and leveraged companies." Reuters GraphicsBIS chart on global trade as share of GDPBCG projections on world trade to 2031The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.

"I feel it's a good thing that Finland is joining NATO. In Virolahti, near the Russian border due east of Helsinki, retired Finnish combat engineer Ilkka Lansivaara had hung his own NATO flag from the side of his house. Memories of Finland's close relations with Moscow to preserve independence - a tactic known as "Finlandisation" - run deep for many Finns. Finland brings a sizable, well-trained military into NATO and Russia has said it will have to take "counter-measures" to ensure Russian security in response. Meanwhile, Finland's close partner Sweden continues to wait for ratification of its NATO membership bid in the face of opposition from Turkey and Hungary.

☆ How to boost your portfolio income when companies cut dividends
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Dividend stocks have long been a way for investors to earn income, but recent cuts may have some concerned about what to do next. However, those recent decreases are unusual, said Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at S & P Dow Jones Indices. Where to look for income Corporate dividends are just one source of income, and that income should be just one part of your overall portfolio, said certified financial planner Jamie Hopkins, managing partner of wealth solutions at Carson Group. Dividend funds Another option is an exchange-traded fund composed of dividend stocks. WDIV YTD mountain SPDR S & P Global Dividend ETF's year-to-date performance The ProShares S & P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF , also tracks the index.

☆ Burkina Faso marks official end of French military operations on its soil
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( Thiam Ndiaga | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Head of Burkina Faso's army Colonel Adam Nere receives a flag from French Lieutenant-Colonel Louis Lecacheur during a military handover ceremony to officially mark the end of French military operations on Burkinabe soil, at the base of Kamboincin, Burkina Faso February 18, 2023. Burkina Faso's General Staff of the Armed Forces/Handout via REUTERSOUAGADOUGOU, Feb 19 (Reuters) - France and Burkina Faso have officially marked the end of French military operations in the West African nation, the Burkinabe armed forces said on Sunday, after a flag-lowering ceremony at the French special forces' camp a day earlier. In a statement, the General Staff of the Burkinabe Armed Forces said it had participated with the leadership of France's Sabre special forces in "a solemn flag-lowering ceremony marking the official end of the Task Force's operations on Burkinabe soil". The French armed forces ministry did not respond to a request for comment. The departure of the some 400 French special forces from Burkina Faso follows a sharp deterioration in relations that included Ouagadougou asking France to recall its ambassador.

In this article LUV Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNTGenaro Molina | Los Angeles Times | Getty ImagesWill the majority of travelers forgive Southwest Airlines and start buying tickets on the major U.S. air carrier again? Southwest Airlines accepted the blame for its technological meltdown during the holidays, and it has committed over $1 billion to fixing it. He pointed to $29 fare sales, "something I haven't seen Southwest offer in a long time," he said. The Southwest spokeswoman said the airline has a long history of innovation and pioneering technology in the airline industry. BALTIMORE, MD - DEC 27: Hundreds of passengers wait in line to handle their baggage claim issues with Southwest Airlines at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport in Baltimore, Maryland on December 27, 2022.

☆ European militaries are emptying their arsenals to send heavy-duty howitzers to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The US and European countries have sent scores of artillery pieces to Ukraine. Estonia has promised to transfer all 24 of its FH-70 towed 155 mm howitzers. But at least the US and large European militaries, like Britain, France, Germany, or even Sweden, have sufficiently large arsenals to send weapons to Ukraine while still retaining some equipment for their own forces. For example, the US is scrambling to boost production of 155 mm artillery shells as Ukraine fires up to 7,000 shells a day. But expanding manufacturing capacity for artillery shells may take years, while the artillery pieces themselves may not even be in production anymore.

☆ North Korea's antique fighter jets are still keeping the US and South Korea on their toes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Even with an aging fleet, Pyongyang has been able to catch the attention of South Korea and the US. On October 6, 12 North Korean jets were detected practicing air-to-ground attacks near the DMZ, prompting South Korea to scramble 30 of its fighters. On November 4, 80 South Korean fighters were scrambled after 180 North Korean planes were detected on South Korean radar. The activity and scale is unusual given North Korea's air force is widely regarded as the weakest branch of North Korea's military. South Korean troops guard a MiG-19 used by a North Korean pilot to defect to South Korea in May 1996.

☆ Ukraine on mission to ban Russia from Paris Olympics
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Olena Harmash | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

At least 220 Ukrainian athletes and coaches have died in the war, Huttsait said, with over 340 sports facilities damaged or ruined. However, there has been little public support yet from other nations for an outright ban on Russians at Paris. "Certainly, there is some attempt by the International Olympic Committee to allow our athletes to participate in international competitions," said Stanislav Pozdnyakov, head of Russia's Olympic Committee. 'LIVES MORE IMPORTANT THAN MEDALS'The IOC's previous recommendation to ban Russians and Belarusians has been applied by many sports federations. Should that happen, Ukraine's sporting authorities and athletes will face a "very difficult decision" whether to boycott Paris, Huttsait said.

☆ The fog in the English Channel is clearing a bit
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Hugo Dixon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

But if the two sides can resolve a dispute over Northern Ireland there could be progress on topics such as climate change, foreign policy and financial services. Resolving the dispute over the so-called Northern Ireland Protocol is the key to unlocking cooperation on a range of topics. But a deal on Northern Ireland could be. Johnson agreed to such a forum as part of the political declaration accompanying the Brexit deal but then abandoned it. “Fog in the Channel: Continent cut off” is a mythical UK newspaper headline which supposedly summed up Britain’s disdain for its neighbours.

☆ Startups Want to Help Airlines Prevent Tech Meltdowns
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( Belle Lin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +7 min

Airlines should take advantage of new cloud-based tools, industry consultants said, to help prevent the recent snafus brought on by the use of antiquated and siloed technology at Southwest Airlines Co. and the Federal Aviation Administration. Photo: JIM VONDRUSKA/REUTERSSanta Clara, Calif.-based Couchbase Inc., founded in 2011, said it helped United Airlines Holdings Inc. modernize its operations by providing a cloud-based database for its crew-scheduling software. United declined to comment on its operations technology. Airlines generate a massive amount of data every year from their aircraft, passengers, suppliers and internal operations. Gurobi Optimization LLC, a company that develops mathematical-optimization software for industries including aviation, said it provides optimization technology for airlines such as Air France-KLM.

☆ Aging, outdated technology leaves air travel at risk of meltdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

As early as 2012, the FAA decided it wanted to replace aging legacy voice switches used in air traffic control communications with new, internet-based communications technology. Trying to integrate old systems with newer ones — always in real time, because the global aviation industry never sleeps — can also create its own opportunities for catastrophic mistakes. Many more things can go wrong than you might expect — highlighting the sheer complexity of the aviation industry, and underscoring how there isn’t a quick easy fix for IT-related travel disruptions. But it has had lasting effects on FAA technology. That bureaucratic myopia is its own cause of today’s technological malaise in the aviation industry.

☆ Southwest Meltdown Shows Airlines Need Tighter Software Integration
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Belle Lin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Southwest’s software wasn’t designed to solve problems of that scale, Chief Operating Officer Andrew Watterson said Thursday, forcing the airline to revert to manual scheduling. Unlike some large rivals with hub-and-spoke networks, Southwest planes hopscotch from city to city, which may have been another complicating factor. Mr. Alamzad said the most serious IT challenge airlines face stems from the applications developed in silos by vendors or the airlines themselves. Southwest recently completed an upgrade of its new reservation system and had been working through multiyear upgrades to systems used in its operations. Other carriers have given priority to upgrading customer-facing reservations platforms and flier loyalty programs over operations systems, Mr. Alamzad said.

☆ 3 times the US military brought back 'obsolete' weapons to take on new enemies
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Miguel Ortiz | We Are The Mighty | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Most military enthusiasts are familiar with the Reagan administration's 600-ship Navy and the reactivation of the battleships USS Iowa, Missouri, New Jersey and Wisconsin. However, USS New Jersey was brought back into active service once before. US ArmyAn evolution of the famed M1 Garand of WWII and Korea, the M14 battle rifle became the standard-issue rifle for the US military in 1959. It served as the basis of the M21 Sniper Weapon System introduced in 1968 and M25 Sniper Weapon System introduced in 1991. Though both weapon systems have been largely replaced by the M24 Sniper Weapon System, the M14 lives on as the Mk14 Enhanced Battle Rifle.

☆ Paris shooting suspect expressed 'hatred of foreigners', says prosecutor
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/PARIS, Dec 25 (Reuters) - The suspect detained over the killing of three Kurdish people in Paris told investigators of his "hatred of foreigners", the Paris prosecutor said on Sunday. The 69-year-old man was arrested on Friday after shooting dead two men and a woman at a Kurdish cultural centre and nearby Kurdish cafe in the 10th district of Paris. The suspect said during questioning that a burglary at his home in 2016 had triggered a "hatred of foreigners that became totally pathological", prosecutor Laure Beccuau said in a statement. The suspect remained in a psychiatric unit on Sunday after his questioning was halted on Saturday on medical grounds, the prosecutor said. The prosecutor had previously said that the suspect had been freed from detention recently while awaiting trial for a sabre attack on a migrant camp in Paris a year ago.

☆ France's Kurds gather to protest after Paris killings
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A gunman carried out the killings at a Kurdish cultural centre and nearby cafe on Friday in a busy part of Paris' 10th district. Friday's murders caused particular dismay in the Kurdish community as it prepared to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the killings of three Kurdish women in Paris. "The Kurdish community is afraid. It needs answers, support and consideration," David Andic, a lawyer representing the CDK-F told reporters on Friday. Paris' police chief was due to meet members of the Kurdish community on Saturday morning ahead of the afternoon protest.

PARIS, Dec 23 (Reuters) - A gunman killed three people at a Kurdish cultural centre and nearby Kurdish cafe in central Paris on Friday, prompting violent protests in nearby streets as night fell. President Emmanuel Macron said France's Kurdish community had been the target of a heinous attack. All three of those who died were Kurdish, a lawyer for the Kurdish cultural centre told Reuters. Julien Verplancke who works at another local restaurant, Chez Minna, said staff from the Kurdish restaurant emerged from the premise in tears after the shooting. Salih Azad, a prominent figure from the Kurdish community in Marseille, said he knew one of the victims, a 26-year-old woman who had lived in Paris for several years.

☆ EU expects only partial fix from talks on U.S. green subsidy law
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Expert Analysis | Reuters Professional | Calls Grow For Companies To Disclose Impacts On Nature In Bid To Plug Finance Gap | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File PhotoBRUSSELS, Dec 8 (Reuters) - The European Union should not expect talks with the United States to resolve all the problems it sees in the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act and is not ruling out any potential response, EU trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis said on Thursday. The EU argues that the $430 billion act, which grants consumers tax credits for U.S.-produced electric vehicles (EV) and other green products, could make the United States a world leader in the EV market at Europe's expense. "And then we'll see to which extent our concerns are taken into account," he told lawmakers. At that point, the European Union would have to consider its response, Dombrovskis said, adding that the bloc did not want to enter a subsidy race. Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop Editing by Mark HeinrichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Stocks, oil struggle to pull out of four-day slide
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Marc Jones | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Germany's 10-year bond yield , seen as the benchmark borrowing cost for the bloc, circled around 1.795% for most of the morning having hit a two-month low of 1.788% on Wednesday. The yield on 10-year Treasury notes was up fractionally at 3.453%, while yield on the 30-year Treasury bond inched up to 3.445%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed more than 3% while China's tech giants Alibaba and Meituan (3690.HK) jumped 6% each. Among the main commodities, oil found its footing after a four-day drop that had taken it into the red for the year. Additional reporting by Harry Robertson; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Angus MacSwanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Taiwan urges China to stop sabre-rattling and start talking
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

China has stepped up military activities near democratically governed Taiwan since August, when it conductd to blockade drills around the island following a visit to Taipei by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. "We urge mainland China to lay down arms and maintain peace and stability. China has repeatedly rebuffed offers for talks on the basis of equality with mutual respect by Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, who Beijing views as a separatist. China considers Taiwan its own territory. Taipei says only the island's 23 million people can decide their future, and that as Taiwan has never been ruled by the People's Republic of China its sovereignty claims are void.

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register"For the moment, Putin is hanging in there," said Anthony Brenton, a former British ambassador to Russia. In power since 1999, Putin has weathered numerous domestic crises and wars, and more than once faced down large street protests before effectively outlawing any real opposition. The Kremlin says Putin is backed by an overwhelming majority of Russians and won a landslide re-election victory in 2018. said Weiss, who has had various policy roles on the U.S. National Security Council and has written a book about Putin. A senior European official said Putin would have to demonstratively lose the war to be unseated.

☆ Xi Jinping has silver linings for rest of world
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( Hugo Dixon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

LONDON, Oct 17 (Reuters Breakingviews) - A third term for Xi Jinping would risk a cold war, or even a hot one. Until recently, most analysts agreed it was only a matter of time before China’s economy, which was three-quarters the size of America’s in dollar terms last year, became the world’s largest. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterSTUCK IN SECONDBut China’s economy is running into all sorts of problems. But Beijing-based Dimitri De Boer, of the environmental organisation Client Earth, thinks that’s very unlikely because the target is binding and China’s president has positioned himself as an environmental champion. But Germany challenged Britain in World War I when its economy was still powering ahead, according to Allison.

☆ Japan Inc strongly backs defence spending, many firms near limit on weak yen
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Rocky Swift | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

read moreAmidst those threats and rising geopolitical tensions following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has pledged to "substantially" boost defence spending, which remains under his ruling party's goal of 2% of GDP. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe latest Reuters poll showed that 81% of Japanese companies were in favour of raising defence spending to that level. read moreHalf of firms polled expect the weak yen to hurt profits through the end of January, compared with 29% who expected it would boost earnings. read moreSLUGGISH GROWTHAmong those hurt by the weak yen, 64% said they were coping by raising prices, the most common response. The Reuters Corporate Survey, conducted for Reuters by Nikkei Research, canvassed 495 big, non-financial Japanese firms on condition of anonymity, allowing them to speak more freely.

☆ Japan Inc strongly backs defence spending, many firms near limit on weak yen - Reuters poll
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Rocky Swift | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe latest Reuters poll showed that 81% of Japanese companies were in favour of raising defence spending to that level. And in last month's poll, three quarters of firms said they were concerned about a geopolitical crisis around Taiwan. read moreHalf of firms polled expect the weak yen to hurt profits through the end of January, compared with 29% who expected it would boost earnings. read moreSLUGGISH GROWTHAmong those hurt by the weak yen, 64% said they were coping by raising prices, the most common response. The Reuters Corporate Survey, conducted for Reuters by Nikkei Research, canvassed 495 big, non-financial Japanese firms on condition of anonymity, allowing them to speak more freely.

☆ How West can mobilise trillions to help save Earth
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( Hugo Dixon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

LONDON, Oct 10 (Reuters Breakingviews) - War, inflation, debt, hunger, energy security and fear of recession will dominate the discussions at the annual meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund this week. America and a group of other countries have given the World Bank until December to come up with a plan. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe West has self-interested reasons to mobilise trillions of dollars to help the poorer nations of the so-called Global South transition from fossil fuels. But getting this money to flow to the Global South is tough because investors don’t think the returns on offer justify the risks. It is therefore encouraging that America and other leading shareholders have given the World Bank its marching orders and that Malpass has responded positively.

Russia intends to call a United Nations Security Council meeting over damage to the gas pipelines, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on Telegram. In the Baltic Sea, gas was still bubbling from the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, the Swedish Coast Guard said in an email. "There are good teams in place to handle pipeline accidents, there are emergency pipe inventories and experts for onshore and offshore," Jens Schumann, managing director of gas pipeline grid company Gasunie Deutschland, said. European gas prices rose following news of the leaks. The new Nord Stream 2 pipeline had yet to enter commercial operations.

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