DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ France’s Macron starts tough talks with China’s Xi Jinping on state visit
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Silvia Amaro | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Two of Europe's heaviest weights in politics are holding talks with China's President Xi Jinping at a time when the EU-Sino relationship is at a serious crossroads. With President Xi Jinping, we will also talk about our businesses, the climate and biodiversity, and food security," French President Emmanuel Macron said on Twitter, moments before meeting the Chinese leader. This is particularly relevant when EU economic growth is vulnerable to the ongoing war in Ukraine. Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez met China's President Xi Jinping last week. Europe's top foreign affairs diplomat, Josep Borrell, is also heading to China next week.

Some senior dealmakers at China's third-largest brokerage by market value will see an even steeper cut of two-thirds to their 2022 bonuses, said one of the people. The trend has accelerated as employers cut pay and perks in response to the government's "common prosperity" rhetoric. MILDER CUTSA senior investment banker in China could earn three million to 10 million yuan ($445,000 to $1.48 million) a year in total remuneration, excluding stock incentives, industry sources have said. By way of comparison, Wall Street bonuses fell 26% last year to average $176,700, versus a record 2021, showed a report last month from New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. Besides remuneration cuts, some investment banks have asked staff to avoid displays of wealth such as by uploading photographs to social media of expensive meals or overseas trips, industry sources said.

☆ Boomers Are Buying up Homes, Blocking Millennials From Housing Market
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( James Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The housing market is not a generation-versus-generation cage match. "So the fact that they are now trailing behind the baby boomer population just speaks to the difficulty of the housing market today." A lot has changed in the housing market since the NAR's survey period. In a housing market of "haves" and "have nots," equity-rich homeowners have the edge over hopeful first-time buyers. Millennials know that they have time on their side, since boomers will eventually age out of the market entirely.

Last week's official data showed annual industrial output decline slowed in February, largely thanks to the defence sector, offsetting some of the damage wrought mainly by sanctions on Russia's key energy exports. Russian industrial output fell 1.7% year-on-year in February after a 2.4% drop in January, data from the federal statistics service Rosstat showed. Polevoy estimated that non-defence industrial production shrank about 8% year-on-year, while output of sectors with a high share of state defence orders jumped 36%. The decline in energy revenues has pushed Russia's budget deficit to $34 billion in January-February, compared with a surplus of $4 billion in 2022. LONG-TERM DECLINEAn independent study last month suggested Russia's middle class will shrink as social inequality grows, even if sanctions get relaxed.

LOS ANGELES, April 4 (Reuters) - China, Taiwan, and the United States all share a common interest in ensuring this week's California stopover by Taiwan's president gets the focus each thinks it deserves, but without setting off a new crisis. It is sure to elicit a forceful reaction from Beijing, which considers Taiwan part of its territory. McCarthy, as House speaker, is third in line to the U.S. leadership and he has said publicly that he does not rule out a future visit to Taiwan. Xu Xueyuan, charge d'affaires at China's Washington embassy, said last week that McCarthy meeting Tsai "could lead to another serious confrontation in the China-U.S. With an eye the Taiwan election, China invited former Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou of the KMT party for a visit coinciding with Tsai's U.S. stopovers.

☆ America's Parking Addiction Hurts the Economy, Drives up Housing Costs
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Jeral Poskey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

A society committed to housing and feeding its people will ensure plenty of land is dedicated to homes and farms. According to the builder WGI, the average parking stall in the US costs $27,900 to build, more than the cost of many new compact cars. The money and resources dedicated to parking could be used for other purposes, but breaking our country's reliance on parking has been difficult. Parking accounted for about 27% of per-unit costs, regardless of whether the resident owned a car or not. Better transportation, better land use, better citiesEfforts are underway to finally rid America of its unhealthy devotion to parking.

The United States, the bank's largest shareholder, has been pressing the World Bank for months to take bolder action to increase funding to help developing countries address climate change, future pandemics and other global challenges. The World Bank provided $100 billion from 2020-2022 for global public goods, but estimates that developing countries and the private sector would need to spend far more - $2.4 trillion a year - to address such needs. Karim El Aynaoui, executive president of Moroccan think tank the Policy Center for the New South, said reforms of the World Bank and other multilateral development banks were long overdue and changes were needed to give greater voice to African countries and other developing nations. "The world has changed since the inception of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. U.S. officials are also working closely with other MDBs to advance reforms, including the Inter-American Development Bank, which adopted closely aligned measures at its annual meeting, including a push for more private capital.

☆ How Modi can grab India’s geopolitical “moment”
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Hugo Dixon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

India is in a geopolitical sweet spot because of growing tension between the United States and China. The hard-nosed realpolitik view is that this doesn’t matter as India and the United States have a common threat. This matters for India’s economic future, as geopolitical considerations are increasingly driving global commerce. The United States is encouraging this process through what it calls “friendshoring”. Modi can do a lot to make the most of India’s geopolitical opportunity.

☆ Hong Kong rejects US report criticising crackdown on freedoms
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HONG KONG, April 1 (Reuters) - Hong Kong on Saturday "firmly rejected" findings in a new U.S. government report that said U.S. interests had been threatened and that Beijing continued to "undermine" the rule of law and freedoms in the territory under a national security crackdown. The U.S.' 2023 Hong Kong Policy Act Report, published by the U.S. State Department, said Chinese and Hong Kong authorities "continued to use 'national security' as a broad and vague basis to undermine the rule of law and protected rights and freedoms." China imposed a national security law on Hong Kong in June 2020 without any local legislative or consultative process, outlawing crimes such as subversion with possible life imprisonment. A Hong Kong government spokesman, however, said in a statement that it "strongly disapproved of and firmly rejected the unfounded and fact-twisting remarks" in the report. China "increasingly exercised police and security power in Hong Kong, subjecting U.S. citizens who are publicly critical of the PRC (China) to a heightened risk of arrest, detention, expulsion, or prosecution in Hong Kong," the report wrote, adding these risks had been highlighted in its government travel advisories for Hong Kong.

The median credit score in predominantly Black zip codes is significantly lower than the median credit score of all communities. These sections teach you how to establish credit, raise your credit score, and prepare your finances for a large purchase. If you want to borrow money, you need a credit score; but to raise your credit score, you need to make payments on a loan. Becoming an authorized user is one of the easiest ways to build credit and one that's popular for parents looking to help their children build credit. Once you spend some time with these products, you'll have the credit score to move onto traditional credit products.

☆ How Fred Smith's crown jewel, FedEx Express, became the company's problem child — and how FedEx can save it
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Emma Cosgrove | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

FedEx Express, which does precisely-timed deliveries , has been struggling the most. FedEx is at a critical point in its 52-year evolution and founder Fred Smith's pride and joy — the company's Express delivery service — has become the firm's problem child. "Can FedEx Express shrink itself to prosperity?" "For a very long time, over 10 years, improved Ground service is diluting or cannibalizing existing Express deliveries," Maciuba said. "Was there a tremendous amount of fat in FedEx Express?

☆ EU must cut risks in ties with 'hardening' China - EU chief
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Philip Blenkinsop | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Given China's economic size and global influence, the European Union's management of this relationship would be a determining factor for EU economic prosperity and security, she said. "How China continues to interact with Putin's war will be a determining factor for EU-China relations going forward," von der Leyen said in a speech in Brussels. Von der Leyen said it was not viable to decouple from China, but it was vital to focus on reducing the risks posed to Europe. The EU, von der Leyen said, already had a range of measures to counter economic distortions and protect its security interests, but the bloc should also look at the high-tech it shared with a changing China. Since 2019, the European Union has officially regarded China as a partner, economic competitor and systemic rival.

☆ Biden aims to lift democracies with more funds despite questions over effectiveness
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Nandita Bose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Biden will announce $690 million to fight corruption, support free and fair elections and advance technologies that support democratic governments at a second White House-led Summit for Democracy, senior administration officials said on Tuesday. He announced over $400 million for similar programs in 2021 when he last held such an event. The world has seen big changes since then with countries emerging from the global pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The summit will be co-hosted by the governments of Costa Rica, the Netherlands, South Korea and Zambia. Reporting by Nandita Bose in Washington; Additional writing by Susan Heavey; Editing by Michael Perry and Mark PorterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Biden to announce new funding to boost democracies as critics question effectiveness
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Nandita Bose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, March 29 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden will announce new funding to bolster democracies around the world on Wednesday amid criticism his administration has made little progress in advancing human rights and democracy as a focus of its foreign policy. Biden will announce $690 million to fight corruption, support free and fair elections and advance technogies that support democratic governments at a second White House-led Summit for Democracy, senior administration officials said on Tuesday. He announced over $400 million for similar programs in 2021 when he last held such an event. The world has seen big changes since then with countries emerging from the global pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The summit will be co-hosted by the governments of Costa Rica, the Netherlands, South Korea and Zambia.

☆ Russia's corporate profits dropped 21.3% in Jan, business climate worsened
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Russia's economy proved unexpectedly resilient last year, but a return to pre-conflict levels of prosperity may be far off as more government spending is directed towards the military. The January drop in profits followed a 12.6% slump in 2022 and was accompanied by lower business confidence. Russian companies' profits amounted to 2.18 trillion roubles in December, a 22.5% drop from 2.81 trillion roubles in December 2021, the Rosstat data showed. Among the 4,600 organisations surveyed, the number that expect output to rise over the next three months is still higher than those expecting output to fall, Rosstat said. ($1 = 77.3455 roubles)Reporting by Darya Korsunskaya and Alexander Marrow Editing by Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

MOSCOW, March 29 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday pointed to record low unemployment and marginally higher real wages as evidence of a gradual economic recovery, although data showed that consumer demand and industrial output dropped in February. Data from the Rosstat federal statistics service showed that unemployment dropped to 3.5% in February, a record low, while real wages, which are adjusted for inflation, rose 0.6% in January. Retail sales, a key gauge of consumer demand, fell 7.8% year-on-year in February, while industrial output dropped 1.7%. But that decline, combined with double-digit inflation meant that real disposable incomes fell 1% in 2022, according to Rosstat, with real wages only now starting to pick up again. "The population's wages and real disposable incomes have again started growing in real terms in the country as a whole," Putin said.

☆ Reactions: Canada 2023/24 budget deficit to jump, Ottawa to boost spending
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

JULES BOUDREAU, SENIOR ECONOMIST, MACKENZIE INVESTMENTS"The surprise was more on the revenue side more than the spending side. Prior to this budget we were not eligible for the carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) investment tax credit, but they have now broadened the eligibility parameters." "The big open question, heading into this budget was how was Canada going to react to the Inflation Reduction Act ... MARK ZACHARIAS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF CLEAN ENERGY CANADA"We thought today's budget was generally excellent and it sets Canada on a path for prosperity. "The investment tax credits for clean tech manufacturing positions Canada as a leader, particularly in zero-emissions vehicles."

☆ Powell is leader of the free world – for now
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Lauren Silva Laughlin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

As former President Donald Trump will attest, Powell will do what he thinks it’s right. This month, Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, a left-wing firebrand, went on TV and called Powell a “dangerous man,” saying she doesn’t think that he should be Fed Chair. CNN television host Jake Tapper asked her if she had told Biden that Powell should be fired. Then Trump called Powell “a golfer who can’t putt, has no touch.” Trump wanted economic growth. Powell resisted and later responded saying that the Fed chair, more than anyone else, needs to be free from political pressures.

☆ America Shrugs, and the World Makes Plans
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( Walter Russell Mead | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

War in Europe, tensions rising in the Indo-Pacific, Russia and China deepening ties with Iran: The international political situation continues to darken. In Europe, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s commitment to Ukraine remains steadfast as Kyiv looks toward a spring offensive. American allies continue to rally in Asia. India and Australia committed to negotiating a comprehensive economic agreement even as Sydney, Washington and London agreed on the next steps in the Aukus defense partnership. As Mr. Akita sees it, America’s unquestioned supremacy after the Cold War established a global economic and security system that worked very well for key American allies like Germany and Japan.

☆ Vietnam's VPBank completes $1.5 bln stake sale to Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HANOI, March 27 (Reuters) - Vietnam Prosperity Joint Stock Commercial Bank (VPB.HM) said on Monday it has sold a 15% stake for $1.5 billion to Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc (8316.T), expanding the Japanese bank's presence in one of Asia's fastest-growing economies. Following the investment, VPBank, whose business ranges across retail, corporate, consumer finance and wealth management operations, will become Vietnam's second-largest private lender by charter capital, with $5.96 billion. The deal comes as Vietnam's central bank seeks to tighten limits on holding stakes in banks, a move that may make the banking sector less attractive to foreigners. Sumitomo Mitsui, Japan's second-largest banking group is seeking to capture growth in Asian emerging markets through acquisitions, spurred by limited business opportunities at home with ultra-low interest rates and an ageing population. In late 2021, it acquired a 49% stake in Vietnamese consumer lender FE Credit from VPBank.

☆ Russia faces shrinking middle class, rising inequality, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MOSCOW, March 24 (Reuters) - Russia's middle class will shrink as social inequality grows over coming years, an economic study conducted by Russian experts suggested, as sanctions against Moscow and limited growth potential scupper development prospects. The middle class is set to suffer in any event, even if sanctions pressure is reduced, the study finds. In that scenario, the size of the middle class would still drop to 14%-31% by 2030 from current estimates of 20%-50%. Growing inequality in all four scenarios could lead to increased social tensions, the study finds. All four scenarios expect more and more security officials to drop into the middle class.

☆ Fossil fuels are the new nukes: Pacific island nations at risk from rising sea levels support a nonproliferation treaty for oil and gas
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Leaders from Pacific island nations at risk from the climate crisis gathered last week in Vanuatu. The nations of Vanuatu and Tuvalu support a treaty to limit fossil-fuel use. Public and private financing for fossil fuels is also still greater than investment in climate adaptation and mitigation. Developing countries need financing to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, Berman said. "A fossil-fuel treaty could shift the social norm and make expansion unacceptable within foreign policy," Berman said.

☆ Barely one-quarter of financial planners are women, but industry experts say 2 simple strategies could move the needle
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Korie Wilkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Only 23% of financial planners in the US are women. But as women grow their wealth — women control about 32% of the world's wealth, according to Boston Consulting Group — financial firms are evaluating how best to serve them. "People often saw me as someone's assistant," Sandra Cho, the president and founder of Pointwealth Capital Management, told Insider. Anne Marie Stonich, the chief wealth strategist at Coldstream Wealth Management, told Insider its Women and Wealth program focuses on networking and mentoring. Kate Healy, the managing director of the CFP Board's Center for Financial Planning, told Insider that financial firms are getting savvier about creating career paths for women.

☆ Op-ed: Crypto and blockchain need a trellis, not just a weed killer, says Scaramucci
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Anthony Scaramucci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

You might not know this, but Goldilocks and the Three Bears is actually a story about the debate currently surrounding regulation of the blockchain and crypto industries. The agency nearly doubled the size of its crypto assets enforcement unit last May. Many in the crypto industry want this "regulation by enforcement" to stop. It's as much of a trellis for good plants as it is a weed killer. Scaramucci is the founder and managing partner of SkyBridge Capital, an alternative asset manager and SEC-registered investment adviser.

[1/3] Former Vice-Chairman of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, Albert Ho, walks after his arrest by police, in Hong Kong, China March 21, 2023. REUTERS/Tyrone SiuHONG KONG, March 21 (Reuters) - Hong Kong police on Tuesday arrested a veteran pro-democracy politician who was granted bail last August for medical treatment after spending more than a year in detention on a subversion charge. He was granted bail last August, with media reporting at the time he needed medical treatment for lung cancer. She was charged with collusion with foreign forces and granted bail. Chinese and Hong Kong officials deny that and say foreign interference is endangering the financial hub's stability and prosperity.

Search resuls for: "prosperity"

25 mentions found