Page 98 - Business Finance

Chinese vendors, Mexican clients commiserate on Trump tariffs at trade expo

Huang Chao came to Mexico looking for business, not friends, but the Chinese sales manager says he found unexpected common ground with his prospective clients on one thing: Donald Trump "is crazy." Chao, 31, was in Mexico City this week representing his textile company at a trade fair called Expo China HomeLife, whose goal is to connect Chinese suppliers with merchants in different countries around the world. Mexico was set to be just another stop for the enormous expo -- until the US president threatened last week to impose five-percent tariffs on all Mexican imports. The tariffs are due to start Monday and rise in monthly increments to 25 percent by October, unless Mexico slows the US-bound flow of undocumented migrants to Trump's satisfaction. That effectively made Mexico the second major front after China in Trump's spiraling trade wars. It also gave vendors and customers in Mexico City a new topic to discuss in stilted English as they brokered deals for mass quantities of home ...

Chinese vendors, Mexican clients commiserate on Trump tariffs at trade expo

Huang Chao came to Mexico looking for business, not friends, but the Chinese sales manager says he found unexpected common ground with his prospective clients on one thing: Donald Trump "is crazy." Chao, 31, was in Mexico City this week representing his textile company at a trade fair called Expo China HomeLife, whose goal is to connect Chinese suppliers with merchants in different countries around the world. Mexico was set to be just another stop for the enormous expo -- until the US president threatened last week to impose five-percent tariffs on all Mexican imports. The tariffs are due to start Monday and rise in monthly increments to 25 percent by October, unless Mexico slows the US-bound flow of undocumented migrants to Trump's satisfaction. That effectively made Mexico the second major front after China in Trump's spiraling trade wars. It also gave vendors and customers in Mexico City a new topic to discuss in stilted English as they brokered deals for mass quantities of home ...

Gold futures higher on weak US jobs data

Gold futures on the COMEX division of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose for the eighth straight session following a weaker-than-expected US jobs growth.

Trump's trade wars may be pressuring both economy and Fed

A sharp pullback in US hiring for May intensified fears that the economy has weakened and that many employers have grown nervous, in part from President Donald Trump's escalating trade wars. Yet the stock market soared and bond yields fell because investors found a reason to cheer: The tepid employment report magnified their expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in the coming months, perhaps beginning in July, to support the economy. Trump, who has railed against the Fed for not cutting rates this year, may get his wish, if only because his trade conflicts with China, Mexico and other key nations are posing an economic threat. It isn't at all clear how effective Fed rate cuts would be when mortgage rates and other borrowing costs in the United States are already historically low. What's more, rate cuts carry their own risks. With the Fed's own key short-term rate already low, further reductions could weaken the central bank's ability to fight a future ...

US consumer borrowing up $17.5 billion in April

Consumer borrowing accelerated in April to the fastest pace in five months as a rebound in credit card use offset slower demand for auto and student loans. Borrowing increased by USD17.5 billion, the Federal Reserve said Friday. That is up from March's USD11 billion advance and marks the biggest jump since a USD21.7 billion increase last November. Borrowing on credit cards increased by USD7 billion after having fallen by USD2 billion in March. Borrowing for auto and student loans slowed to an increase of USD10.5 billion, down from USD13 billion in March. It is the smallest advance since last June. Consumer credit is a key indicator of the willingness of households to increase borrowing to support consumer spending, which accounts for 70 per cent of economic activity. The April acceleration in borrowing represented a 5.2 per cent increase following a 3.3 per cent gain in March. It pushed total borrowing to a record USD4.07 trillion. The Fed's monthly report does not cover mortgages or .

Gujarat, Guangdong look to strengthen trade relations

With Gujarat contributing eight per cent to India's GDP with five per cent of its population and Chinese province Guangdong's share of 10 per cent of the country's GDP with five per cent population, both the business-strong states could grow together manifold.

SBI to offer repo rate-linked home loans from July 1

The State Bank of India (SBI) on Friday said it would offer repo rate-linked home loans from July 1, 2019.

Paint makers optimistic on growth in 2019-20

Despite slowdown in automotive sector, the paint makers remained optimistic about the industry's growth in the current fiscal, an official said on Friday.

RBI asked to look into possibility of providing $25 bn as export credit

In a bid to lower finance cost, Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said the Reserve Bank of India has been asked to study the possibility of providing $25 billion line of credit for exporters.

"MSME sector in agri biz needs an extensive infrastructure"

The MSME sector in agri business needs extensive storage facilities, technological assistance and logistic support with good e-commerce site for proper marketing and reach to customers, an official of MSME Development Institute, said here on Friday. Speaking at a conclave on "NEO MSME Summit-2030: An MSME Odyssey", organised by the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCC&I), Ajoy Bandopadhyaya, Director of the institute said "The eastern part of the country is resource- rich and its potential is not being fully utilised." Admitting that West Bengal has a lot of agro based industries and large parts of the agro products get produced here, the official of the Centre-run institute regretted that the resources are still wasted due to insufficient distribution, lack of cold storage and marketing facilities. "Also another target for this year is to look to the North Eastern region. All products in North East are produced organically. So the MSMEs have to be guided on

US hits Iran petrochemical group PGPIC with sanctions

The United States on Friday hit Iran's petrochemical group PGPIC with economic sanctions due to its ties with the country's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), the Treasury Department announced. The move aims to choke off financing to the country's largest and most profitable petrochemical group and extends to its 39 subsidiaries and "foreign-based sales agents," the Treasury Department said in a statement. "This action is a warning that we will continue to target holding groups and companies in the petrochemical sector and elsewhere that provide financial lifelines to the IRGC," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in the statement. Treasury warned that international companies continuing to partner with PGPIC or subsidiaries and sales agents "will themselves be exposed to US sanctions". The US efforts over the past year to choke off Iran's economy, following President Donald Trump's decision to abandon the 2015 nuclear deal negotiated by his predecessor, has angered allies as foreign ...

Consumer confidence falls in May on worries about jobs, economy: RBI Survey

There were positive sentiments with sign of deterioration on responses about economic situation, employment, income and spending

Zimbabwe president promises new currency

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Friday promised to introduce a new national currency, 10 years after hyperinflation rendered the Zimbabwean dollar worthless. The country has since used US dollars, the South African rand and, in recent years, two local quasi-currencies that have fallen sharply in value. "A country cannot develop using other countries' currencies, without its own currency," Mnangagwa said. "As a country we should have our own currency. We have already started that journey." He acknowledged that the two local quasi-currencies, called bond notes and RTGS, were weakening rapidly. "You sleep today with the rate at one US dollars to five... and the next morning it's a one to six, one to seven, one to eight and so forth. "And when they do that, the price of bread increases according to the exchange rate." Zimbabwe's economy has been in ruins since hyperinflation peaked at 500 billion percent and wiped out savings under president Robert Mugabe. It is undergoing ...

Odisha to put 36 mines for auction soon: Minister

Setting aside fear of iron ore shortage following lapse of mining lease of certain companies, Odisha government Friday said it has readied at least 36 mines for auction. "We are aware of the fact that 24 working mines will be closed in 2020. The state government has so far readied 20 mines to go for auction," Odisha's Steel and Mines minister Prafulla Kumar Mallik told reporters. This apart, the minister said there are 16 other mines ready to go for auction. Therefore, a total of 36 mines are ready for auction in Odisha. Mallik, however, said that the efforts are on for putting the mines on auction early so that iron ore production is not hampered in the state. Odisha is the highest producer of iron ore having capaity of 55 million tonne production per annum. The minister said the state owned Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) which produces 16 million tonne of iron ore per annum has set a target to increase its production to 20 million tonne in 2019-20. The OMC in 2018-19 .

Checking malnutrition: 2 million tons of milk to be fortified: NDDB

The Milk Fortification project, a joint initiative of World Bank, Tata Trusts and National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), aims to process about two million tonnes of fortified liquid milk during the next 23 months to reach 30 million consumers as a strategy to tackle malnutrition.

Govt, legal experts welcome new NPA resolution framework

Government, legal experts and analysts welcomed the new RBI framework for NPA resolution saying the new norms offer leeway to both capital-starved lenders as well as borrowers at the same time ensure that credit discipline is maintained. Welcoming the new norms announced by the central bank, which whittles down the February 12, 2018 circular struck down by the Supreme Court in April, commerce minister Piyush Goyal said the new stressed assets resolution framework offers "relief to businesses facing temporary financial issues, empower lenders to take decisions, improve credit availability in the economy and protect jobs,thereby boosting the economy." Legal experts said the new framework retains the core of the February 12, 2018, circular intact and provides a more implementable mechanism enabling faster resolutions. "The new framework builds on the February 12 circular and provides for a mechanism that will enable resolution through requisite majority. One of the major ...

Trade war clouds outlook as finance chiefs meet in Japan

Finance ministers and central bank governors meeting in Japan this weekend will try to make headway on longstanding issues such as how much global giants like Facebook and Amazon should pay in taxes. They're likely to end up focusing a large share of their attention on how to keep global growth on track when the world's two biggest economies are entrenched in an escalating trade war. US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who has headed trade talks with Beijing along with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, was due to meet with Yi Gang, governor of China's central bank, on the sidelines of the G-20's annual financial gathering in Fukuoka in southern Japan. But it was unclear if their meeting, a possible prelude to talks at the G-20 summit later this month between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, might lead to a restart of those talks after weeks of stalemate. As the Trump administration prepares to expand retaliatory tariff hikes of up to 25 per cent to ..

Twitter makes its rules easier to understand

Twitter understands that its long-winded rules to use its platform, confuses a lot of its users. To make it easier for everyone who uses or attempts to abuse Twitter, the company is taking a simpler approach.Twitter is refreshing its rules with simple, clear language, and re-organising them into categories which are easier to understand for everyone such as safety, privacy, and authenticity, the company explained on its blog.From 2,500 confusing words, Twitter will show you rules in 280-characters or less to make itself clear about what it doesn't allow on the platform, how users can safeguard themselves from online abuse, and how to report.

Cash deeply embedded in payment systems in India: RBI

Despite a large growth in digital payments after demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes in 2016, cash is "deeply embedded" in the payment system in India, according to a new report from the Reserve Bank of India.

Stanza Living starts operations in 7 more cities

Student housing company Stanza Living on Friday said it has begun operations in Hyderabad, Chennai, Coimbatore, Indore, Pune, Baroda and Dehradun.