firms,

China sanctions two US defence firms for selling Taiwan weapons

Reuters0

BEIJING (Reuters) – China has banned the senior executives of two U.S. defence companies from entering the country and frozen their property in response to their arms sales to Taiwan, the foreign ministry said on Thursday. The measures effective from Thursday were against General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, which manufactures unmanned aerial systems, and military vehicle maker General Dynamics Land Systems, a unit of General Dynamics. China said the arms sales “seriously interferes” in its internal affairs and “damages” China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. “The continued sale of arms by the United States to China’s Taiwan region is a serious violation

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Top Brass At America’s Biggest Entertainment Firms Have Shelled Out Three Times More To Dems Than Republicans

The Daily Caller0

More than three-fourths of all-time political donations from leadership at several Fortune 250 companies in the entertainment business have been to Democrats, according to new data compiled by a transparency watchdog. The current executives at companies involved in the entertainment business, such as Amazon, Comcast, Netflix, Apple, Disney, Paramount and Warner Bros., have collectively given $13.5 million to Democrats and just $4.2 million to Republicans, meaning 76% of donations went to Democrats, according to the 1792 Exchange, a transparency watchdog that tracks environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies in corporations. The donations coincide with major corporations adopting left-wing policies, including

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US targets Russian firms with sanctions over Kremlin-directed malign influence campaign

Reuters0

By Daphne Psaledakis WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on two people and two companies it accused of supporting disinformation efforts directed by the Russian government, the U.S. Treasury Department said, as Washington increases pressure on Moscow. WHY IT’S IMPORTANT Washington has repeatedly warned of Moscow’s efforts to sow disinformation and instability in democratic countries and the sanctions come amid serious tensions between the United States and Russia over the war in Ukraine and a raft of other issues. In October, the U.S. released an intelligence assessment sent to more than 100 countries that found Moscow

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Factbox-Japan’s small cohort of listed firms led by women

Reuters0

By Anton Bridge TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan Airlines’ incoming president Mitsuko Tottori joins a sparse cohort of female executives leading Japanese firms. While the number of all-male boards of directors in Japan Inc has fallen markedly in recent years, few women have been able to work their way up internally, highlighting the obstacles facing women aspiring to management. Out of 1,836 companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s (TSE) “prime” market, only 15 firms, or less than 1%, were led by women, according to a Kyodo and Teikoku Databank study as of January 2023. One person has since stepped down.

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China’s vice premier urges more support for listed firms amid market rout

Reuters0

BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng on Monday called for greater support for listed companies in an effort to help stabilise capital markets, the Xinhua News Agency reported, amid a protracted stock market rout. Chinese policymakers have taken steps to support the country’s stock markets following recent sharp falls. “Listed companies are an important micro foundation for high-quality economic development,” He said at a national video conference on promoting the development of listed companies. “Promoting high-quality development of listed companies helps to achieve high-level technological self-reliance, accelerate the construction of a modern industrial system and enhance market confidence.”

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EU reinforces tight limits on crypto firms from outside bloc

Reuters0

By Huw Jones LONDON (Reuters) – Crypto companies based outside the EU will only be able to directly serve customers within the bloc under very limited conditions to avoid unfair competition, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) proposed on Monday. The EU approved the world’s first comprehensive rules for crypto markets last year, known as MiCA, a groundbreaking move in an online sector where national borders have been hard to police. The latest EU proposals on how crypto firms and regulators should apply the law in practice cover crypto asset firms from outside the EU that want to offer

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Factbox-Shipping firms react to Houthi attacks in Red Sea

Reuters0

(Reuters) -Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen have stepped up attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, impacting a shipping route vital to East-West trade. In response, some shipping companies have instructed vessels to instead sail around southern Africa, a longer and therefore more expensive route. The U.S. and Britain carried out dozens of air strikes against Houthi military targets on Jan. 11 and 12, widening regional conflict stemming from Israel’s war in Gaza. Below are actions taken by companies): C.H. ROBINSON The global logistics group said on Dec. 22 it had rerouted more than 25 vessels around Africa over the

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Google to help fund Israeli AI firms, Palestinian businesses

Reuters0

By Steven Scheer JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Google is investing $8 million to support Israeli tech firms and Palestinian businesses, the Alphabet-owned group said on Wednesday, citing the need for small companies to secure financing during the Israel-Hamas war. Google said its $4 million support fund would be provided to AI startups in Israel and another $4 million would go to early-stage Palestinian startups and businesses to help them continue operating. The grant to Israeli AI startups will be in addition to the Israel Innovation Authority’s emergency fund that arose after the war broke out on Oct. 7, aimed at companies

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China will step up efforts to attract foreign firms, financial regulator says

Reuters0

HONG KONG/BEIJING (Reuters) – China will boost efforts to attract foreign firms and will not change its stance to protect the legal rights of foreign companies, the nation’s top financial regulator said. “The Chinese mainland will not change its policy to enhance efforts to attract and utilise foreign capital into its financial industry,” Li Yunze, head of China’s National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA), said at the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong on Wednesday. “The direction of providing a better business environment for foreign investment will not change,” Li said. China is studying lowering the threshold for Hong Kong and

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EU sends information request to 17 tech firms including Amazon, Apple, Meta

Reuters0

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission said on Thursday it had send requests for information under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) to 17 tech companies that it regards as very large online platforms (VLOP) and search engines. It said it contacted AliExpress, Amazon’s [AMZN.O] Amazon Store, Apple’s [AAPL.O] AppStore, Booking.com [BKNG.O], Meta’s [META.O] Facebook and Instagram, Alphabet’s [GOOGL.O] Google Search, Google Play, Google Maps and Google Shopping, Microsoft’s [MSFT.O] LinkedIn and Bing, Pinterest [PINS.N], Snapchat [SNAP.N], TikTok, YouTube and Zalando [ZALG.DE]. The EU asked the companies to provide more information by February 9 on measures they have taken to

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Tokyo bourse to make simultaneous English disclosure mandatory for top firms

Reuters0

By Makiko Yamazaki TOKYO (Reuters) – The Tokyo bourse plans to require all companies listed on its prime section to publish simultaneously in English and Japanese any information that could impact investment decisions, in an effort to attract more overseas investors. In a document presented to its reform panel on Wednesday, the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) said it would first make mandatory the simultaneous English publication of financial statements and other key items that require timely disclosure. The rules will be applied to some 1,600 prime-listed companies, starting in April 2025. “Simultaneous English disclosure of all documents in full is

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Italian firms less gloomy on outlook as inflation eases -central bank survey

Reuters0

MILAN (Reuters) – The opinion of Italian businesses on the prospects for the economy improved in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared with the previous three months, the Bank of Italy said on Monday, as inflation expectations eased sharply. In the last three months of the year the percentage of businesses that expected better economic conditions rose to 8% from 4% in the previous three months, the central bank said in its quarterly survey. Those expecting things to get worse decreased to 29% from 37% but uncertainty about the political and economic outlook and the future course of energy prices

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Explainer-What is the Tokyo Exchange’s new list of firms disclosing capital efficiency plans?

Reuters0

By Anton Bridge TOKYO (Reuters) – The Tokyo Stock Exchange’s (TSE) move to release a list of firms that have disclosed plans to increase their capital efficiency is its latest attempt to improve long-languishing Japanese valuations and attract overseas investors. Over the past decade, both the TSE and the government have steadily pushed to improve governance at listed companies, efforts that investors have hailed as a remedy for the unusually high number of stocks that trade below book value, or less than the value of their assets. The bourse’s moves have strengthened optimism about the outlook for Japanese stocks, helping

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Japanese firms expect China’s 2024 economic prospects to remain grim

Reuters0

BEIJING (Reuters) – Japanese firms in China expect economic prospects in the world’s second-largest economy to remain grim this year, according to a report from the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China released on Monday. About three-quarters of the 1,700 respondents in a survey said they expected the Chinese economy to worsen or to remain the same. China is Japan’s largest trading partner, and one of the biggest investment destinations for Japanese companies. Uncertainty about China’s economic prospects and pessimism about weak demand were cited as top reasons why 48% of the companies surveyed said they did not

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UK labour market firms after recent slowdown: REC survey

Reuters0

By William Schomberg LONDON (Reuters) – British employers raised pay and recovered some of their appetite for hiring in December, according to a survey that the Bank of England may see as another sign of lingering inflation pressure in the labour market. The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) survey published on Monday showed hiring of permanent workers continued to shrink last month as employers worried about the economy, but less severely than in November. Temporary hiring also contracted by less than in November but the difference was less marked. “The slowdown in our labour market seems to be easing a

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Japanese firms rush to resume production as earthquake disrupts local economy

Reuters0

By Kantaro Komiya TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese manufacturers rushed to resume production four days after a magnitude 7.6 earthquake killed at least 94 and disrupted infrastructures in the country’s west coast, as businesses were returning from gloomy New Year holidays. About 80% of 200 companies with plants in the quake-hit areas, including makers of machines, semiconductors and textiles, have resumed production or would resume soon following the quake, Industry Minister Ken Saito said on Friday. But the government cannot picture a clear timeline for the recovery of the region’s power supply, Saito added. Roughly 24,000 buildings in Ishikawa, the hardest-hit

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India likely to surpass FY24 target for state-run firms’ dividends by at least $1.4 billion – source

Reuters0

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – The Indian government will likely exceed its fiscal year target for dividends from state-run companies by at least 120 billion rupees ($1.4 billion), partly offsetting an expected shortfall from share sales, a government source aware of the matter said on Thursday. The dividend receipts could range from 550 billion rupees to as much as 600 billion rupees, the source said, potentially topping not only the government’s target of 430 billion rupees for the April-March fiscal year but also the 595 billion rupees it collected in dividends last fiscal year. So far this fiscal, India has received

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Brazil unveils tax benefits for firms to boost investments

Reuters0

SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazil’s Vice President Geraldo Alckmin on Sunday unveiled government measures aimed at providing companies with tax benefits so they can buy new machinery and invest in transportation. The measures are part of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s plan to “re-industrialize” Latin America’s largest economy, where industrial output still lags behind pre-pandemic levels and is more than 18% below its 2011 high. The Lula administration has pledged to boost industrialization by incentivizing “green” projects including flex-fuel and electric vehicles, renewable power and biofuels. Alckmin told a press conference that the first measure was an executive order

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Russian rouble firms vs dollar, euro amid tax support

Reuters0

MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Russian rouble firmed against the U.S. dollar and euro on Thursday, receiving support from month-end corporate taxes. At 0743 GMT, the rouble was 0.9% stronger against the dollar at 90.46. It had gained 0.5% to trade at 100,70 versus the euro and also firmed 0.5% against the yuan to 12,67. “The rouble continues to strengthen for the fourth day in a row. Thus, we can say that the measures taken by the authorities to curb the rouble’s decline are clearly working,” said Alor Broker’s Alexei Antonov. Since October and the rouble’s most recent slide to 100

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Thai cabinet approves debt support for smaller firms, debtors

Reuters0

BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s cabinet has approved debt suspension for smaller businesses and support for retail debtors, the prime minister said on Tuesday, in the government’s latest move to address the country’s festering debt issues. The programme is part of a plan to help the 10.3 million people who are struggling to service debt, a drag on Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, where household debt stood at 90.7% of gross domestic product at the end of the second quarter. The government will also try to keep diesel prices at about 30 baht ($0.86) per litre and electricity bills at up to

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China publishes rules for supervising, managing non-bank payment firms

Reuters0

By Qiaoyi Li and Antoni Slodkowski BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s State Council, led by Premier Li Qiang, on Sunday published rules that come into force on May 1 for the supervision and management of non-banking payment institutions. The rules, among other measures, implement tougher licensing regulations and call for stronger risk management of non-bank payment platforms to prevent misappropriation of funds and other criminal activities, People’s Bank of China, the country’s central bank, and the Ministry of Justice said in a joint statement on Sunday. The rules also require institutions to strengthen the protection of user information, clearly mark prices

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Occidental’s deal for CrownRock is no Anadarko redux, say ratings firms

Reuters0

By Sabrina Valle HOUSTON (Reuters) – Occidental Petroleum’s plan to pay off debt from its acquisition of CrownRock should result in a reduced financial burden within a year of closing, credit rating firms said, a contrast to its traumatic takeover of Anadarko Petroleum in 2019. The proposed $12 billion acquisition of CrownRock got a thumbs down by some Wall Street analysts haunted by the 2019 Anadarko deal that saddled Occidental in $40 billion debt months ahead of an oil market price collapse. But Occidental’s second big, debt-financed deal in four years has more manageable risks, the credit firms said. Fitch

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Democratic lawmakers ask payment firms to renew work on gun code

Reuters0

By Ross Kerber (Reuters) – U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren and 48 other Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday urged top payments companies to resume work on implementing a sales code for gun merchants, according to letters seen by Reuters, citing how states have passed conflicting requirements on the issue. In March, the payments companies Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover Financial said they would delay the rollout of a “merchant category code,” or MCC, meant to help detect suspicious firearms and ammunition sales to combat gun violence amid a spate of mass shootings. The companies at the time cited legislation being passed

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Japan firms see more listing-related burdens as TSE, shareholder pressure mount – Reuters poll

Reuters0

By Makiko Yamazaki TOKYO (Reuters) – Most Japanese companies feel burdens related to being listed have increased amid growing pressure from shareholders and regulators for better governance and capital strategies, a Reuters monthly poll showed on Thursday. The results reflect how listed companies have come under deeper scrutiny in Japan, where about half of them are trading below their book value, at a time listing requirements continue to tighten. Among 155 listed respondents in the poll, 85% said they were feeling larger listing-related burdens, although a majority of them also saw benefits of having the listing status including advantages in

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German firms diversify in Asia to reduce China risk – survey

Reuters0

By Sarah Marsh BERLIN (Reuters) – Nearly half of German companies operating in China are taking measures to reduce the risk of doing business there largely due to growing geopolitical tensions, according to a new survey by the German Chamber of Commerce in China. Firms are building supply chains that are independent of China, shifting some operations away from the country and growing markets elsewhere in Asia, according to the survey of 566 companies conducted between Sept. 5 and Oct. 6. Some 83% of companies cited geopolitical tensions as the main reason for their steps to mitigate risks related to

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