Ukraine crisis starts to hit European firms - (money.cnn.com) The
economic turmoil triggered by the Ukraine crisis is beginning to hurt major
European companies. From banks to brewers, the slump in Russia's economy is
taking its toll on sales and profits at businesses in the rest of Europe. Weak
factory orders in Germany could point to worse to come. The International
Monetary Fund says Russia has already been dragged into a recession as
investors flee the emerging market for fear of being caught up in the
escalating conflict in eastern Ukraine. The United States and Europe accuse
Moscow of stoking separatist tension in Ukraine, following its annexation of
Crimea. They've frozen the assets of dozens of Russian officials, and the U.S.
has gone further by targeting 18 Russian companies. Harsher measures aimed at sectors of the Russian economy will follow, they
warn, if Ukraine's presidential election on May 25 is put at risk.
First-Quarter
Economic Slump Looking Uglier by the Day - (www.moneynews.com) It
now looks like the world's largest economy contracted in January through March
instead of eking out a 0.1 percent gain at an annualized rate as reported by
the Commerce Department last week. The latest knock came from data issued
today. Although the trade deficit shrank in March to $40.4 billion from $41.9
billion as exports grew, the narrowing was less than the government had
projected when putting together the advance estimate on gross domestic
product.''
Foreign
Firms Pressured as Chinese Workers Near Henry Ford Moment - (www.businessweek.com) The
Chinese government is gaining an unlikely ally in its effort to overhaul the
economy: striking Chinese workers. So far this year, the China operations of International
Business Machines Corp.(IBM:US),
PepsiCo Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc., and Yue Yuen Industrial Holdings Ltd., a
major supplier to Nike Inc. and Adidas AG, all have been idled by labor
protests. “This is not a blip,” says Dan Harris, a Seattle-based attorney
representing companies operating in China. “It’s going to continue and get
worse.” While China’s communist party was founded to benefit the country’s
“workers and peasants,” Chinese leaders aren’t known for their patience with
protest. This latest wave of labor unrest -- at least when confined to
pocketbook concerns -- might be different. The government wants to rebalance
the slowing economy to rely more on consumption. Higher incomes for workers
would be a good start.
Report:
Porn-Watching EPA Employee Received Bonuses Despite Wasting Work Days - (www.newsmax.com) An
employee at the Environmental Protection Agency downloaded more than 7,000
pornographic files onto a government computer and viewed them for two to six
hours a day, according to the agency’s independent watchdog. The worker, who
wasn’t identified, was watching pornography when a special agent showed up at
his work space, Allan Williams, the EPA’s deputy assistant inspector general
for investigations, told lawmakers today. “True deterrence of employee
misconduct at the EPA ultimately rests with agency executives and managers to
set a tone that ensures such behavior will not be condoned,” Williams told the
House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The allegations emerged in
a broader examination of EPA employees. The EPA’s 16,000 employees are facing
greater scrutiny by the Office of Inspector General after the 2013 conviction
of senior agency official John Beale for collecting paychecks for more than a
decade during which he had not worked. Beale explained absences to his EPA
supervisors by telling them he was working on classified projects, including
for the Central Intelligence Agency, which wasn’t true.
Frankfurt
issues first bond backed by Chinese currency - (www.dw.de) Frankfurt is joining London, Singapore and Hong
Kong in the fast-moving market for bonds denominated in the Chinese currency,
the renminbi. Germany's KfW development bank announced it was issuing a
two-year bond with the volume of 1 billion renminbi at the Frankfurt Stock
Exchange... [the bonds] have become a huge boost to the popularity of the
currency. The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication says
the renminbi is now among the top ten most-used currencies for global trade
payments, overtaking the Swiss Franc to occupy position seven in February.
'We're
already not in Ukraine' - rebel east readies secession vote - (www.reuters.com)
Putin Eyes Ukrainian Arms Prize as Troops Build Up Along Border - (www.bloomberg.com)
Putin Eyes Ukrainian Arms Prize as Troops Build Up Along Border - (www.bloomberg.com)
Tensions
surge in South China Sea as China locks horns with Philippines, Vietnam - (www.reuters.com)
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