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2bc2a49852f8c631b4bd53d41a111f82 | https://www.reuters.com/article/guyana-oil/guyana-government-says-offshore-oil-production-has-begun-idUKL1N28V015?edition-redirect=uk | Guyana government says offshore oil production has begun | Guyana government says offshore oil production has begun
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
CARACAS, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Oil majors Exxon Mobil, Hess Corp, and CNOOC have begun oil production offshore Guyana, a South American country with no history of crude output, Guyana’s government said in a statement on Friday. (Reporting by Luc Cohen; Editing by Sandra Maler)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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6690549f2a15ec1369b98e8935ac8257 | https://www.reuters.com/article/guyana-oil/shell-trading-unit-to-buy-guyanas-first-three-crude-oil-cargoes-idINL1N28Y07W?edition-redirect=in | Shell trading unit to buy Guyana's first three crude oil cargoes | Shell trading unit to buy Guyana's first three crude oil cargoes
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
GEORGETOWN, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Guyana said on Tuesday that Royal Dutch Shell’s trading unit had won the rights to market the government’s first three cargoes of crude oil, just days after oil production began off the South American country’s coast. (Reporting by Neil Marks Writing by Luc Cohen. Editing by Jane Merriman)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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56f771ff16bdcc070d6d63c9309b20a7 | https://www.reuters.com/article/guyana-oil/shell-trading-unit-to-buy-guyanas-first-three-crude-oil-cargoes-idUKL1N28Y07W?edition-redirect=uk | Shell trading unit to buy Guyana's first three crude oil cargoes | Shell trading unit to buy Guyana's first three crude oil cargoes
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
GEORGETOWN, Dec 24 (Reuters) - Guyana said on Tuesday that Royal Dutch Shell’s trading unit had won the rights to market the government’s first three cargoes of crude oil, just days after oil production began off the South American country’s coast. (Reporting by Neil Marks Writing by Luc Cohen. Editing by Jane Merriman)
BreakingviewsReuters Breakingviews is the world's leading source of agenda-setting financial insight. As the Reuters brand for financial commentary, we dissect the big business and economic stories as they break around the world every day. A global team of about 30 correspondents in New York, London, Hong Kong and other major cities provides expert analysis in real time.Sign up for a free trial of our full service at https://www.breakingviews.com/trial and follow us on Twitter @Breakingviews and at www.breakingviews.com. All opinions expressed are those of the authors.
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44f3dd027193919ca5d68702f847db41 | https://www.reuters.com/article/guyana-oil/update-1-a-momentous-event-oil-production-begins-in-guyana-at-exxon-led-project-idINL1N28V019?edition-redirect=in | UPDATE 1-'A momentous event': Oil production begins in Guyana at Exxon-led project | UPDATE 1-'A momentous event': Oil production begins in Guyana at Exxon-led project
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
(Adds details, context)
GEORGETOWN, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Guyana joined the ranks of the world’s oil producers for the first time on Friday as U.S. oil company Exxon Mobil said it began producing crude off the coast of the South American country.
President David Granger hailed the development in an address to the nation, predicting the revenues from oil would prove “transformative” for the underdeveloped economy.
The Exxon-led consortium, which also includes Hess Corp and China’s CNOOC, plans to produce 120,000 barrels-per-day (bdp) from the Liza well in the coming months. The Stabroek block, where the well is located, is expected to produce 750,000 bpd by 2025, Exxon said.
Guyana’s president said the first oil output would usher in a “decade of development” and that the government would manage oil resources prudently.
“Petroleum production has brought the prospects of a higher quality of life closer to our households and neighbourhoods. It is a momentous event,” Granger said. “Every Guyanese will benefit from petroleum production. No one will be left behind.”
Exxon said it expected to sell the first cargo from the Liza well in the next several weeks. The Guyanese government is separately conducting an tender process to sell the first three cargoes of the oil it is entitled to under its contract with the consortium.
The consortium has discovered more than 6 billion barrels of recoverable oil and gas in the Stabroek block. (Reporting by Neil Marks Writing by Luc Cohen Editing by Sandra Maler & Simon Cameron-Moore)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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110a5215ee7b3c5c0fac2e2c7ad3240e | https://www.reuters.com/article/gvc-holdings-outlook-idINL3N2EN1PK?edition-redirect=in | Ladbrokes owner GVC's long-time CEO Kenneth Alexander to step down | Ladbrokes owner GVC's long-time CEO Kenneth Alexander to step down
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
July 16 (Reuters) - Ladbrokes owner GVC said on Thursday Kenneth Alexander will step down as chief executive officer after 13 years at the helm, and named Chief Operating Officer Shay Segev as his successor.
The company, whose brands also include Coral, bwin and Foxy Bingo, said it expects first-half core earnings to be in the range of 340 million pounds ($426.94 million) to 350 million pounds.
$1 = 0.7964 pounds Reporting by Tanishaa Nadkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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6c60fa16db5eceb4f34f14ec618d4b44 | https://www.reuters.com/article/gw-pharma-fda/corrected-update-3-u-s-approves-first-marijuana-plant-derived-drug-for-epilepsy-idUSL4N1TR4WG | CORRECTED-(OFFICIAL)-UPDATE 3-U.S. approves first marijuana plant-derived drug for epilepsy | CORRECTED-(OFFICIAL)-UPDATE 3-U.S. approves first marijuana plant-derived drug for epilepsy
By Tamara Mathias, Manas Mishra5 Min Read
(Corrects paragraph 12 to show DEA must make a decision within 90 days of FDA approving a medicine, instead of there is no time limit. The error first occurred in Update 2)
* FDA approves GW’s drug to treat two severe forms of epilepsy
* Epidiolex’s launch dependent on reclassification of the drug
June 25 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved GW Pharmaceuticals Plc’s epilepsy treatment on Monday, making it the first cannabis-based drug to win approval in the country.
The landmark approval could potentially open floodgates for more research into the medicinal properties of cannabis.
The drug's approval permits here its use in patients aged two years and older with Dravet Syndrome (DS) and Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome (LGS), rare childhood-onset forms of epilepsy that are among the most resistant to treatment.
“This approval serves as a reminder that advancing sound development programs that properly evaluate active ingredients contained in marijuana can lead to important medical therapies” said FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb.
The drug, Epidiolex, is made up of cannabidiol (CBD), one of the hundreds of molecules found in the marijuana plant, and contains less than 0.1 percent of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive component that makes people high.
GW Pharma grows its own supply of cannabis in specialized glass houses in the United Kingdom to ensure uniformity in the genetic composition of the plants, which are then processed into a liquid solution of CBD.
Although THC can induce paranoia, anxiety and hallucinations, CBD has the opposite effects and has been cited by scientists as a potential treatment for mental health issues.
While supporters of legalizing marijuana say the decision is a step in the right direction, businesses reliant on the plant must contend with the federal government’s ban on its use in all forms.
Based on the potential for abuse, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) categorizes chemicals into five schedules, with Schedule 1 substances - like marijuana and heroin - considered the most deadly, and deemed to have no medical benefit whatsoever.
As a result, Epidiolex’s launch remains at the discretion of the DEA which must now evaluate the drug and consider reclassifying it as a substance that has medical properties, which would allow GW to begin selling it.
GW said it expects the reclassifying to occur within 90 days.
“If FDA approves something as a medicine we then look into it and begin our own ... analysis,” DEA Special Agent Wade Sparks told Reuters ahead of the FDA’s decision. “We’ll announce it when we’re ready, however it has to be within 90 days of the FDA approving it as a medicine.”
While Monday’s approval makes Epidiolex the first cannabinoid-based prescription medicine approved in the United States, drugs with a synthetic version of molecules derived from marijuana have been approved.
In 1985, the FDA signed off on Marinol, which contains a synthetic version of THC, to treat loss of appetite in people with AIDS.
GW said it had not yet set a price for the drug, and it would work with insurance providers in the coming weeks to ensure that the medicine would be covered.
The company’s Nasdaq-listed shares marginally fell in afternoon trading. The stock has run up nearly 50 percent in the past 12 months.
Most patients with LGS and Dravet syndrome require multiple seizure medications and the majority are resistant to currently approved anti-epileptic drugs.
The two epilepsy forms are also severe and associated with high rates of mortality. Some LGS patients have to wear helmets to avoid brain injuries from “drop seizures”, where muscles suddenly become limp and cause standing patients to crash to the ground.
Epidiolex would also be the first approved treatment for Dravet syndrome patients, treatments for which are currently limited to a combination of seizure medication and drugs to prevent emergencies.
Shares of Zogenix Inc, which is also developing a treatment for the disorder, were down 3.2 percent. (Reporting by Tamara Mathias and Manas Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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9cf01c5914daa7cf49b22db1380ef24f | https://www.reuters.com/article/gw-pharma-fda/gw-pharma-wins-u-s-approval-for-marijuana-derived-epilepsy-drug-idUSL4N1TR4W4 | GW Pharma wins U.S. approval for marijuana-derived epilepsy drug | GW Pharma wins U.S. approval for marijuana-derived epilepsy drug
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
June 25 (Reuters) - An epilepsy treatment from GW Pharmaceuticals Plc on Monday secured an approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, becoming the first cannabis-based drug to be approved in the country.
The drug's approval permits here its use in patients aged two years and older with Dravet Syndrome (DS) and Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome (LGS), rare childhood-onset forms of epilepsy that are among the most resistant to treatment.
The drug, Epidiolex, is derived from cannabidiol (CBD), one of the hundreds of molecules found in the marijuana plant, and contains less than 0.1 percent of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive component that makes people high. (Reporting by Tamara Mathias and Manas Mishra in Bengaluru)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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b12dcf738f8e8ae77dd5ef486ea6c4de | https://www.reuters.com/article/haidilao-strategy-idUKL1N2I40MD?edition-redirect=uk | RPT-China's top hotpot chain Haidilao accelerates expansion even as pandemic bites | RPT-China's top hotpot chain Haidilao accelerates expansion even as pandemic bites
By Chen Lin3 Min Read
(Repeats to additional subscribers)
SINGAPORE, Nov 18 (Reuters) - China’s biggest hotpot chain Haidilao will open more than 400 new restaurants in 2020, exceeding initial estimates by about a third, even as the coronavirus pandemic batters its and the sector’s profits.
The restaurant industry has been among the worst hit by the global health crisis that has forced people to stay at home and businesses to shut, prompting some analysts to caution against the fast pace of new openings by Haidilao.
But Haidilao’s chief strategy officer Zhou Zhaocheng said: “This is a comfortable pace for us, and we don’t see any issues.”
Most of the new restaurants will be opened in mainland China, and less than 10% overseas, he added in Mandarin during an interview in Singapore.
The company had initially planned to open around 300 restaurants in 2020, versus 308 new openings in 2019.
Haidilao, which started in 1994, offers a communal dining experience where patrons cook plates of meat and vegetables in a soup at the centre of their table.
Its founder Zhang Yong has been ranked among China’s richest people, according to Forbes, and became Singapore’s wealthiest person in 2019 after taking up citizenship in the city-state.
The chain’s business has come under pressure this year amid the pandemic. It reported a loss of 965 million yuan ($147 million) for the first half, down 205.7% from a year earlier.
Analysts expect Haidilao’s annual profit to more than halve from 2019, Refinitiv data shows.
But a nearly 80% rally in its shares this year indicates investors are optimistic of a quick recovery. Bulk of Haidilao’s more than 900 restaurants is in China where the coronavirus outbreak has been controlled, underpinning the optimism.
Haidilao has also opened new stores this year in Britain, Canada, the United States, Southeast Asia and South Korea as part of an expansion drive.
Zhou said the pandemic has offered a chance to expand as other restaurateurs have shut down.
“This is an opportunity for us,” Zhou said.
“Many properties are affected, so you have a different level of bargaining power.”
Expansions have been mainly funded by money raised during a 2018 listing in Hong Kong and existing cash flow, Zhou added.
Haidilao secured a 2.1 billion yuan loan from China’s Citic Bank and AIBank this year to help weather the impact of the pandemic, which has killed over 1.3 million people globally. It is also considering a U.S. dollar bond offering for an undisclosed amount. ($1 = 6.5491 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Chen Lin; additional reporting by Aradhana Aravindan; Editing by John Geddie and Himani Sarkar)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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a07c94f7e6e12b68dda0cae7da2f1b16 | https://www.reuters.com/article/haiti-cycling/rpt-wider-image-haitis-cyclists-brave-protests-and-poor-roads-in-race-for-gold-idUKL2N27O0C3?edition-redirect=uk | RPT-WIDER IMAGE-Haiti's cyclists brave protests and poor roads in race for gold | RPT-WIDER IMAGE-Haiti's cyclists brave protests and poor roads in race for gold
By Andres Martinez Casares4 Min Read
(Repeats story to update essay link)
* Photo essay at reut.rs/32vl3i2
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Ousline Georges, 22, only started to take cycling seriously a year ago, wary of the many hurdles she faced such as the prohibitive cost of a decent bicycle and the treacherous roads in her home country of Haiti, the poorest in the Americas.
This past weekend though, she became the first Haitian ever to win a medal in the Caribbean Road Cycling Championship, thanks to a new program created by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)that fosters the sport in small, developing nations.
“I was really moved,” said Georges, a student and mother of a four-year old boy. “When I saw the others cry over my victory, I cried too.”
Cycling is not an easy sport to practice in Haiti, a country wracked by poverty, natural catastrophes and political instability.
Bicycles and a good diet are too expensive for most and there are few roads that lend themselves to training given the destruction wrought by the 2010 earthquake and a scarcity of cash to build infrastructure.
The country’s main arteries clogged with trucks and buses, along with roadblocks that have been set up as part of the anti-government protests that have paralyzed the country for months now, have made it even more dangerous for cyclists.
Those protests, over corruption and inequality, prevented Haiti from hosting the championship of more than 20 nations this year as originally planned, which would have provided the country an economic and morale boost.
Instead, the race - one step below the Pan American Championship where cyclists can qualify for the Olympics, was moved to neighboring Cuba.
Given the poor track record of Haiti’s cyclists, they cannot get sponsorship.
However, it appears change is afoot. At the Caribbean Cycling Road Championship held on November 3 in Havana, Haiti’s national team put in their best performance ever.
Under the program, Haitian cyclists were given equipment and a French coach, Yann Dejan, as well as a month’s training in Brittany, France. Dejan also created a female national team to complement the men’s.
As a result, some of Haiti’s cyclists finished the circuit for the first time ever. According to Dejan, they had always been eliminated before arriving at the end because they lagged too far behind the pack.
Georges won the bronze medal in the under 23 category. She reckons she could have won gold if she could have had the full training originally planned.
Administrative delay for visas and other difficulties due to Haiti’s general disarray meant the training was reduced from five months to two for the men and one for the women, according to Dejan.
“I hope to go further with cycling, I wish the Haitian Federation and sport ministry would keep us training,” said Georges.
Cycling is still very niche in Haiti; the Haitian Federation of Cycling (FHC) now has 360 cyclists. Football is the most popular sport on the island and the discipline in which Haitians have shone most internationally to date.
But Dejan reckons Haitians have proven they have the physical qualities and talent to shine with the right training and support. And once they shine, they can get sponsorships.
The UCI will continue to support Haitian cycling for the time being, he said. It hopes for example to distribute bicycles in schools and youth clubs, once the political situation has calmed down.
Dejan, who has trained cyclists from all over the world, said cycling tournaments had proven very popular in poor nations because they offered a free outdoor spectacle. Haiti was applying to host the Caribbean Championships in 2021, he said.
“Cycling could be a way of giving the Haitian people back their smiles,” he said. (Reporting by Andres Martinez Casares and Andre Paultre in Haiti, Alexandre Meneghini and Sarah Marsh in Havana, Gonzalo Fuentes in Brittany, France; Editing by Diane Craft)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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2ab513064ef05fa30047c6ad635e0ebb | https://www.reuters.com/article/haiti-electricity-feature-idINKBN25Y1NT?edition-redirect=in | Amid theft and accusations of sabotage, Haiti struggles to turn on the lights | Amid theft and accusations of sabotage, Haiti struggles to turn on the lights
By Andre Paultre, Sarah Marsh7 Min Read
PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - Rene Max Auguste says demand for solar panels at his store in the Haitian capital, Port au Prince, has soared over the past two years. The reason? The state power utility’s inability to guarantee electricity, he says.
A technician fixes an inverter at an electrical supply store in Port-au-Prince, Haiti August 11, 2020. Picture taken August 11, 2020. REUTERS/Andres Martinez Casares
In a country where most survive on less than $3 per day, customers in Auguste’s shop typically opt for small systems that enable them to charge their phone and perhaps a lamp.
“The situation is a failure of the state: a failure of the elite for the past 30 years,” says Auguste. “The situation is going to stay as it is. Or it’s going to get worse.”
President Jovenel Moise took office three years ago promising to bring around-the-clock power to the poorest nation in the Americas. Instead, amid political turmoil and unrest, he has presided over the worst power outages in more than a decade.
Generation at Haiti’s hydroelectric and diesel and heavy fuel oil-powered thermal plants was down to 94 MW in August, less than half its installed capacity, according to state electricity utility EDH, and less than one-fortieth of the capacity of neighboring Dominican Republic, which has roughly the same population of 11 million.
Only around one-third of Haitian households are connected to the grid, most of them in towns, according to analyst estimates. Those who are suffer frequent blackouts, living with power for just a few hours per day.
Moise blames the blackouts largely on sabotage by unnamed vested interests, whom he accuses of also fomenting anti-government protests last year to prevent reform.
Critics say he is scapegoating others for the government’s mismanagement of the already dysfunctional sector.
The situation was exacerbated in July, after Moise appointed Michel Presume, who is known for his privatization of various Haitian industries, to overhaul EDH. That prompted a damaging strike at the state utility.
Employees besieged its headquarters and refused to maintain or fix broken machinery, leaving areas of Port-au-Prince without lights for weeks on end.
There are some signs of change. Haiti’s National Regulatory Authority for Energy, ANARSE, has issued tenders for private operators to take over regional grids and develop microgrids for rural communities, with a focus on gas-powered and solar projects.
Moise has also negotiated a $150 million deal with Taiwan for an overhaul of the national grid, due to start this week, Minister of Public Works Nader Joiseus told Reuters.
Two multimillion dollar deals to install 55.5MW of gas electricity with General Electric and 130MW of solar electricity with Turkey are also in the works, he said.
Slideshow ( 4 images )
But the key challenge remains EDH, which until recently monopolized generation and distribution. The company consumes around $200 million a year in subsidies, equivalent to 10% of government expenditure.
It loses an estimated 70% of power due to technical losses, clients who do not pay, and people who connect illegally, according to a study by Limestone Analytics.
“This company is practically bankrupt and cannot see to its own basic needs, like the maintenance of its power stations,” Presume told Reuters. He said he aims to raise revenues by installing prepaid systems and increasing the number of clients.
“It needs to act like a commercial company and actually turn a profit,” he said.
CHARCOAL IRONS, CLOSED FACTORIES
With Haiti struggling to recover from the effects of a devastating 2010 earthquake, the lack of power depresses living standards and is one of the main obstacles to economic development, Haitian economist Etzer Emile said.
Haiti needs to increase its generation eight-fold to meet the needs of its population, ANARSE estimates.
“We use candles and a little kerosene lamp,” said Midrenne Lubin, 50, a cleaner who uses a charcoal iron to press her clothes and waits until after dawn to leave for work. “Bandits attack in the darkness.”
Businesses, hospitals and wealthier households have installed generators to become self-reliant. More than 70% of power consumed in Haiti is produced by small-scale diesel-fueled generators, according to an April IMF report.
But diesel can also be scarce. Two textile-exporting factories were forced to shut down for around a week last month due to diesel shortages, an industry source said.
Woodburning and charcoal remain Haiti’s primary source of energy, the IMF wrote.
That contributes to deforestation, aggravating Haiti’s vulnerability to the Caribbean’s annual hurricane season by heightening the chance of mudslides and flooding. At least 31 people were killed in Haiti by Tropical Storm Laura last month.
STATE TAKEOVER
EDH says the current decline in power supply is partly due to the use of bad quality heavy fuel, which it says was imported in April via the state agency Bureau de Monétisation des Programmes d’Aide au Développement, or BMPAD, that damaged multiple power plants.
BMPAD did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Joiseus said an investigation was ongoing but the plants should be able to treat the fuel.
A series of blackouts also occurred in April last year after a dispute between U.S. energy trader Novum and the BMPAD over overdue payments led to a shortage of fuel.
Then in November they occurred again after the state took over power plants previously run by private power provider Société Générale d’Énergie SA (Sogener). Authorities said the takeover was due to Sogener overbilling and other issues.
Stanley Gaston, a Sogener lawyer, said Moise singled out the company because its management is linked to the opposition.
The state takeover did not allow for an orderly handover of skills, he said.
These altercations have likely dampened appetite for future much-needed private investment, analysts say. ANARSE did not reply to request for comment on whether it had receive any acceptable bids for auctions that had an end-2019 deadline.
The temptation for the government will be to simply add more generation capacity on credit to resolve the short-term problem, with an eye on elections, warned Rene Jean-Jumeau, a former Minister Delegate for Energy.
But if EDH does not truly reform, then those new plants will also require extra subsidies and fall into disrepair, said Jumeau, now director of the Haitian Energy Institute.
“I’m waiting to see if Presume can give the results no-one else has been able to,” he said.
Reporting by Andre Paultre in Port-au-Prince and Sarah Marsh in Havana; Editing by Daniel Flynn and Rosalba O’BrienOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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f177917adc71d5f22a357bc0491d4b71 | https://www.reuters.com/article/haiti-land-farming/feature-haiti-farmers-eager-to-receive-compensation-after-groundbreaking-land-deal-idUKL8N28T4CH?edition-redirect=uk | FEATURE-Haiti farmers eager to receive compensation after 'groundbreaking' land deal | FEATURE-Haiti farmers eager to receive compensation after 'groundbreaking' land deal
By Jacob Kushner, Thomson Reuters Foundation7 Min Read
CARACOL, Haiti, Jan 14 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - On a hot morning in December, Haitian farmer Remy Augustin lifted a pickaxe that was taller than him and began digging holes in a small plot of land. In each hole he dropped a few kernels of maize, which he covered with loose dirt.
“I don’t have money to pay for a tractor, so we’re aerating the land ourselves,” said Augustin, 55, lamenting the days when the land he tilled was his own.
“The land I had was better — it gave me so many bananas, peas, beans.”
Nine years ago, the father of five was working on government land he rented when “a tractor destroyed everything”.
The land was earmarked for the Caracol industrial park, a venture led by South Korean textile firm Sae-A Trading Co Ltd and financed by international donors to spur development following Haiti’s devastating 2010 earthquake.
Located in Haiti’s northern region, the $300 million park opened in 2012 and now employs approximately 15,000 people, most of whom work in clothing factories there, according to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), one of the park’s main financial backers.
In 2018 farmers like Augustin who had been evicted from their land in 2011 struck a rare deal with the IDB to provide Caracol’s 100 most vulnerable families with new, titled land.
But 10 years after the earthquake that killed more than 200,000 people and made 1.5 million homeless, the farmers are still waiting to receive compensation for their land used to build the Caracol park.
Augustin now works as a laborer on a plot owned by his niece, struggling to pay his children’s school fees for the coming year.
“I have to share this land with my whole family,” Augustin told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. “I don’t have anything of my own.”
DRIVEN FROM LAND
International donors pledged nearly $10 billion to help Haiti recover after the 2010 earthquake, which destroyed or damaged 300,000 homes in the capital Port-au-Prince and surrounding cities, said the International Organization for Migration.
To make space for the park, in 2011, 366 Haitian families - including 720 farmers - were evicted from their land, according to charity ActionAid Haiti.
Neither the government, the IDB, nor USAID - another of the park’s main funders - responded to requests to verify those figures.
A spokeswoman for Sae-A Trading Co Ltd described the textile firm as a “tenant of the park”, adding it had been involved neither in its construction nor in the 2018 land deal.
Local farmer and activist Milostene Castin said that from 2011 to 2013 the IDB gave the farmers an annual living stipend of $80 per family member, and paid $1,450 for each hectare of land, well below the land’s value.
“The cash compensation that was received by the vast majority of the farmers was not sufficient to purchase new land or to establish new livelihoods,” said Lani Inverarity, a lawyer at San Francisco-based charity Accountability Counsel, which promotes human rights.
The IDB later promised the farmers new plots of land, but “year after year the land never came”, said Castin, who works for local organization Action for Reforestation and Environmental Defense (AREDE).
Families that once lived off of the food they grew “were struggling just to eat”, he said.
Eventually, the IDB identified a swath of replacement land, but when Castin went to inspect it, other farmers were there already, he said.
COLLECTIVE ACTION
Fed up with waiting, hundreds of farmers formed a collective in 2014 to fight for land.
In 2017, with the help of ActionAid Haiti and AREDE, the farmers filed a complaint against the IDB, demanding new land with legal titles to prove ownership so they could resume farming.
Their self-organizing paid off: After more than a year of meetings, the IDB agreed to purchase new, titled land for 100 of the most vulnerable families.
Others were offered alternative compensation such as irrigation schemes or money to invest in personal businesses. One member of each family will also be offered employment at the industrial park, according to the IDB.
“The farmers’ story is a really incredible one of persistence in the face of incredible power imbalances,” said Inverarity of the Accountability Counsel, which supported the farmers throughout the complaints procedure.
“Typically, IFIs (international financial institutions) try their best to stay out of these disputes, leaving it to the company or government entity to respond. However, here the IDB genuinely turned up,” said Inverarity.
Andy White, coordinator of Washington-based advocacy group Rights and Resources Initiative, agreed, calling the land agreement “groundbreaking for Haiti”.
“We are seeing more and more cases like this around the world where communities have fought back against international investors to demand respect for their land rights,” he added.
“But this is the first case I’m aware of this scale and this nature.”
COMPLEX PROCESS
Implementation of the agreement is behind schedule due to logistical challenges in identifying the most vulnerable families - among other hurdles - who are still waiting to receive compensation, according to the Accountability Counsel.
It is meeting with all farmers to figure out how they would like to receive financing to obtain title deeds to a parcel of land.
Assuming the IDB disburses the funds soon, Accountability Counsel said what happened in Haiti’s north could be seen as a successful model of how communities displaced by development projects can self-organize to demand new, titled land.
The group is currently monitoring more than 1,200 cases in which local communities are facing similar issues in 129 countries across the world.
“About 13% of concluded cases have gone through a dispute resolution process like in Haiti,” resulting in 90 agreements globally, said Sarah Singh, the Accountability Counsel’s global communities director.
‘JUST WAITING’
Meanwhile, the farmers are trying to eke out a living with what they have got.
Ever since her father’s land was taken over to build the Caracol park, Seliana Marcelus leaves her home at 5am to sell breakfast to the factory workers as they enter the industrial park gates.
All night long she fries potatoes, breadfruit and other produce, things that her family once grew on that same land but that she now must purchase at the local market.
“I don’t even go to bed. I work all night,” said Marcelus. “It’s the only work I have.”
Since losing his plot, Rony Comper has been doing odd jobs, from temping as a motorcycle taxi driver to crossing the border into the Dominican Republic to work as a mason.
Like Augustin, he found a titled plot he will buy once IDB releases the funds - which is expected to happen this year. “We’re just waiting.”
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d057bdb677216037fe0817cec800dc95 | https://www.reuters.com/article/haiti-weddings/wider-image-defying-protests-and-poverty-haitians-get-creative-to-wed-in-style-idINKBN2681PF?edition-redirect=in | Wider Image: Defying protests and poverty, Haitians get creative to wed in style | Wider Image: Defying protests and poverty, Haitians get creative to wed in style
By Reuters Staff5 Min Read
PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - As anti-government protesters in Haiti’s capital blocked principal roads and clashed with police last year, Stanley Joseph and Daphne Gerard used the city’s winding and potholed backroads to make it to church for their wedding, decked out in all their finery.
Mirla-Samuelle Pierre, 32, a reggae singer, puts on a tiara, as she gets ready before her wedding to Duckyns St-Eloi, better known as 'Zikiki', her drummer and composer bandmate, at the Church of the Adventist University of Haiti, in Diquini, Carrefour, Haiti, December 28, 2017. If a couple has relatives abroad willing to be the 'godparents' or witnesses, these will typically make a financial contribution to the wedding, including buying and shipping the bride's dress, usually a bouffant white gown. Pierre said her cousin who lives in New York and was her wedding godmother purchased her dress, shoes, gloves and tall sparkling crown, "I wanted to be different to everyone else so I got the tallest one there was," she said. REUTERS/Valerie Baeriswyl
The bride had wondered if they should postpone their big day when it became clear a majority of their guests would not make it, due to the violent unrest that had gripped Port-au-Prince for months.
But they had spent a lot of money and time planning.
Joseph, 36, felt they could make it work, although that meant chartering a plane to bring Gerard’s parents up from the country’s south-east.
Such is Haiti, where couples often have to surmount seemingly endless obstacles, from unrest and hurricanes to power outages and, above all, poverty, to get wed.
But wed they do, and in style.
“We always have problems in Haiti. You can’t wait. You just have to get on and overcome them,” said Joseph, who wore a silver suit and lilac tie and boutonniere, matching the bridesmaids’ lilac dresses. “I was stressed but happy.”
Marriage is not as widespread in Haiti as in other Western countries, given the long-standing Creole tradition of ‘plasaj,’ an informal marital relationship that is common in rural areas but not legally recognized.
Yet marriage has greater prestige and is particularly favored by Haiti’s wealthier, cosmopolitan urbanites, according to Haitian sociologist Tamas Jean Pierre - not least because it is recognized abroad.
Protestant churchgoing communities also favor marriage, especially if a couple is expecting a child. Some religious schools will only accept pupils if their parents can provide a marriage certificate.
“Often the reverend himself puts pressure on the couple, saying it is the will of God, which you cannot disobey,” said Haitian ethnologist Isaac Ducléon.
Slideshow ( 8 images )
Plasaj does not grant rights such as child support in the event of separation, or a share of a partner’s estate if they die.
“I fell pregnant and, as we are both churchgoers, we decided to get married,” said Johanne Jean, 38, who wed one month after giving birth, nursing her baby throughout the day.
Photo essay: reut.rs/32xOCTv
SHINDIG ON A SHOESTRING
Still, in a country where more than half the population lives under the poverty line of $2.41 per day, only the wealthiest of Haitian couples can afford the full shebang of a wedding ceremony, lavish dinner reception, and honeymoon.
Most have to get creative. Sometimes multiple couples get married at the same time to save on church fees.
They might skip the reception or, in the countryside, offer a simple meal of bread, fried plantains, rice and coffee. Sometimes, the whole village might provide food. Disputes can occur when there is not enough for all those who turn up, or when guests try to take home dishes or drinks.
Usually the cake is not big enough for everyone to have a piece so it is put on display during the wedding and consumed later at home by the couple and their nearest and dearest.
The couple may hire a pickup truck or motorbike taxis for the day to ferry people around. Or they may just walk to church, sweating up and down hills in their wedding clothes in the tropical heat.
Despite tight pursestrings, the showiness of the ceremony is the one element of the Haitian wedding that never lacks.
“It’s partly about expressing your social status,” said Jean Pierre. “Even the poorest women make an effort to have a beautiful wedding, which for them means a big eye-catching procession that people will talk about for a long time.”
The bridal procession in church can include friends playing the part of a king and queen, while the bridesmaids and groomsmen often dress so similarly to the bride and groom that it can be difficult to define, from outside, who is actually getting wed.
DIASPORIC SUPPORT
If a couple has relatives abroad willing to be the ‘godparents’ or witnesses, these will typically make a financial contribution to the wedding, including buying and shipping the bride’s dress, usually a bouffant white gown.
Reggae singer Mirla-Samuelle Pierre, 32, said her cousin who lives in New York and was her wedding godmother purchased her dress, shoes, gloves and tall sparkling crown.
“I wanted to be different to everyone else so I got the tallest one there was,” said Pierre, who married her drummer and composer bandmate Duckyns St-Eloi, better known as ‘Zikiki’.
She wed in church, mainly to please her parents. But the theme of the wedding decoration was ‘rastafari,’ reflecting the culture of the dreadlocked groom.
Zikiki, 38, wore a red, black, green and gold scarf over his white suit and surprised his bride as she arrived in church by belting out the jazz song “What a Wonderful World.”
Like all but the wealthiest Haitians, they chose not to spend any money on a grand reception or honeymoon.
“Instead, that same evening we went out to a nightclub,” said Zikiki, “and we had a lot of fun together.”
Writing by Sarah Marsh, Editing by Rosalba O’BrienOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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16e0192f25e02bf41fca18e9f08e99f6 | https://www.reuters.com/article/haldex-ab-ma-knorr-bremse/knorr-bremse-hits-brakes-on-bid-for-haldex-idUKL5N1M00WF?edition-redirect=uk | Knorr-Bremse hits brakes on bid for Haldex | Knorr-Bremse hits brakes on bid for Haldex
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
STOCKHOLM, Sept 19 (Reuters) - German brake systems maker Knorr-Bremse on Thursday withdrew its 5.5 billion crown ($692 million) bid for smaller Swedish rival Haldex, ending a bidding process which lasted more than a year.
The withdrawal comes after the Swedish Securities Council this month rejected Knorr’s request to extend the acceptance period for its bid, virtually eliminating any chance that the deal would be approved by competition authorities in time.
“The combination of Haldex and Knorr-Bremse would have been our preferred option which was clearly backed by the shareholders of Haldex. However, we will now pursue alternatives,” Knorr-Bremse said in a statement.
The deadline for the bid was Sept. 26.
Knorr-Bremse has been the sole bidder for Haldex since October after fellow German auto parts maker ZF Friedrichshafen conceded defeat after a bidding war.
Haldex’s board withdrew its support for Knorr-Bremse’s bid in June, saying the regulatory delays were hurting the company and that approval was unlikely.
Haldex shares were trading at 85 crowns per share before the bidding started in July last year. They closed at 105.75 crowns on Monday.
$1 = 7.9469 Swedish crowns Reporting by Johannes Hellstrom; editing by Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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84a0d17bb8d676105586c7e043c9c6cb | https://www.reuters.com/article/haldex-ab-ma-zf-friedrich/zf-friedrichshafen-will-not-submit-new-bid-for-haldex-idUKF9N1LL006?edition-redirect=uk | ZF Friedrichshafen will not submit new bid for Haldex | ZF Friedrichshafen will not submit new bid for Haldex
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
FRANKFURT, Sept 19 (Reuters) - German automotive supplier ZF Friedrichshafen will not reenter the race for Swedish brake-systems maker Haldex after Knorr-Bremse dropped its 5.5 billion Swedish crown ($693 million) bid, it said on Tuesday.
“The situation has not changed for us. We are currently still the largest shareholder. At the moment, we have no reason to submit a new bid for Haldex,” ZF said in a statement. ($1 = 7.9410 Swedish crowns) (Reporting by Ilona Wissenbach; Writing by Georgina Prodhan; Editing by Christoph Steitz)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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ac48dea6232928e22cac24452cabc47a | https://www.reuters.com/article/halkbank-debt-approval/turkish-capital-markets-board-approves-halkbank-issue-of-up-to-2-bln-debt-idUSL8N1ZI0E5 | Turkish Capital Markets board approves Halkbank issue of up to $2 bln debt | Turkish Capital Markets board approves Halkbank issue of up to $2 bln debt
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
ISTANBUL, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Turkey’s Capital Markets Board (SPK) has approved Halkbank’s issue of up to $2 billion worth of debt instruments, the SPK said in its weekly bulletin.
Halkbank said last month it was going to issue the debt. (Reporting by Ebru Tuncay; Editing by Daren Butler)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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2e45739480b5255a404f4410b01f020c | https://www.reuters.com/article/halliburton-results/halliburton-posts-third-straight-quarterly-loss-amid-shale-slump-idUKL3N2EN3V1?edition-redirect=uk | Halliburton posts third-straight quarterly loss amid shale slump | Halliburton posts third-straight quarterly loss amid shale slump
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
July 20 (Reuters) - Halliburton Co on Monday posted its third straight quarterly loss as the oilfield services provider recorded a $2.1 billion impairment charge due to weak demand from North American customers reeling under lower oil prices.
The company reported a net loss of $1.7 billion, or $1.91 per share, in the second quarter ended June 30, compared with a profit of $75 million, or 9 cents per share, a year earlier.
Excluding charges, Halliburton earned 5 cents per share. (Reporting by Shariq Khan in Bengaluru;Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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5b85adc00f982416a2e4d3d9517c1aee | https://www.reuters.com/article/halliburton-russia-idUKL8N2BJ32R?edition-redirect=uk | Halliburton, Gazprom Neft sign memo on cooperation in Russia | Halliburton, Gazprom Neft sign memo on cooperation in Russia
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
MOSCOW, March 26 (Reuters) - Oilfield services firm Halliburton and Russia’s Gazprom Neft have signed an outline agreement on technological cooperation to construct wells at the Achimov oil formation in Siberia, Gazprom Neft said on Thursday.
Cooperation between Western and Russian oil and gas producers has been curtailed by the sanctions imposed on Russia by the United States and Europe following Moscow’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
The operations at the Achimov formation are not subject to sanctions.
Gazprom Neft and the Houston, Texas-based company, have been working on a number of projects since 2011. (Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin and Olesya Astakhova; editing by Barbara Lewis)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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b7a99486b45f81968dd0c1af99e4511b | https://www.reuters.com/article/halliwell-danske/column-why-danske-bank-scandal-is-a-problem-for-putin-idINKCN1NP08N?edition-redirect=uk | Column: Why Danske Bank scandal is a problem for Putin | Column: Why Danske Bank scandal is a problem for Putin
By Steven E. Halliwell7 Min Read
(Reuters) - The ever-widening Danske Bank money laundering scandal, involving 200 billion euros ($228.5 billion) of “suspicious transfers” over eight years, is not only a disaster for the reputation of Denmark and its largest bank. It also points to the deep institutionalized corruption in Vladimir Putin’s Russia – and the political challenge facing the president himself.
Slideshow ( 3 images )
The investigation of Danske Bank’s branch in Estonia, the former Soviet state through which the money flowed, is getting fresh scrutiny as whistleblower Howard Wilkinson testifies before the European and Danish parliaments this week. Wilkinson, the former head of the bank’s trading unit in the Baltics, told a Danish parliamentary hearing Monday that several other major banks were involved in processing suspicious payments.
But the broader lessons of the scandal might be as much political as financial. The fact that many Russians – not just billionaire oligarchs – were laundering money through Estonia makes it clear that money laundering is a survival mechanism for Russian businesses and low-paid bureaucrats. Putin has not made serious efforts to stop the flow, seeing the flight of capital to the West as an escape valve for individuals trapped in a corrupt order. Time may be running out for that approach, however, as Russia’s economy falters and laundering becomes harder to hide.
The laundering operation – involving 15,000 “non-resident” customers – served primarily a Russian market, according to a report released by Danske Bank. The operation grew out of two Estonian banks created in 1992 expressly to service a client base of retail and corporate Russian customers by moving money from rubles into another currency and sending the proceeds to a third country. In recent years, Danske Bank saw 90 percent of the pre-tax profits of its Estonian operation from these customers – virtually all of it from payment and foreign exchange transactions.
The Estonian bank is just one part of a much larger problem. Some 177 Danske Bank customers in Estonia, the report reveals, were Russian nationals previously identified as part of the “Russian Laundromat,” a money laundering platform siphoning money out of Russia through a Moldovan intermediary. The “Laundromat” customers were companies registered in the UK or tax havens like Belize and the British Virgin Islands, as are the bulk of the Estonian bank’s non-resident customers.
Two hundred billion euros is a substantial sum of money, but only a fraction of the estimated $800 billion held offshore by rich Russians. To put this number in perspective, it is equal to the current wealth of all Russian households. Much of this enormous sum has been secretly transferred out of Russia during the Putin years, evidence that money laundering is not occasional criminality but an integral part of the economic system.
Some context: the Russian ruble is a soft currency, one that constantly loses value through inflation and government mismanagement. To preserve value, soft currency residents convert their cash into hard currencies like euros, dollars or pounds sterling. Laws are broken when banks convert soft cash – often illegally obtained or of suspicious origin – from countries that limit citizen’s access to hard currencies.
Let’s walk through a hypothetical transaction, one that might have been used by some of the Estonian bank’s customers. Suppose a mid-level bureaucrat has a billion-ruble project ($16 million). He asks a supplier to inflate an invoice; instead of billing for the ruble equivalent of $1 million, the supplier bills for $1.5 million. The supplier sends the excess to an Estonian account at Danske Bank controlled by the bureaucrat.
The rubles are converted into dollars at an unfavorable exchange rate (money laundering is not cheap). Then the bureaucrat instructs the Estonian bank to send the balance to a London bank where an account was opened during, say, a UK shopping trip. Fearful that the UK bank might think the payment suspicious, the minister’s legal agent in London orders the money transferred to an account in a location like the British Virgin Islands.
But tax havens sometimes raise governmental regulators’ eyebrows. In order to make the money look “clean”, it needs to move once more. Purchasing real estate in London or the United States has been a typical next step.
Meanwhile back home, the billion-ruble project is delayed due to lack of funds. The ministry has to get more funds allocated, and the delay means the bridge, road, new hospital, whatever, often never gets completed.
Governments have cracked down on these laundering practices in recent years. Shell companies that hide the owner’s identity are now illegal for expensive real estate purchases in major markets like New York and Miami; the UK took similar action this year. Banks are also under growing pressure. The U.S. government broke the Swiss secret bank account market in 2010 when it required notification of any U.S. citizen’s financial holdings in Switzerland. That regulation proved to be a breakthrough – an OECD initiative has now signed up about 50 countries to pass information among themselves in the same way. Even some tax havens have signed on.
As money laundering becomes harder to hide, Putin is losing his escape valve. Making matters worse, international sanctions and anemic economic growth for the past six years have meant Russians’ real incomes are falling and withdrawals of hard currency from Russian banks are up sharply.
Domestically, Putin’s popularity is dropping following his efforts to raise the retirement age, and his party recently lost four elections in Russia’s hinterland. That could push him into making a choice: either another distracting foreign adventure, or a shift to market reforms. Both options are perilous – Russians (especially the wealthy targeted by sanctions) are growing tired of the isolation that the 2014 Crimean annexation brought about, and another military venture could lead to massive protests. But a shift to market reforms, while winning praise from Western governments, would undermine Putin’s feudal patronage system and destabilize politics.
The question now is what Putin will choose. Compliance with global money laundering rules might not end the illegal flow of Russian wealth to the West, but would start to reduce it. Market reforms at home would stimulate new investment. But it’s unclear whether he could rally popular support for such measures – and whether his political lieutenants will allow it. What is clear is that the Danske Bank scandal has underscored that Russia’s economic revival and gradual integration into the global economy hang in the balance.
Reporting by Steven E. HalliwellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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8377ea03d4e9fe1f2e15b1aa8014733a | https://www.reuters.com/article/hammerson-financing/uks-hammerson-plans-equity-raise-stake-sale-idINL4N2F51IR?edition-redirect=in | UK's Hammerson plans equity raise, stake sale | UK's Hammerson plans equity raise, stake sale
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
Aug 3 (Reuters) - British mall operator Hammerson said on Monday it was in advanced talks to sell its 50% stake in joint venture VIA Outlets to its partner APG and was considering a rights issue to raise cash.
The Bullring owner said footfall and sales have continued to improve after it reopened its flagship destinations across Europe and its third-quarter rent collection in the UK has risen to over 30%.
Reporting by Samantha Machado in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya SoniOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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484881afe2f714c6ae9cfd5b04bfe72e | https://www.reuters.com/article/hammerson-financing/update-2-mall-operator-hammerson-plans-rights-issue-and-disposal-to-ride-out-crisis-idINL4N2F51MJ?edition-redirect=in | Mall operator Hammerson plans rights issue and disposal to ride out crisis | Mall operator Hammerson plans rights issue and disposal to ride out crisis
By Samantha Machado2 Min Read
(Reuters) - Debt-laden British Mall operator Hammerson HMSO.L is drawing up plans for a possible rights issue and is in advanced talks on the sale of its stake in discount shopping outlets joint venture to help it through the coronavirus crisis, it said on Monday.
FILE PHOTO: A woman is seen wearing a protective face mask in an area outside the Birmingham Bullring shopping centre while the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in Birmingham, Britain, April 9, 2020. REUTERS/Carl Recine/File Photo
Hammerson shares, which have plunged 80% this year as the retail landscape has been battered by coronavirus lockdowns, dropped 8% to 58 pence on the mid-cap index by 0733 GMT.
The health crisis has brought mall operators to their knees as their already struggling tenants have been squeezed even further by stay-at-home shoppers, prompting calls for rent relief and deferrals.
Hammerson, which runs shopping malls such as the Bullring in Birmingham, had net debt of 2.8 billion pounds ($3.7 billion) at the end of 2019, exceeding a market capitalisation of about 2.4 billion pounds at the time.
Rival Intu Properties INTUP.L, which Hammerson attempted to buy two years ago, was forced to bring in administrators in June after it failed to secure a deal with creditors as the sector outlook worsened.
Hammerson said it plans to sell its 50% stake in VIA Outlets to Dutch pension fund APG, its partner in the venture created in 2014 to acquire shopping outlet centres across Europe.
Sky News, which first reported the proposed capital increase and disposal, said Hammerson intends to raise 800 million pounds.
Hammerson did not disclose further detail on the proposed rights issue or the stake sale and declined to comment when asked by Reuters how much it plans to raise.
“We think raising about 1.3 billion pounds is more like the quantum needed to restore the balance sheet to a more comfortable level,” Liberum analysts said in a note.
In its statement on Monday, Hammerson pointed to improving sales and mall visits after it reopened its flagship destinations across Europe and reported a 30% increase in third-quarter rent collection.
Reporting by Samantha Machado and Muvija M in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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dcaa5378e99735556a8d69a58b974e68 | https://www.reuters.com/article/handelsbanken-results-idINFWN2EL0UJ?edition-redirect=in | Sweden's Handelsbanken Q2 net profit beats consensus | Sweden's Handelsbanken Q2 net profit beats consensus
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
STOCKHOLM, July 15 (Reuters) - Sweden’s Handelsbanken reported a smaller-than-expected fall in quarterly net earnings on Wednesday, as the bank’s loan portfolio continued to weather the impact of the coronavirus pandemic with ease.
Second-quarter net profit fell to 3.96 billion Swedish crowns ($436 million) from 4.22 billion in the previous year, easily beating the mean forecast of 3.34 billion seen by analysts according to Refinitiv data.
Loan losses, a figure closely watched due to a slump in the pandemic-hit wider economy, were 97 million crowns, better than a year-ago 435 million and much lower than the 1.02 billion loss expected by analysts. ($1 = 9.0840 Swedish crowns) (Reporting by Colm Fulton; editing by Niklas Pollard)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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cf72f3d7fb629c8ada387f0dea724679 | https://www.reuters.com/article/hapag-lloyd-results-idINL1N2HZ0F6?edition-redirect=in | UPDATE 1-Hapag-Lloyd sees higher earnings on cheaper fuel, stabilising demand | UPDATE 1-Hapag-Lloyd sees higher earnings on cheaper fuel, stabilising demand
By Vera Eckert3 Min Read
* Bunker prices fell 5.4% in Jan-Sept, cutting costs
* Operators earn higher rates as ship supply is tight
* Demand outlook firm for Q4
* Coronavirus creates uncertainty going into 2021 (Adds interview with CEO)
FRANKFURT, Nov 13 (Reuters) - German container liner Hapag-Lloyd AG is confident of achieving higher earnings in 2020 as lower fuel prices cut shipping costs, demand in Asia recovers and fleet capacity is tight, chief executive Rolf Habben Jansen said on Friday.
“Oil prices have fallen sharply in the coronavirus crisis, that has given us tailwind, especially in the weak second quarter,” said the head of the world’s fifth biggest shipping firm in an interview with Reuters.
“Volumes have bounced back unexpectedly strongly in the third quarter and that will remain the case in the coming months,” he added.
A drop in bunker - shipping fuel - prices by 5.4% to $402 per tonne helped cut operating costs in the first nine-months of 2020, when Hapag-Lloyd posted a 81.1% surge in net profit.
Net profit was 538 million euros ($635 million) in the period, compared with 297 million a year earlier.
The company stuck to guidance for full-year earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), which it raised to 2.4-2.6 billion euros last month, and earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of 1.1-1.3 billion.
Nine-month EBITDA increased 20.4% to 1.8 billion euros and EBIT was up 33.4% at 858 million euros.
Higher freights rates helped profitability, rising 2% to $1,097 per twenty foot equivalent unit (TEU) in the nine months.
This trend partly results from tight supply.
The world’s idle fleet numerically represents 1.8% of total tonnage but in practice is “virtually zero,” Habben Jansen said.
Despite favourable profit numbers and strict cost management, he warned of demand falls further ahead as fallout from the pandemic will leave a lasting imprint on the global economy.
“There is bound to be some sort of a weaker period in 2021 but we don’t know how big the dent will be,” he said.
$1 = 0.8470 euros Reporting by Vera Eckert; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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573c90a70969b0ad63f105eaedf0f353 | https://www.reuters.com/article/harley-davidson-results-idINKBN27C2DO?edition-redirect=in | Harley shines as CEO Zeitz's turnaround plan boosts profit | Harley shines as CEO Zeitz's turnaround plan boosts profit
By Rachit Vats2 Min Read
(Reuters) - Harley-Davidson Inc beat profit expectations on Tuesday as tighter inventories helped drive up prices and it reined in costs as part of Chief Executive Officer Jochen Zeitz’s restructuring plan, sending its shares up as much as 28%.
FILE PHOTO: A Harley-Davidson Inc. logo is seen at the Paris auto show in Paris, France, October 4, 2018. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo
Overall shipments were down only 6% in the third quarter, recovering from a 59% slump in the prior quarter, indicating a rise in demand for the maker of large cruisers.
The sharp recovery from the pandemic lows comes as CEO Zeitz looks to recharge the business by shifting the focus back to big bikes and traditional markets like the United States and Europe.
Harley also tightened supplies and cut production, driving up prices for pre-owned bikes, which used to be a drag on new motorcycle sales.
“We are managing inventory in line or rather a little short of demand,” Zeitz said. “Dealers are selling new bike at or very close to MSRP (manufacturer suggested retail price) and higher dealer profitability.”
Global dealer inventory was down 30% in the quarter and Zeitz said the company was planning to exit 40 unprofitable markets.
The company exited the world’s largest two-wheeler market, India, last month and recently announced a plan to develop and sell a range of premium motorcycles under its brand name in the country along with Hero MotoCorp.
Retail sales in its biggest market, the United States, where Harley has not recorded a sales rise for the past six years, fell 10% from a year earlier, but was much less than the 27% slide in the second quarter.
Total expenses fell 26% to $196.9 million in the quarter.
Net income rose 38% to $120 million, or 78 cents per share in the third quarter ended Sept. 30. Analysts were expecting a profit of 21 cents per share, according to Refinitiv data.
Motorcycles and related product revenue fell to $964 million from $1.07 billion a year earlier.
Reporting by Rachit Vats in Bengaluru; Editing by Sweta Singh and Arun KoyyurOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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f215c4ce83f1a8e996d6906fdf2a6f56 | https://www.reuters.com/article/harvard-admissions/pivotal-harvard-race-discrimination-case-to-be-weighed-by-u-s-appeals-court-idINKBN2671N6?edition-redirect=in | U.S. appeals court questions Asian-American bias claims against Harvard | U.S. appeals court questions Asian-American bias claims against Harvard
By Nate Raymond3 Min Read
BOSTON (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Wednesday appeared skeptical of arguments that Harvard discriminates against Asian-American applicants, a claim made in a closely-watched lawsuit challenging the use of race as a factor in U.S. college admissions.
FILE PHOTO: Students and pedestrians walk through the Yard at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., March 10, 2020. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo
Members of a three-judge 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel in Boston questioned why it should conclude a trial judge wrongly rejected the claims by Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA), a nonprofit founded by anti-affirmative action activist Edward Blum.
Conservatives have long criticized affirmative action. Legal experts say the case could go to the U.S. Supreme Court, giving its conservative majority a chance to reconsider past decisions that allowed race to be considered as a factor in admissions.
Blum’s group, which counts Asian-American applicants as members and has President Donald Trump administration’s support, contends the Ivy League school engaged in impermissible “racial balancing” to benefit other preferred minority groups, such as Blacks and Hispanics.
SFFA lawyer William Consovoy argued that despite high academic scores, Asian Americans were admitted a lower rates than other groups because of racial stereotyping by admissions officers who gave them low “personal” rating scores.
Consovoy asked the court to consider how it would evaluate such low scores if they were given to well-qualified Black applicants for police or firefighting jobs.
“I think this court would be skeptical or concerned that this was discrimination and not that African American firefighters or police officers actually had worse personal qualities,” he said.
A U.S. Justice Department lawyer, Eric Dreiband, argued that Harvard in adopting its admissions system gave “no serious consideration of race-neutral alternatives.”
But their arguments faced questions from panelists including U.S. Circuit Judge Juan Torruella, who asked “what is the evidence of racial profiling here?”
Seth Waxman, Harvard’s lawyer, argued that a “mountain of evidence” showed it did not intentionally discriminate against Asian Americans.
He urged the court to uphold U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs, who last year ruled Harvard had no “workable and available race-neutral alternatives” to ensure a diverse student body.
U.S. Circuit Judge Sandra Lynch during the arguments pointed to past Supreme Court rulings that allow universities to consider race as one factor to remedy disadvantages minority students have faced because of racial prejudice.
“Harvard can in fact consider other things than merely class ranking and the academic achievements of the Asian-American applicants,” she said.
Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Grant McCoolOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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e4c30a5ccc84ed322b826920d795035b | https://www.reuters.com/article/hastings-grp-cfo/insurer-hastings-brings-in-ms-amlin-cfo-as-finance-chief-idUKL3N1ZB2DJ?edition-redirect=uk | Insurer Hastings brings in MS Amlin CFO as finance chief | Insurer Hastings brings in MS Amlin CFO as finance chief
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
Jan 11 (Reuters) - British insurer Hastings Group Holdings Plc said on Friday Richard Hoskins will retire as its chief financial officer after nearly four years in the role.
The company, which operates mainly in the auto insurance market appointed John Worth, currently chief financial officer of insurer MS Amlin, to replace Hoskins. (Reporting by Samantha Machado in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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5a4cca8cb28c4841509960a5b16791a2 | https://www.reuters.com/article/hastings-grp-ma-sampo-idINL1N2HI0HN?edition-redirect=in | Finland's Sampo says has all approvals for Hastings deal | Finland's Sampo says has all approvals for Hastings deal
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
Oct 27 (Reuters) - Sampo has received all regulatory and antitrust approvals needed for its acquisition of British motor insurer Hastings, the Finnish financial group said on Tuesday.
Hastings agreed to be bought in August by Sampo and South Africa’s Rand Merchant Investment (RMI) in a cash deal valuing it at 1.66 billion pounds ($2.16 billion).
“All of the conditions relating to regulatory and antitrust approvals have now been satisfied,” Sampo said in a statement.
Sampo will hold 70% of Hastings after a court hearing procedure expected to be held on Nov. 13.
$1 = 0.7673 pounds Reporting by Tarmo Virki in Tallinn; editing by Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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31352931f5b7043cadf78ca31ffbf5f5 | https://www.reuters.com/article/hastings-technology-metals-costs-idUKL3N2F01BG?edition-redirect=uk | Hastings Technology Metals to relocate part of rare earths plant to save costs | Hastings Technology Metals to relocate part of rare earths plant to save costs
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
July 29 (Reuters) - Australia’s Hastings Technology Metals Ltd said on Wednesday it would reduce its capital spend on the Yangibana rare earths project by about A$68 mln ($48.73 mln) through decoupling and relocating a part of it.
The rare earths explorer will relocate Yangibana’s hydrometallurgical cracking and leaching plant to the Pilbara region from the Gascoyne region in Western Australia, citing benefits like lower on-site costs and easier access to port facilities.
The company said the move was a part of its strategy to become a “significant” producer of rare earths, a group of 17 minerals used in everything from ventilators to iPhones to military weapons. (Reporting by Soumyajit Saha in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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b896b781ef8cccf9a4c9c33d94050aa8 | https://www.reuters.com/article/hays-outlook-idUKL3N21Y1O2?edition-redirect=uk | Recruiter Hays quarterly net fees rises | Recruiter Hays quarterly net fees rises
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
April 16 (Reuters) - British recruitment firm Hays Plc on Tuesday said comparable net fees rose 5 percent in the third quarter, helped by more hiring in its international and domestic markets.
Hays, which places workers in areas such as finance and construction, said net fees from Germany - its largest market - rose 5 percent for the three months ended March 31, while the UK and Ireland saw a rise of 3 percent despite uncertainties from Britain’s vote to leave the European Union. (Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong and Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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6ac21e42a889207c92816746a1e5d94c | https://www.reuters.com/article/hays-outlook/corrected-update-2-recruiter-hays-sounds-profit-warning-as-december-hiring-slows-idINL4N29L1X1?edition-redirect=in | CORRECTED-UPDATE 2-Recruiter Hays sounds profit warning as December hiring slows | CORRECTED-UPDATE 2-Recruiter Hays sounds profit warning as December hiring slows
By Yadarisa Shabong3 Min Read
(Corrects to remove reference to consultant headcount in paragraph seven)
* Sees H1 operating profit at 100 mln stg
* Q2 net fees down 4%
* Shares fall as much as 9%
* Germany, China Q2 net fees down 9%
Jan 16 (Reuters) - Recruitment firm Hays Plc warned of lower first-half operating profit on Thursday, as it struggled with a hiring squeeze that worsened in December in some of its largest markets including Britain, France and Australia.
London-listed shares of the company fell as much as 9% in early morning trade before recovering to trade 2.5% lower as of 0930 GMT.
Global recruiters have been pummelled by widespread uncertainties around the globe, ranging from Brexit worries in the United Kingdom to protests in Hong Kong and poor market sentiment due to the U.S.-China trade war.
Its peers PageGroup Plc and Robert Walters also had a tough quarter ending December, with weakness in hiring seen in similar markets including China, UK and France.
Hays’ profit warning was the first this year among its peers but comes just three months after similar warnings from PageGroup and Robert Walters.
First-half 2020 operating profit is expected to be about 100 million pounds ($130.36 million), Hays said, compared with 124.1 million pounds it reported last year.
Hays said it expects to reduce overhead costs by 5 million pounds in the second half of the year, following a review of its cost base in the second quarter of 2019.
“Hopefully, a clear UK election result and a trade deal between the U.S. and China should position us to return to growth over the next year or two,” Finance Director Paul Venables told Reuters.
Hays reported a 4% drop in like-for-like net fees in the second-quarter, also blaming a stronger pound for the fall.
Venables said net fees were initially down 3% during most of the quarter, driven primarily by deterioration in Germany, before falling further due to the spread of general strikes in France, the British election and bush fires in Australia.
“Each event impacted markets already facing challenging economic conditions and low business confidence,” Chief Executive Alistair Cox said in a statement.
Germany, its largest market, saw further decline in net fees of 9% in the quarter as business confidence continued to be subdued and companies reined in costs and deterred hiring, particularly in the manufacturing and automotive sector.
In China, where the recruiter derived some strength in the previous quarters, net fees also declined 9% and was driven by a slowdown in investment in the manufacturing sector, Venables said.
$1 = 0.7671 pounds Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Emelia Sithole-MatriseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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bdfc23984fe0190eefc96be28f32da95 | https://www.reuters.com/article/hays-outlook/recruiter-hays-warns-of-lower-first-half-profit-as-december-hiring-slows-idUKL4N29L1WA?edition-redirect=uk | Recruiter Hays warns of lower first-half profit as December hiring slows | Recruiter Hays warns of lower first-half profit as December hiring slows
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
Jan 16 (Reuters) - UK-based recruitment firm Hays Plc warned of lower first-half operating profit, as it struggled with a hiring squeeze in some of its largest markets including UK, France and Australia in December that slowed net fee growth.
The company said it expects first-half 2020 operating profit to be about 100 million pounds ($130.36 million). It reported a profit of 124.1 million pounds in the first half of last year.
$1 = 0.7671 pounds Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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2568409bba74012ceebc4f6073b2dac7 | https://www.reuters.com/article/hd-supply-holdgs-m-a-home-depot-idINKBN27W1OQ?edition-redirect=in | Home Depot to buy back HD Supply in $8 billion deal | Home Depot to buy back HD Supply in $8 billion deal
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
The logo of U.S. home improvement chain Home Depot is seen after the Mexican trade union Revolutionary Confederation of Laborers and Farmworkers (CROC) accused Home Depot of blocking union activity, in Mexico City, Mexico January 15, 2020. REUTERS/Luis Cortes/Files
(Reuters) - Home Depot Inc said on Monday it would buy HD Supply Holdings Inc in a deal valued at about $8 billion, setting itself up to regain control over the industrial materials wholesaler after spinning it off over a decade ago.
The top U.S. home improvement chain said it would offer $56 in cash for each share of HD Supply, a near 25% premium to the stock’s last close. HD Supply’s shares jumped 24.5% on the news.
With the deal, Home depot is looking to expand its reach into building utility and maintenance products, betting that the economic toll of the COVID-19 pandemic will force swathes of Americans to look for affordable housing.
“With a bolstered sales force and enhanced supply chain, we have no doubt Home Depot will be a more formidable player in the$55 billion maintenance, repair and operations market for years to come,” Jefferies analysts wrote.
Home Depot, which sold HD Supply in 2007 for $8.5 billion to Bain Capital, Carlyle Group and Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, said it will fund the buy back through a combination of cash and debt.
HD Supply, one of the largest distributors of appliances, plumbing, and electrical equipment in North America with over 500,000 customers, is expected to be accretive to earnings in 2021, Home Depot said.
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC served as financial adviser to Home Depot on the deal, which is expected to close in its fourth fiscal quarter. The company will report third-quarter results on Tuesday.
Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Shinjini GanguliOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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93889d212ba76e8b61fc60e47297c01a | https://www.reuters.com/article/hdfc-bank-mclr/hdfc-bank-cuts-mclr-by-10-bps-effective-august-7-source-idUKL4N25244B?edition-redirect=uk | HDFC Bank cuts MCLR by 10 bps, effective August 7 - source | HDFC Bank cuts MCLR by 10 bps, effective August 7 - source
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
MUMBAI, Aug 6 (Reuters) - India’s largest private lender HDFC Bank has cut its marginal cost of funds-based lending rates, or MCLR, by 0.10% across all tenors, effective August 7, according to a source.
The bank’s revised MCLR for one-year tenor loans will now be 8.60%.
Indian banks largely price their MCLR benchmark loan rates according to the cost of deposits. With this cut, the bank’s lending rates on products like auto or home loans may also come down.
India’s central bank has been prodding lenders to reduce lending rates to push up credit demand as the economy slows down. (Reporting by Nupur Anand; Editing by Jan Harvey)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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fac4e03aaaeeb4c919a2f74c5406b93c | https://www.reuters.com/article/hdfc-bank-results/indias-hdfc-bank-posts-18-2-pct-rise-in-net-profit-in-first-quarter-idUKL4N1UG23Y?edition-redirect=uk | India's HDFC Bank posts 18.2 pct rise in net profit in first quarter | India's HDFC Bank posts 18.2 pct rise in net profit in first quarter
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
MUMBAI, July 21 (Reuters) - India’s HDFC Bank Ltd posted a 18.2 percent rise in first-quarter profit on Saturday on higher interest and fee income, though it missed analysts’ estimates.
Net profit rose to 46.01 billion rupees ($669.43 million) for the quarter ended June 30, from 38.94 billion rupees a year ago, India’s second-biggest lender by assets said in a statement.
Analysts had on average expected a net profit of 47.66 billion rupees for the bank that has the highest market capitalisation in the sector at nearly $85 billion, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Gross bad loans as a percentage of total loans stood at 1.33 percent at end-June, versus 1.3 percent at end-March. ($1 = 68.7300 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Promit Mukherjee in Mumbai and Chris Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Himani Sarkar amnd Andrew Heavens)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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5dcad617610168ffd299464d43aaa165 | https://www.reuters.com/article/hdfc-bank-sharesale/indian-lender-hdfcs-u-s-share-sale-to-raise-about-1-81-billion-idUKL4N1UR6DI?edition-redirect=uk | Indian lender HDFC's U.S. share sale to raise about $1.81 billion | Indian lender HDFC's U.S. share sale to raise about $1.81 billion
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
July 31 (Reuters) - HDFC Bank Ltd , India’s second-biggest lender by assets, on Tuesday said its U.S. public offering of 17.5 million American depository shares (ADS) was priced at $104 each, raising about $1.81 billion.
HDFC's qualified institutions placement (QIP) of 12.8 million equity shares in India was also priced at Rs. 2,160 per equity share, which is expected to raise about Rs. 27.61 billion, the bank said in a filing bit.ly/2LCoL65.
Proceeds from the ADSs offering and the QIP are expected to be used to strengthen the bank’s capital structure and to support growth and expansion, the bank said.
With its focus on retail clients and a lower bad-loan ratio, HDFC Bank is an investor favourite at a time when India’s banking sector has been plagued by a record $150 billion in non-performing loans.
The bank last raised 97.66 billion rupees of equity capital in 2015 by selling shares in the Indian and American markets.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Credit Suisse, J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley are advising on the American as well as the Indian share sale of HDFC Bank. (Reporting by Nikhil Subba in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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73c3eb35d44ef81b11b1ca527a3e67ed | https://www.reuters.com/article/healt-coronavirus-armenia-idUSL8N2B817D | Armenia shuts down fourth-largest city over coronavirus | Armenia shuts down fourth-largest city over coronavirus
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
YEREVAN, March 15 (Reuters) - Armenia has shut down its fourth-largest city, Vagharshapat, with a population of around 46,000 people, in a bid to curb the spread of coronavirus, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said.
Eighteen coronavirus cases out of 28 registered in Armenia were reported from Vagharshapat, also known as Echmiadzin, the spiritual centre of the country, west of the capital Yerevan.
Local people will be able to leave the city only after having their body temperature taken, Pashinyan said on Sunday.
A decision on the need to postpone Armenia’s referendum on constitutional reforms, scheduled for April 5, will be made later depending on how the situation with the virus develops, Pashinyan said.
Armenia is currently keeping 300 people in quarantine over the risk of the coronavirus. The first case of the flue-like virus was reported on March 1, and the patient has already recovered. (Reporting by Nvard Hovhannisyan; editing by Andrey Ostroukh, Alexander Smith, William Maclean)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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054d601dcb7a6f17864849b8de823aea | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-africa-liberia-idINKCN0US2FS20160114?edition-redirect=in | Liberia's Ebola orphans rebuild lives with new families as epidemic declared over | Liberia's Ebola orphans rebuild lives with new families as epidemic declared over
By Kieran Guilbert, Thomson Reuters Foundation7 Min Read
MONTSERRADO, Liberia (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Twelve-year-old Meama rarely drags her gaze away from the ground as she recalls living alone and relying on food from neighbours to survive after her mother died of Ebola in the world’s worst known outbreak of the deadly virus.
Girls wash their hands as part of Ebola prevention methods, in Paynesville, Liberia, November 24, 2015. REUTERS/James Giahyue/Files
Sitting outside her new home in West Point, the largest slum in Liberia’s capital Monrovia, the hint of a smile flickers across Meama’s face as her foster mother embraces her tightly.
“I went to visit my sister and saw this poor girl, homeless and alone, crying and crying,” says Kulah Borbor, who had seven children before taking on Meama.
“I took her in because she looked so sad, wandering around without anyone to care for her.”
Pupils laugh as they rush to school through the slum’s narrow streets, but Meama’s story is a stark reminder of the hardship faced by the thousands of children left orphaned by the two-year epidemic that slammed three countries in West Africa.
World Health Organisation (WHO) figures show Ebola killed more than 11,300 people - including about 3,500 children - since 2013, almost all in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.
The epidemic was declared officially over on Thursday when Liberia was said to be Ebola-free for a third time, with no cases of the deadly virus in 42 days. Guinea was declared Ebola-free last month and Sierra Leone in November.
But although the epidemic may be over, thousands of people now face the challenge of having to rebuild their lives, with the authorities and charities working to help young victims.
About 8,000 children in Liberia lost one or both parents to the haemorrhagic virus, government data shows, leaving them vulnerable to abuse, exploitation and violence, with some forced to work in bogus orphanages or shunned due to fears of Ebola.
Borbor admits to being scared shortly after her adopted daughter moved in.
“She started feeling unwell and coughing, and I thought she might have Ebola - man, was I afraid!”
FORCED TO WORK
But stigma and fear are fading in the West African nation and the government is working with partners to ensure those orphaned are cared for by relatives or foster families.
While many unscrupulous, abusive orphanages popped up during the epidemic, a drive to close such institutions is underway.
“Our priority for orphans is always family care - regulated and well-run orphanages are a last resort,” said Patricia Togba from the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection.
In a leafy, secluded village in Montserrado county, a far cry from West Point’s cramped jumble of brightly coloured shacks, 50-year-old Varmah Massaquoa is struggling to care for her four grandchildren after Ebola killed their mother.
The young siblings sit in silence as Massaquoa remembers the day burial workers came to take the body away, and how the children, hysterical and sobbing, had to be restrained to stop them from climbing into the truck next to their mother’s corpse.
“I feel nothing but trauma, the children cry most of the night and I cannot sleep ... but at least they have me - otherwise who would look after them?” Massaquoa asks as tears stream down the faces of her two granddaughters.
While West Africans traditionally keep orphans within the extended family, the fallout of Liberia’s 14-year civil war saw more than 100 orphanages open after the conflict ended in 2003.
Most were substandard, or abusive and run by owners who forced children to work, according to the charity Save the Children, which helped the government establish a 2013 policy to assess and monitor orphanages and close any exploiting children.
“Regulation in Liberia is weak across the board, so even an orphanage opened by a well-meaning individual could quickly become unhygienic, abusive and lacking trained staff or a clear system,” said Save the Children country director Edward Abbey.
The Ebola outbreak halted this policy, during which time many new orphanages sprouted up, but a renewed crackdown last year led to the closure of several institutions, some of which were using children to raise pigs and mould bricks for sale.
“We even had communities come forward to tell us that people had opened orphanages which seemed suspicious... everyone knows the importance of being cared for by a family,” Togba said.
FREE AT LAST
At the height of the epidemic, which hit Liberia the hardest with some 4,800 deaths, the country of 4.3 million people was initially overwhelmed by the number of children orphaned, according to Togba.
Three transit centres housed those who did not have family members available to care for them while efforts were made to track down relatives and approach potential foster parents.
“The centres were overflowing at first, and I would think to myself ‘how will we place all these children?’,” Togba said.
But today, from rural, far-flung villages to bustling slums in Monrovia, almost all of the Ebola orphans identified by the government are living with extended families or foster parents.
While some orphans endure lingering stigma, called “Ebola children” and mocked or rejected by their peers, most have slipped happily into new families, communities and schools.
Frantically packing his school bag in his aunt’s house in a small village in Montserrado, 60 km (40 miles) north east of the capital, 16-year-old Ernest dreams of becoming a doctor, like many other children orphaned by Ebola.
“I was caring for my mother who had Ebola and was terrified when she vomited in my lap. I feared I would get it... but now I’m working hard at school and thinking of the future,” he said.
There are about 120 social workers across Liberia - compared to just 12 before the outbreak - who monitor the wellbeing of Ebola orphans and the care provided by their adoptive families.
The epidemic saw a spike in sexual violence towards girls and violence against children, experts say, and left orphans particularly vulnerable to abuse, said Sheldon Yett, country director for the United Nations children’s agency (UNICEF).
“Social workers play a vital role in ensuring that people are protecting and prioritising children, and taking them on for the right reasons, not just for financial gain,” Yett said.
Relatives and foster parents who took in orphans of Ebola each received a one-off payment of $150, and Togba said many of them had used the money to set up businesses and build homes.
Hanging clothes to dry outside her home in West Point in the fierce midday heat, Martina Wilson is restless as she waits for her adopted daughter to come home from school for lunch.
Wilson beams as Drolrne races around the corner and hurdles towards her, yelling “mama, mama!” with arms spread wide.
“She was sad when she arrived, after Ebola took her father, but now she is happy and most importantly, she is free.”
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e61c9210ff9eb7bdce4e1ab093c30874 | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-anthem/u-s-accuses-insurer-anthem-of-medicare-advantage-fraud-idUSL1N2BK1YI | U.S. accuses insurer Anthem of Medicare Advantage fraud | U.S. accuses insurer Anthem of Medicare Advantage fraud
By Nate Raymond1 Min Read
The U.S. Justice Department on Friday announced a lawsuit accusing the insurer Anthem Inc of obtaining millions of dollars by not correcting inaccurate information about the health status of patients enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans it operates.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Manhattan and accused Anthem of submitting inaccurate diagnosis data to the government, allowing it to obtain inflated payments meant to compensate insurers for covering sicker patients.
To read the full story on Westlaw Practitioner Insights, click here: bit.ly/2QQNW5m
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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4b01ec37955c4832c025b12c1ed031da | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-antibiotic-discovery/scientists-find-antibiotic-that-kills-bugs-without-resistance-idUSL6N0UM20620150107 | Scientists find antibiotic that kills bugs without resistance | Scientists find antibiotic that kills bugs without resistance
By 4 Min Read
* Teixobactin belongs to new class of potential drugs
* Animal tests promising, human trials planned in 2 years
* Drug-resistant superbug infections pose major threat
* Independent scientists welcome significant finding
By Kate Kelland, Health and Science Correspondent
LONDON, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Scientists have discovered a new antibiotic, teixobactin, that can kill serious infections in mice without encountering any detectable resistance, offering a potential new way to get ahead of dangerous evolving superbugs.
Researchers said the antibiotic, which has yet to be trialled in humans, could one day be used to treat drug-resistant infections caused by the superbug MSRA, as well as tuberculosis, which normally requires a combination of drugs that can have adverse side effects.
“The discovery of this novel compound challenges long-held scientific beliefs and holds great promise for treating an array of menacing infections,” said Kim Lewis, a professor at Northeastern University in the United States and co-founder of the NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals, which has patented teixobactin.
Lewis worked with researchers at Germany’s University of Bonn and with Britain’s Selcia Limited, and the finding was published in the journal Nature on Wednesday.
His co-researcher, Bonn’s Tanya Schneider, explained in a teleconference that teixobactin belongs to a new class of compounds and kills bacteria by causing their cell walls to break down. It seems to work by binding to multiple targets, she said, which may slow down the development of resistance.
The problem of infections developing drug resistance -- a feature of medicine since Alexander Fleming’s discovery of the first antibiotic, penicillin, in 1928 -- has worsened in recent years as multi-drug-resistant bugs have developed and drug companies have cut investment.
The World Health Organization warned last year that a post-antibiotic era, where even basic healthcare becomes dangerous due to risk of infection during routine operations, could come this century unless something drastic is done.
Lewis and his NovoBiotic colleagues sought to address the problem by tapping into new potential sources of antibiotics. They developed a way of growing uncultured bacteria in their natural environment using a miniature device called an iChip that can isolate and help grow single cells.
NovoBiotic has since collected about 50,000 strains of uncultured bacteria and discovered 25 new antibiotics, of which teixobactin is the latest and most interesting, Lewis said.
Scientists not involved in the work welcomed the finding, but cautioned that human trials of teixobactin would be key.
“The discovery of a potential new class of antibiotics is good news,” said Richard Seabrook of Britain’s Wellcome Trust medical charity. “Screening previously unculturable soil bacteria is a new twist in the search ... and it is encouraging to see this approach yielding results. However, we will not know whether teixobactin will be effective in humans until this research is taken ... to clinical trials.”
Lewis hopes to start human testing in around two years. (Editing by Ruth Pitchford)
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467fb7785498914960732ad10c2bf8eb | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-asacol-idUSL1N1A80BH | Allergan must face ulcerative colitis drug product hopping claims | Allergan must face ulcerative colitis drug product hopping claims
By Brendan Pierson1 Min Read
A proposed class action brought by health plans claiming Warner Chilcott suppressed generic competition for its ulcerative colitis drugs Asacol HD and Delzicol by discontinuing an older version can go forward, a Boston federal judge ruled Wednesday.
However, U.S. District Judge Denise Casper of the District of Massachusetts dismissed claims under the laws of several states, as well as claims over an allegedly anticompetitive settlement between New Jersey- and Dublin-based Allergan, which acquired Warner Chilcott in October 2013, and generic drugmaker Zydus Pharmaceuticals.
To read the full story on Westlaw Practitioner Insights, click here: bit.ly/2a5ncJJ
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2fd5cdfba736356ef9e735744b6afee0 | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-bangladesh-ecigarates/bangladesh-plans-to-ban-e-cigarettes-amid-growing-health-concerns-idINKBN1Y511S?edition-redirect=in | Bangladesh plans to ban e-cigarettes amid growing health concerns | Bangladesh plans to ban e-cigarettes amid growing health concerns
By Ruma Paul2 Min Read
FILE PHOTO: A man uses a vape device in this illustration picture, September 19, 2019. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi/Illustration/File Photo
DHAKA (Reuters) - Bangladesh plans to prohibit the sale and use of electronic cigarettes and vaporisers, a health official said on Sunday, as countries around the world move to ban devices that have been linked to health risks and teen addiction.
“We are actively working to impose a ban on the production, import and sale of e-cigarettes and all vaping tobaccos to prevent health risks,” Shaikh Yusuf Harun, Secretary at the health education and family welfare division of the Ministry of Health and Family welfare, told Reuters.
The health ministry had taken into consideration the recent spate of deaths and illnesses linked to e-cigarette use in the United States, he said.
A ban on e-cigarettes and vaporisers will be incorporated in the tobacco control policy 2019, now being drawn up by the government, he added. It will then be submitted to parliament for approval.
E-cigarettes are available everywhere in Bangladesh from small street corner shops to e-commerce sites.
India, which has the second-largest population of adult smokers in the world, banned the sale of e-cigarettes in October as it warned of a vaping “epidemic” among young people.
Public health officials in the United States recommended against using e-cigarettes after 12 deaths and 805 cases of illnesses linked to e-cigarette use were reported.
The global market for e-cigarettes was worth $15.7 billion in 2018, according to data from Euromonitor International, and is projected to more than double to $40 billion in 2023.
Reporting by Ruma Paul; Editing by Susan FentonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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ccef9394eae3356a6e2e16db3f15af2e | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-birdflu-germany-idINKBN27L195?edition-redirect=in | Bird flu confirmed on farm in northern German state - ministry | Bird flu confirmed on farm in northern German state - ministry
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
BERLIN (Reuters) - Bird flu of the type H5N8 has been found on a poultry farm in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, the state’s agriculture ministry said on Thursday, after it has already spread among the wild bird population in the region.
Eight chickens died within a short time on a farm in the state, the ministry said, adding that the rest of the poultry on the farm had been culled and disposed of professionally.
Earlier this year, a case of H5N8 bird flu was confirmed in a poultry farm in the northern state of Lower Saxony.
The Dutch Ministry of Agriculture on Thursday ordered the culling of 200,000 chickens after highly pathogenic bird flu was found at a farm in the eastern town of Puiflijk and Britain on Monday ordered a cull of 13,000 birds at a farm in Frodsham, Cheshire, after detecting cases there.
Reporting by Riham Alkousaa; Editing by Michelle AdairOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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9fb3a53201083a8a4f7418f720d54aeb | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-birdflu-germany-idINL8N2HW65G?edition-redirect=in | German region orders poultry indoors after bird flu found | German region orders poultry indoors after bird flu found
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
HAMBURG, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Authorities in the north German state of Schleswig-Holstein on Tuesday ordered that all poultry be kept indoors following the discovery of bird flu in two farms in the region.
Type H5N8 bird flu was confirmed in a second poultry farm in Schleswig-Holstein on Monday following a case on another farm in the state last week.
A series of outbreaks of the highly pathogenic bird flu have been reported in Europe in past weeks and Dutch health officials on Tuesday ordered the culling of 48,000 chickens following a separate outbreak on a farm.
Wild birds are believed to be spreading the disease.
Schleswig-Holstein’s order to keep poultry indoors would be hard for some farmers but is needed to prevent more farm birds catching the disease, the Schleswig-Holstein state agriculture ministry said in a statement.
The disease is spreading rapidly among wild birds in the state, the ministry warned, and authorities are currently examining the deaths of over 3,000 wild birds there.
Britain ordered a cull of 13,000 birds at a farm in northwest England after detecting cases there while South Korea’s agriculture ministry said on Tuesday it had confirmed the H5N8 strain of bird flu in samples from wild birds in the central west of the country.
Risk to humans from the disease is considered low, but past outbreaks among farm birds have needed extensive slaughtering programmes to contain it. (Reporting by Michael Hogan, editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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e3afd48deeaeedf29a0298ac5b7ee650 | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-birdflu-germany-idUKL8N2I32D7?edition-redirect=uk | Germany may cull up to 70,000 chickens after bird flu found on another farm | Germany may cull up to 70,000 chickens after bird flu found on another farm
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
HAMBURG, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Bird flu has been found on another chicken farm in Germany and a programme to slaughter up to 70,000 poultry is being prepared, authorities said on Tuesday.
Type H5N8 bird flu was confirmed in a farm near Rostock in the eastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, said a spokesman for the local government authority Landkreis Rostock.
About 4,500 chickens at the farm would have to be culled, but the farm has several locations and the total could reach 70,000, the spokesman said.
“To combat the outbreak of the disease and prevent it spreading further, it is necessary from a veterinary medical viewpoint to cull up to 70,000 poultry at several locations,” the spokesman said. “Preparations have started.”
A series of outbreaks of bird flu have been reported in Europe in past weeks with wild birds suspected to be spreading the disease.
Around 16,100 turkeys were slaughtered after bird flu was found on another Germany poultry farm in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, authorities said on Monday.
Denmark has ordered 25,000 chickens to be culled after finding H5N8 bird flu on a farm, authorities said on Monday, effectively halting the country’s poultry and egg exports to countries outside the European Union for at least three months.
Other cases have been reported in France and the Netherlands. Britain ordered a cull of 13,000 birds at a farm in northwest England after detecting cases there.
Risk to humans from the disease is considered low, but past outbreaks among farm birds have needed extensive slaughtering programmes to contain them. (Reporting by Michael Hogan, editing by David Evans)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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6ca8c4bca85b724effe47e9d3d5b06b8 | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-birdflu-india/india-reports-h5n1-bird-flu-outbreak-in-chhattisgarh-state-oie-idINKBN1Z724K?edition-redirect=in | India reports H5N1 bird flu outbreak in Chhattisgarh state: OIE | India reports H5N1 bird flu outbreak in Chhattisgarh state: OIE
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
PARIS (Reuters) - India has reported an outbreak of the highly contagious H5N1 bird flu virus on a poultry farm in Chhattisgarh, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) said on Wednesday, citing a report from India’s fisheries and animal husbandry ministry.
The virus killed 5,634 out of 21,060 birds on the farm in Baikunthpur and all of the remaining birds were slaughtered, the Paris-based OIE said in an website alert.
Reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide; Editing by Alex RichardsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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4b1fdfd0a91770a091fba909266433ab | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-birdflu-netherlands-idINKBN27Q26X?edition-redirect=in | Dutch to cull 48,000 chickens after new outbreak of bird flu in north | Dutch to cull 48,000 chickens after new outbreak of bird flu in north
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch health officials on Tuesday ordered the culling of 48,000 chickens after an outbreak of highly pathogenic bird flu was discovered on a farm in the northern province of Groningen.
The measures are the latest taken in the Netherlands, a leading exporter of poultry and eggs, after the H5N8 disease was first found in wild fowl.
Reporting by Anthony Deutsch; Editing by Jan HarveyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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18616c9b001f4898d8a6869c975ff0d2 | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-birdflu-netherlands/dutch-to-cull-200000-chickens-after-bird-flu-detected-in-east-of-country-idINS8N2C40G8 | Dutch to cull 200,000 chickens after bird flu detected in east of country | Dutch to cull 200,000 chickens after bird flu detected in east of country
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The Dutch Ministry of Agriculture on Thursday ordered the culling of 200,000 chickens after highly pathogenic bird flu was found at a farm in the eastern town of Puiflijk.
The cull, which includes birds at a second farm within a 1km radius, is the second in the country this month after the H5N8 disease was first found in wild fowl. Dutch poultry farmers have been ordered to keep birds inside to prevent transmission.
Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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0a29747c67d1dc82d42d8942b1194ec6 | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-black-cohosh-dc-idUKCOL66565720070426?edition-redirect=uk | Black cohosh may cut breast cancer risk | Black cohosh may cut breast cancer risk
By Reuters Health2 Min Read
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new study provides preliminary evidence that an herbal medicine used to help women cope with menopausal symptoms may reduce breast cancer risk.
However, much more research is needed before the herb, black cohosh, can be recommended to prevent the disease, Dr. Timothy R. Rebbeck of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia and colleagues caution.
Many women use hormone-related supplements such as black cohosh, dong quai, red clover, ginseng and yam to deal with hot flashes and other symptoms of menopause, Rebbeck and his team note in the International Journal of Cancer.
To examine how the use of these herbs might relate to breast cancer risk, the researchers compared 949 women with breast cancer to 1,524 healthy controls.
African-American women were more somewhat likely than European Americans to use the herbs. Women who reported taking black cohosh (5 percent of blacks and 2 percent of whites) were at 61 percent lower risk of breast cancer, the researchers found.
Also, those who took an herbal preparation derived from black cohosh called Remifemin had a 53 percent lower risk of the disease.
Previous studies have shown that black cohosh can block cell growth, Rebbeck and colleagues note. The herb is also an antioxidant, and has been shown to have anti-estrogen effects as well. On the negative side, the herb can have side effects, and animal studies have suggested it may affect breast cancer severity.
“Substantial additional research must be undertaken before it can be established that black cohosh, or some compound found in black cohosh, is a breast cancer chemopreventive agent,” the researchers write.
“Furthermore,” they stress, “women may wish to seek guidance from their physician before using these compounds.”
SOURCE: International Journal of Cancer, April 1, 2007.
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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7b8da52ab685f4cf766a99892380ce08 | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-breathing-problems-dc/living-near-busy-street-ups-breathing-problems-idUKEIC76490520061227?edition-redirect=uk | Living near busy street ups breathing problems | Living near busy street ups breathing problems
By Reuters Health3 Min Read
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The closer people live to a main road, the more likely they are to suffer from respiratory symptoms such as breathlessness and wheezing, a new study from Switzerland shows.
Cars line up to get onto the Brooklyn Bridge during the morning rush hour during in this December 21, 2005 file photo. The closer people live to a main road, the more likely they are to suffer from respiratory symptoms such as breathlessness and wheezing, a new study from Switzerland shows. REUTERS/Seth Wenig
“These findings from a general population provide strong confirmation that living near busy streets leads to adverse respiratory health effects,” Dr. Lucy Bayer-Oglesby, of the University of Basel, and colleagues write in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
While outdoor air pollution -- especially tiny particles that can be breathed deep into the lungs--is known to be hazardous to people’s health, to date no researchers have looked at how proximity to main roads affects respiratory symptoms in a general population, Bayer-Oglesby and her team note.
To investigate, they looked at data from a two-part study of air pollution and lung disease. It involved 9,651 randomly selected men and women aged 18 to 60 who enrolled in the study in 1991, 8,047 of whom re-enrolled for the second phase of the study in 2002.
People’s risk of having attacks of breathlessness increased by 13% for every 500-meter segments of main street located within 200 meters of their home. The risk of such attacks among people who had never smoked fell by 12% for each additional 100 meters between their homes and a main street.
Individuals whose homes were within 20 meters of a busy road were 15% more likely to regularly have phlegm in their breathing passages, while they were 34% more likely to have wheezing with breathing problems.
The effects of traffic on respiratory health were stronger for men and for people who had never smoked.
The effects of living near main streets were weaker in 2002 than in 1991, which may have been due to stricter requirements on auto emissions, the researchers note.
“Living close to main streets or in a dense street network increases the risks for certain respiratory symptoms in adults, particularly for asthma-related symptoms such as attacks of breathlessness and wheezing and for bronchitic symptoms such as regular cough and phlegm,” they conclude.
SOURCE: American Journal of Epidemiology, December 15, 2006.
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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49a16eab9eadfc76fa3b737376a4dd7d | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-china-economy-forecasts-factbox/estimates-of-global-gdp-hit-from-coronavirus-disruption-idINKBN1ZX2DN?edition-redirect=in | Estimates of global GDP hit from coronavirus disruption | Estimates of global GDP hit from coronavirus disruption
By Karin Strohecker2 Min Read
Passengers wearing masks to prevent contracting coronavirus walk past a thermal camera upon their arrival at Incheon International Airport in Incheon, South Korea, January 3, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji
LONDON (Reuters) - Travel and trade restrictions introduced to control the spread of the coronavirus from China are now expected to deliver a short, sharp blow to both Chinese and global economic activity for the first quarter of this year.
While it remains unclear how far the virus will spread and when it will peak, economists are already trying to estimate the impact on gross domestic product in the world’s second-largest economy and beyond.
Deaths linked to the virus rose to 427, and the health scare has been declared a global emergency by the World Health Organization after it was detected in 24 other countries and territories.
“To stay in the benign scenario, we really need to see the reproduction rate taper off significantly this week,” said Christian Keller, head of economics research at Barclays.
His team calculates that - depending on the severity of the impact on China - the impact on the world economy could range from almost no change to his current global growth forecast of 3.3% for 2020 to sub-3% growth in the worst case.
“There is a risk that an adverse feedback mechanism and limited space for policy response could push the global economy towards recession,” he added, using the reference rate of global growth dipping below 2.5% as the threshold.
Many analysts model the latest events on previous outbreaks such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) that killed hundreds in 2002-2003. But historical comparisons are clouded by other parallel events and because China’s contribution to global GDP has quadrupled since then.
“If the outbreak broadly follows historical patterns, it will peak and fade in 2Q,” JPMorgan economist Joseph Lupton told clients, predicting global growth would lose about 0.3 percentage point in Q1 to an annualised 2.3% before bouncing back in the second quarter.
Robin Xing at Morgan Stanley estimated last week that if the situation extended to 3 to 4 months, global growth “could be further impacted by about 0.2-0.4ppt in 2Q20,” he said.
Reporting by Karin Strohecker; graphic by Ritvik Carvalho, Editing by Angus MacSwanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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e4eaec243f3fb386f927e5dde6c731d6 | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-china-motor/formula-e-calls-off-sanya-race-due-to-coronavirus-idINKBN1ZW0B4?edition-redirect=in | Formula E calls off Sanya race due to coronavirus | Formula E calls off Sanya race due to coronavirus
By Reuters Staff3 Min Read
LONDON (Reuters) - The all-electric Formula E motor racing series has abandoned plans for a race in the Chinese city of Sanya next month because of the coronavirus epidemic.
The sport will continue to work with its regional partner and local authorities to study the viability of potential alternative dates should the situation improve, the Formula E and FIA governing bodies said in statements on Sunday.
The race had been scheduled for March 21 in the coastal resort in Hainan province.
The outbreak of the flu-like virus has killed more than 300 people and infected more than 14,000 in China after it first emerged in Wuhan in Hubei province late last year.
Formula E said the decision was made jointly with the governing FIA and the Chinese federation of automobile and motorcycle sports to ensure the health and safety of travelling staff, participants and spectators.
The race would have been the sixth of the championship’s 14 rounds, with Seoul in May and Jakarta in June now the only remaining Asian races.
Formula E Champions DS Techeetah are Chinese owned.
The move will put Formula One in the spotlight, with Shanghai due to host the Chinese Grand Prix on April 19 as the fourth round of what would be a record 22-race season.
That race is a much bigger event than city-focused Formula E and would normally be expected to draw a weekend crowd of more than 100,000 and bring in fans from outside China.
The sport’s governing body last week said that it was monitoring the situation closely under the direction of medical commission president Professor Gerard Saillant.
“The FIA will evaluate the calendar of its forthcoming races and, if necessary, take any action required to help protect the global motorsport community and the wider public,” it said.
The outbreak has affected numerous international sports events in China. Among them was the world indoor athletics championships scheduled to be held in Nanjing over March 13-15, which have now been postponed until next year.
Basketball, badminton and boxing qualifying tournaments for this year’s Tokyo Olympics have also been postponed, rescheduled or moved, while an LPGA Tour golf tournament has been pushed back to next year.
Reporting by Alan Baldwin; Editing by Frances Kerry and David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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aba25c97f13c1f3798e99dabab22719e | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-china-pandora/jeweller-pandora-closes-53-shops-in-china-due-to-coronavirus-idINL8N29Z70R?edition-redirect=in | Jeweller Pandora closes 53 shops in China due to coronavirus | Jeweller Pandora closes 53 shops in China due to coronavirus
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
COPENHAGEN, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Jeweller Pandora said on Thursday it has closed 53 of is 237 shops in China, most of then in the Hubei province, following outbreaks of coronavirus in the country.
The Danish company followed recommendations from Chinese authorities, a spokesman said. (Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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dfa2d76e5a5695d808af86015bf294ad | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-china-singapore/singapore-virus-tally-hits-24-with-first-local-transmission-cases-idINKBN1ZY156?edition-redirect=in | Singapore virus tally hits 24 with first local transmission cases | Singapore virus tally hits 24 with first local transmission cases
By Reuters Staff3 Min Read
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore has reported six more cases of a newly identified coronavirus, including four domestic transmissions, taking its tally of infections to 24, the health ministry of the southeast Asian city-state said on Tuesday.
A medical worker in protective suit adjusts a drip bag for a patient at a hospital, following an outbreak of the new coronavirus in Wuhan, Hubei province, China February 3, 2020. Picture taken February 3, 2020. China Daily via REUTERS/Files
The outbreak has killed more than 420 people, spread round the world and fuelled fears for global economic growth, with rival financial centre Hong Kong reporting its first coronavirus death on Tuesday, only the second outside mainland China.
“Though four of these cases constitute a local transmission cluster, there is as yet no evidence of widespread sustained community transmission in Singapore,” the health ministry said in a statement.
All four cases were linked to a health products shop that primarily serves Chinese tourists, the ministry added.
The other two infections were in Singapore residents evacuated on Thursday from the central Chinese city of Wuhan, where the virus is believed to have surfaced late last year in a market selling illegal wildlife.
“What we hope we will be able to do is contain the situation in Singapore,” said Professor Tan Chorh Chuan, the ministry’s chief health scientist.
“We have a small cluster, we should ring fence it.”
Earlier, Singapore had reported 18 cases of the virus, all with a history of recent travel to Wuhan.
One patient had been discharged and another could follow in the next few days, said ministry official Kenneth Mak.
“Five patients have oxygen to support breathing but ... none are critically ill,” added Mak, the ministry’s director of medical services.
The situation called for close monitoring, Tan said.
“What will be really important is how the very extensive measures that have been taken in China to contain the infection ... pan out over the next few weeks,” he said.
“But we need to monitor the situation very closely, it’s very dynamic.”
The travel and tourism hub has banned entry to Chinese visitors and foreigners with a recent history of travel to China in some of the most far-reaching moves worldwide to deter the disease.
Chinese nationals make up the largest share of visitors to Singapore, which was among the countries outside China worst hit in the 2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) that killed 800 people globally.
Reporting by John Geddie; Editing by Clarence FernandezOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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ac5de457277258407d74f8f9ff41c675 | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-china-vietnam/vietnam-says-coronavirus-epidemic-to-hurt-farm-produce-exports-idINKBN1ZX141?edition-redirect=in | Vietnam says coronavirus epidemic to hurt farm produce exports | Vietnam says coronavirus epidemic to hurt farm produce exports
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
Tourists wear protective masks while visiting Hoan Kiem lake in Hanoi, Vietnam January 31, 2020. REUTERS/Kham
HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam’s government said on Monday the coronavirus epidemic will hurt its farm produce exports to China, the Southeast Asian country’s largest trading partner.
The government said last week that cross-border trade between Vietnam and China was “not encouraged” and on Sunday announced it would ban all flights to and from China over coronavirus concerns.
“Limited transport activities will hinder farm produce transactions between companies from the two countries,” the government said in a statement.
As of Sunday night, 175 trucks carrying 3,500 tonnes of dragon fruit were stuck at border gates in the northern province of Lang Son, the government said.
Exports of milk and seafood have also faced trouble as Chinese importers have postponed taking deliveries, the government added.
Vietnam confirmed an additional three cases of the new coronavirus, the health ministry said, bringing the country’s total to eight cases.
Reporting by Khanh Vu; Editing by Alex RichardsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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d358c7affa97ad5992f72e43cfc261e0 | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-congress-stemcells-dc-idUKN0829246820070409?edition-redirect=uk | Stem cell vote set for Congress this week | Stem cell vote set for Congress this week
By Maggie Fox, Health, Science Editor4 Min Read
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Stem cells will be at the top of the agenda for the U.S. Senate when it returns on Tuesday with supporters of the research hoping they can change the president’s mind on the issue and opponents hoping to have a say about their stand.
President George W. Bush waves as he walks to Marine One at the White House in Washington, April 4, 2007. Stem cells will be at the top of the agenda for the U.S. Senate when it returns on Tuesday with supporters of the research hoping they can change the president's mind on the issue and opponents hoping to have a say about their stand. REUTERS/Jim Young
The Senate will consider two bills, one virtually identical to a bill vetoed by President George W. Bush last year that would have expanded and encouraged federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research.
The other is a compromise measure worked out by Republicans Sen. Johnny Isakson of Georgia and Norm Coleman of Minnesota. It would encourage stem cell research on embryos that have naturally lost the ability to develop into fetuses, such as those that have died “naturally” during fertility treatments.
The compromise bill also would support the creation of a bank of stem cells taken from amniotic fluid and placentas -- two recently discovered potential sources.
This bill replaces last year’s alternative sponsored by Kansas Republican Sam Brownback, which would ban human embryonic stem cell research and encourage research using other types of stem cells.
The House of Representatives passed a bill in January that would expand federal funding of stem cell research, which is now restricted by Bush to batches available as of August 2001. But the bill does not have enough supporters to override a second presidential veto.
It is not clear how much support there is for either Senate bill, although opponents of human embryonic stem cell research, such as Brownback, have signaled they will vote for the compromise bill. They also said they were looking forward to making use of up to 20 hours of scheduled debate.
Stem cells are the body’s master cells, giving rise to all the tissues and cells that make up a living creature. Scientists are working with stem cells from a variety of sources to try to cure diseases such as diabetes and Parkinson’s, and perhaps someday regenerate organs and tissue.
VARIOUS SOURCES
Stem cells taken from days-old human embryos appear to be especially powerful and many scientists consider them among the most promising sources of stem cell research. But most researchers stress that it is important to study all types and sources of stem cells.
The United States has no restrictions on research funded by private sources or by states and several, including California, are actively funding embryonic stem cell research.
Opponents say it is unethical to experiment on human embryos and especially wrong to destroy them.
“Without an understanding that life begins at conception and that an embryo is a nascent human being, there will always be arguments that other uses, takeovers and make-overs of embryos are justified by potential scientific and medical benefits,” the White House wrote in a report issued in January.
The issue transcends the abortion debate with conservative Republicans who oppose abortion such as Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch backing broader federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research.
Polls show the U.S. public consistently supports embryonic stem cell research, especially using embryos left over from fertility treatments.
“We got a super-majority under the Republican-controlled 109th Congress,” said Sean Tipton of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, which lobbies in support of embryonic stem-cell research.
Tipton said the current Democratic-controlled Senate will be even friendlier. “When the Senate passes this bill, the president is going to be under incredible pressure to acknowledge that the science has changed and to acknowledge that the American people support this research,” he said in a telephone interview.
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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c4c10be4c6ab355313253c2446151f6d | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronarivus-canada-meat/update-3-canada-sees-no-beef-shortage-but-prices-may-rise-due-to-coronavirus-idUKL2N2C90QU?edition-redirect=uk | UPDATE 3-Canada sees no beef shortage, but prices may rise due to coronavirus | UPDATE 3-Canada sees no beef shortage, but prices may rise due to coronavirus
By Kelsey Johnson, Rod Nickel4 Min Read
(Updates with cases at Alberta meat plants, JBS reduces beef output)
OTTAWA/WINNIPEG, Manitoba, April 21 (Reuters) - The Canadian government is not expecting a beef shortage despite the spread of the novel coronavirus in certain meat-packing plants, though prices may rise, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday.
Trudeau added that beef producers are placing a priority on supplying the Canadian market before exporting products.
Canada, one of the world’s biggest beef and pork exporters, has had several plants idled or slowed as coronavirus inspections spread. Cargill Inc on Monday said it would idle its High River, Alberta, beef plant because of an outbreak.
“We are not at this point anticipating shortages of beef, but prices might go up,” Trudeau said at a briefing. “We will of course be monitoring that very, very carefully.”
The tally of coronavirus cases related to the Cargill plant has reached 401, Alberta Chief Medical Health Officer Deena Hinshaw said. Another 77 cases have occurred at the JBS SA beef plant at Brooks, Alberta.
North American meat demand has plunged since the pandemic accelerated, as a loss of sales to restaurants, which have closed, outweighs additional revenue from grocery stores.
Beef processors have assured Canadian officials they will prioritize domestic sales, their largest and most stable market, said Oliver Anderson, spokesman for the country’s agriculture minister. The government has not imposed export restrictions, he said.
JBS has reduced production to one shift as of Tuesday at Brooks due to increased absenteeism, said spokesman Cameron Bruett.
Ottawa is “very concerned about outbreaks in the food supply chain,” Health Minister Patty Hajdu told reporters.
Meat processors have taken numerous measures, such as erecting physical barriers and staggering breaks. But those steps and supplies of protective equipment are not applied equally in all plants, said Paul Meinema, national president of the United Food and Commercial Workers. The union represents employees in the country’s biggest meat factories run by Cargill, JBS, Maple Leaf Foods and Olymel.
The plants should slow processing speeds and even shut them down before infections multiply, Meinema said.
Even some government inspectors who work in the plants lack face shields and non-surgical masks, said the Agriculture Union, which represents them.
“There is obviously a shortage,” Agriculture Union President Fabian Murphy said. Seven inspectors in the Cargill plant have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, he said.
Canada’s coronavirus death toll was 1,728 as of Tuesday, a 7% rise from the previous day. There have been 37,382 cases reported.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said a framework to reopen the economy of Canada’s most populous province would come in a few days. On Monday, Ford said any return would be gradual.
Air Canada, the country’s biggest airline, said it would suspend flights between Canada and the United States after April 26. (Reporting by Kelsey Johnson and Rod Nickel; additional reporting by David Ljunggren and Steve Scherer in Ottawa, and Amran Abocar in Toronto Editing by Marguerita Choy, Paul Simao and Dan Grebler)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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d259a868e08f33ba154beb3757c14424 | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronarvirus-japan-mask/tokyo-pop-up-mask-store-lures-shoppers-with-festive-face-coverings-idUSL4N2IH26T | Tokyo pop-up mask store lures shoppers with festive face coverings | Tokyo pop-up mask store lures shoppers with festive face coverings
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - As a new wave of coronavirus infections sweeps Tokyo, a pop-up store near Japan’s capital is luring Christmas shoppers with 250 types of face mask, including festive versions with decorative lights.
Tokyo Mask Land, which opened Tuesday for a month in an office building in Yokohama, also has a mask bar and is offering mask-making workshops to draw visitors.
People often wore face mask in Japan before the pandemic, particularly during the winter flu season and in Spring when cedar and cypress pollen triggers hay fever.
Although no law mandates wearing them, it is unusual to see someone without a mask in Tokyo, even outside.
The store also plans an exhibit on the history of face coverings and a photo booth featuring Christmas trees and a mannequin dressed up as Santa Claus.
“I don’t think you would come up with an idea like this if there had been no coronavirus outbreak,” 23-year-old Ryota Nabetani, who was shopping for masks with his mother, said of the photo spot.
Although it has had far fewer cases than in the United States and Europe, a recent surge in coronavirus infections prompted authorities in Tokyo last week to request bars and restaurants to shorten opening hours.
Japan’s capital on Tuesday reported 372 new cases, the seventh straight day above 300, according to public broadcaster NHK.
A spokesman for the store said it had implemented measures to ensure that visitors didn’t catch the coronavirus while shopping for masks.
Reporting by Hideto Sakai; writing by Tim Kelly; Editing by Mike Collett-WhiteOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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655c77686324daf17f28ca17f5832b0c | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronaviqrus-warburg-pincus/exclusive-warburg-pincus-explores-sale-of-overseas-energy-assets-sources-idINKBN22J1O8?edition-redirect=in | Exclusive: Warburg Pincus explores sale of overseas energy assets - sources | Exclusive: Warburg Pincus explores sale of overseas energy assets - sources
By Clara Denina, David French, Shadia Nasralla3 Min Read
LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Warburg Pincus is considering selling five of its eight international oil and gas investments after the coronavirus crisis hit demand, sources familiar with the matter said.
The U.S. investment firm, which has more than $54 billion in private equity assets under management, has committed or invested some $13 billion into energy over the last decade, with much of this in North America.
While Warburg Pincus backed the U.S. shale revolution and associated infrastructure, a significant minority of its investment has focused on assets in Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe which are no longer seen as core, the sources said.
The firm has yet to hire advisers and could wind down the bulk of its international energy assets if they do not draw interest from potential buyers, the sources told Reuters.
Warburg Pincus declined to comment.
Private equity funds have ploughed more than $100 billion into energy investments since after the oil price downturn of 2016, energy data provider Enverus has said.
As well as greenfield investments, such funds have also been prolific buyers of older assets.
But, as coronavirus lockdowns ease only gradually, some are reassessing investments in a sector that has lost a third of demand since the start of the pandemic, the sources said.
Among the assets Warburg Pincus is reviewing is its stake in Africa-focused oil and gas explorer Delonex Energy, which has curtailed its operations in recent weeks and laid off most of the staff, three sources said.
Warburg Pincus has also been preparing the sale of liquids storage firm Zenith Energy just as the coronavirus pandemic hit, two other sources said, adding that the process would resume once market conditions stabilise.
With the world awash with hydrocarbons, storage facilities have become highly sought-after and Zenith is likely to be the most lucrative asset Warburg Pincus is looking to offload.
The three other investments which Warburg Pincus is looking to get out of include Egyptian firm Apex International Energy, two of the sources said, with one adding that Sand Hill Petroleum and CAGR were also on the for sale list.
Sand Hill was formed in 2012 to use American shale techniques in Hungary and Romania, and CAGR focused on natural gas distribution in China.
All of these companies, apart from Zenith Energy, have disappeared from the list of energy portfolio companies on the Warburg Pincus website in the last week.
Among other private equity changes, Blackstone in March has reshuffled its London-based private equity team in charge of energy.
Blackstone’s plan to sell North Sea oil and gas producer Siccar Point stalled in January over diverging valuation views with potential buyer EIG-backed Chrysaor.
And a series of planned acquisitions in the North Sea basin, where private equity funds including Carlyle Group, HitecVision and CVC Capital Partners, had been prolific buyers, has now come to a halt.
Reporting by Clara Denina, David French, Shadia Nasralla; Additional reporting by Arno Schuetze in Frankfurt and Ron Bousso in London; Editing by Alexander SmithOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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297ee515e91c5f4bce53b11bc97d416c | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-ab-volvo-agm/ab-volvo-postpones-agm-due-to-uncertainty-over-coronavirus-impact-idINL8N2BI1BW?edition-redirect=in | AB Volvo postpones AGM due to uncertainty over coronavirus impact | AB Volvo postpones AGM due to uncertainty over coronavirus impact
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
STOCKHOLM, March 25 (Reuters) - Truckmaker AB Volvo said on Wednesday it had decided to postpone its annual shareholders meeting due to the prevailing uncertainty around the effects from the global coronavirus outbreak.
“Recent developments have a direct effect on economies important for the Volvo Group and the assessment is that the prevailing situation will lead to weaker demand for the Group’s products and services,” the company said in a statement.
Most of Volvo’s manufacturing plants are currently closed and staff in several countries have been temporarily laid off.
“We believe that, in the current situation, it is responsible to postpone the Annual General Meeting, to assess how the situation develops,” said Volvo board chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg. (Reporting by Johannes Hellstrom, editing by Johan Ahlander)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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a4d196bb9abd9e9cd79d5a45c2edc5ea | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-accor-idUKP6N2CB00X?edition-redirect=uk | French group Accor to offer online medical consultations at its hotels | French group Accor to offer online medical consultations at its hotels
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
PARIS, May 15 (Reuters) - French hotel group Accor said that from July onwards this year, it would offer its clients free access to online medical consultations, run by insurer AXA, as Accor prepares for an eventual recovery from the coronavirus crisis.
The two companies said in a statement on Friday that the partnership - on which they had been working for several months - would complement Accor’s general plans for a post COVID-19 recovery, in anticipation of the progressive reopening of its hotels across different regions. (Reporting by Maya Nikolaeva; Editing by Sarah White/Sudip Kar-Gupta)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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2f98095a9dca98378f842d37844615ce | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-aegon-dividend/dutch-insurer-aegon-suspends-dividend-following-regulators-advise-idINL8N2BR73C?edition-redirect=in | Dutch insurer Aegon suspends dividend following regulator's advise | Dutch insurer Aegon suspends dividend following regulator's advise
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
AMSTERDAM, April 3 (Reuters) - Dutch insurer Aegon on Friday said it would suspend its dividend in light of the global coronavirus outbreak, following a strong call by the European watchdog to insurers to scrap all payments to shareholders.
The European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA) on Thursday said it was essential for insurers to hold robust reserves to protect policyholders and absorb potential losses.
Aegon, which does most of its business in the United States under the Transamerica brand, said it would forego its 2019 final dividend and would review opportunities for returning capital to its shareholders “as soon as appropriate”. (Reporting by Bart Meijer Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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e0604a7a4529cfba194adf89c2262f51 | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-afdb-idUKL8N2EE4R2?edition-redirect=uk | African economies could shrink 3.4% this year, rebound in 2021 -AfDB | African economies could shrink 3.4% this year, rebound in 2021 -AfDB
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
JOHANNESBURG, July 7 (Reuters) - The African Development Bank (AfDB) forecast on Tuesday that the continent’s economies will contract by 3.4% in 2020 if the pandemic continues into the second half of the year, compared to a pre-COVID-19 projection for growth of 3.9%.
A partial V-shaped recovery should see gross domestic product growth of between 2.4% and 3% in 2021, the Abidjan-based bank said in a revision of its African Economic Outlook which was originally published before the pandemic.
Reporting by Joe Bavier Editing by Gareth JonesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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63a441dfcce2d8c6bc83d63d7800c082 | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-afghanistan-taliban-idINKBN22D5S5?edition-redirect=in | Taliban step up attacks on Afghan forces since signing U.S. deal - data | Taliban step up attacks on Afghan forces since signing U.S. deal - data
By Hamid Shalizi, Abdul Qadir Sediqi, Rupam Jain6 Min Read
KABUL/MUMBAI (Reuters) - The Taliban have mounted more than 4,500 attacks in Afghanistan, marking a sharp escalation in violence, in the 45 days since signing a deal with the United States that paves the way for a U.S. troop drawdown, according to data seen by Reuters.
Two sets of data, one from a Western military source and one from an independent body, both show attacks by the hardline Islamist group up by more than 70 percent between March 1 and April 15 compared with the same period a year ago.
Separately, Afghan government data indicates that more than 900 Afghan local and national forces were killed during that same period, up from about 520 a year earlier.
Meanwhile, Taliban casualties fell to 610 in the period, down from roughly 1,660 a year ago, as U.S. and Afghan forces have reduced the number of offensive attacks and air strikes following the U.S.-Taliban accord.
Senior Western, Afghan and independent officials tracking the ground situation say that the increase in attacks shows the insurgent group’s wilful disregard of a pledge to reduce violence made as part of the accord signed in late February.
The violence in the war-damaged nation has coincided with the rapid spread of the coronavirus infection.
In Washington, Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman told reporters that while the Taliban have adhered to a commitment in the Feb. 29 deal not to mount attacks on U.S.-led coalition forces or major cities, the militants’ level of violence “is unacceptably high” and “not conducive to a diplomatic solution.”
“We have continued to do defensive attacks to help defend our partners in the area and we will continue to do that,” Hoffman added.
The four provinces that have reported the highest number of cases of the infection have also been the ones hit the most by Taliban violence in recent weeks, according to the two data sets and at least three senior Afghan and Western officials.
As of May 1, Afghanistan has reported over 2,335 coronavirus cases and 68 deaths, but international observers believe numbers could be much higher, given the lack of testing.
“Taliban fighters are not hitting large government centres or cities, they are focusing on villages in Herat, Kabul, Kandahar and Balkh provinces that have reported the highest number of coronavirus cases,” a senior Western security official said on condition of anonymity.
‘A MATTER OF TIME’
Western security officials, diplomats and international observers said the Taliban’s strategy to slowly erode government control of rural areas and then position themselves to besiege cities during the pandemic could derail the peace deal.
“They are slowly encircling all of Afghanistan’s major cities,” said Jonathan Schroden, an expert with the Center for Naval Analyses who has provided assessments on the security situation in Afghanistan to the U.S. military and Congress.
“So it’s either a matter of time before they get a deal satisfactory to them or they put those major cities under siege.”
Two Taliban spokesman said the group was not responsible for a majority of the attacks in recent weeks. They accused the United States of jeopardising the peace agreement by supporting Afghan security forces and not releasing 5,000 Taliban prisoners as part of a prisoner swap stipulated under the accord.
The Taliban say the group’s attacks between the start of March and April 15 fell 54.7% compared with a year ago to 537.
The group said its attacks were not “as intense” compared with the previous year and Afghan security forces members killed fell 54.2% to 935 while the number wounded fell 55.9% to 742.
The Defence Ministry said army troops were in “active defence mode” and using the air force to stop Taliban advances.
On Friday, clashes between Taliban fighters and Afghan forces intensified in northern Balkh and southern Logar province as warring sides fought to control checkpoints. Dozens of Afghan security men and Taliban fighters were killed.
Last month, General Scott Miller, commander of U.S. forces and the NATO-led non-combat Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan, travelled to Qatar amid the pandemic to meet Taliban political leaders.
Security officials said Miller issued a “stern warning” to stop operations against Afghan forces and adhere to pledges under the accord aimed at ending nearly two decades of war.
Some of the attacks included four cases in which Taliban fighters allegedly used insiders to poison food eaten by Afghan forces at checkpoints in the north. Those checkpoints were now manned by Taliban fighters, Western security officials said.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said he was aware of recent insider attacks in which several Afghan force members were fatally poisoned, but denied the group was responsible and said recent violence at checkpoints involved Afghan forces attacking civilians.
He added, however, that the Taliban did not deny using infiltrators or causing insider attacks as part of its war strategy.
(This story has been refiled to add dropped letter in paragraph 10, extraneous word in Pentagon spokesman quote)
Additional reporting by Jonathan Landay, Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart in Washington; Editing by Euan Rocha, William Maclean and Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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47f9e73fdce21f40e484f1d267f5e3e4 | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-africa/coronavirus-seen-as-trigger-for-mobile-money-growth-in-west-africa-idINL8N2BN6AF | Coronavirus seen as trigger for mobile money growth in West Africa | Coronavirus seen as trigger for mobile money growth in West Africa
By Nellie Peyton, Thomson Reuters Foundation5 Min Read
DAKAR, APRIL 1 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Penda Kande usually pays for taxis in cash, but since coronavirus hit Senegal, the 30-year-old nurse has switched to mobile money to avoid contamination.
“With the virus it’s better to use Orange Money,” said Kande, referring to the West African country’s most popular mobile money service, offered by French telecoms group Orange .
She was one of several clients making withdrawals or deposits with mobile money agents on a street corner in Senegal’s capital Dakar last week, where one Orange Money agent said business had nearly doubled since coronavirus hit.
Mobile money providers across Africa have reduced or waived transaction fees and governments are encouraging digital payments to reduce person-to-person contact and potentially slow the spread of the virus.
In West Africa, where mobile money is growing fast but still used by only about one in four adults, industry experts and analysts said the outbreak could be an opportunity to increase usage and include more people in the digital economy.
“I think right now there is a really key trigger point, and that could be seized on to leap forward,” said Jill Shemin, an independent consultant on digital finance in West Africa.
Mobile money has been hailed as a way for people excluded from the formal financial system - including women, youth and the rural poor - to access services such as savings and loans, start businesses and receive payments.
In East African countries such as Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, it is already the currency of choice for everything from daily shopping to paying bills, driven largely by the success of Safaricom’s service M-Pesa.
But mobile money arrived later in West Africa, where barriers include low literacy and lack of trust as well as lack of necessary documents and a preference for cash, according to the telecoms industry group GSMA.
While coronavirus has given people a new incentive to go digital, operators have also lowered barriers by making it cheaper and in some places easier to sign up, said analysts.
“I do believe this could be a catalyst for high adoption,” said Ruan Swanepoel, head of the GSMA’s mobile money programme, citing government efforts to encourage digital payments and ease regulation as deciding factors.
In one example, Ghana’s central bank announced that all mobile phone subscribers could open a mobile wallet and transfer up to 1,000 cedis ($170) daily without providing additional documentation.
Required documents such as ID and proof of address vary by country but can be a barrier particularly for women to open accounts, said Sabine Mensah, regional digital lead for the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF).
“It is an encouraging thing to see that in these times, when we really need to find ways to include the maximum number of people, that central banks are taking that question out of the way,” Mensah told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
LOWERING THE BARRIERS
Tayo Oviosu, CEO of Nigerian mobile money company Paga, with 15 million users, said that he expected to see an uptick in new accounts and transactions after lowering fees to help people avoid cash.
“We do see a real opportunity to drive... financial inclusion,” he said.
Lowering the barriers for mobile banking can also help people weather the economic impact on the outbreak, said Alfred Hannig, executive director of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion, a global network of policymakers.
“If you want to mitigate the crisis, digital financial services for the poor is definitely an avenue to look at,” he said.
Many West African governments have already been working toward digitising social payments such as pensions and welfare and should fast-track the process now, said Mensah of UNCDF.
As countries around the world consider digital payments as a way to get money to citizens during the pandemic, lack of financial inclusion is a major barrier, said the Center for Global Development think tank in a report released on Tuesday.
"We found that the lack of bank and mobile money accounts is the biggest gap in digital readiness. It's hard to get money to citizens who don't have either," said Anit Mukherjee, an author of the study. (Reporting by Nellie Peyton; Additional reporting by Nita Bhalla in Nairobi; Editing by Claire Cozens. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers the lives of people around the world who struggle to live freely or fairly. Visit news.trust.org)
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701b3d48506664b0aa78754b123fc3e7 | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-air-france-klm-jobs/air-france-and-sister-airline-to-cut-7580-jobs-idINKBN2441TE?edition-redirect=in | Air France and sister airline to cut 7,580 jobs | Air France and sister airline to cut 7,580 jobs
By Caroline Pailliez3 Min Read
PARIS (Reuters) - Air France AIRF.PA confirmed plans to cut some 7,500 jobs including 1,000 at sister airline HOP! on Friday, as staff protested over its response to the collapse in travel due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The French flag carrier, part of Franco-Dutch group Air France-KLM, said it had lost 15 million euros a day during the worst part of the crisis, which also saw its revenues plunge by 95%. It did not see traffic returning to 2019 levels before 2024.
As a result, it plans to cut 6,560 or 16% of jobs at the main airline by the end of 2022, more than 3,500 of which will come through natural departures, it said after union talks.
Another 1,020 jobs will go over the next three years at "HOP!", representing 42% of staff at the regional carrier based in the coastal city of Nantes, which has also been hit by job cuts at planemaker Airbus AIR.PA.
The French government - which granted Air France 7 billion euros ($7.9 billion) in aid, including state-backed loans, to help it to survive - has urged the airline to avoid compulsory layoffs, though it has conceded Air France is “on the edge.”
“A successful labour reorganisation is one where there are no forced departures,” junior economy minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher told Sud Radio on Friday.
In its statement, Air France said it would give priority to voluntary departures, early retirement and staff mobility. It did not rule out compulsory redundancies, however.
Slideshow ( 2 images )
The reconstruction plan will be presented at the end of July, together with a plan for the wider Air France-KLM Group.
Some 100 union members and employees, from cleaning staff to check-in assistants, demonstrated earlier outside the airline’s base at Charles de Gaulle airport against plans to cut staff after receiving state aid to absorb the pandemic fallout.
“It’s scandalous. The government is putting in 7 billion euros and the company is destroying jobs,” said 62-year-old Annick Blanchemin, who works as ground staff for the airline.
“They’ll push me to retire but I won’t get my maximum pension this way. And this is not how I wanted to leave.”
In Nantes, where HOP! is based, employees also erected banners in protest on Friday.
The shake-up was expected after sources familiar with the matter said that at least half of the cuts were likely to entail voluntary departures and retirement plans.
The government, which is being reshuffled under a new prime minister nominated on Friday, has also expressed concerns about Airbus's AIR.PA plans to cut some 15,000 jobs across Europe - with a third of those in France.
A wave of restructuring triggered by the virus outbreak is hitting airlines and industrial firms across Europe.
Under CEO Ben Smith, who joined from Air Canada in 2018, Air France-KLM has sought to cut costs, improve French labour relations and overcome governance squabbles between France and the Netherlands, each owners of close to 14% of the group.
Additional reporting by Stephane Mahe in Nantes, Sarah White and Myriam Rivet; Writing by Sarah White and Tim Hepher; Editing by Jason Neely and Jane MerrimanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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dcfa7ab601c34033edefc4495cfef433 | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-air-france-klm-nether-idINA5N2C800V?edition-redirect=in | KLM to increase number of flights through October | KLM to increase number of flights through October
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
AMSTERDAM, July 23 (Reuters) - KLM, the Dutch division of Air France-KLM, said on Thursday it intended to increase the number of destinations and flights it operates in the coming three months, as it restores routes that were suspended at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Capacity in flights and seats, however, is still far below the level before COVID-19,” the company said in a statement.
KLM said it would expand the number of European destinations to 91 for the next three months, up from 72 in July. It plans 10,000 flights globally in August 2020, down from 19,000 in August 2019. (Reporting by Toby Sterling. Editing by Jane Merriman)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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4b906b20464271da173d6900600422d5 | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-air-france-klm-unions-idINA5N2F800T?edition-redirect=in | KLM calls on unions to agree to wage freeze to ensure bailout | KLM calls on unions to agree to wage freeze to ensure bailout
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
AMSTERDAM, Oct 30 (Reuters) - KLM, the Dutch arm of Air France on Friday called on its unions to accept a freeze on wage increases through 2025 as part of ongoing efforts to secure the company’s future amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Earlier on Friday the Dutch government said it would withhold payments from the 3.4 billlion euro bailout package KLM is due to receive unless the company adjusts its restructuring plan to include the freezes. (Reporting by Toby Sterling; editing by David Evans)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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d26bcd69abe8f3add52719e3118fb52d | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-air-france-klm/dutch-airline-klm-to-lay-of-1100-nos-idINA5N2C800W?edition-redirect=in | Dutch airline KLM to lay of 1,100 -NOS | Dutch airline KLM to lay of 1,100 -NOS
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
AMSTERDAM, July 30 (Reuters) - The Dutch subsidiary of Air France-KLM will lay off 1,100 workers as part of a restructuring after the coronavirus crisis, national broadcaster NOS reported on Thursday, citing sources familiar with the company’s plans.
Earlier on Thursday Air France reported a 2.61 billion euro loss for the second quarter and said 2,000 KLM workers had accepted a voluntary redundancy package. KLM employed 33,000 before the epidemic began.
Reporting by Toby Sterling Editing by Chris ReeseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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c86a58cc9982308fd2231269d63ed8f3 | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-air-new-zealand/new-zealand-to-limit-returning-citizens-as-quarantine-facilities-fill-up-idINKBN2480DQ?edition-redirect=in | New Zealand to limit returning citizens as quarantine facilities fill up | New Zealand to limit returning citizens as quarantine facilities fill up
By Praveen Menon3 Min Read
WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand said on Tuesday its national airline will not take new bookings for three weeks as the country looks to limit the number of citizens returning home to reduce the burden on overflowing quarantine facilities.
As the COVID-19 pandemic worsens globally, thousands of New Zealanders are returning to South Pacific nation, which is among a handful of countries to have contained the coronavirus, re-opened its economy and restored pre-pandemic normalcy.
Bookings on Air New Zealand flights will be managed to ensure the government can safely place citizens into managed isolation facilities, Housing Minister Megan Woods said in a statement.
“We are seeing rapid growth in the numbers of New Zealanders coming home as the COVID-19 pandemic worsens,” Woods said.
“The last thing we need are hastily set up facilities to meet demand.”
The government is also talking to other airlines about managing flows, she said.
New Zealand’s borders are still shut to foreigners, and citizens and permanent residents have to undergo 14 days of mandatory quarantine.
The country has nearly 6,000 people in 28 managed isolation facilities and was planning to scale up more spaces to manage demand in coming weeks.
Air New Zealand said it was pausing new bookings for the next three weeks, and would align daily arrivals with the capacity available at isolation facilities.
The airline’s domestic services and flights from New Zealand to international destinations would not be affected by the restrictions, the airline said.
New Zealand has 22 active cases of COVID-19, all from returning New Zealanders, with no known community transmission. It has recorded 22 deaths from 1,186 cases during the pandemic.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern declared in early June that New Zealand had eliminated coronavirus but soon after, two women were allowed to leave quarantine early on compassionate grounds and later tested positive for the virus.
Ardern quickly called in the military to manage the border facilities. Under pressure for the border blunders, the health minister resigned last week.
Additonal reporting by Rashmi Ashok in Bengaluru; Editing by Lincoln Feast.Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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546e51819fe8d96b2398bb068122320c | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-airbnb-idINKCN24G075?edition-redirect=in | Airbnb bookings pick up, cross one million mark on a single day | Airbnb bookings pick up, cross one million mark on a single day
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
FILE PHOTO: Small toy figures are seen in front of diplayed Airbnb logo in this illustration taken March 19, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
(Reuters) - Home rental firm Airbnb Inc said on Tuesday it recorded more than 1 million bookings globally on July 8, offering an early sign of recovery after a slowdown in reservations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A major part of the bookings are for trips that will start on or before Aug. 7, the company said, adding it hit the 1 million mark for the first time since March 3.
Airbnb said it was partly due to pent-up demand, with affordable and closer destinations making up for the bulk. (bit.ly/2Cb4d10)
The home rental firm has been reeling under weak demand as millions of tourists cancelled their vacation plans, work trips and family visits due to the pandemic, prompting it to suspend marketing activities for the year and cut about 25% of its workforce.
Reporting by Neha Malara; Editing by Arun KoyyurOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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61762ea8ba3c20048e6172e5ed545d26 | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-airbus-emirates-airli/air-france-axes-a380-emirates-seen-cutting-deliveries-idINKBN22W2B6?edition-redirect=in | Air France axes A380, Emirates seen cutting deliveries | Air France axes A380, Emirates seen cutting deliveries
By Alexander Cornwell, Tim Hepher3 Min Read
DUBAI/PARIS (Reuters) - The world's largest airliner, the Airbus AIR.PA A380, took a step closer to the aviation archives on Wednesday as Air France said it would permanently axe its grounded fleet and sources said Emirates was in talks to reduce remaining deliveries.
Slideshow ( 2 images )
The superjumbo is close to the end of its production run after demand switched to smaller jets, and airlines including Air France AIRF.PA have been idling the double-decker temporarily because of the coronavirus crisis.
Air France announced a fresh 500 million euro ($548.50 million) writedown as it permanently retires its nine jets, just over a decade after becoming the first European airline to operate them.
Airbus last year announced plans to stop producing A380s in 2021 due to poor sales. It has nine left to build including eight for Emirates and one for Japan’s ANA.
Emirates no longer wants to take all eight A380s due to the pandemic and is in talks with Airbus, industry sources said.
Bloomberg earlier reported Emirates hoped to cancel five.
Both Emirates and Airbus said they were in regular dialogue with each other, declining further comment.
Halting Emirates deliveries could be painful for both sides, with the airline foregoing deposits and Airbus left with parts already ordered and no significant market to dispose of them.
Each A380 is worth some $200 million post-discounts, with virtually all represented by parts before assembly, suggesting an Airbus exposure of around $1.5 billion, market sources said.
Emirates has 50 A350s on order, the price of which could become a bargaining chip in discussions, one added.
Emirates is the biggest A380 operator with 115 and has said it expects to keep some into the 2030s.
But the pandemic has forced belt-tightening worldwide and Emirates is considering retiring some A380s earlier than planned, sources said.
One said Emirates was focused on reducing the number of leased A380s first.
($1 = 0.9116 euros)
(This story amends number of Air France A380s in para 3; airline corrects data published by Airbus to show that one out of 10 aircraft originally in the fleet has been returned to its lessor.)
Reporting by Alexander Cornwell, Tim Hepher, Laurence Frost; editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Barbara LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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5e147cb118b1012316fa3fca813d5b13 | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-airbus-emirates-arili/refile-emirates-pushing-to-take-fewer-airbus-a380s-from-final-order-sources-idINL8N2D24UF?edition-redirect=in | REFILE-Emirates pushing to take fewer Airbus A380s from final order - sources | REFILE-Emirates pushing to take fewer Airbus A380s from final order - sources
By Alexander Cornwell, Tim Hepher2 Min Read
(Refiles to fix typo in paragraph 7)
DUBAI/PARIS, May 20 (Reuters) - Emirates, one of the world’s biggest long-haul airlines, is in talks with European planemaker Airbus over whether to take delivery of its last remaining A380 superjumbos on order, according to two industry sources.
The Dubai state-owned carrier has eight A380s scheduled for delivery before Airbus ends the programme for the world’s biggest passenger jet next year.
The sources said Emirates no longer wanted to take all eight A380s due to the coronavirus pandemic that has shattered global travel demand and which the industry expects could take years to recover from.
Bloomberg earlier reported Emirates was in talks to cancel five of the eight A380s.
An Emirates spokeswoman told Reuters the airline was in “regular dialogue with Airbus regarding our fleet requirements”, but said it did not comment on commercial discussions.
Asked whether Airbus is in discussions with Emirates about the fate of the aircraft, an Airbus spokesman said it was in contact with all its customers but that details remained confidential until any agreements were made public.
Emirates is the world’s biggest operator of the A380 jet with 115 superjumbos in its fleet. It once had a total order of 162 A380s but reduced it to 123 in 2019.
The airline had previously said it expected to keep flying the jet into the 2030s.
However, the pandemic has forced airlines around the world to reconsider their strategy and Emirates was now considering retiring some of its existing A380s earlier than planned, the sources said.
One of the sources said Emirates was focused on reducing the amount of leased aircraft in the fleet.
Airbus has nine A380s left to produce including eight for Emirates and one for Japan’s ANA. The last aircraft was due to be delivered in 2021. (Reporting by Alexander Cornwell and Tim Hepher; editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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20d4e34695c3d4323897f069b0bf9f3f | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-airlines-idINKBN21L0BR?edition-redirect=in | Airline industry braces for lengthy recovery from coronavirus crisis | Airline industry braces for lengthy recovery from coronavirus crisis
By Jamie Freed, David Shepardson5 Min Read
SYDNEY/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - International seat capacity has dropped by almost 80% from a year ago and half the world’s airplanes are in storage, new data shows, suggesting the aviation industry may take years to recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
FILE PHOTO: Delta Air Lines passenger planes are seen parked due to flight reductions made to slow the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport in Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. March 25, 2020. REUTERS/Elijah Nouvelage/File Photo
Carriers including United Airlines Holdings Inc and Air New Zealand Ltd have warned they are likely to emerge from the crisis smaller, and there are fears others may not survive.
“It is likely that when we get across to the other side of the pandemic, things won’t return to the vibrant market conditions we had at the start of the year,” said Olivier Ponti, vice president at data firm ForwardKeys.
“It’s also possible that a number of airlines will have gone bust and uneconomic discounts will be necessary to attract demand back,” he said in a statement.
ForwardKeys said the number of international airline seats had fallen to 10 million in the week of March 30 to April 5, down from 44.2 million a year ago.
Data firm OAG said that several years of industry growth had been lost and that it could take until 2022 or 2023 before the volume of fliers returns to the levels that had been expected for 2020.
Cirium, another aviation data provider, said about half of the world’s airplane fleet was in storage.
“While many of these will be temporary storage, many of these aircraft will never resume service,” Cowen analyst Helane Becker said in a note to clients. “We believe the airline industry will look very different when we get to the other side of this.”
Planemakers are looking at drastic cuts in wide-body production amid a slump in demand for the industry’s largest jetliners, manufacturing and supplier sources said.
Deliveries of long-range jets, such as the Boeing Co 777 or 787 and Airbus SE A350 or A330, have been particularly badly hit as airlines seek deferrals and many withhold progress payments.
“Governments need to ensure that airlines have sufficient cash flow to tide them over this period,” said Conrad Clifford, Asia-Pacific vice president at the International Air Transport Association.
Such support could include direct financial support, easing the way for loans and loan guarantees and backing for the corporate bond market, he added.
Polish national airline LOT is working on a rescue plan and will likely need state aid as air traffic has been suspended because of the coronavirus, Jacek Sasin, the country’s minister of state assets said on Friday.
FLIGHTS CUT, STAFF FURLOUGHED
U.S. domestic demand will remain weak into May, Vasu Raja, senior vice president of network strategy at American Airlines Group Inc, told Reuters, citing a lack of bookings.
The airline is cutting between 70% and 75% of domestic flights in April and about 80% in May. For both months it is cutting nearly 90% of its international flights.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said that the government should not ground domestic flights during the crisis and that it was up to the airlines to make commercial decisions on flight destinations.
In Europe, budget carrier Ryanair Holdings PLC said on Friday it expected to carry minimal if any traffic in April and May due to widespread government flight bans and restrictions. It is operating fewer than 20 daily flights, which is 99% less than usual.
Ryanair said it expected to take a 300 million euro ($324.93 million) charge in the financial year starting April 1 on its fuel hedges now that the oil price had fallen.
Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd said on Friday it would further cut passenger capacity after carrying just 582 passengers one day this week, a load factor of 18.3%, compared to 100,000 customers on a normal day.
Air New Zealand carried just 165 passengers on its 89 flights on Thursday, underpinning its decision to make further cuts to its schedule while the country is in lockdown due to the virus, Chief Revenue Officer Cam Wallace said on Twitter.
Southwest Airlines Co said it intended to apply for U.S. government aid to help it ride out the sharp drop in travel demand.
The stimulus package for airlines is worth up to $50 billion, half in loans and loan guarantees and half in payroll cash grants.
Many Democrats and airline labour unions are urging U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin not to demand equity or warrants in return for the grant portion, as they seek to ensure carriers take the funds and pay workers.
($1 = 0.9233 euros)
Reporting by Jamie Freed and David Shepardson; additional reporting by Tracy Rucinski in Chicago, Tim Hepher in Paris, Kate Holton in London and Khanh Vu in Hanoi; Editing by Lisa Shumaker, Jane Wardell, Michael Perry and Gerry DoyleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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a736679b38c4a0d6eb9aad5a3c770fa7 | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-airlines-idINL2N2EY21X?edition-redirect=in | UPDATE 1-Majority of U.S. House backs new bailout for U.S. passenger airlines | UPDATE 1-Majority of U.S. House backs new bailout for U.S. passenger airlines
By David Shepardson, Tracy Rucinski3 Min Read
(Adds total number of signers, more details)
WASHINGTON/CHICAGO, July 27 (Reuters) - A majority U.S. House of Representatives lawmakers signed a letter made public on Monday calling for a six-month extension of a $32 billion payroll aid program that they argue is crucial to keeping hundreds of thousands of aviation workers employed through March 31.
“Without an extension of the (payroll support program) before then, hundreds of thousands of airline workers will be fired or furloughed on October 1,” the lawmakers wrote. The letter, led by House Transportation Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio, was signed by 223 House members, including 195 Democrats and 28 Republicans.
The lawmakers said that without action the layoffs “will eclipse those of any furloughs the industry has ever seen.”
The payroll program is set to expire Sept. 30.
Congress awarded $25 billion in payroll assistance to U.S. passenger airlines in March, along with $4 billion for cargo carriers and $3 billion for airport contractors. Most of the bailout funds do not have to be paid back.
Senate Republicans on Monday introduced a proposal to address new coronavirus needs but did not include new airline payroll funding.
More than a dozen aviation unions applauded the letter, saying, “Congress has the power to ensure airline workers will continue to stay on payroll ... and keep aviation workers ready to turn the industry around once this crisis is behind us.”
Airlines have said they are not actively seeking additional federal assistance but would accept funding without additional requirements.
When the first package was approved, large U.S. airlines hoped for a recovery in demand by October. But as the virus has accelerated, airline executives warn that demand that had shown signs of recovering was stalling again, threatening jobs.
Between American Airlines and United Airlines , more than 60,000 frontline workers have received warnings that their jobs are on the line on Oct. 1.
Mass airline layoffs could take place just over a month before the 2020 presidential and congressional elections. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Leslie Adler)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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bf4ebfb0ee16565df9017a9a9a47ede9 | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-airlines-idUKL1N2AW2FH?edition-redirect=uk | RPT-Airlines rush to boost demand as coronavirus shreds playbook for crisis management | RPT-Airlines rush to boost demand as coronavirus shreds playbook for crisis management
By Tracy Rucinski, Jamie Freed5 Min Read
(Repeats for wider distribution)
CHICAGO/SYDNEY, March 4 (Reuters) - The rapid spread of coronavirus cases worldwide is complicating a standard strategy used by airlines when disease, disaster or conflict hit travel destinations: lower fares and redirect flights to trouble-free areas.
For now, some airlines have resorted to suspending change fees for new ticket reservations in the hope of winning over hesitant travelers until it becomes clearer where coronavirus outbreaks are localized and which routes could benefit from price drops.
While lower fares have proven effective in the past in reviving demand, aviation consultant Samuel Engel said, “The pocketbook only works so far against emotion.”
The coronavirus, which emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year, has spread around the world, with more new cases now appearing outside China than inside.
JetBlue Airways Corp, which does not fly to Asia, was the first airline to launch free rebooking options last week, as it became clear that cases were not isolated to China. JetBlue pulled together and announced its plan in a matter of hours, President Joanna Geraghty told Reuters.
“We tried to put ourselves in the shoes of our customers and think about what we would want if we were, for example, booking a spring-break trip right now,” Geraghty said.
U.S. majors have since followed suit with varying waivers on change fees for new reservations to many destinations, a switch from a previous policy that covered only pre-booked flights to areas hardest-hit by the coronavirus.
In Latin America, Peruvian low-cost carrier Viva Air was holding a board meeting on Wednesday to discuss measures, Declan Ryan, executive chairman of the board of directors, told Reuters.
But with none of the offers so far guaranteeing money-back refunds, travelers say the policies are not enough.
“I understand that there are a lot of question marks right now for the industry on how this will unfold, but I don’t feel like there’s a truly customer-friendly policy out here,” said Amanda Elman-Kolb of Chicago, who has put on hold plans for a family trip to Europe in August.
Declining demand to fly abroad is not limited to U.S. travelers. International travel to the United States will fall 6% over the next three months amid coronavirus concerns, the largest decline since the 2007-2008 financial crisis, the U.S. Travel Association forecast on Tuesday.
With extra widebody jets on hand after suspending flights to China, South Korea, Japan and northern Italy, major U.S. airlines are deploying them on domestic routes, a process known as upgauging. American Airlines Group Inc, for example, is flying passengers from Chicago to San Francisco on a 787 Dreamliner, rather than just the usual narrowbody like a 737 or an A321.
DEFLATED BOOKINGS
Europe’s biggest carriers warned on Tuesday that the epidemic was upsetting growth, with Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O’Leary forecasting a “very deflated booking environment” for the next two to three weeks before recovering.
“After Easter if things have settled down, temperatures in Europe are rising, I think there will be a significant decline in the spread of the virus. Airlines will then respond with seat promotions, seat sales that will get people back traveling very quickly,” he told Reuters.
In the Asia-Pacific region, offers are under way.
Malaysian budget airline AirAsia X, which was struggling financially even before coronavirus, launched a 499 ringgit ($119.09) one-year pass for unlimited trips to Australia, Japan, Korea, China and India, excluding taxes and fees on each trip - a move that CEO Benyamin Ismail called “unprecedented.”
Fares are softening too on routes not directly affected by travel bans, with Australia to Los Angeles 25% lower in the three weeks ended Feb. 26 compared with the same period last year, data provided to Reuters by Skyscanner showed.
In perhaps the most vivid example, Vietnam Airlines JSC last week said it would offer $0 round-trip fares from Ho Chi Minh City to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, excluding taxes and fees, to help stimulate tourism through the end of May.
“Airlines have historically shown little hesitance to reduce prices to get volume,” said Wolfe Research analyst Hunter Keay. “One thing we know about leisure air travel demand, it can be very easily stimulated.” ($1 = 4.1900 ringgit)
BreakingviewsReuters Breakingviews is the world's leading source of agenda-setting financial insight. As the Reuters brand for financial commentary, we dissect the big business and economic stories as they break around the world every day. A global team of about 30 correspondents in New York, London, Hong Kong and other major cities provides expert analysis in real time.Sign up for a free trial of our full service at https://www.breakingviews.com/trial and follow us on Twitter @Breakingviews and at www.breakingviews.com. All opinions expressed are those of the authors.
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d90d1a429ff2713f57d08e1399fde26d | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-airlines-idUKL8N2CQ23R?edition-redirect=uk | CORRECTED-FACTBOX-Airlines take off again after coronavirus groundings | CORRECTED-FACTBOX-Airlines take off again after coronavirus groundings
By Reuters Staff0 Min Read
(Corrects number of Qatar Airways routes) May 27 (Reuters) - Airlines are starting to restore services to some destinations and plan more route openings in an expected easing of travel restrictions around the world. By May, airlines around the world had grounded about 95% of their capacity as air travel all but came to a standstill due to the coronavirus pandemic. Here are some of the airlines restoring routes (in alphabetical order): AMERICAS Name Service Share of Routes Link resumption fleet opening date operational Aeromexico May 1 50% Mexico City -Vancouver/Ma drid Copa June 1 12% of Airlines scheduled routes Delta Air June Q2 schedule several major Lines expected to routes (some be 85% Trans-Atlanti smaller than c and year ago Caribbean destinations) ASIA Name Service Share of Routes Story Link resumption fleet opening date operational Asiana June 13 Airlines international routes Bangkok June 1 Domestic nFWN2CX0EZ Airways routes Kazakh May 1 NA some domestic airlines flights Vietnam June 1 NA International Airlines flights (need government approval) EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA Name Service Share of Routes Story Link resumption fleet opening date operational Air France mid-June 10% 600 flights per week to 110 destinations Alitalia June 2 NA New York, Spain and domestic routes Brussels June 15 30% of Destinations Airlines original in Europe, planned include summer Spain, France schedule and Italy Route to New York to resume in July easyJet June 15 primarily domestic flights in Britain and France Etihad June 16 NA flights Airways across its network Eurowings May 2020 NA Will fly from bit.ly/3fHDFmZ 5 different German airports Finnair July about 30% of key Asian its normal destinations amount of (Beijing, flights Hong Kong, Shanghai, Nagoya, Osaka, Tokyo Narita, Singapore, Seoul, Bangkok) August Delhi, New York IAG July passenger capacity about 50% lower Lufthansa Mid to end of 160 aircraft 1,8000 weekly June flights to 130 destinations including Los Angeles, Toronto and Mumbai 20 destinations to start mid-June from Frankfurt Ryanair July 1 40% of its 1,000 flights planned per day, flight restoring 90% schedule of its pre-Covid-19 route network Lufthansa's June 15-20% of up to 190 bit.ly/2Tek0BF SWISS original flights from services in Zurich and June Geneva to 41 European destinations; plans to offer flights from Zurich to New York JFK, Chicago, Singapore, Bangkok, Tokyo, Mumbai, Hong Kong and Johannesburg SAS June 1-15 Will have 30 Nordic aircraft in routes, service Amsterdam, New York, Chicago Turkish June NA 60% of Airlines domestic flights 99 countries by September Qatar By the end of NA Up to 80 Airways May, June destinations (33 in Asia-Pacific, 23 in Europe, 20 in the Middle East, four in the Americas) Wizz Air May 1, June, NA Sofia - 16 July London London - Faro, Portugal London - Greece (Reporting by Tommy Lund and Jagoda Darlak in Gdansk; Editing by Mark Potter, Louise Heavens and Tomasz Janowski)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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0771df8051f344bf72db2b6f526023d6 | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-airlines-int-idUSKBN27C24F?utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A%20Trending%20Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR0jaYy13JVbKRqGljGAnJQzxvQvOlcTkzWtGJdGc-7na-IbjI8PqVU9J8Y | Airplane COVID-19 risk 'very low' with masks, other actions, report finds | Airplane COVID-19 risk 'very low' with masks, other actions, report finds
By David Shepardson3 Min Read
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Transmission risks of COVID-19 during airline flights are very low and below other routine activities during the pandemic such as grocery shopping or going out to dinner, when using face coverings and taking other steps, researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health said Tuesday.
FILE PHOTO: Social distancing sign is displayed at a check-in area for Southwest Airlines Co. at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on an unusually empty Memorial Day weekend during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Los Angeles, California, U.S., May 23, 2020. REUTERS/Patrick T. Fallon/File Photo
The report found transmission risks can be “reduced to very low levels through the combination of layered infection control measures.”
The report, funded by Airlines for America - a trade group representing American Airlines, United Airlines UAL.O, Delta Air Lines DAL.N and others - and a consortium of aircraft and equipment manufacturers and airport operators, comes as U.S. airlines lose billions of dollars a month as passenger demand remains down 65% year on year because of the coronavirus.
U.S. carriers are operating just 50% the flights they did in 2019. Some carriers have recently announced new plans to end blocking of middle seats during the pandemic.
The Aviation Public Health Initiative team at Harvard recommended strategies to mitigate transmission risk on aircraft, during boarding and exiting.
The report found after airlines mandated masks, boosted cleaning procedures and revised boarding procedures, “and with millions of passenger hours flown, there has been little evidence to date of onboard disease transmission.”
The report noted commercial passenger aircraft are equipped with ventilation systems that refresh cabin air on average every 2-3 minutes and removing more than 99% of particles of the size that cause SARS-CoV-2.
Researchers also found face masks significantly reduce risks of disease transmission during the COVID-19 crisis. Airlines have mandated masks, added new cleaning and implemented protocols to manage boarding and deplaning.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this month issued a “strong recommendation” that all passengers and employees on airplanes and in airports should wear masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The Harvard report said risks remain that contagious pre- or asymptomatic people could be unaware and opt to fly.
The study echoes a U.S. Defense Department study released earlier this month that found the risk of exposure to the coronavirus on flights is very low.
When a seated passenger is wearing a mask, an average 0.003% of air particles within the breathing zone around a person’s head are infectious, even when every seat is occupied, it found.
Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by David HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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271d11898ab2a8c19a1089381be53cb3 | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-airlines-usa/caribbean-resorts-get-starring-role-in-u-s-airlines-covid-19-holiday-playbook-idUSKBN2841NJ | Caribbean resorts get starring role in U.S airlines' COVID-19 holiday playbook | Caribbean resorts get starring role in U.S airlines' COVID-19 holiday playbook
By Tracy Rucinski3 Min Read
CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. airlines are adding flights, and in some cases COVID-19 testing programs, for travel to Mexico and the Caribbean, a region central to carriers’ strategies to tap into pockets of holiday demand before a vaccine makes its way around the world.
FILE PHOTO: Tourists bathe on a beach in Cancun, October 13, 2015. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido
Beachside resort destinations in areas like Cancun are the only spots that now have more flights from U.S. cities scheduled for November and December than last year, numbers from aviation data firm Cirium show.
Overall, U.S. airlines are flying about 50% less than 2019, with flights to traditional European vacation hotspots like Paris down by as much as 82% due to travel bans and quarantines.
While new revenue streams from destinations like the Caribbean will help, they won’t be enough to put airlines in the black for the year, analysts have said.
The holiday period is traditionally when airlines thrive ahead of slow months in January and February. But this year they have said they will continue to burn millions of dollars daily through the fourth quarter as they wrestle with slashed demand.
Ahead of Thanksgiving, U.S. airports saw their busiest weekend since mid-March, even after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) urged Americans not to travel amid a spike in COVID-19 cases. Still, demand is down by around 60% and airlines say it’s too soon to know how Christmas travel will play out.
Still, airlines are hoping to build up a base of customers who feel comfortable about flying before a COVID-19 vaccine becomes widely available, eyeing the typically lucrative summer travel season.
More studies, including from the Harvard School of Public Health and the U.S. Department of Defense, have said the risk of COVID-19 transmission in flight is low if people wear masks.
Recent positive vaccine developments have helped reassure investors that U.S. airlines can make it through the crisis. Sector shares rose 4% on Monday and are up 23% for the month.
But the speed and depth of their recovery, particularly from higher-margin business and international travel, will determine how they cut piles of debt they took on to weather the crisis.
Airlines are trying to reboot overseas travel through bilateral bubbles - deals between countries on COVID-19 testing protocols that would replace or reduce quarantines - though programs have been slow to take off.
United Airlines last week launched a free rapid COVID-19 testing program between Newark Liberty International and London Heathrow airports, and on Monday said it was rolling out a test program for flights from U.S. energy capital Houston, Texas to 10 places in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Starting Dec. 7, passengers can take the self-collected, mail-in test 72 hours before departure for $119 to meet entry requirements at their destination.
Reporting by Tracy Rucinski; Editing by Kenneth MaxwellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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59a5376efef52f123fdac167768dafcc | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-airlines/airlines-airports-seek-fresh-ways-to-deal-with-cash-crunch-amid-crisis-idUSL4N2B96I5 | Airlines, airports seek fresh ways to deal with cash crunch amid crisis | Airlines, airports seek fresh ways to deal with cash crunch amid crisis
By Jamie Freed4 Min Read
* Auckland International Airport scraps dividend
* Cathay Pacific strikes $704 mln sale and leaseback deal
* Airlines carrying cargo on empty passenger planes
SYDNEY, March 17 (Reuters) - Airlines and airport operators said they are taking steps such as suspending dividends, selling and leasing back airplanes and flying cargo on empty passenger jets as they grapple with a cash crunch and plunging demand caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
New Zealand’s Auckland International Airport Ltd said on Tuesday it would scrap its interim dividend on top of cost-cutting measures that include a hiring freeze and a halt to discretionary spending.
In a blow to the airport operator, Air New Zealand Ltd said it would cut capacity to Australia by 80% from March 30 to June 30 after both countries said over the weekend that all travellers would need to self-isolate for 14 days after arrival.
Qantas Airways Ltd said it would stop 90% of its international flights and 60% of its domestic capacity until at least the end of May, leading to the grounding of the equivalent of 150 planes, including most of its widebody fleet.
The Australian carrier last week told analysts it was looking to raise a few hundred million dollars by refinancing some of its aircraft.
Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd said on Monday it had agreed a $703.8 million deal with lessor BOC Aviation Ltd to sell and lease back six Boeing Co 777-300ER airplanes to raise much-needed cash.
The carrier, one of the earliest and hardest hit by the outbreak due to its proximity to mainland China, said its full-service airlines, Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon, had made an unaudited loss of HK$2 billion ($257.5 million) in the month of February alone.
It will cut up to 90% of its capacity in April, up from an earlier plan of 65% announced alongside its annual results last week.
“If we do not see a relaxation of travel restrictions in the near future, we expect the same arrangement will have to continue into May,” Cathay Pacific Group Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Ronald Lam said in a statement.
“Our advance passenger bookings show no clear signs of recovery at this stage, and the gap in bookings compared to 2019 continues to widen,” he said.
CARGO BRIGHT SPOT
The only bright spot for the airline is the cargo market, where rates are surging as a result of the loss of capacity in the belly of passenger aircraft as those flights are cut.
Cathay Pacific and Korean Air Lines Co Ltd are both flying some planes without passengers to transport cargo due to high demand.
Qantas said it would use some domestic passenger aircraft for freight-only flights to replace lost capacity from regular scheduled services and its fleet of freighters would continue to be fully utilised.
Freight Investor Services on Monday reported a surge in prices across all Asia-Pacific routes. “2020 is fast becoming year of the freighter,” it told clients.
Singapore Airlines Ltd reported a higher cargo load factor in February than the prior year, but said on the passenger side, market conditions had continued to deteriorate in March.
Carriers in Europe and the Americas are struggling too.
Major U.S. airlines sought a government bailout of more than $50 billion as the White House is urgently drafting a financial assistance package in the wake of the steep falloff in U.S. travel demand sparked by the coronavirus pandemic.
A trade association warned that without action airlines could run out of money by year-end - and even sooner if credit card companies started withholding payments. Without action soon, airlines and others in the sector could furlough tens of thousands of workers.
In Europe, already battered shares in British Airways parent IAG, easyJet and Air France-KLM plunged again on Monday as they scrapped most flights for the coming weeks, joining other major carriers that are all but halting operations in the face of the pandemic. ($1 = 7.7659 Hong Kong dollars) (Reporting by Jamie Freed; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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834600f2e92e6fb73b47114a03565d0c | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-algeria-president-idIND5N2FS01C?edition-redirect=in | Algeria says President Tebboune's treatment nearing completion | Algeria says President Tebboune's treatment nearing completion
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
ALGIERS, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is about to complete medical treatment and his condition is improving, the presidency said on Sunday, 13 days after he was flown to a German hospital.
Authorities last week said Tebboune, 75, had tested positive for COVID-19. (Reporting by Hamid Ould Ahmed Editing by Mark Heinrich)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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91a99d783b99f61ef79a7acf6fc17c63 | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-algeria-president-idINKBN27W07B?edition-redirect=in | Algerian president ends COVID-19 treatment, to undergo checks | Algerian president ends COVID-19 treatment, to undergo checks
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
FILE PHOTO: Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune arrives for the opening of the 33rd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Heads of State and the Government of the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, February 9, 2020. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri/File Photo
ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has finished treatment for COVID-19 but will undergo follow-up checks, the presidency said on Sunday.
Tebboune, 75, was flown to a German hospital 19 days ago after he tested positive for the coronavirus.
Tebboune was elected last December after more than a year of mass protests that toppled his predecessor Abdelaziz Bouteflika. He has vowed to carry our political and economic reforms in the OPEC member nation.
Algerians earlier this month approved changes to the constitution to allow more powers for the parliament and prime minsiter, and pave the way for the army to take part in peacekeeping missions overseas.
Tebboune has also announced plans to develop the non-energy sector to diversify the economy away from oil and gas and create sorely-needed jobs in the North African nation of 44 million people.
Reporting by Hamid Ould Ahmed; Editing by Gareth JonesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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04c1b48b99202673457261919609830d | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-algeria-tebboune-idINKBN2790OZ?edition-redirect=in | Algerian president, 75, self isolates as pandemic spreads | Algerian president, 75, self isolates as pandemic spreads
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
FILE PHOTO: Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune arrives for the opening of the 33rd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Heads of State and the Government of the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, February 9, 2020. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri/File Photo
ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algeria’s 75-year-old President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is self isolating because some officials in “upper ranks of the government” are sick with COVID-19, he said in a Tweet on Saturday.
Tebboune took office in December in an election that came amidst months of mass protests which forced his predecessor Abdelaziz Bouteflika from power after 20 years.
“I assure you, my brothers and sisters, that I am well and healthy and that I continue my work,” he said, saying his decision was taken on the advice of medical staff.
The global pandemic struck Algeria’s economy as it faced long-term challenges posed by the decline of the oil and gas revenues that finance its historically lavish state spending.
So far, Algeria has officially confirmed more than 55,000 cases of the coronavirus with nearly 2,000 deaths.
Though the pandemic forced an end to the weekly mass protest marches through Algiers and other cities that lasted for more than a year, the political challenges remain.
Tebboune has pushed for changes to Algeria’s referendum to limit presidential terms while expanding the powers of the parliament and judiciary.
However, many people in the leaderless protest movement believe their core goals of replacing the old ruling elite and forcing the army to stay out of politics remain unmet.
Algerians will vote in a referendum on the new constitution on Nov. 1, with Tebboune and the country’s powerful army generals seeking a high turnout in order to turn a page on the protests.
Reporting by Lamine Chikhi; Writing by Angus McDowall; Editing by Alison Williams and Daniel WallisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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c062270c6999a4bf9eaaf3cb7b57cd23 | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-allianz-investors-idUSL8N2GP5FY | U.S. pension funds sue Allianz after $4 billion in coronavirus losses | U.S. pension funds sue Allianz after $4 billion in coronavirus losses
By Tom Sims4 Min Read
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Pension funds for truckers, teachers and subway workers have lodged lawsuits in the United States against Germany’s Allianz, one of the world’s top asset managers, for failing to safeguard their investments during the coronavirus market meltdown.
The logo of Allianz is seen on a building in Paris, France, April 30, 2020. REUTERS/Charles Platiau
Market panic around the virus that resulted in billions in losses earlier this year scarred many investors, but no other top-tier asset manager is facing such a large number of lawsuits in the United States connected to the turbulence.
In March, Allianz ALVG.DE was forced to shutter two private hedge funds after severe losses, prompting the wave of litigation the company says is "legally and factually flawed".
Together, the various suits filed in the U.S. Southern District of New York claim investors lost a total of around $4 billion. The fallout has also prompted questions from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Allianz has said.
A spokesman for Allianz Global Investors said in a statement to Reuters: “While the losses were disappointing, the allegations made by claimants are legally and factually flawed, and we will defend ourselves vigorously against them.”
The plaintiffs are professional investors who bought funds that “involved risks commensurate with those higher returns,” the spokesman added.
The latest claims against Allianz and its asset management arm Allianz Global Investors last week include one from the pension fund for the operator of New York’s transport system, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). It has 70,000 employees and made an initial investment of $200 million.
Similar suits have been filed against Allianz by pension funds for the Teamster labor union, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and Arkansas teachers. The suits are seeking a jury trial to award damages.
The suits allege that Allianz Global Investors, in its Structured Alpha family of funds, strayed from a strategy of using options to protect against a short-term financial market crash.
The SEC’s inquiry continues and Allianz is cooperating. The SEC did not respond to requests for comment.
Attracting investors with an “all-weather” investing approach, Allianz “bet the house” and “out of greed ... sacrificed the hard-earned pension and benefits of the MTA’s workers, who at the time were risking their lives under COVID keeping New York alive,” the MTA’s lawsuit said.
An MTA spokesman said employee pensions are not at risk.
The cases are a second front of litigation for Allianz, one of Europe’s largest insurance companies. The Munich-based company and its competitors face suits for not paying claims related to business closures during the pandemic lockdowns.
The company’s insurance business as a whole has been under pressure as it faces claims for cancelled events, and a decline in demand for car and travel insurance. It expects to post the first decline in annual profit in nearly a decade.
At the end of March, Allianz informed investors it was liquidating two funds, as well as an offshore feeder fund. Investors lost 97% on one of the funds, the suits say.
In April, Morningstar downgraded its rating for the remaining funds to negative “because of the failure in risk management protocols and the uncertainty”.
Allianz disputed that rating and in July published an internal report here that found that the losses "were not the result of any failure in the portfolio's investment strategy or risk management processes".
Reporting by Tom Sims; editing by David EvansOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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271bf13032a553b3f94d3b0ed7ce30eb | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-amazon-com-workers-in/how-big-unions-smooth-the-way-for-amazon-worker-protests-idINKBN22Y0AW?edition-redirect=in | How big unions smooth the way for Amazon worker protests | How big unions smooth the way for Amazon worker protests
By Nandita Bose, Krystal Hu12 Min Read
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Warehouse employees last month staged a walkout in Michigan to demand safer working conditions at their facility. So did workers in New York, Illinois and Minnesota.
Former Amazon employee, Christian Smalls, stands with fellow demonstrators during a protest outside of an Amazon warehouse as the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in the Staten Island borough of New York U.S., May 1, 2020. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
These and other Amazon.com Inc employees across the country are seizing on the coronavirus to demand the world’s largest online retailer offer more paid sick time and temporarily shut warehouses with infections for deep cleaning.
Employees in at least 11 states this year have voiced their concerns and staged actions to highlight a variety of purported workplace deficiencies, allegations the company has denied.
Supporting these Amazon workers are labour groups and unions eager to penetrate the Seattle-based behemoth after years of failed attempts to unionise its operations.
Reuters spoke with 16 unions and labour groups targeting Amazon. They included established organizations such as the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), the United Food & Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) and the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), as well as newer worker advocacy groups like Warehouse Workers for Justice and Athena, a coalition of labour and social justice groups that have criticized Amazon’s business practices.
Most unions acknowledged their long odds at organising Amazon using traditional tactics such as holding meetings and gauging interest. Legal hurdles to unionising the company’s workplaces and mounting elections are steep. For now, many groups said, they are showing workers how to harness public opinion to shame Amazon into granting concessions.
The strategy proved effective in the national “Fight for $15” campaign to raise the minimum wage. Labour organizations in recent years helped retail and fast-food workers stage highly publicized protests and social media campaigns to draw attention to their modest pay at a time when the economy was booming.
Cities and states including Seattle, San Francisco, California, Arkansas and Missouri raised their minimum wages as did some large U.S. employers, including Amazon, which attributed its pay hikes to a tight labour market as well as pressure from lawmakers and labour groups.
In labour’s latest efforts targeting Amazon, organizations are helping workers create online petitions, connect with elected officials, contact media and file labour complaints with the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The initiative puts public pressure on Amazon to respond, several groups said, while laying the groundwork for unions to recruit card-carrying members in the future.
“We expect that there will be more push for unionization when we get to the other side of this,” said Stuart Applebaum, president of RWDSU.
Amazon spokeswoman Rachael Lighty said Amazon already offers what these groups are requesting: $15 per hour or more to start, health benefits and opportunities for career growth.
“We encourage anyone interested in the facts to compare our overall pay and benefits, as well as our speed in managing this crisis, to other retailers and major employers across the country,” she said.
Central to the organizing effort, union officials said, is fear among some frontline Amazon workers over the spread of coronavirus in the company’s warehouses.
At least 800 workers in Amazon’s 519 U.S. distribution facilities have tested positive for COVID-19, based on internal company figures compiled by Jana Jumpp, an Amazon warehouse employee in Indiana, who shared the numbers with Reuters. Amazon sends text messages and automated calls to employees alerting them to positive cases in their facilities. Jumpp aggregates cases mentioned in messages sent to her by Amazon workers around the country.
Jumpp said the informal process she has developed likely misses cases. She and other employees said Amazon does not share a running tally of cases at each facility or provide a nationwide count.
“We have no idea how many people are actually sick, not tested or out on quarantine,” Jumpp said on a recent media call organised by Athena, the labour coalition.
At least six Amazon workers have died of COVID-19, which the company confirmed publicly after each incident.
Amazon’s Lighty would not disclose to Reuters the total number of Amazon employees who have tested positive for coronavirus in the United States. She said the company’s efforts to quarantine infected workers are helping to slow the spread, and rates of infection “are at or below the communities we’re operating in at almost all of our facilities.” Lighty did not provide data to support that claim.
A majority of Amazon employees are showing up at work and the company “objects to the irresponsible actions of labour groups and others in spreading misinformation and making false claims about Amazon,” she said.
Slideshow ( 5 images )
Lighty said employee health and safety is the company’s top priority. Amazon will spend more than $800 million in the first half of the year on COVID-19 safety measures, she said.
Amazon over the past decade has eviscerated brick-and-mortar retail competitors, some of them unionized, while successfully fending off several attempts by its own employees to organise. With shutdowns now battering Main Street, Amazon is poised to emerge from the COVID-19 crisis stronger than ever.
The company reported record first-quarter sales of $75.5 billion (62 billion pounds), up 26% from the same period a year ago, as customers sheltering in place have relied on its services and its stock price has risen 35% since the start of the year.
Amazon had nearly 600,000 U.S. employees in 2019, according to its latest annual report, making it one of the largest employers in the country.
In 2019, 10.3% of U.S. workers were union members, down from 20.1% in 1983, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Over 33 million U.S. workers have filed for unemployment benefits in recent weeks, strengthening the hand of employers at a time of mass unemployment. Still, some labour experts said coronavirus presents unions with their best shot in decades to make inroads at Amazon.
“Justice issues and safety at work tend to be the most powerful arguments in organising,” said Alex Colvin, a labour relations professor at Cornell University. “They’re the strongest reason for workers to want representation.”
He said unions have resorted to public relations as a tool to pressure companies as worker protections such as “collective bargaining and employment rights enforcement have weakened.”
FIGHTING UNIONS
Amazon has resisted unionization within its workforce since its founding in 1994. It defeated unionising efforts in Seattle in 2000 and in Delaware in 2014 by a wide margin.
In recent weeks it has fired at least four workers in three states who had publicly criticized the company and were involved in organising.
Lighty said Amazon has “zero tolerance” for retaliation. These workers were not terminated for talking publicly about working conditions or safety, but for violating policies such as physical distancing, she said.
Among those sacked was Emily Cunningham, a Seattle-based activist with Amazon Employees for Climate Justice, who gained prominence for pushing the company to do more to fight global warming. She had recently circulated a petition calling for measures such as improved sick leave and urged all employees to agree on a day in April to call in sick to protest warehouse working conditions.
“There is a lot of frustration on how Amazon is handling the issue of workplace safety,” Cunningham said. She said she has been in touch with the AFL-CIO about the sickout, and a local affiliate of the union called MLK Labor has offered support to continue the fight on working conditions. MLK Labor confirmed it is working with employees that Amazon fired in Seattle.
The AFL-CIO’s secretary treasurer, Elizabeth Shuler, said the union is using the pandemic to galvanize Amazon workers at company headquarters and enlist support from elected officials. Amazon had over 53,000 employees in Seattle in 2019.
“Amazon’s backyard is Seattle, and that’s a major focus for us in terms of how to take the energy, the courage, the activism that we are already seeing there and build that into a real movement,” she said.
Amazon’s Lighty said the company has listened to complaints and implemented over 150 measures to keep workers safe.
The company is also running television advertisements thanking warehouse workers. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in April showed up at a Texas distribution center and met workers to show his support.
NEW APPROACH
But a steady rise in the number of infections at warehouses has spurred more protests.
Amazon worker Mario Crippen led an April 1 walkout at a Michigan warehouse to protest what he said was a lack of transparency from the company about the number of infections. He said about 40 workers participated in that action at the facility in Romulus, about 24 miles southwest of Detroit.
Amazon disputed that figure, saying fewer than 15 people participated.
Helping Crippen was labour nonprofit United for Respect, which coached him on how to gain media attention without getting fired and use social media to gather more supporters. The group also offered legal help from attorneys if he was terminated.
Crippen, 26, whose job is to stow products at the warehouse, told Reuters he felt as if “somebody had my back.”
He said at least 25 workers at the Romulus warehouse have tested positive, according to figures compiled by employees at the site. Crippen said some workers want the facility shut down for cleaning, and plan to continue protesting working conditions while exploring the idea of working closely with labour groups and unions in the future.
Amazon spokeswoman Lighty did not comment about the Romulus protest, the number of cases at the site or the company’s decision to not shut down the facility. She said Amazon’s decision to handle the closure of a building for deep cleaning depends on several factors, including consulting with health authorities and medical experts.
A spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Labor said the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA), received employee complaints about the Romulus site and sent a letter to Amazon listing steps the company “could take to correct the hazards.” She and MIOSHA would not provide more information.
Lighty did not comment on the details in the letter.
Some labour organizers are instructing workers on how to file such safety complaints. They are also using Facebook Live, Instagram posts, Telegram chats and WhatsApp messages to share other tactics with Amazon employees.
At Whole Foods, an upscale supermarket chain owned by Amazon, several current and former employees have been using Telegram to rally coworkers across the country to agitate for expanded paid sick leave and temporary shutdown of stores with confirmed COVID-19 cases.
“First step is to ask what will you do if our store is tested positive? Then form a committee. Plan actions. Document. Call the government,” wrote one of the workers, who confirmed sending the message and discussed the strategy with Reuters on condition of anonymity. The employee said the group has doubled to 400 members since the pandemic began. Reuters could not independently confirm the growth in membership.
This worker and fellow organizers are collaborating with the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, and are working under the name “Whole Worker’s National Organizing Committee.”
UFCW President Marc Perrone said the union is currently not focusing on the traditional playbook of getting employees to sign cards and become members.
“Right now ...it is about showing workers value and what we can do for them,” he said.
Reporting by Nandita Bose in Washington and Krystal Hu in New York, Additional reporting by Jeffrey Dastin in San Francisco; Editing by Vanessa O’Connell and Marla DickersonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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f7fbf1912b4a26c2f40cad2c1223df9e | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-amazon-exclusive/exclusive-amazon-pauses-sellers-loan-repayments-amid-coronavirus-idINKBN21D07C?edition-redirect=in | Exclusive - Amazon pauses sellers' loan repayments amid coronavirus | Exclusive - Amazon pauses sellers' loan repayments amid coronavirus
By Jeffrey Dastin, Lisa Baertlein3 Min Read
(Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc on Wednesday said it temporarily would not require sellers in its marketplace to repay loans it had made to them, as merchants confront the prospect of declining sales during the coronavirus pandemic.
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Amazon is seen at the company logistics centre in Boves, France, November 5, 2019. REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo
The world’s largest online retailer notified sellers that its programme known as Amazon Lending would pause repayments beginning Thursday until April 30. Interest would not accrue during that period, it said.
The programme has offered sums between $1,000 (846.5 pounds) and $750,000 to merchants looking for capital to acquire inventory, expand their product lines and advertise on Amazon.
“Loan repayments will restart on May 1, 2020 ... You will have the same number of remaining payments once repayment resumes,” Amazon said in a seller message obtained by Reuters.
More than 20,000 merchants have gotten loans from Amazon, the company said in 2017. By the end of 2019, Amazon stood to receive $863 million from sellers to whom it provided financing through the lending program, according to a company filing. The loans’ terms range from three to 12 months, carrying interest rates from 6% to 19.9%.
As Americans turn to online shopping while quarantined, many online sellers, who are small and medium-sized businesses, are facing cash flow constraints amid supply chain and logistics issues caused by the outbreak. EBay Inc , another major online marketplace, said on Wednesday it will defer most selling fees for merchants for 30 days.
Amazon’s offer may provide relief to sellers, some of whom could be hard hit by Amazon’s recent decision to restrict its U.S. and European fulfilment services to household, medical and other essential goods during the outbreak.
Merchants of popular items from toys to apparel have worried that the temporary ban on stocking goods in Amazon warehouses, on which they depend for delivery, would mean low sales and difficulty paying back loans.
Jamison Philippi, an Amazon seller of toys and video games in Hackensack, New Jersey, had estimated to Reuters his income could drop by 75% just as he had a roughly $3,500 loan payment due to Amazon on April 1.
“That’s super awesome. I cheered when I got that email. That relieves a lot of stress right now,” Philippi said.
Amazon’s move came after at least one rival offered sellers relief.
Ricardo Pero, chief executive of lending company SellersFunding, last week told Reuters he was easing terms to help sellers on Amazon and other marketplaces navigate the rapidly changing retail market. SellersFunding offers lines of credit and term loans to new and existing borrowers. Both products offer a 90-day interest-only period.
Amazon, which had won customers by continually making shipping faster over the years, has now slowed delivery to weeks in some cases in order to manage a flood of orders. That could also dampen merchants’ sales as shoppers look elsewhere for goods.
Reporting by Jeffrey Dastin and Lisa Baertleinn; additional reporting by Krystal Hu in New York; Editing by Alistair Bell and Lisa ShumakerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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21d04a52113d837cae3d08eebac3f5ee | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-american-airline-boei-idINKBN24B21L?edition-redirect=in | Boeing in scramble to shore up 737 MAX financing - sources | Boeing in scramble to shore up 737 MAX financing - sources
By Tracy Rucinski, Tim Hepher3 Min Read
(Reuters) - Boeing is scrambling to shore up financing for the 737 MAX as it awaits regulatory approval for design changes after the plane was grounded following two fatal crashes, industry sources said.
FILE PHOTO: American Airlines passenger planes crowd a runway where they are parked due to flight reductions made to slow the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at Tulsa International Airport in Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S. March 23, 2020. REUTERS/Nick Oxford/Files
Boeing BAN is anxious to resume deliveries once regulators declare it safe and airlines agree training. But confidence in the jet has been hit by the 15-month grounding, making the financing needed to ensure smooth deliveries scarce and compounding a dearth in demand due to the coronavirus crisis.
“Nobody wants to take new aircraft and this is particularly true for the MAX right now,” a senior aviation financier said.
The value of MAX jets on the aircraft market has fallen by 11% since the start of 2020 and is likely to face more pressure in coming months, depending on the timing of its return, Eddy Pieniazek of aviation advisers Ishka said.
With capital markets unavailable after the collapse in air travel during the coronavirus crisis and banks refusing most new business, only leasing companies have spare financing capacity though many are also fighting their own problems, bankers say.
Boeing’s strategy, first reported by Reuters last month, has been to encourage lessors to strike deals with airlines to buy MAX jets and rent them back to airlines.
In return, Boeing is seen ready to allow the same leasing companies to cancel part of their own plans to buy MAX jets directly, easing pressure on their balance sheets.
As a last resort, Boeing stands ready to buy back jets and lease them to airlines itself as a temporary measure through its Boeing Capital financing unit, an aviation market source said.
Singapore’s BOC Aviation last month canceled 30 of the jets shortly after it had struck purchase-and-leaseback deals for MAXs with United Airlines and Southwest in what many in the industry saw as related moves.
Boeing is now trying to facilitate similar deals for leasing companies to step in and finance deliveries for launch customer American Airlines AAL.O, the sources said.
Previous financing for some of the 17 MAXs that American was meant to receive this year has expired, triggering talks with Boeing, people familiar with the matter said, noting that American was seeking the same pre-pandemic terms.
The Wall Street Journal said American AAL.O had threatened to cancel some orders unless Boeing helped with funding.
Boeing said it would not comment on customer talks. American, which has 76 MAXs on order, declined comment.
The loss of a high-profile order from American would deal a harsh blow to the MAX program it helped launch in 2011.
Boeing was forced to tear up plans for an all-new plane and agree a faster upgrade to its 737 after American was on the verge of handing an entire 460-plane order to Airbus AIR.PA.
Reporting by Tracy Rucinski, Tim Hepher; additional reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M. and Alexander SmithOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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d2471316083a274ab631df5dba510fb7 | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-americas-idINKBN27R2K8?edition-redirect=in | COVID-19 cases still surging in the Americas, WHO warns | COVID-19 cases still surging in the Americas, WHO warns
By Reuters Staff2 Min Read
A woman and her dog are pictured in front a mural in honor to health workers as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak continues, in Mexico City, Mexico November 7, 2020. REUTERS/Gustavo Graf
BRASILIA (Reuters) - COVID-19 cases are still surging in the Americas, averaging 150,000 a day in last week, the World Health Organization’s regional office said on Wednesday.
The United States continues to report record-breaking numbers, while parts of Canada and some states in Mexico, including the capital, are experiencing spikes, the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) said.
The United States became the first country to surpass 10 million COVID-19 infections, according to a Reuters tally, as the third wave of the virus surges across the nation.
Other countries in the Americas are doing better. Argentina, Costa Rica and Jamaica have curbed the outbreak with effective contact tracing, and most Caribbean nations have avoided spikes by acting fast, PAHO Assistant Director Jarbas Barbosa said.
Europe has been a cautionary tale on the danger of a resurgence of the virus when restrictive measures are lifted too quickly, he said in a briefing.
Central America is seeing a steady decrease in COVID-19 cases due to better control measures, the PAHO director said.
Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay have flattened their curves, and cases in Argentina are decreasing due to improved coordination between the federal and provincial governments, he said.
Chile’s effective epidemic surveillance systems allowed it to bounce back after unprecedented spikes earlier this year, Barbosa said.
In Cuba and Costa Rica, universal health care systems have ensured the COVID-19 pandemic never got out of control, he said.
Reporting by Anthony Boadle; Editing by David GregorioOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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38d9311f8de25027e109de8535d8788f | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-americas-pfizer-idCAS0N2H900H?edition-redirect=ca | Countries in Americas not ready for vaccines that need very cold storage - PAHO | Countries in Americas not ready for vaccines that need very cold storage - PAHO
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
BRASILIA, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Less developed countries in the Americas are not ready to handle messenger RNA vaccines, such as the one developed by Pfizer Inc, that need very low storage temperatures of minus 70 degree Celsius, the WHO’s regional office said on Wednesday.
This could become a challenge for transporting such vaccines in countries that do not have the cold storage capacity. Pfizer recently announced its vaccine is more than 90% effective based on initial trial results.
Reporting by Anthony Boadle Editing by Chizu NomiyamaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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84a7f910385d05468f3402fcda6a0de4 | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-americas/who-says-stay-at-home-limit-holiday-season-events-midst-covid-19-surge-idINKBN2852HL?edition-redirect=in | WHO says stay at home, limit holiday season events midst COVID-19 surge | WHO says stay at home, limit holiday season events midst COVID-19 surge
By Anthony Boadle2 Min Read
FILE PHOTO: A patient arrives outside Maimonides Medical Center, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in Brooklyn, New York, U.S., November 17, 2020. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
BRASILIA (Reuters) - The World Health Organization’s regional branch for the Americas recommended postponing or reducing mass gatherings during the approaching holiday season as cases surge again in many countries.
“This is not the time to be hosting any large gatherings ... during a pandemic, there is no such thing as a risk-free holiday season,” the Pan American Health Organization’s Assistant Director Jarbas Barbosa said in a briefing
Religious services should be held outdoors whenever possible or limited in size, he said.
With every gathering, every shopping trip and every travel plan increasing the chances of spreading the virus, the safest option for everyone is to stay at home, Barbosa said.
The organization does not recommend relying on laboratory tests for travelers because they do not guarantee safe travel or eliminate the risks related to infected travelers, he said.
The Americas reported more than 1.5 million cases of COVID-19 in the last seven days, the highest weekly number since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the organization said on Wednesday.
The rapid surge of infections in the United States continues, and cases have accelerated in countries of North, Central and South America, it said.
In Canada, infections are rising particularly among the elderly and indigenous communities, Barbosa said.
Reporting by Anthony Boadle; editing by Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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e94432521f7f43799cc5ec8a7e85d1c2 | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-ana-japan/analysis-japans-ana-charts-course-through-covid-with-loans-domestic-flights-and-accounting-rules-idINKBN27125J?edition-redirect=in | Analysis: Japan's ANA charts course through COVID with loans, domestic flights and accounting rules | Analysis: Japan's ANA charts course through COVID with loans, domestic flights and accounting rules
By Tim Kelly5 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan’s biggest airline, ANA, has turned to billions of dollars in loans and a government tourism campaign to weather the slump in air travel and could take advantage of accounting rules to avoid aircraft writedowns.
An All Nippon Airways' (ANA) Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner airplane (front) is parked next to a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner at Haneda airport in Tokyo, Japan, August 4, 2014. REUTERS/Yuya Shino/File Photo
Like other carriers, ANA has been burning through cash to maintain jets that are either grounded or flying with too few passengers during the coronavirus pandemic, pushing it to an operating loss of 159 billion yen ($1.51 billion) for the April-June quarter.
Sources told Reuters on Wednesday that ANA Holdings Inc has secured $3.8 billion in subordinated loans from state-backed and private lenders.
That means it will have raised $13.29 billion of debt to cope with the coronavirus fallout, says Yasuhito Tsuchiya, a senior analyst at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.
“It looks like they will have enough to survive,” said Tsuchiya, who forecasts the carrier is on course for a record operating loss of around 400 billion yen for the full year ending March 31.
The airline is slashing personnel costs through redundancies and pay cuts. Along with rival Japan Airlines Co Ltd (JAL), it is also getting government help including a waiver on airport landing fees, as Tokyo sees the carriers as crucial to keeping Japan, a 3,000-kilometre archipelago stretching along the edge of East Asia, connected.
ANA, which reported a negative cashflow from operations of 135 billion yen for April-June, has said it doesn’t expect its international air travel to fully recover until 2024.
It has more than 300 planes, including Airbus A380 super jumbos and twin-aisle jets such as the Boeing 787 Dreamliners, and owns two thirds of its fleet while leasing the rest.
At the end of June ANA said its aircraft were worth 1.14 trillion yen ($10.83 billion), almost unchanged from the previous year, but analysts say that is probably not a true reflection of their current market value.
Keeping planes that are grounded or underutilised could prove expensive because of parking and maintenance fees, which last business year cost ANA 177 billion yen.
Writedowns on some of them could add to a bottom line loss, but would allow the carrier to reduce depreciation charges in a boost to future earnings.
Analysts, however, say ANA could instead take advantage of international aviation accounting rules that don’t force it to revalue planes to reflect market prices, allowing it to avoid painful writedowns and the need to raise equity.
“ANA has too many big aircraft, The loss of value calculated on the current market, would be enormous, so there is no way they can sell them,” said Hajime Tozaki, an economics professor at J.F. Oberlin University in Tokyo and a former JAL employee.
Aviation consultant IBA this month estimated the value of aircraft owned by airlines had dropped $60 billion, or 40% lower than what they would be if supply and demand were balanced.
“Finding buyers right now at any price is rather difficult, except lessors who are looking to find bargains at low prices,” said Teal Group aerospace analyst Richard Aboulafia.
HOME ADVANTAGE
Tsuchiya said ANA and JAL have the advantage of a large domestic market with few competitors to help temper losses that other big Asian airlines like Singapore Airlines Ltd and Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd lack.
ANA was the world’s ninth largest airline this summer based on seat capacity, up from 15th a year ago, according to data firm OAG, due to the relative strength of that home market.
Before the pandemic, ANA generated over half its revenue from domestic flights and demand has rebounded helped by the government’s “Go To Travel” campaign launched in July to revive domestic tourism, which offers to pay up to half the cost of trips.
Domestic bookings in October are around 50% of last year, the ANA spokeswoman said, while the carrier has said international traffic is at 5% of levels seen in 2019.
ANA, which must repay around 200 billion yen in debt in the coming year, is due to release results for the July-September quarter on Oct. 27.
The Japanese government announced further help for carriers on Friday, saying it would reduce airport landing fees by a record 45% on all domestic flights for seven months through February.
“The government needs both JAL and ANA as national flag carriers,” said Tozaki.
($1 = 105.2800 yen)
Reporting by Tim Kelly; additional reporting by Ami Miyazaki and Takashi Umekawa in Tokyo; Editing by Jamie Freed and Susan FentonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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6de3fffac37a8de6ec5fe63d4e92b714 | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-ana/japans-ana-considering-loan-of-around-100-billion-yen-two-sources-idUKL4N2BK3UF?edition-redirect=uk | Japan's ANA considering loan of around 100 billion yen -two sources | Japan's ANA considering loan of around 100 billion yen -two sources
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
TOKYO, March 27 (Reuters) - Japanese airline operator ANA Holdings is considering a loan of around 100 billion yen ($925 million), two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday, as it looks to ride out the devastating impact of the coronavirus outbreak.
An ANA spokeswoman confirmed that the company was considering a loan, but added that nothing had been decided. Japan’s Nikkei newspaper earlier reported that a number of banks, including some of Japan’s biggest, were involved in the potential loan. ($1 = 108.1700 yen) (Reporting by Maki Shiraki and Takahiko Wada; Writing by David Dolan; Editing by Alex Richardson)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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71bd8da6203dcee5f1477e8d9ecabb58 | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-anglogold-ashanti-cas/anglogold-ashanti-finds-164-covid-19-cases-at-mponeng-gold-mine-idUSJ8N2CO002 | AngloGold Ashanti finds 164 COVID-19 cases at Mponeng gold mine | AngloGold Ashanti finds 164 COVID-19 cases at Mponeng gold mine
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
JOHANNESBURG, May 24 (Reuters) - AngloGold Ashanti on Sunday said it had found 164 workers with COVID-19 at its Mponeng gold mine in South Africa, after conducting 650 tests since last Thursday.
AngloGold Ashanti said operations were halted “as a precautionary step”.
The gold mining firm said all positive cases would be isolated, with on-site facilities available for those who may need them. (Reporting by Helen Reid; Editing by Emma Rumney)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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cac8375b2941958d96bcd9fdae4a2789 | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-anglogold-ashanti/fifty-three-workers-at-anglogold-ashanti-mine-in-s-africa-have-coronavirus-idUSL8N2D607V | Fifty-three workers at AngloGold Ashanti mine in S.Africa have coronavirus | Fifty-three workers at AngloGold Ashanti mine in S.Africa have coronavirus
By Reuters Staff1 Min Read
JOHANNESBURG, May 24 (Reuters) - Underground production at AngloGold Ashanti’s Mponeng mine in South Africa will remain closed until further notice after 53 employees tested positive for the coronavirus, a provincial health department said in a statement on Sunday.
The mine, the deepest in the world, restarted operations on April 22 after closing entirely during a nationwide lockdown, and was operating at 50% capacity. (Reporting by Emma Rumney; editing by David Evans)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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0a96f1e0e0e04b967f1b34cf5c0c1dc8 | https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/26/apple-credit-card-read-the-fine-print.html | Apple's new credit card holds a lot of promise, but read the fine print before signing up | Apple's new credit card holds a lot of promise, but read the fine print before signing up
Bloomberg | Getty Images
Apple announced a new credit card issued in conjunction with Goldman Sachs at a launch event at its campus on Monday. Apple is promoting it as a simpler credit card, with no fees, powerful integration with iPhone spending tools and attractive rewards when customers use Apple Pay, Apple's digital wallet.
But the company glossed over many critical details, including interest rates and who will qualify. In fact, people with bad credit might not even be eligible for Apple Card.
CNBC read through the fine print and asked some experts to weigh in. Here's what you need to know.
Like other credit cards, the Apple Card has a high interest rate for people who carry a balance. Apple said that users will pay an APR between 13.24% and 24.24%, based on individual credit scores.
That's a wider range than most cards have, CreditCards.com industry analyst Ted Rossman said.
For people with great credit scores, Apple could be a good deal.
"On the low end, meaning people with better credit, Apple's interest rate is significantly lower than the national average," which was 17.67%, according to a CreditCards.com survey.
The high-end rate suggests that Apple will make its card widely available, but will significantly raise rates for people with bad credit, Rossman suggested.
"I think people in the low to mid-600 range will probably quality for the card," Rossman said. "If your score is so low you're probably not going to get any cards at all. But among people who can get cards, I think this card will be pretty widely available."
VIDEO4:1604:16Apple reveals Apple Card digital credit cardNews Videos
An Apple representative declined to comment on a credit score cutoff for Apple Card. Apple said on Monday that its goal is to "provide interest rates that are among the lowest in the industry" and that it wanted to make the Apple Card available to the largest number of people possible.
While the Apple Card doesn't have an annual membership fee, there are some fees for certain transactions through its Apple Pay Cash service.
Apple Pay Cash is the service that allows people to send digital money to other iPhone users. It competes directly with PayPal's Venmo and Square Cash.
The two services are closely linked. Rewards from the Apple Card are paid through the Apple Pay Cash account, for example.
Apple will charge a 1 percent fee to make an instantaneous transfer from an Apple Pay Cash balance to a debit card, maxing out at $10, although direct bank transfers are free. This means that while Apple Card doesn't have fees, some of Apple's associated services might have one.
Titanium Apple CardSource: Apple
Another key selling point of the Apple Card is the iPhone giant's reputation for security. Apple spent significant time on Monday positioning Apple Card as more secure than other credit cards and created a specific web page on the Apple Card site to promote the security and privacy features of the card.
The physical version of the Apple Card is titanium and laser-etched with the user's name -- but it doesn't have any numbers on it, which Apple argues makes it more secure.
The idea is that if your card is physically stolen or someone can take a picture of the front or back, the thief can't use it.
"Your Apple card is more secure than others, it has no card number, no CVV, no expiration and no signature," Apple Pay VP Jennifer Bailey emphazied on Monday.
The Better Business Bureau tracks credit card scams, and spokesperson Katherine Hutt generally agrees the lack of numbers is a good thing.
"In a typical scenario, if someone finds your wallet, they go online and buy a large item with your credit card immediately before you cancel," Hutt said. "Without numbers, they can't do it."
However, Hutt warned, other scenarios are increasingly common, and Apple Card holders shouldn't be lulled into a false sense of security.
"Scammers have much more efficient ways of breaching your credit card and getting your data," such as guessing weak passwords, or "phishing" calls pretending to be from the user's bank and asking them for their passwords.
"The bigger issue will be making sure that their phone is secure. Passwords need to be unique and strong."
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74a319cf292da162bc502d975f802d2a | https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/26/credit-suisse-lots-of-greenfield-investment-opportunities-in-robotics.html | Plenty of 'opportunities' for investors in robotics, Credit Suisse portfolio manager says | Plenty of 'opportunities' for investors in robotics, Credit Suisse portfolio manager says
Pepper, a humanoid robot developed by SoftBank Group Corp., moves around on its own to guide passengers at sushi shop in Tokyo, Japan.Hitoshi Yamada | NurPhoto | Getty Images
The barriers to entry in the robotics industry are coming down, opening up many untapped investment opportunities in that space, according to Credit Suisse.
It's easier for companies to build robotic automation systems today than it was before, making those products cheaper and smarter, Angus Muirhead, senior portfolio manager for robotics at the Swiss multinational investment bank, said on Tuesday.
"We see a lot of greenfield opportunities for robotics," he told CNBC's Nancy Hungerford and Emily Tan at the Credit Suisse Asian Investment Conference in Hong Kong.
Muirhead said the bank has a so-called "pure play approach" when it comes to investing in robotics.
The Credit Suisse (Lux) Global Robotics Equity Fund, which Muirhead co-manages, invests in companies with at least 50 percent of sales that can be attributed to robotics, automation, artificial intelligence or security, according to its brochure.
The fund focuses on three high-growth sub-themes: companies working to improve productivity, improve quality of life and perform dangerous tasks.
"So, if someone's investing in a robotics fund, we would like to deliver as pure exposure to robotics as possible," he said.
While automation itself is not a new technological concept, machines are set to overtake humans in terms of performing more tasks at the workplace over the next few years — particularly low-skilled, repetitive jobs. Robotics and automation are becoming ubiquitous in offices, factories, shops, restaurants, hospitals, transportation and even inside homes.
A record number of robots were put to work across North America in 2018, according to a recent report by the Robotic Industries Association. Meanwhile in Japan, some companies are running trials to have humanless warehouses that are run only by robots.
The replacement of certain jobs by machines have become a cause for concern, but Muirhead said it wasn't a new phenomenon.
"We've seen this for the last hundred, two hundred years," he said, referring to the fact that the types of jobs available have evolved over time, alongside the development of new technologies.
"I think governments need to be aware, and companies, that people will need retraining in some industries. In a lot of other industries, though, we're really viewing these robotic systems as a tool to allow you to do a better job," Muirhead said.
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9e93e3081c17f23ecfeefef1dfd5bbd0 | https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/26/standard-chartered-ceo-bill-winters-on-recession-fears-the-fed-china.html | Standard Chartered CEO says a recession next year 'looks less likely today' | Standard Chartered CEO says a recession next year 'looks less likely today'
VIDEO2:1502:15StanChart CEO sees signs of the global economy bottoming outCredit Suisse Asian Investment Conference
There may be ominous signs of a recession — such as a yield curve that has inverted, and worrying economic data coming out of Europe — but Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters says it doesn't look like a downturn is on the horizon.
"On balance, things feel okay right now. We know that the global economy has slowed, but there are signs of a bottoming out beginning to pick up," he told CNBC at the Credit Suisse Asian Investment Conference in Hong Kong on Tuesday. "There are signs from China, there are signs from Europe — I would say more tender in Europe. This idea that we are in a straight line to a recession sometime next year looks less likely today."
Winters pointed to three factors to support his prediction.
"Part of it is the Fed, part of it is the sense that there's progress on the trade discussions between the U.S. and China," he told CNBC's Nancy Hungerford and Emily Tan.
"Part of it is we are in the cycle — we've probably gone through the deleveraging period in China ... in some of the rest of emerging Asia. Not completely, but there's the sense that we're coming back up," he continued, referring to China's efforts to reduce debt levels.
But there have been signs that the world's second-largest economy has more or less paused its deleveraging measures and instead, is putting in place more easing measures in a bid to prop up its slowing economy.
VIDEO4:3004:30Robert Shiller: Greater than average chance of recession in next 18 monthsMarkets and Politics Digital Original Video
Meanwhile, developments last week kept markets on edge. One of the most reliable recession indicators in the market — the yield curve — inverted on Friday. It occurs when long-term debts have a lower yield as compared with short-term debt.
A raft of weak economic data also stoked recession fears: Germany's manufacturing activity dropped to its lowest level in more than six years in March, according to data from IHS Markit; while manufacturing in the eurozone also fell to its lowest level since April 2013.
However, the U.S. central bank surprised investors by adopting a sharp dovish stance last Wednesday, projecting no further interest rate hikes this year, and justifying its more temperate outlook by cutting 2019 growth outlook for the world's largest economy.
Winters joined former Fed Chair Janet Yellen in downplaying recession fears. Yellen was asked at the same conference on Monday about whether the yield curve inversion was a signal for a looming downturn.
"My own answer is no, I don't see it as a signal of recession," she said.
— CNBC's Kelly Olsen contributed to this report.
VIDEO4:0104:01Inverted yield curve is one of our concerns, expert saysCapital Connection
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b863f1e7bb8b7841bd0231d5a6acb033 | https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/26/stock-sectors-to-buy-when-bond-market-is-flashing-a-recession-signal.html | These are the industries you want to buy when the bond market is flashing a recession signal | These are the industries you want to buy when the bond market is flashing a recession signal
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City.Spencer Platt | Getty Images
The bond market is flashing a recession warning. But certain stock sectors may still hold up.
On Friday, the U.S. yield curve "inverted" — meaning the yield on the 3-month Treasury rose above the yield on the 10-year note. Historically, this means a recession is on the horizon.
The last seven times the yield curve inverted, excluding a 2-week inversion in 1998, the U.S. economy went into recession every single time within 15 months, according to data from Credit Suisse.
"Historically investors have often tried to come up with reasons for why things are different this time around and have often been proven wrong," Credit Suisse research analyst Andrew Garthwaite said in a note to clients Tuesday.
Stocks may still have a bit more room to run until they take a hit. Six months after the yield curve inverts is typically when stocks peak, Garthwaite said. During the three months after an inversion, the S&P 500 rose by an average 4 percent, and was up 75 percent of the time. But on a longer time horizon — 18 months out — the S&P was down an average 8 percent, and up only 38 percent of the time.
Still, certain sectors do better than others in that environment. In the first three months after the inversion, insurance and industrial stocks show the strongest median out-performance. Semiconductors and consumer durables are historically the biggest laggards.
One year after the yield curve inverts, though, there's a more definite split. Defensive stocks like healthcare equipment, pharmaceuticals and insurance historically outperform in the 12 months after the yield curve inverts. A defensive stock is something that has constant demand for products and isn't typically correlated to the rest of the business cycle. They tend to kick back a consistent dividend and relatively stable earnings regardless of stock market conditions.
More "cyclical" stocks, which do rely on market conditions, tend to underperform, according to Credit Suisse. Autos and technology hardware are among the laggards 12 months after the yield curve inverts.
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2ad00957fac62d491de7eacbe6a53664 | https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/26/white-house-touts-progress-in-opioid-crisis-but-some-are-skeptical.html | White House touts progress in opioid crisis, but health researchers are skeptical | White House touts progress in opioid crisis, but health researchers are skeptical
A pharmacist empties a prescription bottle of opioid painkillers that she filled for a patient at the pharmacy inside the facility in Boston.John Tlumacki | Boston Globe | Getty Images
The White House is touting progress in the battle against the country's opioid epidemic, but health policy researchers warn the Trump administration against claiming credit, and say planned cuts to Medicaid funding could exacerbate the crisis.
Trump counselor Kellyanne Conway said last week that progress has been made since the president unveiled his plan last year to combat the epidemic. President Donald Trump's plan included stricter punishments for drug dealers and a pledge to cut opioid prescriptions by a third by 2021.
Conway, who leads anti-drug efforts on Capitol Hill, pointed to the decline in prescriptions for opioid painkillers, a slower growth rate for overdose deaths and government efforts to combat illicit use of drugs like fentanyl. Prescriptions for painkillers have dropped 25 percent over the past year, and 1.4 billion people have seen ads teaching young people about the dangers of opioids, according to the White House.
"In President Trump's first year in office, overdose deaths grew by 10 percent, having grown by 22 percent the year before," Conway said during a media call. "So the rate of death increased at a rate less than half of what had increased just the year before."
But health experts say there's little evidence to show that recent progress is a result of the White House's efforts. They noted that prescriptions have been declining since 2012, before Trump became president, and argued that a slower growth rate for overdose deaths cannot be clearly connected to White House efforts.
They also said the president's proposed cuts to Medicaid would be harmful for patients seeking addiction treatment, and anti-drug funding over a two year period is inadequate.
"There are some positive signs, but I don't believe the Trump Administration deserves credit for them," said Dr. Andrew Kolodny, co-director of opioid policy research at Brandeis University. "In fact, there is a lot more the Trump administration and the FDA [Food and Drug Administration] could be doing to promote more cautious prescribing and properly regulating opioid makers."
Health policy researchers pointed out that the administration's National Drug Control Strategy report was not released until January 2019. Findings from the Government Accountability Office this month said the administration's plan failed to include a budget projection or "annual objectives that are quantifiable and measurable."
At a hearing this month, House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings, D-Md., condemned the administration's plan as a "23-page pamphlet" that "fails to meet even the most basic requirements in the law."
Keith Humphreys, a Stanford professor and former senior policy adviser at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, said the Trump administration's report had "no central direction" and that there is no proper spokesperson for the epidemic. While the declining trend in prescriptions is encouraging, over-prescribing is still a problem, he added.
"No matter who is president, this is a problem," he said.
Amie Goodin, a researcher at the University of Florida College of Pharmacy, said she was discouraged by the lack of clearly articulated budget priorities within the administration's strategy. For example, the report encourages states to apply for Medicaid waivers to expand treatment but doesn't specify how waivers could be funded in the face of proposed Medicaid cuts, she said.
"The vagueness of the strategy on all fronts — from the absence of measurable objectives to the omission of specific administrative authority, oversight, and funding plans for these missing objectives — is frustrating to all who desire improvements," she said.
Humphreys added that the president's budget proposal, which includes cuts to Medicaid, would also be a "disaster for the crisis," especially for people who rely on Medicaid for addiction treatment.
The number of opioid prescriptions has been falling since 2012. Prescriptions dipped substantially from 214.8 million in 2016 to 191.2 million in 2017, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
There were a record 70,237 drug overdose deaths in 2017, which was 9.6 percent higher than the 2016 rate. While there's no 2018 data yet, experts expect that provisional counts will show that 2018 death rate will be similar to 2017, and might even decline for the first time since 1996.
The Support for Patients and Communities Act, signed in October, was the most recent bipartisan push against the drug epidemic. The legislation includes provisions to boost access to addiction treatment, ramp up law enforcement efforts against illicit drugs and expand addiction treatment access. Critics of the bill have argued it lacks federal money for addiction treatment.
Peter Hoffman, the National Drug Control Policy's press secretary, told CNBC that administration's strategic plan demonstrates "an in-depth understanding of the steps needed to fight the addiction crisis" and "deploys a whole-of-government approach."
"At the end of the day, our number one goal is to save American lives and we now have a president, with an entire government behind him, committed to achieving that goal," he said.
The president has secured $6 billion in new funding over two years to fight opioid abuse, according to a press release, and has funneled $1.5 billion for state opioid grants. The 2020 national drug control budget request seeks $34.6 billion for counter-drug efforts, an increase of more than $1 billion from the previous year, according to Hoffman.
But experts argue that the funding timeline is inadequate.
"It has to be a commitment to at least 10 years of funding. A two-year period doesn't work because states cannot build out new systems unless there's a commitment to long term funding," said Kolodny, who has worked as a paid consultant for platiffs against Purdue and the Sacklers. "This problem won't get better overnight."
Clarification: An earlier version of this article should have disclosed that Dr. Andrew Kolodny is a paid consultant for plaintiffs against Purdue and the Sacklers.
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e3236f64a4ec25b6b0c7b90e3a8c99bb | https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/27/att-hit-by-higher-natural-disaster-costs-unveils-30-year-climate-change-model.html?utm_campaign=Topic_Environmental%20Sustainability&utm_content=89187179&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&hss_channel=fbp-280256318118 | AT&T, hit by higher natural disaster costs, unveils 30-year climate change model | AT&T, hit by higher natural disaster costs, unveils 30-year climate change model
AT&T workers repair phone lines as a burned-out vehicle sits on a road during the Camp Fire in Paradise, California, Nov. 13, 2018.David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
AT&T is paying the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory to predict climate-related events that could damage the company's infrastructure over the next 30 years.
The announcement Wednesday follows several natural disasters that cost the telecommunications company $847 million since 2016, including $626 million in 2017 alone. AT&T, which has a market value of $229.9 billion, reported operating revenue of $160.55 billion in 2017.
The tool will track flooding, hurricane and wind storms in North and South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, according to Charlene Lake, AT&T's chief sustainability officer and senior vice president for public affairs. The company plans to extend climate projections across the country, and track wildfires and droughts as well.
"The project enables us to get information that can help anticipate the impact of climate change up to 30 years in advance, with high-resolution climate models at the hyperlocal level and new data we can ingest into our system to gain more intelligence about what happens to our infrastructure going forward," Lake said in an interview.
"Our customers and community depends on our service during natural disaster time and the resilience of our business and network," she said, adding that AT&T will share its climate data with municipalities and universities to use for analysis.
Other major U.S. companies are also bracing for climate-related risks that could harm profits and strategy, according to corporate disclosures collected by U.K. nonprofit CDP. The disclosures show that a majority of the largest U.S. companies say that climate change poses a serious threat to operations.
Scott Mair, AT&T's president of operations, said that the model will guide decisions on whether to elevate cell sites in areas with expected flooding, or to build protections around cell towers in areas with expected higher winds.
Rather than relying on 10-day weather forecasts and historic weather trends, the company will visualize local climate-related events that could damage copper lines, fiber cable locations, cell sites and other infrastructure.
"Historically, we've taken into consideration where flooding might impact us. But it's always been based on history," Mair said.
"It's not only about where flooding happens today, but more importantly, where it happens tomorrow. The infrastructure we put in today will last over 25 years. The more we know about what's to come, the better options we have today."
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abafa4d5e8ac9825c9f2d44094c9c2b1 | https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/27/joe-biden-discusses-2020-presidential-campaign-kickoff.html | Joe Biden will meet with advisors to discuss how he would roll out a 2020 White House run, which he could announce as late as Easter week | Joe Biden will meet with advisors to discuss how he would roll out a 2020 White House run, which he could announce as late as Easter week
Former US Vice President Joe Biden speaks during the First State Democratic Dinner in Dover, Delaware, on March 16, 2019.Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images
Joe Biden wants to declare whether he will run for president as late as Easter week, according to people familiar with the matter, and he plans to meet with top advisors next week to discuss how he would roll out a 2020 campaign.
Biden and his confidants are slated to hold a series of meetings in Washington, D.C., where they will talk about the themes he would feature in a campaign announcement video, giving voters a preview of his platform, according to a person with direct knowledge of the plans.
Biden, who ran for president in 1988 and 2008, would also launch a campaign from his home state of Delaware, this person added.
A spokesman for Biden declined to comment.
The former vice president and his advisors have discussed including infrastructure reform in his 2020 policy initiatives, CNBC first reported in March.
An emphasis on infrastructure would give Biden an opportunity to directly challenge President Donald Trump on a key aspect of the president's "Make America Great Again" agenda. The Trump administration's infrastructure proposal, which suggested $200 billion in federal spending would trigger $1.5 trillion in investments, failed to gain traction in Congress when the Republican Party controlled both chambers.
The meetings are the latest indication that Biden, who also represented Delaware in the U.S. Senate for more than three decades, is inching closer to a likely run for president in 2020. Biden generally leads polls of Democratic primary voters, ahead of Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Kamala Harris of California.
Still, people close to Biden warn that even as he says he is leaning toward running, he has not made a final decision on jumping into the crowded Democratic field.
The latest development also comes after some skeptical Democratic financiers told Biden they will not back him in the early goings of the growing primary. The donors told Biden that they're not yet convinced he can overtake the younger, more diverse and progressive field, and that they are going to wait to see how he competes in the race, CNBC has reported.
Meanwhile, Biden has been on what some have described as an apology tour.
On Tuesday, he spoke at the Biden Courage Awards ceremony and addressed the way he handled interviewing Anita Hill during the 1991 Senate confirmation hearing of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
"I wish I could have done something," he said. "To this day I regret I couldn't come up with a way to give her the kind of hearing she deserved."
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425a44e9ee1b6dab51d6b941c62c1b22 | https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/27/majority-of-americans-support-progressive-policies-such-as-paid-maternity-leave-free-college.html | Majority of Americans support progressive policies such as higher minimum wage, free college | Majority of Americans support progressive policies such as higher minimum wage, free college
Nathan Congleton | NBC | Getty Images
From government-mandated paid maternity leave to tuition-free college, the CNBC All-America Economic Survey reveals a surprising American appetite for some very progressive policies.
In a survey of 800 Americans nationwide, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points, the CNBC survey finds majority support for five of six proposals that have been percolating in the national debate mostly, but not entirely, from the Democratic side. On some of the issues, the survey even found majority Republican support.
"These are bread and butter kitchen table issues that families are dealing with if you're making less than $75,000 and I think that's contributing to the fairly high Republican support numbers,'' said Micah Roberts, partner at Public Opinion Strategies, the Republican pollster for the survey.
"I feel these types of proposals will be more closely debated and perhaps more closely supported within the public than maybe we would have anticipated," said Jay Campbell, partner at Hart Research Associates and the Democratic pollster for the survey. "There's desire out there for these."
VIDEO18:0618:06Why college is so expensive in AmericaMarkets and Politics Digital Original Video
Despite these findings, other questions in the survey show Americans still prefer the free market to the government when it comes to solving a host of problems.
But on the issue of maternity leave, 84 percent of the public approve of a federal requirement that employers provide paid maternity leave, paced by 94 percent support from Democrats, 83 percent from Independents and 73 percent from Republicans. Increased federal funding for child care is supported by 75 percent of the public, including overwhelming support from Democrats and Independents but also majority support from Republicans.
Perhaps explaining Republican support, President Donald Trump's 2020 budget proposal includes federal funding for both paid maternity leave and for child care. On other issues asked about in the survey, Republican support drops off considerably (though not entirely) even while there's majority support from the American public.
A healthy 60 percent majority support increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour from $7.25. However, Republican support is only at 31 percent while Democrats and Independents sport strong majorities in favor.
More from the survey:
Optimism dips, but Americans still feel economy is in good shape under Trump: CNBC survey
Similarly, 57 percent of the public support tuition-free state and public colleges paid for with federal dollars, including 80 percent of Democrats and 61 percent of Independents. A small but not insignificant 28 percent of Republicans also support the plan championed by Democratic Presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders.
VIDEO14:5814:58How American health care got so expensiveFixed Income Strategies
The hot-button issue of "Medicare for All'' also gets majority support at 54 percent, including from 81 percent of Democrats but just 19 percent of Republicans.
Campbell said he was not expecting the widespread support for tuition-free college and Medicare for all. "The fact that so many independents do come down in support of these two policies was surprising to me," he said.
A universal basic income, that is, where all Americans would be provided with some form of income from the Federal government whether they work or not, is seen as a progressive proposal that goes too far. Just 28 percent of the public backs the idea, including 45 percent of Democrats and just 6 percent of Republicans.
Importantly, the survey finds that four of the proposals --- on maternity leave, child care, raising the minimum wage and tuition free college --- have majority support in Republican congressional districts. But the pollsters are skeptical this means any of these proposal will be enacted.
"This (poll) says everything about how voters feel but not necessarily anything about what's possible," Roberts, the Republican pollster, said. "When you start attaching candidates and parties to these proposals, you start driving down those Republican numbers in significant ways."
When it comes to paying for these proposals, Americans are not shy about supporting higher taxes on the wealthy but they balk when it comes to taxing themselves. Sixty-one percent back the proposal from Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., to tax wealth in excess of $50 million. And 58 percent back an idea, loosely tied to comments from Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, to boost taxes on the wealthy to 70 percent on earnings above $10 million. Only 46 percent of the public supports repealing the 2017 tax cuts and just 30 percent want to eliminate all deductions, such as for home mortgages and charitable giving.
However, in what looked to be somewhat contradictory findings, Americans also lean towards more free market and less government when it comes to issues like reducing income inequality and increasing worker pay. In fact, 37 percent of the public say that increasing worker pay should be handled by the free market, compared to 11 percent who say it should be entirely the responsibility of government. Thirty-two percent say it should be only somewhat the responsibility of the government and 14 percent say mostly the government.
On the issue of reducing income inequality, the preference for the free market beats a preference for the government by 30 percent to 14 percent. Only on providing health care is there more of a split, with 28 percent preferring the free market and 24 percent preferring the government.
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