The Poon Report - Daily News Summary Sept 7
News Summary
Biden cancels Trump drilling leases in Alaska's largest wildlife refuge
Taken from BBC News Thursday, 7 September 2023
US President Joe Biden's administration has cancelled oil and gas leases in an Alaskan wildlife refuge.
The interior department said revoking the drilling leases granted under ex-President Donald Trump would preserve 13 million acres of wilderness. But Mr Biden has not reversed his recent approval of an $8bn (￡6.4bn) drilling project in the same region.
The refuge is home to grizzly and polar bears, caribou and migratory birds - and an estimated 11bn barrels of oil.
"We have a responsibility to protect this treasured region for all ages," Mr Biden, a Democrat, said in a statement on Wednesday.
The decision would protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, he said, and honour "the culture, history, and enduring wisdom of Alaska Natives who have lived on these lands since time immemorial".
The decision drew praise from some local tribespeople. The Arctic Village and Venetie Tribal governments said it was "a significant step towards true, meaningful protection of these lands that are so vital to the survival of our people now and into the future".
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Brazil’s Lula seals pact with opposition parties in hopes of political boost
Taken from FT Thursday, 7 September 2023
President exchanges two cabinet posts for support from rightwing parties
Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Wednesday sealed a much-anticipated pact with two main opposition parties, in a development set to reshape the country’s political arena and strengthen the government’s hand in passing legislation.
The deal, which comes after months of wrangling and backroom negotiations, exchanges two cabinet posts in the leftwing leader’s government for political support in Congress from the rightwing Progressistas (Progressives) and Republicanos (Republicans).
Both parties were important allies of far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro, who left office in January.
For Lula, the pact should help in getting government legislation through a broadly conservative Congress, which has until now acted as a buffer against the president’s more progressive proposals.
Analysts expect the alliance will expand Lula’s support base in the lower house — the 513- member Chamber of Deputies — from about 250 lawmakers to about 320. This would be enough to surpass the 308-vote threshold needed to make amendments to the constitution.
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Nato pledges ‘strong solidarity’ with Romania over likely Russian drone debris
Taken from The Guardian Thursday, 7 September 2023
Romanian president deplores potential ‘serious violation of sovereignty and territorial integrity of Romania, a Nato ally’
Nato has said it stands in “strong solidarity” with Romania, which has reported that parts of a probable Russian drone fell on its territory during a Russian attack on neighbouring Ukraine.
“We continue to monitor the situation closely, and we remain in close contact with our ally Romania,” Nato said in a statement on Wednesday night.
Romania, a Nato member, had initially repeatedly rejected claims by Ukraine that Iranian-made Russian drones fell and detonated on Romanian territory during a strike on the Ukrainian port of Izmail on Sunday night.
But on Wednesday Romania’s defence ministry said in a press release: “Investigators discovered elements resembling drone debris in the evening of 5 September.”
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“If it is confirmed that these elements belonged to a Russian drone, such a situation would be completely inadmissible and a serious violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Romania, a Nato ally,” he said at the start of the Three Seas Initiative summit hosted by Bucharest. “We are on alert and in constant contact with our Nato allies.”
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China’s economic woes cast a shadow over Belt and Road project
Taken from The Times Thursday, 7 September 2023
Italy, the only G7 member to have joined, could be about to pull out
Italy is planning to cancel its membership of the Belt and Road initiative as intensifying doubts about China’s key international project and a widening of the East-West divide cast a shadow over its tenth anniversary.
The accession of Italy to the worldwide investment programme masterminded by President Xi was one of the Chinese leader’s greatest political triumphs. Italy remains the only member of the G7 club of rich western nations to have joined.
But the Italian foreign minister’s visit to Beijing this week was dominated by hostile comments from his colleagues about the initiative, also called the New Silk Road.
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As European countries turn away from China over security concerns and in protest at its relationship with Russia despite the invasion of Ukraine, the political aspects are becoming a barrier to further investment.
Some of the investments have failed to produce the promised returns amid China’s growing international debt burden. A project to build a railway line from Mombasa in Kenya ran out of money 75 miles from the capital, Nairobi. The Indonesia railway was blighted by delays and overspends.
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Rishi Sunak blasts Brexit naysayers and claims economy is ‘coming back stronger’ than ever
Taken from The Daily Express Thursday, 7 September 2023
EXCLUSIVE: Rishi Sunak has told the Daily Express that he has a plan to make Britain the best place in the world to do business.
Rishi Sunak has declared Britain "open for business" as he prepares to make the most of our Brexit freedoms at the G20 in India.
Speaking exclusively to the Express, which spearheaded the campaign to leave the EU, the Prime Minister said: "Daily Express readers know the potential of our nation knows no bounds."
“I want to build a country where everyone can look forward with optimism, confident that our children and grandchildren can have a better future with every opportunity to succeed.
“The first step to achieving this is unleashing businesses so the economy can thrive – and that’s what we’re working every day to deliver.”
The upbeat PM, buoyed by revised figures showing the UK economy has outperformed Germany, France, Italy and Japan, since the pandemic, flies to the subcontinent brimming with confidence the UK is firing on all cylinders with the doubters and doom-mongers put in their place.
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Trump’s Real Trade Record
Taken from WSJ Thursday, 7 September 2023
His tariffs haven’t cut the trade deficit; they’ve merely shifted it.
In a recent editorial we critiqued President Trump’s proposal for a 10% border tax on anything and everything imported by the U.S., and the self-proclaimed Tariff Man has upbraided us in a letter. This is a good debate to have, and Mr. Trump begins his missive by boasting that while he was in office the trade deficit with China was falling before Covid-19 hit.
But that’s not close to the full story. The goods trade deficit with China did dip somewhat after Mr. Trump launched his global tariff campaign in 2018. At the same time, however, the deficits with Mexico and the rest of the world went up. A trade surplus or deficit isn’t a good measure of success, but since Mr. Trump thinks it is, see the chart nearby. President Biden has left Mr. Trump’s policies in place, so the figures run through last year.
Since 2017, when Mr. Trump entered the Oval Office, goods imports to the U.S. in nominal dollars have increased 174% from Vietnam, 116% from Taiwan, 96% from Bangladesh, 89% from Thailand, 76% from India, and 62% from South Korea. Maybe Mr. Trump should start giving out campaign hats that say “Make Vietnam Great Again.”
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If Mr. Trump’s goal was to nudge businesses to friendlier locales, a better U.S. policy was to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement that excluded China. But Mr. Trump rejected that deal. The Pacific pact would have boosted trade among a dozen countries, including Vietnam, while offering companies an incentive to set up shop in those places. This approach would have avoided the collateral damage from Mr. Trump’s blunderbuss tariffs, and here we part ways with him again.
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Instacart Prepares to Set IPO Price Range as Early as Monday
Taken from Yahoo Finance (Bloomberg) Thursday, 7 September 2023
Online grocery delivery startup Instacart Inc. is preparing to set a price range for its initial public offering and start its investor roadshow as early as Monday, according to people familiar with the matter.
The company is considering pricing its listing Sept. 19, with trading starting the following day, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. The plans are fluid and the timeline could still change depending on market conditions, according to the people.
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Instacart’s listing could further energize an IPO market that has been warming in fits and starts. Semiconductor designer Arm Holdings Ltd. just set a price range for its IPO — the biggest listing of the year — which is expected to start trading as early as next week.
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Instacart raised $2.74 billion as a startup and was valued at $39 billion in 2021, according to data provider PitchBook. But as the pandemic waned — and diners began to emerge from lockdowns and return to restaurants — Instacart’s growth faded too. That forced the company to slash its internal valuation three times last year to about $13 billion by last October.
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Union flags progress in talks as Chevron Australia LNG strikes delayed
Taken from Yahoo Finance (Reuters) Thursday, 7 September 2023
Strike action at Chevron's two major liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects in Australia was paused for 24 hours because of progress made in mediation talks, a union alliance said on Thursday, raising prospects the parties may be nearing a deal.
Workers at Gorgon, Australia's second-largest LNG plant and its Wheatstone operations will delay strike action until 6 a.m. on Friday (2200 GMT on Thursday), a union spokesperson said. Two union representatives, who declined to be identified, told Reuters late on Wednesday about the decision.
Australia is the world's biggest LNG exporter and the ongoing dispute over wages and conditions had stoked volatility in gas prices. Gorgon and Wheatstone operations account for more than 5% of global LNG capacity.
Dutch and British gas prices slid on Wednesday afternoon after the union's decision.
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Sluggish Canadian Banks Face Stock Sales Over Capital Rules
Taken from Yahoo Finance (Bloomberg) Thursday, 7 September 2023
With economic storm clouds gathering, Canada’s bank regulator is considering stricter capital requirements that some analysts say have the potential to force Royal Bank of Canada, the nation’s biggest lender, to sell equity.
The banks, which make up the largest sector weighting on the S&P/TSX Composite Index, have dropped 4.6% this year, compared with the 4.3% advance in the broader market as concerns rise about a downturn in the country’s housing market and as quarterly results were largely a disappointment.
At the same time, the banks are running up against increasingly stringent rules in Canada, where the banking regulator has been raising minimum capital requirements. Currently, banks must keep a common equity tier one ratio of at least 11.5%. Analysts expect that ratio may climb to 12% in December, adding further pressure to the country’s biggest lenders.
Some analysts see a scenario in which RBC may need to issue additional equity in order to meet that threshold because it is also seeking to close its C$13.5-billion acquisition of HSBC Canada.