The price of gold rose by Bt100 per baht weight in morning trade today (June 16), the Gold Traders Association reported.
As of 9.27am, the buying price of a gold bar was Bt25,300 per baht weight and selling price Bt25,400, while gold ornaments were priced at Bt24,847.24 and Bt25,900, respectively.
At close yesterday, the buying price of a gold bar was Bt25,200 per baht weight and selling price Bt25,300, while gold ornaments were priced at Bt24,741.12 and Bt25,800, respectively.
The Gold Spot Index price this morning moved to around US$1,730 (Bt53,571) per ounce after the price dropped by $10.1 to $1,727.2 per ounce at yesterday’s close as investors sold gold amid uncertainty following the second wave of Covid-19.
The gold price on the Hong Kong market rose by HK$15 to $15,950 (Bt63,729) per tael this morning.
By The Washington Post · Abha Bhattarai · BUSINESS, RETAIL
The coronavirus crisis has upended just about every part of daily life. Tens of millions of Americans are out of work, and a deepening recession has forced many people to rethink their spending. Retailers – already saddled with a glut of unsold winter and spring merchandise – are scrambling to get a handle on these new habits and what is projected to be a long-term shift in the types of clothing, shoes and accessories people will be willing to buy.
“The longer we stay in this pandemic, the more our relationship with fashion will evolve,” said Dawnn Karen, a fashion psychologist and branding consultant.
Here are five changes in the fashion and beauty industries already taking hold:
– Hello, false lashes. Sales of eye makeup are on the rise as Americans look for ways to express themselves behind face masks while staying six feet apart.
Leading the charge: False eyelashes, which averaged 15% increases in week-over-week sales in May as businesses in many parts of the country began to reopen, according to market research firm NPD Group. Mascara sales, meanwhile, grew 11% in the same period, while demand for eyebrow products jumped 5 percent.
“It makes complete sense,” said Larissa Jensen, a beauty analyst for NPD. “When you have to go out and you’re wearing a protective face mask, those are the products that emphasize your ‘smize’ – your smiling eyes.”
Sales of lip products, meanwhile, fell 5 percent in May. After all, Jensen said, nobody wants lipstick smudges inside their masks.
Makeup sales picked up last month after about two months of declines, when much of the country was hunkered down at home. During that period, Jensen says, many Americans shifted away from cosmetics to skin care products such as face scrubs and body creams, which are still performing well. Sales of high-end soaps, home scents and hair color also have risen in recent months, she said.
“One of the first things we’ve seen in the pandemic is a shift to skin care,” Jensen said. “During a time when most of the country was on lockdown, everyone’s concern was on meeting their basic needs.”
–Goodbye, high heels and stiff dress shoes.
Sales of high heels, loafers and other dress shoes have been tumbling for years, and analysts say the pandemic has turbocharged their demise. Sales of men’s and women’s dress shoes plunged 70 percent in March and April, according to NPD.
“High heels are way down,” said Beth Goldstein, a footwear analyst for NPD. “The question now is whether they’ll ever rebound. Of course, some women out there are dying to put their heels back on. But I think most of them are saying, ‘I’m never going to wear those shoes again.’ “
Lately, she says, it’s all about comfort: Slipper sales doubled in April, as Americans splurged on higher-priced options such as fur-lined Ugg products. Crocs, known for their homely but comfortable signature foam clog, also have been “super hot,” she said.
That trend is likely to continue even as Americans return to work. Shoe manufacturers, she said, are busy creating designs with wider and thicker heels, padded insoles and other athletic touches to add stability and comfort. Sales of stiletto-shaped heels, she said, dropped 11 percent last year.
“Retailers are recognizing that they’re going to have to rethink what they know about work and fashion,” Goldstein said. “There is going to be a long-term shift.”
– A return to basics. Malls are reopening, but don’t expect to see racks filled with seasonal trends. With money tighter, retailers and consumers are loading up on evergreen basics and neutrals.
“The biggest upcoming change is going to be the propensity toward value,” said Marshal Cohen, a retail analyst for NPD. “As we come off the stimulus check, the consumer is not going to feel so rich anymore, which means a lot fewer impulse purchases.”
That has led many retailers to stock up on items such as plain T-shirts, classic-cut jeans, and beige and khaki pieces that won’t fall out of favor if they don’t sell right away.
“What we’re looking for today are core basics,” Morris Goldfarb, chief executive of G-III Apparel Group, which owns a number of brands including DKNY and Bass, said on an earnings call this month. “Fashion is not as important this year.”
Jeans, joggers and leggings have become among the biggest sellers at American Eagle. Meanwhile, online lingerie brand ThirdLove is focusing on neutrals and basics while pushing off trendier items, such as lace bras or seasonal colors, to next year, according to co-founder Heidi Zak.
“It’s virtually impossible to forecast right now,” she said.
– Shorter hemlines. According to common lore – and the century-old Hemline Index – skirts and dresses get longer as the economy worsens.
But this time, analysts say, fashion is heading in the opposite direction, away from maxi dresses and floor-sweeping skirts.
“Hemlines were inching shorter anyway,” said Cohen of NPD. “Do I expect them to get even shorter? I do.”
The shift, he said, is less about fashion trends and more about retailers’ desperation. “When business gets bad, you need to make a bold statement to get people to buy something new,” he said. And if shoppers already have closets filled with ankle-length styles, that means enticing them with above-the-knee fashion.
– Even more casual wear. Corporate America has been retreating from blazers and ties for years, and analysts expect to see more athletic wear and casual attire at the office even after the pandemic is over.
When Americans do head back to the office, they’re likely to trade in business casual for “Silicon Valley chic,” said Karen, the fashion psychologist. Think hoodies paired with blazers, and sweatpants with silky tops.
“There will be much more mixing and matching between dressing up and dressing down,” she said. “And it’ll be okay to wear the same thing over and over again. The pressure is off.”
By The Washington Post · Heather Long · BUSINESS, US-GLOBAL-MARKETS Top Federal Reserve officials on Monday urged Congress to spend more as the nation emerges from the global health crisis.
The calls came the same day that the Fed launched a new lending program for small and midsized firms and announced plans to start buying the bonds of big companies on Tuesday, news that triggered a stock market rally on Wall Street.
The U.S. government can borrow money at a historically cheap rate right now after the Fed cut interest rates to zero in March and signaled low rates are likely to remain in place through 2022. San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly was one of several top officials who called on Congress to invest soon in education, health care and digital infrastructure to create a stronger – and more inclusive – U.S. economy for years to come.
“We can’t wait 10 years for an economic recovery to reach everyone,” Daly said at a National Press Club event. “Inclusive growth is faster growth – and it will pay for itself in the long run.”
Fed leaders are making two big asks from Congress: First, to be prepared to deliver more emergency aid this summer if there’s a second wave of coronavirus cases and deaths. And second, to make long-term investments that can help the nation grow faster after the covid-19 threat passes.
“If we are going to get to the other side of this crisis, we have to be thinking about the longer-term changes that will enable our economy to recover – and give more people a shot at participating when it does,” wrote Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin in a blog post Monday.
Barkin called for more spending on community colleges, digital workforce training, child care and elderly care to make it easier for the 21 million people currently out of work to find jobs again. The job losses have been the most severe for low-income black and Hispanic Americans, especially women who are the most likely to hold many of the restaurant, retail and hospitality jobs that were impacted by shelter-in-place orders.
The U.S. economy is facing its worst crisis since the Great Depression, and many workers may not return to the jobs they had before the pandemic. Meanwhile, the Fed has been criticized for rushing to aid Wall Street and large companies. Fed Chair Jerome Powell has pushed back, arguing the jobs losses and permanent business closures would likely have been worse without the Fed’s aggressive action.
Powell and other top Fed officials have also said the central bank’s tools are best suited to boosting the overall economy and stabilizing markets. They say Congress has to play a role in making a more equitable economy and ensuring black and Hispanic workers are not permanently scarred by this crisis.
“The fastest-growing demographics in this country are blacks and Hispanics. If they don’t grow equally then we’re going to grow more slowly,” said Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan in an interview Sunday on CBS News’ “Face the Nation.” Kaplan added, “Fiscal policy is going to be critical from here.”
The central bank has pumped close to $3 trillion into markets since mid-March and slashing interest rates to zero helped provide financial lifelines to businesses, families and state and local governments.
Wall Street investors have noticed just how quick the Fed has been to step in and calm markets. On Monday, the Fed said it will start buying a wide range of corporate bonds, even of big companies that aren’t asking for aid. While the Fed also launched its loan program for companies with fewer than 15,000 employees, those smaller firms have to go to a bank and apply for the relief, a distinct difference to the central bank’s latest lifeline for larger companies.
“This is yet another sign that the Fed is going to do everything under their power to help liquidity. Worries of a second wave? No worries, the Fed is here,” Ryan Detrick, senior markets strategy for LPL Financial, told clients.
Stocks started Monday in the red but ended the day higher with the Dow Jones industrial average up 158 points, largely due to the Fed announcement that corporate bond buying would begin Tuesday and encompass a wider range of companies than initially expected. This is the first time America’s central bank is buying corporate bonds.
“There is no red line this Fed will not cross,” tweeted Sven Henrich, a Fed critic and founder of the blog Northman Trader
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters in March that Powell had told her “interest rates are low, think big.” What exactly that big step looks like is under debate in Congress and the White House.
While some have suggested spending on infrastructure projects like roads and bridges, many Fed leaders are pushing for investments in education and social services.
“If you’re a white American, your chances of being college educated are far greater than a black American or Hispanic. Just equalizing that would boost our output growth in a way that is material,” Daly said Monday.
As protests over racial injustice sweep the nation, Fed leaders have made the case that the nation must focus on ensuring equal opportunities for all in order for the economy to reach its full potential.
“Systemic racism is a yoke that drags on the American economy,” wrote Raphael Bostic, president of the Atlanta Fed on Friday. “A commitment to an inclusive society also means a commitment to an inclusive economy.”
Bostic is the first and only African American to lead one of the 12 regional Fed banks.
“By limiting economic and educational opportunities for a large number of Americans, institutionalized racism constrains this country’s economic potential,” he wrote. “The economic contributions of these Americans, in the form of work product and innovation, will be less than they otherwise could have been.”
Stock market recovers after Fed says it will buy corporate bonds
The stock market rebounded Monday afternoon to erase its sharp slide at the opening bell, with investors upbeat after the Federal Reserve announced it would buy individual corporate bonds.
The rally came after investors expressed initial concern that the coronavirus pandemic could be picking up in numerous states.
The Dow Jones industrial average started with a loss of about 500 points, or 2%, shortly after it opened at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time. But it had recovered those losses early afternoon and, after the Fed’s announcement, closed up 158 points, or 0.6%. The Nasdaq closed up 1.4%.
The rally was sparked by the Fed’s afternoon announcement, in which it said it would “begin buying a broad and diversified portfolio of corporate bonds to support market liquidity and the availability of credit for large employers.”
Previously, the U.S. central bank had only been purchasing corporate bonds that were part of exchange-traded funds.
Corporate bonds are corporate debt, and the Fed’s decision to pump money into this area is another way for it to help give companies more access to cash. But it could also open the Fed up to criticism that it is playing a role in picking winners and losers in the economy based on which firms it selects and which firms it opts against selecting.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index also jumped on the news after dipping negative Monday morning. By 4 p.m., the Nasdaq was up 137 points, or 1.43%, and the S&P 500 leveled off at about 25 points, or 0.83%.
Shortly after the market opened, the sell-off initially hit travel-company stocks hard, but by the afternoon the stocks had come back.
American Airlines Group initially dropped nearly 5%, but jumped back to less than one percentage point in the red by the time the market closed. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings slid about 8% before jumping back to be down about 2.5% by 4 p.m., and United Airlines Holdings dropped about 7.2% before rising to finish the day down about 1.6%.
These companies’ shares have been particularly volatile during the coronavirus pandemic because many people have hesitated to make travel plans when conditions remain uncertain.
The downturn continued last week’s slide, which was the sharpest plummet since mid-March, prompted by the health and economic crises, despite a hopeful Friday rebound.
As of Monday, at least 114,000 people had died in the United States from covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, in every state since February. At least 2 million cases have been reported. Public health officials fear new surges after large Memorial Day crowds and protests in cities across the U.S. and states launch reopenings.
“Wall Street’s bumpy road continues as investors continue to grapple with concerns that China is showing signs that a second wave of the pandemic is here and as a spike in new cases in the US could suggest many states could rollback their reopenings,” Edward Moya, an analyst with OANDA, wrote in an email to The Washington Post on Monday. “The stock market rebound will now go through a ton of scrutiny because the U.S. economy was supposed to have a short stint in the ICU and be well into the rehab process by now.”
The Federal Reserve has predicted a slow recovery for the economy, with unemployment at 9.3% by the end of 2020. It has taken a number of extraordinary steps to help companies navigate the crisis, lowering interest rates and attempting to flood financial markets with cash.
“The problem for the economy is that the labor market will not bounce back as quickly as financial markets have initially provided,” Moya said. “The Fed is doing their part, but partisan politics have delayed the next fiscal response till after July 22nd, and that will erode at confidence.”
Jun 16. 2020A Wall Street sign. MUST CREDIT: Bloomberg photo by Mark Kauzlarich
By Syndication Washington Post, Bloomberg · Katherine Greifeld, Vildana Hajric · BUSINESS, US-GLOBAL-MARKETS U.S. stocks edged higher in volatile trading after the Federal Reserve followed through on a pledge to buy corporate bonds under an emergency lending program.
The S&P 500 closed up 0.8% after swinging from loss of as much as 2.5% amid concern about a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, to a gain of as much as 1.3%. Oil futures rebounded after dropping to less than $35 a barrel as BP Plc warned the pandemic will hurt long-term energy demand.
“The initial reaction seems to be that the Fed still has the market’s back even though they expect the economy to be weak for a longer time frame,” said Matt Maley, chief market strategist for Miller Tabak + Co. “The Fed is telling the markets that they want to keep credit spreads under control.”
The purchases will be made by the Fed’s Secondary Market Corporate Credit Facility, an emergency lending program that to date has purchased only exchange-traded funds. BlackRock’s iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond exchange-traded fund, the largest credit ETF, jumped 1.4%, while the iShares iBoxx High Yield Corporate Bond ETF climbed 1%.
The central bank also added a twist to its buying strategy, saying it would follow a diversified market index of U.S. corporate bonds created expressly for the facility.
“What appears to be new is the individual buying in the secondary market and what looks like, at least from the announcement, the potential for a wider variety of purchases,” said Dennis DeBusschere, head of portfolio strategy at Evercore ISI.
After a fierce rally sent global equities close to their pre-pandemic levels, sentiment in markets had turned negative, with the S&P dropping last week by the most since March. Economic data across the board suggests that the global economy is still weak and there’s no sign that international travel is returning to normal anytime soon.
More than 20 U.S. states are seeing a pickup in virus cases, and spreading cases in Beijing have also raised concern of a resurgence of the pandemic. The travel ban between the U.S. and Great Britain could persist for months, according to Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
In China, a string of top-tier data all showed that factory output, consumer spending and investment continued to improve in May, but there are few signs of a broad-based rebound needed to spur a V-shaped recovery.
Despite the risk-off mood in markets, gold prices slumped, with prices approaching $1,700 an ounce in London.
“One thing is leading to the other. Obviously Covid-19, what happened with Beijing this weekend and a couple of states that are seeing a bit of a growth in cases,” said JJ Kinahan, the chief market strategist at TD Ameritrade. “What that really leads to is the fact that if you think abut this quote on quote optimism trade that we’ve had over the last couple weeks, the optimism trade really was about businesses getting started, going quickly. If we do have a slowdown in opening businesses, a couple of states have slowed their dates, it’s going to be very difficult for the reality of business to keep up with expectations of a few weeks ago.”
These are some of the main moves in financial markets:
Stocks
– The S&P 500 Index rose 0.8% to 3,066.59 as of 4:09 p.m. EDT.
– The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.6% to 25,763.16.
– The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 1.4% to 9,726.02, the largest rise in more than a week.
– The MSCI All-Country World Index increased 0.1% to 517.30.
Currencies
– The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined 0.4% to 1,210.14.
– The euro increased 0.5% to $1.1313, the biggest increase in more than a week.
– The Japanese yen was little changed at 107.33 per dollar.
– The British pound gained 0.4% to $1.2586, the biggest advance in a week.
Bonds
– The yield on two-year Treasurys declined less than one basis point to 0.19%.
– The yield on 10-year Treasurys climbed one basis point to 0.71%.
– Germany’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to -0.45%, the lowest in more than two weeks.
– Britain’s 10-year yield dipped less than one basis point to 0.205%.
Commodities
– West Texas Intermediate crude gained 2.2% to $37.05 a barrel, the largest rise in more than a week.
The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) is going ahead with sounding out the market for the auction of Block A near the Bang Sue Central Station, while Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob wants a working group to be set up to organise train assets in a move to boost SRT’s revenue by 10 per cent per year.
SRT’s deputy governor Worawut Mala said the authority is sounding out the market for the 32-rai Block A worth Bt10 billion after an auction for commercial development won little interest from private companies.
“We are studying the market again, but the Covid-19 outbreak is posing new problems. According to law, we have to conduct market-sounding operations at least three times. If no private firms show interest in bidding, we have to cancel the auction and review the possibility of opening for new bids,” Worawut said.
Meanwhile, the transport minister has ordered that a committee to determine a strategy on the management of the area and monitor SRT’s revenue from moveable property and real estate be set up. The panel will be led by Soraphong Paitoonpong, director-general of the Department of Rail Transport. The goal of this working group is to ensure SRT assets are being used efficiently and can provide 10 per cent increase in income.
SRT currently owns more than 33.2 rai of land, with 3,106 lease agreements for buildings and 2,935 leases on land. SRT generates income of Bt2.858 billion per year on average.
More than 100 leases of SRT-owned land are set to expire between 2022 and 2023. SRT will re-evaluate its rental fees before renewing these lease contracts, which were originally made for 20 to 30 years and generated an income of Bt200 million per year. The other option for SRT will be to put these properties up for auction to procure private equity.
Jun 16. 2020Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak
By The Nation
With worldwide foreign direct investment hit badly by the Covid-19 crisis, the government is looking to come up with new investment incentives to lure businesses into relocating their manufacturing base to Thailand.
Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak said he has instructed the Board of Investment (BoI) to redesign incentive packages to specially cover companies that are looking to relocate their factories.
He was speaking after he met senior BoI officials on Monday (June 15).
The global economy is expected to slump for the next year or two in the fallout of the pandemic, which has also had a serious impact on FDI worldwide.
However, he said, investors from China, Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan are showing interest in Thailand.
The areas of their interest are food, processing of farm products, logistics and manufacturing of metal equipment, he said, adding that Thailand’s relative success in controlling the spread of the virus has contributed to the rise in investor confidence.
“The global economy will not recover in the next year or two and it will have an impact on FDI, so BoI’s challenge is to turn Thailand into a real hub for CLMV,” he said, referring to Thailand’s neighbouring countries, namely Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.
He said BoI should look beyond tax incentives and consider options such as making use of Thailand’s Bt10-billion competitiveness fund, he said.
In a move to promote small-scale investment, BoI recently gave the go-ahead for projects worth no more than Bt100 million to get approval without having to wait for a final okay from the BoI board chaired by Prime Minister Chan-o-cha, he said.
So far, BoI has been concentrating on promoting manufacturing for export, and now it is time to support more local businesses in both manufacturing and service sectors, the minister said.
BoI also needs to help local start-ups become “unicorns” with an annual revenue US$1 billion within five years, he said.
Duangjai Asawachintachit, BoI secretary-general, said the office has yet to set a target for FDI this year due to the impact of the pandemic. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has estimated that the fallout of the virus will bring worldwide FDI down by 30 to 40 per cent this year.
“Whether Thailand can do better than the global average will depend on new incentives to promote factory relocation, which will draw in FDI in the second half of the year,” she added.
Last year, BoI launched a package to lure large projects worth Bt1 billion each, but to promote manufacturing relocation, the agency will have to target smaller projects, she added.
The BoI board will meet on June 17 to discuss incentives on promoting the agricultural sector, especially indoor farming where lights, humidity and fertilisers are controlled to produce high-quality vegetables fast and efficiently, Duangjai said.
Jun 15. 2020The Kobe Chouest platform supply vessel sits anchored next to the Chevron Corp. Jack/St. Malo deepwater oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana on May 18, 2018. MUST CREDIT: Bloomberg photo by Luke Sharrett.
By Syndication Washington Post, Bloomberg · Hailey Waller, Grant Smith · BUSINESS, US-GLOBAL-MARKETS Oil extended losses on signs that a second wave of the coronavirus could derail a nascent economic recovery.
Futures fell below $35 a barrel in New York, sinking in tandem with equity markets, after falling 8.3% last week. Beijing closed the city’s largest fruit and vegetable supply center following a surge of virus cases, stirring fears of a resurgence just as the world’s largest oil user was showing signs of improving demand.
“Fear has started sprouting again,” said Bjornar Tonhaugen, head of oil markets at consultant Rystad Energy in Oslo. “Concerns that we may be seeing the beginning of a second wave of the pandemic are dominating trading floors.”
Crude’s six-week rally fizzled on Friday amid concerns the worst of the virus isn’t yet over and as the U.S. Federal Reserve warned the pandemic could inflict lasting damage on the American economy. BP’s announcement on Monday that it will write down the value of the business by the most in a decade reinforced the picture of an industry in turmoil.
West Texas Intermediate crude for July settlement fell 3% to $35.16 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 10:12 a.m. It has lost more than 11% since closing at a three-month high on June 10. Brent for August delivery declined 1.6% to $38.11 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange after dropping 8.4% last week.
Still, there are signs that the physical oil market is tightening.
OPEC and its allies have agreed to maintain production cutbacks amounting to about 10% of global supply into next month, and will hold committee meetings on Wednesday and Thursday to assess their impact.
Saudi Arabia will deliver between 10% and 40% less crude than requested to seven refiners in Asia in July, according to refinery officials who asked not to be identified. Iraq, which has typically lagged in implementing its agreed cuts, instructed BP to reduce output by 10% at the country’s biggest oilfield.
Activity at America’s vast deposits, including shale, continues to slow, with drilling rigs falling to a 13th week to the lowest in more than a decade, data from Baker Hughes showed on Friday.
“The U.S. shale patch will be very important for global balances and will influence what Saudi and Russia do on the month-to-month extension of their deal,” said Tamar Essner, director of energy and utilities at Nasdaq.
On the demand side, Chinese official figures showed refinery runs in Asia’s largest economy rose last month on a year-on-year basis. Refineries processed 13.69 million barrels a day in May, according to Bloomberg calculations based on figures from the nation’s statistics bureau. That was 7.5% higher than in April and 8.2% more than a year earlier.
By Syndication Washington Post, Bloomberg · Jonathan Stearns · BUSINESS, WORLD
The European Union fired a warning shot at China over its global trade ambitions with an unprecedented tariff decision to counter Chinese subsidies to exporters.
For the first time, the EU on Monday took aim at alleged market-distorting aid granted by a country to exporters located in another state. To date, such European duties have focused only on subsidies provided by the country where the exporters are based.
“It’s a landmark case that could lead to many more similar ones,” said Agatha Kratz, an associate director at Rhodium Group who leads research on EU-China relations and Chinese commercial diplomacy. “Chinese state support is in fact found widely beyond China’s borders, with distortive effects on EU and other foreign stakeholders.”
The dispute involves EU imports from Egypt of glass fiber fabrics, an industrial good used in everything from wind turbines to sports equipment. The two Egyptian exporters of such fabrics are subsidiaries of China Jushi Co. and Zhejiang Hengshi Fiberglass Fabrics Co.
Jushi Egypt for Fiberglass Industry SAE and Hengshi Egypt Fiberglass Fabrics SAE are based in the China-Egypt Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone, which is part of China’s controversial “Belt and Road” global infrastructure-development plan.
The EU said that Jushi Egypt and Hengshi Egypt received financial benefits from the Chinese and Egyptian governments and that the aid, along with subsidies for glass fiber fabrics shipped directly from China, unfairly undercut the bloc’s own producers such as Finland-based Ahlstrom-Munksjo Oyj in the European market.
EU manufacturers that also include European Owens Corning Fiberglas SPRL in Belgium and France-based Chomarat Textiles Industries SAS suffered “material injury,” the European Commission, the 27-nation bloc’s executive arm in Brussels, said in the Official Journal.
Europe is stepping up efforts to guard against expansionist Chinese commercial policies, part of a balancing act that echoes U.S. concerns about China’s economic rise while staying within the framework of the World Trade Organization. By contrast, Washington has taken unilateral action against Beijing in ways that sidestep the WTO and that have prompted European criticism.
In its decision to impose an anti-subsidy duty on Egyptian glass fiber fabrics, the commission devoted a sizable section to constructing an argument that WTO law gives the EU scope to take account of Chinese aid to Jushi Egypt and Hengshi Egypt when calculating the level of the levy on both companies. The rate is 10.9%.
The commission presented this legal analysis in the context of the political significance of China’s Belt and Road Initiative in general and of the Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone, or SETC-Zone, in particular.
“The governments of Egypt and China have pooled their resources to provide the companies manufacturing in the SETC-Zone with favorable conditions that confer benefits to them,” the commission said. “This pooling of resources via such close cooperation serves a common purpose and benefits a common beneficiary (Jushi Egypt and Hengshi Egypt).”
Jushi Egypt and Hengshi Egypt are related through a bigger Chinese parent company — China National Building Material Group. The EU anti-subsidy duty on glass fiber fabrics from Egypt is for five years.
As part of the same decision on Monday, the EU imposed a separate set of anti-subsidy levies ranging from 17% to 30.7% on glass fiber fabrics originating in China. The five-year rates on the imports from China depend on the Chinese company.
Because of these new anti-subsidy duties, the EU separately lowered the levels of five-year tariffs imposed in April to counter alleged below-cost — or “dumped” — imports of glass fiber fabrics from China. The rates of these anti-dumping levies have been 37.6% or 99.7%, depending on the exporter. The new levels range from 34% to 69%.
A separate EU anti-dumping duty on glass fiber fabrics from Egypt — also imposed in April — is unchanged at 20%.
By The Washington Post · Hannah Denham · BUSINESS, PERSONAL-FINANCE, US-GLOBAL-MARKETS
The stock market slid sharply with Monday’s opening bell, with new coronavirus outbreaks sparking more concern among investors about economic recovery.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down around 600 points, or 2.3%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was down 108 points, and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index was down 57 points.
The downturn continued last week’s slide, which was the sharpest plummet since mid-March, prompted by the health and economic crises, despite a hopeful Friday rebound.
As of Monday, at least 114,000 people had died in the United States from covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, in every state since February.
At least 2,087,000 cases have been reported. Public health officials fear new surges after large Memorial Day crowds and protests in cities across the U.S. and states launch reopenings.
A leading auto-parts manufacturer is installing solar panels to drive production at its second Thai factory, marking another step by industry towards renewable power sources
Asno Horie (Thailand) Co Ltd has contracted WHA Utilities & Power Plc (WHAUP) to install a 2,012KW solar rooftop at its new plant in Rayong, following a similar project at its other plant in March. The second project is expected to begin generating revenue in October this year.
WHAUP says the new contract will drive its electricity-generating capacity, in terms of shareholding equity, to more than 597MW, exceeding the full-year target of 591MW.
Asno Horie will use its two solar rooftops, with total capacity of 3,629KW, to power its auto-parts production lines.
The company said the switch to solar power was in line with its policies on energy saving, environmental protection and reducing the impact of greenhouse-gas emissions. The solar rooftops will reduce electricity costs by up to Bt230 million during the 25-year contract and offset CO2 emissions, it added.
A Wall Street sign. MUST CREDIT: Bloomberg photo by Mark Kauzlarich
Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak
The Kobe Chouest platform supply vessel sits anchored next to the Chevron Corp. Jack/St. Malo deepwater oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana on May 18, 2018. MUST CREDIT: Bloomberg photo by Luke Sharrett.
Photo credit: Senivpetro
