Moves comes as Britain launches consultation on creation of up to 10 of the zones
Brussels is clamping down on 82 free ports or free zones after identifying that their special tariff and duty status has aided the financing of terrorism, money laundering and organised crime.
A set of new rules was introduced by the European commission just weeks before the launch on Monday of a UK government consultation on the creation of up to 10 free ports in post-Brexit Britain.
Continue reading...Impact of Chinese outbreak has already rippled out well beyond world’s No 2 economy
The impact of coronavirus on the global economy is growing and spreading daily. What started as a medical emergency in the Chinese city of Wuhan has led to planes being grounded, cruise ships being quarantined, theme parks being shut and car plants being mothballed.
TV footage of deserted streets and empty shops tell their own story: China’s economy, which was already slowing, is going to suffer a major hit as the authorities seek to stop the virus from spreading.
Continue reading...Thousands on board Diamond Princess cruise ship in offshore quarantine in Japan after 10 people test positive, as China death toll passes 490
A hotel worker in the northern Italian city of Verona has tested negative for coronavirus.
The woman, who was isolated after coming down with a fever, is a member of staff at the same hotel where a Chinese couple being treated for the virus in Rome stayed for one night.
Here’s a report from Josh Taylor, a Guardian reporter based in Melbourne, that the Australian government is considering sending its citizens evacuated from Wuhan to isolated mining camps if Christmas Island reaches capacity for people being quarantined.
The home affairs minister, Peter Dutton, admitted there is the possibility that Christmas Island could reach capacity if the outbreak continues to spread. He said one option would be for people to share rooms, or potentially even open up other locations away from the rest of the Australian population.
Related: Coronavirus: 14th Australian case confirmed as Dutton says people could be sent to mining camps
Continue reading...Comment came as Greta Thunberg demanded immediate action in Davos
Donald Trump told the world’s business leaders to stop listening to “prophets of doom” as he used a keynote speech at the World Economic Forum to attack the teenage activist Greta Thunberg over her climate crisis warnings.
The US president hailed America’s growth record and compared campaigners against global heating with those who feared a population explosion in the 1960s and mass starvation in the 1970s.
Continue reading...Study also shows global unemployment due to rise for the first time in a decade
Nearly half a billion people around the world are struggling to find adequate paid work, trapping individuals in poverty and fuelling heightened levels of inequality, according to a UN report.
In a study published as world leaders fly into the Swiss ski resort of Davos to voice concerns over inequality and the climate crisis, the UN’s International Labour Organization (ILO) said more than 473 million people around the world lacked the employment opportunities to meet their needs.
Continue reading...Kristalina Georgieva compares today with “roaring 1920s” and criticises UK wealth gap
The head of the International Monetary Fund has warned that the global economy risks a return of the Great Depression, driven by inequality and financial sector instability.
Speaking at the Peterson Institute of International Economics in Washington, Kristalina Georgieva said new IMF research, which compares the current economy to the “roaring 1920s” that culminated in the great market crash of 1929, revealed that a similar trend was already under way.
Continue reading...President signs first phase of new agreement with China, hours after Democrats named team that will prosecute him in Senate
Donald Trump has signed the first phase of a new trade agreement with China after two years of tension between the two superpowers that have rattled economies around the world.
Related: Trump vaunts his China trade pact – but some say it’s too little, too late
Continue reading...Congo-Brazzaville and Chad among hardest hit as campaigners warn spiralling repayments could trigger disaster
Poorer countries are cutting public spending in response to a “growing debt crisis”, campaigners have warned.
Debt in some countries has trebled according to new figures that calculate debt reimbursements, and their impact on government expenditure, in 60 countries.
Continue reading...Rumors of Middle East war used to inevitably lead to soaring gas prices but fracking revolution has changed the market landscape
For many older Americans the thought of war in the Middle East will trigger memories of soaring gas prices and long lines at the pumps. But as US relations with Iran sink to a new low there is, as yet, no sign of panic.
Related: By killing Qassem Suleimani, Trump has achieved the impossible: uniting Iran | Dina Esfandiary
Continue reading...Stephanie Kelton says Australia could ‘absolutely’ benefit from a program similar to the Green New Deal
Australia’s unprecedented bushfires are a wake-up call to the world about the importance of tackling climate change, Bernie Sanders’ economic adviser said, and the country should consider implementing a green new deal to transition to a low carbon economy.
Stephanie Kelton said Australia could benefit from an ambitious program of spending, similar to the one proposed by Sanders and others that aims to transform the US economy and help keep global heating below 1.5C.
Continue reading...People’s Bank of China allows commercial banks to hold less capital in reserve
China’s central bank has acted to pump more liquidity into the country’s economy in an attempt to prevent growth slowing in 2020.
The People’s Bank of China is allowing commercial banks to hold less capital in reserve, freeing up about 800bn yuan (£87bn) in new funds for loans. It will cut China’s banks’ reserve requirement ratio (RRR) by 50 basis points, to 12.5%, from 6 January.
Continue reading...Prospect of agreement lifts stock markets but experts question impact on long-running tensions
Donald Trump has said he will sign the first phase of a long-awaited trade deal with China on 15 January, in a move that de-escalates the tariff war between the world’s two biggest economies.
In a tweet on Tuesday, the US president said “high-level representatives of China” would attend an official ceremony at the White House, adding he would also be travelling to Beijing for talks on the second phase of the deal.
Continue reading...Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial news
The pick-up in UK mortgage approvals in November is a “significant surprise”, says Howard Archer of the EY Item Club.
He suspects that some home owners may have been keen to move before the general election, as a hung parliament could have created more economic uncertainty in 2020.
Those gains in Hong Kong and China today have lifted Asian stock markets to their highest levels in 18 months today.
Global stock markets have gained another $700bn this week in thin trading on santa rally. All equities now worth $87.1tn, just $200bn shy of a fresh life-time high and equal to 100% of global GDP so stocks have entered bubble territory. pic.twitter.com/JgXmKPDWCN
Continue reading...Donald Trump promises that a US-China trade pact will be signed ‘very shortly’
A pre-Christmas rally fuelled by hopes of waning trade tensions have pushed share prices to a fresh high and on course for their biggest rise in a decade.
Donald Trump’s promise that a US-China trade pact would be signed “very shortly” sent the MSCI gauge of stock markets around the world to new record levels.
Continue reading...The White House has reached a “deal in principle” with Beijing to resolve the 17-month US-China trade war, according to a source briefed on the trade talks.
The White House was expected to make an announcement later on Thursday, the source said.
Continue reading...Southern Africa’s third largest economy is a textbook example of the increasing debt facing a fast-growing continent
Zambia’s capital, Lusaka, was having a power cut, so the only light in the restaurant was from Fumba Chama’s mobile phone. The rapper, better known as PilAto, had just finished uploading a new track to Twitter. The bitter-sweet lyrics (in Bemba) of Yama Chinese describe the concerns of many Zambians: “They put on smart suits and fly to China to sell our country. The roads belong to China. The hotels are for the Chinese. The chicken farms are Chinese. Even the brickworks are Chinese.”
Continue reading...The mood may be one of despair, but this election is critical to the country’s future. The best hope lies with Labour, despite its flaws
Britain has not faced a more critical election in decades than the one it faces on Thursday. The country’s future direction, its place in the world and even its territorial integrity are all at stake, primarily because this is a decisive election for Brexit. The choice is stark. The next prime minister is going to be either Boris Johnson, who is focused on “getting Brexit done” whatever the consequences, or Jeremy Corbyn, who with a Labour-led government will try to remodel society with a programme of nationalisation and public spending.
Continue reading...President says China has plenty of money amid market jitters about trade talks and Beijing vow to be ‘strong backup’ for Hong Kong police
Donald Trump has called for the World Bank to stop lending money to China, a day after the institution adopted a lending plan to Beijing despite Washington’s objections.
The World Bank on Thursday adopted a plan to aid China with $1bn to $1.5bn in low-interest loans annually until 2025. The plan called for lending to “gradually decline” from the previous five-year average of $1.8bn.
Continue reading...Asian markets plunge after Trump comments about trade deal delay made worse by possible Xinjiang sanctions
Global financial markets have gone into a tailspin amid mounting concern that the US and China are not going to conclude an interim trade agreement before a new set of American tariffs hit Chinese goods on 15 December.
Asian markets saw heavy selling on Wednesday after Donald Trump said a trade deal could wait until next year’s presidential election, scotching widely held expectations that he was ready to give the go ahead for an agreement.
Continue reading...Bank president indicates she will move bank beyond traditional remit of controlling inflation
Christine Lagarde has said the European Central Bank should do more to help tackle the climate emergency, as she came under pressure from MEPs to step up action against global heating.
In a strong hint that as president she would move the ECB beyond its traditional remit of controlling inflation, Lagarde said the bank would incorporate the climate threat into both its economic forecasts and in its capacity as watchdog of the financial system.
Continue reading...