Europe fails to tap Caspian Sea's surging gas supplies

European countries are losing out to China in their quest to source natural gas from the Central Asian states.Moving away from dependence on Russia and Middle East hydrocarbons was a key energy objective of European countries in the 1990s, and the oil and natural gas resources along the Caspian Sea was seen as a vital alternative.
Instead, European oil dependence on Russia and the Middle East has grown from 75% in 2000 to 84% by 2010. In addition, EU reliance on gas imports has also risen from 49% to 62% during the period.
EU countries such as Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Slovakia all depend on Russia for over 60% of their gas imports. In addition, countries aspiring to be EU members such as Moldova, Turkey, and Ukraine rely on Russia for over 65% of their imports.
Central Asia is estimated to hold more than 11% of world proven gas reserves, primarily in Turkmenistan, which has lagged behind Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan in attracting outside investments. 
But while China has moved swiftly to source supplies from Central Asian states of Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, Europe has been distracted by a crippling economic recession.
"European gas demand is likely to continue to struggle for the next five years, facing competition from cheaper coal and the promotion of renewables, while also suffering due to poor economic performance," said the Economist Intelligence Unit in a new report.
"As a result, the sense of urgency in opening up the Caspian region's gas supply to European customers--while still viewed as important--has somewhat dissipated. Nevertheless, it is still important for south-east European states, where dependence on gas from Russia is the strongest."

Source: Zawya

China and Kazakhastan increasing economic ties

China and Kazakhstan are important cooperation partner of each other and have achieved fruitful results in pragmatic cooperation, Xi said in an address at the founding ceremony of the China-Kazakhstan Entrepreneurs Committee.

China is the largest trade partner of Kazakhstan, while the Central Asian country is China's largest investment destination within the Commonwealth of Independence States (CIS), he noted.

Xi listed that China and Kazakhstan jointly built China's first cross-country crude oil pipeline and first 

international border cooperation center, and that China helped Kazakhstan construct its first major 

hydropower station since independence.

These cooperation achievements have not only brought tangible benefits to the two peoples, but also provided unremitting drive force for the development of China-Kazakhstan relations, he said.

The China-Kazakhstan Entrepreneurs Committee is the first bilateral business cooperation mechanism China set up with a Central Asian country, which testifies to the high level of pragmatic cooperation between the two countries as well as their business sectors' eagerness to deepen cooperation, Xi said.

He also encouraged the committee to come up with a package of new projects in such fields as interconnection, agriculture, high-tech and clean and new energy, so as to further the development of China-Kazakhstan cooperation both in scale and on level.

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, also present at the founding ceremony, said Kazakhstan and China are good partners and have made outstanding achievements in cooperation in economy and trade.

Xi's visit to Kazakhstan has prompted the two sides to reach a series of important agreements, and thereby effectively boosted bilateral cooperation, Nazarbayev said.

He said Kazakhstan is willing to expand cooperation with China in areas like energy and interconnection, and to revive the Silk Road.

Nazarbayev called on the newly founded committee to actively boost exchanges between the two countries' companies and open up a new prospect for bilateral cooperation in economy, trade and investment.

Source: Xinhua

Intervistato dalla Cbs, Assad ha annunciato ritorsioni in caso di attacco.

Il presidente siriano Bashar Assad minaccia una ritorsione in caso di attacco americano. E avverte che in caso di intervento armato di Usa e Francia, gli amici della Siria, le milizie libanesi di Hezbollah e l'Iran (tutti uniti dalla comune fede sciita) effettuerebbero rappresaglie. Dopo l'intervista della settimana scorsa al francese Le Figaro, il presidente siriano parla ancora con i media occidentali. E questa volta lo fa con l'americana Cbs. Quella con il giornalista Charlie Rose è la prima intervista di Assad a una emittente americana in circa due anni. Il presidente siriano ha ribadito di non essere dietro l'attacco con armi chimiche del 21 agosto, ripetendo che non ci sono prove dell'evento.

  Secondo Assad, ha riferito Rose, un attacco potrebbe diminuire le capacità delle sue truppe (come vorrebbe Barack Obama) ma così facendo si concederebbe un vantaggio alle frange qaediste dell'opposizione.

   Charlie Rose ha intervistato Assad nel palazzo presidenziale di Damasco. L'intervista sarà trasmessa interamente sulla Cbs lunedì sera, lo stesso giorno in cui il presidente americano Barack Obama concederà interviste a sei reti americane nella sua azione a tappeto per convincere il Congresso e gli americani a sostenere l'azione militare in Siria.

L'INTERVISTA AL NUMERO UNO DI VODAFONE

L'INTERVISTA AL NUMERO UNO DI VODAFONE: vendita del 45% di Verizon wireless

«Grazie alla vendita passiamo da 6 a 8 miliardi di sterline di investimenti, vuole dire circa 10 miliardi di euro di capitali da impiegare ogni anno. Il consolidamento è inevitabile. E l'Italia rimane centrale per Vodafone». La soddisfazione è scontata: con 130 miliardi di dollari si tratta del secondo più grande deal di sempre dopo Vodafone-Mannesmann (del '99) e prima, tanto per dare un'idea, della scalata di America Online a Time Warner (2000), dell'acquisizione di Abn Amro da parte di Rbs, Santander e Fortis (2007) e anche della fusione Exxon-Mobil ('98). 

Nella vendita del 45% di Verizon Wireless c'è un trade-off: da una parte Vodafone lascia gli Usa, mercato maturo che ancora produce un enorme cash-flow, dall'altra ottiene una cassa invidiabile che, forse, in questo momento non ha nessuno. Come avete ponderato la scelta? 
«Non siamo usciti dal mercato americano perché non ci siamo mai stati. In Verizon avevamo un investimento finanziario e se il brand Vodafone è oggi in America è grazie all'acquisizione di Cable&Wireless. L'investimento in Verizon ha quintuplicato il valore da quando lo abbiamo fatto. Anche Verizon migliora il suo profilo di cassa e utili grazie a una transazione che riporta loro concentrati sull'America e noi sull'Europa e sui mercati emergenti». 

In questo processo di consolidamento Vodafone è già in posizione per diventare la At&t europea? 
«Non direi che vogliamo diventare la At&t perché sembra che abbiamo bisogno di copiare le loro strategie. Siamo già l'operatore europeo per eccellenza e siamo molto forti anche in India, Africa e Oceania». 

Corriere della Sera

G20 «Siamo divisi a metà», ha detto infatti Putin.

In una dichiarazione diffusa al termine del G20, 11 Paesi (Australia, Canada, Francia, Italia, Giappone, Corea del Sud, Arabia Saudita, Spagna, Turchia, Gran Bretagna e Stati Uniti) «condannano l'attacco con armi chimiche avvenuto a Damasco il 21 agosto e di cui il regime di Assad viene ritenuto responsabile». Il documento è firmato anche dall'Italia.
 Nel documento - redatto a margine del G20 a San Pietroburgo, Russia - si «condanna in modo categorico l'orribile attacco» effettuato usando gas nocivi lo scorso 21 agosto alle porte della capitale siriana Damasco. «Le prove indicano che è il governo siriano (guidato dal presidente Bashar al-Assad) ad esserne il responsabile». I leader dei Paesi firmatari «invitano a una forte risposta internazionale a questa grave violazione delle regole, consapevoli che un chiaro messaggio verrà inviato» ossia che «questo tipo di atrocità non può mai più ripetersi. Coloro che hanno commesso questi crimini devono rispondere» delle loro azioni.
Alla fine del G20 il tanto atteso faccia a faccia tra Putin e Obama è avvenuto. Una discussione di 20 minuti, terminata però, con un nulla di fatto. Non ci sono posizioni che convergono, ha spiegato il leader russo nella conferenza stampa a lavori conclusi. E nel caso di un attacco a Damasco, Mosca sarà pronta a portare i suoi aiuti in difesa della Siria: «Stiamo già aiutando, inviamo armi, cooperiamo nella sfera economica, auspichiamo di estendere tale cooperazione al settore umanitario, che include l'invio di aiuti umanitari e il sostegno delle persone e dei civili».

«L'applicazione della forza nei confronti di uno Stato sovrano è possibile solo per autodifesa e con il mandato Onu, e non è questo il caso. Come già detto, chi agisce in modo unilaterale viola la legge internazionale , ha precisato il presidente russo facendo poi l'elenco dei paesi contrari all'intervento: «Cina, Argentina, Italia e Brasile», oltre a India e Indonesia. Putin ha incluso, in qualche modo, anche il Vaticano tra i contrari all'attacco, definendo «importante» il messaggio inviato dal Papa in questo senso. A favore di un'azione militare, ha aggiunto il capo del Cremlino, si sono espresse Usa, Canada, Turchia e Sud Corea. I due presidenti antagonisti sono d'accordo a continuare le trattative con i rispettivi ministri degli esteri.

Corriere della Sera

Azerbaijan Oil and Gas Poduction and projects

Azerbaijan, a resource-rich South Caucasus republic, forecasts growth in the oil and gas output over the long term in the backdrop of the implementation of large-scale energy projects.

The Industry and Energy Ministry announced that currently the country's proven gas reserves are at the level of 2.6 trillion cubic meters, while the oil reserves amount to 2 billion tons.

The cited indicators ensure future development of the gas industry in Azerbaijan for a period exceeding 100 years.
According to the projections, the country's oil production will hit 51 million tons in 2015.
Gas production will amount to 27.54 billion cubic meters in 2013, 29.39 billion cubic meters in 2014, and 30.19 billion cubic meters in 2015.

Azerbaijan is an important current and future supplier of both oil and natural gas. The country's largest hydrocarbon deposits are located in the Caspian Sea, particularly, the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli (ACG) block of oil and gas fields and Shah Deniz gas field.

Source: Azernews

Panasonic veut convaincre de sa renaissance

Coincée entre les annonces attendues de Sony et  de Samsung, celle de Panasonic n'a pas eu beaucoup de retentissements, jeudi 5 septembre, au Salon international consacré à l'électronique grand public de Berlin. Le groupe y présentait un téléviseur 4K, une technologie d'ultra-haute définition, ainsi qu'une tablette géante de 20 pouces de diagonale principalement destinée au marché professionne.

Pour la période allant d'avril à juin, l'ancien fleuron de l'électronique a enregistré un résultat net de 107,8 milliards de yen (800 millions d'euros), contre 12,8 milliards une année auparavant. Le groupe devrait même finir l'année dans le vert pour la première fois en trois ans.

Pour en arriver là, Panasonic s'est lancé dans des opérations de restructuration sans précédent. En trois ans le groupe s'est séparé de pas moins de 92 000 salariés, enregistrant au passage 236 milliards de yens d'économie entre 2012 et 2013.

Autre explication de la santé retrouvée de Panasonic : le cours du yen. La dépréciation de la monnaie nippone voulue par le gouvernement a, entre autres, permis à plusieurs géants industriels de sortir la tête de l'eau.

  Mais surtout a l'arrivé à la tête du groupe de Kazuhiro Tsuga,en juin 2012.

"L'entreprise est en train de changer fondamentalement. M. Tsuga l'a réorganisée et a décidé d'abandonner d'ici à 2015 toutes les activités qui ne réaliseraient pas au moins 5 % de marge", déclare-t-il.

"Aujourd'hui, ce sont surtout les activités professionnelles qui sont en croissance, explique M. Abadie,président directeur général de Panasonic Europe, nous fournissons par exemple les batteries de voitures électriques ou encore les écrans de divertissement pour les avions, sur lesquels nous sommes leader, avec 70 % de part de marché". Panasonic possède en outre des activités fructueuses dans la domotique et dans l'énergie.

Elle garde une présence dans le segment electonique grand public, mais a compris que ses relais de croissance étaient dans des secteurs comme l'énergie ou encore l'automobile.

Source: Le Monde

Le président de la BCE, Mario Draghi:les taux directeurs de la BCE resteraient bas "pour une période prolongée".

Le 4 juillet, le Romain a dévoilé que les taux directeurs de la BCE resteraient bas"pour une période prolongée". C'est ce qu'on appelle la forward guidance, ou le "pilotage des anticipations".

C'est une révolution pour cette institution qui, jusque-là, refusait de lâcher le moindre indice sur sa stratégie. M. Draghi emprunte là le même chemin que la Réserve fédérale américaine (Fed) et la Banque d'Angleterre (BoE), converties à ce type de communication depuis le début de la crise. "Les banquiers centraux ne se sont jamais montrés aussi transparents avec les marchés", souligne Fabrice Montagné, économiste chez Barclays.

En vérité, la BCE n'a pas vraiment eu le choix. Lorsqu'en mai la Fed, prenant acte de la reprise outre-Atlantique, a annoncé qu'elle allait stopper ses rachats massifs d'actifs, les investisseurs ont misé sur une remontée des taux américains à long terme. Et dans la foulée, sur celle des taux européens puisqu'en général le redémarrage du Vieux Continent suit de quelques mois celui des Etats-Unis.

  La crise de la dette a laissé de telles séquelles que la croissance en zone euro ne devrait pas significativement repartir avant 2015.

 Une remontée trop rapide des taux aurait pu replonger l'Espagne, le Portugal ou l'Italie dans la tourmente... Voilà pourquoi, afin de la stopper net et de modifier les anticipations des marchés, M. Draghi s'est résolu à annoncer qu'il ne changerait pas de politique avant des mois. Avec succès : les taux européens se sont détendus.

 Le défi de M. Draghi s'annonce délicat. Il va devoir faire comprendreaux investisseurs que la forward guidance à l'européenne ne répliquera pas à la lettre celle des Etats-Unis.

D'autant que la forward guidance, malgré ses atouts, n'évitera peut-être pas à la BCE de prendre de nouvelles mesures.

Source: Le Monde

Syrie : le dîner du G20 qui confirme les divisions internationales

Les dirigeants des vingt plus grandes puissances se sont retrouvées à Saint-Pétersbourg, jeudi 5 septembre, pour le premier dîner d'un G20 à l'agenda bouleversé par la Syrie. Après plusieurs jours d'échanges à distance, la tension est encore montée d'un cran entre François Hollande et Barack Obama d'un côté – qui accusent le régime de Bachar Al-Assad d'avoir tué des centaines de civils avec des armes chimiques et plaident pour une intervention militaire –,  et le président russe, Vladimir Poutine, de l'autre, qui maintient son veto.

Ce dîner n'a finalement pu que "confirmer la division" sur la Syrie, a estimé, sur Twitter, le chef du gouvernement italien Enrico Letta .

Le plus petit dénominateur commun trouvé par les leaders du G20 aura été la simple condamnation générale de l'usage des armes chimiques. "La question pour certains était de savoir qui avait utilisé ces armes chimiques. Poutine n'y répond pas. Il dit 'les uns ou les autres et sans doute les uns et les autres'", selon une source diplomatique française.

Le président américain avait, plus tôt, estimé que les leaders mondiaux devraient"admettre que l'utilisation d'armes chimiques en Syrie n'était pas seulement une tragédie, mais aussi une violation du droit international qui devait être réglée".

Peu avant ce dîner, Mme Merkel a rendu une visite impromptue à François Hollande, venant défendre en tête-à-tête sa position, partagée par la majorité écrasante des Européens : le rejet de toute intervention militaire qui serait conduite sans l'aval de l'ONU et la priorité absolue accordée à la voie politique.

Source: Le Monde

Precious Metals Prices 8.24 a.m. Eastern Time

Gold Price Futures     US$   1,383.04

Silver Price Futures    US$       23.81

The real Employment Situation in the U.S., August 2013

THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION -- AUGUST 2013


Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 169,000 in August, and
the unemployment rate was little changed at 7.3 percent, the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment rose in retail
trade and health care but declined in information.

Household Survey Data

Both the number of unemployed persons, at 11.3 million, and the
unemployment rate, at 7.3 percent, changed little in August. The
jobless rate is down from 8.1 percent a year ago. (See table A-1.)

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men
(7.1 percent), adult women (6.3 percent), teenagers (22.7 percent),
whites (6.4 percent), blacks (13.0 percent), and Hispanics (9.3
percent) showed little change in August. The jobless rate for Asians
was 5.1 percent (not seasonally adjusted), little changed from a year
earlier. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

In August, the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27
weeks or more) was about unchanged at 4.3 million. These individuals
accounted for 37.9 percent of the unemployed. Over the past 12 months,
the number of long-term unemployed has declined by 733,000. (See 
table A-12.) 

The civilian labor force participation rate edged down to 63.2 percent
in August. The employment-population ratio, at 58.6 percent, was
essentially unchanged. (See table A-1.)

The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons
(sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) declined by
334,000 to 7.9 million in August. These individuals were working part
time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable
to find a full-time job. (See table A-8.)

In August, 2.3 million persons were marginally attached to the labor
force, down by 219,000 from a year earlier. (The data are not
seasonally adjusted.) These individuals were not in the labor force,
wanted and were available for work, and had looked for a job sometime
in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed because
they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey.
(See table A-16.)

Among the marginally attached, there were 866,000 discouraged workers
in August, essentially unchanged from a year earlier. (The data are
not seasonally adjusted.) Discouraged workers are persons not
currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available
for them. The remaining 1.5 million persons marginally attached to the
labor force in August had not searched for work for reasons such as
school attendance or family responsibilities. 

Source: United States Department of Labor

              Bureau of labor Statitistics

Precious Metals Prices 11.26 p.m. Eastern time

Gold Price Futures      3 months   US$  1,370.19

Silver Price Futures    3 months    US$       23.18

BOJ chief Kuroda supports planned sales tax hike

Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda on Thursday signaled his support for a planned two-stage consumption tax rise starting next year, saying it will be "extremely difficult" for the central bank to deal with a potential fall in government bond prices if the government postpones the hike.

Kuroda expressed the view after the central bank upgraded its assessment of the Japanese economy for the first time in two months, stating it "is recovering moderately" on the back of a revival in corporate spending and solid consumer spending amid improving employment and income conditions.

It was the first time since autumn 2008 that the BOJ has used the term "recovering" in describing the state of the nation's economy.

Honda unveils world's most fuel-efficient HV

Officials at Honda Motor have unveiled what they're calling the world's most fuel-efficient hybrid vehicle.

The new Fit compact car can travel more than 36 kilometers on a single liter of gasoline. That's a 35-percent improvement from the previous version.

Officials say the Fit gets the best gas mileage of any hybrid in the world, beating out Toyota's Aqua model.

Honda engineers boosted the car's fuel efficiency with a system that can automatically link and un-link the electric motor and the gasoline engine, switching among 3 different drive modes.

The EV Drive uses the electric motor only, the Engine Drive uses the gasoline engine only and the Hybrid Drive uses both the motor and gasoline engine.

Chinese county's fake economic data exposed

 China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Thursday announced it had uncovered a serious case involving the faking of economic data by a county government in southwest China's Yunnan Province.

According to the NBS's publicized report, the government of Luliang had coerced local companies to report inflated industrial output value, resulting in artificially high economic figures.

Twenty-eight sampled local companies reported a total of 6.34 billion yuan (1.03 billion U.S. dollars) in industrial output value in 2012; however, the actual value was only 2.82 billion yuan, based on initial calculation, according to the report.

Similarly, 25 sampled local companies reported 2.74 billion yuan of industrial output value in the first half of 2013, but the NBS initially verified the actual value to be only 1.06 billion yuan.

Meanwhile, the county was also found to have faked investment data.

China resumes treasury futures trading after 18-year halt

 China re-launched trade of its treasury bond futures on Friday, 18 years after banning it following a series of irregularity cases.

The trading, which started on the Shanghai-based China Financial Futures Exchange, offered three 5-year treasury bond contracts, for December 2013, March 2014 and June 2014.

The Chinese President urged world's major economies to put their houses in order

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday urged Group of 20 (G20) members to build a closer partnership to shore up the world economy.

For that purpose, the world's major economies should first adopt a responsible macroeconomic policy, he said in a speech delivered at the eighth G20 summit in this Russian city.

All major economic entities have a minimum duty of keeping their own house in order, Xi said, adding that they also need to improve communication and coordination on macroeconomic policy.

China, he added, has realized that it has to advance structural reforms in order to solve the problems hindering its long-term economic development, even though it would mean slower growth.

Meanwhile, the Chinese president urged G20 members to jointly maintain and promote the openness of the world economy and oppose all forms of trade protectionism.

G20 members, he added, should bolster a free, open and non-discriminatory multilateral trade system, and try to improve global investment rules.

Relevant parties should speed up the implementation of the reforms of the International Monetary Fund, and step up supervision on international financial markets to make the financial system truly rely on, serve and promote the development of the real economy.

He also proposed to enhance the connection among international and regional financial cooperation mechanisms and establish a firewall against financial risks.

The Chinese president also urged all G20 members to increase the quality of their economic growth and enhance their competitiveness via structural reforms.

They should also balance their own interests with the interests of others and build a global marketplace that can bring benefits to all, Xi said

G20 leaders adopt St. Petersburg development strategy

Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose country holds the rotating presidency of G20 this year and plays the host to the 2013 G20 Summit, told fellow summiteers that though situation had improved thanks to measures taken by G20 member states, it is still too early to become complacent and the group's main task is to bring back sustainable and balanced growth to the global economy.

"Unfortunately, this problem has not yet been resolved; systemic risks and conditions conducive to the recurrence of an acute crisis persist," said President Putin. "Just recently the IMF lowered its 2013 global growth forecast to 3.1 percent. Even though a year ago its estimates hovered around the 4-percent mark. The U.S. economy is growing, something that certainly makes us all very happy. Unfortunately, (the U.S.) growth is still not as fast as we would like."

As the rotating chair, Russia has prioritized quality jobs creation, transparency and trust and effective regulation as the pillars of the G20 development strategy.

The G20 leaders held their first working meeting Thursday, with one more scheduled for Friday before they should work out and announce a joint declaration.

At his summary briefing of the first day events at the St. Petersburg G20 Leaders' Summit, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told the press that summiteers at St. Petersburg had reached consensus to wind up short-money and to promote long-money instead.

Within G20, short money may mean supportive grants while long money means meaningful investment in development-oriented infrastructure.

"We all understand that policies that amount to giving away free money cannot continue indefinitely. So now our partners are beginning to remove non-standard financial and economic policy measures, and this may affect both the status of key global risks and the economies of other countries. As a matter of fact, we know that they are already affected," said Putin.

"We need to monitor constantly, predict possible consequences, and adopt additional preventive measures in a timely fashion at both national and global levels.

Syrian Hell: Why We Must Not Forget the Lessons from Bosnia

Giving the right approach to the events of  the civil war in Syria,in an article published  today in the
Spiegel online,says that the truth is that this conflict is not like the Afghanistan or the Iraq wars. These conflicts stand for Western hubris, for the insolubility of some religious and ethnic conflicts, for the danger of a "slippery slope," in which even a minor, short-term military engagement may end up lasting for years.
  But the reality is that the Syrian conflict looks like more to the 1990's conflict in the Balkans. What did this conflict taught us, is "that in certain circumstances it may be necessary to consider the limited use of military means in order to force a diplomatic solution  and thus peace".
  The events in Syria look more like the Bosnia conflict than  of Afghanistan and Iraq.
A first similarity of the Syrian  with the Balkans conflict is the inability to get both parties together around a negotiation table to get a political solution to the civil war.
  "Syria's president Bashar al-Assad sees no obligation at present to negotiate seriously. As long as he is convinced that his situation could continue to improve over the course of the conflict, or that he could even resolve the war in his favor, he will continue the fight. The international community needs to change this calculation if it wants to reach a political solution".
  "The Syrian opposition is now trying to counteract the material supremacy of the Assad regime, which is being supplied by Moscow and Tehran and massively supported by Hezbollah. It is only a slight exaggeration to observe that the only ones who have hardly received any support at all are the moderates within the Syrian opposition. That these forces would wither is to be expected and herein lies the real tragedy of Western failure".
 Besides,only an American-Russian entente can lead to successful diplomacy as part of a necessary contact group.
 In Syria,  we have unfortunately probably passed the point at which an intervention may have been justified, useful, and possible with reasonable means. And, as sad as it is, the general public in the West almost seems to have become accustomed to reports of massacres in Syria.
  "The risk of a regional "conflagration," of which German opponents of intervention have frequently warned, has long since become reality, without a doubt also because of our inaction. We are looking at a disintegrating country with chemical weapons in the heart of the world's most unstable region. Syria has become a rallying place for jihadists from around the world".
  "One of the great achievements of international politics and international law after the genocides of the 20th century was precisely the idea that the international community could not just ignore its responsibility, and should even take military action in extreme cases of mass atrocities. A number of years ago, the UN General Assembly endorsed this new principle, which limits national sovereignty as traditionally understood, as the "responsibility to protect" (R2P). Without a doubt, this signified progress in terms of the modern Western understanding of human rights and international law".
  Looking at Syrian conflict without intervention  "would be a step backward for the capacity of the international community to secure peace through the United Nations. For the West, it would be more than that. It would be a declaration of bankruptcy, both moral and political".

Wolfgang Ischinger

Spiegel Online

Chinese Yuan in the top 10 traded currencies

The Chinese Yuan is now in the top 10 traded currencies.
In a rapidly growing global currencies business, which the BIS said now generates $5.3 trillion a day in flows, up from $4 trillion in 2010, the yuan climbed to ninth place from 17th. Offshore trading in the currency drove this expansion, the BIS said in its report of the survey, which was carried out in April.
Since China made Hong Kong its first offshore trading center for its currency in 2009, competition has been fierce among global and regional financial hubs to become the next city to host a landmark experiment that aims to make the yuan a serious rival to the dollar's supremacy in global trade. Singapore and London have emerged as the leading candidates, with Tokyo, Sydney, Luxembourg and Kuala Lumpur also vying for a spot.
 "Trading volumes are increasing not only from corporate clients off the back of global trade but also from the investor community." analysts say.
Source: The Wall Street Journal

G-20 Economic Agenda

    - Measures to fight tax evasion by multinational companies .
    -  An initiative will be presented to leaders on refining regulation of the $630-trillion global market for            financial derivatives to prevent a possible markets blow-up.

    -  Steps to give the so-called 'shadow banking' sector until 2015 to comply with new global rules will              also be discussed.

    -  The emerging economies in the BRICS group - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - urged          the G20 to boost global demand and ensure that any changes in monetary policy are well flagged to          minimize any disruptive "spillovers" that may result.

    -  The appeal reflected the concerns among developing nations The BRICS also agreed to contribute          $100 billion to a joint currency reserve pool. China will commit $41 billion; Brazil, India and Russia            $18 billion each; and South Africa $5 billion.

Precious Metals Prices 11.17 a.m. Eastern time

Gold Price   3 months     US$  1,367.73

Silver price  3 months     US$      23.19

The Group of 20 is divided over Syria

The Group of 20 is divided over Syria. Obama faced mounting pressure from world leaders to
prevent the U.S. military strike in Syria.
Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to use the meeting in a seafront tsarist palace to talk Obama out of military action against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad over a chemical weapons attack which Washington blames on government forces.

The first round at the summit went to Putin as China, the European Union and Pope Francis - in a letter for G20 leaders - aligned themselves more closely with him than with Obama over the possibility and legitimacy of armed intervention.

"Military action would have a negative impact on the global economy, especially on the oil price - it will cause a hike in the oil price," Chinese Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao told a briefing.

Source: Reuters

Precious Metals Prices 8.46 a.m. Eastern Time

Gold Price Futures     3 months     US$  1,390.01

Silver Price Futures    3 months    US$       23.41

U.S. Economic Indicators for today

Chain Store Sales

The handful of chain stores that continue to post monthly sales results hint at a bit of weakness for core August retail sales. A bit more chains report declining year-on-year sales rates in the month than in July, though again the sample is extremely small. Chains are holding to prior guidance with a couple describing August sales as consistent with trend. Core sales, that is ex-auto ex-gas, rose 0.4 percent in July after no change in June. Challenger Job-Cut Report Weakness in global mining demand tripped a surge of layoffs in the industrial goods sector and made for a 50,462 headline total for August layoff intentions. This is the highest total since February and compares with 37,701 in July and 32,239 in August last year. Layoffs in industrial goods came in at 22,162 for a 19,811 gain from July and the highest total since the heavy layoff days of January 2009. But outside of this one sector, layoffs were no heavier than prior months. ADP Employment Report ADP reports a slowing rise for private payroll growth, to 176,000 in August vs July's downwardly revised rise of 198,000. This is right on Econoday expectations for sizable slowing, to 177,000 vs ADP's initial July reading of 200,000. The slowing contrasts with Econoday expectations for Friday's nonfarm payroll headline which includes government workers. Non-farm payrolls are expected to show modest improvement, to 175,000 vs July's 162,000.  Jobless Claims Jobless claims are moving lower to indicate health in the employment sector. Initial claims fell 9,000 in the August 31 week to a 323,000 level that is 7,000 below the Econoday consensus and very near a recovery low. Initial claims in the prior week are revised slightly higher to 332,000. The 4-week average is at a recovery low, down 3,000 to 328,500 from a revised 331,500 in the prior week. The average has been trending about 10,000 lower from July levels which points to monthly improvement in the jobs market. Continuing claims tell the same story. Continuing claims for the August 24 week, which are the latest available data, fell 43,000 to 2.951 million with the 4-week average down 18,000 to 2.980 million. Both of these levels are very near recovery lows while the unemployment for insured workers remains at a recovery low of 2.3 percent. Falling jobless claims do not necessarily point to new hiring but they do offer assurance that economic conditions are improving. There are no special factors at play in today's results. Market Consensus before announcement Initial jobless claims in the August 24 week fell 6,000 to 331,000 versus a revised 337,000 in the prior week. The 4-week average rose slightly to 331,250, after a revised 330,500 in the prior week. But a comparison with the month-ago trend shows a roughly 10,000 decline. Source: Econoday