Cross-border e-commerce allows more people to benefit from FTZ

The Shanghai Free Trade Zone is exactly 100 days old on Monday. While most pilot programs only take place within the trial area, the launch of a cross-border e-commerce service allows a wider population to enjoy the FTZ's benefits.

From bags to cosmetics, clothes to food, quite a lot of Chinese consumers are fond of foreign products. While many made purchases through third-party delivery companies or individual online vendors, some were worried about the authenticity and lawfulness of these products.

Seeing the market opportunity, the Shanghai Free Trade Zone launched the country's first cross-border e-commerce platform called "kuajingtong.com" last month. Kuajingtong says products sold on its platform are generally 30 percent cheaper than those in retail stores. Although it's difficult for the platform to beat individual vendors who can offer even lower prices, the company’s CEO says he’s confident about the platform’s competing strengths.

"Kuajigntong can guarantee the authenticity of the products with fast delivery, reasonable pricing, after-sale services and transparent taxes. I think we are changing the cross-border e-commerce industry by providing consumers with new shopping experiences," Yan Jing, CEO of Shanghai Kuajingtong International Co., says.

Yan Jing says the key to achieve these goals is to sign agreements with payment, logistics and retail companies while reaching deals with major global e-commerce giants such as eBay and Amazon. Consumers will still have to pay customs duties for their purchases, but they will be able to save money.

"Compared to the old model, the products are already in the Free Trade Zone, so consumers only need to pay customs and mail duties. This reduces logistic costs," a Shanghai Customs staff says.

The company Kuajingtong says China's cross-border e-commerce exceeded 48 billion yuan, or 8 billion US dollars in 2012. It expects the market to have grown by more than 50 percent in 2013.

Source: CCTV

Shanghai FTZ's telecom to allow higher foreign investment

Telecommunications sectors within the Shanghai Free Trade Zone will be able to attract higher proportions of foreign investment.

The Ministry of Information and Technology and the Shanghai government announced on Monday that they will remove restrictions on foreign investment in value added services such as app stores, call centers and network access. In e-commerce services, they will allow foreign investment to go as high as 55 percent, and VPN services 50%.

Source: CCTV

Japan's whisky makers drum up global market for their drams

After years of being overshadowed at home and practically unheard of overseas, Japan's whisky distilleries are expanding capacity as their malts become serious contenders against Scottish and Irish brands.

Exports are booming at Nikka, owned by Asahi Group Holdings, and at Suntory Holdings, which is ramping up production at its Yamazaki distillery for the first time in 45 years as domestic sales recover from a prolonged slump.

But some are concerned the distilleries may be caught out if the enthusiasm for whisky changes as it did in the 1990s, when several smaller players shut down as Japanese drinkers shifted to beer, clear spirits and imported liquor.

"At the moment, no one can see this boom busting. The difficulty is that you're making it today for 20 or 50 years' time," said Marcin Miller, an importer of small-batch Japanese whisky with his British company Number One Drinks.

The drop in demand during the 1990s meant Suntory and Nikka had to cut production, industry experts say, leaving distilleries with a shortage of stock for their youngest single malts when whisky made a comeback in 2008.

Last year, Suntory stopped making its 10-year Yamazaki and Hakushu single malts and introduced "no age" versions. Nikka is expected to phase out its 12-year Taketsuru single malt after releasing a "no age" variety this year.

The slump had more a serious impact on minor distilleries such as Karuizawa, Mars and Hanyu. All three were mothballed by 2000 and their stock left dormant until a run of international awards for Japanese whisky brought buyers knocking.

Source: Reuters

Bluefin tuna price slumps at Japan auction

A giant bluefin tuna sold at a Japanese auction on Sunday for less than five percent of the record-breaking sum paid last year amid concerns over soaring prices for the prized delicacy.

The 230-kilogram (507-pound) bluefin tuna was purchased at the Tsukiji market's first auction of the year for 7.36 million yen ($70,000), significantly down from the 155.4 million yen paid for a fish of similar quality in 2013 -- slipping below 10 million yen for the first time in five years.Bluefin is usually the most expensive fish available at Tsukiji, the biggest fish and wholesale seafood market in the world.
A piece of "otoro", or the fatty underbelly, can cost up to 2,000 yen at high-end Tokyo restaurants.
The winning bidder, Kiyoshi Kimura, president of the company that runs the popular Sushi-Zanmai chain, said the quality of the fish was as good as last year's, telling reporters: "It's the best."
The price decline was in part due to the greater number of bluefins available from Oma, the northern Japanese city that is a top site for tuna fishing.

Source: NewsOnJapan

China's growth softens slightly at year-end

China's latest economic figures, especially the purchasing managers' index (PMI) in both factory activity and the services sector, indicated sagging momentum in December, with the country's growth softening slightly last quarter, economists said.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is scheduled, later this month, to release China's macroeconomic data for the fourth quarter and the entire year of 2013, such as gross domestic product (GDP) growth, industrial production, retail sales and fixed-asset investment.

China's economy expanded by 7.7 percent in the first nine months of 2013. GDP growth in the third quarter accelerated to 7.8 percent from 7.5 percent in the second.

On Dec. 25, a report submitted by the State Council (cabinet) to the country's parliament said China's economic growth in 2013 is likely to stand at 7.6 percent. That would be the weakest growth since 1999.

DECLINING PMIs IN DECEMBER

The PMI for the non-manufacturing sector, a key measure of business activity in the services sector, fell to a four-month low at 54.6 in December, as most industries strived to find new growth engines amid slowing exports.

The figure was released on Friday by the NBS and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP). The federation's vice chairman Cai Jin attributed the drop mainly to a slowdown in the construction and service sectors near the end of the year.

Earlier on Wednesday, NBS and CFLP said that the PMI for the manufacturing sector, a key measure of factory activity, had dropped to 51 in December, the lowest since August of 2013.

A HSBC survey, released on Thursday, showed the final reading of China's manufacturing PMI dropped to 50.5 in December from 50.8 in November, mainly due to slower output growth.

According to the HSBC survey, the subindex of new export orders declined for the first time since August.

Though a reading above 50 indicates expansion, falling PMIs in December reflected a fourth-quarter cooldown in both factory activity and business activity in the services sector.

Source: Xinhua

Japan: Luxury grab-bag sales surge

Grab bags of diamonds and electronics flew off the shelves during Japan's New Year sales, as the nation's continuing economic recovery whetted consumer appetite for spending.

Thousands waited in line at department stores in the cold around the country for the first store openings on Jan. 1 and 2 before elbowing and screaming to get at the so-called lucky bags. Some stores opened early to meet the larger-than-expected demand in an apparent sign of the feel-good factor of Japan's recovery after a year of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's pro-growth "Abenomics" policies.

The bags are a New Year's tradition in Japan. Retailers stuff products in boxes or paper bags and sell them at a generous discount. Customers don't know what specific goodies are inside, but they do know they will be saving on the regular retail price and that some of the bags contain hugely discounted items for the lucky few. Their popularity rests on a kind of reverse psychology that drives people to spend money in the name of saving money. They hope to acquire luxury items at a steal, a seasonal portent for a year of good fortune.

Apple Inc.AAPL -2.20% sold good luck bags for ¥36,000 ($345) at Apple Stores this year, some of which included 11-inch laptops that usually sell for ¥98,800 in Japan.

Department store Mitsukoshi's Nihonbashi branch in Tokyo offered five ¥105,000 grab bags with diamond pendants and earrings, as well as nearly 4,000 bags priced at ¥1,050 containing various food items.

Source: NewsOnJapan

Harry Potter wizard invoked again as Japan hits back at China

The diplomatic bickering between Japan and China has descended into name-calling in the British press, with claim and counter-claim by the countries' ambassadors invoking the fictional evil wizard of the Harry Potter series, Lord Voldemort.

In an opinion piece published in Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper on Monday, Tokyo's envoy to London, Keiichi Hayashi compared Beijing to the villain of JK Rowling's multi-million selling books.

"East Asia is now at a crossroads. There are two paths open to China," he wrote.

"One is to seek dialogue, and abide by the rule of law. The other is to play the role of Voldemort in the region by letting loose the evil of an arms race and escalation of tensions, although Japan will not escalate the situation from its side," he said.

"The answer seems obvious. Although China has so far refused to enable dialogue between our leaders, I sincerely hope that it will come forward, rather than keep invoking the ghost of 'militarism' of seven decades ago, which no longer exists," Hayashi wrote.

Asia's two biggest economies have long endured a difficult relationship characterised by disagreements on a wide range of issues, many of which are tied to bitter memories of violence in Asia by Japanese soldiers before and during World War II.

But ties have plunged since Tokyo nationalised a set of disputed islands in East China Sea in 2012, fuelling nationalism in both nations that has seen paramilitary ships and planes from both sides involved in regular standoffs around the isles.

Hayashi's letter was an apparent response to an earlier op-ed - also invoking Voldemort - published by the paper on January 1 by Liu Xiaoming, Chinese ambassador to London.

In the letter, Liu harshly criticised Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's recent visit to Tokyo's controversial Yasukuni war shrine, which honours Japanese war dead, including men convicted of serious war crimes in the wake of Japan's 1945 World War II defeat.

Source: Daily Telegraph

China FTA talks: Ways to further tap into global trade system

The Chinese Government sees Free Trade Agreements as a new platform to further opening up to the outside by speeding up domestic reforms, and to strengthen economic cooperation with other economies.

Currently, China has 18 FTA partners comprising of 31 economies, among which 12 Agreements have been signed already. 6 negotiations are underway, between China and South Korea, Gulf Cooperation Council, Australia and Norway, as well as China-Japan-South Korea trilateral trade talk.

Source: CCTV

China's Spring Festival shopping season begins

Not only the price is rising, but the holiday shopping fever is also heating up. According to the Chinese Zodiac 12-animal system, it is the year of the horse this year. And horse-themed products are galloping out of stores. Many Chinese vendors are putting horse toys, decorations and mascots in the most eye-catching spots.

Lovely horses, on fabrics, on paper, and on gold: small vendors in the East Chinese Jiangsu Province, is embracing the traditional lunar new year shopping season.

Consumers believe that adding horse elements to their home decorations and personal accessories, brings joy and luck.

"I'm shopping for a horse shaped pendant for my son. I hope that he will grow into a hardworking person like a horse," consumer Yang Jie says.

In the meantime, new year stamps are in hot demand. Many collectors are anticipating horse-themed stamps to complete their 12 zodiac collection. The price of each horse-themed 2014 stamp has risen by 9 times the usual price.

Across the pond, sales of lucky money notes for the year of the horse kicked off last month in Washington DC.

It's the peak shopping season for the Chinese community around the world.

Source:  CCTV

Prices rise as Chinese New Year approaches

China's traditional lunar New Year is approaching. And consumer prices are on the rise as festivity-related demands such as family reunion dinners and self-rewards prompt up consumption.

China's lunar new year is still a month away, but you can already feel the New Year atmosphere in the retail and the wholesale sectors.

In Jiangsu Province, one of China's major agricultural producing regions, prices of both vegetables and meat are rising.

"Bamboo shoots are sold for 15 yuan per 500 grams. But the cost has increased to 12 yuan. It's hard for me to profit," a vegetable store keeper from Changshu City of Jiangsu Province says.

Due to the cold weather and soaring demand, meat prices have seen a fast rise as well. Aquatic products also become popular as a part of the New Year feast. Meanwhile, the sales of special local products are heating up too.

"The local products pack sells best, which includes many cheap but high-quality organic foods. People prefer to take some to their families for the New Years," a local products store owner in Suqian City of Jiangsu Province says.

But not all goods prices are increasing. Some high-end healthcare products lost their glamour to consumers this year. By contrast, low-and-medium end ones sell better.

"The sales of the low-and-medium products have increased about 30 to 40 percent than before," a healthcare salesperson says.

As the most important holidays in China, the traditional New Year is seen as a consumption generator. According to the Ministry of Commerce, the retail and catering sales reached nearly 540 billion yuan, or 90 billion U.S. dollars during last year's Spring Festival. And a similar trend is expected this year as well.

Source: CCTV

Samsung Electronics braces for weakest year of smartphone growth

 Samsung Electronics Co Ltd is bracing for its weakest smartphone profit growth this year since 2007 as arch rival Apple Inc challenges its domination in China's $80 billion market.

Samsung's mobile devices business, which earns two thirds of the company's profit, will come under pressure when Apple makes its phones available from January 17 via China Mobile Ltd, through which Samsung has been selling smartphones for around seven years.

Apple is also widely expected to sell smartphones with larger screens come autumn when it traditionally announces products, neutralizing a selling point that Samsung has enjoyed since introducing its Galaxy Note in late 2011.

Operating profit at Samsung's mobile devices division is likely to grow by a low single digit or to shrink mildly in 2014, after increasing its size by eight times over the past five years, according to a Thomson Reuters' Starmine SmartEstimate of 23 analysts, which gives greater weighting to the more accurate analysts.

Samsung, the world's biggest smartphone maker with a third of the market, will release October-December earnings guidance on Tuesday which will likely show operating profit growth of 10 percent at 9.75 trillion won ($9.24 billion), according to Starmine.

That would be 4 percent less than the record 10.2 trillion won of July-September as Apple enjoyed buoyant sales in the United States and Japan during the year-end holiday season.

Fourth-quarter earnings were also likely pulled down by a special bonus related to the 20th anniversary of the "New Management" strategy of Chairman Lee Kun-hee, which analyst estimates put at 300 billion to 700 billion won.

Samsung is the biggest smartphone vendor in China with sales reaching around 70 million units last year, or 20 percent of its total shipments, analysts estimate.

But Apple's China Mobile incursion and possible larger screen offerings could cut sales of Samsung's latest Galaxy S and Note series by 3 percent this year, BNP Paribas estimates. The iPhone is widely perceived in China as a gold standard for high-end products, analysts say.

"We think one of the key reasons Samsung has managed to take market share from Apple so far is its large-sized screen offerings," BNP analyst Peter Yu said in a note.

"However, this gap is likely to narrow if Apple launches large-screen phones in 2014. Unless Samsung further differentiates itself with flexible OLED (organic light-emitting diode) screens, it may lose some of these high-end customers."

The shares, worth $190 billion, fell 10 percent over the past fortnight to a 4-month low last week, wiping off market value to the tune of $19 billion - equal to the total value of shares of Sony Corp.

The won's rise to a five-year high against the U.S. dollar has also been prompting investors to sell, as a strong won reduces the value of Samsung's repatriated earnings.

A strong won is particularly troublesome for Samsung's components business, which generates around 30 percent of overall operating profit, because it primarily settles accounts in dollars, analysts said.

Samsung's brightest spot is its semiconductor unit, which brings in 20 percent of operating profit, and which enjoys growth estimates of around 42 percent this year.

Overall operating profit growth for 2014 is likely to be 6.2 percent, the slowest pace in three years, according to Starmine.

Source:  Reuters

Insight - Fuelled by Syria war, al Qaeda bursts back to life in Iraq

Al Qaeda gunmen seeking to form a radical Islamic state out of the chaos of Syria's civil war are fighting hard to reconquer the province they once controlled in neighbouring Iraq, stirring fears the conflict is exporting ever more instability.

Exploiting local grievances against Baghdad's rule and buoyed by al Qaeda gains in Syria, the fighters have taken effective control of Anbar's two main cities for the first time since U.S. occupation troops defeated them in 2006-07.

United States has pledged to help Baghdad quell the militant surge in Anbar -- although not with troops -- to stabilise a province that saw the heaviest fighting of the U.S. occupation.

Washington announced it was speeding up deliveries of military equipment to help Baghdad fight the gunmen. This would include missiles, surveillance drones and helicopters.

Al Qaeda's Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has a tough potential foe in Anbar's well-armed tribes, fellow Sunnis ill-disposed to ceding power to al Qaeda even if they share ISIL's hostility to the Shi'ite-led central government.

And the group's goal of creating a hardline Islamic state reaching into Syria is still seen by many as far-fetched.

But its high-profile push into Ramadi and Falluja illustrates the dangers of conflict spreading from Syria's three-year-old conflict, which is in part a proxy war between Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia and Shi'ite rival Iran, analysts say.

ISIL fighters operate in Syria as well, and recent setbacks for the group in the war there mean its Iraqi members may be all the more determined to secure gains in Anbar, analysts say.

"There is already a fierce geostrategic struggle unfolding in the Arab arena between Saudi Arabia and Iran. There is a real danger that all-out war in Iraq could pour more gasoline on this raging fire and destabilise fragile Arab countries."

The ISIL fighters are exploiting simmering Sunni anger against the Shi'ite-led government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in Baghdad, seen by many Sunnis as a high-handed autocrat beholden to Iran.

They are also making the most of rising sectarian sentiment around the region and a weakening of government control in those Arab countries most affected by the popular uprisings since 2011.

"Al Qaeda in Iraq, Syria and even in Lebanon basically appeals to a certain segment within Sunni public opinion that feels alienated, marginalised or persecuted,"said Fawaz Gerges, a Middle East expert at the London School of Economics.

Source: Reuters

Boeing remains top planemaker in 2013, loses on race for orders

 Boeing remained the world largest plane maker in 2013, but industry sources said it lost the race to log new orders to rival Airbus.

Boeing Co  said on Monday that it delivered a record 648 jetliners in 2013, topping Airbus  for the second year in a row and beating 2012 deliveries by 7.8 percent.

Airbus topped Boeing in new orders, however, according to two industry sources. Boeing said jetliner gross orders totalled 1,531 in 2013, a record, and net orders reached 1,355.

Airbus sales exceeded both of those numbers, the sources said on condition of anonymity, without giving further details.

Based on announcements of 98 orders since the end of November, Airbus has booked at least 1,471 gross orders and 1,412 net orders. The European planemaker typically unveils new orders with its final figures for the year, due January 13.

Investors keep close tabs on deliveries, since plane makers book the bulk of the revenue from airplane sales when the aircraft are handed over to customers.

But orders have had a growing impact on share prices in the past two years, as the world's dominant plane makers fought for sales of new fuel-efficient models. Plane orders also can produce large swings in company cash balances, because airlines make down payments when orders are placed.

Boeing's delivery tally topped its forecast of up to 645 jets for the year and was up from 601 last year. The tally also exceeded deliveries by rival Airbus (AIR.PA), one of the sources said.

Airbus delivered more than 625 aircraft in 2013, beating its target of up to 620 but lagging Boeing's total of 648 deliveries, the source said.

Boeing said it delivered 440 of its 737 single-aisle planes, 98 of its 777 widebody planes and 65 of its carbon-composite 787 Dreamliners, which are now in use with 16 customers.

The Chicago-based aerospace and defence company also delivered 24 of its 747 jumbo jets, and 21 of its 767 jets.

Boeing also delivered 171 military aircraft and satellites, up 11 percent from 154 in 2012. Boeing in October said it will close its C-17 military transport plane production, which is producing a steady 10 planes a year, due to lack of orders.

The order book for fighters also is tapering, and analysts say this could force closure of those production lines later this decade unless Boeing lands new orders.

Source: Reuters

'Polar' freeze grips United States, disrupting travel, business

A blast of Arctic air gripped the vast middle of the United States on Monday, bringing the coldest temperatures felt in two decades, causing at least four deaths, forcing businesses and schools to close and canceling thousands of flights.

Shelters for the homeless were overflowing and the weather threatened to briefly curtail some oil production in the severe cold described by some meteorologists as the "polar vortex" and dubbed by media as the "polar pig."

More than half the flights at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport were closed as fuel supplies froze, leaving crews unable to fill aircraft tanks. The afternoon temperature in Chicago was minus 12 Degrees Fahrenheit (minus 24 degrees C), making it colder than in areas of Antarctica, parts of which hovered around 32 F (0 C) during the southern hemisphere summer.Temperatures were 20 to 40 degrees F (11-22 degrees C) below average in parts of Montana, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan and Nebraska, according to the National Weather Service.

The Arctic air was moving toward the east coast where temperatures were expected to fall throughout Monday as low as 0 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 18 degrees Celsius) in some areas on Tuesday. The coldest temperatures in years and gusty winds were expected as far south as Brownsville, Texas and central Florida, the National Weather Service said.

The northeast saw unseasonably mild weather and rain, but authorities warned travelers to expect icy roads and sidewalks on Tuesday.

At least four weather-related deaths were reported. In northwest Missouri, a one-year-old boy died Monday when the vehicle he was riding in crashed into a snow plow on an icy highway, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

In oil fields from Texas to North Dakota and Canada, the severe cold threatened to disrupt traffic, strand wells and interrupt drilling and fracking operations.

It also disrupted grain and livestock shipments throughout the farm belt, curbed meat production at several packing plants and threatened to damage the dormant wheat crop.

In Cleveland, Ohio, where the temperature was minus 3 degrees F (minus 19 degrees C) and was forecast to drop to minus 6 degrees F (minus 21 degrees C) overnight, homeless shelters were operating at full capacity.

Some 4,392 flights were canceled and 3,577 delayed, according to FlightAware.com, which tracks airline activity.

Many airlines could not allow their ground crews to remain outdoors for more than 15 minutes at a time. There were hundreds of cancellations by airlines including United, Southwest, and American.

"The fuel and glycol supplies are frozen at (Chicago O'Hare) and other airports in the Midwest and Northeast," said Andrea Huguely, a spokeswoman for American Airlines Group. "We are unable to pump fuel and or de-ice."

After five days of scrambling to catch up from storm delays, JetBlue said it would halt operations at three airports in the New York area and Boston Logan International Airport from 5 p.m. EST (2200 GMT) Monday until 10 a.m. EST (1500 GMT) on Tuesday to give crews time to rest.

The bitter cold combined with blowing snow was complicating rail traffic as well. Union Pacific, one of the largest railroads and a chief mover of grains, chemicals, coal and automotive parts, warned customers on Monday that the weather was causing delays up to 48 hours across Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin.

Source: Reuters

Iraq PM urges Falluja to expel al Qaeda-linked militants

 Iraq's prime minister urged people in the besieged city of Falluja on Monday to drive out al Qaeda-linked insurgents to preempt a military offensive that officials said could be launched within days.

In a statement on state television, Nuri al-Maliki, a Shi'ite Muslim whose government has little support in Sunni-dominated Falluja, said tribal leaders should help expel the militants, who last week seized key towns in the desert leading to the Syrian border.

"The prime minister appeals to the tribes and people of Falluja to expel the terrorists from the city in order to spare themselves the risk of armed clashes," read the statement.

A provincial official said security forces had regained control of another town, Ramadi, forcing militants to the east where they were holding out in mosques and homes. Air raids would flush them out, he told Reuters.

"The air force will end this battle in the next few hours," said Falih al-Essawi, a member of the council running Anbar province, adding that government workers and students in Ramadi had been told to return to work and school on Tuesday.

Two local tribal leaders in Falluja said meetings were being held with clerics and community leaders to find a way to persuade fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) to leave Falluja and avert further violence.

Iraqi forces have shelled and launched multiple airstrikes against militants over the past week, whilst armed Sunni tribesmen from the area are fighting on both sides. Officials say dozens of militants have been killed, but the number of casualties among civilians, security forces and tribal fighters is not yet clear.

Maliki ordered the army, which is currently surrounding Falluja, not to attack residential areas as his forces prepare an offensive that has echoes of U.S. assaults in 2004 on the city, some 40 km (25 miles) west of Baghdad's main airport.

Security officials said Maliki, who is also commander in chief of the armed forces, had agreed to hold off an assault for now at least to give tribal leaders in Falluja more time to drive out the Sunni Islamist militants on their own.

ISIL has emerged in Syria's civil war as an affiliate of the international al Qaeda network and a powerful force among Sunni Muslim rebels seeking to oust President Bashar al-Assad.

In Iraq, it has been tightening its grip on Anbar province, a thinly populated region the size of Greece, with the stated aim of creating a Sunni state straddling the border into Syria's rebel-held eastern desert provinces.

But last week's capture of positions in Ramadi and large parts of Falluja was the first time in years that Sunni insurgents had taken ground in the province's main towns strung along the Euphrates river, and held their positions for days.

The United States said on Sunday it would help Maliki fight al Qaeda, but would not send troops to Iraq. 

Much of Iraq's U.S.-equipped army is drawn from the Shi'ite majority and faces recalcitrance if not outright hostility in Anbar, which covers about a third of the country's territory.

Across the border, al Qaeda fighters have also captured swathes of Syria and are battling with fellow Islamist brigades as well as government forces.

Two years after U.S. troops ended a near-decade long occupation, violence in Iraq underlines how civil war between Syrian rebels backed by Saudi Arabia and other Sunni powers on one side and Assad, an ally of Shi'ite Iran, on the other has inflamed a broader confrontation along sectarian lines.

Source: Reuters

Panama canal authority proposes joint financing to end spat

The Panama canal's administrator on Monday proposed that it and a Spanish-led consortium expanding the major maritime cargo artery plug a financing gap between them, and said the sides had agreed to hold talks on Tuesday.

Jorge Quijano, head of the Panama Canal Authority, floated the solution in comments to journalists after he met with visiting Spanish public works minister Ana Pastor, who is seeking to mediate a solution to the dispute surrounding massive cost overruns.

Source: Reuters

Optimism high around globe for better 2014, poll says

 Most people around the world are optimistic that 2014 will be better than last year and that the global economy will be stronger, according to a poll.

Seventy-six percent of people in 23 countries questioned by the global research company Ipsos said they had high hopes for the new year, slightly more than in 2013. About half said last year was not great for them and their families.

"People are excited for the New Year. I think they still have a bad taste left in their mouths from 2013, with the slim majority saying it was a bad year for them and their families and people a bit worried about the economy," Keren Gottfried, a senior research manager for Ipsos said in an interview on Monday.

But the overall optimism, she added, "shows people want to look at the world with the glass half-full."

The poll, which was released on Friday, determined that 53 percent of people around the world believe the global economy will be more robust in 2014, with the sentiment strongest in India,China and Indonesia and weakest in Sweden, France and Italy.

Only 33 percent of Italians had confidence in the global economy improving, slightly less than the Swedes and the French.

"Last year was definitely not a great year for a lot of people. We know economically speaking the economy has not risen globally and certainly not within the U.S.," Gottfried explained.

Optimism for a better 2014 was highest in Indonesia, France, Brazil, India and Argentina, where more than 85 percent of people questioned in the online survey said they looked forward to improvement this year. Hope was lowest in Japan and Italy.

Spaniards, Argentineans, Hungarians and Mexicans were the most likely to say last year was disappointing, while the numbers were the lowest in Australia, Indonesia and Sweden, where 42 percent or fewer people had a lousy 2013.

The poll showed personal New Year's resolutions were popular in most countries, particularly Indonesia, Argentina, Turkey, Brazil and South Africa where 90 percent or more people made them, compared with 56 percent in Hungary and 38 percent in Sweden.

Gottfried views the numbers as an indication that people are making resolutions because they want to make things better and are starting the year with excitement.

Ipsos questioned a total of 18,153 adults aged 18-64 years old in the United States and Canada and 16-64 years old in Mexico, Australia and other countries in Europe and Asia from December 4-18.

In countries where 1,000 people were questioned, the credibility interval is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. The interval is plus or minus 5.0 percentage points where 500 people were polled.

Source:  Reuters

Brasil: Refinarias da Petrobras já operavam acima da capacidade em 2011

Em meio a uma série de acidentes em suas refinarias, seis em menos de dois meses, a Petrobras teve negado pela ANP (Agência Nacional do Petróleo), em 18 de dezembro, de 2013 um recurso para não pagar uma multa de R$ 150 mil, aplicada em maio de 2011, por operar acima da capacidade permitida na Replan (Refinaria de Paulínia), em São Paulo.

Com o ajuste monetário, o pagamento da estatal será de R$ 151,1 mil, informou a ANP.

Outra multa, de igual valor, está sendo avaliada pela agência e é referente à Repar (Refinaria Presidente Getúlio Vargas), no Paraná. A multa também foi aplicada em maio de 2011, e pelo mesmo motivo.

A operação na capacidade máxima das refinarias tem por objetivo reduzir a necessidade de importação de derivados de petróleo. A prática foi apontada pela FUP (Federação Única dos Petroleiros) como o principal motivo dos acidentes que vem sendo registrados pelas unidades da estatal.

A própria Repar foi alvo de um acidente no final de novembro do ano passado, o que obrigou à paralisação da produção. Também tiveram registros de acidentes as refinarias do Amazonas, Paraná, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais e Bahia.

No último sábado (4) foi a vez da Reduc (Refinaria Duque de Caxias), no Rio de Janeiro, responsável por 10% do abastecimento do país. A produção na unidade de coque, de onde são retirados alguns derivados, teve que ser suspensa após um incêndio. Com isso, a produção de gasolina e diesel foi reduzida, segundo a FUP.

A Petrobras se limitou a informar que parou a unidade de coque e que vai investigar o acidente.

Já a ANP disse nesta segunda-feira (6) que a unidade de coque voltará a operar no próximo dia 8, mas que não há risco de desabastecimento de combustíveis no país.

De acordo com a FUP, o programa de redução de custos da Petrobras, para reduzir o impacto das importações, tem prejudicado as manutenções feitas nas refinarias, o que teria facilitado a ocorrência de acidentes.

As refinarias da Petrobras estão operando com 99% da capacidade instalada. A média da indústria é de 85%, segundo o diretor do Centro Brasileiro de Infraestrutura Adriano Pires.

"Se está a 99% é porque não para para manutenção, só que com os acidentes acaba parando e isso vai resultar em mais importações", avaliou.

Segundo a assessoria da ANP, a agência vem acompanhando os acidentes ocorridos nas refinarias da Petrobras e fez uma inspeção nos dias 9 e 10 de dezembro na Repar.

A ANP informou que vai publicar em janeiro uma instrução que estabelece o Regime de Segurança Operacional para as refinarias de Petróleo, nos mesmos moldes da instrução feita para as plataformas de produção. As regras porém estão sendo discutidas na agência antes da série de acidentes nas refinarias da Petrobras, ressaltou a agência em nota.

Fonte: Fohla de  São Paulo

Brasil: Mercado prevê PIB abaixo de 2% neste ano

Depois de dois anos de crescimento abaixo das previsões iniciais, o mercado iniciou 2014 com projeção bem mais conservadora para o desempenho da economia.

No primeiro boletim Focus divulgado pelo Banco Central, os analistas sinalizam um crescimento de 1,95%. É a primeira vez que a expectativa para o PIB deste ano -apurada desde o início de 2013- fica abaixo de 2%.

Houve leve revisão também no dado do fechamento para 2013 -passou de 2,30% para 2,28%.

Se confirmado, será um desempenho bem inferior do que as previsões feitas em janeiro de 2013, quando o mercado acreditava em um crescimento de 3,28%.

Ainda que em menor intensidade, o resultado repete frustração experimentada no ano anterior. O PIB de 2012 cresceu apenas 1%, menos da metade do que o mercado havia previsto em janeiro daquele ano.

Para o economista da Tendências Consultoria, Sílvio Campos Neto, a projeção mais baixa para 2014 é uma correção por parte do mercado, que passou a considerar um crescimento potencial de 4% para economia brasileira após um período positivo até 2010.

"É uma sequência de erros que ocorreram nos últimos anos. Havia um otimismo excessivo. Não houve nos últimos anos nenhuma grande mudança estrutural que permitisse crescimento maior", afirma.

Há mais motivos para a postura conservadora dos analistas em relação a 2014. Os juros voltaram a superar a barreira dos dois dígitos e devem subir para 10,5% no ano. O cenário dos economistas revela uma inflação ainda mais incômoda, com elevação do dólar ao longo do ano.

O IPCA, índice de preços referência para o governo, deve sair dos 5,74% de 2013 para encerrar este ano muito próximo de 6%, de acordo com as previsões.

Não há perspectiva de grande retomada no consumo das famílias depois da desaceleração iniciada em 2013, que deve levar o varejo a um crescimento abaixo da média dos últimos anos.

Consultorias também já esperam uma leve piora no desemprego, hoje no nível mais baixo da história, com mais pessoas procurando ocupação para completar o orçamento da família.

Neto lembra ainda a restrição maior no crédito, o baixo nível de confiança dos empresários e a evolução menor da renda dos trabalhadores. Para ele, as previsões devem se estabilizar em torno de 2%.

Fonte: Fohla de São Paulo

Agência de classificação Moody's diz que Brasil tem flexibilidade fiscal limitada

A agência de classificação de risco Moody s informou nesta segunda-feira (6) que prevê crescimento na faixa de 2% do PIB do Brasil neste ano apesar do potencial para um avanço de 3% ao ano.

Segundo a agência, o país tem flexibilidade fiscal limitada, diante de uma estrutura de gastos rígida e a carga de juros relativamente pesada.

Para a Moody's, o principal desafio das finanças públicas do país é o aumento persistente dos gastos correntes.

O comunicado da agência informou que a nota de avaliação do país e a perspectiva estável da classificação são reflexo da economia diversificada, além da renda per capta de nível médio a alto.

As notas concedidas pelas agências de classificação são uma espécie de selo de qualidade que indicam os riscos de uma economia dar calote.

Em setembro de 2013, a Moody s alterou a perspectiva de classificação do Brasil, em Baa2 na escala da agência, de positivo para estável, uma vez que o baixo crescimento atrapalhou o processo de melhora de uma série de indicadores fiscais e econômicos.

A deterioração da relação dívida/PIB, que já superou a marca de 60%, foi um dos pontos destacados pela agência, e a Moody s estima que em 2014 a medida chegue a 62%.

A agência não espera que as próximas eleições resultem em mudanças drásticas das atuais políticas, dado o consenso de preservar a estabilidade macroeconômica.

Fonte: Fohla de São Paulo

U.S. Census Bureau FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MONDAY, JANUARY 6, 2014, AT 10:00 A.M. EST

Full Report on Manufacturers’ Shipments, Inventories and Orders
November 2013
Summary. New orders for manufactured goods in November, up two of the last three months, increased $8.8 billion or 1.8
percent to $497.9 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau reported today. This was at the highest level since the series was first
published on a NAICS basis in 1992 and followed a 0.5 percent October decrease. Excluding transportation, new orders
increased 0.6 percent. Shipments, up six of the last seven months, increased $4.9 billion or 1.0 percent to $494.6 billion.
This was also at the highest level since the series was first published on a NAICS basis and followed a 0.1 percent October
increase. Unfilled orders, up nine of the last ten months, increased $10.4 billion or 1.0 percent to $1,058.5 billion. This was
also at the highest level since the series was first published on a NAICS basis and followed a 0.6 percent October increase.
The unfilled orders-to-shipments ratio was 6.42, up from 6.39 in October. Inventories, up eleven of the last twelve months,
increased $0.2 billion to $633.4 billion. This was also at the highest level since the series was first published on a NAICS
basis and followed a slight October increase. The inventories-to-shipments ratio was 1.28, down from 1.29 in October.
New Orders. New orders for manufactured durable goods in November, up three of the last four months, increased $8.1
billion or 3.4 percent to $241.6 billion, revised from the previously published 3.5 percent increase. This followed a 0.7
percent October decrease. Transportation equipment, also up three of the last four months, led the increase, up $6.2 billion
or 8.3 percent to $81.1 billion. New orders for manufactured nondurable goods increased $0.8 billion or 0.3 percent to
$256.3 billion.
Shipments. Shipments of manufactured durable goods in November, up four consecutive months, increased $4.1 billion or
1.8 percent to $238.3 billion, unchanged from the previously published increase. This was at the highest level since the
series was first published on a NAICS basis and followed a 0.6 percent October increase. Machinery, also up four
consecutive months, led the increase, up $1.4 billion or 4.2 percent to $35.5 billion. Shipments of manufactured nondurable
goods, up following three consecutive monthly decreases, increased $0.8 billion or 0.3 percent to $256.3 billion. This
followed a 0.3 percent October decrease. Petroleum and coal products, also up following three consecutive monthly
decreases, drove the increase, up $1.0 billion or 1.4 percent to $71.6 billion.
Unfilled Orders. Unfilled orders for manufactured durable goods in November, up nine of the last ten months, increased
$10.4 billion or 1.0 percent to $1,058.5 billion, unchanged from the previously published increase. This was at the highest
level since the series was first published on a NAICS basis and followed a 0.6 percent October increase. Transportation
equipment, up three consecutive months, led the increase, up $8.4 billion or 1.3 percent to $654.3 billion.
Inventories. Inventories of manufactured durable goods in November, up seven of the last eight months, increased $0.8
billion or 0.2 percent to $384.3 billion, revised from the previously published 0.3 percent increase. This was at the highest
level since the series was first published on a NAICS basis and followed a 0.3 percent October increase. Transportation
equipment, up eighteen of the last nineteen months, led the increase, up $0.5 billion or 0.4 percent to $120.8 billion.
Inventories of manufactured nondurable goods, down three consecutive months, decreased $0.6 billion or 0.2 percent to
$249.1 billion. This followed a 0.4 percent October decrease. Petroleum and coal products, also down three consecutive
months, drove the decrease, down $0.8 billion or 1.5 percent to $48.3 billion. By stage of fabrication, November materials
and supplies increased 0.1 percent in durable goods and 0.3 percent in nondurable goods. Work in process increased 0.2
percent in durable goods and decreased 1.0 percent in nondurable goods. Finished goods increased 0.4 percent in durable
goods and decreased 0.3 percent in nondurable goods.

France François Hollande a proposé la création d'un « pacte de responsabilité » pour les entreprises

Lors de ses traditionnels vœux télévisés aux Français, François Hollande a proposé la création d'un « pacte de responsabilité » pour les entreprises, sur le principe du « donnant-donnant » : une loi votée au début de l'année prévoira « moins de charges sur le travail, moins de contraintes sur leurs activités et, en même temps, une contrepartie, plus d'embauches et plus de dialogue social ».

Une proposition dont s'est réjoui le président du Medef, Pierre Gattaz, dans un entretien au Monde : « [François Hollande] a lancé le projet général de sortir le pays de l'ornière et a montré un cap qui nous va bien. [...] On est prêt à jouer le jeu. Maintenant, il faut passer de la parole aux actes.

Source: Le Monde

LE PREMIER CŒUR ARTIFICIEL CHEZ UN HUMAIN

La première mondiale, attendue depuis des années, a eu lieu le 18 décembredans les murs de l'hôpital Georges-Pompidou, à Paris : les professeurs Christian Latrémouilles et Daniel Duveau ont réussi la prouesse d'implanter un cœur entièrement artificiel sur un homme. Le patient, âgé de 75 ans, se porte désormais« aussi bien que possible », alors qu'il souffrait d'une insuffisance cardiaque en stade terminal qui menaçait sa vie.

Editorial du Monde.  L'implantation d'un coeur artificiel chez un patient, réalisée le 18 décembre à Paris par le professeur Christian Latrémouille et son équipe, constitue une triple prouesse : médicale, puisque c'est une première mondiale ; économique, car elle associe recherche scientifique et innovation industrielle et financière ; française enfin, dans un pays plus enclin à ressasser son déclin queses progrès.

Pour le professeur Alain Carpentier, qui a conçu ce coeur, c'est d'abord un aboutissement. Il lui aura fallu un quart de siècle pour que son rêve devienne réalité. On ne saurait trop saluer le mérite et la ténacité de ce médecin, qui avait déjà révolutionné sa discipline en concevant des valves mieux tolérées par les patients ou en invitant l'ordinateur dans le bloc opératoire. C'est également une promesse : même s'il faut attendre que d'autres patients reçoivent et tolèrent ce greffon d'un nouveau genre pour confirmer son efficacité, la voie est désormais ouverte.

Lire aussi : Implanter un cœur artificiel sur l'homme : une prouesse technique

L'histoire de la médecine est jalonnée de ces moments décisifs où des pionniers prennent la responsabilité et le risque d'oser. On se souvient de la première greffe du coeur réalisée par le professeur sud-africain Christiaan Barnard en 1967. Le patient, Louis Washkansky, succomba 18 jours plus tard d'une pneumonie. Mais, depuis, des dizaines de milliers de personnes en sursis ont été sauvées par ce type de greffe. L'enjeu est aujourd'hui le même : redonner un coeur à des patients alors que les listes d'attente de greffons s'allongent de façon dramatique, partout dans le monde.

Ce défi médical se double d'un pari industriel : si le coeur développé par la sociétéCarmat confirme ses capacités, c'est un marché potentiel de plusieurs milliards d'euros qui s'ouvrira à lui (100000 malades en Europe et aux Etats-unis, pour un coût de la prothèse de 160000 euros). Les investisseurs qui ont misé sur cette société cotée verront leur audace récompensée.

Le coeur artificiel du professeur Carpentier est, en outre, le fruit d'une extraordinaire aventure « made in France ». Elle associe un « patron » de l'hôpital public et un capitaine d'industrie, Jean-Luc Lagardère, PDG de Matra, qui décida de le soutenir. Mais aussi des ingénieurs et des médecins qui ont poursuivi leur collaboration après la mort du mécène. Enfin des business angels, des fonds publics (33 millions d'euros d'Oseo, après bénédiction européenne) et des créditsd'impôt recherche (5 millions en 2013).

Est-ce la recette pour d'autres premières ? Dans une lettre adressée à Alain Carpentier et à ses collègues, François Hollande souligne que « la France peutêtre fière de cette action exceptionnelle au service du progrès humain ». Fierté légitime. Mais il y a quelques jours, l'Académie des sciences lançait un cri d'alarme à propos des réductions de crédits affectant la recherche. « Une recherche de haut niveau est le meilleur espoir de notre économie », concluait-elle. Le coeur artificiel en est un exemple. Il ne faudrait pas qu'il reste exceptionnel.

Source: Le Monde