#Emirates loan Collection Industry

[kenresearch1]

UAE Debt Collection Market is Expected to Reach More Than AED 5Bn by 2027 Owing to Rise in digital collection techniques and Improvement in UAE legal system related to debt collection, bankruptcy and insolvency: Ken Research

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UAE Debt Collection Market Ecosystem

Tahseel, First Solution Management Service are the market leaders in UAE Debt Collection Market; the market is highly fragmented consisting of many players. The UAE Debt Collection Market is composed of many players which are operating across the borders and not just within the UAE.

 Key Market Findings:

Digital collections are being extensively used which leverages analytics to make the process more

Collection agents are being trained to equip them with latest technology and to adept them to various consumer situations for providing more feasible solutions.

The industry is slowly becoming more customer-centric in its approach.

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IT Policies and Proper Documentation: Companies are maintaining proper documentation and proof for all debt provided by them to corporates and individuals. This makes it much easier for debt collection agencies to recover the debt in case of a default both amicably and legally as well through payment order method. Collection companies which provide settlement plans to debtors have start taking post-dated cheques as a proof for future payment. Changing IT policies require companies to maintain complete confidentiality of client information due to threat of data breach. All this factors will provide more growth to collection industry.

Emphasis on NLP Techniques: Collection agencies are extensively using various speech analytics tools to record and analyse customer conversations. This enables to maintain security and gain insights into client expectations. In addition, the information gathered can further be used for training of employees adapting them to different situations while negotiating and hence, improving their performance which would act as a key growth driver for debt collection companies.

Favorable Changes in UAE Legal System: The new legal system at UAE makes it possible to recover debts via court in merely within 7 days if all the documents are readily available. The new Bankruptcy law also provides safety for debtors and changes the shape of debt collection industry. Ultimately, act as catalysts for the industry.

Analysts at Ken Research in their latest publication- “UAE Debt Collection Market Outlook to 2027- Characterized by fierce competition and high growth prospects” by Ken Research provides a comprehensive analysis of the potential of the debt collection market in UAE. Rise in digital collection techniques and increasing use of AI and ML for recovery predictions are expected to contribute to the market growth over the forecast period.

UAE debt collection market is expected to grow at a robust CAGR over the forecasted period 2022-2027.

Key Segments Covered

Segmentation by Segment

Non-Finance

Finance

Insurance

Segmentation by Type of Firm

Debt Collection Agency

Law Firm

Segmentation by Age of Firm:

0 to 10 yrs

10 to 20 yrs

20 to 30 yrs

Segmentation by Geographical Presence

Abu Dhabi

Dubai

Fujairah

Sharjah

Ajman

Umm Al-Quwain

Ras Al-Khaimah

Sub-segmentation of insurance segment & financing segment

Sub-segmentation of insurance segment:

Motor & Transportation

Property/Fire

Liability & Others

Sub-segmentation of financing segment:

Real State

Personal

Financial institution

Services

Manufacturing

Trade

Others

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Key Target Audience

Existing Debt Collection Companies

Law Firms

Financing Companies

Non-Financing Companies

Insurance Companies

Debt Collection & Management software providers

Government Agencies

Finance Consultants

Others

Time Period Captured in the Report:

Historical Period: 2017-2022

Base Year: 2022

Forecast Period: 2022–2027

Companies Covered:

SUPPLY SIDE:

Debt Collection Companies

Tahseel

CMS

Aman Debt Collection

First Solution

Credit Recovery

AW Holding

Bilkish

Derby Group of Companies

Alpha Debt Collection

Fort Equity

Quick Action

ATDC

com

ALQADA

Law firms/Debt Collection

Taswiyeh

ASKTHELAW

HHS LAWYERS

DUBAI DEBT RECOVERY

STA

AE

AL ROWAAD

AL SAFAR

BIN EID

Regulatory Bodies and Judiciary

Central Bank of the UAE

Judicial Department

DEMAND SIDE:

Insurance companies

Etihad Credit Insuranc

Atradiuse

CIGNA

COFACE

PACIFIC PRIME

MetLIFE

ACE

Emirates RE

Financing companies

Emirates NBD

ADCB

DUBAI FIRST

Mashreq

Commercial Bank of Dubai

Dubai Islamic Bank

HSBC

RAKBANK

ADIB

FAB

CITYBANK

Non-Finance companies

Etisalat

Emircom

Etihad Water and Electricity

Abu Dhabi Distribution Companies

Emaar

Nakheel

Lufthansa

Choithrams

Asian Paints

Majid UL Futaim

Naseej

Key Topics Covered in the Report                            

Global Debt Collection Market Overview

Ecosystem of UAE Debt Collection Market – Demand and Supply Side

Value Chain Analysis – Amicable Settlement and Litigation Settlement

Market Size and Segmentation of Debt Collection Industry in UAE, 2017-2022

UAE Debt Collection Market Industry Analysis

Software used in UAE Debt Collection Market

Market Shares of Major Debt Collection Companies in UAE on the basis of Debt Collected, 2022

Competitive Analysis

Future Outlook and Projections, 2022-2027

For More Insights On Market Intelligence, Refer to the Link Below: –

UAE Debt Collection Market Outlook to 2027

Related Reports by Ken Research: –

KSA Debt Collection Market Outlook to FY’2026

[businessarticlesclone]

Types of Real Estate Companies in Abu Dhabi: Finding the Perfect Fit for Your Needs

Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates, is a thriving metropolis known for its stunning architecture, luxurious lifestyle, and vibrant economy. As the demand for real estate continues to rise in this dynamic city, a plethora of real estate companies have emerged to cater to the diverse needs of investors, residents, and businesses. In this comprehensive guide, we will explore the various types of Real Estate Companies in Abu Dhabi, helping you navigate the bustling market to find the perfect fit for your specific requirements.

1. Property Development Companies

One of the primary players in Abu Dhabi's real estate landscape is property development companies. These firms are responsible for conceptualizing, planning, and executing real estate projects, ranging from residential and commercial buildings to mixed-use developments. Property development companies play a pivotal role in shaping the city's skyline and contribute significantly to its economic growth. Investors seeking long-term gains often collaborate with these companies to capitalize on emerging trends and promising locations.

2. Real Estate Brokerage Firms

Navigating the intricacies of the real estate market in Abu Dhabi can be a daunting task, and this is where real estate brokerage firms come into play. These companies act as intermediaries between buyers and sellers, helping clients find the right property or secure a buyer for their assets. With a deep understanding of market trends, pricing dynamics, and legalities, real estate brokers streamline the buying and selling process, making it more efficient and less stressful for their clients.

3. Property Management Companies

Owning real estate in Abu Dhabi often comes with the responsibility of managing the property effectively. Property management companies specialize in overseeing the day-to-day operations of residential and commercial properties. From tenant relations and rent collection to property maintenance and security, these firms ensure that real estate assets are well-maintained, providing a hassle-free experience for property owners.

4. Real Estate Investment Companies

For those looking to diversify their investment portfolios, real estate investment companies offer a strategic avenue. These firms pool funds from multiple investors to acquire, develop, and manage real estate assets. Whether it's residential, commercial, or industrial properties, real estate investment companies leverage their expertise to generate returns for their investors. This type of collaboration allows individuals to participate in the real estate market without the burden of sole ownership.

5. Consultancy and Advisory Services

The complexities of the real estate market in Abu Dhabi often necessitate expert guidance. Consultancy and advisory firms in the real estate sector provide clients with strategic insights, market analysis, and customized solutions. Whether it's a developer seeking to identify lucrative opportunities or an investor looking to optimize their real estate portfolio, these firms offer invaluable advice that can shape critical decisions.

6. Real Estate Finance and Investment Advisory

Securing financing for real estate projects and understanding investment strategies are crucial aspects of the industry. Real estate finance and investment advisory companies specialize in providing financial solutions for developers, investors, and other stakeholders. These firms assist in structuring deals, securing loans, and optimizing financial strategies to ensure the success and profitability of real estate ventures.

7. Real Estate Technology Companies

As technology continues to reshape industries, real estate is no exception. Real estate technology companies leverage innovative solutions such as virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and blockchain to enhance various aspects of the industry. Whether it's virtual property tours, smart building management systems, or blockchain-based property transactions, these companies bring a technological edge to the real estate landscape in Abu Dhabi.

8. Real Estate Legal Services

The legal intricacies of real estate transactions and property ownership require specialized knowledge. Real estate legal service providers play a pivotal role in ensuring that all aspects of a property deal comply with local regulations and laws. From drafting contracts to facilitating property transfers, these firms provide essential legal support, safeguarding the interests of their clients and promoting transparency in real estate transactions.

9. Architectural and Design Consultancies

Creating aesthetically pleasing and functional structures is a cornerstone of the real estate industry. Architectural and design consultancies collaborate with developers to bring innovative and visually striking projects to life. These firms work on everything from initial concept and planning to the detailed design phases, contributing significantly to the uniqueness and appeal of the real estate projects in Abu Dhabi.

10. Green Building and Sustainability Consultants

With a growing global emphasis on sustainability, green building practices have become increasingly important in the real estate sector. Companies specializing in green building and sustainability provide expertise on eco-friendly construction materials, energy-efficient designs, and environmentally conscious development practices. This is especially relevant in Abu Dhabi, where sustainable development is a key focus, aligning with the city's commitment to environmental responsibility.

11. Real Estate Marketing Agencies

In a competitive market like Abu Dhabi, effective marketing is essential for the success of real estate projects. Real estate marketing agencies specialize in creating targeted campaigns, utilizing digital and traditional channels to promote properties effectively. From online listings and social media campaigns to physical marketing collateral, these agencies ensure that properties gain the visibility they need to attract potential buyers or tenants.

12. Real Estate Appraisal and Valuation Services

Accurate property valuation is crucial for both buyers and sellers. Real estate appraisal and valuation services provide independent assessments of property values, taking into account factors such as location, size, condition, and market trends. These services are essential for determining fair market value, securing financing, and making informed investment decisions.

13. Commercial Real Estate Companies

While many real estate firms operate across various sectors, some specialize specifically in commercial real estate. These companies focus on office spaces, retail outlets, industrial properties, and other commercial developments. Whether it's assisting businesses in finding suitable office locations or managing large-scale industrial projects, commercial Biggest Real Estate Companies In Abu Dhabi bring a specialized approach to the diverse commercial landscape of Abu Dhabi.

14. Luxury Real Estate Specialists

Abu Dhabi is known for its opulent lifestyle, and luxury real estate specialists cater to the high-end market segment. These companies specialize in exquisite properties, offering personalized services to clients seeking premium residences. From waterfront villas to penthouse apartments, luxury real estate specialists understand the unique demands of affluent buyers and provide a tailored experience to meet their expectations.

15. Real Estate Networking and Investment Platforms

In the age of globalization, networking and investment platforms have become instrumental in connecting investors, developers, and other real estate stakeholders. These platforms provide a space for collaboration, information exchange, and investment opportunities. Whether through physical events or online platforms, real estate networking and investment companies foster connections that can lead to fruitful partnerships and innovative projects.

Final Thoughts

Abu Dhabi's real estate market is a multifaceted landscape, with various companies contributing to its vibrancy and growth. Each type of real estate company plays a distinct role in shaping the city's skyline, managing properties, facilitating transactions, and providing specialized services. As you navigate the diverse options available, consider your specific needs and objectives to find the perfect fit among the array of real estate companies in Abu Dhabi. Whether you're embarking on a new investment venture or seeking your dream home, the right partnership can make all the difference in achieving success in this dynamic and evolving market.

Find the best offers in Apartment For Sale In Abu Dhabi, and Apartment Sale In Abu Dhabi.

[kritikapatil]

Trade Finance Software Market Is Likely to Experience a Tremendous Growth in Near Future

Advance Market Analytics released a new market study on Global Trade Finance Software Market Research report which presents a complete assessment of the Market and contains a future trend, current growth factors, attentive opinions, facts, and industry validated market data. The research study provides estimates for Global Trade Finance Software Forecast till 2027*.

Trade finance covers various financial instruments that support companies' exports and imports. Software packages include functions that ensure all transactions comply with SLAs. The use of digitized software aids transactions as all documents are easily tracked, and transactions happening over long distances are sped up. Trade finance solution features such as import and export standby letter of credit, collections, bonds, and guarantee, captures and generating swift messages and documents, refining under import LC, export LC and collections, shipping guarantees, reimbursements, remittances, participations, syndications, and loans.

Key Players included in the Research Coverage of Trade Finance Software Market are

Finastra (United Kingdom)

Newgen Software (India)

CGI Inc. (Canada)

ICS BANKS (United Kingdom)

Surecomp (Canada)

Sopra Banking Software (France)

China Systems (China)

Traydstream (United Kingdom)

Aite Matrix (United States)

LiquidX, Inc. (United States) What's Trending in Market: Rise of Rigtech to Combat Increasing Compliance Hurdles

Increasing Worldwide Import and Export Transactions

Challenges: Lack of Focus on Trade Financing For SMEs

Insufficient Risk Valuation Capabilities

Unmet Demand for Trade Finance and the Rapid Digitalization Process

Opportunities: Paperless Future of Trade Finance

Participation of Emerging Local Markets in Global Trade

Collaboration of Traditional Banks and Fintechs can create Opportunities for the Trade Finance Software Market

Market Growth Drivers: Demand for Financing Solutions, Especially from Local Providers

Changing Consumer Expectations, Emerging Technologies, and New Business Models

The Global Trade Finance Software Market segments and Market Data Break Down by Type (Cloud, On-Premise), Application (Banks, Trade Finance Houses, Others), Function (Letters of Credit, Guarantees, Supply Chain Finance, Documentary Collection, Others), Organization Size (SMEs, Large), Component (Software (Web-based, Cloud-based, On-premises), Service) To comprehend Global Trade Finance Software market dynamics in the world mainly, the worldwide Trade Finance Software market is analyzed across major global regions. AMA also provides customized specific regional and country-level reports for the following areas. • North America: United States, Canada, and Mexico. • South & Central America: Argentina, Chile, Colombia and Brazil. • Middle East & Africa: Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Israel, Turkey, Egypt and South Africa. • Europe: United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Netherlands and Russia. • Asia-Pacific: India, China, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Australia. Presented By

AMA Research & Media LLP

[expatimes]

Analysis: A turbulent 2020 spurs Greece to rearm

Analysis: A turbulent 2020 spurs Greece to rearm

Athens, Greece – France is completing the sale of 18 Rafale jets to Greece ahead of January, when French defence minister Florence Parly is to visit Athens to sign it.

The sale will make Greece the first European client for the advanced plane, in a deal valued at 2.5bn euros ($3bn).

It is Greece’s first significant defence equipment purchase since 2005, when it bought more than 300 Leopard tanks from Germany, and its first investment in a new combat aircraft since buying French Mirage 2000s in 1989.

Greece’s overall defence spending halved from 7.88bn euros in 2009 to 3.75bn euros in 2018, as an eight-year recession led to budget cuts. Greece is sharply increasing its defence spending by 43 percent this year, to 5.5bn euros ($6.7bn).

The reason is that Greece and Turkey have had their most acrimonious year since 1974, when Turkey invaded Cyprus in response to a Greek coup attempt, and a war in the Aegean was narrowly averted.

“I think we are at one minute to midnight as far as a conflict with Turkey is concerned,” Kostas Grivas, who teaches geopolitics and weapons systems at the Hellenic Army Academy, told Al Jazeera.

Greece is in such a hurry to acquire the Rafale, it pressed France to deliver the first squadron by May, six months ahead of the original schedule. Its pilots will fly to France for training in the coming weeks.

Last September, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Greece will buy four new frigates and upgrade four existing ones, giving it a blue water navy capable of projecting power beyond the Aegean.

He also announced 15,000 new career positions in the armed forces. Greece is currently in the process of upgrading 85 of its Lockheed Martin F-16s to Viper level, turning them into fourth-generation fighter aircraft.

Tactically, the Rafale allows Greece to strike anywhere within Turkey, having a range of up to 3,700km, twice that of the Mirage and four times that of the F-16. It carries the most advanced European missiles, the Meteor, Mica, Scalp and Exocet.

It also carries a 200km-radius radar capable of tracking 40 targets and engaging eight of them, enabling it to act as a force co-ordinator. Greece believes it can thus increase its deterrent capability against a Turkish first strike.

“Greece has no claims on anybody, but is 100 percent ready to defend its rights,” said Dimitris Kairidis, who teaches international relations at Panteion University in Athens.

East Med crisis

Greece’s complaint against Turkey is that it is prospecting for undersea oil and gas in what Greece considers its Exclusive Economic Zone, a commercial sovereignty conferred by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

“We want a constructive dialogue on delimitation of maritime boundaries,” said Kairidis, but Turkey has so far been unwilling to oblige.

The Rafale deal is as much about politics as tactics. Greece and France are currently in talks for a defensive alliance that might include Greece’s buying French-made Belh@rra frigates.

“There will probably be a defence agreement in the coming weeks,” said Angelos Syrigos, who teaches international law at Panteion University.

In fact, Greece already signed one such defence agreement with the United Arab Emirates on November 18.

“ says that Greece and the UAE will rush to each other’s aid defensively should they receive an attack, and the terms remain to be filled in,” said Syrigos.

“Greece hasn’t signed a similar agreement with a country that isn’t in NATO or the European Union.”

The agreement was conceived during a standoff between the Greek and Turkish navies that began on July 21, when Turkey announced its exploration plans, and ended on November 30, when it sent its seismic survey ship Oruc Reis back to port, having collected 11,000km of seismic data.

During this period, Syrigos said, “the only country which sent aircraft to Greece was the Emirates. This was something that was really appreciated by the Greek government and the next step was the signing of this strategic relationship.”

Greece is also developing closer defence ties with Egypt and Israel.

Calls to sanction Turkey ignored

Athens is ferreting out such bilateral ties because it has been disappointed in the organisations it has traditionally relied upon for its security. NATO has not called Turkey to order for upsetting another member of the alliance. Nor has the EU, for threatening its sovereign rights.

On October 1, EU leaders overcame Cyprus’s objections to imposing sanctions on Belarus, for violently repressing protests, but not against Turkey, for what Greece and others say was Ankara’s violation of Cyprus’s Exclusive Economic Zone.

On October 12, Greece demanded sanctions on Turkey for occupying the ghost town of Varosha in Cyprus, against UN Security Council resolutions. The matter was deferred to the December summit, but then deferred again to the March summit.

“The Council decisions were no surprise given the divergent views among EU member states and the consensus-based decision-making system in foreign and security policy issues,” said Ioannis Grigoriadis, who teaches European studies at Bilkent University in Ankara.

He believes that divergence owes to “different interests on key issues in the Mediterranean”.

Failing its demand for sanctions, Greece wrote to Germany, Spain and Italy, asking them to halt arms sales to Turkey, as France halted the sale of two Mistral ships to Russia following its occupation of the Crimea in 2014. Greece’s EU partners did not oblige.

Greece is particularly incensed that Germany will build six type-214 submarines for the Turkish navy. Greece was the first international customer for the cutting-edge submarine in 2009, and helped solve many of its design flaws.

“It teaches us that Europe doesn’t have a Turkey strategy, and in fact, doesn’t know what to do,” said Syrigos.

France is the only major EU military power to have emerged as a strong supporter of Greece and Cyprus.

“France sees that if Turkey wins influence over Greece and Cyprus, then Turkey will become the major power in the East Mediterranean, pushing Egypt and Israel to the sidelines and forcing them into an alliance,” said Grivas. “If it succeeds, the East Mediterranean will become a Turkish lake.”

Three days after the EU refused to sanction Turkey, the United States did.

With veto-proof majorities, Congress banned US technology exports and loans to the Presidency of Turkish Defence Industries, the arm of the defence ministry which oversees procurement contracts and sets policy on defence infrastructure.

The sanctions were not about Greece and Cyprus, but Turkey’s procurement of Russian S-400 surface-to-air missiles; but many supporters of the sanctions view them as a broader message to Turkey.

“We have witnessed violations of Greek airspace, illegal exploration efforts in Greek and Cypriot waters, an offensive violation of UN Security Council resolutions in Famagusta (Varosha). Without a resolute response this unchecked aggression will only continue,” said Senator Bob Menendez, one of the key sponsors of the sanctions, which have the potential to grow.

“America has presented Turkey with a choice – either to choose the West, to choose NATO, to choose America, or to continue on its rapprochement with Russia, to drift away from the West, and continue on its Eurasian way,” said Kairidis.

He also thinks the US has issued “a signal to the Europeans … to Berlin, basically, to proceed further on the path of containing and reversing Turkey’s current path.”

Turkey has said it will not reverse the purchase of the S-400 missiles.

What to expect in 2021

So what will happen in 2021, with Greece rearming, Turkey straddling alliances with east and west, the US taking a firmer hand and the EU meandering?

Grivas believes Greece will redraw the geopolitical map of the East Mediterranean through a chain of essentially anti-Turkey alliances.

“Israel’s new relationship with Arab nations… permits the creation of a bridge of countries starting in France, passing through Greece and Cyprus, going to Egypt, Israel, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and reaching India,” he said, calling it “a barrier against the dangerous network Turkey is trying to create with Pakistan and Turkic nations.”

“I wish I were optimistic,” said Kairidis, looking to the year ahead. “Turkey was engaged in three wars in 2020, in Libya, Syria and the Caucasus. It is militarily present in nine countries. It is increasing its military budget.”

Syrigos sees Greece’s best hope in its new bilateral alliances.

As for Turkey, he said: “ Biden will see Turkey via the lens of its relations with Russia. If Erdogan decides to have strong relations with Russia and continues to buy weapons, uses the S400, then the US will impose severe sanctions on Turkey.”

The stage is set for further confrontation.

#world Read full article: https://expatimes.com/?p=15974&feed_id=24782 #economy #europe #features #greece #military #news

[newstfionline]

Headlines

Trump Threatens to Send Federal Law Enforcement Forces to More Cities (NYT) President Trump plans to deploy federal law enforcement to Chicago and threatened on Monday to send agents to other major cities—all controlled by Democrats. Governors and other officials reacted angrily to the president’s move, calling it an election-year ploy as they squared off over crime, civil liberties and local control that has spread from Portland, Ore., across the country. With camouflage-clad agents already sweeping through the streets of Portland, more units were poised to head to Chicago, and Mr. Trump suggested that he would follow suit in New York, Philadelphia, Detroit and other urban centers. Governors and other officials compared his actions to authoritarianism and vowed to pursue legislation or lawsuits to stop him. “I’m going to do something—that, I can tell you,” Mr. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “Because we’re not going to let New York and Chicago and Philadelphia and Detroit and Baltimore and all of these—Oakland is a mess. We’re not going to let this happen in our country. All run by liberal Democrats.”

Chicago restaurateur joins mission to feed America’s hungry (AP) Before coronavirus arrived, Manish Mallick’s trips to this city’s South Side had been limited to attending graduate classes at the University of Chicago. Now Mallick is a South Side regular—and a popular one. He regularly arrives bearing food for the hungry from his Indian restaurant several miles to the north, in the city’s downtown. “Thank you, sugar, for the meals. They’re so delicious!” one woman recently shouted to Mallick outside a South Side YWCA. “God bless you!” she added, raising her arms for emphasis. Mallick has personally delivered thousands of meals cooked and packed by his staff—among them, chickpea curry and tandoori chicken with roasted cottage cheese, sweet corn, peas and rice. Volunteers from neighborhood organizations then take them to children, retirees and the multitudes who’ve been laid off or sick during the pandemic. “We all need to help each other,” Mallick says. “That’s the best way to get through a crisis.”

American tourists are banned from the Bahamas as coronavirus cases spike (Washington Post) One of the few countries to welcome U.S. tourists has changed its mind, citing soaring infection numbers. The Bahamas will close its borders to most visitors from the United States starting Wednesday, Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said Sunday. While commercial flights from Canada, Britain and the European Union will still be allowed to land, all visitors must show proof that they tested negative for the coronavirus at an accredited lab in the past 10 days. Other international flights will be banned.

More and more countries are making masks mandatory (Washington Post) As countries around the world reopen their economies amid ongoing novel coronavirus outbreaks, governments are increasingly embracing what remains in some places a divisive public health measure: mandatory masks. In France, face coverings will be required in all public enclosed spaces as of Monday. England is set to begin enforcing new rules that make masks mandatory inside supermarkets and other shops, effective Friday. In the U.S., there is no national mask requirement. But at the state level, a growing number of mask requirements have come into force.

EU agrees on $2.1 trillion deal after marathon summit (AP) After four days and nights of wrangling, exhausted European Union leaders finally clinched a deal on an unprecedented 1.8 trillion-euro ($2.1 trillion) budget and coronavirus recovery fund early Tuesday, after one of their longest summits ever. The 27 leaders grudgingly committed to a costly, massive aid package for those hit hardest by COVID-19, which has already killed 135,000 people within the bloc alone. “Extraordinary events, and this is the pandemic that has reached us all, also require extraordinary new methods,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said. To confront the biggest recession in its history, the EU will establish a 750 billion-euro coronavirus fund, partly based on common borrowing, to be sent as loans and grants to the hardest-hit countries. That is in addition to the agreement on the seven-year, 1 trillion-euro EU budget that leaders had been haggling over for months even before the pandemic. “The consequences will be historic,” French President Emmanuel Macron said. “We have created a possibility of taking up loans together, of setting up a recovery fund in the spirit of solidarity,” a sense of sharing debt that would have been unthinkable not so long ago.

Breached levees trap thousands as flooding in China worsens (AP) Breached levees have trapped more than 10,000 people in an eastern Chinese town as flooding worsens across much of the country, local authorities said Tuesday. High waters overcame flood defenses protecting Guzhen, a town in Anhui province, on Sunday, the provincial government said on its official microblog. Flood waters rose as high as 3 meters (10 feet), the official Xinhua News Agency quoted Wang Qingjun, Guzhen’s Communist Party secretary, as saying. About 1,500 firefighters were rushed to carry out rescues in the province, where weeks of heavy rains have disrupted the lives of more than 3 million people, Xinhua said.

Britain suspends extradition treaty with Hong Kong (NYT) Britain on Monday suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong amid worries about a new national security law that Beijing imposed on the former British colony. The suspension comes as London and Beijing find themselves at increasing odds over a variety of issues, including Britain’s move to bar Chinese tech giant Huawei from its 5G wireless networks and growing public anger in Britain over the treatment of the Uighur minority in Xinjiang, an autonomous territory in China.

Japan helps 87 companies to ‘exit China’ after pandemic exposed overreliance (Washington Post) Japan is paying 87 companies to shift production back home or into Southeast Asia after the novel coronavirus pandemic disrupted supply chains and exposed an overreliance on Chinese manufacturing. Alarm bells started ringing in Japanese boardrooms as soon as the virus emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan, a major hub of the auto parts industry. Japanese automaker Nissan was forced to temporarily halt production at a plant in Japan in February over shortages of parts from China, while a Japanese consumer goods company, Iris Ohyama, found itself unable to meet surging local demand for masks after supplies to its factory in China were disrupted and export controls out of China were tightened. In March, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the government wanted to bring production back home and diversify into Southeast Asia. The following month, the government set aside $2.2 billion in its coronavirus economic recovery package to subsidize that process. China is Japan’s largest trading partner, but Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has been trying for several years to reduce the country’s dependence on its giant neighbor. The 2008 global financial crisis, the 2011 northeastern Japan earthquake and the coronavirus pandemic all disrupted supply chains, while U.S.-China trade tensions are also a factor.

Jordan to reopen airports to tourists in August (AP) The Jordanian government says it will begin reopening airports to international travelers in August after sealing its borders in March to help halt the spread of the coronavirus. Travelers from a list of approved, low-risk countries must pass a coronavirus test at least 72 hours before departure and will get a second test upon arrival in Jordan, Transportation Minister Khaled Saif says. Jordan will require incoming tourists to download Aman, the government’s contact-tracing mobile application, for the duration of their stay in the country.

Swapping the stage for a deli: Israel underemployment rises (AP) A year ago, Cijay Brightman was doing sound and lighting for a Madonna performance in Israel. Now, after the coronavirus wiped out live events, he’s making sandwiches, slicing cheese and serving customers at a Tel Aviv deli. Brightman spent the last 15 years perfecting his craft and doing what he loves as a stage technician. But in the wake of the pandemic, he has been forced to abandon his passion and profession—like thousands of others in Israel—and find any job that will pay the bills. Underemployment is plaguing workers around the world. Although there are no global statistics yet, the phenomenon is expected to grow as the economic crisis around the world deepens, said economist Roger Gomis of the International Labor Organization.

King Salman hospitalized (Foreign Policy) Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz has been admitted to hospital with gallbladder problems, state media reported on Monday. The 84-year-old monarch is the second aging Gulf leader to seek medical attention recently, after 91-year-old Kuwaiti ruler Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah underwent surgery on Sunday for an as yet unnamed ailment.

Uganda’s Museveni seeks re-election to extend rule to four decades (Reuters) Uganda’s long-serving President Yoweri Museveni has collected papers to seek nomination as the ruling party’s candidate in next year’s presidential election, the party said on Tuesday. Securing a new term would potentially extend the 75-year-old former rebel fighter’s rule to four decades. Though no date has yet been fixed for the 2021 vote, it is typically held in February. The strongest opposition presidential aspirant is pop star and lawmaker Bobi Wine, 38, whose music endears him to the young. In power since 1986, Museveni’s tenure is only surpassed in Africa by Equatorial Guinea’s Teodoro Obiang, who has ruled since 1979 and Cameroon’s Paul Biya, who has ruled since 1982.

[lawyersindubai1]

Role of a Debt assortment Agency in industrial Debt Collection Dubai

Debt Collection Dubai  is the method of assortment of debts owed by people or businesses in urban centers, such as Sharjah, Abu Dhabi or the United Arab Emirates. In today’s unsteady economic state of affairs, thousands of cases are unit reportable wherever debts aren't repaid and it becomes a headache to extract them. Industrial debt recovery could be a large market, wherever tiny yet area unit giant scale businesses are unable to pay back the capital they borrowed or the services they used.

The Role of a Debt assortment Agency

Debt recovery could be a major issue across the globe. Time and once more, new ways are applied to unravel this drawback. From forced slavery to mortgaging property, each technique has been applied, however there have been cases wherever the debtors fled or they didn’t have any property that might be encumbered.

It became a lot harder to gather debt with cases of fraud, fraud and delinquency changing into common. There was a requirement for skilled agencies with well qualified attorneys and folks with space specific jurisdiction.

Debt recovery agencies were created to satisfy these demands. These agencies pursue debts on behalf of their shoppers by using specialists to extract debt. These agencies attempt to recover the debt while not involving action and court orders, however if needed the attorneys will take legal action to recover the debt.

In such cases, agencies represent their shoppers in civil courts against the debtors. They recover the debt in an exceedingly manner that's contributory to the consumer yet because of the debtors, creating debt recovery trouble free.

Types of Debt Collection Dubai 

In any debt contract there are unit 2 parties concerned, initial party (lender) and second party (debtor). assortment agencies are unit classified into initial and third party agencies in keeping with constant word.

First Party Agency: it's a department or the subsidiary of the disposal company. It gets concerned within the debt assortment method early. it's freed from legislation that governs the third party agencies as a result of it's a set of the first disposal company. It tries to recover the debt for a couple of months and if and after they are unsuccessful, then the duty is passed on to the third party agency.

Third Party Agency: it's referred to as in and of itself as a result of it's not an area of the first debt contract. it's neither an area of the primary party agency. The third party agency collects the debt at a fee that is typically some proportion of the debt recovered. The share charged depends on the stage of the debt; the more advanced the stage, the lower the commission. Most of the days the complete debt isn't recovered, however the agency is simply paid once some quantity of the debt is collected. This can be referred to as the “No Collection-No Fee” generally anyplace between twenty five to forty fifth of the debt recovered is employed because of the fee.

How do Debt assortment in urban centers or Debt Collection Dubai  work?

Debt collectors urban center area unit caught up facilitate typically at a really late stage once no quantity of court summons and warnings create the soul repay his or her loans. The disposal company depends on the primary party agency for concerning vi months once the debt becomes outstanding. initial party agencies decide and issue warning notices to the soul. If unpaid, the frequency of this communication will increase.

Once a 3rd party agency is contacted, tight ways area units want to extract cash from the soul. Third party assortment agencies add associate degree interconnected networks that help them hunt the soul and conjointly analyze their assets and liabilities intimately.  Some common ways utilized by assortment agencies to recover debts are:

Levies: If the soul includes savings or accounting in any bank, collectors will learn this info from the debtors credit report and serve the bank with a levy. The account is frozen and generally a twenty one days area unit given to the account holder to justify the due debt. just in case a correct justification isn't received, the cash starts to be subtracted from the account until the debts aren't repaid.

[biogenericpublishers]

Strategic Portfolio Investments and Financial Performance of Ecobank Rwanda Ltd. by Jean Bosco Harelimana in Open Access journal of Biogeneric Science and Research

Abstract The study aims to analyze the strategic portfolio investments and financial performance of Ecobank Rwanda Ltd. The study assessed why some investments perform well while others fail to produce return and revenues to the investor. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used, measuring risk and return, financial analysis, as basic tools for portfolio management. Purposive Sampling with Ecobank was chosen and four years as observations. Ecobank’s investments portfolio is mainly composed by Financial Investments (FI) of 16.24%; Investments with other Banking Institutions (IBI) of 24.71% and investments in Loans and Advances to Customers (LAC) of 59.06%. Portfolio covariance in this research equals to negative result of (2,896.16. Portfolio expected return of 21%. The negative covariance of Ecobank assets means their returns move in contrariwise directions, thus can be put in the same portfolio and the portfolio risk could be diversified or decreased. With zero (0.0143) correlation coefficient, there is no linear relationship between the returns of Ecobank assets, thus combining those assets reduces the risk portfolio. Out of every RWF 1 invested, Ecobank portfolio generates RWF 0.10 (10%), loans and advances to customers on the top of other assets generating RWF 0.14 (14%) per every RWF 1 invested in. Moreover, there is a significance effect of strategic portfolio investments (FI, IBI and LAC) on financial performance (ROA, ROE and ROI). The overall negative performance of Ecobank Rwanda during 2016-2019 is mainly affected by other factors such as high total operating expenses (Appendix No1); thus costs optimization is one of the main key decisions for the company (Ecobank Rwanda Ltd)’s positive performance (generate revenues to shareholders). Keywords: Strategic portfolio investments; Financial performance Abbreviations: FI: Financial Investments; LAC: Loans and Advances to Customers; IBI: Investments with other Banking Institutions; FBE: Financial Bubble Experiment; FCO: Financial Crisis Observatory; ROE: Return on Equity; ALCO: Assets and Liability Committee; LAC: Loans and Advances to Customers Introduction Campbell [1] discussed about inter-temporal portfolio choice and asset pricing, it found that the households in United States of America make investment mistakes such as failing to participate in risky asset markets or failing to diversify their risks and the potential impact of such mistakes on asset price. It realized that investors choose not to share risks in the United States because they have different beliefs that lead them to speculate against one another. The investors in the United States need a quick return on investment. Around 36% of projects in the United states did not achieve on their original goals because of inefficient portfolio management by senior managers who change priorities implemented for project that result to poor performance of investment among institutions. Sornette [2] showed that the financial crisis was caused by the crash of the new investment opportunities either new technology or access to new market. They start with a so called smart money without any real underlying value and end up by collapsing- financial bubbles. Sornette [2] showed that 25, 000 assets worldwide, including indices, stocks, bonds, commodities, currencies and derivatives have showed a daily update of a number of bubble indicators. The Financial Bubble Experiment (FBE) was conducted by the Experts from the Financial Crisis Observatory (FCO) at ETC Zurich- the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology where David Sornette who is both the Professor of Entrepreneurial Risks and the Professor of Finance at The Swiss Finance Institute. This Experiment was organized to testify if the financial markets exhibit a degree of inefficiency and a potential predictability. In Lithuania, the investor can make diversification either by having a large number of shares of companies in different regions, in different industries or those producing different types of product lines. There are many different ways to measure financial performance, but all measures should be taken in aggregation. Line items such as revenue from operations, operating income or cash flow from operations can be used, as well as total unit sales. Furthermore, the analyst or investor may wish to look deeper into financial statements and seek out margin growth rates or any declining debt [3]. In the United Arab Emirates, Saltuk & Idrissi [4] believed that investors can enhance the performance of their pure-stock portfolios by incorporating different options strategies. Among them, the most popular strategies are covered-call writing and protective-put buying. In theory, there is no clear evidence on whether a specific option strategy is superior. According to Saltuk & Idrissi [4] the efficient market theory, an increase in returns should be accompanied by an increase in risk. Adding options to stock portfolios may also create problems of performance measurement homogeneity. Hedging is a financial transaction in which one asset is held to offset the risk of holding another asset. Typically, a hedge is used to offset price risk due to changes of financial market conditions. In this way, the development of financial derivative instruments (options, futures, forward and swap) make hedgers simple to use it to reduce risk. However, many portfolio managers use these derivative instruments to speculate instead of hedging and in turn increase risk. This study explained how portfolio hedged risk in investment and gave optimum return to a given amount of risk at Ecobank Ltd. It also showed different investment decisions made by Ecobank Rwanda Ltd and focused on element of risk in detail while investing in securities. It also gave an in depth analysis of portfolio creation, selection, revision and evaluation. But in reality it was compared to the strategy, and ultimately to the benchmark, they are designed to beat. One can also gauge Portfolio Performance by measuring returns. Performance measurement was an important task for both investors and investment managers at Ecobank Rwanda Ltd. Portfolio Management Strategies referred to the approaches that were applied for the efficient portfolio management in order to generate the highest possible returns at lowest possible risks in Ecobank Rwanda Ltd. Objectives The general objective of this study is to analyze the strategic portfolio investments on financial performance of financial institutions in Rwanda focusing on the following specific objectives:       a. To examine the effect of strategic portfolio investments on Return of Assents of ECOBANK Rwanda Ltd       b. To assess the effect of strategic portfolio investments on Return on Equity of ECOBANK Rwanda Ltd        c. To analyze the effect of strategic portfolio investments on Return of Investments of ECOBANK Rwanda Ltd.

Literature Review Fachrudin & Fachrudin conducted a cross-sectional study on 45 real estates and property companies which had securities in Indonesia Stock Exchange with the aim of analyzing the property portfolio and sustainability of property and real estate companies. The study was quantitative and used secondary data from asset enhancement, flats, land lots, shopping centers, deport, shop, houses apartments property return and investment properties. In this study, investment properties were consider as properties and infrastructures that companies owned to earn rentals or capital appreciation or both. Findings showed that property portfolio and sustainability are not statistically significant(r=0.597; p-value=0.000). This implied that there is no association between property portfolio and return on asset. In short, risk do not predict the expected return in property investment with alpha 5%. The regression analysis showed that the model to analyze sustainability property was acceptable and suitable (p-value of 0.004; Exp (B) of 2.958). The model to analyze property portfolio was also acceptable and suitable (p-value of 0.002; Exp (B) of 3.339). It implied that 15 companies create sustainability while 30 companies didn’t in Indonesia. Sustainable property companies are those which were environmentally friendly, saving energy, and reducing running cost including green buildings. In short, the company size predict at 73.3% its sustainability concept. The corporate performance was predicted by the inventory of property and investment properties which generate revenue. Findings showed that the highest return was from the asset enhancement and the lowest expected return was from hospitality services and infrastructure. Table [5] made a theoretical analysis on how managers should adopt the useful managerial tool using an empirical analysis with PROMETHEE technique of qualitative analysis of the information collected from 17 customers of Persian Bank. They were selected using the purposing sampling technique based on their expertise in corporate banking. A semi-structured interview were conducted in 2007 to verify the level of agreement on the proposed model for customers’ business attractiveness, strategic importance of customers, the complexity and difficulty of managing each customer. His objective was to create the model for classifying relationship between corporate banks and their customers in an optimized way with considerations of network approach. He reviewed the literature on the relationship portfolio models, Network Theory and Business Banking Relationship. Talebi [5] concluded that Iranian banking industry was experiencing a more competitive market after the entrance of private banks to the market. To know more about open access Journal of Biogeneric Science and Research click on https://biogenericpublishers.com/ To know more about this article click on https://biogenericpublishers.com/pdf/JBGSR.MS.ID.00009.pdf https://biogenericpublishers.com/jbgsr.ms.id.00009.text/ For Online Submissions Click on https://biogenericpublishers.com/submit-manuscript/

[bigyack-com]

Italy's Coronavirus Outbreak Heightens Fears Over Global Impact

By the time the deadly coronavirus arrived in Italy’s industrial heartland, shutting down his factory and threatening Europe with economic damage, Antonio Falchetti was already a veteran in the battle to contain the global epidemic. His company, MTA Advanced Automotive Solutions, makes parts for the electrical systems of cars, supplying some of the world’s largest automobile manufacturers. One of its factories sits in Shanghai. As the coronavirus exploded into a public health emergency across China in January, Mr. Falchetti was forced to significantly reduce production and operate with a small fraction of his usual work force. By Feb. 17, his Shanghai plant was fully up and running. But less than a week later, MTA was facing a problem at another factory, in the Italian town of Codogno: The coronavirus had emerged there, prompting the regional government to close all local plants. Mr. Falchetti, the company’s chief executive, fears the government is overreacting. In effectively quarantining Codogno, a town of 16,000 people about 40 miles south of Milan, Italy, risks leaving automotive plants across Europe short of critical components, he says. “I hope our Italian authorities, and the rest of Europe as well, recognize that a complete shutdown of the facility is not just an Italian problem,” he said in an interview. “It will affect everyone. Ultimately our business — indeed, I think, most business in the world today — is part of a vibrant ecosystem. If you shut down one part of that ecosystem, inevitably it’s going to have effects on other parts.” The company, in a public statement on Monday, urged the Italian authorities to allow it to resume operations using one-tenth of its 600 workers. Otherwise, MTA warned, it would be unable to supply crucial parts to its customers, threatening to halt production at prominent automobile manufacturers across Europe, among them Renault, BMW, Peugeot and Jaguar Land Rover. BMW said it was “continuing to monitor the situation” but had yet to encounter difficulties finding needed parts. A spokeswoman for Renault said the company was still assessing potential impact and declined further comment. Jaguar Land Rover declined to comment, and Peugeot did not immediately respond to questions. The drama in Codogno underscored the worries afflicting the world economy as the coronavirus spreads. Until this week, the epidemic appeared largely confined to Asia. It was mysterious, unsettling and deadly, killing more than 2,000 people. It had disrupted Chinese industry and diminished spending by Chinese consumers. Updated Feb. 25, 2020 What is a Coronavirus? It is a novel virus named for the crown-like spikes that protrude from its surface. The coronavirus can infect both animals and people, and can cause a range of respiratory illnesses from the common cold to more dangerous conditions like Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS. How contagious is the virus? According to preliminary research, it seems moderately infectious, similar to SARS, and is probably transmitted through sneezes, coughs and contaminated surfaces. Scientists have estimated that each infected person could spread it to somewhere between 1.5 and 3.5 people without effective containment measures. Where has the virus spread? The virus, which originated in Wuhan, China, has sickened more than 80,000 people in at least 33 countries, including Italy, Iran and South Korea. Who is working to contain the virus? The World Health Organization officials have been working with officials in China, where growth has slowed. But this week, as confirmed cases spiked on two continents, experts warned that the world is not ready for a major outbreak. What if I’m traveling? The C.D.C. has warned older and at-risk travelers to avoid Japan, Italy and Iran. The agency also has advised against all non-essential travel to South Korea and China. How do I keep myself and others safe? Washing your hands frequently is the most important thing you can do, along with staying at home when you’re sick. Experts assumed that China’s economy, the world’s second largest after that of the United States, would slow sharply in the first half of this year before recovering as the epidemic was eventually contained. Given that China is the source of one-third of all global growth, this was enough to provoke worries worldwide, hitting balance sheets for multinational businesses from Apple to major airlines. Still, the locus of concern was China and neighboring countries like South Korea and Japan. That changed abruptly this week as the coronavirus flared well beyond China, prompting panicked selling across global markets on Monday and then again on Tuesday. The specter of an epidemic spreading rapidly in Italy raised the prospect of a new shock in a region that was already struggling to muster vitality. The sense that the virus could swell into a global crisis gained momentum as Iran was identified as the source of cases that have emerged in Iraq, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates and even Canada. Germany, Europe’s largest economy, has in recent months suffered a pronounced slowdown in factory orders as its auto industry grapples with increased fuel-efficiency standards, and as China’s growth slows. Chinese factories buy enormous volumes of petrochemicals and machinery from German suppliers. The Trump administration’s trade war with China has hurt Germany’s exports by limiting China’s industrial growth. The coronavirus has worsened this trend by keeping Chinese factory workers home. Britain’s departure from the European Union threatens to curtail investment in Europe as multinational corporations await clarity on trade negotiations about the future of commercial dealings across the English Channel. Italy has remained a perpetual source of concern for Europe — an economy that has not grown in two decades, with alarming levels of public debt and banks stuffed with bad loans. As one of 19 countries that share the euro currency, Italy must abide by strict rules on public spending, further limiting growth and making its companies especially dependent on trade. Italy sold some $550 billion worth of goods and services abroad in 2018, according to the World Bank. “Because of the austerity that is ingrained into Italian economic policy, the domestic market is not growing,” said Servaas Storm, an economist at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. “So firms that want to grow have to do it through exports.” The coronavirus has landed in Codogno and the surrounding region of Lombardy, as well as the neighboring areas of Piedmont and the Veneto. Collectively, they account for nearly one-third of the national economy. “This is really the industrial heart of Italy,” said Nicola Borri, a finance professor at Luiss, a university in Rome. “You have thousands of small companies that are active in exports. It’s a very dynamic area of the economy, on par with the most developed parts of Germany. It’s also very interconnected.” That interconnectedness is the element that makes the outbreak a potentially dangerous wild card in the European economy. More than 12 percent of Italy’s exports are sold in Germany, many of them auto parts. If Italy’s factories have trouble making their products, that could lead to shortages of components and disrupt plants in Germany and throughout Europe. This was the point that Mr. Falchetti and MTA were making in beseeching the regional government to allow some of its people to get back to work. “We can’t get the merchandise where it needs to go,” said Maria Vittoria Falchetti, Mr. Falchetti’s sister and a part-owner of MTA. “We can’t respect deadlines and delivery dates that we have committed to because of the effects of the lockdown.” With verifiable facts greatly outweighed by variables, economists are struggling to forecast the likely effects of the coronavirus. But estimates for growth are being revised down. Oxford Economics, a research institution in London, was previously expecting the Italian economy to stagnate this year. Now it expects a slight contraction in the first three months, with a longer downturn if the epidemic prompts consumers to cut back on their spending. With businesses closed and many people staying home, a drop in consumer spending seemed like a distinct possibility. “There’s a bit of a sense of panic in the air,” said Nicola Nobile, Oxford’s chief Italian economist, based in Milan. “Italy is going to be hit. The impact is definitely going to be felt. This is more bad news for Italy.” MTA has lately produced good news. Started by Mr. Falchetti’s grandfather in 1954, the company has turned its engineering prowess into a global brand with eight factories around the world. As the coronavirus emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan, a major industrial hub, cities throughout China imposed restrictions on factory production. The epidemic was spreading in the midst of the Lunar New Year, a holiday when hundreds of millions of migrant workers return to their villages in the countryside. Cities like Shanghai extended the holiday to keep those workers home, hoping that this would limit the reach of the virus. Mr. Falchetti sought to respect the restrictions while keeping production going on a severely limited basis. He imposed emergency measures. “Every worker had to pass through three different control stations before entering the building, and we checked each person’s temperature every two hours throughout the day,” Mr. Falchetti said. “Fortunately the controls and checks instituted in China have worked.” But just as the Shanghai factory was returning to normal, a 38-year-old man in Codogno sought treatment for flulike symptoms, triggering a test that showed he had contracted the coronavirus. Within days, the Italian government confirmed more than 150 cases in the country, with an especially worrying cluster in the area of Codogno. Soon, the regional government ordered that factory production cease. On Thursday, the national government announced an aggressive response — a quarantine zone centered on Codogno that affected about 50,000 people. “Our first reaction was entirely supportive,” Mr. Falchetti said. “The health of our workers is paramount. Everyone wanted to make sure there were no unnecessary risks.” But a week later, he worries that the quarantine is delivering a different kind of emergency — an economic crisis. “I’m not sure the government, or anyone else for that matter, really realizes the economic damage this kind of forced inactivity can inflict,” Mr. Falchetti said. “You need to get back to work, to stay active, to rebuild.” He cannot visit his factory, leaving him to stew at home. He stares at his computer, keeping abreast of orders he cannot satisfy, while breaking off to play the piano. “It helps me relax,” he said. Jack Ewing contributed reporting. Read the full article

[freelanews-blog]

ARTFUL DODGER: OKOROJI'S WEEKLY BREAKFAST SERVING OF SELF-HURTING RHETORICS

By Victor Ojelabi

For the umpteenth time, Chief Tony Okoroji uses his weekly SATURDAY BREAKFAST with TONY OKOROJI on his Facebook page to affirm his innocence, promote his pedigree, sell his altruism, attack his opponents and work up a storm of emotions without addressing the real issues. Saturday, May 11, 2019's "THE POSSIBILITY OF THE IMPOSSIBLE" yet again, rehashed often published statements with a concluding paragraph that appears to reference the #AuditCOSON position that was one of the key outcomes of the Music Publishers Association of Nigeria (MPAN) Town Hall Meeting of May 10, 2019. Okoroji's rancid rigmarole would impress only those who badly want to be impressed simply because the one true route to validating his aggressively professed innocence is the route his so vehemently seeks to dodge or discredit - the full forensic audit of the account and operations of COSON under his tenure as chairman. While his supporters read and cheer, these in my humble opinion, are the questions discerning minds ask: OKOROJI'S QUOTE: "Visiting an Oba, an Emir, a Minister or a Governor in our continuous outreach to expand the frontiers of the understanding of intellectual property in our country, is probably one percent of the work we do. That is however the part of the work that most times attracts envy. REACTION: Are we supposed to believe that busy COSON directors like Obi Asika, SK Sensation, Efe Omorogbe and Audu Maikori were suddenly so idle and petty that they grew envious of Okoroji because of royal visits?   OKOROJI'S QUOTE: "Anyone who has managed a band of a few musicians, will understand that bringing together thousands of creative people, managing their effervescent temperaments and molding them into a force for progress is not beans." REACTION: Doesn't this imply that Okoroji single-handedly "brought together and moulded thousands of creative people into a force"?   Does this claim correlate with the widely known fact that COSON was founded and promoted by the Nigerian Music Industry Coalition made up of several leading industry associations like AM.B-Pro, PMAN, NARI, PMRS etc? Have the likes of Laolu Akins, Edi Lawani, Efe Omorogbe, Toju Ejueyitchie, Ebenezer Obey, Onyeka Onwenu, Audu Maikori, Sunny Neji, Dele Abiodun, Goddy Tabansi, Charlimo, Joel Ajayi, Joey Ukpong, Tony Anifite and many more not been repeatedly celebrated for their efforts in birthing COSON? OKOROJI'S QUOTE: "I have superintended over the building of an outstanding Nigerian institution called COSON which many said could never see the light of day. When the COSON House was commissioned almost two years ago, a lot of people were surprised that there was not one Naira of government money in the magnificent building, no donor dollar from anywhere, no bank loan and no debt of any type." REACTION: The process of onboarding the contractor has been questioned.   The directors have alleged that the figures paid to the said contractor were neither negotiated nor approved by the board.   They have also alleged that an attempt to save COSON some money by pressing for a discount on the final instalment of the said payment was resisted by Okoroji and indeed, led to the illegal disollution of the finance committee by Okoroji.   Is it more important to bask in the euphoria of the commissioning of the "magnificent COSON House without government money or donor dollar than insist on proper procurement process for a public institution? OKOROJI'S QUOTE: "For eight years, not one of the highly trained staff of COSON received his or her salary one day late. Not until recently, when some meddlesome interlopers went to court behind our backs to shut down the bank accounts of COSON." REACTION: The order to freeze the COSON accounts made provision for the payment of staff emoluments and the lawyers of the plaintiffs reportedly made attempts to ensure those payments were made.   Could COSON have ignored the approach to create the false impression that the action was carried out to deny the staff of their entitlement? OKOROJI'S QUOTE: "My dedication to the copyright cause has never been because of a title or because of personal wealth. My official car for much of 2018 was one rickety 20-year old Toyota Camry and later on, one 16-year old Honda Pilot. I do not live in a house provided by COSON. No member of my family goes to a hospital provided by COSON. I do not go on a vacation on the bill of COSON. I have written in Saturday Breakfast before that I verily believe that the true worth of a man is not in what he takes but in what he gives. Pray, how many bags of Naira will I be buried with?" REACTION: The press statement from the press conference of January 16, 2018 stated that Okoroji illegally collected almost N10,000,000.00 (Ten million naira) as personal commission from a single royalty settlement in 2017.   Some directors have also alleged that no individual or corporate member of COSON has collected anything near what Okoroji/TOPS has collected from the society in last three years prior to the beginning of the crisis in December 2017. Not the performer, author or writer of the biggest hits, not the label or publishing company with the biggest repertoire.   Okoroji claims he's a "poor" selfless target of the envious interlopers. The directors claim he is bleeding the collecting society. Shouldn't it be Okoroji canvassing #AuditCOSON to clear his name?   OKOROJI'S QUOTE: "In the last 12 months, I have been dragged to the Nigeria Police, the EFCC and visited by SARS. Not long ago, it was all over the media that the Copyright Commission has filed criminal charges against me and some of my colleagues at COSON for working for the good of our country! They did not file the charges because we did anything wrong but because we did everything right." REACTION: Okoroji and colleagues were charged with criminally operating a CMO with a suspended licence, not for "working for the good of our country". OKOROJI'S QUOTE: "To think that I was one of the people who wrote the law setting up the Nigerian Copyright Commission. Typical Nigerians, they badly want to hijack COSON and bleed it dry."   REACTION: Does this place Okoroji above the law or COSON beyond the regulation of the commission? OKOROJI'S QUOTE: "Recently, they began this loud campaign for the ‘independent’ audit of the COSON accounts. The intent is to create the impression that Okoroji’s hands are not clean. “He is hiding something somewhere”. The persons who started this campaign know the truth. The truth is that no organization in the history of the Nigerian creative industry has, year after year, been meticulously audited like COSON. Not the NCC. Not PMAN. Not NARI. Not REPRONIG. Not AVRS. Not AMB – PRO. Not AGN!" REACTION: If hundreds of prominent members and even directors have been calling for the audit for more than a year, isn't better to allow the "independent" audit shame those who claim that "Okoroji's hands are not clean"?   How is a Facebook post advancing a lame argument that COSON is more meticulously audited than NCC, AGN, PMAN or NARI stronger proof of innocence than the independent audit? OKOROJI'S QUOTE: "Each of the thousands of COSON members, including those making the noise, have copies of the COSON audited accounts which have been ratified by COSON members every single year, as required by law." REACTION: Do these copies of the COSON audited accounts show details that exonerate Okoroji/TOPS of claims of illegally collecting tens of millions from COSON over the years?   If not, then a full forensic audit is necessary to validate their claims or exonerate the accused. OKOROJI'S QUOTE: "I swore to defend the interest of the members of COSON as long as they want me to." REACTION: "This is interesting! Are the directors and hitmakers - including Sound Sultan, Falz, EME, Skales, Mavin, Square Records, Vector, Chocolate City, 2Baba, Timi Dakolo, 9ice, Brymo, Sunny Neji, Ruggedman, Tunde & Wunmi Obe, Universal, Green Light Publishing etc - whose works mainly earn licensing income for COSON not MEMBERS in Okoroji's view? Haven't they, some after more than a year of questions and petitions, stated it clearly enough that Okoroji should step aside for a while, allow the audit prove his innocence before resuming his self appointed Voltron role? Or is it like, those who do not agree with him are automatically non-members, irrelevant members or enemies of COSON? Someone should tell Chief Tony Okoroji that thesw Maradona-esque manoeuvres are clearly more indicting that the rantings of his envious enemies. He should be advised to do the needful, prove his innocence and shame his detractors once and for all. #AuditCOSON. Read the full article

[abroadshiksha-blog]

YOUR CAREER DESERVES NO COMPROMISES: GET THE BEST GUIDANCE WITH ABROAD SHIKSHA

Foreign education can play a pivotal role in a person’s future, developing his persona and skills and preparing him for numerous job opportunities. Add to that the high standard of living foreign countries offer and it becomes understandable why so many students today aspire for higher education from an international university. While the aspiration is ambitious for sure, incomplete knowledge of the procedure often ends up the student up in a university much below his or her potential. Thankfully, the world we live in today has a widely available solution to this problem: education consultancy firms. The organizations which not only help students figure out the best university for them but also make the admission process short and smooth.

What adds to this great convenience for the students is the competitive spirit necessary today. With so many options available, these firms need to perform exceptionally and in addition to that, also provide some feature of interest that distinguishes them from the rest. Where everybody covers their basics, the one ready to go an extra mile is obviously the undisputed king, since that extra mile is often the difference between a huge success and a near miss – between a great university and a mediocre one. However, a drawback of this same competition is how tiresome it becomes for a student to figure out the best one of the lot.

There is certainly no dearth of options, with names like Abroad Shiksha, Collegify, IDP fairly common in the education consultancy sphere. But which of these holds the edge is definitely something to mull over, and since a student is certainly too preoccupied to consume himself in such deliberations, collected here is some useful information which may well prove to be indispensable for his or her career.

Putting it in brief, the role of an education consultancy firm is to help a student figure out the right path ahead and make the process smooth and secure. This consists of various duties, including assessing the student’s potential, keeping a track of applications and obtaining visas among others. Considering all these responsibilities and juxtaposing them with what various education consultancy firms offer, Abroad Shiksha takes ground as the leader of the pack. Established quite recently, the company combines the orthodox approach of its peers with the technological advancement of the age to offer a student the best way ahead for foreign education. To put the argument to a rest, provided below is a detailed analysis of where Abroad Shiksha takes the edge in comparison to various other education consultancy firms.

         Admission Desk is limited in its functionality, catering to students aiming for the best colleges and universities at the national level. Although it does provide access to various courses and has counseled a number of students, it isn’t suitable for the needs of students aspiring to international education. Abroad Shiksha, on the other hand, handles these students extremely proficiently and is the right destination for any doubts anyone has regarding foreign education. It provides the students with the best options to explore their potential on an international level and helps make this task easier for them. Admission Desk might be a great resource for students seeking national education but when international aspirations are considered, Abroad Shiksha caters to the needs that follow.

         Schoolinks is an international education consultancy firm based in the USA. While it boasts of numerous features, it differs in its approach as compared to Study Abroad. Schoolinks lets a student approach his or her dream college or course in any country of choice and also provides individual counselling. However, where this approach falters is offering the course according to its availability in a country. Abroad Shiksha instead uses advanced algorithms to figure out the best college for a student not only according to his needs but according to the industry clusters as well, taking into account the scope of career in a particular course in the country. Another advantage Abroad Shiksha offers is its presence within the country only. While the entire process can be conducted online, those who prefer personal counselling can avail it at the company office.

         Collegify is next on the list, offering students options to pursue undergraduate, postgraduate and MBA internationally from universities across the USA, UK, continental Europe and Singapore. The company claims to have counselled over 3000 students since its establishment in 2012. Abroad Shiksha, on the other hand, has counselled a greater number of students in its shorter existence, proving what it falls short of in terms of experience, it more than makes up for in expertise. Abroad Shiksha has counselled over 4000 students since embracing the field in 2014. Moreover, it also offers students access and exposure to more parts of the world, including Asian countries like Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates. Another major advantage that Abroad Shiksha offers is its services catering to high school students. While Collegify addresses students seeking higher education abroad, Abroad Shiksha also offers interested students options for admission into high schools, in addition to various seasonal programs. This provides students an early exposure to a foreign land, conditioning them to the atmosphere and surroundings there and enhancing their persona at an early age.

         Meet University is another familiar name in the field of education consultancy. Granted that the company certainly covers expansive territories, Abroad Shiksha still delivers more precise counselling. Meet University lays emphasis on reaching a candidate out to his dream college. Abroad Shiksha, however, keeps realistic targets and counsels the student to aim for the university best fit to develop his or her potential. It prioritizes universities with maximum probability of the student being accepted. In addition, as mentioned above, Abroad Shiksha also offers options for admissions into high schools and various seasonal programs, something which Meet University lacks in.

         IDP is also a popular education consultancy firm providing foreign education at college and school level. Matching Abroad Shiksha in this aspect, where it lags is its approach of providing counselling to students. IDP counsels students for admission into their desired college of a foreign university while Abroad Shiksha takes into account a student’s potential, industry clusters and several other factors. This is made possible by the advanced technology employed by the company on their web portal. An artificially intelligent recommendation engine uses high-level data analysis to analyze various career clusters and industry presence in various countries to provide recommendations best suited for the student, thus using modern technology to provide the best possible results.

These five organizations form the crux of the education consultancy services in India and the comparisons drawn above suffice to showcase the advantages Abroad Shiksha holds over them. While there are numerous other firms, the advantages offered by the firm continue to increase in number as we go down the list.

What lies at the core of Abroad Shiksha’s philosophy and is, therefore, a vital factor in its superiority is its implementing modern technology to revitalize the orthodox approach. It makes use of revolutionary data-driven algorithms on its web portal (an innovative push to the outdated concept of counseling provided according to the student’s desires rather than his needs) to take into account industry presence and career clusters, relying on data to get rid of any possible human error. Another key factor in Abroad Shiksha’s success is its easy to use single dashboard, which allows a student to submit multiple applications to various universities abroad. The 100% digitalized services also include services such as education loan application, fees payment guidance, visa interview preparation and documents guidance, ticket booking, health and travel insurance, accommodation guidance among others, making it a full spectrum education consultancy firm, taking care of end-to-end needs so that minimal effort is required on part of the student.

Thus Abroad Shiksha is the perfect destination for all the students aspiring for foreign education in an international university. Studying abroad does develop a person in ways impossible for local education to, exposing him to an international culture while he learns to lead an independent life. Not only does foreign education on a CV make a great impression but also ensures better pay, thanks to the better skill set the student attains, which ultimately leads to a higher standard of living. With Abroad Shiksha, it is possible for every student to reach his or her complete potential, explore the opportunities available worldwide and live a life he deserves – not one he has to settle with. So don’t hesitate to go with the one ready to make an extra effort for your future, get on board with Abroad Shiksha to make all your dreams come true because often, that extra effort is all that matters.

[ashishtriton]

GLOBAL ORGANIC DAIRY FOOD & BEVERAGE MARKET 2019-2028

Triton Market Research predicts that the global organic dairy food & beverage market will rise with a CAGR of 11.10% during the forecast period 2019-2028. The market has been valued at $18.15 billion in the year 2019, and is expected to rise to a revenue of about $46.81billion by the year 2028.  

Organic milk collected from livestock is used as a raw material, which is then used by manufacturers to make organic dairy food and beverages. These mainly include products such as yogurt, milk, cheese, ice cream and butter.

Triton Market Research’s report on the organic dairy food & beverage market provides an in-depth insight into the market. The detailed analysis of the market includes the key market insights, Porter’s five force analysis, key impact analysis, and market attractiveness index.  

https://www.tritonmarketresearch.com/reports/organic-dairy-food-and-beverage-market#request-free-sample

Factors such as the rising awareness about health concerns and the emergence of environment protection, technological advancements in development are expected to foster the growth of the market during the forecast period. Advances in microbiological technology, membrane technology, as well as analytical technology, are helping the organic dairy food and drinks market to produce technologically advanced products, such as organic milk, which contains a high amount of antioxidants, healthy fatty acids like DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), and omega 3. Innovative products such as buttermilk, flavored milk, cottage cheese, yogurt, sour cream, and fruit toppings are added, which are helping to boost the growth of the market. For example, Greek yogurt has been added to the organic dairy product market, which is low in fat and sugar as compared to traditional yogurt. Its popularity contributed to the rise in the overall consumption of organic dairy products.

Furthermore, government initiatives to encourage organic dairy farming and innovative organic dairy products are expected to act as some opportunities for the market. Due to the shortage of organic dairy products, the governments and organic dairy industry have launched initiatives to encourage farmers to transition from conventional farming techniques to organic. To promote the growth of this industry, there are many initiatives taken by these governments, such as low interest rates, loan facilities, and financial incentives, for farmers to transition to organic methods. Stonyfield Farms and Organic Valley, which manufacture organic dairy products, have established funds and spent about $2 million on incentives to help dairy farmers transition to organic. Also, they are providing farmers with access to organic agronomic resources.

Organic food and drinks are more expensive because of a more lengthy regulatory process, complicated growth, and packaging. As organic dairy products are process-based products, it costs the farmer more to produce these products, and hence, the cost of organic dairy food and drinks is higher. In addition, producing a product that is free from chemicals, antibiotics, and drugs, and which is produced naturally and guarantees the highest animal welfare, will certainly cost more. The volume of milk provided by each organic cow is low, and so, the cost of organic products is higher, and is acting as one of the factors that can negatively impact the market growth of organic dairy products. This is one of the major restraints faced by vendors in the market. Furthermore, the shorter shelf life of organic dairy products, huge R&D investments, stringent approval process, fluctuations in the supply of organic raw materials, and the threat from substitute products are some of the key restraining factors of the organic dairy food & beverage market.

Key geographies covered in global organic dairy food & beverage market are:

•         North America: United States and Canada

• ��       Europe: United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Russia, and Rest of Europe

•         Asia-Pacific: China, Japan, India, Australia, South Korea, ASEAN Countries, and Rest of Asia-Pacific

•         Latin America: Brazil, Mexico, and Rest of Latin America

•         Middle East and Africa: Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, South Africa, and Rest of Middle East & Africa

The report on the global organic dairy food & beverage market includes segmentation analysis on the basis of type and distribution channel.

•         Market by Type:

o        Organic Milk

o        Organic Yogurt

o        Organic Cheese

o        Other Organic dairy food

•         Market by Distribution Channels:

o        Supermarkets/hypermarkets

o        Health food Stores

o        E-commerce

o        Others

The key companies profiled in the organic dairy food & beverage market report include Stonyfield Farm Inc, Safeway (Albertsons Companies Inc), Straus Family Creamery, Danone SA (Horizon Organic), FrieslandCampina, Chobani LLC, Organic Valley, BJs Wholesale Club Inc, Unilever, and General Mills Inc.

[ladystylestores]

Rocket Report: Another Chinese launch failure, Minotaur IV soars

Enlarge / Northrop Grumman successfully launched its Minotaur IV Rocket into orbit on Wednesday morning.

Welcome to Edition 3.08 of the Rocket Report! We are now approaching the middle of the 2020 Mars launch window, and it appears as though we will see the UAE, China, and United States all launch missions to the red planet during the last 10 days of the month. Exciting times ahead!

As always, we welcome reader submissions, and if you don’t want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar.

Chinese Kuaizhou-11 launch ends in failure. The launch of a new Chinese Kuaizhou-11 commercial solid rocket ended in failure last Friday, resulting in the loss of two satellites, SpaceNews reports. Terse reports from Chinese media state that the specific cause of the failure is “under further analysis and investigation.”

China’s third launch failure of 2020 … The Kuaizhou-11 is a larger version of the Kuaizhou-1A solid rocket, operated by Expace, a commercial spin-off from the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp., a state-owned missile maker. The rocket has a diameter of 2.2 meters and a mass at liftoff of 78 tons. It is capable of delivering 1,000 kilograms to a 700km Sun-synchronous orbit. (submitted by Ken the Bin, JohnCarter17, and platykurtic)

Small-launch contracts diverted to small-business loans. The $116 million that the US Department of Defense set aside for small-launch contracts under the Defense Production Act have been redirected to other priorities, SpaceNews reports. The Pentagon had approved funding the small-launch contracts but, at the last minute, decided to shift the money to small-business loan programs that were considered a more urgent priority. It is unlikely that those contracts will be awarded any time soon, the US Air Force’s top procurement official Will Roper said.

DoD says of the funds: You can’t aevum … About a month ago, the military announced it intended to award contracts to six small-launch providers financially impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. On July 1 DoD withdrew the contracts that would have been awarded to Aevum, Astra, X-Bow, Rocket Lab, Space Vector, and VOX Space to launch two rideshare missions over the next 24 months. Awarding the launch contracts now will require additional funding from Congress. (submitted by Ken the Bin)

The easiest way to keep up with Eric Berger’s space reporting is to sign up for his newsletter, we’ll collect his stories in your inbox.

Next frontier for small rockets: Deep space? In a feature, Ars explores the potential for small satellites (and the new low-cost rockets that launch them) to transform planetary science. Instead of spending a decade or longer planning and developing a mission before spending hundreds of millions (to billions!) of dollars bringing it off, perhaps we can fly a mission within a couple of years for a few tens of millions of dollars.

The Moon, Mars, and beyond … In recent years, a new generation of companies is developing new rockets for small satellites that cost roughly $10 million for a launch. Already, Rocket Lab has announced a lunar program for its small Electron rocket. “I think this is a huge, disruptive program for the scientific community,” Rocket Lab’s chief said. And Virgin Orbit has teamed up with a group of Polish universities to launch up to three missions to Mars with its LauncherOne vehicle.

Minotaur IV rocket launches NRO mission. A Northrop Grumman Minotaur IV solid-propellant rocket launched the NROL-129 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office on July 15 from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, SpaceNews reports. The classified NROL-129 mission carried four remote-sensing payloads.

Putting old missiles to good use … This was the Minotaur IV’s first flight from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Island Facility. It was the NRO’s first launch on a Minotaur IV, a four-stage vehicle made with three government-furnished solid-rocket motors from decommissioned Peacekeeper intercontinental ballistic missiles. (submitted by JohnCarter17 and Ken the Bin)

Korean satellite launch postponed. The planned launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket Tuesday from Cape Canaveral of a South Korean military communications satellite has been delayed in order to address an issue on the launcher’s second stage and potentially replace the hardware if necessary, Spaceflight Now reports.

Being extra paranoid … This is the second SpaceX mission to be postponed indefinitely in recent days as the company tries to cut turnaround times for reused rockets and produce new upper stages at a rapid rate to to meet a fast-paced launch schedule in the coming weeks. “We’re being extra paranoid,” tweeted Elon Musk, SpaceX’s founder and CEO. “Maximizing probability of successful launch is paramount.” Launch is now set for no earlier than July 19. (submitted by JohnCarter17)

Spaceflight to debut Sherpa-FX on Falcon 9 mission. The Seattle-based rideshare-management company said this week it will be flying its next-generation orbital-transfer vehicle, Sherpa-FX, on a dedicated rideshare mission with SpaceX. This mission is scheduled to launch on a Falcon 9 no earlier than December 2020. This is another step toward big rockets offering customizable satellite delivery.

Last-mile delivery … “In-space transportation is essential to meeting our customer’s specific needs to get their spacecraft delivered to orbit exactly when and where they want it,” said Grant Bonin, senior vice president of business development for Spaceflight Inc. “If you think of typical rideshare as sharing a seat on a train headed to a popular destination, our next-generation Sherpa program enables us to provide a more complete ‘door-to-door transportation service’.” (submitted by Ken the Bin)

Hope Mars probe launch delayed by weather. After two previous weather delays, a Mars orbiter financed by the United Arab Emirates will be launched between July 20 and 22, the Khaleej Times reports. The new launch time will be announced depending on the weather conditions.

Third time’s the charm? … A Japanese H-2A rocket was originally due to launch on July 15. But the “persistence of thunderstorms, cumulative clouds and unstable weather conditions in the coming days on Tanegashima Island” have now delayed the launch twice. The rocket and spacecraft are both said to be in good condition. (submitted by JohnCarter17)

Arianespace will phase out Ariane 5 in 2022. Program delays have forced EUMETSAT to reserve a pair of Ariane 6 rockets for two European weather satellites originally anticipated to launch on Ariane 5 rockets, SpaceNews reports. Only one of three planned satellites, MTG-I1, will be completed before Arianespace switches completely to Ariane 6 rockets.

Two more years of Ariane 5 … MTG-I1, an imaging satellite, will launch on an Ariane 5 rocket in 2022, the last year Ariane 5 will be available, said Paul Counet, EUMETSAT’s head of strategy. The sounding satellite MTG-S1, for which EUMETSAT had a firm Ariane 5 launch contract, is now scheduled to launch in 2023 on an Ariane 6, as well as another bird launching in 2025. (submitted by JohnCarter17)

Rocket for next crew mission arrives in Florida. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that will launch NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission for the agency’s Commercial Crew Program has arrived in Florida, the space agency said. This mission will carry NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Michael Hopkins, Shannon Walker, and JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi to the International Space Station for a full-duration mission.

Taking flight in a couple of months … A launch date will be determined after the completion of SpaceX’s crew-demonstration mission, which is likely to return to Earth in early August. This suggests the flight will take place no earlier than late September. The rocket will now undergo prelaunch processing in the company’s facility on nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. (submitted by Ken the Bin)

No big rockets in 2020, but seven are coming. 2020 was supposed to be the year of the big rocket. At one point, as many as four large, powerful boosters were slated to take flight this year. Alas, we now know for sure that none of them is going to make it this year, because Arianespace’s Ariane 6, NASA’s Space Launch System, Blue Origin’s New Glenn, and United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur will all slip to 2021 at the very least.

Seven deadly predictions … However, all of those rockets and three more—Japan’s H3, Northrop Grumman’s Omega booster, and SpaceX’s Super Heavy first stage—are coming at some point in the next couple of years. In a new article, Ars makes wild guesses as to when each of these seven new rockets may ultimately make its debut. Spoiler alert: we think H3 probably will be first and New Glenn last.

SLS static-fire test may occur in October. NASA and Boeing say they are on track to perform a major static-fire test of the core stage of the Space Launch System in October, a key milestone ahead of a first launch in late 2021, SpaceNews reports. Crews working on testing the SLS core stage at the Stennis Space Center have run into “no issues” so far during a series of tests collectively known as the Green Run, said John Shannon, Boeing vice president and program manager for the rocket.

Up to test number four … Three of eight Green Run tests have been completed. These include applying forces to the core stage to simulate launch conditions, powering on the stage’s avionics, and testing the systems that would shut down the stage if there’s a problem during testing. Shannon said work is underway on the fourth test: checking components of the rocket’s main propulsion system. If the test firing does occur in October, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, that would be a positive step forward for the program. (submitted by Ken the Bin and JohnCarter17)

ESA confirms Ariane 6 delay to late 2021. Of the big four rockets that once had debuts set for this year, Ariane 6 was the last to announce a delay. “While we know that the maiden flight will not take place before the second semester of 2021, we cannot at this moment precisely quantify the delay, and we cannot provide an exact launch date,” Daniel Neuenschwander, ESA’s director of space transportation, said.

The pandemic played a big role … SpaceNews reports that pandemic-induced delays with Ariane 6’s launch pad construction, solid-rocket-booster testing, and productivity losses at Ariane 6 industrial sites had compromised the rocket’s original schedule. Neuenschwander also said problems with the cryogenic arms at the Ariane 6 launch pad in Kourou, French Guiana, were contributing to the delay. (submitted by Ken the Bin and JohnCarter17)

SLS rocket replaces Saturn V on Alabama tags. Alabama has traded the glory of a past Moon rocket for the promise of a new launch vehicle on the latest version of its space-exploration-themed, specialty license plate, Collect Space reports. The redesigned “Alabama Space Tag” replaces the depiction of the historic Saturn V booster with NASA’s new Space Launch System rocket. The new plate marks the first time that the Saturn V has not appeared on an Alabama plate in 15 years.

Funds go to a good cause … The Alabama Department of Revenue began issuing the new Space Tag in May. Like the “Save the Saturn V” plate that it replaced, sales benefit the state’s home for one of the three remaining Apollo-era rockets. Net proceeds will be distributed to the US Space and Rocket Center Foundation to be used toward the Davidson Saturn V Center in Huntsville where the Saturn V is located. It’s a good cause, at least. (submitted by JohnCarter17)

Next three launches

July 19: Falcon 9 | Anasis-2 | Cape Canaveral, Fla. | 21:00 UTC

July 19: H-2A | Emirates Mars Mission “Hope” | Tanegashima, Japan | TBD

July 23: Long March 5 | Tianwen-1 Mars mission | Wenchang Satellite Launch Center, China | TBD

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[businessliveme]

Singapore to Unveil Stimulus; Deaths Top 346,000: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) — Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson’s most senior adviser, refused to quit his job in the U.K. government, refuting claims he flouted lockdown rules that he had helped to draft. Germany agreed on a 9 billion euro ($9.8 billion) bailout for virus-hit airline Lufthansa.

Japan ended its state of emergency everywhere in the country and made reviving the economy its top priority. Singapore is set to unveil a fourth stimulus package.

The World Health Organization temporarily halted tests on hydroxychloroquine in its Covid-19 drug trials pending more data because of safety concerns.

Key Developments:

Virus Tracker: Cases top 5.4 million; deaths over 346,000

Singapore economy could contract 7%, most since independence

Germany to take Lufthansa stake in landmark $9.8 billion bailout

Johnson aide refuses to quit over claim he breached lockdown

WHO’s hydroxychloroquine trial suspended pending safety data

Subscribe to a daily update on the virus from Bloomberg’s Prognosis team here. Click VRUS on the terminal for news and data on the coronavirus. For a look back at this week’s top stories from QuickTake, click here.

Hong Kong to Reopen Karaoke Parlors, Resume Airport Transits (10:41 a.m. HK)

Hong Kong will further ease social-distancing measures this week as concern over the coronavirus pandemic wanes.

Karaoke parlors, bathhouses, party rooms and nightclubs will be allowed to return to business starting this Friday, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said at a regular press briefing. Transit services will gradually resume at the Hong Kong International Airport starting June 1, she said.

Philippines Seeks $26 Billion Stimulus (10:03 a.m. HK)

The Philippines’ Trade Department wants lawmakers to pass a 1.3 trillion peso ($26 billion) stimulus package that will aid the recovery of industries and workers.

Of the total stimulus being discussed at the House of Representatives, about 628 billion pesos is planned for wage subsidies and loans for businesses hit by the lockdown, the Trade Department said in a statement. The remaining half of the proposed package will be used to build facilities for health, education and food security.

Saudi Arabia to Ease Lockdown Restrictions: SPA (9:55 a.m. HK)

Saudi Arabia said it will begin gradually easing coronavirus lockdown restrictions on May 28, the state-run SPA reported, citing the interior ministry.

In the first phase May 28-30, travel is allowed in and between cities from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m., except for Mecca and Medina. Malls and stores should be open during that time with social-distancing considerations.

China Reports 7 New Cases, All From Abroad (8:29 a.m. HK)

China reported seven additional coronavirus cases by the end of May 25, with all of them from abroad, according to a statement from the National Health Commission. Of the seven cases, five were reported in Inner Mongolia.

The country also reported 29 asymptomatic cases, with one of them from abroad. It had no coronavirus deaths for May 25.

Singapore Slashes Growth Target With 7% Contraction Possible (8:01 a.m. HK)

Singapore’s economy will probably contract 4% to 7% this year as the coronavirus outbreak and measures to contain it pummel the trade-reliant city state.

The government revised its forecast from a previous projection for a contraction of 1% to 4% as the outlook for external demand deteriorates, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said in a statment.

“There continues to be a significant degree of uncertainty over the length and severity of the Covid-19 outbreak, as well as the trajectory of the economic recovery, in both the global and Singapore economies,” the MTI said.

Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat is set to unveil a fourth stimulus package in Parliament later Tuesday to further counter the economic pain.

U.S. Resets Brazil Travel Limit (6:40 a.m. HK)

The Trump administration advanced the effective time for limiting the entry of non-U.S. citizens traveling from Brazil, a nation that has the world’s second-most infections. The order will take effect at the end of Tuesday, two days earlier than stated in a proclamation issued Sunday by the White House.

Air New Zealand Forecasts Loss (6:30 a.m. HK)

Air New Zealand forecast its first full-year loss in 18 years as the pandemic halts travel, grounds aircraft and forces the layoff as many as 4,000 workers.

The carrier will post an underlying loss in the year ending June 30 but can’t provide a range, it said Tuesday in Wellington. The airline will post an impairment charge on aircraft of at least NZ$350 million ($213 million), restructuring costs of as much as NZ$160 million and losses on fuel hedges of as much as NZ$105 million, it said.

Airlines are reeling from the impact of the pandemic, forcing them to review fleets, routes and spending and seek government help. Germany on Monday offered Deutsche Lufthansa AG a $9.8 billion bailout. Air New Zealand agreed a NZ$900 million debt facility with the government in March.

U.S. Says 200 Million Tests Possible (5:55 p.m. NY)

The Trump administration said sufficient quantities of Abbott Laboratories’ ID NOW Covid-19 test and Quidel Corp.’s Sofia 2 instruments exist to support 200 million U.S. tests per month.

The Department of Health and Human Services, in a report to Congress, said 18,000 ID NOW devices and 20,000 Quidel instruments are available to states. The U.S. also is buying 100 million swabs and 100 million tubes of viral transport media to help states meet testing goals.

“This large-scale acquisition reflects a significant expansion of current capacity,” according to the report, and reflects use of the Defense Production Act to increase swab manufacturing.

Minneapolis Mayor Worried by Church Rules (5:30 p.m. NY)

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said he is concerned by Minnesota state guidelines taking effect on Wednesday that let churches resume services, with limits on attendance and requirements to follow social-distancing measures.

“A move up to 25% capacity and up to 250 people in places of worship is a recipe in Minneapolis for a public health disaster,” Frey said Monday on CNN. “That is not the route that we can or should be going on right now.”

Novavax Starts Vaccine Study (4:35 p.m. NY)

Novavax Inc. began human testing of its coronavirus vaccine candidate and anticipates providing a first look in July at what sort of immune responses are generated.

In the first phase, 130 healthy adult volunteers at two sites in Australia will get two doses of NVX-CoV2373, the biotech’s experimental vaccine. If initial results look promising, the company plans to quickly move into the second phase — expand testing to other countries and age groups outside of 18 to 59.

The Gaithersburg, Maryland-based company is one of about 10 that are testing vaccines, according to the World Health Organization. Moderna Inc. reported the first Covid-19 vaccine results in humans last week.

U.S. Cases Rose 1.3%, Less Than Week’s Average (4 p.m. NY)

U.S. cases increased 1.3% from the same time Sunday to 1.65 million, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg News. The increase was below the average daily increase of 1.4% over the past week, and has the same for three days.

Deaths rose less than 1% to 97,948 from 97,424 — the smallest one-day increase in more than a week.

California Sets Church Limits (3:45 p.m. NY)

California will limit attendance in houses of worship to 25% of building capacity or 100 people and is discouraging choir singing, group recitations and passing of the collection plate.

“Convening in a congregational setting of multiple different households to practice a personal faith carries a relatively higher risk for widespread transmission of the Covid-19 virus, and may result in increased rates of infection, hospitalization, and death, especially among more vulnerable populations,” according to the guidance.

The state is also discouraging potlucks or similar family-style eating and drinking events that increase the risk of cross contamination.

England to Reopen Showrooms, Stores (2:50 p.m. NY)

England’s outdoor markets and car showrooms can reopen from June 1, as soon as they can meet guidelines to protect shoppers and workers, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said as he urged the public to spend money in stores when the curbs are lifted.

All other non-essential outlets including shops selling clothes, shoes, toys, furniture, books and electronics, plus tailors, auction houses, photography studios and indoor markets, are on track to reopen June 15 if the government can control the spread of the virus, Johnson told a daily news conference. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are on a different timetable determined by local administrations.

U.K. cases rose to 261,184. The government reported 121 new deaths, up from 118 a day earlier, bringing the total to 36,914.

Dubai to Ease Limits Wednesday (2:20 p.m. NY)

The emirate of Dubai will resume economic activities and ease lockdown restrictions starting Wednesday, the emirate’s media office said in a statement.

Travel will be allowed from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. local time. The airport will operate only for residents leaving Dubai, some clinics will reopen and elective surgeries that take up to 2 1/2 hours will be allowed, the statement said.

Training academies, indoor sport venues, gyms and movie theaters will be open with social distancing in place.

The post Singapore to Unveil Stimulus; Deaths Top 346,000: Virus Update appeared first on Businessliveme.com.

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[courtneytincher]

Relief Rally Halted as Fed Fails to Boost Risk Assets: EM Review

(Bloomberg) -- A relief rally in emerging-market assets hit a roadblock as the U.S. Federal Reserve’s second rate cut this year wasn’t accompanied by a dovish tone that some traders were hoping for. The MSCI index of developing-nation equities posted the first weekly loss in five and a currency gauge also weakened. Some trade noise resurfaced by the end of the week as U.S. President Donald Trump said he won’t seek an interim agreement to end the trade war with China.The following is a roundup of emerging-markets news and highlights for the week ending Sept. 20.Highlights:U.S. Federal Reserve policy makers lowered the main interest rate for a second time this year and Chairman Jerome Powell said “moderate” policy moves should be sufficient to sustain the U.S. expansionThe Fed took action to calm money markets, injecting billions in cash to quell a surge in short-term rates that was pushing up its policy benchmark rate and threatening to drive up borrowing costs for companies and consumersThe New York Fed said Thursday that it will once again do a $75 billion overnight repo operation on Friday. It follows liquidity doses of the same size Thursday and Wednesday and $53.2 billion on TuesdayBank Indonesia cut its benchmark interest rate to 5.25% from 5.5%, as expected, while monetary authorities in South Africa and Taiwan left their respective rates unchanged. Brazil’s central bank set the stage for a longer and deeper monetary easing cycle after cutting its key interest rate by half a percentage point to 5.5% and signaling inflation will remain below target next year even if borrowing costs fall furtherPresident Donald Trump said he doesn’t want to make a partial trade deal with China and that voters won’t punish him for the ongoing trade war in his 2020 bid for re-electionIn a quick change of events, China canceled a planned visit to farms in the U.S. heartland -- a trip touted by the Trump administration as a building of “goodwill”Trade negotiators from the U.S. and China resumed face-to-face talks in WashingtonRead more: U.S.-China Talks Resume as Beijing Officials Go to Farm BeltSaudi Arabia said attacks on its critical oil infrastructure were “unquestionably sponsored by Iran” but stopped short of saying the strikes were launched directly from or by the Islamic Republic, claims that could have propelled a drift toward warPresident Donald Trump said he wants tougher U.S. sanctions on Iran as his top diplomat arrived in Saudi Arabia to consult with leaders and build a case against TehranSaudi Aramco’s chairman said the drone strike on the kingdom’s main crude-processing plant won’t slow preparations for an initial public offering of the state-owned oil giantChina’s economy slowed further in August. Industrial output rose 4.4% from a year earlier, versus a median estimate of 5.2%, while retail sales expanded 7.5%, compared to a projected 7.9% increaseThe new gauge of borrowing costs was lowered in September. The one-year reference rate for bank loans was set at 4.2% versus 4.25% in AugustNorth Korean leader Kim Jong Un invited Trump to visit Pyongyang, Joongang Ilbo reported, citing multiple people familiar with the matterTrump said he “probably” won’t travel to Pyongyang for the next round of nuclear talks with Kim, but would be willing to visit the North Korean capital in the futureAsia:China’s overall prices are stable and the nation has a good foundation for prices to remain stabilized, said Fu Linghui, a spokesman for the National Bureau of StatisticsThe Bank of Korea should cut its base rate to the previous record low of 1.25% to help boost private-sector investment, one board member said, according to minutes of the Aug. 30 meeting that decided to freeze the rate at 1.5%The central bank has “sufficient” room for more policy easing, board member Shin In-seok saidFed’s decision to cut interest rates eases pressure on the South Korean central bank before the next interest-rate decision meeting, Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol saidPresident Moon Jae-in’s approval rating reached the lowest since his term began in May 2017, Gallup Korea’s poll showsIndia’s central bank Governor Shaktikanta Das said he needs time to assess the impact of the oil supply shock following the attack in Saudi Arabia, adding that growth in the domestic economy remains a priority. He also said there’s room for interest-rate cuts to spur economic growth given stable and below-target inflationDas said the RBI has no target or band for the level of the exchange rate and interventions are intended to manage undue volatilityIndia will cut corporate tax rate for local businesses to an effective 25.2% from 30%, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said FridayIndia expects to rule over the entire state of Kashmir in the future, its foreign minister said, a statement that could further ratchet up tensions with rival PakistanThailand will reduce levies collected for its Oil Fund so that retail fuel prices remain unchanged as crude climbs, the Energy Ministry saidThe nation can find other sources of oil imports if there’s a long-term impact from the attacks on Aramco facilities in Saudi Arabia, Energy Minister Sontirat SontijirawongExports posted larger-than-expected drop in August while imports fell more than predicted, leaving trade surplus of $2.1 billion, compared with forecast $650 million in excessPhilippines central bank Governor Benjamin Diokno said the central bank may cut its key interest rate by 25 basis points at the Sept. 26 meeting, with the increase in the consumer price index seen slowing to 1.4% in September compared to the previous yearThe biggest risk to the world economy today is the U.S. president, Diokno told a panel discussion in SingaporeThe attack in Saudi Arabia is unlikely to have an impact on Philippine oil supply, which means there will be no need for further government action, said Department of Finance Undersecretary Karl Kendrick ChuaMalaysia’s tax collection rose 8.94% year-on-year as of Aug. 31 and an increase in tax collection shows that economy is growing substantially and is on an upwards trend, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng saidRuling party leader Anwar Ibrahim, who cut a deal to become the country’s next prime minister ahead of last year’s election, said he should take power around May 2020Bank Negara Malaysia remains on guard against potential domestic and external risks to the nation’s financial stability including the weaker global outlook and elevated household debt, according to a statement from the central bankTerry Gou, the billionaire founder of Foxconn Technology Group, pulled out of next year’s presidential election in Taiwan, a move that may help unite the opposition Kuomintang partyThe Solomon Islands broke diplomatic ties with Taipei in favor of BeijingTaiwan decides to sever official relations with Kiribati, Taiwan Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu says; the break leaves Taiwan with just 15 diplomatic alliesEMEA:Attacks that slashed half of Saudi Arabia’s oil output had “zero” impact on the kingdom’s revenue and won’t affect economic growth, Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan saidThe nation attempted to move beyond the worst oil disruption in its history, assuring the world that crude exports won’t suffer, its damaged facility has partially restarted and that production capacity will be back to normal within monthsSaudi Arabia’s central bank said it’s prepared to inject liquidity in the financial system if needed to help the economy cope with the aftermath of the attacksSaudi bonds declined and pressure on the riyal rose on Monday after drones struck at the heart of the kingdom’s biggest source of revenueIranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif refused to rule out military conflict in the Middle East after the U.S. sent more troops and weapons to Saudi Arabia in response to an attack on oil fields the U.S. has blamed on the Islamic RepublicPrices on Aabar Investments PJS bonds jumped by the most on record as the state-owned Abu Dhabi firm offered to buy back 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) of debt earlyThe central banks of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the two biggest Gulf Arab economies, followed the Fed again on Wednesday after it reduced rates by a quarter percentage pointEgypt’s stocks plummeted on Sept. 22 on concern that the small but rare protests against President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi’s government may escalateLebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri is traveling to Saudi Arabia and France to follow up on efforts to secure financial support for his debt-laden country and show it’s serious about reformBenjamin Netanyahu’s gamble to hold elections for a second time this year backfired, as a deadlocked result left Israel convulsed by a new wave of political turmoilSouth Africa’s annual inflation rate rose more than forecast in August as food prices grew at the fastest pace in more than a yearNigeria’s inflation rate fell to the lowest in more than three years in August as growth in food prices slowedA Kenyan parliamentary committee rejected the National Treasury’s proposal to repeal a contentious law that caps interest rates, despite opposition from the central bank governor and the High Court annulling itGhana’s economic growth slowed more than projected in the second quarter as the construction sector contractedZambia, Africa’s second-biggest copper producer, may double power tariffs as the government seeks more costly imports to offset a shortfall from its drought-stricken hydropower damsUkraine’s former central bank governor, who purged the financial industry and helped bring the country’s biggest lender under state control, said her house near Kyiv was burned down in an arson attackTurkey took its boldest step yet to clean up the growing pile of bad debt held by banks. The Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency, or BDDK, told lenders for the first time to reclassify $8.1 billion of loans as non-performing by the end of the year and set aside enough provisions to cover themLatin AmericaBrazil’s pension reform rapporteur in the Senate said amendments accepted to the bill have no fiscal impact and will keep estimated savings of the overhaul unchanged. The first-round voting is set for Sept. 24 and second round Oct. 10Petrobras raised fuel prices days after oil surged, a move that should help ease concerns about political interference at the firmArgentina’s government can’t resolve growing investor concern over the ability to repay its debt alone and will require consensus with the opposition to reach an orderly reprofiling of its obligations, Economy Minister Hernan Lacunza saidCentral bank raised a floor on its benchmark interest rate to 78% from 58% for the rest of September as the government fights a resurgence in inflation triggered by political uncertaintyArgentina remained mired in a recession during the second quarter, its sixth straight, marking the longest quarterly recessionary stretch in at least the last 15 years, according to GDP dataAn International Monetary Fund spokesman acknowledged the latest change to central bank policy, noting Economy Minister Hernan Lacunza’s upcoming visit to WashingtonThe central bank modified a capital control rule to allow sovereign bond payments to be made abroad, according to a resolution dated Sept. 16Uruguay’s second quarter GDP rose 0.1% compared to the same period of the previous yearColombia is seeking to take advantage of the rally in its long-term bonds to extend the average life of its debt, both in pesos and dollars\--With assistance from Colleen Goko, Selcuk Gokoluk, Alec D.B. McCabe and Carolina Wilson.To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Yumi Teso in Bangkok at yteso1@bloomberg.net;Netty Ismail in Dubai at nismail3@bloomberg.net;Aline Oyamada in Sao Paulo at aoyamada3@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tomoko Yamazaki at tyamazaki@bloomberg.net, Karl Lester M. YapFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines

(Bloomberg) -- A relief rally in emerging-market assets hit a roadblock as the U.S. Federal Reserve’s second rate cut this year wasn’t accompanied by a dovish tone that some traders were hoping for. The MSCI index of developing-nation equities posted the first weekly loss in five and a currency gauge also weakened. Some trade noise resurfaced by the end of the week as U.S. President Donald Trump said he won’t seek an interim agreement to end the trade war with China.The following is a roundup of emerging-markets news and highlights for the week ending Sept. 20.Highlights:U.S. Federal Reserve policy makers lowered the main interest rate for a second time this year and Chairman Jerome Powell said “moderate” policy moves should be sufficient to sustain the U.S. expansionThe Fed took action to calm money markets, injecting billions in cash to quell a surge in short-term rates that was pushing up its policy benchmark rate and threatening to drive up borrowing costs for companies and consumersThe New York Fed said Thursday that it will once again do a $75 billion overnight repo operation on Friday. It follows liquidity doses of the same size Thursday and Wednesday and $53.2 billion on TuesdayBank Indonesia cut its benchmark interest rate to 5.25% from 5.5%, as expected, while monetary authorities in South Africa and Taiwan left their respective rates unchanged. Brazil’s central bank set the stage for a longer and deeper monetary easing cycle after cutting its key interest rate by half a percentage point to 5.5% and signaling inflation will remain below target next year even if borrowing costs fall furtherPresident Donald Trump said he doesn’t want to make a partial trade deal with China and that voters won’t punish him for the ongoing trade war in his 2020 bid for re-electionIn a quick change of events, China canceled a planned visit to farms in the U.S. heartland -- a trip touted by the Trump administration as a building of “goodwill”Trade negotiators from the U.S. and China resumed face-to-face talks in WashingtonRead more: U.S.-China Talks Resume as Beijing Officials Go to Farm BeltSaudi Arabia said attacks on its critical oil infrastructure were “unquestionably sponsored by Iran” but stopped short of saying the strikes were launched directly from or by the Islamic Republic, claims that could have propelled a drift toward warPresident Donald Trump said he wants tougher U.S. sanctions on Iran as his top diplomat arrived in Saudi Arabia to consult with leaders and build a case against TehranSaudi Aramco’s chairman said the drone strike on the kingdom’s main crude-processing plant won’t slow preparations for an initial public offering of the state-owned oil giantChina’s economy slowed further in August. Industrial output rose 4.4% from a year earlier, versus a median estimate of 5.2%, while retail sales expanded 7.5%, compared to a projected 7.9% increaseThe new gauge of borrowing costs was lowered in September. The one-year reference rate for bank loans was set at 4.2% versus 4.25% in AugustNorth Korean leader Kim Jong Un invited Trump to visit Pyongyang, Joongang Ilbo reported, citing multiple people familiar with the matterTrump said he “probably” won’t travel to Pyongyang for the next round of nuclear talks with Kim, but would be willing to visit the North Korean capital in the futureAsia:China’s overall prices are stable and the nation has a good foundation for prices to remain stabilized, said Fu Linghui, a spokesman for the National Bureau of StatisticsThe Bank of Korea should cut its base rate to the previous record low of 1.25% to help boost private-sector investment, one board member said, according to minutes of the Aug. 30 meeting that decided to freeze the rate at 1.5%The central bank has “sufficient” room for more policy easing, board member Shin In-seok saidFed’s decision to cut interest rates eases pressure on the South Korean central bank before the next interest-rate decision meeting, Bank of Korea Governor Lee Ju-yeol saidPresident Moon Jae-in’s approval rating reached the lowest since his term began in May 2017, Gallup Korea’s poll showsIndia’s central bank Governor Shaktikanta Das said he needs time to assess the impact of the oil supply shock following the attack in Saudi Arabia, adding that growth in the domestic economy remains a priority. He also said there’s room for interest-rate cuts to spur economic growth given stable and below-target inflationDas said the RBI has no target or band for the level of the exchange rate and interventions are intended to manage undue volatilityIndia will cut corporate tax rate for local businesses to an effective 25.2% from 30%, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said FridayIndia expects to rule over the entire state of Kashmir in the future, its foreign minister said, a statement that could further ratchet up tensions with rival PakistanThailand will reduce levies collected for its Oil Fund so that retail fuel prices remain unchanged as crude climbs, the Energy Ministry saidThe nation can find other sources of oil imports if there’s a long-term impact from the attacks on Aramco facilities in Saudi Arabia, Energy Minister Sontirat SontijirawongExports posted larger-than-expected drop in August while imports fell more than predicted, leaving trade surplus of $2.1 billion, compared with forecast $650 million in excessPhilippines central bank Governor Benjamin Diokno said the central bank may cut its key interest rate by 25 basis points at the Sept. 26 meeting, with the increase in the consumer price index seen slowing to 1.4% in September compared to the previous yearThe biggest risk to the world economy today is the U.S. president, Diokno told a panel discussion in SingaporeThe attack in Saudi Arabia is unlikely to have an impact on Philippine oil supply, which means there will be no need for further government action, said Department of Finance Undersecretary Karl Kendrick ChuaMalaysia’s tax collection rose 8.94% year-on-year as of Aug. 31 and an increase in tax collection shows that economy is growing substantially and is on an upwards trend, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng saidRuling party leader Anwar Ibrahim, who cut a deal to become the country’s next prime minister ahead of last year’s election, said he should take power around May 2020Bank Negara Malaysia remains on guard against potential domestic and external risks to the nation’s financial stability including the weaker global outlook and elevated household debt, according to a statement from the central bankTerry Gou, the billionaire founder of Foxconn Technology Group, pulled out of next year’s presidential election in Taiwan, a move that may help unite the opposition Kuomintang partyThe Solomon Islands broke diplomatic ties with Taipei in favor of BeijingTaiwan decides to sever official relations with Kiribati, Taiwan Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu says; the break leaves Taiwan with just 15 diplomatic alliesEMEA:Attacks that slashed half of Saudi Arabia’s oil output had “zero” impact on the kingdom’s revenue and won’t affect economic growth, Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan saidThe nation attempted to move beyond the worst oil disruption in its history, assuring the world that crude exports won’t suffer, its damaged facility has partially restarted and that production capacity will be back to normal within monthsSaudi Arabia’s central bank said it’s prepared to inject liquidity in the financial system if needed to help the economy cope with the aftermath of the attacksSaudi bonds declined and pressure on the riyal rose on Monday after drones struck at the heart of the kingdom’s biggest source of revenueIranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif refused to rule out military conflict in the Middle East after the U.S. sent more troops and weapons to Saudi Arabia in response to an attack on oil fields the U.S. has blamed on the Islamic RepublicPrices on Aabar Investments PJS bonds jumped by the most on record as the state-owned Abu Dhabi firm offered to buy back 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) of debt earlyThe central banks of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the two biggest Gulf Arab economies, followed the Fed again on Wednesday after it reduced rates by a quarter percentage pointEgypt’s stocks plummeted on Sept. 22 on concern that the small but rare protests against President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi’s government may escalateLebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri is traveling to Saudi Arabia and France to follow up on efforts to secure financial support for his debt-laden country and show it’s serious about reformBenjamin Netanyahu’s gamble to hold elections for a second time this year backfired, as a deadlocked result left Israel convulsed by a new wave of political turmoilSouth Africa’s annual inflation rate rose more than forecast in August as food prices grew at the fastest pace in more than a yearNigeria’s inflation rate fell to the lowest in more than three years in August as growth in food prices slowedA Kenyan parliamentary committee rejected the National Treasury’s proposal to repeal a contentious law that caps interest rates, despite opposition from the central bank governor and the High Court annulling itGhana’s economic growth slowed more than projected in the second quarter as the construction sector contractedZambia, Africa’s second-biggest copper producer, may double power tariffs as the government seeks more costly imports to offset a shortfall from its drought-stricken hydropower damsUkraine’s former central bank governor, who purged the financial industry and helped bring the country’s biggest lender under state control, said her house near Kyiv was burned down in an arson attackTurkey took its boldest step yet to clean up the growing pile of bad debt held by banks. The Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency, or BDDK, told lenders for the first time to reclassify $8.1 billion of loans as non-performing by the end of the year and set aside enough provisions to cover themLatin AmericaBrazil’s pension reform rapporteur in the Senate said amendments accepted to the bill have no fiscal impact and will keep estimated savings of the overhaul unchanged. The first-round voting is set for Sept. 24 and second round Oct. 10Petrobras raised fuel prices days after oil surged, a move that should help ease concerns about political interference at the firmArgentina’s government can’t resolve growing investor concern over the ability to repay its debt alone and will require consensus with the opposition to reach an orderly reprofiling of its obligations, Economy Minister Hernan Lacunza saidCentral bank raised a floor on its benchmark interest rate to 78% from 58% for the rest of September as the government fights a resurgence in inflation triggered by political uncertaintyArgentina remained mired in a recession during the second quarter, its sixth straight, marking the longest quarterly recessionary stretch in at least the last 15 years, according to GDP dataAn International Monetary Fund spokesman acknowledged the latest change to central bank policy, noting Economy Minister Hernan Lacunza’s upcoming visit to WashingtonThe central bank modified a capital control rule to allow sovereign bond payments to be made abroad, according to a resolution dated Sept. 16Uruguay’s second quarter GDP rose 0.1% compared to the same period of the previous yearColombia is seeking to take advantage of the rally in its long-term bonds to extend the average life of its debt, both in pesos and dollars\--With assistance from Colleen Goko, Selcuk Gokoluk, Alec D.B. McCabe and Carolina Wilson.To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Yumi Teso in Bangkok at yteso1@bloomberg.net;Netty Ismail in Dubai at nismail3@bloomberg.net;Aline Oyamada in Sao Paulo at aoyamada3@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Tomoko Yamazaki at tyamazaki@bloomberg.net, Karl Lester M. YapFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.

September 22, 2019 at 09:00PM via IFTTT

[businessweekme]

Debrief: Varouj Nerguizian

Varouj Nerguizian, CEO, Bank of Sharjah, tells Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East Editor Roger Field about plans for expansion, regulation and why supporting customers in tough times makes good business sense.

Tell me about the size and scale of the bank?

Bank of Sharjah has grown from a small bank in 1973 with $4 million capital into a much bigger player today with capital of $0.6 billion and equity of around $1.2 billion. We are considered to be the first commercial bank in Sharjah and we were the fifth bank to be established in the UAE. The size of our total assets today is around $8 billion with $5.5 billion of deposits and $4.2 billion of loans. We have a very healthy structure and we have always been liquid. Liquidity has been primary for us even if it comes at a cost in terms of P&L. That was partly due to a ratio that was imposed on us from day one to maintain 20 to 30% of our deposit in cash and securities. We have never encountered a situation where we were short of liquidity, even during the most difficult times of the Gulf Wars or the financial crisis of 2008. This has been our philosophy: to maintain high liquidity and to back our customers. We support our customers in good times and bad times and we have been successful in proving that this philosophy is beneficial. Of course, the borrower’s integrity remains essential.

It sounds like a softer approach than many banks would adopt. Does it make good business sense too?

It is and it does and it has paid off with time. This year we will be celebrating our 45th anniversary. For the last 44 years we have been able to pay dividends, cash or bonus issue and sometimes both, and we have always made sure that our stakeholders benefit from our activities.

How has business been over the past year?

We are going through difficult times in terms of geopolitical risk and this is something we were not accustomed to over the recent past. Over the last couple of years we have been encountering more and more challenges in the region, so growth was not quite as it used to be. We have been more cautious in terms of loans book growth and we have been more active in deposit collection because we wanted to maintain our liquidity. Within an ever challenging environment we have been taking a more risk-averse approach.

Where do you have a presence in the region and which markets have the best potential at the moment?

We are more a UAE-based bank especially with our head office in Sharjah, two branches in Dubai, two in Abu Dhabi and one branch in Al Ain. We are also to a lesser degree active in Beirut thanks to our acquisition of the operations of BNPI Beirut which was an affiliate of BNP Paribas, about 10 years ago. In June of this year we celebrated 10 years of our presence in Lebanon.

Do you plan to expand into any new territories?

We don’t have any plans to make acquisitions outside of the UAE for the moment. However, I believe that there will be opportunities in the UAE and we will be ready to take advantage of such opportunities when they present themselves. We are witnessing significant consolidation in the industry and region.

Where do you see growth opportunities in terms of sectors or verticals?

We have always been extremely active in trade and industries. The emirate of Sharjah captures around 46% of the industrial base of the UAE and this has always been our area of expertise. On top of that we have lately entered the services market as well as real-estate financing.

It was not by choice but more by necessity and we have been doing fine by financing specific projects in Dubai and Sharjah and we are happy to be contributing to the development of dynamic cities like Dubai and Sharjah. Historically we were also heavily involved in the oil services industry and although this side of the business has declined we would like to reactivate it again as it is an area of natural expertise for us, as for a long time we were very active in the oil business.

We are still working on some projects, mainly related to the trade cycle and infrastructure. We have recently approved certain transactions around a gas project in Kurdistan. Production of gas is a major opportunity for all parties – us as the financer, our client and the country they are operating in. We are moving towards services for the oil industry, so we’re financing companies that cater for these big players and at the same time we are getting more involved in infrastructure projects because it is easier to follow up and it generates a very strong revenue stream for the bank.

Ultimately any transaction that we finance always has a social side to it and everyone should benefit. The bank will benefit, but we would usually exit after a few years, and whatever we have achieved will continue to benefit the local population and companies involved.

You mentioned the service sector as well. Can you tell me about any investments there?

We have been recently active in the hospitality business, telecoms and a number of other segments and we believe that there is added value in the services industry. After all, the UAE is a country where a lot of people come in and out. This creates a need for services and we are now capturing a big percentage of that.

Which sector is biggest for you after the service industry?

The bulk of our activities are trade-related. We finance trade, then comes industries followed by services. These are the three main sectors, and then we have real estate financing, but this is mainly transactional. Real estate finance requires long-term sources of funds and the UAE is a country where deposits work on cycles of three months to maximum one year. New regulations might soon allow corporate bonds – even if they are not rated – and that would create an opportunity to have longer-term deposits. If that happens, the retail real estate market would be interesting as well.

The emirate of Sharjah captures around 46% of the industrial base of the UAE

How is technology changing the banking industry and how are you adapting?

Bank of Sharjah has been a firm believer in IT. We have always invested in technology. We’ve always made sure that we are at the forefront of the available technology. Fintech is a new notion and it will replace a big chunk of the activities of banks, especially on the operational cycle.

In the longer term a banker will no longer be someone who makes transfers or receives funds. Bankers will move to advisory roles thanks to fintech. A lot of people speak about fintech but most of them do not really understand what fintech is. The reality is we need to be able to move from what we do today to something more oriented toward your smartphone.

Fintech will enable us to harness the opportunity of replacing our current operations with new techniques and move forward with an even greater focus on the advisory and private banking role. In the future a banker will be the party that will give you advice about your business, will tell you where your weaknesses are, what you need to do in order to improve your profitability and sustainability. The rest of the operations will be done by internet or cloud-related solutions. The challenge for banks is deciding which solutions and services they are going to focus on: You have to be able to find the right solution and move forward, and it’s a challenge as this is a long-term investment.

What technologies are you adopting at the moment in terms of services for customers?

Most of the banks offer similar services and they are all smartphone and tablet driven. This is the new way of banking. The young generation do not want to go to the bank and have a chitchat with the manager; they don’t have time for that. They would like to be able to do all their transactions through a smartphone or tablet. The banks that can offer all these services will have a certain advantage. Your internet banking must stand out and have the latest technology. We all know that the young generation is impatient. They want to click and see the answer immediately. This is important for us when we assess any new product; it’s the speed of the service and speed of what we are offering.

The government of the UAE is putting a lot of effort into diversifying the economy. Do you see banks as having an important role to play in this?

The economy, especially in this part of the world is driven by the government. The government initiates certain actions or puts in place a vision and all the various parts of the economy, including banks, participate. We have been always proactive with governments. Every time there was a project that required some sort of financing we have been present. It’s part of our approach to development because it’s not a matter of just profit and loss; you need to have the necessary vision to follow the government’s vision, to have the ability and the intention to be there and share the success.

The regulatory framework is there to prevent any wrongdoing and excess. The main objective of all regulations is to ensure the safety of the banking industry. It’s very important that no bank fails. From that perspective we all respect the regulatory framework. In terms of the current regulatory framework we are happy with the requirements but feel there could be some improvements in its implementation. Unfortunately the regulatory requirements are becoming more time-consuming. I dedicate more than 25% of my time to regulatory-related issues. I am optimistic that this will improve as the UAE’s legal framework is being upgraded and once this happens things will be much easier for us to cope with.

Are the bank’s invited to give feedback on regulations to help the government develop?

Yes of course; especially in the UAE we have a very active association. I think the UAE Bankers Federation has done a great job. Most of the CEOs meet regularly and we have a number of committees. The central bank has a very positive approach. Before publishing a regulation, before blind application there is always a period of concert action. We receive the draft of the regulations; we discuss them and review them and certain committees come up with recommendations. The UAE central bank always listens.

What are the main challenges that you face in the banking industry?

Currently it is the geopolitical risk. We need to get more stability back to the region. We have a number of issues that are a burden to the broader GCC and Middle East economies and which need to be sorted out quickly. Thankfully, the oil price, which was a challenge a couple of years ago, has remained fairly steady and is unlikely to drop drastically. It will be in the range between $60 and $80 and at that level almost all of the GCC countries will have a very good stream of revenue and we should be able to move forward positively.

What’s your overriding vision for the Bank of Sharjah?

I’ve been associated with Bank of Sharjah for a long time. My ambition is that within the next 10 years Bank of Sharjah will be a much bigger bank, at least three times bigger if not more. When a bank reaches that critical size it becomes a very active participant in the economy. It’s not easy; it requires a lot of changes and the ability to seize the right opportunities, but I am sure we will get there. <BW>

  The post Debrief: Varouj Nerguizian appeared first on Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East.

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