Kamis, 10 Oktober 2019

Trump reportedly makes concessions to China before trade talks - Aljazeera.com

With trade talks between the United States and China resuming this week, the US appears to have made some concessions that could help reduce tensions between the world's top two economies.

The New York Times newspaper reported that the US was considering issuing licences to American companies allowing them to supply non-sensitive components to Chinese telecoms giant Huawei. In May, US President Donald Trump had proposed to ban Huawei from buying parts and technology from US suppliers citing national security concerns.

But the paper, citing unidentified sources, says Trump gave the green light in early October for the issuance of licences to US companies to supply Huawei with some equipment.

The top negotiators from the two sides are set to meet on Thursday for the first time since late July to try to find a way out of a 15-month trade war that has forced companies to alter supply chains and been a drag on the global economy.

China is urging the US to stop what it described as unreasonable pressure on Chinese companies, including Huawei, foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said at a news briefing in Beijing ahead of the talks.

Separately, the US is also considering a currency pact with China as part of a partial trade deal, the Bloomberg news agency reported, also quoting unidentified sources.

Tariffs that are due to increase next week could also be suspended as part of this deal, it reported.

The currency accord was something the US said had been agreed to earlier in the year before trade talks broke down. It is meant to be followed by further negotiations on core issues such as intellectual property and forced technology transfers, Bloomberg reported.

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He is scheduled to lead the Chinese delegation in trade talks with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Thursday and Friday in Washington, DC.

But just hours earlier, the upcoming talks were reportedly cut short by a day as lower-level discussions had failed to come to an agreement on key issues, unnamed sources told the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

One of the stumbling blocks was the issue of forced technology transfers, which the Chinese delegation refused to broach, SCMP reported.

The discussions concerning an interim deal come after the Trump administration this week further ramped up pressure on Beijing by blacklisting Chinese technology firms over their alleged role in oppression in the far west region of Xinjiang. The US also placed visa bans on officials linked to the mass detention of Muslims from the region.

At the same time, a fight over free speech between China and the US National Basketball Association (NBA), triggered by a tweet by the Houston Rockets general manager backing Hong Kong’s protesters, has underscored the tensions.

Tariffs are working: US

Meanwhile, US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross said on Thursday that tariffs on Chinese goods and services are working as they are forcing China to pay attention to US concerns.

Ross said the US would have preferred not to implement tariffs against Chinese goods more than a year ago, which ignited a trade war that slowed global commerce and threatened decades-old systems, but added that it has forced Beijing into action.

"We do not love tariffs, in fact, we would prefer not to use them, but after years of discussions and no action, tariffs are finally forcing China to pay attention to our concerns," Ross said in a speech while on an official visit to Australia.

Without a significant breakthrough, Trump is set to raise the tariff rate on $250bn worth of Chinese goods by an extra five percent to 30 percent next Tuesday.

Further tariffs are scheduled to come into effect on December 15.

On Wednesday, a Chinese official said that the country was still open to reaching a partial trade deal with the US that may include large purchases of US commodities, but added that success was contingent on Trump halting further tariffs.

Ross added that the US was "not opposed" to trade with China but said that China's trade practices have "gotten worse" and that the country needed to abide by global trade regulations.

Let's block ads! (Why?)


https://www.aljazeera.com/ajimpact/trump-reportedly-concessions-china-trade-talks-191010015008793.html

2019-10-10 08:43:00Z
52780404540953
Diposting oleh di Tidak ada komentar:

Apple pulls HKmap from App Store, the day after Chinese state media criticized its “unwise and reckless decision” to approve it - TechCrunch

Less than a day after Apple was criticized by Chinese state media for allowing HKmap in the App Store, the crowdsourced map app said it had been delisted. Its removal comes less than a week after Apple reversed its initial decision to reject the app, which provides information about the location of pro-democracy demonstrations, street closures and police activity (its website is still available).

After Apple allowed HKmap into the App Store, an article in the China Daily, a newspaper owned by the Communist Party of China, criticized the company, claiming that it enabled “rioters in Hong Kong to go on violent acts,” and adding that “Business is business, and politics is politics…Apple has to think about the consequences of its unwise and reckless decision.”

While the Chinese government has labeled protestors as violent, including through coordinated campaigns on social media, human rights groups like Amnesty International have documented multiple instances of police abuse against protestors.

HKmap’s creators tweeted the Apple claimed it endangered law enforcement and residents, and said they disagreed.

The app’s developers added that “there is 0 evidence to support CSTCB’s [the Hong Kong Police Force’s Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau] accusation that HKmap App has been used to target and ambush police, threaten public safety, and criminals have used it to victimize residents in areas where they know there is no law enforcement.” They also noted that other apps containing crowdsourced information and public postings, including Waze, which is used by commuters to avoid traffic cameras and police, are still allowed on the App Store.

“The quoted Apple’s App Store Review Guideline is vague, does that include user-generated contents? We are sure there are contents ‘solicit, promote, or encourage criminal activity in Facebook, Instagram, Safari, Telegram, Twitter, Waze, Whatsapp, etc. at some point in time,” wrote HKmap’s developers.

Pro-democracy demonstrations began in March to protest a now-withdrawn bill that would have allowed extradition to mainland China, but have grown to encompass additional demands that center on Hong Kong’s ability to safeguard rights, including freedom of press and speech, under the “one country, two systems” policy that has been in place since it was returned from British rule to China in 1997.

This is the latest in several decisions made by Apple that have concerned pro-democracy observers and appear designed to appease the government of China, its third-biggest market by sales. Two years ago, it removed VPN apps from its App Store in China and within the last week has removed the Taiwan flag emoji from the iOS keyboard in Hong Kong and the app version of Quartz from the Hong Kong App Store, reportedly because of its protest coverage.

TechCrunch has contacted Apple for comment.

Let's block ads! (Why?)


https://techcrunch.com/2019/10/09/apple-pulls-hkmap-from-app-store-the-day-after-chinese-state-media-criticized-its-unwise-and-reckless-decision-to-approve-it/

2019-10-10 06:32:18Z
CAIiEIDhmKj2GEY2iGG36S6YKu0qFAgEKg0IACoGCAowlIEBMLEXMOc_
Diposting oleh di Tidak ada komentar:

Apple removes Hong Kong map app after Chinese criticism - The Associated Press

BEIJING (AP) — Apple removed a smartphone app that allows Hong Kong activists to report police movements from its online store Thursday after an official Chinese newspaper accused the company of facilitating illegal behavior.

Apple Inc. became the latest company to come under pressure to take Beijing’s side against anti-government protesters when the Communist Party newspaper People’s Daily said Wednesday the HKmap.live app “facilitates illegal behavior.” The newspaper asked, “Is Apple guiding Hong Kong thugs?”

Apple said in a statement that HKmap.live was removed because it “has been used to target and ambush police” and “threaten public safety.” It said that violated local law and Apple guidelines.

HKmap.live allows users to report police locations, use of tear gas and other details that are added to a regularly updated map. Another version is available for smartphones that use the Android operating system.

“We have verified with the Hong Kong Cybersecurity and Technology Crime Bureau that the app has been used to target and ambush police, threaten public safety, and criminals have used it to victimize residents in areas where they know there is no law enforcement,” said the Apple statement. “This app violates our guidelines and local laws, and we have removed it from the App Store.”

The Hong Kong demonstrations began over a proposed extradition law and expanded to include other grievances and demands for greater democracy.

Activists complain Beijing and Hong Kong leaders are eroding the autonomy and Western-style civil liberties promised to the former British colony when it returned to China in 1997.

Criticism of Apple followed government attacks starting last weekend on the National Basketball Association over a comment by the general manager of the Houston Rockets in support of the protesters. China’s state TV has canceled broadcasts of NBA games.

People’s Daily warned Apple might hurt its reputation with Chinese consumers.

“Apple needs to think deeply,” the newspaper said.

Brands targeted in the past by Beijing have been subjected to campaigns by the entirely state-controlled press to drive away consumers or disrupt investigations by tax authorities and other regulators.

China has long been critical to Apple’s business.

The mainland is Apple’s second-biggest market after the United States but CEO Tim Cook says it eventually will become No. 1.

Apple, headquartered in Cupertino, California, also is an important asset for China.

Most of its iPhones and tablet computers are assembled in Chinese factories that employ hundreds of thousands of people. Chinese vendors supply components for Mac Pro computers that are assembled in Texas.

Let's block ads! (Why?)


https://www.apnews.com/5fb64c1137ad45f284dc605ca7f9c321

2019-10-10 05:29:58Z
CAIiEACAnwpqTmNev_8CUnHrOFAqGAgEKg8IACoHCAowhO7OATDh9CgwvqGdAg
Diposting oleh di Tidak ada komentar:

Rabu, 09 Oktober 2019

AT&T to Sell Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands Operations - The Wall Street Journal

AT&T’s sale of its Puerto Rican and U.S. Virgin Islands businesses allows the telecom giant to shave its debt load. Photo: Claudio Papapietro for The Wall Street Journal
By
Shalini Ramachandran and
Drew FitzGerald

AT&T Inc. has agreed to sell its Puerto Rican and U.S. Virgin Islands businesses to Liberty Latin America Ltd. for $1.95 billion in cash, allowing the telecommunications giant to shave its debt load and move closer to repurchasing shares.

AT&T’s operation in Puerto Rico provides cellular, landline and internet connections. It had 1.1 million wireless subscribers. As part of the deal, about 1,300 AT&T employees will be transferred to Liberty Latin America.

The two companies said they expect the deal to close within six to nine months. The Wall Street Journal earlier Wednesday reported the companies had agreed to a deal.

Puerto Rico accounts for a small sliver of AT&T’s domestic operations, but shedding the unit will help it work down a large debt load accumulated through its $80 billion-plus acquisition of Time Warner last year.

Related

The deal signals progress on AT&T’s goal of selling noncore assets, something activist investor Elliott Management Corp., which recently disclosed a stake in the company, is also pushing. AT&T has also sold its stake in streaming service Hulu.

On Wednesday, AT&T said the deal brings to more than $11 billion the amount of money it will have raised from asset sales this year. The company said its expects to return to repurchasing shares in the fourth quarter, along with debt reduction.

Liberty is already the biggest pay-TV and broadband provider on the island. Cable tycoon John Malone, who holds a 25.5% voting stake in Liberty Latin America, and Liberty Latin America CEO Balan Nair have told investors they would like to expand in the region through disciplined mergers and acquisitions.

Liberty plans to finance the cash deal in large part by raising debt against the combined Puerto Rican operation, one person familiar with the matter said.

AT&T originally entered Puerto Rico in 2009 after it acquired Centennial Communications Corp., a rural telecom company with a large share of revenue from the island, for under $1 billion.

The complexity of the Puerto Rican unit slowed negotiations. Thousands of residents of the commonwealth spend several months out of the year on the U.S. mainland, for example, which made difficult the job of counting subscribers, according to another person familiar with the matter. The island also was heavily damaged in 2017 by Hurricane Maria.

Liberty Latin America is a publicly traded telecom and cable provider that operates in Chile, Puerto Rico, the Caribbean and other countries in Latin America. The company spun out last year from Liberty Global, the international cable operator headed by Mr. Malone. The Latin America operator currently has a market value of about $3 billion.

Write to Shalini Ramachandran at shalini.ramachandran@wsj.com and Drew FitzGerald at andrew.fitzgerald@wsj.com

Copyright ©2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

Let's block ads! (Why?)


https://www.wsj.com/articles/at-t-to-sell-puerto-rico-and-u-s-virgin-islands-operations-11570624070

2019-10-09 13:25:00Z
52780405204094
Diposting oleh di Tidak ada komentar:

Johnson & Johnson Risperdal verdict: Company hit with $8B verdict after drug linked to boy growing breasts - CBS News

A Philadelphia jury has ordered medical company Johnson & Johnson to pay $8 billion dollars in punitive damages in the case of a man who said he developed breasts after taking the company's anti-psychotic drug Risperdal as a child. The case is unrelated to a string of big-money lawsuits the company is facing over its signature baby powder. 

In the Risperdal case, a jury found that Johnson & Johnson failed to warn 26-year-old Nicholas Murray of the drug's side effects. Murray claimed that taking the Risperdal as a child caused him to develop breasts, an incurable condition known as gynecomastia. Thousands of others have filed lawsuits alleging the same.   

Murray said he was prescribed the medicine at age 9 for symptoms related to autism spectrum disorder, despite the fact that the FDA's approval of the drug in the 1990s was to treat schizophrenia and episodes of bipolar mania in adults.

Attorneys for Murray alleged the company marketed the drug for unapproved, off-label use in children to increase profits, choosing "billions over children."

Johnson & Johnson denied the allegations, and said it's confident the ruling will be overturned. In a statement, the company said it was "precluded from presenting ... key evidence..." The company further claimed that evidence showed how the label for the drug "clearly and appropriately outlined the risks associated with the medicine." 

Murray's attorneys told "CBS This Morning" consumer investigative correspondent Anna Werner that the punitive damages were meant to deter the company from similar conduct in the future. They believe the decision will stand.

© 2019 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Let's block ads! (Why?)


https://www.cbsnews.com/news/johnson-johnson-risperdal-company-8-billion-verdict-boy-allegedly-takes-anti-psychotic-develops-breasts/

2019-10-09 11:40:00Z
52780404671673
Diposting oleh di Tidak ada komentar:

Johnson & Johnson ordered to pay man $8bn over breast growth - BBC News

US drug firm Johnson & Johnson has been told to pay $8bn (£6.6bn) in punitive damages to a man over claims he was not warned that an anti-psychotic drug could lead to breast growth.

A Philadelphia jury made the award to Nicholas Murray, 26, whose case was one of thousands pending in the state.

His lawyers argued J&J's subsidiary Janssen put "profits over patients" in marketing the drug Risperdal.

J&J will appeal the ruling, which it said was "grossly disproportionate".

Professor Carl Tobias of the University of Richmond School of Law said he expected the large damages award to be lowered on appeal.

"A jury, if it's outrageous enough conduct, will award a big number and let the lawyers and judges work it out," he said.

However, Prof Tobias said the jury's verdict could mean the firm faces more large damages awards in other Risperdal cases.

"The kind of evidence in this trial may persuade another jury or judge to do something similar," he said.

The company is facing a series of complaints in the US for allegedly failing to properly warn of Risperdal's side effects.

The US giant is also facing court challenges over vaginal mesh implants and baby powder allegedly tainted with asbestos. Those cases are in addition to an ongoing legal battle over its role in the US opioid addiction crisis.

In August, Johnson & Johnson was ordered to pay $572m after a judge in Oklahoma ruled that the company contributed to an opioid epidemic in the state by running a "false and dangerous" sales campaign. The firm said it will appeal.

More recently, it agreed a $20.4m settlement with two counties in Ohio ahead of a trial about the opioid crisis, scheduled to take place later this month.

In the Risperdal lawsuit, Mr Murray said he developed breasts after his doctors prescribed the drug in 2003 when they diagnosed him with autism spectrum disorder.

Risperdal is approved for the treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, but doctors can legally prescribe medicine for any condition they see fit.

The company said it is confident the ruling will be overturned, and said the court prevented their legal team from presenting "key evidence" on the drug's labelling.

A jury in 2015 awarded Mr Murray $1.75m after finding the company was negligent in failing to warn consumers of the risks.

A state appeals court upheld the verdict in last year, but reduced it to $680,000.

Let's block ads! (Why?)


https://www.bbc.com/news/business-49982237

2019-10-09 11:06:06Z
52780404671673
Diposting oleh di Tidak ada komentar:

Global Tax Proposal Widens Net Beyond Tech Giants - The Wall Street Journal

The new proposal would also affect makers of luxury goods and automobiles—among other products—that are based in Europe and other countries. Photo: franziska kraufmann/Shutterstock/european pressphoto agenc
By
Paul Hannon in London and
Richard Rubin in Washington

The search for a new agreement on how countries should tax multinational corporations advanced Wednesday, as international negotiators presented a way of rewriting the rules that they expect finance ministers from the Group of 20 leading economies will support.

The proposal comes as tensions between the U.S. and other governments rise following the introduction or announcement of a series of special taxes on digital services that mostly fall on large U.S. technology companies. It appears likely to win the support of the U.S. administration, since the plan is partly based on White House suggestions.

Crucially, the new proposal wouldn’t just target technology companies that are predominantly American, but would also affect makers of luxury goods and automobiles—among other products—that are based in Europe and other countries.

The new rules would also give more taxing power to countries in which consumers are based, rather than where patents, licenses and brands are owned or where businesses have headquarters.

The new proposal comes from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which is guiding talks between 134 countries on how to rewrite company tax rules.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS

Do you think corporate tax rules need an update for the digital age? Do you think this compromise —which covers not just tech companies but also other multinationals, like luxury-goods and automobile manufacturers —will address those concerns? Join the conversation below.

At issue is the growing digitization of the global economy. Decades ago, when companies sold their products abroad, their profits came mostly from manufactured goods. Digital services don’t require a local physical presence, enabling tech companies to lower their tax bills by basing patents, licenses and trademarks—to which their profits are attributed—in low-tax countries.

In the U.S. case, the new rules would likely result in little overall change in taxation, since it is both a large host to intellectual property and a huge consumer market. China would likely be in the same position, while some large European countries may gain.

Those that are set to lose would include low-tax investment hubs such as Ireland and Switzerland, which are hosts to large amounts of intellectual property, but are relatively small consumer markets.

The OECD believes the proposal will prove acceptable even to those countries that stand to lose some tax revenue, since the alternative would be a free-for-all in which each country finds its own way of responding to digitization.

There is also a risk that differences over tax policy could become more entangled with the continuing trade disputes, heaping additional uncertainty onto a global economy that is already slowing. Significantly, the U.S. government is investigating a digital tax imposed by France under the same broad law the Trump administration relied on for its trade dispute with China.

“There will be massive unilateral measures if we don’t find a solution,” said Pascal Saint-Amans, the OECD’s senior tax official.

The proposal was sent to finance ministers from the G-20 on Wednesday, ahead of their meeting in Washington on Oct. 17 and 18. OECD officials expect their plan to receive the G-20’s blessing, although ironing out the details will be a big challenge.

That is because the OECD’s proposal lays out the broad outlines of the new rules, rather than the specifics that will determine how much each government stands to gain or lose, and how much companies will have to pay.

The new rules would only affect companies that have global revenue over €750 million ($823 million), but would exclude businesses in that category that extract raw materials, or which manufacture goods that are then used by other businesses, rather than sold to consumers. It would also include large technology companies that don’t sell directly to consumers, but sell advertising to businesses that do.

The OECD is proposing that governments agree on a profit rate for a company’s global operations that is routine, and a way to share out governments’ rights to tax profits above that level based on the total sales accounted for by each country.

That would be a significant change to the way tax bills are decided. Levies are currently determined by a “bottom up” process in which businesses interact with each country’s tax code and a series of international agreements intended to avoid taxing the same profit twice or giving companies too much leeway to avoid paying taxes altogether.

But tax negotiators aren’t taking a view on exactly how that formula for dividing up tax revenues should work and think it will likely come down to compromise.

“The truth is what countries can agree on,” said Mr. Saint-Amans.

Write to Paul Hannon at paul.hannon@wsj.com and Richard Rubin at richard.rubin@wsj.com

Copyright ©2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

Let's block ads! (Why?)


https://www.wsj.com/articles/global-tax-proposal-widens-net-beyond-tech-giants-11570611600

2019-10-09 09:00:00Z
CAIiELl1dfVrbnrUPTQG2VdXq5AqFwgEKg8IACoHCAow1tzJATDnyxUwx4YY
Diposting oleh di Tidak ada komentar:
Langganan: Postingan (Atom)