economy

Gautam Adani: Billionaire Indian tycoon facing US bribery charges

  • The indictment accuses Adani Group's leadership of bribing Indian government officials to secure lucrative government contracts. 
  • Billionaire Indian industrialist Gautam Adani, whose business empire has been rocked by US bribery charges against him, is one of the corporate world's great survivors.
  • The indictment accuses Adani Group's leadership of bribing Indian government officials to secure lucrative government contracts. 
Billionaire Indian industrialist Gautam Adani, whose business empire has been rocked by US bribery charges against him, is one of the corporate world's great survivors.
The tycoon -- a close ally of Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi -- oversees a vast conglomerate encompassing coal, airports, cement and media operations.
The US court charges that he paid hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes sent his companies' shares plunging. But Adani has seen off big threats before.
On New Year's Day in 1998, Adani and an associate were reportedly kidnapped by gunmen demanding a $1.5 million ransom, before being later released at an unknown location.
A decade later, he was dining at Mumbai's Taj Mahal Palace hotel when it was besieged by militants, who killed 160 people in one of India's worst terror attacks.
Trapped with hundreds of others, Adani reportedly hid in the basement all night before he was rescued by security personnel early the next morning.
"I saw death at a distance of just 15 feet," he said of the experience after his private aircraft landed in his hometown Ahmedabad later that day.
Adani, 62, differs from his peers among India's mega-rich, many of whom are known for throwing lavish birthday and wedding celebrations that are later splashed across newspaper gossip pages. 
A self-described introvert, he keeps a low profile and rarely speaks to the media, often sending lieutenants to front corporate events. 
"I'm not a social person that wants to go to parties," he told the Financial Times in a 2013 interview.

'Stop Adani'

Adani was born in Ahmedabad, Gujarat state, to a middle-class family but dropped out of school at 16 and moved to financial capital Mumbai to find work in the lucrative gems trade. 
After a short stint in his brother's plastics business, he launched the flagship family conglomerate that bears his name in 1988 by branching out into the export trade. 
His big break came seven years later with a contract to build and operate a commercial shipping port in Gujarat.
It grew to become India's largest at a time when most ports were government-owned -- the legacy of a sclerotic economic planning system that impeded growth for decades and was in the process of being dismantled.
Adani in 2009 expanded into coal, a lucrative sector for a country still almost totally dependent on fossil fuels to meet its energy needs, but a decision that brought greater international scrutiny as he rose rapidly up India's rich list. 
His purchase the following year of an untapped coal basin sparked years of "Stop Adani" protests in Australia after dismay at the project's monumental environmental impact. 
Similar controversies plagued his coal projects in central India, where forests home to tribal communities were cut down for mining operations.

'Extraordinary growth'

Adani is considered to be close to Prime Minister Modi, a fellow Gujarat native, and offered the leader the use of a private company jet during the 2014 election campaign that swept him to power. 
The tycoon has invested in the government's strategic priorities, in recent years inaugurating a green energy business with ambitious targets.
In 2022, he completed a hostile takeover of broadcaster NDTV, a television news service considered one of the few media outlets willing to outwardly criticise Modi.
Adani batted away press freedom fears, but told the Financial Times that journalists should have the "courage" to say "when the government is doing the right thing every day".
Last year a bombshell report from US investment firm Hindenburg Research claimed the conglomerate had engaged in a "brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme over the course of decades".
Hindenburg said a pattern of "government leniency towards the group" stretching back decades had left investors, journalists, citizens and politicians unwilling to challenge its conduct "for fear of reprisal". 
Adani Group denied wrongdoing and characterised the report as a "calculated attack on India" but lost $150 billion in market capitalisation in the weeks after the report's release.
Its founder saw his own net worth plunge by $60 billion over the same period, and he is now ranked by Forbes as the 25th-richest person globally.
US prosecutors on Wednesday charged the tycoon and two other board members with paying hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes and hiding the payments from investors.
The indictment accuses Adani Group's leadership of bribing Indian government officials to secure lucrative government contracts. 
The conglomerate and its founder have yet to respond to the charges.
ng/gle/djw

business

India's Adani Enterprises tanks after founder's US charges

  • Founder Gautam and two other board members are accused in the indictment of orchestrating "an elaborate scheme to bribe Indian government officials to secure contracts worth billions of dollars", US attorney Breon Peace said in a statement.
  • Shares in India's Adani Enterprises slumped 20 percent at Thursday's open after US prosecutors charged billionaire industrialist founder Gautam Adani with paying hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes and hiding the payments from investors.
  • Founder Gautam and two other board members are accused in the indictment of orchestrating "an elaborate scheme to bribe Indian government officials to secure contracts worth billions of dollars", US attorney Breon Peace said in a statement.
Shares in India's Adani Enterprises slumped 20 percent at Thursday's open after US prosecutors charged billionaire industrialist founder Gautam Adani with paying hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes and hiding the payments from investors.
The steep losses in the Adani group's main listed entity were matched by abrupt sell-offs and trading halts in its other publicly traded businesses, with Adani Power losing 11 percent and Adani Energy Solutions tanking 20 percent.
The conglomerate's founder, a close ally of Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi who was at one point the world's second-richest man, is alleged to have agreed to pay more than $250 million in bribes to Indian officials for lucrative solar energy supply contracts.
The deals were projected to generate more than $2 billion in profits after tax over roughly 20 years.
None of the multiple defendants in the case, including Adani, are in custody.
A statement from Adani Group's renewable energy subsidiary acknowledged the charges against Adani and two other board members in a brief statement. 
Adani Green Energy said it had decided to halt a planned bond sale "in light of these developments", but did not offer further comment on the allegations. 
Founder Gautam and two other board members are accused in the indictment of orchestrating "an elaborate scheme to bribe Indian government officials to secure contracts worth billions of dollars", US attorney Breon Peace said in a statement.
The trio "lied about the bribery scheme as they sought to raise capital from US and international investors", he added.
With a business empire spanning coal, airports, cement and media, the Adani Group has weathered previous corporate fraud allegations and suffered a similar stock crash last year.
The conglomerate saw $150 billion wiped from its market value in 2023 after a bombshell report by short-seller Hindenburg Research accused it of "brazen" corporate fraud.
It claimed Adani Group had engaged in a "stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme over the course of decades".
The report also said a pattern of "government leniency towards the group" stretching back decades, had left investors, journalists, citizens and politicians unwilling to challenge its conduct "for fear of reprisal".
Gautam Adani, the family-run conglomerate's founder, denied Hindenburg's original allegations and called its report a "deliberate attempt" to damage its image for the benefit of short-sellers.
He saw his net worth shrink by around $60 billion in the two weeks following the release of the report and he is currently ranked by Forbes as the world's 25th-richest person.

'Abject failure'

Adani is considered a close associate of Prime Minister Modi, and opposition parties and other critics have long claimed their relationship helped him to unfairly win business and avoid proper oversight.
Adani Group's rapid expansion into capital-intensive businesses has also raised alarms in the past, with Fitch subsidiary and market researcher CreditSights warning in 2022 that it was "deeply over-leveraged."
Jairam Ramesh, of India's key opposition Congress Party, said Thursday that the indictment "vindicates" their demand for a parliamentary inquiry into Adani.
Ramesh condemned what he called the "abject failure" of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to hold the Adani Group "to account for the source of its investments".
Adani, born to a middle-class family in Ahmedabad, Gujarat state, dropped out of school at 16 and moved to the financial capital Mumbai to find work in the city's lucrative gem trade. 
After a short stint in his brother's plastics business, he launched the flagship family conglomerate that bears his name in 1988 by branching out into the export trade. 
pjm-gle/cwl

technology

US govt calls for breakup of Google and Chrome

BY ALEX PIGMAN

  • From this position, Google expanded its tech and data-gathering empire to include the Chrome browser, Maps and the Android smartphone operating system.
  • The US government late Wednesday asked a judge to order the dismantling of Google by selling its widely used Chrome browser in a major antitrust crackdown on the internet giant.
  • From this position, Google expanded its tech and data-gathering empire to include the Chrome browser, Maps and the Android smartphone operating system.
The US government late Wednesday asked a judge to order the dismantling of Google by selling its widely used Chrome browser in a major antitrust crackdown on the internet giant.
In a court filing, the US Department of Justice urged a shake-up of Google's business that includes banning deals for Google to be the default search engine on smartphones and preventing it from exploiting its Android mobile operating system.
Antitrust officials said in the filing that Google should also be made to sell Android if proposed remedies don't prevent the tech company from using its control of the mobile operating system to its advantage.
Calling for the breakup of Google marks a profound change by the US government's regulators, which have largely left tech giants alone since failing to break up Microsoft two decades ago.
Google is expected to make its recommendations in a filing next month and both sides will make their case at a hearing in April before US District Court Judge Amit Mehta.
Regardless of Judge Mehta's eventual decision, Google is expected to appeal the ruling, prolonging the process for years and potentially leaving the final say to the US Supreme Court.
The case could also be upended by the arrival of President-elect Donald Trump to the White House in January.
His administration will likely replace the current team in charge of the DOJ's antitrust division.
The newcomers could choose to carry on with the case, ask for a settlement with Google, or abandon the case altogether.
Trump has blown hot and cold in how to handle Google and the dominance of big tech companies. 
He has accused the search engine of bias against conservative content, but has also signaled that a forced break up of the company would be too large a demand by the US government. 

Too extreme?

Determining how to address Google's wrongs is the next stage of the landmark antitrust trial that saw the company in August ruled a monopoly by Judge Mehta.
Google has dismissed the idea of a breakup as "radical."
Adam Kovacevich, chief executive of industry trade group Chamber of Progress, said the government's demands were "fantastical" and defied legal standards, instead calling for narrowly tailored remedies.
The trial, which concluded last year, scrutinized Google's confidential agreements with smartphone manufacturers, including Apple. 
These deals involve substantial payments to secure Google's search engine as the default option on browsers, iPhones and other devices.
The judge determined that this arrangement provided Google with unparalleled access to user data, enabling it to develop its search engine into a globally dominant platform. 
From this position, Google expanded its tech and data-gathering empire to include the Chrome browser, Maps and the Android smartphone operating system.
According to the judgment, Google controlled 90 percent of the US online search market in 2020, with an even higher share, 95 percent, on mobile devices.
The US government currently has five cases pending against big tech over antitrust concerns after the Biden administration adopted a tough stance on reining in the dominance of the companies.
If carried through by the Trump administration, the cases against Amazon, Meta, and Apple, as well as two against Google, could take years to litigate.
gc-arp/jgc

Global Edition

Adani plunges in Mumbai on founder's charges as Asian markets retreat

  • Flagship firm Adani Enterprises dived 10 percent, while Adani Energy tanked 20 percent and Adani Ports dropped 10 percent.
  • Shares in Indian conglomerate Adani tanked on Thursday after its industrialist owner Gautam Adani was charged by US prosecutors with handing out more than $250 million in bribes for key contracts.
  • Flagship firm Adani Enterprises dived 10 percent, while Adani Energy tanked 20 percent and Adani Ports dropped 10 percent.
Shares in Indian conglomerate Adani tanked on Thursday after its industrialist owner Gautam Adani was charged by US prosecutors with handing out more than $250 million in bribes for key contracts.
The painful losses at units of the Adani Group came as markets across most of Asia retreated as blockbuster earnings from chip titan Nvidia smashed forecasts but fell short of investor hopes, sparking worries this year's tech-led rally may have run its course.
Several listed subsidiaries of the Adani empire, which spans coal, airports, cement and media, collapsed in early trade, with some losing as much as 20 percent.
The charges are another blow to the firm, which was sent reeling last year when a bombshell report from US investment firm Hindenburg Research claimed the conglomerate had engaged in a "brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme over the course of decades".
Flagship firm Adani Enterprises dived 10 percent, while Adani Energy tanked 20 percent and Adani Ports dropped 10 percent.
However, Mumbai's Sensex index saw more limited losses, giving up around 0.7 percent.
Bitcoin reached an all-time peak above $97,000 as it continued its run towards $100,000 on optimism that the incoming US president will usher in an era of deregulation for cryptocurrencies.
All eyes had been on the release from Nvidia, which has been at the forefront of a global tech surge that has helped push some markets to multiple records owing to voracious demand for all things linked to artificial intelligence.
And once again, the firm topped expectations, announcing Wednesday that it made a $19 billion profit on record high revenue in the July-September quarter, while sales reached $35.1 billion -- about $2 billion more than estimated.
However, its shares fell in after-hours trade, even as chief executive Jensen Huang declared that the "age of AI is in full steam, propelling a global shift to Nvidia computing" and that its keenly anticipated Blackwell processing platform is in full production.
Observers said investors had been hoping for an even bigger blowout report, with Bloomberg saying some had been hoping for sales of as much as $41 billion.
Its shares -- which have soared more than 200 percent year to date -- dropped four percent at one point after-hours.
With Nvidia now the world's most expensive listed company, its results have become a bellwether of the tech industry.
"I have a feeling we've reached peak Nvidia," said Pendal Group's Amy Xie Patrick on Bloomberg Television. "This is a stock that beat analyst estimates but didn't beat enough."
And SPI Asset Management's Stephen Innes added: "The bigger question remains: where exactly is the bar for Nvidia now? With expectations veiled in sky-high optimism, even seasoned analysts struggle to get a clear read.
"With so many portfolios already brimming with Nvidia stock, some investors might see this quarter's results as a minor letdown." 
But he added: "Still, the strength of the numbers, paired with the pipeline of Blackwell chip orders, is enough to keep the dream alive."
Most markets in Asia fell, with Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Taipei, Bangkok and Manila in negative territory, though Singapore, Seoul, Wellington and Jakarta rose.
Bitcoin topped out at $97,002.13 as it continued its march to the $100,000 mark on expectations Donald Trump will push through measures to ease regulations on cryptocurrencies. It has surged around 40 percent since the US election at the start of the month.
Investors have also been spooked by developments in the Ukraine war after Russia said Kyiv had fired US-supplied missiles into the country. That was followed by reports that UK-supplied rockets had also been used.
After Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier that the use of US missiles showed Western countries wanted to "escalate" the conflict, adding that "we will be taking this as a qualitatively new phase of the Western war against Russia".
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree Tuesday lowering the threshold for using nuclear weapons.
Traders are also keeping watch on Trump's picks for his cabinet, with the fingering of China hawk Howard Lutnick for commerce secretary fuelling worries of another painful trade war.
Lutnick has expressed support for a tariff level of 60 percent on Chinese goods, alongside a 10 percent tariff on all other imports.

Key figures around 0430 GMT

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.0 percent at 3,987.97 
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.1 percent at 19,680.23 (break)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,364.64 (break)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0553 from $1.0545 on Wednesday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2658 from $1.2652
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 154.95 yen from 155.45 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 83.37 pence from 83.33 pence
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.2 percent at $68.90 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.2 percent at $72.96 per barrel
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.3 percent at 43,408.47 (close)
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 8,085.07 (close)
dan/lb

business

India's Adani Enterprises tanks after founder's US charges

  • The close ally of Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi is alleged to have agreed to pay more than $250 million in bribes to Indian officials for lucrative solar energy supply contracts.
  • Shares in India's Adani Enterprises slumped 10 percent at Thursday's open after US prosecutors charged billionaire industrialist founder Gautam Adani with paying hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes and hiding the payments from investors.
  • The close ally of Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi is alleged to have agreed to pay more than $250 million in bribes to Indian officials for lucrative solar energy supply contracts.
Shares in India's Adani Enterprises slumped 10 percent at Thursday's open after US prosecutors charged billionaire industrialist founder Gautam Adani with paying hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes and hiding the payments from investors.
The steep losses in the Adani group's key firm was matched by heavy selling in its other key businesses, with Adani Power losing 11 percent and Adani Energy Solutions tanking 20 percent.
The close ally of Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi is alleged to have agreed to pay more than $250 million in bribes to Indian officials for lucrative solar energy supply contracts.
The deals were projected to generate more than $2 billion in profits after tax, over roughly 20 years.
None of the multiple defendants in the case, including Adani, are in custody.
There was no immediate response from the Adani Group.
With a business empire spanning coal, airports, cement and media, the Adani Group has been rocked in recent years by corporate fraud allegations and a stock crash.
Last year the conglomerate saw $150 billion wiped from its market value last year after a bombshell report by short-seller Hindenburg Research accused it of "brazen" corporate fraud.
Gautam Adani, the family-run conglomerate's founder and one of the world's wealthiest people, denied Hindenburg's original allegations and called its report a "deliberate attempt" to damage its image for the benefit of short-sellers.
The 2023 Hindenburg Research claimed the conglomerate had engaged in a "brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme over the course of decades".
Hindenburg said a pattern of "government leniency towards the group" stretching back decades had left investors, journalists, citizens and politicians unwilling to challenge its conduct "for fear of reprisal".
Jairam Ramesh, of India's key opposition Congress Party, said Thursday that the indictment "vindicates" their demand for a parliamentary inquiry into Adani.
Ramesh condemned what he called the "abject failure" of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to hold the Adani Group "to account for the source of its investments".
Adani was born in Ahmedabad, Gujarat state, to a middle-class family but dropped out of school at 16 and moved to the financial capital Mumbai to find work in the city's lucrative gem trade. 
After a short stint in his brother's plastics business, he launched the flagship family conglomerate that bears his name in 1988 by branching out into the export trade. 
pjm/dan

tourism

Screen to reality: South Korea targets K-pop, K-drama tourism boom

BY HIEUN SHIN AND CAT BARTON

  • Preserved from the set of popular 2018 historical series "Mr Sunshine", the location in Nonsan, 170 kilometres (106 miles) from Seoul, is replete with painstaking replicas of everything from a turn-of-the-century tram to South Korea's most famous Buddhist bell.
  • Deep in South Korea's hinterlands lies a perfect replica of 1900s Seoul: welcome to Sunshine Land, the latest K-drama theme park to cash in on booming K-culture tourism.
  • Preserved from the set of popular 2018 historical series "Mr Sunshine", the location in Nonsan, 170 kilometres (106 miles) from Seoul, is replete with painstaking replicas of everything from a turn-of-the-century tram to South Korea's most famous Buddhist bell.
Deep in South Korea's hinterlands lies a perfect replica of 1900s Seoul: welcome to Sunshine Land, the latest K-drama theme park to cash in on booming K-culture tourism.
Fans of K-pop mega group BTS have long flocked to the South to see sites associated with the boy band, from the dorms where they slept as trainees to recent music video shoot locations.
But as the popularity of South Korean drama has soared overseas -- it is the most-viewed non-English content on Netflix, the platform's data shows -- more and more tourists are planning trips around their favourite shows.
The idea that foreign tourists would pay good money and drive hundreds of miles out of the capital Seoul to see a K-drama set seemed "crazy" to tour guide Sophy Yoon -- until she saw one of her guests break down in tears at Sunshine Land.
"At that moment, it hit me: For me, it was just a studio, but for them, it was something much more," she said.
Preserved from the set of popular 2018 historical series "Mr Sunshine", the location in Nonsan, 170 kilometres (106 miles) from Seoul, is replete with painstaking replicas of everything from a turn-of-the-century tram to South Korea's most famous Buddhist bell.
"It's like when we go to the Spanish steps in Rome where Audrey Hepburn had ice cream," Yoon said, referring to the 1953 classic movie "Roman Holiday".
For South Korea's growing number of K-drama tourists, "every door, every wall has a meaning from a drama that impacted their lives".
"I get a lot more requests for specific 'K-drama tours' now," she said.

'Felt right'

The rise of South Korea as a global cultural powerhouse "has contributed to the appeal of Korean tourism," said Kwak Jae-yeon, the Hallyu content team director at the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO).
South Korea welcomed 1.4 million tourists in September, up 33 percent year-on-year and the highest since the pandemic, with more than a third saying they had decided to come "after being exposed to Korean Wave content", according to a 2023 KTO poll.
In Seoul's central Jongno district, tourists like Sookariyapa Kakij are typical. Wearing a hanbok, traditional Korean dress, the 40-year-old had travelled from Thailand specifically to see where her favourite dramas were filmed. 
"I want to find locations where 'Itaewon Class' was shot," she told AFP, referring to the popular 2020 drama, filmed largely on location in its namesake district of Seoul.
Jennifer Zelinski told AFP she had never left the United States before, but after she discovered K-drama -- through the 2019 series "Crash Landing on You" -- while stuck at home during the pandemic, she decided to visit South Korea.
"I binged the whole show in a week. I barely slept and went through two whole boxes of tissues," she said. 
This "snowballed" into her watching more and more K-drama, Korean variety shows and listening to K-pop, she said, until finally she "felt like I really wanted to see it in person".
"My family and friends were shocked when I said I was travelling to Korea and on my own," said Zelinski, but for her "it just felt right."

Beyond Seoul

The travel industry is racing to catch up: one South Korean tour company on the travel platform Klook said interest in its BTS day tour has "skyrocketed" recently, and they were "completely booked until next February." 
"We are planning to add additional tours for other K-pop idol groups, including Seventeen and NCT 127," they said.
But most of this new type of tourism is concentrated in Seoul, Jeong Ji-youn, a Kyungpook National University professor, told AFP.
Tourism in rural areas has tended to focus on more traditional Korean experiences, which is not interesting to younger travellers eager to explore the land of K-pop and K-drama.
"There is a need to develop more tourism resources related to contemporary culture that allow people to experience hallyu outside of Seoul," she said.
The port city of Pohang is better known for shipbuilding and steel plants than tourism, but Emma Brown, 30, from Scotland, travelled more than 8,800 kilometres (5,468 miles) to see it because of "When the Camellia Blooms".
The 2019 romance series "changed my life", she told AFP, adding that she felt she "had to feel the drama in person."
"I just couldn't miss the opportunity to visit Pohang when I was already in South Korea," she added.
hs/ceb/sn/lb

conflict

Civil war economy hits Myanmar garment workers

  • It is a rare bright spot in an economy crippled by the military's 2021 coup and subsequent slide into civil war.
  • As civil war pounds Myanmar's economy and drives up prices, garment worker Wai Wai often starts her shift making clothes for international brands on an empty stomach.
  • It is a rare bright spot in an economy crippled by the military's 2021 coup and subsequent slide into civil war.
As civil war pounds Myanmar's economy and drives up prices, garment worker Wai Wai often starts her shift making clothes for international brands on an empty stomach.
The orders she and thousands of others churn out for big names including Adidas, H&M and others bring in billions of dollars in export earnings for Myanmar.
It is a rare bright spot in an economy crippled by the military's 2021 coup and subsequent slide into civil war.
But for 12 hours of sewing clothes for export to China and Europe in a bleak industrial suburb of Yangon, Wai Wai earns just over $3 a day, which has to cover rent, food and clothes. 
It must also stretch to supporting her parents in Rakhine state at the other end of the country, where conflict between the military and ethnic rebels has wrecked the economy and driven food prices up.
With times so hard, Wai Wai "decided to mostly skip breakfast" to save extra money, she told AFP, asking to use a pseudonym.
"Sometimes we just have leftover rice from the night before and save money, because if we use money for breakfast, there will be less money to transfer to our family."
In a nearby factory, Thin Thin Khine and her two sisters work 12 hours a day sewing uniforms for a Myanmar company and earn a monthly salary of around 350,000 Myanmar kyat.
That's about $165 according to the official exchange rate set by the junta of just over 2,000 kyat to the dollar.
On the open market, a greenback can fetch around 4,500 kyat.
"All my sisters are working, but there is no extra money at all," she said.
"In the past, we could buy two or three new items of clothing every month, but now we can't afford to buy new clothes, cosmetics or things for our personal care." 

Lights out

Since the coup, Zara owner Inditex, Marks and Spencer and others have left Myanmar, citing the difficulties of operating amid the turmoil.
Others such as Adidas, H&M and Danish company Bestseller have stayed, for now. 
Adidas told AFP it worked closely with its suppliers in Myanmar to safeguard workers' rights, while H&M said it was gradually phasing out its operations in the country.
Estimates of the apparel industry's export earnings vary.
Myanmar's commerce ministry said exports were worth more than $3 billion in the past financial year.
But the European Chamber of Commerce in Myanmar said export earnings were higher, surging from $5.7 billion in 2019 to $7.6 billion in 2022 -- with more than half of exports going to the bloc.
The European body said the rise in Myanmar exports was helped by low labour costs compared to Cambodia and China, along with trade preferences granted by the EU and United States.
Keeping the factories running is a challenge.
In May, the junta said the national electricity grid was meeting about half of the country's daily electricity needs.
To keep the lights on and the machines spinning, factory owners rely on expensive generators -- themselves vulnerable to the regular diesel shortages that plague Yangon. 
"The working situation right now is like we invest more money and get less profits," said small factory owner Khin Khin Wai.
Cotton spindles have more than doubled in price from 18 cents to 50 cents, she said.
"Our lives here are not progressing year by year, they are falling apart," she said. 
Wai Wai's factory supplies Danish clothing brand Bestseller.
A Bestseller spokesman told AFP that sourcing from Myanmar was "complex" and the company "continuously assessed" the situation, publishing regular reports on its operations in the country.
According to its September report, "on average" workers at Myanmar factories supplying it were paid a daily wage of 10,000-13,000 kyat ($5-6.50 at the official rate), including bonuses and overtime.

Crackdown

Abuses in the sector have spiked since the military took power, rights groups say.
This month, Swiss-based union federation IndustriALL Global Union said the junta had banned unions and arrested union leaders.
"There are widespread, comprehensive reports on the extensive violations of workers' rights," IndustriALL general secretary Atle Hoie said in a statement.
AFP has sought comment from the junta about conditions in the industry.
The latest concern is a conscription law enforced from February to shore up the military's depleted ranks.
In its most recent report on Myanmar, Bestseller said two workers at factories that supply it had been drafted between March and September of this year.
Women are included in the draft, although the junta has said it will not recruit them for now.
For migrant workers like Wai Wai who do not have the means to pay bribes to avoid any draft, it is a huge worry.
"I am full of fear about how I will face it if I am called up for conscription," Wai Wai said.
bur-rma/pdw/djw/cwl

fraud

Archegos founder jailed for 18 years for massive fraud: US media

  • "The sentence has to reflect the seriousness of the event," said judge Alvin Hellerstein according to The New York Times, which also reported the 18-year prison sentence.
  • The founder of US investment firm Archegos, Bill Hwang, was jailed for 18 years on Wednesday for a multibillion-dollar fraud that contributed to the fund's 2021 implosion, US media reported.
  • "The sentence has to reflect the seriousness of the event," said judge Alvin Hellerstein according to The New York Times, which also reported the 18-year prison sentence.
The founder of US investment firm Archegos, Bill Hwang, was jailed for 18 years on Wednesday for a multibillion-dollar fraud that contributed to the fund's 2021 implosion, US media reported.
In July, a jury in New York convicted South Korean-born Hwang on 10 of the 11 charges he faced and for which he could have been sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison.
"The sentence has to reflect the seriousness of the event," said judge Alvin Hellerstein according to The New York Times, which also reported the 18-year prison sentence.
Hwang's family-owned hedge fund had taken huge bets on a few stocks with money borrowed from banks, and when one of those bets soured, the fund was unable to meet "margin calls" to cover the losses.
The subsequent collapse of the fund sent shockwaves through the markets and caused $10 billion in losses for Credit Suisse, Nomura, Morgan Stanley and other large financial institutions.
Credit Suisse was the hardest hit, losing some $5.5 billion, which further weakened the bank and pushed it close to bankruptcy in 2023 before it was taken over by its Swiss rival UBS.
During the case, the prosecution relied on two former Archegos executives, with one testifying that Hwang had instructed him to misrepresent the fund's finances.
The case came about after Archegos took stakes in several companies with the goal of driving up share prices, including in ViacomCBS, which is now Paramount Global.
At its peak in March 2021, Archegos was exposed to $160 billion through derivatives.
The plan worked initially -- almost quadrupling the value of ViacomCBS -- but quickly unraveled when that company announced a capital increase in 2021, triggering a sudden sell-off on Wall Street.
This started a domino effect that plunged the value of shares held by Archegos and in turn hit the banks that had provided funds to Hwang's firm.
gw/aha

Global Edition

Dollar strengthens, stocks mostly flat over lack of triggers

  • The Nvidia earnings were released after US markets closed on Wednesday.
  • Global stocks were mostly flat or lower Wednesday while the dollar strengthened ahead of an eagerly anticipated report from artificial intelligence giant Nvidia that showed it crushed its earnings expectations.
  • The Nvidia earnings were released after US markets closed on Wednesday.
Global stocks were mostly flat or lower Wednesday while the dollar strengthened ahead of an eagerly anticipated report from artificial intelligence giant Nvidia that showed it crushed its earnings expectations.
Following a down day in Tokyo and on European bourses, equities had a choppy session in New York, with the S&P 500 finishing flat.
"Now that the initial post-election euphoria has faded, it is clear that markets are struggling for a catalyst to provoke a new rally," said market analyst Chris Beauchamp at online trading platform IG, referring to the US presidential poll.
One day after Walmart impressed investors with a bullish report ahead of the US holiday shopping season, Target lost more than one-fifth of its market value as the retailer projected flat comparable sales in the coming quarter.
The war in Ukraine has also burst back into the thoughts of traders this week after the outgoing administration of US President Joe Biden allowed Ukraine to use deep-strike weapons against targets in Russia, ramping up tensions.
The Nvidia earnings were released after US markets closed on Wednesday.
The chip company made a $19 billion profit on record high revenue in the last quarter as demand continued for its hardware to power artificial intelligence. 
Shares fell 1.4 percent in after-hours trading, despite the strong earnings, with some analysts fretting about an ebbing in profit margins compared to the prior quarter.
The US dollar firmed against rivals as futures markets slash the odds of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut next month.
On Tuesday, US President-elect Donald Trump named China hawk Howard Lutnick as commerce secretary, bolstering expectations that the Republican's administration will make good on a pledge to enact tough tariffs on Beijing and other countries.
Lutnick has expressed support for a tariff level of 60 percent on Chinese goods, alongside a 10-percent tariff on all other imports.
With Lutnick's appointment, "we’re all set for another tit-for-tat trade war between the two superpowers," said a note from Forex.com analyst Matt Simpson.
Surveyed economists now see a greater risk of a resurgence in US inflation next year, said Simpson, adding "odds of Fed cuts next year continued to diminish."

Key figures around 2145 GMT

New York - Dow Jones Industrial Average: DOWN 0.3 percent at 43,408.47 (close)
New York - S&P 500: FLAT at 5,917.11 (close)
New York - Nasdaq Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 18,966.14 (close) 
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 8,085.07 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.4 percent at 7,198.45 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.3 percent at 19,004.78 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.2 percent at 38,352.34 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.2 percent at 19,705.01 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.7 percent at 3,367.99 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0545 from $1.0596 on Tuesday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2652 from $1.2682
Dollar/yen: UP at 155.45 yen from 154.66 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.33 pence from 83.54 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.7 percent at $72.81 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.8 percent at $68.87 per barrel
burs-jmb/aha

semiconductors

Nvidia crushes earnings expectations on AI chip demand

  • Nvidia surpassed Apple early this month to become the highest valued company in the world as the artificial intelligence boom continues to excite Wall Street.
  • US chipmaking behemoth Nvidia said Wednesday it made a $19 billion profit on record high revenue last quarter as demand continued for its hardware to power artificial intelligence.
  • Nvidia surpassed Apple early this month to become the highest valued company in the world as the artificial intelligence boom continues to excite Wall Street.
US chipmaking behemoth Nvidia said Wednesday it made a $19 billion profit on record high revenue last quarter as demand continued for its hardware to power artificial intelligence.
Nvidia reported quarterly sales of $35.1 billion, some $2 billion more than market expectations.
"The age of AI is in full steam, propelling a global shift to Nvidia computing," said founder and chief executive Jensen Huang.
"AI is transforming every industry, company and country."
Huang said that Nvidia's keenly anticipated Blackwell processing platform is in full production and the company is seeing "incredible demand" for the new offering along with current-generation Hopper processors.
"Enterprises are adopting agentic AI to revolutionize workflows," Huang said.
"Industrial robotics investments are surging with breakthroughs in physical AI, and countries have awakened to the importance of developing their national AI and infrastructure."
Nvidia surpassed Apple early this month to become the highest valued company in the world as the artificial intelligence boom continues to excite Wall Street.
Following its quarterly report, Nvidia's share price ebbed nearly two percent in after-hours trading to $143.24.
Investors may have been concerned about the company stating that its margin, the amount of money it makes off processors, is expected to narrow.
"Despite Nvidia's technological leadership through CUDA and its first-mover advantage in AI infrastructure, there's little room for execution missteps in 2025," said Emarketer analyst Jacob Bourne.
"Particularly given uncertainties around Blackwell's rollout and increasing competition from both AMD and key customers' in-house chip development efforts."
The market is also likely weighing geopolitical factors, such as the potential for trade turbulence with China after Donald Trump returns to the White House in January.
Nvidia relies on TSMC in Taiwan for its coveted graphics processing units.
The world's biggest tech companies have invested tens of billions of dollars into Nvidia's powerful AI chips and software to get their ChatGPT-style AI models up and running.
Microsoft, Google, Meta, Tesla and Amazon all depend on Nvidia technology to train generative AI models and execute the heavy computing workloads needed to deploy the new technology.
Ahead of the latest earnings, Nvidia's share price had nearly tripled year-to-date and has accounted for a third of the broad-based S&P 500 index's gains this year.
gc/des

efficiency

Musk outlines plans for mass cuts as Trump 'efficiency' czar

  • However Musk and Ramaswamy voiced confidence that recent rulings by the conservative-dominated Supreme Court would allow them to push through the ambitious agenda.
  • Elon Musk outlined plans Wednesday for his new role as "efficiency" czar -- signaling an assault on federal spending and staffing that would be backed by President-elect Donald Trump's executive powers and a conservative Supreme Court.
  • However Musk and Ramaswamy voiced confidence that recent rulings by the conservative-dominated Supreme Court would allow them to push through the ambitious agenda.
Elon Musk outlined plans Wednesday for his new role as "efficiency" czar -- signaling an assault on federal spending and staffing that would be backed by President-elect Donald Trump's executive powers and a conservative Supreme Court.
Writing in the Wall Street Journal, the world's richest man said he was taking aim at hundreds of billions of dollars in government spending -- including funding for public broadcasting and international aid -- as well as at bureaucracy that represents, according to him, an "existential threat" to US democracy.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO, who also owns the X social media platform, said that he and Vivek Ramaswamy, a fellow businessman and Trump loyalist, would work to slash federal regulations and make major administrative changes.
"We are entrepreneurs, not politicians. We will serve as outside volunteers, not federal officials or employees," Musk and Ramaswamy wrote in their most detailed remarks since Trump named them heads of a new so-called Department of Government Efficiency.
They said DOGE -- expected to function more as an advisory group rather than a formal department -- will prepare a list of regulations which Trump could invalidate unilaterally.
"When the president nullifies thousands of such regulations, critics will allege executive overreach. In fact, it will be correcting the executive overreach of thousands of regulations promulgated by administrative fiat that were never authorized by Congress," they said.
Musk and Ramaswamy added that a reduction in regulations would pave the way for "mass head-count reductions across the federal bureaucracy," and said DOGE would aim to cut more than $500 billion in government expenditures.
"With a decisive electoral mandate and a 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court, DOGE has a historic opportunity for structural reductions in the federal government," they said.

Supreme Court allies

Moves to gut programs will almost certainly face political pushback, even from Republicans, and prompt legal challenges.
However Musk and Ramaswamy voiced confidence that recent rulings by the conservative-dominated Supreme Court would allow them to push through the ambitious agenda.
"With a decisive electoral mandate and a 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court, DOGE has a historic opportunity for structural reductions in the federal government," they said.
They said that DOGE's top goal was to not be needed by July 4, 2026, which was described as an expiration date for the project.
Musk become a close ally to Trump during his campaign, reportedly spending over $100 million to boost his presidential bid and joining him at rallies.
However, with Musk's businesses all having varying degrees of interactions with US and foreign governments, his new position also raises concerns about conflict of interest.
The South African-born billionaire invited Trump to watch a test flight of his SpaceX company on Tuesday in a sign of ever closer ties between the pair.
But their relationship -- defined by combustible personalities and some past policy differences -- could be subject to friction once the reality of political life sets in.
bjt/des

diplomacy

Macron praises EU-Chile trade agreement on Latin America tour

BY FRANCESCO FONTEMAGGI

  • "It is a trade agreement that is consistent with our climate and biodiversity ambitions," Macron said at a meeting with Boric.
  • French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday hailed a recently upgraded EU-Chile free trade agreement as he met counterpart Gabriel Boric in Santiago on the last leg of a Latin America tour.
  • "It is a trade agreement that is consistent with our climate and biodiversity ambitions," Macron said at a meeting with Boric.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday hailed a recently upgraded EU-Chile free trade agreement as he met counterpart Gabriel Boric in Santiago on the last leg of a Latin America tour.
With France at odds with some European Union counterparts over a similar pact with South American trade bloc Mercosur, Macron said the Chile agreement should serve as an example of being "respectful of the interests of both sides."
"It is a trade agreement that is consistent with our climate and biodiversity ambitions," Macron said at a meeting with Boric.
Chile and the EU have had an "association agreement" since 2002. It was updated last year, but has yet to be approved by national parliaments in Europe to enter into force.
Chilean lawmakers have already adopted the modernized deal, which will see 99 percent of the country's exports to the EU enjoy some form of tariff exemption.
Boric also lauded the pact in his meeting with Macron.

'Not satisfied'

The French leader paid a state visit to Chile after attending the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, prior to which he had also stopped over in Argentina -- both Mercosur members. Chile is an associate member but not a full member of the bloc.
France has staunchly opposed the finalization of an EU-Mercosur trade pact, which in addition to Brazil and Argentina would bring members Bolivia, Uruguay and Paraguay into the fold.
Work on the pact has been under way for a quarter of a century, and in 2019, the contours of a deal to create the world's largest free-trade zone were agreed.
But French farmers fear they will be undercut by what they view as unfair competition, and have the backing of their government.
In Argentina's President Javier Milei -- in office since last December --  Macron seems to have found an ally, with the French president telling reporters Sunday his Argentine counterpart was also "not satisfied" with the draft deal.
On other matters, the French leader has a more natural ally in Boric.
"The two presidents share a common vision of the importance of multilateralism," the Elysee said ahead of the state visit.
The men signed an agreement Wednesday for the creation of a Franco-Chilean artificial intelligence center.
Chile is the world's top copper producer and the second of lithium, used in electric car batteries and key for the global switch to cleaner energy.
On Thursday, before returning to Paris, Macron will travel to the port city of Valparaiso to give a speech on France-Latin America ties to the Chilean Congress meeting there.
The French president has made few trips to South America since he was first elected to office seven years ago, though he has had frequent exchanges with Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
At the G20 summit, he met Mexico's new President Claudia Sheinbaum and Colombia's Gustavo Petro.
fff/cn/mlr/nro

environment

Awaiting Trump, US auto execs further temper EV push

  • Trump, who has called climate change a hoax, spoke during the campaign dismissively of Biden administration fuel economy standards as a "mandate" that he argued would doom internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.
  • US auto giants signaled Wednesday they could further slow the ramp-up of electric vehicle production as Detroit awaits the arrival of a Trump administration eager to reverse key Biden climate initiatives.
  • Trump, who has called climate change a hoax, spoke during the campaign dismissively of Biden administration fuel economy standards as a "mandate" that he argued would doom internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.
US auto giants signaled Wednesday they could further slow the ramp-up of electric vehicle production as Detroit awaits the arrival of a Trump administration eager to reverse key Biden climate initiatives.
Donald Trump's transition officials have discussed killing a $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicles, according to US media. The EV tax credit was included in President Joe Biden's flagship climate change law, the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.
Trump, who has called climate change a hoax, spoke during the campaign dismissively of Biden administration fuel economy standards as a "mandate" that he argued would doom internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.
US auto executives said Wednesday they are preparing for potentially significant policy changes from Washington. 
"We're modeling various scenarios and we will adjust accordingly," Ford Chief Financial Officer John Lawler said at a Wall Street conference.
Lawler said Ford's embrace of hybrid vehicles provided greater flexibility depending on how the new rules evolve.
He described the potential removal of the tax credit as exacerbating an oversupply of costly electric models.
"One of the things we believe is that there is going to be incredible pressure on prices next year in the EV market," Lawler said. "The one thing we do know... is that consumers are not willing to pay much of a premium for EVs versus an ICE vehicle."
General Motors Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson said it is "too soon" to speculate on what policies Trump will pursue, but that the company is committed to its EV strategy as a "long-term objective."
GM is focused on reducing costs throughout EV development and on having flexible operations, such as a plant in Tennessee that can produce both combustion and electric vehicles, he said.
The storied automaker could "temper" future EV investment steps depending on how the market evolves, Jacobson said.
Both Ford and GM have slowed or reversed some EV projects in recent years amid uneven demand growth.
Trump transition officials targeting the tax credit include oil executive Harold Hamm, according to articles in the New York Times and other publications.
Trump softened his own EV criticism somewhat during the campaign as he worked closely with mega supporter Elon Musk, the chief executive of EV maker Tesla. 
Musk has said that eliminating the tax credit could harm competitors seeking to challenge Tesla's leadership in the segment.
jmb/mlm

Ryanair

Ryanair threatens to drop 10 French airports over tax hike

  • Ryanair said the tax increase would fall most heavily on passengers using regional airports, which are primarily served by low-cost airlines and the tax hike would have a larger impact.
  • Low-cost airline Ryanair threatened Wednesday to stop serving 10 French regional airports if the government goes forward with a proposed tax hike. 
  • Ryanair said the tax increase would fall most heavily on passengers using regional airports, which are primarily served by low-cost airlines and the tax hike would have a larger impact.
Low-cost airline Ryanair threatened Wednesday to stop serving 10 French regional airports if the government goes forward with a proposed tax hike. 
The French government is scrambling to plug a larger-than-expected budget deficit, and a tripling of a tax on airline tickets, as well as private jets, is one of the measures currently under consideration.
"Ryanair is now reviewing its French schedules and expects to cut capacity to/from regional French airports by up to 50 percent from January 2025 if the French government proceeds with its short-sighted plan to triple passenger taxes," Ryanair's chief commercial officer Jason McGuinness said in a statement.
Ryanair currently operates flights at 22 smaller French regional airports. The two closest to Paris are not among those where Ryanair might cut services, but the airline did not indicate which are threatened. 
The Irish budget airline hopes to transport 5.7 million people along its French routes this year, an increase of 19 percent from 2023. 
Ryanair said the tax increase would fall most heavily on passengers using regional airports, which are primarily served by low-cost airlines and the tax hike would have a larger impact.
"The impact of increased passenger taxes will be most damaging for regional France which depends on competitive access costs," McGuinness said.
He added that there was fierce competition between regional airports and Ryanair would shift operations to airports that would help it reduce costs.
tq/rl/js

Fed

US Fed official warns against cutting rates 'too quickly'

  • "With the US economy remaining strong, moving the policy rate down too quickly, in my view, would carry the risk of stoking demand unnecessarily and potentially reigniting inflationary pressures," Fed Governor Michelle Bowman told a conference in Florida, according to prepared remarks. 
  • The US Federal Reserve should be careful not to cut rates "too quickly" and risk reigniting stubborn inflation, a senior bank official said Wednesday. 
  • "With the US economy remaining strong, moving the policy rate down too quickly, in my view, would carry the risk of stoking demand unnecessarily and potentially reigniting inflationary pressures," Fed Governor Michelle Bowman told a conference in Florida, according to prepared remarks. 
The US Federal Reserve should be careful not to cut rates "too quickly" and risk reigniting stubborn inflation, a senior bank official said Wednesday. 
The Fed's favored inflation gauge has dropped sharply following a series of interest rate hikes in recent years, and now sits just above its long-term target of two percent. 
At the same time, the labor market has weakened slightly, while remaining robust overall, and economic growth has been strong. 
In response to these developments, the US central bank began cutting interest rates from a two-decade high in September, pivoting from focusing on tackling inflation to supporting the labor market.
But recent figures have shown a stubbornness of inflation in some sectors of the economy, even as the overall figure has continued on its downward trajectory.
"With the US economy remaining strong, moving the policy rate down too quickly, in my view, would carry the risk of stoking demand unnecessarily and potentially reigniting inflationary pressures," Fed Governor Michelle Bowman told a conference in Florida, according to prepared remarks. 
"Progress seems to have stalled in recent months," she continued, adding that the Fed should pursue a "cautious approach" on rate cuts going forward. 
Back in September, Fed officials penciled in an additional quarter percentage-point of cuts before the end of the year. 
But over the past week, futures traders have sharply dialed back their expectations of a rate cut at the December Fed meeting, according to data from CME Group. 
They now assign a probability of around 60 percent that the Fed will lower rates by a quarter point, to between 4.25 and 4.50 percent, down from around 80 percent last week. 
da/nro

Johnson&Johnson

Johnson & Johnson risks UK lawsuit over talc cancer claim

  • KP Law, the firm representing about 2,000 claimants, said "women who have been diagnosed with life-changing and life-limiting cancers were exposed to asbestos contained within the company’s talcum powder".
  • UK claimants announced Wednesday legal action against US pharmaceutical and cosmetics giant Johnson & Johnson, alleging that women diagnosed with cancers were exposed to asbestos in the company's talcum powder. 
  • KP Law, the firm representing about 2,000 claimants, said "women who have been diagnosed with life-changing and life-limiting cancers were exposed to asbestos contained within the company’s talcum powder".
UK claimants announced Wednesday legal action against US pharmaceutical and cosmetics giant Johnson & Johnson, alleging that women diagnosed with cancers were exposed to asbestos in the company's talcum powder. 
J&J risks UK court action for the first time over the allegations, having faced a series of similar lawsuits in North America.
KP Law, the firm representing about 2,000 claimants, said "women who have been diagnosed with life-changing and life-limiting cancers were exposed to asbestos contained within the company’s talcum powder".
In response Erik Haas, J&J's worldwide vice president of litigation, said "Johnson & Johnson takes the issue of talc safety incredibly seriously and always has". 
Haas added that J&J's own analysis found an absence of asbestos contamination in its products and said "independent science makes clear that talc is not associated with the risk of ovarian cancer nor mesothelioma".
J&J has until the end of the year to respond to a letter sent on behalf of KP Law's clients, following which documents will be filed in the UK's High Court.
The law firm is representing predominantly women regarding the case, and says it has been contacted by thousands more, adding that some have died of their cancers.
Lawyers claim that the US-based corporation knew "as early as the 1970s that asbestos in its talc products was dangerous but failed to warn consumers and carried on producing and selling the products in the UK until as recently as 2022".
J&J said that Kenvue, its former consumer-health division that it separated out in 2023, is responsible for "any alleged talc liability that arises outside the US or Canada".
"Decades of testing by experts... demonstrates that the product is safe, does not contain asbestos, and does not cause cancer,” Kenvue said in a statement.
    

Settled claims

However, in September, J&J increased its offer to settle talc claims relating to ovarian cancer in the United States to around $8 billion to be paid over 25 years.
Earlier this year, the company agreed to pay $700 million to settle allegations it misled customers about the safety of its talcum-based powder products in North America.
The company did not admit wrongdoing in its settlement but withdrew the product from the North American market in 2020.
The World Health Organization's cancer agency in July classified talc as "probably carcinogenic" for humans. 
A summary of studies published in 2020 covering 250,000 women in the United States did not find a statistical link between the use of talc on the genitals and the risk of ovarian cancer.
ajb/rl

automobile

Ford to cut 4,000 jobs in Europe

  • Ford had already announced in February 2023 that it was planning to cut 3,800 jobs in Europe, including 2,300 in Germany and 1,300 in Britain.
  • US car giant Ford on Wednesday announced 4,000 more job cuts in Europe, mostly in Germany and Britain, in the latest blow to the continent's beleaguered car industry.
  • Ford had already announced in February 2023 that it was planning to cut 3,800 jobs in Europe, including 2,300 in Germany and 1,300 in Britain.
US car giant Ford on Wednesday announced 4,000 more job cuts in Europe, mostly in Germany and Britain, in the latest blow to the continent's beleaguered car industry.
"The company has incurred significant losses in recent years," Ford said in a statement, blaming "the industry shift to electrified vehicles and new competition".
The move will affect 2,900 jobs in Germany, 800 in the UK and 300 in western Europe by the end of 2027, a Ford spokesman told AFP.
"It is critical to take difficult but decisive action to ensure Ford's future competitiveness in Europe," said Dave Johnston, Ford's European vice-president in the statement.
The company also said it was adjusting the production of its Explorer and Capri models, resulting in reduced hours at its Cologne plant in the first quarter of 2025.
Europe's car industry has been plunged into crisis by high manufacturing costs, a stuttering switch to electric vehicles and increased competition in key market China.
Germany's Volkswagen has been among those hardest hit, announcing in September that it was considering the unprecedented move of closing some  factories in Germany.
"The European automotive industry is in a very demanding and serious situation," Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume said at the time.
Ford had already announced in February 2023 that it was planning to cut 3,800 jobs in Europe, including 2,300 in Germany and 1,300 in Britain.
The company said then it was planning to reduce the number of models developed for Europe, concentrate on the profitable van segment and speed up the transition to electric vehicles.
Ford currently has around 28,000 employees in Europe with 15,000 in Germany, according to the company's works council.
fec/jsk/tw

UN

As Trump returns, China seizes chance for climate mantle

BY SHAUN TANDON

  • The Asian power has now surpassed Europe as the second-largest historical emitter after the United States.
  • With Donald Trump expected to take the United States again out of climate diplomacy, China, the world's largest emitter but green energy powerhouse, is seizing on the chance to project itself as the global leader.
  • The Asian power has now surpassed Europe as the second-largest historical emitter after the United States.
With Donald Trump expected to take the United States again out of climate diplomacy, China, the world's largest emitter but green energy powerhouse, is seizing on the chance to project itself as the global leader.
At COP29 climate talks in Azerbaijan, China has sought to show a cooperative side and for the first time gave details on its international climate finance, while still firmly resisting pressure to be reclassified as a donor.
The go-nice approach -- a contrast to Beijing's frequent shrillness about international disputes -- keeps the tone from a year ago at COP28 in Dubai.
There, China and the then US envoy John Kerry worked together for a breakthrough call on the world to transition away from fossil fuels responsible for climate change.
Few expect the warm feelings between China and the United States -- which together account for 41 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions -- to persist after Trump returns to the White House on January 20.
Trump is an outspoken and three-fold sceptic -- on working with China, on providing foreign assistance and on climate change in general.
Trump's election "opens up an opportunity for China to step up into even more of a climate leadership role," said Belinda Schaepe, a China analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air in London.
"It makes it easy for China to portray itself as the more responsible global power of the two," she said.
But she said China would bolster its case if it offered forward-looking promises on aid and ambitious targets for cutting emissions through 2035, not just in the longer term.

Addressing critics on finance

In the Baku talks, wealthy countries are being urged to go beyond an expiring goal of providing $100 billion a year to poor countries worst hit by climate change.
China has resolutely resisted pressure by Western nations as well as some threatened island states to be considered a donor, which would subject it to greater accounting scrutiny.
Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, visiting Baku, revealed that China had contributed $24.5 billion in international climate finance since 2016.
Jennifer Morgan, Germany's negotiator, said the announcement "shows that China can do a lot and is already doing a lot".
"But we can only take account of what has been reported transparently," she said.
One option would be for China to promise future aid but on a voluntary basis, while remaining listed as a developing country.
The classification dates back to 1992, before China's breakneck economic development. The Asian power has now surpassed Europe as the second-largest historical emitter after the United States.
"Not only China, but also Gulf nations and other countries should give in line with their capabilities," said Susana Muhamad, Colombia's environment minister.
But she also said that if Trump pulled the United States out of the Paris accord, "I think there are countries that will take the climate lead and China is very committed, at least in terms of the multilateral process."
US climate negotiators' leverage evaporated with Trump's election on November 5.
President Joe Biden, on a visit Sunday to the Brazilian Amazon, said his administration has made good on his promise to deliver more than $11 billion in bilateral climate finance this year, a major increase during his term.

Turbulence ahead

China's priority on climate is rooted in self-interest as authorities address dire environmental woes.
China has also quickly emerged as the global leader on clean energy, dominating the electric car and solar industries -- leading both the United States and European Union to impose tariffs.
Li Shuo, director of the China climate hub at the Asia Society Policy Institute, said he saw China negotiating constantly in Baku with the Europeans -- much like they did previously with Kerry -- in anticipation of difficulties once Trump takes office.
"The politics will get worse before they get better. The US-China relationship will deteriorate and the China-EU relationship will see turbulence," he said.
But Li said that a US exit under Trump could have an unexpected upside in climate negotiations, if not on climate overall.
"Ironically, the Trump election might make dealmaking easier because the US carries the most extreme position," he said.
sct/lth/jj

LatAm

French farmers lift border blockade after talks with PM

BY MYRIAM LEMETAYER AVEC LES BUREAUX DE L'AFP

  • Resistance has been reinflamed by the prospect of an EU deal with the Mercosur bloc -- Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay -- that would create the world's largest free-trade zone.
  • French farmers protesting pay and conditions and a prospective EU-Latin America trade deal on Wednesday lifted a blockade on the Spanish border after an expression of support from Prime Minister Michel Barnier.
  • Resistance has been reinflamed by the prospect of an EU deal with the Mercosur bloc -- Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay -- that would create the world's largest free-trade zone.
French farmers protesting pay and conditions and a prospective EU-Latin America trade deal on Wednesday lifted a blockade on the Spanish border after an expression of support from Prime Minister Michel Barnier.
Hard-line farmers' union Coordination Rurale (CR) lifted its roadblock for heavy trucks on the A9 motorway, which links southwestern France with Spain's northeast, police said.
Organisers had earlier said that they intended to maintain the barricade, designed to provoke shortages of produce in French supermarkets.
Barnier spoke with another CR branch from the western Lot-et-Garonne region by phone.
"Your Prime Minister knows and respects farmers. I will do everything I can... uphold the very many commitments that have been made," the PM, a former agriculture minister, said in comments captured by multiple media cameras including AFPTV.
So far the French political world up to and including President Emmanuel Macron has echoed rural opposition to the Mercosur deal.
Barnier's office told AFP that he had also spoken to Arnaud Rousseau, head of the heavyweight FNSEA farmers' union, by phone.
Farmers in early 2024 launched massively disruptive demonstrations including blockading many motorways across France and Europe, over issues including low prices for their produce and environmental regulation.
French protesters secured concessions from the government -- but delivery was interrupted by President Emmanuel Macron's June call for new elections.
Resistance has been reinflamed by the prospect of an EU deal with the Mercosur bloc -- Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay -- that would create the world's largest free-trade zone.
"The aim is to again put on the pressure to speak out against things that cannot be accepted. And, as I keep saying, always while respecting property and people," Rousseau told broadcaster Franceinfo on Wednesday.
The FNSEA chief was looking to set his outfit apart from CR, some of whose members have this week dumped waste outside regional government offices, broken into the French biodiversity authority and set up the motorway blockade.
Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard told broadcaster France 2 that such methods were "unacceptable" and risked wearing down widespread public sympathy for farmers.
Renewed farmers' protests come weeks before elections to regional Chambers of Agriculture, at which smaller unions CR and Confederation Paysanne hope to loosen the FNSEA's tight grip.
Confederation Paysanne on Wednesday targeted the Rouen headquarters of Haropa Port, a state-owned firm that runs the Le Havre, Rouen and Paris ports.
"The only people who benefit from free trade are the food industry, large-scale farms, traders, chemical manufacturers and finance that speculates on all of it," said Mathieu Grenier, one of around 20 farmers demonstrating at the offices.
"For farmers, there will be a lot more losers than winners," he added.
bur-cor-myl/tgb/rl

inflation

General strike in Greece against cost of living

  • Some 15,000 people marched in the capital, while another 4,000 demonstrated in Greece's second city Thessaloniki, police said.
  • Thousands of people demonstrated in Athens and other cities Wednesday as a 24-hour general strike against the rising cost of living shut down public services and part of the transport network.
  • Some 15,000 people marched in the capital, while another 4,000 demonstrated in Greece's second city Thessaloniki, police said.
Thousands of people demonstrated in Athens and other cities Wednesday as a 24-hour general strike against the rising cost of living shut down public services and part of the transport network.
Some 15,000 people marched in the capital, while another 4,000 demonstrated in Greece's second city Thessaloniki, police said.
The Greek General Confederation of Labour (GSEE) said the strike was a "riposte to the government's refusal to take measures to guarantee a decent life for workers.
"The government has to understand that the prosperity of society depends on that of the workers," it added in a statement.
"Urgent action is needed to fight the surge in prices, unaffordable housing and the persistence of low wages," said Esther Lynch, secretary general of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). She was in Greece to back the action, said the ETUC. 
Boats from the mainland to the Aegean and Ionian islands were also hit by the strike as members of the PNO sailors' union joined the action.
Staff at bus, metro and train services, schools, courts and hospitals joined the strike.
There is increasing anger in Greece not just at rising prices of food but also of housing, particularly acute in Athens, in a country where low wages are widespread.
Inflation hit 2.4 percent year on year in October, the statistics office Elstat reported. 
On Tuesday, the Greek journalists union carried out their own 24-hour strike, calling for new collective agreements. The last one dates back to 2008, before Greece's devastating financial crisis.
The unions, which have called several strikes since the beginning of the year, denounce the policies of the current conservative government, led by Kyriakos Mitsotakis, re-elected last year for a fresh, four-year mandate.
Mitsotakis recently announced plans to boost people's purchasing power with an increase in the minimum wage, currently 830 euros, and pensions from January 2025.
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