TikTok hit by US lawsuits over child safety, security fears

WASHINGTON — TikTok was hit Wednesday with a pair of lawsuits from the US state of Indiana, which accused it of making false claims about the Chinese-owned app's safety for children.

The legal salvo came as problems are mounting for TikTok in the United States, with multiple accusations that the extremely popular app is a national security threat and a conduit for spying by China.

"The TikTok app is a malicious and menacing threat unleashed on unsuspecting Indiana consumers by a Chinese company that knows full well the harms it inflicts on users," said Attorney General Todd Rokita in a statement.

The lawsuit said TikTok algorithms served up "abundant content depicting alcohol, tobacco, and drugs; sexual content, nudity, and suggestive themes" to users as young as 13.

The state also sued TikTok for allegedly deceiving customers into believing that "reams of highly sensitive data and personal information" were protected from the Chinese government.

In a statement, a TikTok spokesperson did not comment specifically on the case but said "the safety, privacy and security of our community is our top priority."

"We build youth well-being into our policies, limit features by age, empower parents with tools and resources, and continue to invest in new ways to enjoy content based on age-appropriateness or family comfort," the company said.

TikTok is facing a growing front of opposition in the United States, with several states and the US military banning its use on government devices.

Texas on Wednesday became the latest state to do so, calling for "aggressive action" against TikTok.

The highly popular app is often singled out for its alleged connections to the Beijing government with fears that China is able to use TikTok's data to track and coerce users around the world.

TikTok is currently in negotiations with the US government to resolve national security concerns, hoping to maintain operations in one of its biggest markets.

TikTok said it was "confident that we're on a path...to fully satisfy all reasonable US national security concerns."

The spectacular success of TikTok has seen rival sites such as Meta-owned Instagram or Snapchat struggle to keep up, with once soaring ad revenues taking a hit.

But Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray told lawmakers last month that he is "extremely concerned" about security risks linked to TikTok.

Agence France-Presse 

Russia pockets $158 billion in energy exports after war: report

PARIS - Russia has raked in a whopping 158 billion euros ($158 billion) in energy exports in the 6 months following its invasion of Ukraine, with the EU accounting for more than half, a think tank said Tuesday.

The Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air called for more effective sanctions against Moscow after the invasion sent oil, gas and coal prices soaring.

"Surging fossil fuel prices mean that Russia's current revenue is far above previous years' level, despite the reductions in this year's export volumes," said the Finland-based organization.

Natural gas prices have recently soared to record levels in Europe as Russia chokes off supplies. Crude oil prices also jumped following the invasion, although they have since pulled back.

"Fossil fuel exports have contributed approximately 43 billion euros to Russia's federal budget since the start of the invasion, helping fund war crimes in Ukraine," said CREA.

The figures concern the six months following Russia's February 24 invasion of Ukraine.

During this period, the CREA estimated that the European Union was the top importer of Russian fossil fuel exporters, at 85.1 billion euros.

China followed at 34.9 billion euros and Turkey at 10.7 billion euros.

While the EU has stopped purchases of Russian coal, it is only progressively banning Russian oil and it has not adopted any limits on the imports of natural gas, upon which it is highly dependent.

The CREA said the EU ban on Russian coal imports has been effective.

After the ban went into effect Russian coal exports fell to their lowest levels since the war began.

"Russia failed to find other buyers to replace falling EU demand," said the CREA.

But it called for stronger rules and enforcement concerning Russian oil exports, urging the EU and the UK use their leverage in global shipping.

"The EU must ban the use of European-owned ships and European ports for shipping Russian oil to third countries, while the UK needs to stop allowing its insurance industry to participate in this trade," said the CREA.

The G7 countries, meanwhile, vowed Friday to push forward urgently to impose a price cap on Russian crude, a move that would deprive Russia of much of the revenue it now makes from its oil exports.

The United States has been arguing for the imposition of a price cap for months, arguing that Western bans on Russian energy products were contributing to the price hikes that helped Moscow finance its war effort.

Agence France-Presse

High energy prices threaten UK hospital services

LONDON — UK hospitals bosses on Thursday warned that patient care may have to be cut to offset huge increases in energy bills over the winter months.

Most hospital groups contacted by medical journal the BMJ said they expected bills to at least double, as the price hikes kicked in.

The NHS Confederation, which represents health providers in the publicly funded National Health Service, said there would be a knock-on effect.

"The gap in funding from rising inflation will either have to be made up by fewer staff being employed, longer waiting times for care or other areas of patient care being cut back," the group's senior acute lead, Rory Deighton, told the BMJ.

"A failure to properly compensate the NHS for inflation will only heighten pressure on our health service as we move towards a winter that we know will be particularly challenging this year."

UK inflation is at a 40-year high of 10.1 percent with dire predictions that rates could climb to 18 percent or more next year.

Last week households were told that their gas and electricity bills would go up by 80 percent from October, with further rises set for next year.

But non-domestic customers are not covered by the energy price cap, making them more vulnerable to the surge in wholesale prices.

Businesses across the board have warned the huge increases could force many to close if the government does nothing to help.

The BMJ said bosses at Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital in London told it that they expected an energy bill of about £650,000 a month in January and February next year.

At the same time last year, it was about £350,000.

Sheffield Children's Hospital in northern England has anticipated a rise of nearly 130 percent in its total bill for 2022-23.

But Nottingham University Hospital in central England has budgeted for a 214-percent rise in gas and electricity this year, it added.

NHS England set aside £1.5 billion to cover an expected £485-million increase in energy bills. But the estimate was made in May and prices have risen again, prompting concern it may not be enough.

'BREAKING POINT'

The situation only adds to a growing catalogue of problems faced by the publicly funded National Health Service.

The NHS, created in 1948 to provide free healthcare and paid out of general taxation, is a cherished British institution.

But the system, which costs £190 billion a year to run and employs some 1.2 million people in England alone, has long faced significant under-funding.

The NHS Confederation's Deighton said the UK's new prime minister, to be installed next week, needs to act immediately to offset cost of living increases.

"The NHS needs at least £3.4 billion to make up for inflation during this year alone, and that is before we face a winter of even higher wholesale energy prices," he added.

Deighton's boss, chief executive Matthew Taylor, told The Guardian this week that the NHS was "in its worst state in living memory".

Problems include chronic staff shortages, overcrowded accident and emergency departments, ambulance delays and lengthy waiting lists for treatment.

One experienced A&E doctor wrote on the UnHerd website this month that the service was "at breaking point", with patients at risk.

Health experts say the crisis is decades in the making but has been exacerbated by squeezed budgets over the last 12 years of Conservative government, Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic.

Nurses and junior doctors are currently being balloted for strike action as part of widespread industrial action over below-inflation pay offers.

NHS health and social care workers were hailed as heroes during the pandemic but in a sign of the crisis, some hospitals have set up food banks for staff struggling with the rising cost of living.

One NHS manager told LBC radio on Tuesday he was planning to convert spare hospital space into "warm rooms" for employees unable to afford winter heating at home.

Agence France-Presse

Philippine bakeries shrink 'poor man's bread' as inflation bites

MANILA - As the war in Ukraine pushes up wheat prices and a weaker peso raises the cost of imported edible oil, many Philippine bakers are shrinking the size of a popular breakfast roll to cope with higher inflation.

The slightly sweet and pillowy soft "pandesal", which Filipinos often dunk in coffee or stuff with cheese, used to weigh 35 grams at Matimyas Bakery, a breadmaker in suburban Manila.

But as the cost of local and imported ingredients soared in recent months, co-owner Jam Mauleon gradually reduced the size of the roll -- known as the "poor man's bread" because it is cheap -- to around 25 grams to avoid raising the 2.50 peso (about $0.04) price.

She feared that even a slight increase would send cash-strapped customers in her neighborhood to a rival bakery five blocks away.

"We had to reduce the serving size to survive," Mauleon told AFP, as children, workers and retirees arrived early to buy rolls baked in a brick oven that morning.

As the Philippines lifted Covid-19 restrictions and schoolchildren began returning to the classroom this year, Mauleon had hoped economic conditions for the bakery would improve. 

But since December, as wheat and fuel prices surged, the price of flour has increased by more than 30 percent, while sugar is up 25 percent and salt costs 40 percent more, she said.

The bakery survives day to day and does not make enough money to buy ingredients in bulk, leaving it vulnerable to changing prices in domestic and international markets.

After reducing the number of employees and absorbing higher costs, Mauleon was forced this week to raise the price of a pandesal by 20 percent to three pesos. 

Shrinking the size of the roll any further would affect its quality, she said.

"We will try it out if people will still buy it," Mauleon said.

"Pandesal is very important in the lives of Filipinos."

For mother-of-five Laarni Guarino, the price hike means her family now eats fewer rolls for breakfast. 

"We will have to redo our budget. From five pieces each, my children will have to eat just three to four," Guarino, 35, told AFP. 

"Fifty centavos is a big thing for poor people like us."

'SHRINKFLATION'

Lucito Chavez, president of an association representing local bakeries, said thousands of breadmakers were reeling from the higher cost for raw materials, most of which are imported. 

"All of us are struggling, not to make profit, but to survive," Chavez told AFP. 

"We have to protect the pandesal industry."

Inflation in the Philippines hit 6.1 percent in June, the highest level in nearly four years, as steep fuel price hikes pushed up food and transport costs. 

Lawmaker and economist Joey Salceda said bread would be hardest hit by "shrinkflation", where the size of a product gets smaller but the price stays the same.

"Wheat prices have increased by 165 percent," he told reporters recently, urging bakeries to fortify their products with vitamins and minerals.

 Agence France-Presse

US, allies agree to work to improve supply chains

The United States and 17 allies have agreed to work together to improve and diversify global supply chains to avoid the shortages that plagued the economy during the pandemic, officials said Wednesday.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo co-hosted the Supply Chain Ministerial Forum on Tuesday and Wednesday. 

China was not a part of the meeting, and US officials have said they aim to increase "friend-shoring" to move production of key supplies to allied nations.

"The shocks to global supply chains from pandemics, wars and conflicts, extreme climate impacts, and natural disasters have put in stark relief the urgent need to further strengthen supply chains, to work to reduce and end near-term disruptions, and to build long-term resilience," the participants said in a joint statement at the conclusion of the virtual event.

Supply chain snarls that began during the pandemic have been exacerbated by Russia's war in Ukraine and stringent COVID-19 restrictions in China.

COVID-19 lockdowns in China has led to shortages of key components, particularly of microchips and auto parts, that have caused global inflation to skyrocket to record highs.

Forum attendees agreed to collaborate on solutions to short-term issues including transportation and "supply chain disruptions and bottlenecks," as well as long-term challenges "that make our supply chains vulnerable and cause spillover effects for consumers, large and small businesses, workers, and families," the statement said.

Goals include increasing transparency of trade information, diversifying sources, and increasing the security and sustainability of supply chains.

Officials from Australia, Brazil, Canada, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the European Union, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, South Korea, Singapore, Spain and the United Kingdom participated in the meeting.

Agence France-Presse

Lettuce shortage forces Australia KFC to switch to cabbage

SYDNEY, Australia - Fried chicken chain KFC said Tuesday that high lettuce prices in Australia have forced it to switch to a cabbage mix in burgers and other products, prompting customers to complain the result is less than "finger lickin' good".

The local price of the verdant leaf has soared by as much as 300 percent in recent months, forcing the fast-food chain to tweak the Colonel's recipe in some stores.

"We're currently experiencing a lettuce shortage. So, we're using a lettuce and cabbage blend on all products containing lettuce until further notice," the company told customers.

The company blamed widespread flooding in the country's east for the problem.

But supply chain expert Flavio Macau of Edith Cowan University said Russia's invasion of Ukraine was also a factor, pushing up diesel and fertilizer prices.

A single head of iceberg lettuce in Sydney or Melbourne that once sold for about $2 now goes for close to $8.

The company told customers: "If that's not your bag, simply click 'customise' on your chosen product and remove lettuce from the recipe :)"

The change was certainly not the "bag" of some social media users.

"The fact that you are replacing lettuce with cabbage makes me rethink my whole meal at KFC. There's 4 or 5 other things I would eat before cabbage Its such a weird choice," said one disgruntled tweeter.

"Feels like a sign of the apocalypse," said another.

Agence France-Presse

Oxfam tells Davos: Time to tax growing billionaire club

DAVOS, Switzerland - The Covid pandemic has created a new billionaire every 30 hours and now one million people could fall into extreme poverty at the same pace, Oxfam said Monday as the Davos summit returns.

The international charity said it was time to tax the rich to support the less fortunate as the global elite gathered at the Swiss mountain haven for the World Economic Forum after a two-year Covid-induced absence.

Oxfam said it expects 263 million people to sink into extreme poverty this year, at a rate of one million every 33 hours, as soaring inflation has added a cost-of-living crisis on top of Covid.

By comparison, 573 people became billionaires during the pandemic, or one every 30 hours.

"Billionaires are arriving in Davos to celebrate an incredible surge in their fortunes," Oxfam executive director Gabriela Bucher said in a statement.

"The pandemic and now the steep increases in food and energy prices have, simply put, been a bonanza for them," Bucher said.

"Meanwhile, decades of progress on extreme poverty are now in reverse and millions of people are facing impossible rises in the cost of simply staying alive," she said.

Oxfam called for a one-off "solidarity tax" on billionaires' pandemic windfall to support people facing soaring prices as well as fund a "fair and sustainable recovery" from the pandemic.

It also said it was time to "end crisis profiteering" by rolling out a "temporary excess profit tax" of 90 percent on windfall profits of big corporations.

Oxfam added that an annual wealth tax on millionaires of two percent, and five percent for billionaires, could generate $2.52 trillion a year.

Such a wealth tax would help lift 2.3 billion people out of poverty, make enough vaccines for the world and pay for universal health care for people in poorer countries, it said.

Oxfam based its calculations on the Forbes list of billionaires and World Bank data.

Agence France-Presse

Twitter defends anti-bot efforts, Musk replies with poo emoji

SAN FRANCISCO, United States - Twitter's chief on Monday defended the messaging platform's battle against "bots" that aspiring buyer Elon Musk says vex the platform, only to have the billionaire respond with a poo emoji.

The exchange played out in tweets as Musk's $44 billion buy of Twitter remained "temporarily on hold," pending questions over the social media company's estimates of the number of fake accounts, or "bots."

"It appears the spam/bot issue is cascading and clearly making the Twitter deal a confusing one," Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said in a note to investors.

"The bot issue at the end of the day was known by the New York City cab driver and feels more to us like the 'dog ate the homework' excuse to bail on the Twitter deal or talk down a lower price."

Twitter chief executive Parag Agrawal said the platform suspends more than a half-million seemingly bogus accounts daily, usually before they are even seen, and locks millions more weekly that fail checks to make sure they are controlled by humans and not by software.

Internal measures show that fewer than five percent of accounts active on any given day at Twitter are spam, but that analysis can't be replicated externally due to the need to keep user data private, Agrawal contended.

Musk, who has said bots plague Twitter and that he would make getting rid of them a priority if he owned the platform, responded to that tweet by Agrawal with a poo emoji.

"So how do advertisers know what they’re getting for their money?" Musk tweeted in a subsequent response about the need to prove Twitter users are real people.

"This is fundamental to the financial health of Twitter."

The process used to estimate how many accounts are bots has been shared with Musk, Agrawal said.

The chief of SpaceX as well as Tesla, Musk is currently listed by Forbes as the world's wealthiest person, with a fortune of some $230 billion, much of it in Tesla stock.

Seen by his champions as an iconoclastic genius and by his critics as an erratic megalomaniac, Musk surprised many investors in April with his pursuit of Twitter.

Musk has described his motivation as stemming from a desire to ensure freedom of speech on the platform and to boost monetization of an Internet site that is influential in media and political circles but has struggled to attain profitable growth.

Musk said he favored lifting the ban on Donald Trump, who was kicked off the platform in January 2021 shortly after the former US president's efforts to overturn his election defeat led to the January 6 assault on the US Capitol.

Agence France-Presse

Final refrain for iPod as Apple stops production

SAN FRANCISCO, United States - Apple put out word it is no longer making iPods, the trend-setting MP3 players that transformed how people get music and gave rise to the iPhone.

Late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs introduced the devices nearly 21 years ago with his legendary showmanship flare, and the small, easy to operate players helped the company revolutionize how music was sold.

It packed "a mind-blowing 1,000 songs" the company said at the time, and together with Apple's iTunes shop established a new distribution model for the music industry.

Buying complete albums on vinyl gave way to paying 99 cents a piece for selected digital songs.

Industry trackers and California-based Apple itself have long acknowledged that the do-it-all iPhone would eat away at sales of one-trick devices such as iPod MP3 players.

The trend toward streaming music services, including one by Apple, has made devices designed just for carrying digital tunes around less enticing for consumers.

Apple said in a blog post that the current generation of iPods will only be available as long as current supplies last.

"Music has always been part of our core at Apple, and bringing it to hundreds of millions of users in the way iPod did impacted more than just the music industry," said Apple senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing Greg Joswiak.

"It also redefined how music is discovered, listened to, and shared."

Joswiak said that the "spirit of iPod" lives on in its lineup of products including iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, and its HomePod smart speaker.

"Since its introduction over 20 years ago, iPod has captivated users all over the world who love the ability to take their music with them on the go," Apple said in a blog post.

"Today, the experience of taking one’s music library out into the world has been integrated across Apple’s product line - from iPhone and Apple Watch to iPad and Mac."

In addition, the Apple Music subscription service provides streaming access to more than 90 million songs, the Silicon Valley giant said.

The iPod endured despite analyst worries that the release of the iPhone in 2007 would destroy demand, since the smartphones provided much more than just digital music.

News of the end of the line for iPod prompted a flurry of sad, nostalgic posts on Twitter.

"Damn... low-key a little sad to see that Apple has officially discontinued the iPod from today," said a tweet fire off from the verified @MrDalekJD account of a UK Gaming YouTuber.

"This thing changed the music game forever. RIP."

Agence France-Presse

Starbucks profits edge higher despite China weakness

NEW YORK, United States - Robust sales in North America were offset by weakness in China as Starbucks reported a modest profit increass as it boosts investment in US stores amid a unionization campaign.

The coffee giant scored a 12 percent jump in comparable sales in North America, while suffering a 23 percent slide in China amid that country's latest Covid-19 outbreak.

Interim Chief Executive Howard Schultz said the chain was ramping up investments in "high-returning" drive-thru stores and cafe renovations in its home market.

"We are single-mindedly focused on enhancing our core US business through our partner, customer and store experiences," Schultz said in a news release. 

"The investments we are making in our people and the company will add the capacity we need in our US stores today and position us ahead of the coming growth curve ahead." 

Net income edged up 2.3 percent to $674.5 million in the quarter ending April 3 following an 14.5 percent jump in revenues to $7.6 billion.

The company's North America division saw lower profit margins due to higher material costs, increased employee wages and "new partner training, on-boarding and support costs to address labor market conditions," Starbucks said in a news release.

Under Schultz -- the longtime leader of the company who rejoined in March -- Starbucks has doubled down on its opposition to a push to unionize stores that has grown following the December vote of two New York stores to unionize.

Some 250 Starbucks stores have launched unionization campaigns in the United States, with employees voting for a union in 47 stores, said the group, Starbucks Workers United.

Shares of Starbucks rose 1.8 percent to $75.63 in after-hours trading.

Agence France-Presse

Cloud computing helps power strong Microsoft quarter

SAN FRANCISCO, United States - Microsoft on Tuesday reported strong quarterly earnings, powered by demand for cloud computing.

The tech titan said it made a profit of $16.7 billion on revenue of $49.4 billion in the first three months of this year, eight percent and 18 percent, respectively, more than in the period a year earlier.

"Going forward, digital technology will be the key input that powers the world's economic output," said Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella.

"Across the tech stack, we are expanding our opportunity and taking share as we help customers differentiate, build resilience, and do more with less."

Microsoft shares rose more than four percent to $282.44 on the earnings figures, which came with an optimistic outlook for the current financial quarter.

Revenue in the company's "intelligent cloud" unit that meshes datacenter-hosted software with artificial intelligence surged from the same period a year earlier, Microsoft reported.

"Continued customer commitment to our cloud platform and strong sales execution drove better-than-expected commercial bookings growth" along with cloud computing revenue, Microsoft chief financial officer Amy Hood said in the earnings release.

The pandemic accelerated a shift to relying on the internet for work, education, shopping, socializing and entertainment, with Microsoft seemingly positioned to benefit from lifestyle changes that will remain even as people return to being out and about.

A business and productivity unit at Microsoft that includes its online suite of Office 365 software saw revenue grow with the help of a 34 percent increase in money taken in by career-focused online social network LinkedIn, the earnings report showed.

"Growth for LinkedIn was the most surprising," CFRA equity research vice president John Freeman told AFP.

"LinkedIn continued to be Microsoft's lower profile success story. That acquisition is looking better and better every year and every quarter."

Microsoft bought LinkedIn for slightly more than $26 billion in 2016.

Money taken in for content and services at Microsoft's Xbox video game division rose four percent in the recently ended quarter as the company works to beef up its cloud-based games subscription offering.

Microsoft is seeking regulatory approval for its $69 billion deal to buy video game powerhouse Activision Blizzard.

Merging with troubled Activision will make Microsoft the third-largest gaming company by revenue, behind Tencent and Sony, it said, a major shift in the booming world of games.

Activision, the California-based maker of "Candy Crush," has been hit by employee protests, departures, and a state lawsuit alleging it enabled toxic workplace conditions and sexual harassment. 

"Acquiring Activision will help jump start Microsoft's broader gaming endeavors and ultimately its move into the metaverse with gaming the first monetization piece of the metaverse in our opinion," Wedbush analysts said after the news broke.

Agence France-Presse

Asia facing 'stagflationary outlook' amid Ukraine war: IMF

WASHINGTON - Asian nations, like the rest of the world, are being battered by countervailing forces such as the war in Ukraine that are raising prices while holding back growth, the IMF said.

"The region faces a stagflationary outlook, with growth being lower than previously expected, and inflation being higher," said Anne-Marie Gulde-Wolf, acting director of the IMF's Asia and Pacific Department.

The regional outlook, which follows the World Economic Outlook released last week, shows the growth forecast for Asia was cut to 4.9 percent, impacted by the slowdown in China, which is having ripple effects on other closely-linked economies.

Inflation is now expected to rise 3.2 percent this year, a full point higher than expected in January, she said.

"Despite the downgrade, Asia remains the world's most dynamic region, and an important source of global growth," Gulde-Wolf said in remarks prepared for delivery to a press briefing.

But the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Western sanctions on Moscow have driven up food and fuel prices worldwide, while major central banks are raising interest rates to combat inflation, which will pressure countries with high debt loads.

A larger-than-expected slowdown in China due to prolonged or more widespread Covid-19 lockdowns or a longer-than-expected slump in the property market presents "a significant risk for the region."

"This a challenging time for policymakers as they try to address pressures on growth and tackle rising inflation," the IMF official said, noting that the headwinds will exacerbate the damage from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Outlooks vary within the region, depending on countries' reliance on imported energy and links to China, with growth in Pacific island nations slowing sharply, while Australia saw a slight upgrade, she said.

Governments will need strong responses, starting with targeted aid to poor families most harmed by higher prices, the IMF said.

Many will need to tighten monetary policy amid rising inflation, while those with high debt loads may have to cut spending and even seek debt relief, the fund economists said in a blog post.

"Slower growth and rising prices, coupled with the challenges of war, infection and tightening financial conditions, will exacerbate the difficult policy trade-off between supporting recovery and containing inflation and debt," the blog said.

Agence France-Presse

China lockdowns, rate hike fears batter stock markets

HONG KONG - Stock markets sank Monday on growing concerns that lockdowns in China aimed at fighting a worsening Covid outbreak could threaten the country's economy and global supply chains.

The losses extended a sell-off across the world last week fuelled by comments from Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell indicating officials will hike interest rates by half a point next month and possibly several times more by year's end.

China's struggle to get a grip on a Covid outbreak that has forced Shanghai -- the country's biggest city -- into lockdown and dealing a blow to demand.

Officials in the finance hub reported 51 deaths Monday, its highest daily toll despite weeks of strict containment measures, while Beijing warned of a "grim" situation as infections rise.

The lockdowns will "cause a logistical problem that's going to affect not just China but also the rest of the world", OANDA's Jeffrey Halley told Bloomberg TV.

Officials' determination to continue with a zero-Covid policy as well as a lack of government stimulus, "that all points to lower China stocks and we are going to see a weaker yuan going forward".

Investors were already fleeing risk assets as they become worried that the Fed tightening -- to fight inflation at more than 40-year highs -- will knock the pandemic economic recovery off course and dent companies' bottom line.

With earnings season under way, a close eye is being kept on what firms say about the impact on and the outlook for business in light of inflation, forecast rate hikes, supply chain snarls and the Ukraine war.

"Having spent most of the last few weeks trying to put to one side concerns about events in eastern Europe, a slowdown in China, and the increasing risks of what inflation might do to company earnings, as well as consumer incomes, the final straw appears to be a concern about the prospect of a policy mistake by central banks, and a possible recession by the end of the year," said Michael Hewson of CMC Markets.

And Geir Lode, at Federated Hermes, added: "There has been little to avert the investor pessimism as inflation and interest rate expectations start to bite.

"In particular due to the uncertainty of the macro environment, expectations are low with regard to forward estimates and guidance, building on lowered expectations from the previous quarter."

All three main indexes on Wall Street ended more than two percent down Friday, and Asia followed suit with hefty losses.

Hong Kong and Shanghai led the selling, with both markets suffering hefty losses, while Tokyo, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Mumbai, Bangkok and Jakarta were also deep in the red.

London, Paris and Frankfurt were sharply lower in the morning.

Sydney and Wellington were closed for holidays.

The hit to demand for energy in China also dragged on crude. WTI fell below $100 a barrel, even as the war in Ukraine hits supplies of the black gold owing to embargoes on Russian exports.

"Oil is rerating lower due to the China consumption hit while the Federal Reserve is raising interest rates to slow down the US economy," said Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management.

"Those are two gusty headwinds suggesting some oil bulls will give way to recession fears and demand devastation."

On currency markets, the euro was unable to hold a brief rally that came on the back of Emmanuel Macron's victory in France's presidential election, seeing off far-right challenger Marine Le Pen.

Agence France-Presse

Shanghai lockdown snarls world's busiest port and China supply chains

BEIJING — Shanghai's grinding coronavirus lockdown is slowly clogging China's supply chains, as delays hit the world's busiest container port where staff are tangled in a morass of COVID controls.

Beijing has refused to tack away from its strict zero-COVID strategy that has protected its public health system through the pandemic but at a mounting economic cost.

China's financial hub Shanghai -- home to multinational firms and its busiest port -- has been sealed off almost entirely for a week following an outbreak fueled by the Omicron virus variant.

That has many forced companies to halt production and slow new projects, factories told AFP, while those still operating are struggling with a shortage of truck drivers on top of onerous permit and COVID testing requirements.

At Shanghai's port, the lack of drivers and other workers means getting goods in and out is increasingly hard.

The docks are working normally with a "single-digit" number of vessels waiting to berth, Shanghai International Port Group said this week.

"But the fact is... due to restrictions caused for truck drivers, it is not really operating," Bettina Schoen-Behanzin, vice president of the EU Chamber of Commerce's Shanghai Chapter, told AFP.

"The figure I heard is that... week-on-week volumes at the Shanghai port are down by 40 percent. So that's really enormous."

Shortages are starting to bite across China's vast consumer economy, where online shopping platforms such as Taobao face delivery delays, especially of imported goods.

COVID curbs in a number of cities have forced factories to find new suppliers.

But the impact may soon also be felt outside China if lockdowns persist.

Shanghai is the world's number 1 container port, a spinal point in the global supply chain and a key gateway for foreign trade.

It handles around 17 percent of China's total port volume and shipped 47 million TEU -- the standard measurement for cargo, meaning Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit -- in 2021.

FACTORIES CAN'T WORK FROM HOME

Chinese manufacturers say lockdowns, no matter how flexible or targeted, pile pressure on their business.

"Not many roles allow working from home," said Jason Lee, founder of wheelchair producer Megalicht Tech, whose factory in Shanghai's Puxi area has suspended production.

"People can't enter the factory... and because our raw materials come from other provinces or cities, these can't enter Shanghai either," he said.

A Shanghai-based clothing exporter surnamed Zheng said his biggest problem was that he could not send samples to clients.

"Deliveries can neither leave nor enter," he said

Experts say the outbreak is currently nibbling at growth, but could soon take a big bite.

Nomura economists estimate that 23 cities accounting for 22 percent of China's GDP have rolled out full or partial lockdowns.

"The costs of the zero-COVID strategy will rise significantly as its benefits decline, especially as exports are hit by the ongoing lockdowns," Nomura chief China economist Lu Ting told AFP.

That will challenge Beijing's 2022 GDP growth target of around 5.5 percent, he added.

ADAPTING TO SURVIVE

For now, companies are adapting to try and handle the restrictions.

"Our main business activity is down by over 50 percent," said Gao Yongkang, general manager of Qifeng Technology in eastern China's Quanzhou city.

The company has been unable to transport textile materials to regular clients because of the COVID curbs, and has instead pivoted to supplying the booming market for protective gear.

Meanwhile, those who cannot reach their original suppliers are scouring for new ones.

"The costs are a little higher and it's slightly less efficient but we can fulfill our regular needs," said Shen Shengyuan, deputy general manager of diaper-producer New Yifa Group.

In a nod to struggling industries, Premier Li Keqiang this week announced a temporary deferment of old-age insurance premiums for sectors such as catering, retail and civil aviation.

But industry groups say hard lockdowns on major cities such as Shanghai are unsustainable, especially with many Omicron cases presenting light or no symptoms.

"Does the zero-COVID strategy still work in the current environment," said Eric Zheng, American Chamber of Commerce president in Shanghai. 

"That's a big question, particularly when you try to balance the economic cost."

Agence France-Presse

Oil stays above $120 per barrel ahead of NATO Russia-Ukraine summit

LONDON - World share markets were choppy on Thursday as the Russia-Ukraine war kept oil above $120 a barrel, while "stagflation" worries rose on renewed talk of aggressive US interest rates hikes and slowing growth.

Europe's main stock indexes barely budged and government bond yields edged up toward multi-year highs hit earlier in the week as March PMI data came in reassuringly robust. 

Focus was otherwise on a Thursday special NATO summit in Brussels, which US President Joe Biden will attend, to discuss further responses to Russia's month-old invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a "special military operation". 

Rabobank's head of macro strategy, Elwin de Groot, said markets would be watching what emerges closely, especially how unified NATO members remain and what Biden can offer European countries to help wean themselves off Russian gas.

"The NATO meeting is certainly important," de Groot said. "At the minimum you would expect the members to come up with preparations for a possible further escalation in the Ukraine war."

Wall Street futures were up a solid 0.6 percent ahead of trading there, but the mood seemed changeable.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan recouped some of its early losses overnight but ended down 0.6 percent after more falls in China and Hong Kong.

Japan's Nikkei bucked the trend, rising 0.25 percent to a nine-week high as its exporters cheered the yen falling to its lowest against the dollar since 2015. 

At 1000 GMT, the dollar was up 0.4 percent versus the yen, at 121.65, with expectations that the Bank of Japan will be far behind other top central banks in raising interest rates.

HAWKISH

Driving some of the volatility, Federal Reserve policymakers on Wednesday signaled they stood ready to take more aggressive action to bring down decades-high inflation, including a possible half-percentage-point rate hike at the next policy meeting in May. 

Those signals pushed all three main US share benchmarks 1 percent lower overnight. 

"The sharp hawkish repricing of Fed rate hike expectations has mainly benefited the US dollar against low yielding currencies whose own domestic central banks are expected to lag well behind the Fed in tightening policy," MUFG currency analyst Lee Hardman wrote in a note to clients.

Oil and gas markets also remained hot amid the geopolitical uncertainty.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Moscow would seek payment in roubles for gas sold to "unfriendly" countries, jolting energy markets, although Italy's President Mario Draghi said it planned to keep paying in euros. 

Brent futures were little changed at $121.67 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate futures fell 41 cents, or 0.35 percent, to $114.5 a barrel

The bond market was starting to shift again with the yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes up at 2.37 percent and German bunds creeping over 0.52 percent.

"Inflation is really the big driver," Rabobank's de Groot said, adding that it was also behind falling consumer confidence.

EU leaders are expected to agree at a two-day summit starting on Thursday to jointly buy gas, as they seek to cut reliance on Russian fuels and build a buffer against supply shocks. But the bloc remains unlikely to sanction Russian oil and gas. 

Gold was slightly lower at $1,942.9 per ounce.

(Reporting by Marc Jones; Editing by William Mallard)

-reuters-

Boeing CEO offers 'full support' for China aviation crash probe

WASHINGTON - Boeing Chief Executive Dave Calhoun told employees on Monday that the planemaker has offered the full support of its technical experts in the investigation of the crash of a China Eastern Airlines 737-800 airplane.

Calhoun said in an email to employees he was limited by what Boeing could say about the investigation being led by the Civil Aviation Administration of China. 

"Trust that we will be doing everything we can to support our customer and the accident investigation during this difficult time, guided by our commitment to safety, transparency, and integrity at every step," Calhoun said.

-reuters

Meta narrows guidance to prohibit calls for death of a head of state

Facebook owner Meta Platforms said on Sunday that it is further narrowing its content moderation policy for Ukraine to prohibit calls for the death of a head of state, according to an internal company post seen by Reuters.

The move came after Reuters reported last week that Meta was temporarily allowing some posts on Facebook and Instagram calling for the death of Russian President Vladimir Putin or Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. 

After the Reuters report, Meta said on Friday that a temporary change in its content policy, only applicable for Ukraine, was needed to let users voice opposition to Russia's attack. On the same day, Russia opened a criminal case against the social media firm. 

"We are now narrowing the focus to make it explicitly clear in the guidance that it is never to be interpreted as condoning violence against Russians in general," Meta global affairs President Nick Clegg wrote in a post on the company's internal platform on Sunday that was seen by Reuters.

"We also do not permit calls to assassinate a head of state...So, in order to remove any ambiguity about our stance, we are further narrowing our guidance to make explicit that we are not allowing calls for the death of a head of state on our platforms," Clegg said.

Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment, outside regular business hours.

"These are difficult decisions. Circumstances in Ukraine are fast moving. We try to think through all the consequences, and we keep our guidance under constant review because the context is always evolving," Clegg said.

There would be no change to policies on hate speech as far as the Russian people are concerned, he said.

"Meta stands against Russophobia. We have no tolerance for calls for genocide, ethnic cleansing, or any kind of discrimination, harassment, or violence towards Russians on our platform," he added.

Clegg wrote that Meta plans to refer the way in which it adapted the guidance it provides to content moderators to the independent oversight board, which was set up to help the platform answer some of the most difficult questions around freedom of expression.

Russia's communications regulator has imposed restrictions on Meta's Instagram, effective Monday. Meta had previously restricted access to Russian state media outlets RT and Sputnik on its platforms across the European Union.

(Reporting by Munsif Vengattil in New Delhi and Maria Ponnezhath in BengaluruEditing by Shri Navaratnam)

-reuters

Spotify drops paying subscribers in Russia; free service to remain

Music streaming giant Spotify said Thursday its paid subscription service would no longer be available in Russia, as sanctions had made processing payments in the country impossible.

"Due to new restrictions introduced by major payment providers, payment processing is not currently possible for the majority of Premium users in Russia," a Spotify spokesman told AFP.

Paid premium accounts "will be cancelled if a recurring payment fails and the account will then be automatically moved to our free service," he said in a written statement. 

The company said it had also "paused all advertising campaigns running in Russia."

Spotify did not immediately confirm to AFP how many subscribers it expected lose in Russia.

Spotify's free service would however remain available in Russia "to allow for the global flow of information," it said, adding that "arts and news are a powerful force for good."

The Swedish company, which is listed on the New York stock exchange, already announced last week that it was closing its offices in Russia and removing Russian state-sponsored content, such as news outlets RT and Sputnik, from its service.

Agence France-Presse

Moscow warns: Ban on Russian oil will have ‘catastrophic consequences’

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak warned Monday that a ban on Russian oil imports would have "catastrophic" consequences, as Western allies considered further sanctions on Moscow over Ukraine.

"A ban on Russian oil will lead to catastrophic consequences for the global market. The surge in prices will be unpredictable — more than $300 per barrel, if not more," Novak said in remarks carried by Russian news agencies. 

Novak added that it would be "impossible" to quickly replace Russian oil on the European market. 

"It will take more than one year and it will be much more expensive for European consumers," he said. 

"European politicians should then honestly warn their citizens, consumers what awaits them and that prices at gas stations, for electricity, for heating will skyrocket," he said. 

Novak said talks of an embargo on Russian oil creates "instability and leads to significant harm for consumers". 

He added that in retaliation for the halt on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project, Russia could stop supplies via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. 

"So far we have not made this decision. Nobody will benefit from this," Novak said. 

"Although European politicians are pushing us to this with their statements and accusations against Russia," he added. 

Agence France-Presse

Oil price spikes to $139 on talks about Russia oil ban, Iran deal delay

LONDON - Oil prices spiked to their highest levels since 2008 on Monday amid market supply fears as the United States and European allies considered banning Russian oil imports and prospects for a swift return of Iranian crude to global markets receded.

In the first few minutes of trade Brent crude reached $139.13 a barrel and US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) hit $130.50, both benchmarks striking their highest since July 2008.

By 1204 GMT, prices had eased back, with Brent up 6.3 percent at $125.55 per and WTI up 6.7 percent at $123.37.

Global oil prices have spiked more than 60 percent since the start of 2022, along with other commodities, raising concerns about world economic growth and stagflation. China, the world's No. 2 economy, is already targeting slower growth of 5.5 percent this year. 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday said the United States and European allies were exploring banning imports of Russian oil, while the White House was coordinating with Congressional committees to move forward with a US ban. 

"We consider $125 per barrel, our near-term forecast for Brent crude oil, as a soft cap for prices, although prices could rise even higher should disruptions worsen or continue for a longer period," UBS commodity analyst Giovanni Staunovo said.

A prolonged war could see Brent moving above the $150 per barrel mark, he said.

Analysts at Bank of America said if most of Russia's oil exports were cut off, there could be a 5 million barrel per day (bpd) or larger shortfall, pushing prices as high as $200.

JP Morgan analysts said oil could soar to $185 this year, and analysts at Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc (MUFG) said oil may rise to $180 and cause a global recession.

Russia is the world's top exporter of crude and oil products combined, with exports at around 7 million bpd, or 7 percent of global supply. Some volumes of Kazakhstan's oil exports from Russian ports have also faced complications.

The head of Japan's largest business lobby said the country's imports of Russian crude could not be replaced immediately. Russia is Japan's fifth-biggest supplier of crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Meanwhile, talks to revive Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers were mired in uncertainty after Russia demanded a US guarantee that sanctions it faces over the Ukraine conflict would not hurt its trade with Tehran. China also raised new demands, sources said. 

France told Russia on Monday not to resort to blackmail over efforts to revive the nuclear deal, while Iran's top security official said the outlook for the talks "remains unclear". 

"Iran was the only real bearish factor hanging over the market but if now the Iranian deal gets delayed, we could get to tank bottoms a lot quicker especially if Russian barrels remain off the market for long," said Amrita Sen, co-founder of Energy Aspects, a think tank.

Iran will take several months to restore oil flows even if it reaches a nuclear deal, analysts said. 

Separately, US and Venezuelan officials discussed the possibility of easing oil sanctions on Venezuela but made scant progress toward a deal in their first high-level bilateral talks in years, five sources familiar with the matter said, as Washington seeks to separate Russia from one of its key allies. 

(Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin in London and and Scott DiSavino in New York, additional reporting by Florence Tan in Singapore; Editing by Jason Neely and Edmund Blair)

-reuters