Virginia City to Divest Budget Funds From Fossil Fuels

Officials in Charlottesville, Virginia, have voted to divest the city's operating budget investments from any entity involved in the production of fossil fuels or weapons.   WVIR-TV reports the City Council voted 4-1 last week to complete those divestments within the next 30 days.   Supporters of divestment argued that weapons and fossil fuels do not align with the city's strategic plan goals, including being responsible stewards of natural resources.   Officials said fossil fuel and weapons companies make up only a small portion of the city's operating fund investment portfolio. They said the divestment will have little or no financial impact on the city.   Several cities worldwide have fully committed to divestment from fossil fuels according to 350.org's Fossil Free project, including other college towns like Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Berkeley, California.      

US Treasury Chief: Trump 'Perfectly Happy' to Tax More Chinese Imports

U.S. Treasury chief Steven Mnuchin said Sunday President Donald Trump would be "perfectly happy" to tax more imports from China if he cannot reach a trade deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Both presidents are scheduled to meet later this month at the Group of 20 meeting in Japan. “We made enormous progress, I think we had a deal that was almost 90% done," Mnuchin told CNBC. "China wanted to go backwards on certain things” -- a charge Beijing denies. "We’ve stopped negotiating," Mnuchin said, with the next steps depending on Trump's meeting with Xi in Osaka at the G-20 summit of leaders of major economies June 28-29. "The president will make a decision (on tariffs) after the meeting,” Mnuchin said. “I believe if China is willing to move forward on the terms that we were discussing, we’ll have an agreement. If they’re not, we will proceed with tariffs." Trump has already imposed tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods, but now is thinking about taxing an additional $325 billion worth of Chinese products. That would include nearly everything China exports to the U.S. The world's two biggest economies have sparred for months over a trade deal, but have not been able to reach an agreement. Trump's threatened tariff hike came as G-20 finance ministers meeting in Fukuoka, Japan, said trade and geopolitical conflicts are risking global economic growth, but at the U.S. insistence, dropped a call to "recognize the pressing need to resolve trade tensions." "Global growth appears to be stabilizing and is generally projected to pick up moderately later this year and into 2020," the finance chiefs, including Mnuchin, said in an end-of-meeting communique. "However, growth remains low and risks remain tilted to the downside. Most importantly, trade and geopolitical tensions have intensified. We will continue to address these risks and stand ready to take further action." The International Monetary Fund warned last week that a continuing U.S.-China standoff on tariffs could cut a half-percentage point from the global economy in 2020. Meanwhile, China vowed Sunday to build what it calls a strong firewall against attempts to restrict its ability to technologically innovate. "China ... will never allow certain countries to use China's technology to contain China's development and suppress Chinese enterprise," the main state-run newspaper declared. China plans to announce details of its plans in the near future. The Chinese statement did not mention any country by name, but the United States has restricted U.S. firms from selling technology to China's Huawei, suspecting the company of building spyware into its telecommunications products. The U.S. has also warned its allies against the alleged risk in buying Huawei technology.            

Amazon Set to Begin Drone Package Delivery

The giant e-commerce technology company, Amazon, has announced that it expects to start delivering orders to shoppers' homes by drones in the coming months. The details are still in the works, but the innovation could change the way we get packages. VOA's Kevin Enochs reports.

FedEx Ends Amazon’s FedEx Express Plane Service

FedEx Corp. Friday decided not to renew its contract with Amazon.com Inc. for U.S. cargo delivery through FedEx Express, the unit that delivers packages on planes, a move that reflects the broader trend of the e-commerce company moving services in-house. Amazon has been building out its own delivery network of planes, trucks and vans, a development that is seen posing a potential long-term challenge to FedEx and delivery rival United Parcel Service Inc., both of which count Amazon as a customer. FedEx described the decision as a strategic move that would allow it to focus on the broader e-commerce market, a group that would include rivals of Amazon scaling up one- and two-day delivery. FedEx forecast that the market would double to 100 million packages per day in the United States by 2026. "Amazon had a better rate with UPS, so it made no sense for them to use FedEx," said Dean Maciuba, director of consulting services at Logistics Trends and Insights. Other FedEx contracts unaffected The decision does not impact any existing contracts between Amazon and other FedEx business units or relating to international services, the package delivery company said. Amazon accounted for less than 1.3% of FedEx's revenue last year, the company said in its statement. Analysts said that the ending of FedEx Express' contract with Amazon is likely to benefit UPS, which gets a relatively larger share of revenue from the online retailer. "We would expect UPS to report much stronger volume growth in next-day air products over the next several quarters," Bernstein analyst David Vernon wrote in a client note. UPS volumes have been boosted by Amazon's move to one-day shipping for its paid Prime service, and "this news means more growth in lower priced, lower weight, lower service level ... domestic express products at UPS," Vernon said. Amazon building its fleet In recent years, Amazon has steadily expanded its fleet of delivery aircraft, which Air Transport Services Group Inc. and Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings have operated. The company is investing $1.5 billion to build an air cargo hub in northern Kentucky, setting it up to rely less on others for air shipping. Amazon has 40 leased cargo planes and has signed an agreement to bring 10 more planes into the fleet in the next two years. "We respect FedEx's decision and thank them for their role serving Amazon customers over the years," Amazon said in an emailed statement. Shares of FedEx, which rose as much as 1.65% earlier in the session, pared gains and closed up 0.75% at $158.02. Amazon shares ended the day 2.8% higher at $1,804.03. UPS shares closed up 0.2% at $98.23 after rising as much as 1% earlier in the session.

Trump Announces Deal With Mexico Averting Tariffs

Cindy Saine at the State Department contributed to this report.    U.S. President Donald Trump said late Friday that the United States and Mexico had reached a deal on migration to avert tariffs. "I am pleased to inform you that The United States of America has reached a signed agreement with Mexico. The Tariffs scheduled to be implemented by the U.S. on Monday, against Mexico, are hereby indefinitely suspended," he tweeted. "Mexico, in turn, has agreed to take strong measures to stem the tide of Migration through Mexico, and to our Southern Border. This is being done to greatly reduce, or eliminate, Illegal Immigration coming from Mexico and into the United States," Trump said. Earlier Friday, Trump had tweeted that there was a "good chance" the two sides would reach a deal to avert tariffs over the surge of migrants across the U.S. border. However, he added, "If we are unable to make the deal, Mexico will begin paying Tariffs at the 5% level on Monday!"   U.S. and Mexican officials returned to the negotiating table Friday for a third day of talks to find a way to stem the migrant flow. Effect on hiring? Trump's trade wars with Mexico and other countries appeared to have spooked American companies into putting the brakes on hiring. They added just 75,000 jobs in May, far fewer than the 180,000 economists expected, the Labor Department reported Friday.     Although the jobless rate held steady at a 50-year low of 3.6%, Friday's figures were the latest signal that the U.S. economy, while healthy, is weakening. Manufacturers, which are particularly sensitive to trade disputes, added only 3,000 jobs, extending an anemic streak of hiring in the sector. U.S. and Mexican officials discussed a deal calling for Mexico to sharply increase patrols of its border with Guatemala to curb migration, The Washington Post reported, with the deployment of 6,000 National Guard troops. The newspaper said Mexico and the U.S. could overhaul asylum rules throughout the region, requiring Central Americans to first seek refuge in Mexico rather than traveling through it to reach the U.S.    With such a plan in place, the United States could send Guatemala asylum seekers to Mexico, and those from Honduras and El Salvador to Guatemala.   Earlier Friday in Mexico City, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador reiterated his own optimistic position.  Causes of 'chaos'   "There is dialogue and an agreement can be reached," Lopez Obrador said. "I'm optimistic we can achieve that." He added it was a mistake, though, for the U.S. to link migration with trade, saying again that migration must be addressed by solving social and economic problems in Central America. "The causes of the migratory chaos aren't being analyzed, only the effects," he said.   U.S. authorities have said more than 100,000 undocumented migrants, mostly from the three Central American countries, have crossed into the United States in recent months. The U.S. government announced Wednesday that in May, 144,000 migrants were detained at the border, up 32% from April. It was the highest monthly figure in 13 years.    Some Republican lawmakers, normally close political allies of Trump, had said they would try to block any potential tariffs with legislation, which would have drawn wide support from opposition Democrats. Numerous lawmakers feared rising consumer costs for Americans if the tariffs were imposed on Mexican goods, including cars and numerous food products exported to the U.S.

Two Execs Out as Uber Stock Sputters

Uber is parting ways with two of its top executives less than a month after the company’s rocky stock market debut. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told employees in an email Friday that he plans to be more involved in day-to-day operations now that the initial public offering of stock has passed. He said the heads of the company’s global rides and food-delivery teams will report directly to him, and Chief Operating Officer Barney Harford will leave the company. Khosrowshahi said he plans to combine the marketing, communications and policy teams, and Chief Marketing Officer Rebecca Messina also will leave the company. “It’s increasingly clear that it’s crucial for us to have a consistent, unified narrative to consumers, partners, the press and policymakers,” Khosrowshahi said. Stock struggling San Francisco-based Uber’s stock has struggled since its initial public offering last month. The company posted strong revenue growth in its first quarter as a public company, but also $1 billion in losses. The stock closed Friday down 76 cents, or 1.7%, at $44.16. It went public at $45 a share. “This is Dara asserting more control over the company and taking over the wheels at a time the company really needs to execute in the eyes of the public investors,” said Dan Ives, managing director of equity research at Wedbush Securities. “It’s a double-edged sword for him, because it’s going to put that much more pressure on the success of Uber riding on his shoulders.”

Bernie Sanders Urges Walmart to Boost Starvation Wages'

Democratic U.S. presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders on Wednesday told Walmart shareholders and top executives that the world's largest retailer should boost the "starvation"-level wages it pays its workers and stop fueling income inequality. Speaking at Walmart's shareholder meeting, the U.S. senator said: "Despite the incredible wealth of Walmart's owners" the company pays "starvation wages." He presented a shareholder proposal asking the company to give hourly employees a seat on its board and raise base wages to $15 an hour. Walmart's "wages are so low, many of these employees are forced to rely on government programs like food stamps, Medicaid and public housing in order to survive," Sanders said. "The American people are so tired of subsidizing the greed of some of the largest corporations in the United States," he added. Sanders had three minutes to present and make comments. His remarks at the meeting drew attention to his campaign for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination as well as to the drive for higher hourly U.S. wages, one of his signature issues. The proposal, filed by Walmart worker Carolyn Davis, was buried at the end of the annual proxy filing. It had no chance of passing since a majority of shares are owned by the family of the founder, the late Sam Walton, and the retailer has asked shareholders to vote against it. Sanders also complained that "Walmart's CEO is making a thousand times more than the average Walmart employee." Walmart's CEO received a 423.6 million pay package last year. The ratio compared with that of the median associate was 1,076 to 1. Protesters gathered outside the meeting, many from the labor group "United for Respect" which has pushed for a worker presence on Walmart's board. They held signs supporting Sanders 2020 presidential campaign and calling for a $15 per hour U.S. minimum wage. "What do we want? 15. When do we want it? Now!" the protesters chanted as Sanders briefly addressed workers and the media in a parking lot outside the meeting. Final results of the vote were expected later in the afternoon. Walmart has raised its minimum wage twice since 2016 to $11 an hour, still lower than the $15 an hour that rival Amazon.com Inc pays employees. Retailers Target and Costco also pay higher rates than Walmart. Chief Executive Officer Doug McMillon said Walmart has raised wages in the United States by 50 percent in the past four years and continues to increase wages on a market-by-market basis to hire and retain talent. He also urged Congress to raise the federal minimum wage, calling the current minimum of $7.25 an hour "too low." "We are not perfect, but together we are learning, we are listening and changing," he said. Walmart has said it pays an average of $17.50 an hour to its hourly employees, including benefits. Last year, Sanders introduced the Stop Walmart Act, a bill that would prevent large companies from buying back stock unless they pay all employees at least $15 an hour. The U.S. Senator has also backed campaigns to push Amazon and Disney  to raise their minimum wages, an issue that has found support with all Democratic candidates running for the presidential nomination. Walmart, which employs nearly 1.5 million Americans and is the largest U.S. private-sector employer, drew sharp criticism from labor groups and unions when it changed the format of its annual meeting last year, splitting it into two separate events. The business meeting at which Sanders spoke is now held a few days before the big shareholder event, which draws thousands of employees. This year and the year before, the company rushed through shareholder proposals at the business meeting, which had a fraction of the attendees, in less than 30 minutes.

US Cruise Operators Stop Sailing to Cuba, Travelers Vent Anger Online

Major U.S. cruise operators said on Wednesday they will no longer sail to Cuba following the Trump administration's ban on travel to the Caribbean island, angering travelers and prompting worries about trip cancellations and company earnings. The new restrictions are aimed at pressuring Cuba's Communist government to reform and stop supporting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. "Due to changes in U.S. policy, the company will no longer be permitted to sail to Cuba effective immediately," Carnival Corp said. A spokesman for Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd said the company had ceased all calls to Cuba and was modifying previously scheduled sailings. The U.S. State Department said on Tuesday the country would no longer permit visits to Cuba via passenger and recreational vessels, including cruise ships and yachts, as well as private and corporate aircraft. Airlines review regulations American Airlines Group Inc, JetBlue Airways Corp and United Airlines, which started flying to Cuba in 2016, said they were reviewing the revised regulations. Delta Air Lines Inc said it had stopped accepting bookings to Cuba under the so-called people-to-people license as of midnight on June 4. Customers who booked under the exemption before that time will be allowed to travel. "The reduction in the number of travelers will probably mean the end of U.S. commercial air flights from places outside Florida because there won't be sufficient demand to fill regular flights," said William LeoGrande, a Cuba expert and a professor of government at American University. The ban was effective as of Wednesday, the U.S. Commerce Department told Reuters, giving cruise lines no grace period to change destinations and sowing confusion among cruise passengers. Both Carnival and Royal Caribbean said they would stop at different non-Cuban ports and would offer compensation to travelers. Carnival said the guests currently aboard its Carnival Sensation cruise that set sail on June 3 would now stop in Mexican island Cozumel on Thursday instead of Havana. The company said the guests would receive a $100 onboard credit for the inconvenience. "We are working as quickly as possible to secure alternative itineraries for the remainder of our Cuba voyages and expect to have information for sailings further out in the next 2-3 days," Carnival said. It has three cruise lines that sail to Cuba. Royal Caribbean said all cruises on the 'Majesty of the Seas' and 'Empress of the Seas' this year will have alternative ports in the Caribbean. It is also working on alternate itineraries for 2020 sailings. Guests can cancel their current booking for a full refund, or can keep their sailing date with a new itinerary and receive a 50% refund, Royal Caribbean said. Travelers frustrated  On Tuesday, Royal Caribbean said its ships sailing Wednesday and Thursday would no longer stop in Cuba. Travelers took to Twitter to vent their anger and frustration over the forced changes in their vacation plans. "Has anyone's cruise to Cuba from @CruiseNorwegian been rerouted yet? If so where did they change the port of call to? Im (sic) booked for July and PISSED! Thanks Trump!" tweeted Sabrina Carollo @superbri_22. Susan Berland, a parenting coach from Huntersville, North Carolina, said she was enraged that a vacation designed around visiting Cuba had been upended by the Trump administration. "To say I'm angry is an understatement. This whoe (sic) cruise was chosen around going to Cuba and now we can't," tweeted @SusanBerland. Neither responded to requests for further comment. Small  percent of sailings Cuba accounts for a small percent of sailings at about 4% for Norwegian Cruise, about 3% for Royal Caribbean, and about a percent for Carnival, Wolfe Research analyst Jared Shojaian wrote in a note. Shojaian said that while cruise lines can easily swap a Cuban port for another non-Cuban port, guests may have purchased the itinerary entirely for Cuba. "That means cruise lines may need to issue refunds or future cruise credits to compensate guests, which makes forecasting the earnings impact to 2019 even harder, and potentially more of a headwind," he said. Shares of Norwegian Cruise closed down 3.5%, while Royal Caribbean and Carnival ended about 3% lower. 

World Bank: Iran Likely to Suffer Worse Recession Than Previously Thought

This article originated in VOA’s Persian Service. WASHINGTON —The World Bank says Iran is likely to experience an even worse recession this year than previously thought, as U.S. sanctions largely choke off oil exports that have been Tehran’s main revenue source. In its latest Global Economic Prospects report published Wednesday, the Washington-based institution that provides loans to countries said it expects Iran’s Gross Domestic Product to shrink by 4.5% this year, a steeper contraction than its earlier estimate of negative 3.6% GDP growth for 2019. “The oil industry is an important part of Iran’s economy, and its oil production is clearly going to drop because of the new U.S. sanctions,” said Patrick Clawson, research director for the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, in a VOA Persian interview on Wednesday. The Trump administration imposed a total, unilateral ban on Iranian oil exports on May 2 as part of its campaign of “maximum pressure” on Iran to negotiate an end to its perceived malign behaviors. It had issued sanctions waivers to eight of Iran’s oil customers in November to allow them to keep importing Iranian crude for six months, but later said it would not renew those waivers and would require those customers to reduce such imports to zero. U.S. economist Steve Hanke of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore told VOA Persian in another Wednesday interview that Iran’s internal economic problems also are to blame for its worsening recession. “Iran is very corrupt, has very little economic freedom, and it’s hard to start a business there because Iran is not really a free market or liberal economy,” Hanke said. Transparency International, a Berlin-based civil society organization that monitors global corruption, has ranked Iran 138 out of 180 countries in its Corruption Perceptions Index. Iran’s other low global economic rankings include 155 out of 180 nations in the Economic Freedom Index of the Washington-based Heritage Foundation, a conservative public policy institute, and 128 out of 190 governments in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business index. The World Bank’s new report also said Iran’s year-on-year inflation rate has risen sharply from about 10% in the middle of last year to about 52% in April. It said the depreciation of Iran’s rial since May 2018, when the U.S. announced it would re-impose sanctions on Iran, has contributed to the rising inflation. The rial’s slump versus the dollar in Iran’s unofficial currency market has made dollar-denominated imports more expensive for Iranians. Clawson said Iran's inflation is high primarily because it is relying on printing money to finance its spending. “The Iranian government is not bringing in enough revenue to pay for its expenses, so it is borrowing money from the banking system to cover the difference, and that is driving inflation,” he said. Hanke, who says he is the only economist outside Iran to measure its inflation with high frequency, told VOA Persian that he calculated Iran’s actual inflation rate to be 113% on Wednesday, much higher than the World Bank’s latest reading. The World Bank’s projection of a 4.5% contraction in Iran’s GDP this year is not as bad as the 6% contraction predicted by the International Monetary Fund, another global lending agency, in its latest report from April. The World Bank also said it expects economic growth in Iran to return next year “as the impact of U.S. sanctions tapers off and as inflation stabilizes.” It projected a 0.9% rise in Iran’s GDP for 2020. Hanke declined to make his own predictions for Iran’s economic performance, saying any forecasts for a nation such as Iran are problematic because they rely on guesswork.

US Report Urges Steps to Reduce Reliance on Foreign Critical Minerals

The U.S. Commerce Department on Tuesday recommended urgent steps to boost domestic production of rare earths and other critical minerals, warning that a halt in Chinese or Russian exports could cause "significant shocks" in global supply chains. The report includes 61 specific recommendations — including low-interest loans and "Buy American" requirements for defense companies — to boost domestic production of minerals essential for the manufacture of mobile phones and a host of other consumer goods, as well as fighter jets. It also called for closer cooperation with allies such as Japan, Australia and the European Union, and directed reviews of government permitting processes to speed up domestic mining. U.S. reliance on foreign minerals has worried U.S. officials since 2010, when China embargoed exports of so-called rare earth minerals to Japan during a diplomatic row. The issue took on new urgency in recent weeks after Chinese officials suggested rare earths and other critical minerals could be used as leverage in the trade war between the world's largest economic powers. "The United States is heavily dependent on foreign sources of critical minerals and on foreign supply chains resulting in the potential for strategic vulnerabilities to both our economy and military," the Commerce Department said in a long-awaited report outlining a new federal strategy on critical minerals. "If China or Russia were to stop exports to the United States and its allies for a prolonged period — similar to China's rare earths embargo in 2010 — an extended supply disruption could cause significant shocks throughout U.S. and foreign critical mineral supply chains," the report said. Boosting trade with other countries could reduce U.S. reliance on sources of critical minerals that could be disrupted, and robust enforcement of U.S. trade laws and international agreements could also help address adverse impacts of market-distorting foreign trade measures, it said. The report was cheered by U.S. miners, including MP Materials, which owns California's Mountain Pass mine, the only current rare earths facility in the United States. For now, it must pay a 25 percent tariff to ship its rare earths to China for processing, collateral damage in the U.S.-China trade war. "We welcome this report and hope that the Commerce Department's 'Call to Action' results in some real action from Washington," said James Litinsky, co-chairman of MP Materials. Recommendations The report called for a combination of short-term measures, such as stockpiling, and longer-term moves to catalyze exploration, design and construction of new mines, as well as re-establishing domestic downstream manufacturing supply chains. It recommended several measures for the Interior Department and its subagencies, including the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service, to remove obstacles to critical mineral development and make it easier to get permits. It said the BLM and Forest Service should review all areas that are currently "withdrawn" — or protected — from development and assess whether those restrictions should be lifted or reduced to allow for critical mineral development. Commerce also proposed altering how the Interior Department and its agencies review mining projects under the bedrock National Environmental Policy Act, urging expedited environmental studies and identifying minerals which can be excluded from environmental reviews. The report drew immediate fire from Democrats who said the new strategy would harm the environment and amounted to fresh concessions to multinational corporations. "This administration has set shameful new records for industry giveaways, and this is one of the worst," said Raul Grijalva, Democratic chairman of the House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee. The industry applauded the report, however. "The steps outlined in this report will go a long way in unlocking the value of all our domestic mineral resources while continuing strict environmental protections," said Hal Quinn, president of the National Mining Association. The Buy American recommendation, which would require defense weapons and related products be built with domestically-sourced rare earths, could make it easier to secure financing if investors knew there would be a guaranteed revenue source for new projects, prospective U.S. rare earth miners said. "I would encourage the federal government to move as quickly as possible, and 'buy American' is one way to do that," said Anthony Marchese, chairman of Texas Mineral Resources Corp, which is seeking $300 million to develop the Round Top rare earth deposit in Texas.

Democratic Hopeful Warren Proposes $2T 'Green Manufacturing' Plan

Democratic U.S. presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren proposed on Tuesday spending $2 trillion on a new "green manufacturing" program to address climate change that would invest in research and exporting American clean energy technology. The manufacturing program is the first in a new series of "economic patriotism" proposals Warren is unveiling intended to create American jobs and help U.S. industry. "This is going to be a big plan for bold structural changes," Warren said at a campaign rally in Detroit, Michigan. Warren told the crowd of about 500 in a facility that teaches manufacturing skills that her proposal would be paid for by cutting subsidies in the oil and gas industry. Additionally, by all companies paying more taxes, she said, singling out Amazon.com. Among the more than 20 Democrats in the field hoping to challenge Republican President Donald Trump in November 2020, Warren has distinguished herself as the most prolific proposer of new policy positions. Several candidates have offered climate-related policy proposals, including Washington Governor Jay Inslee, who has made it the singular focus of his campaign, and former Vice President Joe Biden, who also announced a climate plan on Tuesday. Warren said she had not read Biden's proposal when asked by reporters after her campaign event. The newest proposal from Warren, a U.S. senator from Massachusetts, lays out how she would carry out some of the policy goals outlined in the Green New Deal, which has the backing of liberal members of her party. Warren began touting the proposal in a campaign trip to Michigan, a Midwestern state with a large manufacturing sector that shocked political observers in 2016 when voters backed Trump and helped propel him to the White House. "When we're talking about manufacturing, when we're talking about real expertise, we're talking about Detroit," Warren said. The plan is likely to draw criticism from opponents who will argue the price tag is too high and that trying to quickly overhaul the U.S. energy sector would have crippling economic effects. But Warren also released an evaluation of her three-part proposal conducted by Moody's economist Mark Zandi, who argued the plan would help the economy on a large scale. "There is no free lunch, and big businesses, oil and gas companies, and multinationals pay for the cost of this plan," Zandi wrote. "The economy benefits, although it would take more than a decade for this benefit to be fully realized." The first part of Warren's plan calls for spending $400 billion over 10 years on clean energy research and development. Warren said she believes the United States could one day use no fossil fuels. "It's part of our technological bandwidth," she said in a brief news conference after the Detroit rally. Next, Warren proposed increasing the amount the United States spends on "American-made clean, renewable, and emission-free energy products for federal, state, and local use, and for export." Warren said the United States currently spends $1.5 trillion on defense procurement, which she called "bloated," and argued that an equal amount should be spent on clean energy. As part of this proposal, Warren would require companies that sell to the federal government pay their employees at least $15 an hour, that employees receive 12 weeks paid family and medical leave and be able to form unions. Labor practices were included in Green New Deal proposals. Finally, Warren called for creating a new federal office responsible for trying to get foreign countries to purchase U.S. clean energy technology. Likening it to programs that help foreign countries buy U.S.-made weapons, Warren would allocate $100 billion to assist countries buying U.S. energy technologies. While acknowledging ambitious goals that liberal advocates have supported to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2050, Warren said it was important that other countries cut emissions as well. "We need other countries to slash their emissions, and that means we need to supply the world with clean energy products (at low enough prices to displace dirty alternatives) to put us on the right path," Warren wrote on Medium.

Uber Says IRS Probing its 2013-14 Tax Returns

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service is auditing Uber Technologies's taxes for 2013 and 2014 and the ride-hailing company expects unrecognized tax benefits to be reduced within the next year by at least $141 million. In its full quarterly report on Tuesday, Uber said various state and foreign tax authorities were also looking into its taxes and that it was currently unable to put a definite timeline or estimate on the overall adjustments that might result. The $141 million amount related only to its transfer pricing positions, which refers to the common multinational practice of charging for services between wholly-owned businesses in different countries or jurisdictions to reduce the tax it pays. Earlier this year, the company had said in a regulatory filing that it expected unrecognized tax benefits related to the audit to be reduced within the next year by at least $127 million. Industry experts characterize transfer pricing as a relatively risky strategy, which typically is among multinationals' top tax concerns and has been used by authorities in the past to go after Apple and Amazon. "Although the timing of the resolution and/or closure of the audits is highly uncertain, it is reasonably possible that the balance of gross unrecognized tax benefits could significantly change in the next 12 months," the company said. The announcement came on a day when at least 11 of the brokerages, whose underwriting arms backed Uber's Wall Street debut last month, weighed in with "buy" recommendations on the company's shares as a statutory embargo lifted. Citi, however, initiated coverage with a "neutral" rating. Uber shares gained 2.8% in afternoon trading as the technology sector bounced back from a sell-off on Monday. The company's stock has struggled since its market debut on May 10 and is trading below its IPO price of $45. Still, the shares have outperformed rival Lyft, which have fallen by a third in value since its own debut in March, and analysts from Deutsche Bank said Uber's stock remained the best internet IPO for investors since Facebook's launch in 2012. "Uber should trade at a premium to LYFT given Uber's larger global scale and reach, cross product growth opportunity and larger ability for long-term leverage," said analysts at Morgan Stanley. "It is still in the early innings in its core and emerging opportunities." In its first quarterly report as a public company last week, Uber reported a $1 billion loss as it spent heavily to build up its food delivery and freight businesses. But many of the analysts covering the stock on Tuesday said they believed Uber had the scale and time to develop into another powerful U.S. global tech player. RBC analysts believe the market under-appreciates Uber's profit potential while analysts at Mizuho Securities expect the intense competition to rationalize over the next few years due to continued consolidation and listings of private peers. "...Uber has ample room to gain operating leverage from economies of scale," analysts at Mizuho said.

Zimbabwe Businesses Drop Local Currency for US Dollars

As Zimbabwe’s economy struggles and the country faces scarce fuel supplies, some businesses are refusing to accept the ever-weakening local currency, insisting on doing business in U.S. dollars. One reason is that the local currency, known as bond notes, are not accepted outside the southern African country, making them useless for any companies that need to import goods. This spare vehicle parts seller, Tongai Madamombe, says he wants President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government to switch to the U.S. dollar as pricing in bond-notes has become difficult. “For those that do not import, charging in bond-notes is not as difficult, as it is for us who import,” Madamombe said. “If you do not calculate well, you will fail to restock. We are really in difficult times. So we are now pricing in U.S. dollars, those who do not have it we use parallel market rates, as we will go there to get foreign currency to import our stock.” Zimbabwe abandoned its dollar more than a decade ago, when hyperinflation made it worthless. Now the bond notes, introduced two years ago, are also depreciating in value. The South African rand and British pounds are acceptable in many places, but very hard to find. Even some Zimbabwe government departments and companies such as the National Railways have started asking for payment in U.S. dollars, partly to protect themselves against the depreciating bond notes. Fuel is another scarce product in Zimbabwe, and the government continues to control its price. Some companies have resorted to selling it in U.S. dollars only. Eddington Mazambani, the head of the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority, says it is only allowing fuel companies that have directly imported fuel on their own to trade in U.S. dollars, as the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe pays foreign currency for most fuel imports in the country. “We require documentation, if you have procured through Reserve Bank [and] you then fail to produce documentation to us, we will then take the necessary measures. You would be breaking the law, so we will take measures according to the laws in the petroleum sector,” Mazambani said. The government says gas stations trading in U.S. dollars when they are supposed to take local currency are being stripped of their licenses. But so far that policy has not made fuel more available or stopped the practice.

Report: US Regulators Divide Up Scrutiny of Google, Amazon

U.S. antitrust regulators have divided oversight of Amazon.com and Alphabet's Google, putting Amazon under the watch of the Federal Trade Commission and Google under the Justice Department, the Washington Post said Saturday. Amazon could face heightened antitrust scrutiny under a new agreement between U.S. regulators that puts the e-commerce giant under the watch of the trade commission, the newspaper reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The development is the result of the FTC and Justice Department quietly dividing up competition oversight on both of the American tech giants, Amazon and Google, the newspaper said, adding that the FTC's plans for Amazon and the Justice Department's interest in Google were not immediately clear. The news comes after Reuters and other media reported Friday that the Justice Department is preparing an investigation into Google in order to ascertain whether the company broke antitrust law in operating its online businesses. Google said it had no comment on the report, while Amazon, the FTC and Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the report.

Mexico Warns US Tariff Would Hurt Both Nations

Michael Bowman contributed to this report. Mexico warned Monday that President Donald Trump's threatened new tariff on its exports to the United States would hurt both countries' economies and cause even more Central American migrants to travel through Mexico to reach the United States. At the start of talks in Washington, Mexican officials said they could only go so far in meeting Trump's demand to block migrants' passage through Mexico to avert Trump's imposition of a 5% tariff next week. The officials specifically ruled out a "third safe country" agreement requiring U.S. asylum-seekers to first apply for refuge in Mexico. ​"There is a clear limit to what we can negotiate, and the limit is Mexican dignity," Mexico's ambassador to the United States, Martha Barcena, said. Barcena added that U.S. tariffs "could cause financial and economic instability," reducing Mexico's capacity to address the flow of migrants and "offer alternatives" to people fleeing Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. Mexican officials contended that an additional quarter million migrants could try to reach the U.S. if the tariff is imposed, on top of the tens of thousands already reaching the southern U.S. border each month. Trump showed no sign of softening his demand as he tweeted during a visit to London. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador remained confident the two sides would reach an agreement, telling reporters Monday that he was optimistic. He said his government would not engage in confrontation, and would always defend those who migrate out of necessity due to violence or a lack of food or job opportunities. He also remained positive that no matter what happens in the dispute with the United States, Mexico has "exception, extraordinary," people and can push through any adversity. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Mexican Foreign Relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard are due to hold further talks about the dispute on Wednesday. U.S. lawmakers returning to Washington after a weeklong congressional recess sharply criticized Trump's latest tariff tactic aimed at a major U.S. trading partner. "This (tariffs) is not a popular concept," Republican Sen. John Cornyn said of public opinion in Texas, which he represents. "Mexico is our biggest export market." Another Republican, Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt, expressed concerns that trade friction could harm a newly negotiated free trade pact between the United States, Mexico and Canada. "I'm not a big advocate of tariffs, and I'd like to get the USMCA agreement approved," Blunt told VOA. "I don't see how the addition of a tariff (on Mexican goods) right now helps make that happen." "Mexico is a critical trading partner of the United States," Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland said. "You put up barriers, it's going to end up costing us jobs, and it's going to cost consumers." Cardin added that Trump's threatened tariff "would be counterproductive," as far as boosting U.S. border security. "If we need cooperation on the southern border, they (Mexican officials) are not going to give us cooperation. Why bother if we're going to have an antagonistic relationship?" Cardin said.

Mexican President Urges Oil Independence Amid US Trade Tensions

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador reiterated on Sunday the need for oil independence as his government said it would tender six construction contracts in June for a planned oil refinery in the southern state of Tabasco. Tensions between Mexico and the United States have been running high in recent days after President Donald Trump threatened to impose punitive tariffs on Mexican goods unless Mexico halts a surge in illegal migration. "We, our children and grandchildren aspire to live in a free, independent, sovereign country and we do not want to be a colony of any foreign country," Lopez Obrador told a cheering crowd at an event to mark the start of the refinery's construction. "The most important thing at this moment in time is producing petroleum," he added, saying the country needed to work toward "energy self-sufficiency." Much of Mexico's gasoline need is met by U.S. imports, and Lopez Obrador wants Mexico to be able to cover its own demand. "We have, I repeat, a good relationship with the United States, and with all governments in the world, but we do not want to be exposed and therefore it's important that we are self-sufficient," the president added. Lopez Obrador has used similar language in the past when talking about oil, but his comments were lent extra weight because of the recent flare-up in tensions with Trump. At the event, he repeated his desire to have good relations with Trump, but was at pains to say that maintaining the friendship of the American people was of paramount importance. Mexican Energy Minister Rocio Nahle said at the same event that Mexico would tender six contracts for the plan to build the country's first oil refinery in four decades. "We will be tendering six construction contracts at the end of June so that all the parts that are under construction can start at the same time and we can finish the refinery in three years," she said, without giving more details. Investors in highly indebted state oil company Pemex, which will build the refinery, have repeatedly expressed concern that the project would divert funds from the more profitable exploration and production business. 

Fox Host, Chinese State TV Anchor Face Off Over Trade War

A Chinese state TV anchor and a host from Fox Business, whose sparring over the U.S.-China trade war has been avidly followed on Chinese social media, brought their duel to the American cable network for what turned out to be a respectful encounter. The showdown between Liu Xin of China’s state-run English channel CGTN and Fox Business Network host Trish Regan was aired on Wednesday evening in the United States but was not shown live on TV in China, though it had been hyped by state and social media. Following U.S. moves this month to increase tariffs on Chinese imports and blacklist tech giant Huawei Technologies Co Ltd the rhetoric out of Beijing has become more strident. At the start of the roughly 16-minute segment, Liu corrected Regan to say that she was not a member of the Chinese Communist Party and was speaking for herself as a CGTN journalist.  Otherwise, there was little in the way of fireworks. Liu agreed intellectual property theft was a problem, although not only in China, and that there was a "consensus" in China that "without the protection of IP rights, nobody, no country, no individual, can be strong and can develop itself." Regan asked Liu her definition of state capitalism, and Liu described China’s system of "socialism with Chinese characteristics, where market forces are expected to play the dominating or the deciding role in the allocation of resources.” Liu said state-owned enterprises play "an important but increasingly smaller role, maybe, in the economy," and said 80 percent of Chinese employment is in the private sector. Washington argues that Huawei, the world’s largest maker of telecoms network gear, is linked to the government and therefore poses a security risk, which Huawei disputes, arguing that it is owned by employees. Liu had said on Twitter that because of rights issues, CGTN would not be able to show the debate live, though it would "report on it closely.” A Fox News spokesperson said a free live stream of the debate would be available on the Fox Business Network website and the entire segment would also be available after the broadcast. China’s internet is heavily censored and many major foreign media sites are blocked, but many people in China appeared to have followed the debate on state broadcaster CCTV’s live blog or watched via livestream. The feud between Liu and Regan had started on air and was amplified on Twitter, which is blocked in China, with one social media hashtag on the Twitter-like Weibo garnering more than 120 million views as of Wednesday. Liu had been critical of Regan’s China coverage and Regan has taken up the challenge, calling on Liu to have an honest debate. "She’s so sure of U.S. victimhood, so indignant that her eyes practically spit fire, yet in carefully analyzing her words, it’s all emotion and accusation, supported with little substance," Liu said of Regan on CGTN. Regan responded this week on air and on Twitter: "They’re launching a full-scale information war against the United States of America, and their latest target is me.” State broadcaster CCTV and the People’s Daily newspaper had shared news of the debate on Weibo, while other Chinese media outlets had joined in, some even circulating footage of Liu in an English speech competition from 23 years ago. Chinese state media has opened the floodgates to patriotic commentaries since the latest U.S. tariff hike and there has been a surge in internet chatter about the trade war during the past few weeks.

Pro-China Policies Unlikely in Australia, India After Recent Elections

In recent weeks, Australia and India have re-elected incumbent prime ministers. These Asia-Pacific countries, who have a difficult relationship with China, are unlikely to make the kind of policy changes that Beijing has been seeking for a long time, analysts said. Australia this month re-elected Prime Minister Scott Morrison stunning pollsters who had anticipated his defeat for several months. India gave a landslide victory to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, who campaigned largely on a nationalistic agenda. China wants support from Australia and India on issues like the U.S.-China trade war, the Huawei controversy, South China Sea controversy and the Belt and Road Initiative. The Communist Party in Beijing attaches great importance to obtaining support from democratic countries as a means to enhance China’s global influence. It has spent huge sums to obtain the support of the relatively poor European countries like Greece in order to expand the Chinese footprint. But Australia and India are unlikely to support China on many of the issues that are core to Beijing’s foreign policy. But there may be some exceptions. India has invited Huawei to start trials of its 5G telecommunications network while Australia has blocked it. “Australia was the first country to reject Huawei’s 5G technology and it is very hard to see how it is going to revisit the decision,” said Richard McGroger, senior fellow at Lowy Institute in Sydney. China’s official media expressed dissatisfaction over a statement by Morrison describing China as a customer of Australia and the United States as a friend. He made a clear distinction between the two countries when he said, "China is an incredibly important country for Australia's future. Our relationship with China is of course different to our relationship with the United States," he said during the elections. McGregor said there was no reason to be upset over the remarks. “I think it was not a good choice of words. I am sure the Prime Minister did not intend to send any kind of wrong signal and I doubt very much he will be describing China that way again,” he said. Beijing may have preferred a change of government in Australia which would revisit some of the decisions taken by the coalition under Morrison earlier. But Morrison is back as Prime Minister and he is unlikely to review past decisions. Besides, Australia has its own domestic reasons to support the United States on issues like opposing China’s military build up in the South China Sea. “Of course, Australia is worried about the Chinese bases in the South China Sea, since most Australian trade passes through those waters,” he said. China-India relations In his congratulatory message to India’s re-elected prime minister, Chinese President Xi Jinping called on Modi to continue joint efforts with China in “promoting multi-polarization and economic globalization as well as upholding multilateralism.” Analysts see this statement as a sign that Xi wants India to join in a broad coalition against the dominating influence of the United States. Xi’s choice of words is significant because they come ahead of the meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Kyrgyz Republic capital, Bishkek, on June 13-14. He will meet Modi along with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and heads of central Asian countries. China will once again push forward its agenda for opposing U.S. trade policies. As the re-elected government settles down in New Delhi after a stormy election, envoys from India and China are making swift preparations for a series of exchanges between the leaders. A meeting of foreign ministers will happen soon. Modi is inviting Xi to his election constituency and pilgrimage city of Varanasi in northern India for an informal summit in September. The first Mar-a-Lago style informal summit took place with the two leaders meeting each other without aides took place in the Chinese city of Wuhan last year. The idea is for the two leaders to understand each other, see issues from a larger canvass and give “strategic guidance” to their ministers on enhancing India-China relations. The Wuhan summit took place one year after India and China were engaged in a 72-day long border spat at a place called Doklam near the Bhutan border. “There will be some serious effort to improve relationship. I think they will also look at the possibility of finding an early solution to the border dispute between the two countries,” said Phunchok Stobdan, former Indian diplomat and strategic expert. “They might also discuss the Dalai Lama issue,” he said. The Tibetan leader fled China and came to India in 1959. He has since been demanding “greater autonomy” for Tibetan speaking people in China while Chinese leaders describe him as a “separatist and splittist” element who is instigating a section of Tibetans to break up from China. Modi will also be careful about allowing implementation of China’s Belt and Road Initiative because it can be an emotional issue, more so because the Indian public regards Beijing as Pakistan’s biggest ally and protection. Modi and his party fought the election speaking against what he regards as Pakistan based terrorists causing mayhem in India. An important issue on Xi’s mind is to garner support from different countries against Washington’s aggressive trade actions, which has also affected India and other countries. An important question is whether he will manage to persuade Modi to come out openly against the trade war. “India usually tries to stay middle of the road instead of choosing between the U.S. and China. It is unlikely to come out strongly against U.S. trade actions,” Stobdan said. India cancelled oil shipments from Iran under pressure from Washington, incurring huge losses. But it is likely to go back to the earlier practice of importing Iranian oil despite U.S. sanctions, Stobdan said. “India is ready to make exceptions when it comes to its long-term a relationship with Iran and Russia. Everyone’s watching if India would regard its relationship with China at the same level,” he said.

Drought Forces Water Bans in Sydney

Water restrictions are to be imposed in Sydney, Australia’s biggest city, for the first time in almost a decade because of falling reservoir levels and a long-standing drought. Residents who breach the regulations could be fined US$150. The flow of rainwater into some of Sydney’s reservoirs is at its lowest since World War II. From Saturday, households will face restrictions that will target the use of water outdoors. Garden sprinklers will be banned, and tougher measures could follow. The New South Wales state government says that “early and decisive action” will help to conserve supplies as a record-breaking drought worsens. Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology is predicting below-average rainfall and higher temperatures for the next three months across the much of the continent. “With the lowest inflows into Sydney’s water storage since 1940, the government has come to a decision that it is best to go into water restrictions," said Melinda Pavey, the New South Wales state Minister for Water. "We may get rain. The Bureau of Meteorology’s predictions are not fabulous, but as we know as we plan weekends, they are not always right and I hope that they are wrong. We are taking the appropriate course of action to take it to level one.” New South Wales has been in drought since the middle of 2017. Catherine Port, from Sydney Water, a government-owned company, says its officers will patrol to ensure the water ban is not broken. “Sydney Water have a team of community water officers that will be out in the community to monitor and ensure that water restrictions are complied with. Penalties that will apply is AUD$220 for individuals and $550 for businesses,” she said. Critics, though, insist that Sydney’s plight is in part the result of poor planning and a failure to take water recycling seriously. Falling reservoir levels prompted authorities to switch on a multi-million dollar desalinization plant in January. At full capacity, it could supply Sydney, a city of 4.6 million people, with 15 per cent of its water needs. Smaller towns in New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state, are also facing water crises. In Tamworth, residents are on level four restrictions that ban all use of water outdoors, and swimming pools cannot be filled or topped up. Level five restrictions are considered to be an emergency measure. Australia is the world’s driest inhabited continent.  

US Treasury Says 9 Trade Partners Deserve Scrutiny Over Currency Practices

The Trump administration said on Tuesday that no major trading partner met its currency manipulation criteria but nine countries, including China, required close attention as Washington presses tariffs and negotiations to address trade deficits. The Treasury Department, in a semi-annual report to Congress, said it reviewed the policies of an expanded set of 21 major U.S. trading partners and found that nine required close attention due to currency practices: China, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam. "No major U.S. trading partner met the relevant 2015 legislative criteria for enhanced analysis" as a currency manipulator, the department said in a statement. President Donald Trump has imposed tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports and begun the process of imposing tariffs on another $300 billion in Chinese goods. Talks to end the trade dispute between the two countries collapsed earlier this month, with the two sides in a stalemate over U.S. demands that China change its policies to address a number of key U.S. grievances, including theft of intellectual property and subsidies for state enterprises. The Treasury Department said Washington believes direct foreign exchange intervention by the People's Bank of China has been limited in the past year. "Treasury will continue its enhanced bilateral engagement with China regarding exchange rate issues, given that the RMB (yuan) has fallen against the dollar by 8 percent over the last year in the context of an extremely large and widening bilateral trade surplus," Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in the statement. China needs to aggressively address market-distorting forces, including subsidies and state-owned enterprises, the Treasury statement said. Improved economic fundamentals would support a stronger yuan and help reduce China’s trade surplus with the United States, it said.