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Diesel-vehicle ban approved for German cities to cut pollution

February 27, 2018 by Leave a Comment

Rush hour traffic fills an avenue leading up to the Arc de Triomphe which is seen through a small-particle haze at Neuilly-sur-Seine, Western Paris © Charles PlatiauVolkswagen least polluting diesel car brand in Europe, study shows

According to the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig, the two of Germany’s most polluted cities can now legally ban older diesel vehicles. The case was brought by ClientEarth and Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) environmental groups, which said bans were necessary after around 70 German cities exceeded EU nitrogen oxide (NOx) limits last year.

ClientEarth lawyer Ugo Taddei called the decision “a tremendous result for people’s health in Germany.”

He was quoted by the Financial Times as saying: “This ruling gives long-awaited legal clarity that diesel restrictions are legally permissible and will unavoidably start a domino effect across the country, with implications for our other legal cases.

“Putting traffic restrictions on the most polluting vehicles is the quickest and most effective way to protect people from harmful air pollution,” added Taddei.

The German government and the country’s car industry have opposed the bans, which could affect the owners of some 12 million vehicles in Europe’s biggest auto market. Statistics showed the market share for diesel vehicles in Germany fell from 48 percent in 2015 to around 39 percent last year.

Diesel cars have been under scrutiny since Volkswagen’s (VW) so-called ‘Dieselgate’ scandal. In 2015, the world’s largest car manufacturer admitted to US regulators that it had cheated on emissions tests using software installed in as many as 11 million diesel vehicles sold worldwide. The scandal forced VW CEO Martin Winterkorn to resign.

According to data from Germany’s automotive watchdog, only 2.7 million of the 15 million diesel cars on Germany’s roads meet the latest Euro-6 standards.

Around 70 German cities, including Munich and Cologne, recorded average nitrogen dioxide levels above EU thresholds in 2017, according to the federal environment agency UBA. NOx pollution from diesel engines is considered a serious public health risk. It was responsible for an estimated 72,000 premature deaths in Europe in 2015.

For more stories on economy finance visit RT’s business section

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/419939-diesel-ban-germany-pollution/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Filed Under: Global Business

Fed Chair Jerome Powell Indicates He’ll Keep Bolstering Growth in Public Debut

February 27, 2018 by Leave a Comment

His testimony comes at a critical moment in the economy’s trajectory, as global economies are strengthening and as the Trump administration’s $1.5 trillion tax cuts begin adding economic fuel to the United States..

Investors are eagerly awaiting signs of how the Fed, under Mr. Powell’s leadership, will respond, and whether it will seek to raise interest rates more quickly than expected. In his testimony, Mr. Powell sought to reassure the markets that, at least for now, he believes the Fed’s current path is the right one.

At the beginning of February, data showing wage increases – a potential result of inflation – triggered a sharp sell-off in stock markets. Major markets have recovered most of those losses in the last few weeks and are trending again toward all-time highs.

In his remarks, Mr. Powell downplayed concerns of market volatility, saying that financial conditions have become a little tighter, but not so tight as to weigh heavily on growth. And he continued to indicate that he sees the stronger economic news as a reason to carry out their plans for gradual rate hikes, rather than as a reason to start raising rates more quickly. Most Fed officials predicted in December the Fed would raise rates three times in 2018, as it did last year.

Mr. Powell has taken the helm of the central bank at a time when the economy is nearing the end of its ninth year of expansion and the Fed has been steadily raising its interest rate back to more normal levels, after cutting them to nearly to zero to stimulate lending in the wake of the financial crisis.

Those rate hikes are intended to keep the economy from running too hot, while also giving the Fed the capacity to fight a future recession by once again cutting interest rates.

Investors widely expect the Federal Reserve to raise its benchmark interest rate in March, to a range of 1.5 percent to 1.75 percent, with some expecting another quarter point increase in June.

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The Fed has forecast three such increases in 2018. But some investors believe the central bank could lift its rate four times this year, especially if the Trump administration’s tax cut that took effect in January provides a larger-than-expected boost to the economy and inflation.

Although a strong economy and low unemployment typically drive up inflation, it has remained puzzlingly low in recent years. Mr. Powell acknowledged the trend, but said that he believed sluggish price increases were due in part to temporary factors and that inflation would gradually rise this year.

Investors are watching carefully for any indication that inflation could lift off faster than they had expected — a sign that the Fed might have to raise rates more quickly than it planned and risk choking off economic growth.

Fed chairs are required to go before Congress twice a year to discuss the central bank’s operations. During his testimony this week, Mr. Powell is likely to be grilled about his plans for guiding interest rates, paring down the Fed’s balance sheet and relaxing rules for banks.

Mr. Powell, a former investor and member of the Federal Reserve’s board of governors under Ms. Yellen, was sworn on Feb. 5 as the Federal Reserve’s 16th chair, where he is charged with setting the benchmark interest rate that speeds or slows economic activity.

He has taken up his post at a time when the Fed’s Board of Governors is short staffed, with just three members rather than seven. He joins Lael Brainard, an Obama administration nominee, and Randal K. Quarles, the Trump administration’s pick for vice chairman for supervision, a position where he oversees banking regulation. Another Trump administration nominee, economist Marvin Goodfriend, appears to be held up by unexpected opposition to his nomination.

On Monday, Mr. Quarles also painted an upbeat picture of the economy, saying he was cautiously optimistic that faster economic growth is in the offing.

“The factors that have been holding back growth need not be permanent and could turn, even fairly rapidly,” Mr. Quarles said in a speech before the National Association for Business Economics.

He pointed to recent doses of fiscal stimulus, including the tax cut that took effect in January, and stronger global growth as reasons for optimism.

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“There are indications that we have a sustainably stronger economy,” Mr. Quarles said. “It’s a little too early to call that as happening but there are clear indications that it could be happening.”

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Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/27/business/economy/fed-chair-powell-touts-economy-continuity-in-public-debut.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Filed Under: Economy News

US investors scramble to keep Russians from taking over refineries from Texas to Maine

February 27, 2018 by Leave a Comment

White House to block Russian ownership in major American oil company – WSJ

The measure is reportedly aimed at preventing the Russian state-run company from seizing nearly half of the Texas-based refiner in case of a complete default by its current owner, Venezuela’s state oil corporation PDVSA. The near-50 percent share was offered to the Russian oil major as collateral for a $1.5 billion loan in 2016. The remaining 50.1 percent of shares in the US refiner is collateral to holders of PDVSA’s 2020 bond.

Citgo reportedly refines nearly 749,000 barrels per day. The company owns nine pipelines and 48 petroleum storage terminals, located from Texas to Maine. Launched in 1910 by an Oklahoma businessman, Citgo was bought by PDVSA in 1990.

The investors have applied for a license from the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the agency quotes one of the initiators as saying. The request was reportedly submitted in early October and has already received technical approval. The group is said to be waiting for a response from the President’s administration.

“The administration should recognize that if it doesn’t do something pro-active here, it will face limited options under almost any scenario, whether it is an attempt to foreclose by the current lienholder, further restrictions on Venezuelan crude oil imports into the US, or even in the event there is a positive political change in Caracas,” said the unnamed investor. “This is a private sector solution to a public policy problem.”

Washington had initially sounded the alarm over the issue in April 2017, when several Congressmen warned the White House of an imminent risk connected to the probable takeover of Citgo by the Russian firm, which is currently under US sanctions. Head of Rosneft Igor Sechin said at the time that the company had no plans to take control of the refiner. Rosneft had reportedly invested in some oil enterprises in Venezuela, owning up to 40 percent stakes in five joint ventures in the country.

For more stories on economy finance visit RT’s business section

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/419927-us-investors-seek-rosneft-citgo/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Filed Under: Global Business

Cuban cigar sales smokin’ on rising China demand

February 27, 2018 by Leave a Comment

Habanos’s global revenue soared 12 percent to a record $500 million in 2017, the company said at the launch of Cuba’s annual cigar festival. Sales in China, which is the firm’s third-biggest export market after Spain and France, reportedly jumped 33 percent in value last year.

“Without doubt, there is potential for China to become the biggest market at a global level,” said Habanos Vice President of Development Jose Maria Lopez after the company’s annual news conference, as quoted by Reuters.

The executive also said that the increase in global sales of Cuban cigars in 2017 outpaced the 5 percent growth in the luxury goods market, according to consultancy Bain Co, as cited by the agency. The sales growth was reportedly triggered by several good tobacco harvests as well as by new products launched by the firm.

The company, which is operated as a 50-50 joint venture between the Cuban state and Britain’s Imperial Brands, manufactures hand-rolled cigars under such brands as Cohiba, Montecristo and Partagas.

The outlook is also positive, according to Lopez, who cites solid demand and “excellent” climatic conditions. Last year’s wave of hurricanes reportedly left Pinar del Rio, a major Cuban tobacco-growing region, unharmed.

The surge in the company’s global sales was also boosted by a boom in international travel to the Caribbean island after significant steps previously made towards improving US-Cuba relations. The current, more hostile policy toward Cuba, including restrictions on US travel, hasn’t had a considerable impact on sales so far, according to Lopez. Domestic revenue reportedly increased by more than 15 percent last year.

“We trust that despite [US President Donald] Trump’s measures the Cuban market will continue to grow in 2018,” the top manager said.

For more stories on economy finance visit RT’s business section

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/419914-cuban-cigar-sales-record-china/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Filed Under: Global Business

Self-proclaimed ‘Satoshi Nakamoto’ sued for swindling $5 billion in bitcoin

February 27, 2018 by Leave a Comment

Wright, who claimed in 2016 that he had created bitcoin under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, has allegedly participated in a joint bitcoin-mining venture with the now-deceased IT consultant, Dave Kleiman.

Bitcoin’s cryptic creator is now among world’s wealthiest people

The lawsuit is being brought by Kleiman’s brother (Ira Kleiman), who accused Wright of using phony contracts and signatures to lay claim to bitcoins mined by Dave.

“Craig forged a series of contracts that purported to transfer Dave’s assets to Craig and/or companies controlled by him. Craig backdated these contracts and forged Dave’s signature on them,” Ira Kleiman said, according to the complaint.

The plaintiffs seek the return of the bitcoins, which would now be worth over $10 billion. The lawsuit said the uncertain state of those bitcoins was related to Wright’s well-publicized tax issues, which caused his home to be raided by Australian police.

In an email exchange quoted in the complaint, Wright admitted to holding 300,000 bitcoin on Kleiman’s behalf. “[Dave] mentioned that you had one million bitcoins in the trust and since you said he has 300,000 as his part. I was figuring the other 700,000 is yours,” Ira Kleiman wrote shortly after his brother’s death in 2013. “Is that correct?”

“Around that,” Wright replied, adding “Minus what was needed for the company’s use.”

Ira Kleiman is also seeking compensation for the intellectual property his lawyers claim arose from the partnership between his deceased brother and Wright. “[The] plaintiff demands judgment against [the] defendant for the value of the wrongfully retained bitcoin and IP, together with court costs, interest, and any other relief this court deems just and proper,” said the complaint.

For more stories on economy finance visit RT’s business section

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/419901-satoshi-sued-cryptocurrency-theft/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Filed Under: Global Business

How a Deal to Sell the Weinstein Company Fell Apart

February 26, 2018 by Leave a Comment

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The entertainment studio that Harvey Weinstein helped to found has been imploding after decades of harassment allegations against Mr. Weinstein came to light in October.CreditPool photo by Andrew Gombert

By Brooks Barnes

Feb. 26, 2018

LOS ANGELES — Two weeks ago, the embattled Weinstein Company looked like it had finally found a way forward.

An investor group had emerged with a plan to buy 90 percent of the studio’s assets, including rights to “Project Runway” and a 277-film library. The new company would be primarily led by women.

For the Weinstein Company, crippled in wake of sexual misconduct allegations against its co-owner Harvey Weinstein, the offer was the only way to keep the studio intact and its 150 employees working. Other potential buyers only wanted to cherry-pick properties, and the studio was nearly out of money to keep running.

But the Weinstein Company’s board — or at least the three men remaining on it — said late Sunday that the sale talks, which had been teetering since a lawsuit had been filed this month by the New York State attorney general, had fallen apart. By Monday, finger-pointing over who was to blame had begun. And the studio’s future seemed to be a court-directed sale or liquidation, with assets sold off in bankruptcy proceedings like scrap from a wrecked car.

“There’s nothing pretty about this,” said Larry Hutcher, a corporate lawyer at Davidoff Hutcher Citron in New York who has been following the Weinstein Company’s struggles. “It’s likely going to be a free-for-all that stretches on for months.”

Since October, when the Weinstein Company began to implode after reports in The New York Times and The New Yorker revealed decades of sexual harassment allegations against Mr. Weinstein, very little has gone as expected. At one point, two female-led investor groups were competing to buy the assets, with one intending to give profits to organizations focused on ending harassment, sexual abuse and discrimination.

So there is always the possibility of another twist. The Weinstein Company has yet to file for bankruptcy — it said on Sunday that a filing would happen “over the coming days” — leaving open the possibility, however unlikely, that the two sides could come to an agreement.

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“It appears that this transaction has now ended,” said Maria Contreras-Sweet, who led an investor group that was close to buying the Weinstein Company.CreditEarl Wilson/The New York Times

Before the deal fell apart, the investor group had offered to pay roughly $275 million for the Weinstein Company, plus the assumption of $225 million in debt. Leading the effort was Maria Contreras-Sweet, who ran the Small Business Administration under President Barack Obama. Backers included Ron Burkle, the billionaire investor, and Lantern Capital, a Texas private equity firm.

“It appears that this transaction has now ended,” Ms. Contreras-Sweet said in a statement on Monday, adding that the Weinstein Company’s move had “surprised” her. “While our efforts did not materialize as we had hoped, I am grateful for my investors who saw the compelling value of a women-led board.”

The Weinstein Company declined to comment. In announcing its bankruptcy plans on Sunday, the company’s board said in a statement, “While we recognize that this is an extremely unfortunate outcome for our employees, our creditors and any victims, the board has no choice.” The studio also made public a sharply worded letter that it sent to Ms. Contreras-Sweet and Mr. Burkle on Sunday that blamed her for failing to “keep your promises” about interim funding.

It was in November when Ms. Contreras-Sweet first sent a letter to the board outlining her proposal. “I will be chairwoman of a majority-female board of directors,” she wrote. “Women will be significant investors in the new company and control its voting stock.” She also proposed creating a fund for victims and establishing a mediation process for reaching settlements.

After failing to find other buyers who would keep the studio intact — Lionsgate, Shamrock Capital Advisors, Killer Content and the Qatari company beIN Media Group were among those considering various pieces — the board entered into exclusive negotiations with Ms. Contreras-Sweet’s group in late January.

Most of the studio’s all-male board had quit in early October. Those who remained were Mr. Weinstein’s younger brother, Bob Weinstein; Tarak Ben Ammar, a Franco-Tunisian financier and film producer; and Lance Maerov, an executive at the advertising giant WPP Group.

By Feb. 10, a Saturday, the two sides were finalizing a deal. The Weinstein brothers, who jointly own about 42 percent of the company, would receive no cash from the sale. Other equity holders would also be wiped out. Bob Weinstein, who had been running the studio since the firing of Harvey Weinstein in October, would step down. According to two people briefed on the talks, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a private process, the Weinstein Company and Ms. Contreras-Sweet’s group were set to formalize the agreement that coming Monday.

Then came a curveball.

In a phone call on the evening of Feb. 10, two lawyers who work for Eric T. Schneiderman, New York’s attorney general, told Ms. Contreras-Sweet that they had reviewed the proposed deal and wanted to discuss three major concerns, according to the people briefed on the talks. Those were adequate compensation for victims, protections for the studio’s remaining employees and no financial rewards for studio executives who enabled or perpetuated Mr. Weinstein’s misconduct. (Mr. Weinstein has denied ever engaging in “non-consensual sex.”)

A lawsuit filed this month by Eric T. Schneiderman, New York’s attorney general, helped to scuttle the deal talks.CreditSasha Maslov for The New York Times

Ms. Contreras-Sweet said she believed the proposal addressed those points, but declined to have a substantive conversation.

On Sunday, Feb. 11, Mr. Schneiderman, frustrated by a continued lack of responsiveness from the investor group to his queries, filed a lawsuit against the studio and the Weinstein brothers alleging that they repeatedly violated state and city laws barring gender discrimination, sexual harassment and coercion. And he held a news conference the next morning in which he publicly stated his three requirements for a deal. “As of yesterday, there was no deal that would have met these standards,” he said. In particular, he said, “there was no victim compensation fund.”

By the end of that week, Mr. Schneiderman had started to get what he wanted. The Weinstein Company, for instance, fired its president, David Glasser, on Feb. 16. Mr. Glasser had been expected to run the new studio; Mr. Schneiderman had pointed to him as one of the managers who perpetuated Mr. Weinstein’s behavior. Ms. Contreras-Sweet and Mr. Burkle also met with Mr. Schneiderman and discussed plans to create a full-fledged victim compensation fund, ultimately earmarking up to $90 million.

But the Weinstein Company emailed a letter to the investor group on Sunday saying the deal was dead.

“Over the past two weeks, we had very productive discussions with both parties,” Eric Soufer, Mr. Schneiderman’s director of communications and senior counsel, said in a statement on Monday. “We are disappointed that despite a clear path forward on those issues — including the buyer’s commitment to dedicate up to $90 million to victim compensation and implement gold-plated H.R. policies — the parties were unable to resolve their financial differences.”

Mr. Soufer added, “We will continue to pursue justice for victims in the event of the company’s bankruptcy.”

Bankruptcy would push the pause button on the many lawsuits, some of which predate the harassment revelations, that are pending against the company. “Think of it like musical chairs,” said Jack Tracy, head of legal analysis for Debtwire, a distressed debt research firm. “The music stops and then a judge puts everyone in their chairs one by one.” (Lawsuits can continue against Mr. Weinstein personally unless he makes his own bankruptcy filing.)

The Weinstein Company could pursue a Chapter 7 filing, which involves the appointment of an independent trustee to run a liquidation. Filing for Chapter 11 is perhaps more likely, because it would allow the studio more control over the sale of assets.

“The important thing in the case of this particular company,” Mr. Tracy said, “is that bankruptcy allows assets to be sold free of liability.”

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Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/26/business/media/weinstein-company-bankruptcy.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Filed Under: Media Business

Labor Board’s Do-Over Leaves an Obama-Era Rule Intact

February 26, 2018 by Leave a Comment

That opens the door for the more expansive, Obama-era standard to remain in place for several more months, perhaps even years.

Wilma B. Liebman, a Democratic former board member who served as chairwoman early in the Obama administration, said it was highly unusual for a labor board ruling to be reversed because of a conflict — perhaps illustrating the stakes involved.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Ms. Liebman said.

Two Democratic senators, Patty Murray of Washington and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, have been outspoken in recent months in pointing to Mr. Emanuel’s potential conflicts.

The issue before the board involved a doctrine known as joint employment. A company, like a fast-food corporation, that is deemed a joint employer of workers at a franchisee can be held liable for violations of their labor rights — such as illegally firing workers involved in an organizing campaign — and can be required to bargain with them if they unionize.

Before 2015, a company could be considered a joint employer under federal labor law only if it exercised direct and immediate control over workers at the franchise.

But in a case known as Browning-Ferris, the board ruled that the parent company could be deemed a joint employer even if the control it exerted was indirect — for example, if it forced the franchisee to use software that committed it to certain scheduling practices. The board ruled that the parent company could also be considered a joint employer if the company had the right to exercise control over a franchisee that it did not exercise in practice.

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The more liberal definition of who qualified as a joint employer removed a potentially significant obstacle to workers at fast-food restaurants and hotels who sought to unionize. A parent company that terminates a franchise agreement to avoid doing business with a franchisee whose workers are trying to unionize may face legal liability for doing so if it is considered a joint employer.

In December, the board, with its new Republican majority, took up a case known as Hy-Brand and voted to revert to the pre-2015 standard requiring direct and immediate control.

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But that case did not raise any questions that hinged on what standard to apply — the Obama-era guidelines or the previous ones. Partly as a result, the inspector general argued in his report, it was simply a pretext for relitigating Browning-Ferris.

“The practical effect of the Hy-Brand deliberative process was a ‘do-over’ for the Browning-Ferris parties,” the inspector general stated.

This created the potential conflict for Mr. Emanuel, whose former law firm had represented a party in the Browning-Ferris case. If the more recent case was simply a do-over for the previous case, the inspector general argued, then Mr. Emanuel should have recused himself.

Ms. Liebman, the former chairwoman, said the board would presumably be able to try again. But she said it would have to wait for a case raising its own questions about which joint-employer doctrine is correct, rather than simply use any vaguely related case as a pretext for revisiting the Obama-era decision.

“In some future case, where the issue actually arises and some party is seeking a reversal of Browning-Ferris, where more of a deliberation goes on, that could be another vehicle,” she said, adding that there was less likely to be a conflict for Mr. Emanuel in that instance. “This is likely just a reprieve.”

For their part, business groups frustrated with the frequently shifting joint-employer definition argued that it was yet another reason for Congress to settle the issue with legislation.

“This throws the whole situation back into question for a potentially extended period,” said Matthew Haller, a senior vice president at the International Franchise Association. “Our focus has been — and remains — on the need for Congress to provide legislative certainty.”

Mr. Haller added that the House had passed such legislation in November and that it was now all the more urgent for the Senate “to step into the breach.”

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Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/26/business/economy/labor-board.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Filed Under: Economy News

Russia’s Sberbank briefly emerges as richest bank in continental Europe

February 26, 2018 by Leave a Comment

The value of Sberbank’s ordinary shares exceeded 285 rubles per share, while the preferred shares fetched the price of 235 rubles each, at the Moscow Stock Exchange. The top Russian bank’s capitalization reached 6.3 trillion rubles, or 91.73 billion euros.

© Anton DenisovRussia’s top bank reports record capital inflow before US published ‘Kremlin List’

The capitalization of Banco Santander, which was ousted by Sberbank from the top place, was at €91.56 billion as of Monday afternoon. However, the Russian bank’s reign was short-lived as, by the end of the trading day, Banco Santander’s capitalization rose to €91.8 billion, pushing Sberbank back to second place. The Russian bank closed the day with assets of €90.7 billion, or 6 trillion rubles.

On Friday, Standard Poor’s Global Ratings agency raised Russia’s long-term and short-term sovereign credit rating to BBB-/A-3 over the country’s prudent policy and improved monetary transmission. Fitch also said that it has “affirmed Russia’s Long-Term Foreign- and Local-Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) at ‘BBB-‘ with positive outlook.”

Sberbank is the main creditor in the Russian economy, holding the largest share on the deposit market. It was founded by the Central Bank of Russia (CBR), which remains its main shareholder, holding 50% of the authorized capital plus one voting share.

READ MORE: SP raises Russia’s rating to investment grade, Fitch sees positive outlook

The sate-owned bank has more than 127 million retail customers in Russia and 10 million abroad, as well as 1.1 million corporate clients in 22 countries. Sberbank became Russia’s most valued company last year, leaving energy giants Gazprom and Rosneft behind.

For more stories on economy finance visit RT’s business section

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/419887-sberbank-europe-capitalization-santander/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Filed Under: Global Business

‘Black Panther’ Soundtrack Repeats at No. 1

February 26, 2018 by Leave a Comment

“Black Panther the Album,” featuring Kendrick Lamar, spent a second week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images

In its second week out, the “Black Panther” soundtrack is unmoved from No. 1 on the Billboard album chart.

“Black Panther the Album: Music From and Inspired By” (Top Dawg/Aftermath/Interscope), masterminded in part by Kendrick Lamar, and also featuring SZA, the Weeknd, Schoolboy Q and 2 Chainz, had the equivalent of 131,000 sales in the United States last week, according to Nielsen. That included 40,000 copies sold as a full album and nearly 120 million streams. In total it lost only 15 percent of its opening-week sales — a sign of staying power when big albums can drop 80 percent or more in Week 2.

So far 2018 has been a big year for soundtracks, with two albums connected to films going to No. 1; the year began with two weeks at the top for “The Greatest Showman,” the P.T. Barnum biopic. According to Billboard, it is the first time in four years that two soundtracks have each notched more than one week at No. 1. (This week, “The Greatest Showman” holds at No. 3.)

Also this week, Migos’s “Culture II” is No. 2, and two new albums round out the Top 5: Nipsey Hussle’s “Victory Lap” is in fourth place, and Brandi Carlile’s “By the Way, I Forgive You” is fifth.

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Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/26/arts/music/black-panther-soundtrack-billboard-chart.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

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Russia becoming world’s bread basket with wheat exports feeding half the planet

February 26, 2018 by Leave a Comment

© Bogdan CristelRussian grain exports near record of 50mn tons

Shipments of Russian food have reportedly grown by 25 percent since 2012. The country also boosted exports of products such as sweets and sugar.

The country has managed to capture more than half of the wheat market in recent years, becoming the world’s biggest exporter of the grain, thanks to bumper harvests and attractive pricing, Bloomberg reports.

The exports are reportedly set to beat another record this season. Russia is expected to sell 36.6 million metric tons of wheat overseas, according to Moscow-based agriculture consultancy SovEcon and the Institute for Agricultural Market Studies (IKAR).

Nearly half of the world’s nations purchase wheat from Russia, which has been improving yields year after year in an attempt to curb its dependence on agricultural imports. In 2014, Moscow barred purchases of some foods from Western exporters in retaliation for sanctions.

Higher prices for wheat also helped Russia earn more from its food sales last year, according to Managing Director at SovEcon Andrey Sizov, as quoted by the agency.

Egypt, which imports huge amounts of grain, has become the main international buyer of Russian wheat. Last year, the country overtook China to become the largest buyer of Russian food for the first time since 2012.

According to the export center, Egypt’s purchases of Russian foods, including wheat and sunflower oil, skyrocketed 44 percent to $1.74 billion in 2017, while China’s imports of Russian food production like fish and oilseeds totaled $1.72 billion.

Russia expects to boost grain exports to China after Beijing lifted quarantine requirements on Monday, allowing the import of wheat from six Russian regions.

For more stories on economy finance visit RT’s business section

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/419840-russia-wheat-sold-half-world/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Filed Under: Global Business
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