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Election 2018 Misinformation Roundup: ‘Problematic’ Text Messages and Doctored Mailers

October 30, 2018 by Leave a Comment

According to Doug Hochberg, the Republican National Committee chief digital officer, the campaign committee is spending $3 million on so-called peer-to-peer texting. He described it as an “incredibly effective way” to mobilize voters, and said the party was “already seeing early success from our investment.”

Last week, The Daily Beast reported that similar texts had been received in Kansas, and, according to the state elections director, the Kansas secretary of state’s office had gotten 50 to 60 calls about them. “The office is now working to determine if they are lawful,” The Daily Beast said. The Indianapolis Star also reported on similar texts in Indianaa.

Representative Lee Zeldin, Republican of New York, sent a campaign mailer with the wrong deadline for absentee ballots. (The mailer said ballots had to be postmarked by Nov. 6, but the state’s actual deadline is Nov. 5.) According to Newsday, it wasn’t the first time the congressman’s campaign had given bad information.

Newsday also reported that Mr. Zeldin’s Democratic opponent claimed the mailers targeted likely Democratic voters, such as college students.

Audrey Denney is running as a Democrat in California’s First Congressional District. She recently discovered that the campaign for her opponent, Representative Doug LaMalfa, was using a very familiar-looking photo with some prominent, misleading alterations:

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/30/us/disinfo-text-messages-mailers.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Filed Under: Media Business

toys: Tally of the Dolls

October 30, 2018 by Leave a Comment

As social media users have become steadily invested in nonhuman influencers like the C.G.I. model-activist @lilmiquela, Dollstagram is expanding rapidly. Socality Barbie, the beanie-wearing, coffee-drinking hipster sensation who made headlines in 2015, has led to pregnant, chain-smoking singer Turleen Trailer Park Queen and Gamer Barbie, run by Maddie Maree, an Australian Twitch streamer and marketer.

Ms. Maree was determined to create her Barbie mini me: a “curvy gamer nerd,” she said, although, like many influencers, she eventually tired of the pressure to continually update her wardrobe and create increasingly original scenarios.

“I still get messages and comments asking when new content is coming out, or if our dolls ‘want to be friends,’” Ms. Maree said. “She is definitely due for a comeback.”

Ms. LaFond, the stylist, said that when a doll stops posting, others will notice and reach out. “A lot of people in the community deal with mental health issues, but having a strong support system that shares a common interest helps a lot of us get through it,” she said. “It’s a togetherness that spans across the world.”

As an outsider, it’s easy to make fun of Dollstagrammers. Surely these people have a creepy, perhaps even unhealthy obsession with dolls? They’re seeking Instagram fame, but incapable of achieving it in their own right. These are women without children or romantic love, channeling their maternal instincts into plastic figurines.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/30/style/instagram-dolls.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Filed Under: Media Business

Billions missing from frozen Gaddafi accounts in Belgium

October 30, 2018 by Leave a Comment

Up to €5 billion ($5.7 billion) could have been disbursed to people controlling Libyan accounts, including militia groups in the country which stand accused of human rights abuses, according to a report by public broadcaster RTBF which cited an unidentified source.

Who’s fake? Belgium rejects media report on billions missing from Gaddafi accounts

RTBF said that when the UN agreed to freeze deposits held by Gaddafi’s administration abroad, Belgium had done so but had not halted payments of interest and dividends.

With NATO’s intervention in 2011, the UN introduced sanctions against the Libyan government’s assets, effectively seizing roughly $67 billion from the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA), held across Europe and North America. In the EU, national governments froze only the original amounts, while the interest and dividends earned after 2011 remained a liquid asset.

Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders told reporters on Tuesday he had not been involved in the decision to unblock interest on deposits.

“This [decision to unblock funds] is the responsibility of the Finance Ministry. I have not headed it since December 6, 2011, and have not made any decisions on this matter,” Reynders said, recalling that the permission to partially unfreeze Libyan accounts was issued by the kingdom’s treasury in October 2012, when the Finance Ministry was headed by Steven Vanackere.

READ MORE: From ‘mad dog’ to ‘model’ and back: How West changed its mind on Libya’s Gaddafi

The United Nations is also investigating the alleged embezzlement of billions of euro that disappeared from the Gaddafi accounts, according to Belgian MP Georges Gilkinet.

“UN documents confirm that Belgium failed to comply with a UN resolution on freezing Libyan assets,” Gilkinet told RTBF, adding that he had only received fragmentary information from Belgian authorities. The politician said it is necessary “to clarify the situation, which may lead to a big scandal, because hundreds of millions of euros were sent to unknown individuals in Libya.”

An investigation, by Brussels-based European affairs weekly Politico, discovered in February “big, regular outflows of stock dividends, bond income and interest payments,” from the Gaddafi-linked funds kept in Belgium, suggesting a “loophole in the sanctions regime.”

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

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/442650-gaddafi-frozen-assets-investigation/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Filed Under: Global Business

Japan turns to Trans-Siberian Railway to test potential connection with Russia, China & S. Korea

October 30, 2018 by Leave a Comment

The major goal of the project is to create a new transportation corridor by including the Chinese province of Jilin to a ferry line that currently connects the Russian city of Vladivostok, South Korean Donghae, and Japan’s Sakaiminato, according to Nogava Satoshi, vice governor of Japan’s smallest prefecture, Tottori.

Russian Arctic sea route shipping more than quadruples in 5 years

The official stressed that the logistic corridor may potentially include other territories.

In April, the ferry, dubbed DBS, called at the Russian port of Zarubino, and transported cargo freighted there to China, Satoshi said, adding that the delivery was significantly faster. However, he said the parties still have to solve some problems identified during the testing delivery.

Earlier this year, Japan and Russia conducted test shipping of Japanese goods to Russia using a sea link and the Trans-Siberian Railway. Russia’s transport artery, which is 9,289 kilometers (5,772 miles) long, has great development potential for mutual trade between the two nations, according to Japan’s Deputy Minister of State Lands, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Toshihiro Matsumoto.

Japan and Russia currently trade goods using sea and air routes. It takes up to 62 days to ship freight from Japan to Russia via the Indian Ocean. Using air-cargo makes freight transport much faster, but is still cost-intensive. The new freight route via the railway will significantly cut transportation time between the two countries and could reduce costs by up to 40 percent.

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

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/442630-japan-russia-siberian-railway-china/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Filed Under: Global Business

The Number 7 Could Make China’s Currency a Trade-War Weapon

October 30, 2018 by Leave a Comment

A weaker currency can also help Chinese exporters beat President Trump’s tariffs. Right now, the United States imposes tariffs of about 10 percent on a wide variety of Chinese goods that arrive at an American port. If the renminbi has fallen 10 percent, the tariff is basically nullified.

Some politicians in the United States and elsewhere have long said that China manipulates its currency, even though Washington officials — including in the Trump administration — have stopped short of official accusations. But in this case, many of the forces weakening the currency are beyond Beijing’s immediate control.

China’s financial system is firmly controlled by the government, giving the country’s leaders a great degree of control over how much the renminbi is worth. Officials set a daily benchmark rate for the renminbi and allow its value to move a smidgen above or below that level in currency markets. Chinese officials say each day’s trading activity helps determine the value they set for the renminbi the next day, but they disclose few details about how that works.

On Tuesday, Beijing set that guidepost at 6.9574, just a hair’s breadth stronger than 7. In the world of foreign exchange, a higher number means a weaker currency.

Right now, traders are sending Beijing a single message: The renminbi should be worth less. The people and companies that hold the currency have become increasingly nervous about China’s slowing economic growth, slumping stock market, fragile real estate market and seemingly intractable trade war with the United States. Inflation has begun to tick upward, and rising prices tend to make holding the relevant currency less attractive.

There are other reasons. Since late July, Beijing has tried to prop up the economy by having the state-controlled banking sector increase lending, making money more available. That means even more renminbi sloshing around, weakening the currency’s value.

While China hasn’t raised interest rates, the Federal Reserve in Washington has. That makes it attractive for many people to sell their renminbi and buy dollars. Would you rather have a one-year renminbi certificate of deposit that pays 1.5 percent interest now, or a one-year dollar C.D. that pays out 2.6 percent or more?

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/30/business/china-renminbi-currency-trade-war.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Filed Under: Economy News

Russian Arctic sea route shipping more than quadruples in 5 years

October 30, 2018 by Leave a Comment

The volume of cargo transported through the route totaled 13 million tons as of October 1, marking a significant increase against three million tons shipped five years ago, according to Kalashnikov, who heads the navigational, hydrographic, and hydro-meteorological department.

Top of the world: Russia to build world’s northernmost railway in Arctic

The official stressed that the figure is expected to reach 17 million tons by the end of this year.

The Northern Sea Route is the shortest maritime passage connecting the European part of Russia with the country’s Far East regions. The transport artery passes through several seas of the Arctic Ocean, including the Barents Sea, Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, East Siberian Sea, Chukchi Sea, and partially through the Bering Sea in the Pacific Ocean.

Numerous large-scale crude extraction projects are the key drivers for developing the route. Currently, the passage is mostly used for transporting oil and gas shipments, including liquefied natural gas (LNG) and petrochemicals, concentrated ore, coal, and metals.

Stretching through Arctic waters, the Northern Sea Route is operated within Russia’s Exclusive Economic Zone. The passage is gradually becoming a major trade route for goods shipped between Europe and Asia. The route cuts transportation time in half compared to traditional routes through the Suez and Panama canals.

The first east-to-west voyage through the Northern Sea Route was carried out in 1915 by the expedition led by Russian hydrographer and surveyor Boris Vilkitskiy. During the Soviet era, the passage was mostly used to supply goods to isolated settlements in the Arctic. In 1991, the Northern Sea Route was opened to international shipping.

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

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/442609-arctic-route-shipping-million-tons/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Filed Under: Global Business

Trump hits Chinese chipmaker with export ban, still expects ‘great deal’ with Beijing

October 30, 2018 by Leave a Comment

The Chinese company will not be able to buy components from US companies without a special license, according to the department. It explained the ban was put in place because Fujian Jinhua “poses a significant risk of becoming involved in activities that are contrary to the national security interests of the United States.”

United States shies away from calling China ‘currency manipulator’

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said: “When a foreign company engages in activity contrary to our national security interests, we will take strong action to protect our national security.”

He added the ban would limit the company’s ability to “threaten the supply chain for essential components in our military systems.”

Earlier this year, the Trump administration put an export ban on ZTE, one of China’s biggest tech companies. The firm was accused of lying to American officials about punishing employees who violated US sanctions against North Korea and Iran. The ban was lifted in July after ZTE paid a $1 billion fine and agreed to oversight measures.

The US and China are currently locked in a standoff over trade, market access and the transfer of technology secrets. So far, Washington has imposed tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods and Beijing retaliated with tariffs on $60 billion of US goods and stopped buying American oil.

READ MORE: US-China trade war could last 20 years, warns Jack Ma

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he thinks there will be “a great deal” with China on trade, but warned he has billions of dollars’ worth of new tariffs ready to go if a deal isn’t possible.

“I think that we will make a great deal with China and it has to be great, because they’ve drained our country,” Trump told FOX News.

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

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/442601-trump-china-chipmaker-deal/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Filed Under: Global Business

Books News: Tiny Books Fit in One Hand. Will They Change the Way We Read?

October 29, 2018 by Leave a Comment

But in the last few decades, most of the pivotal advances in publishing have been digital, with the evolution of e-books and digital audio.

Recently, some publishers have tried shrinking print books as a way to repackage older backlist titles, in an effort to entice readers to buy new editions of books they already know and love, and own. Three years ago, Picador released mini books by Denis Johnson, Jeffrey Eugenides, Hermann Hesse and Marilynne Robinson — the tiny editions are 5 13/16 inches tall by 3 11/16 inches wide — to celebrate the imprint’s 20th anniversary. The form was so popular with independent booksellers that Picador decided to publish another collection in 2017 — of nonfiction titles by Hilary Mantel, Susan Sontag, Joan Didion and Barbara Ehrenreich — and is planning to release more next fall.

Ms. Strauss-Gabel began her mission to import flipbacks to America this year, when she received Dutch editions of two of Mr. Green’s novels. She was startled by their size and ingenious design — the spine operates like a hinge that swings open, making it easier to turn the pages. She contacted the Dutch printer, Royal Jongbloed, and asked if Dutton could become partners with the company to print English editions. Jongbloed, which was founded in 1862 as a bookshop and later became a Bible printer, created the flipback format in 2009, and quickly realized there was a wide audience for compact, portable books. They have since released 570 titles in the Netherlands alone, including works by Mr. McEwan, Jonathan Safran Foer, Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Philip Kerr.

But getting English flipback editions of Mr. Green’s books proved endlessly complicated. Jongbloed is currently the only printer in the world that makes them, using ultrathin but durable paper from a mill in a village in Finland. The first sample pages that Jongbloed sent looked cluttered, with letters and words crammed too close together. Dutton’s designers experimented with different fonts and spacing and sent the printer a revised layout. Reformatting “An Abundance of Katherines,” a book that has footnotes and mathematical equations, was especially tricky.

“We’re in a situation where millimeters count,” Ms. Strauss-Gabel said.

It’s unclear if even a literary and social media supernova like Mr. Green can popularize an unfamiliar new format. But Dutton is cautiously optimistic that the minis will take off during the holiday retail season, and is printing an initial run of 500,000 copies.

“I have no idea how people will respond to this,” Mr. Green said. “They’re objects that you almost can’t get until you’re touching them.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/29/business/mini-books-pocket-john-green.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Filed Under: Media Business

Richest getting richer: Wealth of world’s billionaires surges 20 percent in 2017

October 29, 2018 by Leave a Comment

“The past 30 years have seen far greater wealth creation than the Gilded Age” the report said. “That period bred generations of families in the US and Europe who went on to influence business, banking, politics, philanthropy and the arts for more than 100 years. With wealth set to pass from entrepreneurs to their heirs in the coming years, the 21st century multi-generational families are being created.”

Nearly half the world lives on less than $5.50 a day – World Bank

More than 40 of the 179 new billionaires created last year inherited their wealth, the report said. “A major wealth transition has begun. Over the past five years, the sum passed by deceased billionaires to beneficiaries has grown by an average of 17 percent each year, to reach $117 billion in 2017. In that year alone, 44 heirs inherited more than a billion dollars each.”

China’s ultra-wealthy were driving the trend, according to the study which found that the country was minting two new billionaires per week. Chinese super rich expanded their wealth, growing by 39 percent to $1.12 trillion.

“Over the last decade, Chinese billionaires have created some of the world’s largest and most successful companies, raised living standards. But this is just the beginning,” said Josef Stadler, Head of Ultra High Net Worth at UBS Global Wealth Management.

He added that “China’s vast population, technology innovation and productivity growth combined with government support, are providing unprecedented opportunities for individuals not only to build businesses but also to change people’s lives for the better.”

READ MORE: Richest 1% will own two-thirds of global wealth by 2030

The study found that the number of billionaires grew 9 percent to 2,158 in 2017, up from 1,979 in the previous year. It said women still represent a small portion of the total number of billionaires overall (11 percent) but their rise could indicate a steady shift in wealth creation.

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

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/442538-worlds-billionaires-wealth-grows/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Filed Under: Global Business

China leads global refining boom

October 29, 2018 by Leave a Comment

Total refining capacity in the world is expected to grow by 15.1 percent between 2018 and 2022, with global crude distillation units (CDU) capacity expected to hit 117 million bpd by 2022, GlobalData said in its report.

Asia will lead the pack with the highest planned and announced CDU capacity of 5.4 million bpd in 2022, followed by Africa and the Middle East with 3.2 million bpd and 2.7 million bpd, respectively. In capital expenditure (capex), Asia will again be the leader with expected capex for new build refineries of $194.9 billion, followed by Africa and the Middle East, with $126.6 billion and $87.1 billion, respectively, GlobalData has estimated.

Huge Iranian oil armada heads to China before US sanctions kick in

Among individual countries, China is the leader, with ten new-build refineries expected to come on line by 2022, followed by Nigeria and Kuwait. The top ten also includes Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Brunei, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Saudi Arabia, GlobalData’s report shows.

“China’s ambitious refinery capacity expansion programme continues fuelled by the country’s industrial growth, and growing demand from the transportation sector. The capacity expansion program is powering China’s crude imports, and will transform the country to become a strong contender for exports of petroleum products globally,” Sumit Kumar Chaudhuri, Oil Gas Analyst at GlobalData, said, as carried by East African Business Week.

Last month, Chinese refiners processed a record daily amount of crude oil. At a calculated 12.49 million bpd, the September run rate of Chinese refineries was more than 600,000 bpd higher than the August figure.

According to the GlobalData report, Nigeria is also planning a massive refinery expansion to meet growing domestic demand for petroleum products. The African OPEC member is expected to expand its CDU capacity by 2.003 million bpd, spending $57.6 billion. Kuwait will add 615,000 bpd of CDU capacity by 2022, and is expected to spend $7.5 billion through 2022.

This article was originally published on Oilprice.com

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/442516-china-global-refining-boom/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

Filed Under: Global Business
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