Month: November 2018

G20 opens Argentina summit under shadow of China-US tensions

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The leaders of the world’s largest economies opened talks on Friday overshadowed by US President Donald Trump’s threat to escalate tariffs on imports from China as well as military tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

This year’s two-day gathering is a major test for the Group of 20 industrialized nations, whose leaders first met in 2008 to help rescue the global economy from the worst financial crisis in seven decades.

With a rise in nationalist sentiment in many countries, the G20 – which accounts for two-thirds of the global population – faces questions over its ability to deal with trade tensions, which have roiled global markets, and ease geo-political disputes.

Hanging over the summit in Buenos Aires is the trade dispute between the United States and China, the world’s two largest economies, which have imposed tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars on each other’s imports.

Global financial markets will take their lead next week from the outcome of talks between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping over dinner on Saturday, aimed at resolving differences that are weighing on global economic growth.

Beijing hopes to persuade Trump to abandon plans to hike tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods to 25 percent in January, from 10 percent at present.

Trump said on Friday there were some good signs for the talks with China ahead of his meeting with Xi.

“We’re working very hard. If we could make a deal that would be good. I think they want to. I think we’d like to. We’ll see,” he said, speaking during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer earlier told reporters that Trump and Xi have a good personal relationship and “I would be very surprised if it (their meeting) was not a success.”

“But in terms of doing a deal … that’s entirely up to the president of the United States and the president of China. Way, way, way above my pay grade,” he said.

On the eve of the summit, G20 nations were still trying to reach consensus on wording for the summit’s communique on major issues including trade, migration and climate change, which in past years have been worked out well in advance.

Trump’s skepticism that global warming is caused by human activity has raised questions about whether the countries will be able to find enough common ground on climate change to include it in any communique.

Earlier this month, officials from countries attending a major Asia-Pacific summit failed to issue a joint statement for the first time after the U.S. delegation clashed with China over trade and security.

However, delegates to the Buenos Aires talks said good progress had been made on economic sections of the final communique overnight. Argentina’s presidency voiced optimism that consensus would be reached, but a White House official said the United States would walk away from any statement that prejudiced US positions.

Highlighting the deep rifts within the G20, European Council President Donald Tusk said the European Union would extend its economic sanctions on Moscow next month, after Russian ships fired on Ukrainian ones in the Sea of Azov last week, seizing the boats and sailors.

“As this is a difficult moment for international cooperation, I would like to appeal to the leaders to use this summit … to seriously discuss real issues such as trade wars, the tragic situation in Syria and Yemen and the Russian aggression in Ukraine,” Tusk told a news conference.

Russian Tensions

Trump cited Russia’s seizure of the ships as the reason he canceled a planned bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, where they had been expected to discuss the US leader’s threat to withdraw from the Cold War-era Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty.

Moscow said US domestic politics may have been the real reason behind the cancellation after Michael Cohen, Trump’s former longtime personal lawyer, pleaded guilty on Thursday to lying to Congress about a proposed Trump Organization skyscraper in Moscow.

A White House spokeswoman denied this and Trump said on Friday the ships’ seizure was the “sole reason” he scratched the meeting.

The presence of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the summit also raised an awkward dilemma for leaders, and Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader cut a lonely figure standing at the edge of the G20 family photo.

Prince Mohammed arrived under swirling controversy over the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2. Human Rights Watch asked Argentine prosecutors to investigate him for human rights abuses.

British Prime Minister Theresa May said she would be robust when she talks to Prince Mohammed, urging him to hold a full and credible investigation into Khashoggi’s killing. The Saudi foreign ministry said the prince had meetings with his French, South Korean and Mexican counterparts.

Saudi Arabia has said the prince had no prior knowledge of the murder.

Trump And Trade

After violent protests marred last year’s G20 summit in Germany, Argentine police, coast guard and border patrols cordoned off a 12-square-kilometer (5-square-mile) area around the riverside Costa Salguero convention center.

Inside the talks, uncertainty prevailed about how Trump, known for his unpredictability, would behave at what was shaping up as one of the group’s most consequential summits.

Oil markets will also be closely watching a bilateral meeting between Putin and Saudi Prince Mohammed on Saturday afternoon for any sign of a breakthrough in a deal for Russia to participate in a production cut by the OPEC oil cartel next month.

Putin was the only leader to exchange a warm greeting with the prince, high-fiving him when he entered the main summit room.

In another bilateral meeting on Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron will discuss the Renault-Nissan alliance’s future with Japan’s Abe, seeking to defuse a brewing diplomatic row over the balance of power inside the partnership.

New-Look NAFTA

One bright spot in Buenos Aires on Friday before the summit opened was the signing of a revised US-Mexico-Canada trade pact to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Signing the agreement alongside Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, Trump said he looked forward to working with the US Congress to complete the terms of the deal and did not anticipate problems in passing it.

The three countries agreed a deal in principle to govern their trillion dollars of mutual trade after a year and a half of contentious talks concluded with a late-night bargain just an hour before a deadline on Sept. 30.

Trudeau still had a few barbs on Friday. He called the deal by its old name NAFTA, prodded Trump over US steel and aluminum tariffs and said General Motors Co’s decision to cut production and its North American workforce, including in Canada, was a “heavy blow.”

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

India’s forex reserves down $795 million

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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India’s foreign exchange (forex) reserves declined by $795 million during the week ended November 23, official data showed on Friday.

According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s weekly statistical supplement, the overall forex reserves decreased to $392.78 billion from $393.58 billion reported for the week ended November 16.

India’s forex reserves comprise foreign currency assets (FCAs), gold reserves, special drawing rights (SDRs) and India’s position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

FCAs, the largest component of the forex reserves, edged-lower by $841.3 million to $367.69 billion during the week ended November 23.

Besides the US dollar, FCAs consist of 20-30 per cent of other major global currencies.

However, the RBI’s weekly data showed that the value of the country’s gold reserves increased by 36.6 million to $20.99 billion.

Further, the SDR value was higher by $3.5 million to $1.457 billion, while the country’s reserve position with the IMF increased by $6.2 million to $2.63 billion.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Gold dips as dollar firms, palladium breaches $1,200/oz

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Gold fell on Friday as the dollar strengthened ahead of trade talks between the US and Chinese leaders at the G20 summit over the weekend, while palladium prices crossed the $1,200 per ounce mark for the first time.

US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping will be meeting on Saturday on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Argentina to discuss the ongoing trade dispute between the world’s two biggest economies.

Spot gold eased 0.17 percent to $1,221.50 per ounce at 12:24 p.m. EST (1724 GMT). US gold futures slipped 0.24 percent to $1,221.20 an ounce.

“The dollar index has moved to its daily high and the US stock market is bouncing back and that is also working against gold,” said Kitco Metals senior analyst Jim Wyckoff.

A big price movement is unlikely in gold for the rest of the session “unless there is some kind of a major announcement from out of Buenos Aires from G20,” he added.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, recouped losses, having touched a near one-week low in the previous session, as markets awaited the outcome of the talks.

“The markets now have more clarity into issues such as the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate thinking, the Italian budgetary drama, and the US-China trade war,” said Ronan Manly, a precious metals analyst at Singapore-based dealer BullionStar.

“As such, this clarity and visibility could cap any further gains for gold in the short term. So, a major move above the current range is not likely.”

Gold prices have been trading between $1,210.65 and $1,230.07 over the past two weeks.

Meanwhile, palladium inched up 0.17 percent to $1,182.99 per ounce, having soared to a record high earlier in the session above the key $1,200 an ounce level for the first time, putting it about $15 shy of parity with gold.

“There is lot of tightness of palladium physical metal supply that’s translating into a fundamental support in strong palladium price,” said Miguel Perez-Santalla, vice president of Heraeus Metal Management in New York.

“The investors and speculators are driving the prices higher. Until the fundamental story changes, we are going to see very strong palladium prices.”

Spot silver fell 1.03 percent to $14.16 per ounce.

Platinum dipped 1.75 percent, to $802.70 per ounce, on track for a fourth consecutive weekly decline. The metal is set to fall more than 4 percent in November, after gaining in the previous two months.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Kanika review: A stirring narration and an honest attempt to tap a neglected issue

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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‘Kanika’ gives no clue of what’s mounted in the closet for us. In a casual mood and with clean slates, we begin the show. As we reach the edge of the cliff, the slate gets scribbled with several questions. The short film nudges a delicate thread and successfully transmits the wave it has addressed.

The movie kicks off with a smiling, tender 10-year-old face, reassuring melody, soothing beams of sunlight making their way from the pinnules of dense trees, a taxi on its way to an untold destination and Nidhi Bisht (our protagonist in her early 30s), gazing the busy streets of the city from the window seat; as a short film, ‘Kanika’ ensnares us more than we guess.

Bisht recounts us the story of her beau. The anecdote reveals how she met him in a bus, his dream to become a photographer, her desire to become a bride her love for posing as one as he photographs her, how funny he is and how they decide to elope. Her narration sounds juvenile. But you are convinced indubitably, all thanks to the direction of writer-director Pranav Bhasin. The movie seems a casual treat until it proceeds towards the end.

Amidst the camera stalking Bisht throughout, rapid but at the same time condign shots of the city, distant focus on the silhouette of the skyscape, makes the story more personal. As you watch, you tend to monitor Kanika extremely diligently without reservation.

Bhasin definitely takes the trophy home for the way he changes the storyline just with the play of the camera in the second half of the film. The last five minutes of the short film is what the entire movie all about- child sexual abuse.

‘Kanika’ as a short film by Girliapa has successfully managed to address the growing concern of the nation. Having known to be into comedy and light-hearted satire, this YouTube channel has pulled up the responsibility to highlight such serious issue with extreme sapience. In the wake of the #MeeToo movement taking rage all over the country, this movie successfully reminds us of the neglected and untapped issue of the nation, once again.

Special acknowledgement to the music producers Vaibhav Bundhoo and Simran Arora for orchestrating tunes in sync with the gravity of the script. Nidhi Bisht changes for us throughout her narration. From convincing us about her naive tales till the sudden change in her role at the climax, her variant vein enhances the purpose of the film.

Bhasin brilliantly puts a lid on the jar with a puzzling but unanticipated ‘the end’, making us connect the dots of all the prime narrations in the movie. This Girliyapa Ciné short film is an intelligently told story and is indeed a must watch.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Carmesi: Pad up, naturally!

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Many of us swear by our skin care rituals and mostly all of us take a quick glance at the ingredients before buying any product. The information about the harmful effects of chemicals in skin care products has turned the industry on its head. There is a paradigm shift – manufacturers and consumers are now focussing on products with ‘natural’ ingredients.

But how about sanitary napkins? The quintessential product of every woman’s life. Consider this, during the monthly menstruation cycle, the sanitary napkin stays in direct contact with our skin for at least five days a month. Have you ever wondered, what are the ingredients used to make the napkins? As long as it is thin, absorbent and leak-proof, I don’t remember caring much about the ‘ingredients’ or even flipping over a pack to check. But, 27-year-old Tanvi Johri did.

“It was kind of a revelation for me to actually understand that first of all, there is no mandate for any sanitary pad manufacturer to disclose the ingredients that go into making these pads, said Johri. “During our research, most women we spoke to told us they think the pads are made out of cotton. This is absolutely not true, because more than 90 percent of any pad is plastic. When you are going to the market and buying a face cream, when you are buying a body lotion, you’re conscious about checking the kind of ingredients that go into making the products. Please go ahead and look at your intimate care as well.”

Tanvi, a chemistry honors graduate who has done an MBA in marketing, grew up with a problem common with the majority of women – rashes during periods. But the difference was she worked towards solving the problem. She researched extensively and discovered numerous problems related to sanitary napkin usage.

The non-compostable nature of sanitary napkins also came to light in her research. She realised it was a global problem and the western world had already started working on solutions by launching organic sanitary napkins. Armed with a clear idea, Tanvi approached her long-time friend Rikshav Borah, the man with the business acumen. Borah, an experienced entrepreneur, had founded DudeGenie which was acquired by travel firm Yatra.

“When Tanvi approached me with the idea of all-natural sanitary pads, I started talking to everyone. Initially, it was mostly family members,” Borah said. “I went to my cousins, I went to my sister and asked them what are the problems that you are facing with your current pads? What are the general problems that you have? The initial reaction was ‘why are you asking me this?’. It was a little weird at first.”

The friends turned business partners launched Carmesi in November 2017. Carmesi makes natural and bio-degradable sanitary pads and panty liners.

“The top layer of the sanitary pad, that comes in direct contact with the user’s skin, is made of corn starch,” Tanvi said. “The absorbent layer is made of bamboo fibre and the third layer is made of corn-based bioplastic. Decomposition of the pads starts in about 6-12 months of disposal and it takes about two years for the pads to decompose. The pads are completely rash free. Every Carmesi pad comes with a disposal bag.”

The disposable bags are biodegradable too. Why is this important? Because 12.3 billion pads are disposed of every year in India. Majority of these are not biodegradable and take hundreds of years to decompose, according to Menstrual Health Alliance India data.

It doesn’t end here. The super absorbent polymers (SAP) present in pads absorb and retain thirty or more times their weight in fluid, causing blockages in sanitation systems. According to Census 2011, India has 375 million girls and women of reproductive age, most of whom experience menstruation every month.

“All we are trying to do is normalise periods,” said the co-founders of Carmesi. Which is why they chose to call their product ‘Carmesi’, a Spanish word which means crimson, the color of the blood.

“We want women to realise that periods is as important as any other part of their personal care regime. Better be safe than sorry, better be more conscious and aware about the products you use & better have a product that is safer for your body and for the environment as well,” Tanvi added.

Tanvi and Rikshav started Carmesi with their personal money. They eventually raised an undisclosed seed amount from a group of angel investors like Sunil Kalra, Amit Manocha and Arun Venkatachalam of the Murugappa Group. Recently, Carmesi also raised $0.5 million in pre-series. A round from Samrat Bedi, the managing director of Forest Essentials.

Carmesi caters to 10,000 customers every month and has managed to retain more than 50 percent customers. Around 60 percent of their demand is from tier-1 cities and the remaining 40 percent from tier-2 cities.

“We have two sizes of sanitary pads, a 280 mm regular pad and a 315 mm XL pad for heavier bleeding. We introduced panty liners a couple of months ago. We sell through our website www.mycarmesi.com. We are available on Amazon, Nykaa, Bigbasket, Purple,” Tanvi said.

The company currently has a subscription model available on Amazon. Women can directly go on Amazon and subscribe to the product and it will get delivered to them, she said, adding that they the are soon launching this on their website as well.

Carmesi manufactures its pads in China and packages them in India. The government’s move to keep sanitary pads manufactured in India out of the GST net is a disadvantage for companies like Carmesi which manufacture outside India.

However, Rikshav is confident that with increasing demand for ‘natural’ products, scalability is the next step. Tanvi concedes that competition is growing in the biodegradable sanitary pad market, but she is convinced that once customers start using Carmesi sanitary pads “it will speak for itself and will be incomparable.”

Footnote: I decided to put the product to test. I went for a shoot wearing the Carmesi XL pad. It was a six-hour outdoor shoot which involved a lot of running and walking. Carmesi definitely felt ‘different’ compared to usual sanitary pads. I didn’t feel like I was wearing a pad and the best part is, I suffered no rashes. Bonus, the thick disposable bag in place of the flimsy wrapper. Also, the packaging will surprise you.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Oil falls, set for more than 20 percent loss in November amid swelling stocks

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Oil prices fell further on Friday as swelling inventories depressed sentiment despite widespread expectations that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia would agree some form of production cut next week.

The two global oil benchmarks, North Sea Brent and US crude, have had their weakest month for more than 10 years in November, losing more than 20 percent as global supply has outstripped demand.

Brent futures fell 98 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $58.53 a barrel by 11:26 a.m. EDT [1626 GMT]. US crude dropped $1.16, or 2.2 percent, to $50.29 a barrel. Both contracts were on course for their eighth consecutive week of falls, with Brent on track to drop 11.9 percent and US crude 10.7 percent.

Before the OPEC meeting, the world’s top three producers – the United States, Russia and Saudi Arabia – will be part of a meeting this weekend of the Group of 20 industrialised nations in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Early next week, markets are likely to be driven by sentiment on trade talks between the US and China at the G20 meeting, before attention shifts to OPEC, said analysts from Capital Economics in a note to clients.

“By the end of the week, markets will be firmly focussed on the biannual OPEC meeting on Thursday and Friday and oil prices could fall sharply if OPEC leaves output unchanged,” the analysts said. “We expect OPEC to announce a small cut in production, in conjunction with Russia.”

Surging oil production in the United States, Russia and by members of the Middle East-dominated OPEC has helped fill global inventories and create a glut in some markets.

A slowdown in oil demand growth is compounding the emerging oversupply.

“At the heart of the malaise are concerns that OPEC+ will not do enough to address the current oversupply,” said Stephen Brennock, analyst at London brokerage PVM Oil.

The weakness in sentiment is visible in the Brent forward price curve, which now has prices for future delivery above those for immediate dispatch, a structure known as “contango”, which can make it attractive to put oil into storage.

A monthly Reuters survey indicates that output in November from the 12 OPEC members with supply reduction targets under a previous production agreement fell 110,000 barrels per day from October, while total OPEC output decreased by 160,000 bpd.

To rein in the glut, OPEC and its main partner Russia are discussing supply cuts and are due to meet in Vienna on Dec. 6 and 7 to agree production strategy.

“The next OPEC meeting is going to prove a pivotal moment for the direction of oil prices in 2019,” BNP Paribas strategist Harry Tchilinguirian told Reuters Global Oil Forum.

“A decision will have to be made against a background of strong US shale oil supply growth, and for now, weaker expectations on global oil demand growth.”

On Friday, a CME group indicator suggested that expectations of a production cut were weakening. The tool, known as OpecWatch, uses West Texas Intermediate crude oil options markets to calculate the probabilities of certain outcomes of OPEC meetings. The market sentiment has shifted from a 32 percent expectation of unchanged production targets on Wednesday to about a 50 percent chance of unchanged targets on Friday, CME Group said.

Oil inventories are rising fast in the United States, where crude stocks have risen for 10 straight weeks to 450.5 million barrels, the most in a year, as production remains at an all-time high of 11.7 million bpd, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Meanwhile, US oil reserves in 2017 exceeded a 47-year-old record when they increased 6.4 billion barrels, or 19.5 percent, to 39.2 billion barrels, the EIA said this week.

Weekly data on the US drilling rig count, an indicator of future production, will be released at 1 p.m.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

China looking to boost agricultural exports to India, President Xi Jinping tells PM Modi

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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China was looking to boost agricultural exports to India while increasing imports of rapeseed and soymeal from the country, President Xi Jinping told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of a G20 meeting on Friday.

China’s Xi also indicated greater trade in the pharmaceuticals sector between the two nations, India’s foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale, who was travelling with Modi, said, detailing the deliberations between the two leaders.

“On the economic side, President Xi Jinping referred to enhanced imports of rice and sugar from India and spoke of possibility of greater imports of soymeal and rapeseed,” he said.

The meeting at the G20 summit was the fourth between Xi and Modi this year as the leaders looked to build on a thaw in ties between the two countries after a military standoff on their disputed border last year, officials told Reuters on Thursday.

India’s commerce ministry and a six-member Chinese delegation signed an agreement on Wednesday allowing Beijing to inspect imports of Indian fish meal and fish oil in an effort to ease market access for exports of various farm products.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow