US consumer spending rises 0.3% in March
Americans increased their spending by 0.3% in March in a sign of the continuing recovery for the US economy.
The rise, revealed in a Commerce Department report, also showed that personal incomes rose 0.4%.
Economists closely watch consumer confidence and spending patterns because their spending accounts for 70% of economic activity in the US.
Last week, figures showed that US economic growth slowed in the first quarter of the year.
'Healthy trend'
The spending and income data released by the US Commerce Department was more encouraging.
Falling unemployment and relatively warm weather appear to have boosted spending this year.
January to March was the warmest first quarter the US has experienced since 1895, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
That encouraged Americans to dine out and go shopping, economists say.
Spending for February was revised from an increase of 0.8% to 0.9%.
"The trend is good from the perspective that incomes are outpacing spending, so we don't see consumers dipping into savings as much," said Kathy Lien, head of research at GFT Forex.
"Of course, markets like increased spending, but in this situation it's a healthy trend in terms of reducing household debt levels," she said.
The big event for economists this week comes on Friday, with the release of the jobs report for April.
Meanwhile, separate data published on Monday pointed to a slowdown in industrial activity in the US Midwest region.
The Chicago Purchasing Managers Index - which is based on a monthly survey of large businesses in and around the major US city - fell to 56.2 in April, its lowest level in 29 months.
Although the index level indicated that the region's economy was still expanding - as does any reading above 50 - it was much lower than the 61 level expected by economists.
Canada, Barbados ties remain strong
A TOP Canadian business official said Barbados is not a tax haven! Rather, this country is a low tax jurisdiction and everything done here is compliant with Canadian laws.
This vote of confidence in Barbados’ image in the global financial arena, was highlighted yesterday by Honourable Perrin Beatty who is in the island on a two-day visit. France’s President Nicholas Sarcozy had dubbed the island a tax haven.
“Barbados is a low tax jurisdiction, but not a tax haven – everything is compliant with Canadian law,” Beatty said.
He also said that relations between Canada and Barbados remain strong.
Speaking yesterday at the Hilton, Beatty believes that despite the changes in Canadian tax laws which have raised some apprehensions in Barbados, there is great potential in Barbados which still has a competitive advantage.
“The Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEAS), do increase the competition for Barbados, but Barbados has a competitive advantage,” he said.
He explained, “First there is expertise that is here that has been built up over years, companies experience services here that are world class and that is a strong competitive advantage , there are a large number of Canadian companies already domiciled here and that creates a critical mass that makes it attractive for others to come.”
Beatty believes that there are a lot of opportunities for Barbados doing more business with Canada . “We have long established relationships, there is an substantial expatriate community in Canada and many Canadians domiciled here as well.”
He said that Canada is a growing economy , and that they have weathered the global recession quite well . “We have virtually no tariffs on goods coming into Canada, a shortage of skills in Canada because our population is aging so the demand for skills has significantly increased. Of course Tourism – the world is becoming a more dangerous place and Barbados hasa reputation for being a place that is safe and welcoming. It is still an attractive market for people looking at vacationing, it is charming, historic and beautiful” he highlighted.
In terms of manufacturing , Beatty said that this country has to pick niches where there are strengths and synergies. “However, manufacturing is a tough sector to be in these days because of competition from Asia so you need to look for areas where they are competitive advantages,” he added.
Barbados Advocate
Acting LIAT CEO resigns
The acting CEO of LIAT Airline, Brian Challenger, has resigned.
Challenger will spend his last day on the job on June 30.
LIAT’s chairman, Jean Holder, says Challenger has made an important contribution to the airline during a difficult period.
No reason was offered for Challenger's decision to quit.
LIAT says Julie Reifer-Jones, its chief Financial Officer, will act as CEO in the interim.
The airline also says active steps are in place to fill the post of CEO as soon as possible.
Delta Airlines to Produce Its Own Jet Fuel
U.S.-based Delta Airlines will soon be the world's first air carrier to produce its own jet fuel.
Delta announced Monday it is buying a struggling oil refinery near Philadelphia from the Phillips 66 oil company for $150 million.
The refinery has been losing money and its owner had planned to shut it down, leading to thousands of job losses.
Delta chief Richard Anderson calls buying a refinery an innovative approach to managing the airline's largest expense.
Delta spent $12 billion on jet fuel last year, which was about 36 percent of its operating expenses.
Delta says making its own fuel will save it about $300 million a year.
Obama Refuses Comment on Chinese Dissident
U.S. President Barack Obama has refused to confirm whether a blind Chinese dissident, who recently escaped from house arrest in Beijing, is under U.S. protection.
In response to a reporter's question Monday, President Obama said he would not make a statement on the situation of Chen Guangcheng.
U.S. officials have expressed concern about Chen's fate, but have refused comment on his whereabouts amid unconfirmed reports he fled to the U.S. embassy in Beijing.
President Obama said he is aware of the press reports on the situation and added that every time the United States meets with China the issue of human rights comes up.
Mr. Obama's comments come days before an annual bilateral meeting in Beijing between the United States and China. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will be leading the U.S. delegation.
Clinton echoed Mr. Obama's comments later Monday, saying she would not address Chen's case at this time. However, she said she can guarantee that human rights will be among the issues discussed during the meeting in Beijing.
The top U.S. diplomat for East Asia, Kurt Campbell, arrived in Beijing Sunday and is expected to talk with Chinese officials about Chen.
A U.S.-based China rights organization says Chen is under U.S. protection, and that talks are under way between U.S. and Chinese officials.
Speaking to VOA late Sunday, ChinaAid President Bob Fu said that while Chen is safe and at a location far from his home, the only option left for him might be to flee to the United States.
Citing sources close to Chen, Fu said more than two dozen military police arrested Chen's older brother and nephew Friday morning, the same day Chen allegedly went into U.S. protection. Those sources also say Chen's wife, daughter and mother still are under tight house arrest.
Chen, a lawyer and activist, received a four year jail sentence in 2006 after documenting abuses in China's policy on restricting the size of most families. Since 2010, he has been held under house arrest. He disappeared April 22 from a village in the eastern province of Shandong, although authorities did not realize he was missing until last Thursday. It is not clear where he went, but his friend and fellow activist Hu Jia said he believed that Chen was admitted into the U.S. embassy Friday.
In a video posted online Friday, Chen detailed the abuses he and his family have allegedly suffered in his year-and-a-half under house arrest. He also called on Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao to investigate human rights abuses in China.
Fighting Erupts in Mali
Witnesses in Mali say heavy gunfire has broken out in the capital, Bamako, about a month after a military coup d'état.
The witnesses say the shoot-out on Monday involved troops who took part in the March coup and presidential guard members loyal to Mali's deposed president Amadou Toumani Toure.
A spokesman for the military government said the soldiers from the presidential guard are trying to stage a counter coup.
Witnesses tell VOA that presidential guard members have set up barricades at strategic points around Bamako. They say one of the sites where gunfire was reported is around the state broadcaster's main building.
State television did not broadcast its usual evening newscast on Monday.
On March 22, renegade soldiers seized power in Mali, accusing President Toure of failing to properly equip the army to handle a Tuareg rebellion in the north.
The new military government, under pressure from the regional bloc ECOWAS, later agreed to form a civilian transitional government to organize new elections.
Last week, Mali's interim leaders announced the formation of a new government that gave military officers three posts in the new government — defense, interior security and interior ministry. The rest of the 24-member government is made up of civilians.
Since the coup, Tuareg rebels fighting alongside the Islamist group Ansar Dine have captured three northern regions. The rebels declared an independent state, a move that was rejected by neighboring countries and the African Union.
US Sends Japanese Turtle Smuggler to Prison
A court in Los Angeles on Monday sentenced a Japanese man to 21 months in prison for smuggling live turtles into the United States.
Atsushi Yamagami was also ordered to pay an $18,000 fine.
He pleaded guilty to charges of hiding 55 turtles and tortoises in snack food boxes and sneaking them through the Honolulu and Los Angeles airports in suitcases.
Federal prosecutors said Yamagami led a reptile smuggling ring that dealt in chameleons, lizards and snakes to sell at pet shows — a violation of the global treaty protecting endangered species. They called the trafficking a case of animal cruelty that risked spreading salmonella across the United States.
Labour market 'alarming'
The International Labour Organization has warned that the global employment situation is "alarming" and unlikely to improve soon.
The agency said that austerity measures, especially in advanced economies, were hurting job creation.
That comes as Spain officially re-entered recession amid escalating spending cuts.
The National Statistics Institute said the economy shrank 0.3% over the three months to the end of March, the second consecutive quarterly contraction.
In corporate news, sportswear giant Adidas said that "commercial irregularities" at its Reebok unit in India could cost the firm up to 125m euros ($165m, £101m).
The firm told the BBC it is carrying out an internal investigation. "We will take further steps" when that process has been completed, a spokeswoman said.
Insurance giant Aviva announced it will look again at how much it pays new senior executives after concerns expressed by shareholders.
The concerns centred on whether overall levels of pay accurately reflected shareholder value in the last year.
The world's biggest brewer, Inbev, reported first quarter profits of $1.7bn, almost double the profit made in the same quarter of 2011.
The Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks will cut 1,400 jobs by 2015, their owner National Australia Bank announced.
NAB blamed a "significant downgrade in the growth prospects of the UK economy".
Over the weekend, Argentine oil firm YPF vowed to keep providing gas supplies as the dispute over its forced nationalisation continues.
The firm said it will keep delivering liquefied natural gas (LNG) to customers, after Repsol decided to cancel deliveries.
The latest edition of Business Daily asks, can soaring chief executive pay be curbed? The team invited Tim Bush from research group Pirc, and Mark Pettman, an executive headhunter, to discuss the question.
--BBC
Ford earnings fall amid Europe's economic weakness
US carmaker Ford has reported lower quarterly profits following weak sales in Europe and higher tax charges.
Ford, the second-largest US carmaker, said first quarter net income was $1.4bn (£862m), down from $2.6bn for the same quarter last year.
Ford said about half the drop was due to it paying a higher tax rate.
Ford made a loss of $149m in Europe where many economies are struggling. The carmaker's sales in Europe were down by 60,000.
Ford also reported losses in Asia, Africa and South America. However, in North America pre-tax profits rose 17% to $2.1bn, which was its best performance in the region since 2000.
The company's results contrast with others this week from leading car firms.
Volkswagen, Daimler, Honda, Hyundai and Chrysler all reported an increase in profits for the quarter.
Earlier this month, Ford said it would increase its investment in China with plans to build a $760m factory in Hangzhou.
Ford has been boosting its manufacturing capacity in China as part of its effort to raise global sales by nearly 50% to about 8 million cars by 2015.
BBC
Google staff 'knew of wi-fi snooping', report says
The Google engineer who wrote a program that collected personal data from wi-fi networks told at least two other colleagues, a report has revealed.
Google released the full investigation conducted by the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
It said senior staff on the Street View team were unaware of the plans.
The company was fined $25,000 (£15,300) earlier this month for impeding the FCC's investigation, but was ruled to not have broken the law.
The report came two weeks after a heavily redacted version was released by the FCC at the time of the original fine.
It detailed how one Google engineer, referred to only as "Engineer Doe", produced a computer program capable of collecting data from people's unsecured home wireless networks.
The data gathered included contents of some emails and web browsing history.
'Collect, store and review'
The collection took place while Google was photographing areas in its Street View car between 2008 and 2010.
"Engineer Doe specifically told two engineers working on the project, including a senior manager, about collecting payload data," the agency said in its report.
"Engineer Doe intended to collect, store and review payload data for possible use in other Google projects."
However, the investigation added that other senior managers on the Street View team were unaware of Engineer Doe's actions.
Google said it wanted to now "put the matter behind us".
"We decided to voluntarily make the entire document available except for the names of individuals," the company said.
"While we disagree with some of the statements made in the document, we agree with the FCC's conclusion that we did not break the law."