India permanently bans TikTok and 58 other Chinese apps
India's ministry of electronics and information technology has issued fresh notices to make permanent a ban imposed on video app TikTok and 58 other Chinese apps in June, Indian media reported late on Monday.
When it first imposed the ban, the Indian government gave the 59 apps a chance to explain their position on compliance with privacy and security requirements, the Times of India reported on Monday. The companies, which include ByteDance's popular video-sharing app TikTok, Tencent Holdings' WeChat and Alibaba's UC Browser, were also asked to respond to a list of questions, the newspaper said. "The government is not satisfied with the response/explanation given by these companies. Hence, the ban for these 59 apps is permanent now," business newspaper Livemint quoted a source familiar with the notices as saying. It said the notices were issued last week.
The ministry's June order stated that the apps were "prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order." The order, which India referred to as a "digital strike", followed a skirmish with Chinese troops at a disputed Himalayan border site when 20 Indian soldiers were killed. In September, India banned another 118 mobile apps, including Tencent's popular video game PUBG, as it stepped up the pressure on Chinese technology companies following the standoff at the border. A TikTok representative told the Economic Times newspaper that the company was evaluating the notice and will respond to it as appropriate.
The ministry of electronics and information technology could not be reached for comment outside regular working hours. TikTok did not respond to a request for comment.
https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Technology/India-permanently-bans-TikTok-and-58-other-Chinese-apps
SWISS AF SUI009 Challenger on descent for JBA from a ground stop at Shannon Ireland-Bern departure earlier today
nite all
SAM620 USAF C-32A west from JBA
Used as secondary AF2 and by the State Dept.
This AC was VENUS92 yesterday and had a cert. flight to Harrisburg, PA and Atlantic City, NJ
SAM636 USAF C-40B departed from Sigonella AB, Siciliy after an overnight-inbound from JBA yesterday
State Dept. AC
China Repo Rates Soar To 15 Month High After PBOC Warns Of Asset Bubbles, Drains Liquidity
China’s money market rates surged after the People’s Bank of China drained cash from the financial system, just as a central bank adviser warned about bubbles in markets.
The overnight repurchase rate soared 28 basis points to 2.77%, the highest since October 2019, and just a month after it hit a record low. At the same time, the cost on 7-day repurchase agreements jumped 36 basis points to 2.79%. Earlier in the day the PBOC withdrew a net 78 billion yuan via open-market operations, the most in two weeks. It wasn't just the PBOC's liquidity drain however: the rate spike was also catalyzed by a stark warning from PBOC adviser Ma Jun, who spoke at a wealth management forum where according to the 21st Century Business Herald said bubbles have formed in the stock and property markets, and he proposed a shift in monetary policy.
"Whether this situation will intensify in the future depends on whether monetary policy is appropriately changed this year,” he said. He added that if not, such problems would “certainly continue” and lead to “greater economic and financial risks in the medium- and long-term." He also said that there will be less demand for monetary expansion as corporate profits will improve, reducing their reliance on debt financing. To be sure, Chinese regulators have already moved to constrain rising property prices. They limited the amount banks can lend to the sector at the end of last year and are targeting leverage among the country’s vast developers. Individual cities have also introduced measures to curb prices.
In late 2020, PBoC restrictions on short-term liquidity led to a surge in interbank borrowing costs. The three-month Shanghai interbank benchmark more than doubled between May and November to more than 3 per cent — its highest level in two years — before it gradually declined. Then China’s markets soared at the end of last year from a barrage of liquidity injections by the central bank, helping stocks and the yuan end 2020 on a high note. The benchmark CSI 300 Index has since risen to the highest level since 2008.
“The PBOC is unlikely to loosen its purse strings at least this week, which will make cross-month liquidity very tight,” said Xing Zhaopeng, an economist at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group. In this context it is hardly a surprise then that after the warning and liquidity drain, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index — which has been boosted this month by record-breaking daily volumes of buying by mainland investors — fell by more than 2.4%. Mainland China’s CSI 300 index of Shanghai- and Shenzhen-listed stocks dropped 2%.
The mood is still totally remaining intact in terms of its positivity,” said Andy Maynard, managing director at China Renaissance Securities. “Although we have a blip today . . . yesterday was kind of euphoric, last week was kind of euphoric.” But, he added, rising borrowing costs were unlikely to undermine positive momentum in China and other emerging markets. “Where else in the world do you go? Where do you put that money?” he said. “For the global asset allocators who stay in equity, I don’t think you necessarily rush back to the dollar and you definitely are not touching Europe”.
And while the Chinese warning dented some overnight enthusiasm, S&P futures have since reversed and are trading near all time highs.
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/china-repo-rates-soar-15-month-high-after-pboc-warns-asset-bubbles-drains-liquidity
better already!
supposed to be nicer here today
yesterday rain,wind and cold (for here) all day
IDOL11 and 00000000 USAF B-52 Stratofortress ne from Barksdale AFB
IDOL11 Hidden under 00000000
02-4452 USAFSOC C-32B ne from McGuire AFB and over Cape Cod Coast Guard Air Station
ELVIS66 USAF C-17 Globemaster departed San Juan PR
This AC departed Smyrna, TN ANG Training Site late on 0124 had a ground stop at JBA.
SE from JBA with the date change and arrival at San Juan yesterday
P-3 and P-8 off Space Coast from Jax
Slovenian AF LSV101 Falcon 2000EX (extended range) heading for Dubai for second day-depart of Ljubljana, Solvenia (yesterday too)
LHOBB252 USAF C-17 Globey se from Ankara, Turkey through Iran and on descent for Doha, Qatar
UBS Profit Bonanza Eases Pressure over New Boss
UBS is in less need of strong management than most of its European peers—which is fortunate given the awkward position of its new boss.
On Tuesday, the Switzerland-based bank announced excellent full-year results, with profits up across the group. Chief executive Ralph Hamers, who took the reins in November, also gave hints of a new strategy he hopes to announce next quarter.
His plans were unfortunately overshadowed by December’s surprise decision by the Netherlands to open a new inquiry into Mr. Hamers’ role in a money-laundering scandal at his former employer, ING. The matter was previously thought to have been settled before his hiring. The investigations, which typically take about 18 months, are an unwelcome source of uncertainty for UBS’s investors.
The bank’s strategy involves integrating wealth management, investment banking and asset management to serve high-net-worth individuals globally, with a special focus on growth in Asia. Any leader is likely to build on that successful formula rather than reinvent it. Mr. Hamers highlighted three focus areas: improving technology investment, re-evaluating subscale markets and forging a more unified, agile corporate culture.
The technology focus isn’t a surprise. Mr. Hamers was hired for his expertise in digital transformation, and all banks are investing in technology to cut costs and improve products. He won’t spend more money, but rather shift to shorter-term projects and quarterly, instead of annual funding decisions.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/ubs-profit-bonanza-eases-pressure-over-new-boss-11611677175
GTMO844 US Navy Beech Huron appears over Bahamas ne
168435 US Navy P-8 Poseiden nw from da Keys back to Jax
Nancy And Paul Pelosi Bought More Than $1 Million In Tesla, Disney And Apple Calls In December
When one looks at a situation like Monday's insanity-fueled, retail induced short squeeze across the board, one must ask: who are the government officials that have allowed this to happen and what have they been doing during the time they should be regulating such multiple-sigma market absurdities?
Allow us to offer a partial answer. If you were Nancy Pelosi and her husband, you were buying call options in names like Apple, Tesla and Disney. That's what a new disclosure, detailed in Barron's, revealed late last week.
Paul Pelosi purchased LEAPS in Tesla, Apple and Disney and shares in AllianceBernstein on December 22, the disclosure revealed. In other words, it's not just clueless retail Robinhood investors that are speculating; it's also clueless politicians. He purchased 100 $100 strike Apple calls that expire in January 2022 and paid between $250,000 and $500,000 for them. He also bought 25 in the money Tesla calls, selecting the $500 strike calls with a March 2022 expiration, according to the report. Those cost between $500,000 and $1 million. Finally, he bought between $500,000 and $1 million in Disney options, buying 100 calls at a $100 strike that expire in January 2022.
He also "paid $500,001 to $1 million for 20,000 shares of global investment firm AllianceBernstein," putting his average price around $33.37.
Obviously, the call option purchases are worth noting - not only because they are leveraged investments and are far more risky than buying outright stock - but because the Speaker now clearly has a vested interest in the success of names like Tesla, whose trajectories as public companies can be altered drastically by government decisions.
Paul Pelosi and Speaker Pelosi’s office didn’t respond to requests for comment, Barron's said. Can't say we're surprised.
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/nancy-and-paul-pelosi-bought-more-1-million-tesla-disney-and-apple-calls-december
China to conduct drills in South China Sea amid US tensions
China said on Tuesday it will conduct military exercises in the South China Sea this week, just days after Beijing bristled at a U.S. aircraft carrier group's entry into the disputed waters.
A notice issued by the country's Maritime Safety Administration prohibited entry into a portion of waters in the Gulf of Tonkin to the west of the Leizhou peninsula in southwestern China from Jan. 27 to Jan. 30, but it did not offer details on when the drills would take place or at what scale.
of course-dooo eeet there kek
A U.S. carrier group led by the USS Theodore Roosevelt entered the South China Sea on Saturday to promote "freedom of the seas," the U.S. military said, days after Joe Biden began his term as president. The contested waters have become another flashpoint in the increasingly testy bilateral relationship between Beijing and Washington. The U.S. military has steadily increased its activities there in recent years as China asserts its territorial claims in the area in conflict with neighbouring countries including Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei and Taiwan. The announcement of the drills in the Gulf of Tonkin, just east of Vietnam, came as the Southeast Asian country opened a key Communist Party congress in Hanoi. China on Monday complained that the United States frequently sends aircraft and vessels into the South China Sea, through which trillion dollars in trade flow every year, to "flex its muscles" and said such actions are not conducive to peace and stability in the region.
https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/International-relations/US-China-tensions/China-to-conduct-drills-in-South-China-Sea-amid-US-tensions
don't worry bout it.
Keep going
can't get it all either
sometimes I have to get up and leave for 15-20min at a pop so no worries.
Boeing And Lockheed Martin Reveal What Could Be The Army's UH-60 Black Hawk Replacement
Boeing and Lockheed Martin have unveiled their proposed helicopter, dubbed Defiant X, for the U.S. Army's Future Long Range Assault Aircraft, or FLRAA, program, which is part of the larger Future Vertical Lift effort. This particular project's primary goal is to acquire a replacement for the service's venerable UH-60 Black Hawks, including highly modified special operations variants, but could eventually replace other aircraft types across the U.S. military, as well.
The companies simultaneously revealed the Defiant X in press releases on Jan. 25, 2021. The design is an advanced compound helicopter derived from the SB>1 Defiant, which Sikorsky, now part of Lockheed Martin, and Boeing developed for the Army's Joint Multi-Role (JMR) technology demonstration program. Bell has also been a participant in the JMR effort with its V-280 Valor tilt-rotor. JMR has long been framed as a lead-in to FLRAA and, in December 2020, the Army released a draft request for proposals for the latter program, announcing in the process that it only planned to consider entries from the Boeing-Lockheed Martin team and Bell. Defiant X has the same general underlying configuration as the SB>1 Defiant compound helicopter, a design that first flew in 2019, with two rigid coaxial rotors and a pusher propeller in the tail. Compound helicopters typically offer higher top speeds and improved maneuverability over traditional helicopters. The SB>1 has so far demonstrated an ability to reach a top speed of 211 knots in level flight and hit 232 knots while in a shallow dive.
moar
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/38903/boeing-and-lockheed-martin-reveal-what-could-be-the-armys-uh-60-black-hawk-replacement
80-1094 USAF U-2 Dragon Lady se along Cal coast
-lovely day for this flight
Enjoy Pilot!