Baker Notable from (lb)
I realize last bread was testy, possible to have this added for next bread?
>>1514436
>>1514965 Notable
>>1514436 (lb) Wilderness of Mirrors
Documents Reveal the Complex Legacy of James Angleton, CIA Counterintelligence Chief and Godfather of Mass Surveillance
China orders farmers to grow more soybeans despite deal to buy more produce from US
Officials have ordered farmers to grow more soybeans even though Donald Trump has claimed China will buy ‘as much as our farmers can produce.’
Soybeans make up around two thirds of America’s agricultural exports to China and Donald Trump welcomed the promise from Beijing – as part of the deal to avert a trade war – as “one of the best things to happen to our farmers in many years”.
The US president also tweeted that China “will purchase from our Great American Farmers practically as much as our Farmers can produce”.
Although the immediate threat of a trade war has receded, planners are still keen to diversify the country’s supplies of soybeans to reduce their reliance on one or two importers.
China, the world’s largest soybean importer, relied on imports for 87 per cent of domestic consumption last year and steady supplies are vital for the country’s huge pork industry.
It is now stepping up its efforts to grow more soybeans, although there is a long way to go before China can meaningfully cut its reliance on imports.
Farmers in China’s major soybean growing regions, including the northeastern provinces of Heilongjiang and Jilin, were told at the end of April to increase the areas of land devoted to growing the crop for the spring.
The order followed the Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s threat to impose 25 per cent tariffs on US soybeans – which is now unlikely to become a reality after the agreement between the two sides in Washington.
According to Chinese customs data, China imported 95.54 million tonnes of soybeans in 2017, an increase of 14.8 per cent from 2016. Of those imports, about half came from Brazil and a third from the US.
More Here:
http:// www.scmp.com/news/china/economy/article/2147296/china-orders-farmers-grow-more-soybeans-despite-deal-buy-more
ZTE estimates at least US$3 billion in losses from US ban
ZTE Corp. is estimating losses of at least 20 billion yuan (US$3.1 billion) from a US technology ban that’s halted major operations as clients pull out of deals and expenses mount, people familiar with the matter said.
The telecoms gear and smartphone maker however is hopeful of striking a deal soon and already has a plan in place - dubbed “T0” - to swing idled factories into action within hours once Washington agrees to lift its seven-year moratorium on purchases of American chips and components, said the people, who asked not to be identified talking about private negotiations.
The company declined to comment.
Shenzhen, China-based ZTE depends on US components, such as chips from Qualcomm Inc., to build its smartphones and networking gear.
The ban, for breaching terms of a settlement over sanction-breaking sales to Iran, has all but mothballed China’s second-largest telecoms gear maker and become entangled in a trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies.
ZTE first ran into trouble in 2016 for violating laws restricting the sale of American technology to Iran. An agreement in 2017 called for the company to pay as much as US$1.2 billion and penalise the workers involved, in what was the largest criminal fine for the Justice Department in an export control or sanctions case.
But in April, the Commerce Department said ZTE instead paid full bonuses to employees who engaged in the illegal conduct, failed to issue letters of reprimand and lied about the practices to US authorities.
Bloomberg News reported last month that the US is conducting a broad investigation into whether Huawei violated sanctions against trading with Iran, similar to the allegations against ZTE.
The moratorium on ZTE threatens a swathe of components needed to hawk gear to clients like China Mobile Ltd. and Europe’s Telefonica SA.
The Chinese firm relies on suppliers from chipmakers Qualcomm and Micron Technology Inc. to optical developers and Acacia Communications Inc.
The ban may also stop the company from using Google’s Android operating system, the heart of its smartphones.
http:// www.scmp.com/tech/enterprises/article/2147344/zte-estimates-least-3-billion-losses-us-ban
We are in agreement on that, I was looking at this in so far as President Trump mentioning the Xi was a good poker player. Sounds like Xi is poking.
That's a great question, wondered that myself, what country other than US has the capacity to do it, is probably a good place to start. I agree that it wouldn't be a surprise to Trump either, which is why I think he wasn't very happy with what Mnunchin and Kudlow came back with. He probably predicted privately to them both this would happen.
So, Do you think they would go to Brazil or Argentina, if for no other reason than spite?
Re last statement, I would agree on that also.
Agree, I am more on the side that they want more influence in the Tech markets and the Financial markets.
Yes I do remember that also.
I'm thinking that if Monsanto wants to continue to be a player in that market they will be forced to remove their chemicals, or go down in flames.
They control their own destiny in that regard.
There might come a point and time for the seed vault in Norway to be tapped into. If for no other reason than to come full circle with the genetic corrections necessary for future generations.
Kek, I hear what you are saying, but I am more on the side of when rather than if, already starting to see some countries move that direction.
Indeed:)
That's a great short list:)
No argument from me on that one, kek
Start with Washington…..
You are correct, which is why I believe Monsanto will have no other choice but to change their direction or go down in flames.
Can EU follow China’s lead? Brussels tries to head off Trump’s tariffs on steel, aluminium
‘The EU is ready to talk about trade liberalisation with our American friends but only if the US decides an unlimited exemption from steel and aluminium tariffs.’
EU ministers Tuesday will refine a last-ditch bid to persuade US President Donald Trump to back off stiff tariffs on metals imports from Europe and win the bloc a similar break to that handed to China.
Europe was hit by the shock tariffs in March, part of the protectionist president’s threat of an “America First” trade war with Washington’s closest partners, including Canada, Mexico and Japan.
The European Union has said it refuses all trade talks with the United States unless Washington grants a permanent exemption from the painful steel and aluminium tariffs that are set to kick in on June 1.
However, trade ministers from the bloc’s 28 member states will discuss a plan laid out by EU leaders for a limited EU-US trade deal as well as opening up the European market to US natural gas – if the exemption is granted.
Europe’s incentives come with a threat to retaliate against the US with European tariffs on American imports, including iconic items such as Harley-Davidson motorbikes and bourbon whiskey.
These counter-measures will officially become enforceable on June 20, but Europeans have committed to not use them as long as talks with the US are ongoing.
At the request of the United States, Europeans are also ready to “deepen relations” in energy matters, in particular in the field of liquefied natural gas.
Europe has also raised the possibility of backing a drive to reform the World Trade Organisation, the international trade watchdog that Trump accuses of being soft on China and harmful to US interests.
http:// www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/2147237/can-eu-follow-chinas-lead-brussels-tries-head-trumps-tariffs-steel
China’s tropical Hainan wants the big names to come and invest
After Beijing says it will turn the island into a huge free-trade zone, the local government publishes a list of the world’s biggest business names it wants to talk to about setting up shop there.
What do investment guru Warren Buffett, US media giant Time Warner, storied British public school Eton College, South Korea’s Samsung and global law firm Baker & McKenzie have in common?
The answer is they are all named in an expansive wish list put together by China’s southern province of Hainan, which wants them to come and invest as part of an ambitious plan to transform the sleepy sun, sea and sand tropical island into one of the biggest free-trade zones in the world.
Last weekend the Hainan government unveiled its “100-Day Campaign to Attract Businesses”, presenting a series of A-list names in the corporate world across sectors including tourism, services, finance and technology that it plans to talk to.
It said it would specifically target Fortune 500 companies, global industry leaders and well-known brands, asking them to set up headquarters, industry parks or undertake other projects in the province, according to a report by the official Xinhua news agency.
The campaign comes after Chinese President Xi Jinping announced in April that the island province, famed for its palm-fringed beaches, would become a free-trade zone by 2020, the latest in a series of preferential policies granted by Beijing stretching back to 1988 aimed at boosting its development.
“The infrastructure and investment environment are not that satisfactory yet in Hainan,” said Shen Meng, an executive director with investment bank Chanson & Co.
“Among all these grand initiatives I doubt how many of them could eventually be launched,” he said, adding that the current media buzz created by the big names on the campaign list is mostly driven by the government’s need for political achievement.
The development plan is also competing with others across China, including the Shanghai free-trade zone, initiatives to attract investment by individual cities as well as the central government’s own “Greater Bay Area” plan to forge an economic hub linking nine cities in the southern Guangdong province with Hong Kong and Macau.
Undaunted, Hainan is forging ahead. The 124-item wish list spans tourism, retirement and medical services, finance, technology, culture, renewable energy and even horse racing, and also names Morgan Stanley, Walmart, British travel company Thomas Cook, the Hong Kong and Tokyo stock exchanges and ride-hailing firm Uber alongside hundreds of domestic Chinese, US, Italian, French, Israeli and Japanese firms.
Berkshire Hathaway and Eton did not reply to emails seeking comment, but Chinese conglomerate Fosun, which has a joint venture with Thomas Cook, said it was “actively communicating with the Hainan government” on possible opportunities to increase European tourism to the island.
http:// www.scmp.com/business/article/2147398/sun-sea-sand-and-warren-buffett-chinas-tropical-hainan-wants-big-names-come
Does Mark Warner See the ‘Deep State’ As His Ticket Out of the Senate?
The ambitious Virginian's vote for Haspel and his unflinching support of the intelligence community is no accident.
http:// www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/mark-warner-deep-state-champion-political-opportunist/
We started off so nicely, wonder what post started all of this, hmmmm