tyb's
China blocks restart of Foxconn plants due to coronavirus
Key iPhone supplier Foxconn's plan to resume production on Feb. 10 has been called off by the Chinese authorities due to worries surrounding the coronavirus outbreak, the Nikkei Asian Review has learned.
The action further worsens the supply chain disruption for global electronics companies, including Apple, Amazon, Google and Huawei. Foxconn is the world's biggest iPhone assembler, and it makes Huawei smartphones and Amazon Kindle tablets as well as echo speakers, while it also supplies HP, Dell and most the major electronics brands.
Public health experts in Shenzhen informed Foxconn, which trades as Hon Hai Precision Industry, that its factories there face "high risks of coronavirus infection" after conducting on-site inspections and therefore are not suitable to restart work, four people familiar with the matter told Nikkei. "Violation of epidemic prevention and control could potentially face the death penalty," the internal meeting memo seen by the Nikkei Asian Review said.
Foxconn's Zhengzhou complex, which is the world's biggest iPhone production base, also canceled plans to resume work on Monday, they said. "The local governments do not want to risk the potential virus spreading in such a labor-intensive working environment. No one wants to bear the responsibility of restarting work at this critical moment," one of the sources, who has been briefed by Foxconn's plan, told Nikkei.
The health risks pointed out by the Shenzhen public health authorities include poor airflow of the restaurants and employees' dormitories, according to the internal meeting memo seen by Nikkei. Given that the production facilities use central air conditioning, the working environment poses even higher risks due to the density of workers, the memo showed.
However, Foxconn may find it challenging to address such concerns given that the central air conditioning system is part of the equipment necessary to prevent dust from disrupting the production process. The iPhone assembler on Friday afternoon cancelled the flight bookings for Taiwanese employees to go back to China between Feb.7 and Feb.14 after a video conference held by Chairman Young Liu in the morning, sources said.
Liu decided that Foxconn's Zhengzhou complex could not restart work unless it had been evaluated and approved by the local government, they said. Foxconn's display arm, Innolux, which has facilities in Shenzhen, on Friday published a note to employees advising them not to come back to its Longhua complex on Monday, according to a separate internal announcement seen by the Nikkei.
"The government has been extremely strict this time," said a Shenzhen-based Apple supplier who works closely with Foxconn. The extended shutdown comes at a time when the inventory of iPhones - and the iPhone 11 in particular - has already been running low. The latest pushback adds another delay in Apple's product shipment plans, as the Nikkei reported earlier.
Apple has also extended its retail store closures in China, with most stores remaining closed until Feb. 15 amid the worsening coronavirus outbreak, Bloomberg News reported.
Foxconn's delayed return to work will be a warning sign to other electronics suppliers, as the Taiwanese manufacturing giant has been taking aggressive steps to prevent the spread of the virus. It has even made its own surgical masks for internal use, the Nikkei reported.
https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Coronavirus-outbreak/China-blocks-restart-of-Foxconn-plants-due-to-coronavirus-sources
still there and heading south now. that ought to wake a few at that alt.
As OPEC+ Reels From China Virus, Libya Threatens Knockout Punch
Peace talks on Sunday aim to restart Libya’s oil industry. Cartel is already struggling to find a response to epidemic
After a week of wrestling, OPEC and Russia may be within reach of a hesitant response to the coronavirus. But a possible peace deal in Libya threatens to knock them off balance.
As the deadly epidemic in China has hammered crude demand and prices, it’s often been overlooked that the sudden surplus in global production would be much worse if most of the North African nation’s oil industry hadn’t been shut down by conflict. If the warring sides are able to reach an agreement in Cairo on Sunday, the restored oil output would dwarf the tentative production cut that was proposed at OPEC+ talks this week.
That would turn what’s already been a stern test for the cartel into a potentially insurmountable challenge.
“If Libya is able to restart exports, it will further complicate the maths for the dwindling number of OPEC countries able to implement credible output cuts,” said Bill Farren-Price, a director at consultant RS Energy Group. Saudi Arabia and its allies would simply be making room for “additional barrels from other producers at a time when demand is suffering a major exogenous shock.” The alliance between the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and countries including Russia has endured one of the toughest periods in its three-year history. The coronavirus has struck at the heart of global oil demand growth, locking down cities that are home to tens of millions and shutting a huge swathe of manufacturing.
Crude has slumped about 20% in the past month, with U.S. prices dipping below $50 a barrel for the first time in more than a year. If prices don’t recover soon, the budgets of entire nations from Saudi Arabia to Kazakhstan will suffer.
The Saudis have been pushing for urgent action – an emergency OPEC+ meeting that would agree on a substantial production cut. But the cartel is already making significant supply reductions, withholding about 2.1 million barrels a day from the market to offset the U.S. shale boom. Russia has been reluctant to go any deeper.
Three days of talks between OPEC+ officials in Vienna this week delivered only a sliver of what the Saudis had wanted. Technical experts from the group recommended a fresh cut of 600,000 barrels a day – barely a third of the drop in demand from Chinese refiners – but they didn’t set a date for an emergency meeting and Russia still hasn’t given its approval. They also recommended an extension of the existing output cuts by nine months until the end of 2020.
Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak has promised to say within days whether his country will support the recommended OPEC+ production cut. A Libyan peace accord could render that answer redundant before he’s even delivered it by adding about 1 million barrels a day of oil to the market. Three days of talks between OPEC+ officials in Vienna this week delivered only a sliver of what the Saudis had wanted. Technical experts from the group recommended a fresh cut of 600,000 barrels a day – barely a third of the drop in demand from Chinese refiners – but they didn’t set a date for an emergency meeting and Russia still hasn’t given its approval. They also recommended an extension of the existing output cuts by nine months until the end of 2020.
https://www.bloomberg.com//news/articles/2020-02-08/as-opec-reels-from-china-virus-libya-threatens-knockout-punch
SENTRY66 and 61 E-3B Sentry AWACS getting started
it landed at ellington just after that post.
kerosene smell not an issue unless it's way over-powering-like a spill
morning funkman.
I get it anon. some are a bit tactless. figured it wuz something or no reason to mention. mebby they had a spill or ? don't light up outside-kek!
np, always here for da fam-enjoyed a good night's sleep as early one for me. Like that the gaps are coming down-eventually noteys not needed. be gone in a bit for that thing mentioned last night.
habby bakes to you.
all the time anon. it was taken by another bred. many other active one's in catalog.