FILE PHOTO: A gas flare on an oil production platform in the Soroush oil fields is seen alongside an Iranian flag in the Persian Gulf, Iran, July 25, 2005. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi
March 21, 2019
By Alex Lawler
LONDON (Reuters) – Iran’s oil exports have dropped in March to their lowest daily level this year, according to tanker data and industry sources, even before Washington formally requires importing countries to reduce purchases to avoid infringing U.S. sanctions.
Shipments are averaging between 1.0 and 1.1 million barrels per day (bpd) so far this month, according to Refinitiv Eikon data and three other companies that track Iranian exports. That’s lower than February, when shipments were at least 1.3 million bpd.
Shipments have dropped from at least 2.5 million bpd in April 2018, the month before U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and reimposed sanctions, fueling a year of economic crisis in the country.
Tehran has vowed to keep exporting oil despite U.S. efforts to reduce its shipments to zero, but the export decline could be another indicator of economic pressure from the embargo.
In a new year speech on Thursday, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the Islamic Republic had resisted U.S. sanctions and called on the government to boost national production to face enemy pressures.
For the oil market, the drop in Iranian shipments will add to an OPEC-led oil supply cut and comes ahead of U.S. plans to clamp down further on Iranian exports from May, after ending of the current round of fairly generous waivers from sanctions.
Still, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, which began cutting production from Jan. 1 to bolster prices, are unlikely to be in a rush to change course, analysts say, without concrete signs of a shortage.
“We do expect less Iranian oil exports after May,” said Sara Vakhshouri of energy consultant SVB Energy International.
“However, we don’t think that OPEC will increase its production in anticipation of lower Iranian oil exports, but only if there are clear signs of further Iran and/or Venezuelan export cuts in the market,” Vakhshouri said.
Venezuela, an OPEC member, is also under U.S. sanctions which have curbed its exports.
Iran’s export levels have become more opaque since U.S. sanctions on the country’s oil sector took effect in November, although estimates of March supplies are falling into a narrower range than in previous months.
Kpler, a company that tracks oil flows, said Iranian shipments so far in March had dropped sharply to 1.03 million bps from 1.44 million bpd in February.
“Iranian crude loadings have struggled through the first half of March,” Kpler said in a report, although it said exports would rise closer to 1.3 million bpd in the rest of March.
A woman holds children hands near a pedestrian crossing as they look at newly installed ground-level crosswalk lights, in Tel Aviv, Israel March 14, 2019. REUTERS/Corinna Kern
March 14, 2019
TEL AVIV (Reuters) – Israel’s bustling business capital wants to stop “smartphone zombies” in their tracks.
Tel Aviv has placed ground-level LED lightstrips, which turn red and green, at a central crosswalk, hoping to catch the attention of pedestrians so engrossed in their mobile devices that they don’t look up before stepping into the road.
Similar trials have been carried out in Singapore, Australia and Germany.
Tomer Dror, head of Tel Aviv’s traffic management division, said walkers have been noticing the lightstrips, which began operating several days ago.
But Alex Shneider, a 32-year-old biologist who crossed the intersection on green while looking at his phone, said he never saw the signal.
“I was too occupied on the phone itself and I wasn’t paying attention to the light,” he said – after nearly bumping into a Reuters TV cameraman filming at the junction.
(Writing by Jeffrey Heller; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani gestures to the crowd at a public speech in Bandar Kangan, Iran March 17, 2019. Official Iranian President website/Handout via REUTERS
March 18, 2019
LONDON (Reuters) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Monday that U.S. sanctions against Iran were “crimes against humanity” and said Tehran would file a legal case against U.S. officials for imposing difficulties on the nation.
Rouhani said in a speech broadcast live on state television that the U.S. sanctions have affected the value of Iran’s rial currency and increased inflation, but said the government would overcome the difficulties.
(Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; Editing by Catherine Evans)
Hundreds of immigrants illegally crossing into the United States were stopped by a small militia called “United Constitutional Patriots” (UCP) Tuesday night near Sundland Park, New Mexico.
The militia, mostly comprised of veterans and former police officers, turned the large group over to Border Patrol as they are not allowed to capture anyone they encounter crossing.
A member of UCP who livestreamed the encounter can be heard saying, “Lots of coughing. Lots of men with little children. We need the wall folks, please share this. Lots and lots of coughing folks. This is what’s coming across our border. How bad does it get before we actually build the wall?”
Another militia member, Jim Benvie, also streamed on Facebook as they waited for Border Patrol to arrive and apprehend the illegal immigrants.
“I literally walked out and I looked, and all I saw was hundreds of people coming at us,” Benvie said.
“We’re just Americans,” Benvie told Daily Mail. “We’re veterans, we’re ex-law enforcement, we’re people that care about our national security. We’re people that care about our strained Border Patrol.”
While Border Patrol allegedly said it does not condone UCP’s actions, group leader John Horton told Newsweek, “We have a good work rapport with them. Our goal was to be here until we’re not needed. And when we’re not needed is when that wall is up.”
This is merely the latest example of the escalating crisis at the southern border, as just today President Trump asked Democrats in Congress to “return from their vacations and change the immigration laws,” and Yuma, Arizona declared a state of emergency over the surge of illegal immigrants.
“Big sections of Wall now being built!” Trump tweeted.
Democrats in Congress must return from their Vacations and change the Immigration Laws, or the Border, despite the great job being done by Border Patrol, will only get worse. Big sections of Wall now being built!
FILE PHOTO: Apr 8, 2019; Houston, TX, USA; New York Yankees starting pitcher Masahiro Tanaka (19) pitches against the Houston Astros in the sixth inning at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports
April 9, 2019
A Texas woman has sued the Houston Astros for more than $1 million, contending her left index finger was injured permanently last summer when the team mascot shot a giveaway shirt in her direction using a “T-shirt cannon.”
Jennifer Harughty said she was sitting behind third base last July 8 when the mascot, Orbit, launched a T-shirt at close range, resulting in a broken finger.
“It was a life-changing event that I think if it happened to anybody else … they would feel the same way,” Harughty told KTRK-TV in Houston.
According to the lawsuit, which was filed Monday, Harughty went to the emergency room after the game and was diagnosed with a severe fracture and told she would need surgery.
Four days later, she had surgery with two screws placed in her finger. Two months later, she underwent a second surgery. According to the lawsuit, Harughty has little to no use of her finger, despite physical therapy.
She is seeking more than $1 million for pain and suffering and wants a jury trial. She said the team is negligent for failing to properly train staff to use the device and for not warning fans of its dangers.
The Astros released a statement on Tuesday.
“The Astros are aware of the lawsuit with allegations regarding Orbit’s T-shirt launcher,” the statement said. “We do not agree with the allegations. The Astros will continue to use fan popular T-shirt launchers during games.
“As this is an ongoing legal matter, we will have no further comment on this matter.”
President Donald Trump indicated Monday that socialism is on its way out and a "new day" is being ushered in for Venezuela and other Latin American countries.
Trump and first lady Melania Trump addressed Venezuelans at Florida International University in Miami and discussed the growing crisis in the South American country.
"We're here to proclaim a new day is coming in Latin America. It's coming," Trump said to a round of applause.
"In Venezuela and across the western hemisphere, socialism is dying and liberty, prosperity, and democracy are being reborn. Today, our hearts are filled with hope because of the determination of millions of everyday Venezuelans, the patriotism of the Venezuelan National Assembly, and the incredible courage of Interim President Juan Guaido."
Guaido and his allies claim to have taken control of the poverty-stricken, socialist nation of Venezuela, although President Nicolas Maduro maintains that he remains in control of the country.
The United States and other western nations have recognized Guaido as Venezuela's new leader.
"The people of Venezuela are standing for freedom and democracy and the United States of America is standing right by their side," Trump said Monday.
During her introductory remarks, Melania Trump offered a similar message.
"In Venezuela, the people are on the brink of reclaiming their own liberty. Today, we must let the Venezuelan people hear us with a united voice," she said. "There's hope. We are free and we pray together loudly and proudly that soon the people of Venezuela will be free as well."
Trump's speech carried a serious tone, particularly when he spoke about the U.S. aid that is being prevented from entering Venezuela by the Maduro regime — which he said is starving its own people.
"He would rather see his people starve than give them aid, than help them," Trump said.
"Millions of Venezuelans are starving and suffering, while a small handful at the top of the Maduro regime plunder the nation into poverty and into debt. We know who they are, and we know where they keep the billions of dollars that they have stolen."
Trump also fired off a warning to people who are helping keep Maduro in the presidential palace: watch your back.
"You cannot hide from the choice that now confronts you," said Trump, who later ripped socialism as something that comes with big promises but only leads to poverty.
"President Guaido does not seek retribution against you, and neither do we. But you must not follow Maduro's orders to block humanitarian aid and you must not threaten any form of violence against peaceful protesters.
Trump noted that people who try to help Maduro stay in power "will find no safe harbor, no easy exit, and no way out. You will lose everything."
Abudwaris Ablimit points to a photo of his brother during a gathering to raise awareness about loved ones who have disappeared in China's far west, in Washington DC on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019. The western region of Xinjiang has been subject to a severe security crackdown in recent years that has made surveillance cameras and police checkpoints ubiquitous. The dragnet has made surveillance cameras and police checkpoints ubiquitous, and placed an estimated 1 million Uighurs and others in extrajudicial internment camps. (AP Photo/Christina Larson)
WASHINGTON – Nearly two years after the Chinese government began to detain members of Muslim minority groups in western China, a growing number of family members abroad are refusing to remain silent.
On Sunday, about three dozen relatives of some of the 1 million Uighurs, Kazakhs and others being held without charge spoke out about the mass detentions at an event in Washington, D.C., hoping to raise awareness of what many are calling a human rights travesty but which Beijing defends as necessary to counter violent religious extremism.
"If you know someone who is missing, it is time to speak up," said Ferkat Jawdat, a Virginia-based software engineer. He's lost contact with his 52-year-old mother in Xinjiang, a Chinese region home to the predominantly Muslim Uighur (pronounced WEE-gur) and Kazakh ethnic minorities.
Xinjiang has been subject to a severe security crackdown in recent years that has made surveillance cameras and police checkpoints ubiquitous. The internment camps are a relatively recent phenomenon, but have expanded rapidly as a primary means of intimidation and social control.
For members of the Uighur diaspora, losing a family member into the sprawling system has become all too common.
Jawdat co-organized Sunday's gathering so that Uighurs in the U.S. could start collecting information on their parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and even children whose whereabouts are unknown. They plan to present the data to the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances and the U.S. State Department.
Some of the attendees have confirmation that their loved ones are detained in Xinjiang. Others have simply lost contact — and fear the worst.
"We want to raise awareness about what can happen to American families — many of these people here are American citizens," said Jawdat, a U.S. citizen who helped organize the event, held in the basement of a public library.
Similar gatherings took place concurrently in eight other countries, including Turkey, France, Germany, Australia and Canada, he said.
Those in China with relatives abroad come under particular suspicion from the Chinese security forces, increasing the likelihood of them being interned.
Abduwaris Ablimit, a 34-year-old chef living in Boston, said his first impulse had not been to speak out, frightened of what the Chinese authorities might do in retaliation.
The last time he heard his parents' voices was on a recorded message through the Chinese messaging app WeChat.
"Please don't call me again, son," his mother said through sobs, Ablimit recalled. "Maybe one day we will see each other again."
She sent the message in July 2017. Since then, Ablimit has lived in fear that his parents and brother, well-known Uighur pop singer Zahirshah Ablimit, were sent to an internment camp.
His suspicions were confirmed in December, when Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported that a police officer in Ablimit's Xinjiang hometown said he had been involved in detaining Ablimit's parents. A second officer told RFA that he had arrested Ablimit's brother.
Former camp detainees have told The Associated Press that after being confined in the camps, they were forced to renounce their faith and swear fealty to China's ruling Communist Party.
They said they were subject to political indoctrination and psychological torture, without legal recourse. They describe conditions in the camps as grim, with poor food, crowded cells and little medical assistance.
China says the camps are vocational training centers aimed at helping those vulnerable to extremism to be "cured" of such thoughts and gain job skills.
Apart from Turkey, whose people share cultural, religious and linguistic ties with Uighurs, the Muslim world has remained largely silent over the camps. Experts attribute that to their economic dependence on China, similarly authoritarian political systems and Beijing's claims that it is countering a shared terror threat.
In the face of such silence, relatives of internees are taking it upon themselves to speak out.
After more than a year of being unable to reach his parents, Ablimit started talking to the media and reaching out to the U.S. consulates in Beijing and Shanghai. According to text messages reviewed by the AP, Ablimit received threatening messages from someone who claimed to be a Chinese police officer. The person urged Ablimit to stay quiet about his family's case.
But Ablimit, who traveled to Washington for Sunday's meeting, wasn't swayed.
"I'm not afraid anymore," he said. "I just need to find the truth."
FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of Wirecard AG, an independent provider of outsourcing and white label solutions for electronic payment transactions is seen in Aschheim near Munich, Germany April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Michael Dalder
April 26, 2019
BERLIN (Reuters) – Wulf Matthias will not stand for a second term as Wirecard’s chairman in 2020, German daily Handelsblatt said on Friday, citing sources in the financial industry.
For age reasons alone this would not be an option for Matthias, aged 75, Handelsblatt added.
Matthias will keep his mandate until it ends in 2020, the paper quoted a company spokeswoman as saying.
Wirecard was not immediately available for comment when contacted by Reuters.
(Reporting by Tassilo Hummel; Editing by Thomas Seythal)
FILE PHOTO: The Credit Suisse logo is pictured on a bank in Geneva, Switzerland, October 17, 2017. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
April 26, 2019
ZURICH (Reuters) – Shareholders approved Credit Suisse’s 2018 compensation report with an 82 percent majority on Friday, overriding frustrations expressed at its annual general meeting over jumps in executive pay during a year its share price plummeted.
Three shareholder advisers had recommended investors vote against Switzerland’s second-biggest bank’s remuneration report, while a fourth backed the report but expressed reservations about whether management pay matched performance.
The approval marked a slight increase over the 80.8 percent support garnered for the bank’s 2017 compensation report.
(Reporting by Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi; Editing by Michael Shields)
FILE PHOTO: Traders work on the trading floor of Barclays Bank at Canary Wharf in London, Britain December 7, 2018. REUTERS/Simon Dawson/File Photo
April 26, 2019
By Simon Jessop and Sinead Cruise
LONDON (Reuters) – Activist investor Edward Bramson is likely to fail in his attempt to get a board seat at Barclays’ annual meeting next week, even though shareholders are dissatisfied with performance of the group’s investment bank.
New York-based Bramson’s Sherborne Investors and the board of the British bank have been sparring for months over Barclays’ strategy.
Bramson wants to scale back Barclays’ investment bank to reduce risk and boost shareholder returns. Barclays Chief Executive Jes Staley remains staunchly committed to growing the business out of trouble.
After failing to persuade Staley to change course since he began building a 5.5 percent stake in the bank in March last year, Bramson hopes a board seat will rachet up the pressure.
Both sides have written to shareholders pitching their case and Bramson has courted investors in one-on-one meetings, although none have publicly backed him yet.
Interviews by Reuters with five institutional investors in Barclays suggest Bramson has failed to persuade them.
Sherborne declined to comment.
Mirza Baig, head of investment stewardship at top-40 shareholder Aviva Investors, said Bramson was welcome on the bank’s register but the boardroom was a step too far.
“He has created a lot of value at other businesses, but, generally, when he has come in as executive chair and taken full control. This would be a different case where he would just be one lone voice on the board,” he said.
A second Barclays shareholder said he backed Bramson’s goal of improving returns but via an “evolutionary” approach.
“If you look at banks that have tried to restructure their operations in investment banking – you look at Natwest Markets, Deutsche Bank – I struggle to think of an example where a roughshod restructuring has been accretive to shareholder value.”
A third, top-30 investor said he had been impressed by incoming Chairman Nigel Higgins’ grasp of the challenge in hand, and felt investors would give him time.
“Management know they have to execute and deliver improved returns… [Higgins] will continue to re-shape the board but obviously he didn’t feel that having someone with a diametrically opposed view on it would be helpful.”
A fourth, top-30 investor agreed: “We voted for the chairman to come in and it would be crazy to allow an activist to join the board (at this time).”
Jupiter Fund Management, the 24th largest investor, said it also planned to vote against Bramson.
Barclays has nearly 500 institutional shareholders, Refinitiv data showed.
Since Staley joined Barclays in 2015, the investment bank returns relative to capital invested have increased but are still underperforming the overall business.
Barclays’ first-quarter figures showed the investment bank posted a 6 percent drop in income from its markets business and a 17 percent fall in banking advisory fees.
Returns in the investment bank fell to 9.5 percent from 13.2 percent a year ago.
Famed for successful campaigns against smaller British companies in sectors from chemicals to advertising, Bramson’s board seat pitch has been rebuffed by shareholder advisory firms.
Institutional Shareholder Services, the world’s biggest, said Bramson’s proposal “falls short of what can reasonably be expected from a shareholder trying to address issues at a 28 billion pounds, systemically important bank”.
Glass Lewis also flagged concern about Bramson’s lack of banking experience and “questionable” shareholding structure, referring to Sherborne’s use of derivative contracts to hedge losses should its strategy fail.
Critics said the arrangement meant his interests are not truly aligned with those of other long-term shareholders.
British advisory firm Pirc, however, said it recommended that investors abstain in the vote on Bramson’s proposal as a challenge to the board to do better in the year ahead – or face a similar contest in 2020.
After an over 15-month pregnancy, “Akuti,” a 7-year-old Greater One Horned Indian Rhinoceros, gave birth as a result of induced ovulation and artificial insemination at Zoo Miami, April 23, 2019.
FILE PHOTO: A Chevron gas station sign is seen in Del Mar, California, in this April 25, 2013 file photo. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
April 26, 2019
(Reuters) – U.S. oil and natural gas producer Chevron Corp reported a 27 percent fall in quarterly earnings on Friday, hit by lower crude prices and weaker margins in its refining and chemicals businesses.
Net income attributable to the company fell to $2.65 billion, or $1.39 per share, for the first quarter ended March 31, from $3.64 billion, or $1.90 per share, a year earlier.
Earlier in the day, larger rival Exxon Mobil Corp reported earnings well below analysts’ estimates, as margins in its refining business were hurt by higher Canadian prices and heavy scheduled maintenance.
(Reporting by Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)
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