sun
Page: 10
A visitor takes a picture of a Neolix self-driving vehicle at the IEEV New Energy Vehicles Exhibition in Beijing, China October 18, 2018. Picture taken October 18, 2018. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
March 27, 2019
BEIJING (Reuters) – China has raised its standards for new energy vehicles (NEV) that qualify for subsidies and reduced the amount it is willing to provide to relevant companies, as it looks to wean the sector off government support.
The country rolled out a generous 5-year subsidy program for the NEV sector in 2016 to support sales and encourage innovation. But it has been slowly rolling back the program and plans to phase out subsidies after 2020 amid criticism that some firms have become overly reliant on the funds.
The Chinese finance ministry late on Tuesday said in a document on its website that it would cut the subsidy for battery electric cars with a range of 400 kilometers and above to 25,000 yuan ($3,720.07) per vehicle from 50,000 yuan in the next three months.
It also raised the standards for vehicles eligible for subsidies, saying that electric cars need to have a range of at least 250 kilometers, compared with 150 kilometers previously, according to the statement.
The ministry also said local governments should improve policies and stop offering some subsidies, but to support infrastructure construction such as that of electricity charging machines.
Shares in NEV makers such as BYD, BAIC BluePark, and battery suppliers like Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd fell between 1 percent and 2.5 percent on Wednesday even as the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges gained.
China’s NEV market has continued to grow significantly even as overall auto sales declined last year for the first time since the 1990s.
(Reporting by Yilei Sun and Brenda Goh; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
Source: OANN
A worker closes the back of a Toyota Tundra pickup truck at Pickup Fan Club, on the outskirts of Beijing, China March 21, 2019. REUTERS/Jason Lee
March 27, 2019
By Yilei Sun and Norihiko Shirouzu
BEIJING (Reuters) – Grey Liu bought his third vehicle four months ago – a Foton pickup truck, lured by its $7,000 price tag and its ability to transport his sports motorcycle to the grasslands of northern China where he likes to ride.
The Beijing-based businessman is among a growing number of drivers in China keen on pickups – either for leisure or just because they like them, expanding the market beyond traditional demand for farm, construction and maintenance work.
While calling his pickup “a big toy”, the 35-year-old notes some of his friends also have one. “There are more and more people like us,” Liu said.
Pickup demand – both work-related and the newer interest from mainstream consumers – has climbed on the back of an easing in government restrictions and last year China became the world’s second-biggest pickup truck market.
Signs this year that rules may be relaxed further are prompting industry executives and analysts to talk of a potential doubling or even greater jump in demand. That in turn is spurring Great Wall Motor Co, China’s largest pickup manufacturer, and Ford Motor Co, the maker of the most popular U.S. pickup series, to bolster product lines.
Great Wall is developing its first leisure model, President Wang Fengying told Reuters, revealing a previously unreported plan.
“We believe demand for multi-purpose pickup trucks will soon start taking off in a major way,” she said in a written statement, declining to provide further details.
The new truck will be priced much higher than current models and will be one of five all-new pickups in the next three years, sources familiar with Great Wall’s plan said, declining to be identified as they were not authorized to speak on the matter.
At least one of the five would be an electric model, they added.
RESTRICTIONS RELAXED
Although overall demand in the world’s biggest auto market fell last year for the first time since the 1990s, pickup truck sales rose 10 percent to around 452,000 vehicles for a fourth straight year of growth, according to consultancy LMC Automotive.
(GRAPHIC: China’s pickup sales are climbing – https://tmsnrt.rs/2Ogjm2A)
That helped China overtake Canada as a pickup truck market, although it is far behind U.S. figures of just under 3 million. Like much of the world, the segment remains niche in China, accounting for less than 2 percent of overall sales. That contrasts with 16 percent for the United States and over 40 percent for Thailand.
Chinese demand grew after the government in 2016 allowed pickups to enter some urban areas in four of 31 mainland provincial-level areas. Last year, requirements that pickups have large unsightly labels that clearly marked them as commercial vehicles were dropped, making the vehicles far more attractive to mainstream consumers.
Then in January, China’s state planning body said it would steadily relax restrictions on pickups in cities – part of measures aimed at lifting consumer spending. It did not, however, say when or where rules might be eased.
Depending on how extensive that easing is, annual pickup demand in China could double or triple even if limited parking options hobble demand in the country’s biggest cities like Shanghai, executives and analysts say.
“If China allows pickup trucks to enter central areas in more cities, the market could grow to 1 to 2 million units a year,” said Yale Zhang, head of Shanghai-based consultancy Automotive Foresight.
PRODUCTS PLANNED
Great Wall’s new leisure pickup would be similar to Ford’s mid-sized Ranger and priced at more than 200,000 yuan ($29,800), a mark up of at least 70 percent over its current most expensive pickup, sources familiar with the plan said.
“We aim to make this higher-end pickup feel more like a passenger vehicle and it will have an interior design like our SUV models,” said one source.
According to a separate source, the vehicle is part of the company’s plan to eventually enter the United States, although the model would likely have to be modified. Great Wall had aimed to enter the U.S. market in 2021 but U.S.-Sino trade tensions have currently made exports from China uneconomical.
Ford plans to launch a new pickup in China this year, adding to the F150 Raptor which it introduced in early 2017 and the Ranger which was launched in 2018. Sales for the Raptor, priced from 466,800 yuan ($69,565), tripled to nearly 2,500 vehicles last year, the company said. It declined to disclose sales for the Ranger which sells from 305,800 yuan ($45,570).
“Ford continues to see growing opportunities in China’s pickup truck market, because of a combination of regulatory conditions and growing consumer interest,” a spokesman said in an e-mailed statement.
With China pushing the development of electric vehicles hard, some domestic makers have joined Great Wall in looking at electric pickups, including Ford partner Jiangling Motors and Volkswagen partner JAC Motors.
Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co Ltd is developing a new electric pickup, a company source told Reuters, adding it would be made by its Yuan Cheng Auto unit. The source, who declined to be named as the plans are not public, did not provide further details.
Some global automakers, however, have yet to jump into the market feet first and their models are primarily imported and sold by independent dealers.
Li Jiyuan, who works at a dealership that sells Toyota Motor Corp and RAM pickup trucks, says business has been hit somewhat by trade war uncertainties. To drum up more traffic, the dealership will expand into sales of BMW sport utility vehicles and explore online sales, he added.
(Reporting by Yilei Sun and Norihiko Shirouzu in Beijing; Writing by Brenda Goh; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
Source: OANN
British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks in Parliament in London, Britain March 25, 2019, ©UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor/Handout via REUTERS
March 26, 2019
By William Schomberg and David Milliken
LONDON (Reuters) – British lawmakers called on Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday to heed whatever alternative Brexit strategy they can settle on after they attempted to break the impasse by grabbing control of the process in parliament.
The government insisted the deal May agreed with the European Union in November after more than two years of negotiation remained the only way forward for taking Britain out of the bloc. That deal has been voted down twice in parliament.
May hopes lawmakers who want an abrupt no-deal Brexit will now fall in behind her or risk seeing a long delay which could end up with Britain remaining closer to the EU or not leaving at all.
In the latest twist in Britain’s Brexit drama, lawmakers on Monday wrested control of parliamentary time in order to vote on a range of Brexit options on Wednesday. Three junior ministers resigned in order to defy the government line.
May responded by saying her government would not be bound by the results of the so-called indicative votes.
But lawmakers said the government should listen.
“If parliament is able to come up with a way forward, the question is whether the government is prepared to compromise,” Hilary Benn, an opposition lawmaker who chairs a parliament committee on Brexit, said.
Benn conceded that the government could ignore the indicative votes and press on with May’s plan.
“That is indeed possible, but it is not an argument for not trying because we are in a complete mess. The government is in chaos,” he said.
Possible options to be considered include May’s deal, a no-deal Brexit, another referendum, revoking the Article 50 divorce process, a free trade agreement with a customs union, and staying in the EU’s single market.
Steve Brine, a lawmaker from May’s Conservative Party who quit as a junior health minister on Monday, said parliament might be able to break the deadlock.
“The bottom line is that something has got to change,” he said. “We are stuck in this maddening impasse where we go round and round in circles, something has to move us forward. The House of Commons is not going to come up with something completely crazy.”
“PLAYING WITH FIRE”
Health Minister Matt Hancock said May’s deal remained the only option on the table and ousting the prime minister would not help resolve the impasse.
May has not ruled out bringing back her deal for a third time this week, possibly on Thursday.
The Sun newspaper said May had suggested she could resign if that persuaded enough doubters in her party to back her deal.
“Changing the party leader doesn’t change anything. It doesn’t change the arithmetic in parliament and also it would be a huge distraction,” Hancock said.
Last week, the EU agreed to delay Britain’s original March 29 departure date because of the deadlock. Now, it will leave the EU on May 22 if May’s deal is approved this week. If not, it will have until April 12 to outline its plans.
Former Conservative minister Michael Heseltine said ignoring parliament would be dangerous for May.
“I think she is playing with fire when she says she is not going to take any notice of what the House of Commons says,” he told BBC radio.
“There is no doubt at all that public opinion is moving, quite significantly now, appalled at what has happened and the events that we see and apprehensive of the fact that we haven’t even begun to negotiate the real deal.”
Nearly three years after Britons voted 52-48 percent to leave in the 2016 EU membership referendum, and three days before Britain was supposed to leave the bloc, the outlook for Brexit remains up in the air.
Brexit minister Stephen Barclay said on Sunday if parliament took control of the Brexit process, a snap election, which the main opposition Labour Party would likely back, could follow.
(Additional reporting by Elisabeth O’Leary; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
Source: OANN
The sun sets behind loading cranes in the old harbour of Marseille, France, June 19, 2018. REUTERS/Jean-Paul Pelissier
March 26, 2019
PARIS (Reuters) – The French economy grew slightly more than previously thought last year, helping to trim the deficit, Budget Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Tuesday.
“Last year, we had forecast 1.5 percent growth like all of the (economic) institutes … We should be around 1.6 percent,” Darmanin said on RTL radio.
Shortly afterwards, the INSEE official statistics agency confirmed the 2018 growth figure of 1.6 percent. Previously it had said the government cut the public deficit to a 12-year low last year of 2.5 percent of gross domestic product.
(Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)
Source: OANN
Britain’s Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, with Cuban dancer Carlos Acosta and his wife Charlotte Acosta watch a dance performance at Acosta’s dance studio in Havana, Cuba, March 25, 2019. REUTERS/Fernando Medina
March 25, 2019
By Sarah Marsh
HAVANA (Reuters) – Prince Charles on Monday unveiled a statue of English playwright William Shakespeare in the heart of Havana’s restored colonial center, as part of the first official visit ever by a British royal to communist-run Cuba.
The Prince of Wales, who is a keen conservationist, and his wife Camilla were guided on their city tour by Eusebio Leal, an historian widely recognized for overseeing a facelift of the Cuban capital’s historic center.
Wearing sunglasses to protect himself from the fierce Caribbean sun, the 70-year old heir to the British throne stopped to banter with tourists and Cubans on his walk.
His three-day trip aims to strengthen British-Cuban relations as part of a broader normalization of the island’s relations with the West, even though the Trump administration has sought to unravel a detente between Cuba and the United States.
“He told me the best thing about my place was the air conditioning,” chuckled Josefina Hernandez, 58, who runs a private barbershop in Old Havana that Charles stopped to visit, sitting down in one of the antique swivel seats with red leather upholstery.
“I would never have thought a prince were so down-to-earth, and that he would choose such a humble place to sit and talk. He said he had just had his hair cut so he didn’t need another.”
The Prince of Wales stopped to talk with the owners of several such private businesses that have flourished over the last decade since Cuba started opening more of its beleaguered state-dominated economy to free enterprise.
“He said it looked delicious, but he’d had a good breakfast,” said Carlos Leiva, 34, who runs a churros stand on a cobbled pedestrian street.
Charles also visited a workshop which trains hundreds of young people in restoration techniques, necessary for the upkeep of Havana, that was founded in 1519. Much of the city has crumbled due to neglect and lack of funds for restoration.
“He’s a sensitive person who clearly has knowledge of restoration, said workshop director Juan Carlos Botello, 55. “He was very interested in the plaster pieces for the Capitol and signed a piece that will be placed there. We won’t paint over that piece.”
“It is always good for there to be a cultural exchange.”
The royal couple stopped at several points to listen to bands playing traditional Cuban music including Guantanamera.
“I wish all countries would be friendly like this,” said Havana resident Alberto Gutierrez, surprised to see the royals walking through the leafy Plaza de Armas. “Then there would be peace.”
Later on Monday, the royal couple is set to meet and dine with Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel, who succeeded Raul Castro a year ago. Charles first met Diaz-Canel last year when he visited London during a tour of several countries.
The royals added Cuba onto their nearly two-week Caribbean tour of former and current British territories at the request of the British government.
(Reporting by Sarah Marsh; Editing by Paul Simao)
Source: OANN
Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at church, near High Wycombe, Britain March 24, 2019. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls
March 25, 2019
By Guy Faulconbridge and Kylie MacLellan
LONDON (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Theresa May was under pressure on Monday to give a date for leaving office as the price to bring Brexit-supporting rebel lawmakers in her party behind her twice-defeated European Union divorce treaty.
At one of the most important junctures for the country in at least a generation, British politics was at fever pitch and, nearly three years since the 2016 referendum, it was still unclear how, when or if Brexit will ever take place.
With May humiliated and weakened, ministers lined up to insist she was still in charge and to deny a reported plot to demand she name a date to leave office at a cabinet meeting on Monday.
Rupert Murdoch’s The Sun newspaper said in a front page editorial that May must announce she will stand down as soon as her Brexit deal is approved and the United Kingdom has left the EU.
“Time’s up, Theresa,” the newspaper said on its front page. The newspaper said her one chance of getting the deal approved by parliament was to name a date for her departure.
May called rebel lawmakers including Boris Johnson, Jacob Rees-Mogg and Steve Baker to her Chequers residence on Sunday, Downing Street said, along with ministers David Lidington and Michael Gove.
The two ministers denied reports they were being lined up as a possible caretaker prime minister.
“The meeting discussed a range of issues, including whether there is sufficient support in the Commons to bring back a meaningful vote (for her deal) this week,” a spokesman said.
May was told by Brexiteers at the meeting that she must set out a timetable to leave office if she wants to get her deal ratified, Buzzfeed reporter Alex Wickham said on Twitter.
The Sun’s political editor, Tom Newton Dunn, said some ministers were urging May to pivot to a no-deal Brexit as the only way to survive in power.
May’s deal was defeated by 149 votes on March 12 and by 230 votes on Jan. 15.
To get it passed, she must win over at least 75 MPs: dozens of rebels in her Conservative Party, some Labour MPs, and the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which props up her minority government.
The Sunday Times reported 11 unidentified ministers agreed May should stand down, warning she has become a toxic and erratic figure whose judgment has “gone haywire”.
Brexit had been due to happen on March 29 before May secured a delay in talks with the EU.
Now a departure date of May 22 will apply if parliament passes May’s deal. If she fails, Britain will have until April 12 to offer a new plan or decide to leave without a treaty.
Some lawmakers have asked May to name her departure date as the price for supporting her deal.
Lawmakers are due on Monday to debate the government’s next steps on Brexit, including the delayed exit date. They have proposed changes, or amendments, including one which seeks to wrest control of the process from the government in order to hold votes on alternative ways forward.
Amendments are not legally binding, but do exert political pressure on May to change course.
(Writing by Guy Faulconbridge; editing by Kate Holton)
Source: OANN
FILE PHOTO: A river boat cruises down the River Thames as the sun sets behind the Canary Wharf financial district of London, Britain, December 7, 2018. REUTERS/Simon Dawson/File Photo
March 25, 2019
By Lawrence White
LONDON (Reuters) – Optimism about the business outlook among Britain’s financial services firms has fallen at its fastest rate since the 2008 financial crisis amid concerns about Britain’s exit from the European Union, a survey showed on Monday.
Business volumes among the 84 top financial firms polled have also fallen at their fastest rate since September 2012, the survey by the Confederation of British Industry and accounting firm PwC showed.
The mounting gloom from banks, insurers, fund managers and other financial firms comes as Prime Minister Theresa May battles to get her twice-rejected withdrawal agreement with the EU through a bitterly divided parliament.
The investment management industry saw the sharpest fall in growth, the CBI/PwC survey said, as investors hold on to their cash in turbulent markets, while insurance brokers were the lone bright spot.
“The alarm bells ringing at the state of optimism in the financial services sector have now reached a deafening level,” Rain Newton-Smith, CBI chief economist said.
Employment across financial services fell at the quickest pace in four years, the poll showed, driven mainly by job cuts in the banking sector as lenders slash branch networks and shift jobs overseas to trim costs.
(Reporting by Lawrence White; Editing by Alison Williams)
Source: OANN
A Japan Yen note is seen in this illustration photo taken June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration
March 24, 2019
By Swati Pandey
SYDNEY (Reuters) – The Japanese yen hovered near a six-week high on Monday while Asian shares are expected to start lower as risk assets fell out of favor on growing worries about an impending U.S. recession, sending global bond yields plunging.
In Asia, Nikkei futures pointed to a weak start for Japan. Australian shares fell 0.3 percent at the open while New Zealand’s benchmark index faltered 0.9 percent.
Investors also kept one eye on the details of a nearly two-year U.S. investigation which found no evidence of collusion between Donald Trump’s election team and Russia, in a major political victory for the U.S. President.
U.S. stock futures were marginally higher during early Asian hours.
On Friday, all three major U.S. stock indexes registered their biggest one-day percentage losses since Jan.3 with the Dow sliding 1.8 percent, the S&P 500 off 1.9 percent and the Nasdaq dropping 2.5 percent.
Concerns about the health of the world economy heightened last week after cautious remarks by the U.S. Federal Reserve sent 10-year treasury yields to the lowest since early 2018. Adding to the fears of a more widespread global downturn, manufacturing output data from Germany showed a contraction for the third straight month.
In response, 10-year treasury yields slipped below the three-month rate for the first time since 2007. Historically, an inverted yield curve – where long-term rates fall below short-term – has signaled an upcoming recession.
“We have re-run our preferred yield curve recession models, which now suggest a 30-35 percent chance of a U.S. recession occurring over the next 10‑18 months,” said Tapas Strickland, markets strategist at National Australia Bank.
Typically a 40-60 percent probability sees a recession within the next 10-18 months, Strickland added, basing the analysis on previous recessions.
“The risk of a U.S. recession has risen and is flashing amber and this will keep markets pricing a high chance of the Fed cutting rates.”
Much of the concerns around global growth is stemming from Europe and China which are battling separate tariff wars with the United States. Political turmoil in Britain over the country’s exit from the European Union is also a major overhang for risk assets.
On Sunday, Rupert Murdoch’s Sun newspaper said in a front page editorial British Prime Minister Theresa May must announce on Monday she will stand down as soon as her Brexit deal is approved.
The British pound was last flat at $1.3209 after three straight days of wild gyrations. The currency slipped 0.7 percent last week.
Politics was also in focus in the United States.
The long-awaited Mueller report into whether Trump’s campaign colluded with Russia to help Trump defeat his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, marked a major milestone of his presidency as he prepares for his 2020 re-election battle.
In currency markets, the Japanese yen – a perceived safe haven – held near its highest since Feb. 11. It was last off 0.1 percent at 110.04 per dollar.
The Australian dollar, a liquid proxy for risk play, was down for its third straight session of losses at $0.7072.
(Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
Source: OANN
Mar 22, 2019; Tulsa, OK, USA; Georgia State Panthers head coach Ron Hunter reacts during the first half against the Houston Cougars in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament at BOK Center. Mandatory Credit: Brett Rojo-USA TODAY Sports
March 24, 2019
Tulane will name Georgia State’s Ron Hunter as the Green Wave’s new men’s basketball coach, Hunter confirmed to ESPN on Sunday.
Hunter, 54, replaces Mike Dunleavy Sr., who was fired earlier this month after three seasons and a 24-69 record — including 4-27 in 2018-19.
Tulane has not been to the NCAA Tournament since the 1994-95 season and has not posted a winning record since 2012-13.
As the head coach at Georgia State since 2011, Hunter has led the Panthers to the NCAA Tournament three times. Georgia State won three Sun Belt Conference regular season championships and three tournament championships under his direction.
Georgia State was 24-10 this season, which ended Friday with a first-round loss in the NCAA tourney. The 14th-seeded Panthers fell to third-seeded Houston, 84-55.
Hunter’s record at Georgia State after eight seasons is 171-95. Before that, he compiled a 221-179 record with one NCAA Tournament berth in 13 seasons as the coach at IUPUI.
At the 2015 NCAA Tournament, Hunter had to coach from a stool after tearing his Achilles celebrating the Panthers’ victory in the Sun Belt tournament. He memorably fell off the stool when his son, R.J. Hunter, hit the game-winning 3-pointer in 14th-seeded Georgia State’s 57-56 upset against No. 3 seed Baylor.
–Field Level Media
Source: OANN
Mar 22, 2019; Tulsa, OK, USA; Buffalo Bulls guard CJ Massinburg (5) shoots against the Arizona State Sun Devils during the second half in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament at BOK Center. The Buffalo Bulls won 91-74. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
March 22, 2019
Senior guard Jeremy Harris and senior forward Nick Perkins each recorded 21 points and 10 rebounds as Buffalo trounced Arizona State 91-74 on Friday in West Region first-round play of the NCAA Tournament at Tulsa, Okla.
Senior guard CJ Massinburg buried four 3-point baskets while scoring 18 points as the sixth-seeded Bulls (32-3) notched the second NCAA Tournament victory in school history. Sophomore guard Jayvon Graves added 13 points.
Buffalo will meet third-seeded Texas Tech in Sunday’s second round.
Senior power forward Zylan Cheatham had 22 points and eight rebounds to pace the 11th-seeded Sun Devils (23-11). Sophomore forward Romello White and freshman guard Luguentz Dort added 12 points apiece.
Buffalo’s first NCAA Tournament win occurred last year when the Bulls, as a 13 seed, routed Arizona 89-68 in the first round.
Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley guided Buffalo to its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 2015 before departing to the Pac-12 school. Current Bulls coach Nate Oats was brought on the staff as an assistant during Hurley’s stint.
“Not fun. I’d like to be cheering him on. I’d like to see us both move into the second round,” Oats said of facing Hurley, during a postgame television interview with TNT. .”.. He was really complimentary of how our kids played.”
The Sun Devils appeared tired after beating St. John’s on Wednesday night in the First Four at Dayton, Ohio before traveling to Tulsa. Arizona State was just 3 of 22 from 3-point range and shot 43.3 percent overall while being unable to keep pace with Buffalo’s up-tempo attack.
The Bulls shot 51.7 percent from the field, including 10 of 27 from 3-point range, and possessed a 42-26 rebounding advantage.
Arizona State trailed by 13 at halftime but came off the locker room strong in the second half by scoring six of the first eight points. A layup by White pulled the Sun Devils within 46-37 with 17:55 left.
But Buffalo responded with seven straight points, capped by a 3-pointer from Massinburg that pushed the lead to 16.
The Bulls continued pushing the pace, and the advantage reached 20 at 67-47 on two free throws by senior guard Dontay Caruthers with 12:15 left.
A short time later, Perkins scored five straight points as the lead reached 74-49 with 9:20 left, and Buffalo cruised to the finish.
Perkins had 12 points off the bench to help the Bulls hold a 44-31 lead at the break.
The Sun Devils led 14-10 before Buffalo exploded with eight straight points and 14 of 16. Perkins capped the surge with a layup to give the Bulls a 24-16 advantage with 9:41 remaining before the break.
Buffalo’s lead reached 39-25 on a 3-pointer by Harris with 4:23 left.
–Field Level Media
Source: OANN
MAGA One Radio