British PM sends unsigned letter seeking Brexit delay

LONDON, United Kingdom — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson reluctantly wrote to Brussels late Saturday asking for a Brexit extension after MPs voted to force him into seeking a delay beyond October 31.

But Johnson, who has pinned his premiership on getting Britain out of the European Union on time, refused to sign the letter he sent to European Council President Donald Tusk.


The Conservative leader also sent a second signed letter insisting he was not seeking an extension to the Brexit deadline, which has already been postponed twice.

In a day of high drama in the House of Commons, MPs declined to give their backing to the revised withdrawal agreement Johnson struck with the EU this week until the legislation needed to ratify it has passed.

Having failed to back a divorce deal, they triggered a law requiring Johnson to write to EU leaders by the end of the day asking to delay Brexit, to avoid the risk that Britain crashes out in less than a fortnight.

Johnson sent a photocopy of the letter that was contained in the law requiring him to ask for the delay, but did not sign it, showed a copy released by his Downing Street office early Sunday.

He wrote and signed another letter which made clear he does not want to delay Brexit beyond the end of this month.

“Regrettably, parliament missed the opportunity to inject momentum into the ratification process,” Johnson wrote in the signed letter, regretting that EU leaders would now have to spend yet more time on Brexit.

“A further extension would damage the interests of the UK and our EU partners, and the relationship between us. We must bring this process to a conclusion.”

Johnson nonetheless said he remained “confident” of completing the ratification process by October 31.

A third cover letter written by Britain’s EU ambassador Tim Barrow made clear that the Brexit delay request letter was only being sent to comply with the law.


Tusk consults EU chiefs

“I will now start consulting EU leaders on how to react,” Tusk said on Twitter.

An EU source told AFP that the process “may take a few days” and declined to comment on the non-signature.

A Downing Street spokeswoman said the prime minister had spoken to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and Tusk.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said he had discussed the situation with Johnson and “wished him success in the next stages” in the Commons.

Being forced to send the letter after Saturday’s defeat was a blow to Johnson, who has previously said he would rather be “dead in a ditch” than prolong the tortuous process of ending Britain’s 46-year-old membership of the EU.

Brussels urged Britain to explain its plan as soon as possible, while Macron’s office said a new delay to Brexit was “in nobody’s interest”.

Johnson beaten 322-306

Securing the new divorce treaty at Thursday’s EU summit had been a personal victory for the prime minister, a figurehead in the Leave campaign in Britain’s 2016 EU membership referendum.

He had spent 48 hours frantically trying to persuade MPs to back it, and won support from many of the eurosceptic Conservatives who had three times rejected a previous divorce agreement secured by his predecessor Theresa May.


But parliament — like the frustrated public — is still bitterly divided over how and even whether Britain should end decades of integration with its closest trading partner.

MPs voted by 322 to 306 to back a motion by former Conservative minister Oliver Letwin that “withholds approval (of the deal) unless and until implementing legislation is passed”.

They were meeting on a Saturday for the first time since the 1982 Falklands War.

While MPs voted inside parliament, outside, more than 100,000 people marched to demand a new referendum that could reverse Brexit.

Demonstrators erupted into cheers at the news from inside the Commons.

“That’s really good, that’s one step away from Brexit,” demonstrator Philip Dobson told AFP.

“Reject Brexit”, “Put It To The People” and “Stop This Madness” read some of the placards at the mass march, where many protesters also waved EU flags.

Legislation next week

The British government will introduce legislation next week to implement the divorce deal, with a first vote as soon as Tuesday.

The government also wants another vote on the deal on Monday, which may not be possible.


There is a chance the deal could pass, and Britain could still leave the EU on October 31, but there remains strong opposition to the agreement among MPs.

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

Facebook Can Be Forced to Remove Content Worldwide

The European Union’s highest court ruled Thursday that individual member countries can force Facebook to remove what they regard as unlawful material from the social network all over the world _ decision experts say could hinder free speech online and put a heavy burden on tech companies.

The European Court of Justice ruling, which cannot be appealed, is seen as a defeat for Facebook and other online platforms and widens the divide over how heavily Europe and the U.S. seek to regulate technology giants.

It would increase the onus on them to monitor what appears online.


“It really unleashes a whole new gamut of risk and worries to force Facebook in the EU,” said Wedbush Securities managing director Daniel Ives.

Ruling in the case of an Austrian politician who objected to what she regarded as a libelous news story, the European court said Internet companies can be forced to take action worldwide to remove objectionable material when ordered to do so by a court in an EU country.

Facebook already removes or otherwise restricts photos and other posts in any given country if the material violates that nation’s laws, such as anti-government comments in countries where that is illegal.

But the new ruling means Facebook would have to make such material inaccessible globally.

Facebook charged that the decision “undermines the longstanding principle that one country does not have the right to impose its laws on speech on another country.”

While lawmakers in the U.S. are considering tighter regulation of Facebook and other tech giants, lawmakers in Europe have gone much further on a variety of fronts, including passing stricter data privacy laws in 2018.

“This shows a sharpening divide between the way the E.U. is handling privacy and data content versus the U.S.,” Wedbush’ Ives said.

“It poses broader risks for the likes of Google and other big tech companies as the ‘Brussels versus tech’ battle continues to take hold.”

Eva Glawischnig-Piesczek, former chairwoman of Austria’s Green Party, had sued Facebook in her home nation to remove a news story that she considered libelous and insulting and could be viewed globally.

An Austrian court ruled in her favor.

The country’s top court then asked the EU to weigh in.

The same EU court ruled last month that the European Union’s “right to be forgotten” rules _ which allow people to ask search engines to remove outdated or embossing links about themselves, even if they are true _ do not apply outside the 28-nation bloc.

Thursday’s ruling is likely to encourage internet platforms more widely to step up their efforts to monitor user content.

Activists at the European Digital Rights organization said that instead of hiring more “content moderators,” companies force Facebook might have to rely on automatic filters.

And those, they warned, might be unable to distinguish between legal and illegal content.

The Computer & Communications Industry Association, a lobbying group that includes Amazon, Facebook, and Google, said the ruling could infringe on the right to free speech.

“The ruling essentially allows one country or region to decide what Internet users around the world can say and what information they can access,” said CCIA Europe senior manager Victoria de Posson.

“What might be considered defamatory comments about someone in one country will likely be considered constitutional free speech in another.

Few hosting platforms, especially startups, will have the resources to implement elaborate monitoring systems.”

source: usa.inquirer.net

EU to provide free public 100Mbps Wi-Fi in 28 member states

The internet is one of the most indispensable   conveniences of the 21st-century lifestyle and yet access to it is not exactly free or affordable for many around the world. The EU plans to change this for European citizens through a program that will grant free public Wi-Fi for everyone.

Jean-Claude Juncker, current president of the European Union’s executive body, is pushing to provide free public Wi-Fi that reaches everywhere by 2020, reports ExtremeTech.

The public Wi-Fi project, or Wifi4EU, will have a minimum download speed of 100Mbps for all European households. Hospitals, administrations and other public services reliant on digital technologies will have a minimum of 1 GBps for upload and download. Finally, 5G access will be made uninterruptible on all major roads and railways.

Juncker’s plan also includes expenditure from the commission amounting to a maximum of €120 million to install the necessary equipment. It is presumed that municipalities will be shouldering maintenance costs and other ancillary expenses. However, it is worth noting that the EU has 28 member states and dividing €120 million will result in each country receiving only a little over €4 million from the commission to set up the facilities.

Apart from the infrastructure plan, Juncker also talked about having copyright protections for creators and artists whom he claims to be their “crown jewels.” He did allude to a set of controversial copyright laws  such as “Google tax” and the “YouTube rule.”

The vision for Wifi4EU is a grand one despite questions on how it can actually be done. If and when it does get implemented, it could prove to be a major development in the move to provide internet connectivity to every person on the planet.

READ: Terabit fiber optic technology gets closer to commercial use

On another note, researchers have made strides in making Terabit fiber optic technology more viable for commercial use. Perhaps Wifi4EU can benefit from this in the future.  Alfred Bayle

source: technology.inquirer.net

Pound slumps against euro, dollar

NEW YORK, United States — The British pound slumped to a fresh three-year low against the euro Monday and edged lower on the dollar, as signs of weakness mounted in the British economy.

At 86.80 pence on the euro, the pound was at its weakest level since August 2013.

Meanwhile sterling fell to $1.2883, just barely above its $1.2798 post-Brexit vote level that marked a three-decade low against the US greenback.

The currency’s fall came as data from Britain showed London residential rents fell for the first time in six years in July, amid worries the June 23 vote to exit the European Union was already having an impact on the economy.

The rental data came on the heels of numbers showing home prices fell for the second straight month.

“In the month of August, the British pound has been the weakest currency and the trend continued today,” said Kathy Lien of BK Asset Management.

“The main reason why the currency is weak is because investors are worried about this week’s UK economic reports.”

Even if the formal moves to leave the European Union will not be taken by the government until next year, Lien said, “the damage has been done and consequences are just beginning to appear.”

source: business.inquirer.net

G20 nations warn of Brexit risk to global growth

CHENGDU, China — Britain’s vote to leave the European Union heightens risks for the world economy, finance chiefs from the G20 group of leading countries said Sunday at a meeting in China.

The outcome of last month’s referendum “adds to the uncertainty in the global economy,” the meeting’s host, Chinese finance minister Lou Jiwei, said after it concluded.

But he added that EU member countries were “well positioned to proactively address the potential economic and financial consequences stemming from the UK referendum.”

The issue has come to the forefront of the G20’s concerns at the meeting in Chengdu, the last before the grouping’s annual summit, to be held in the Chinese city of Hangzhou in September.

Ahead of the meeting the International Monetary Fund (IMF) downgraded its forecast for global growth this year, and officials in Chengdu said protracted talks between the EU and Britain over the departure could heighten risks.

“It won’t mean that they’ll get there in a week or a month. It’s a process that could take longer,” a senior US Treasury official told journalists on Saturday.

“The thing that would be very disruptive to confidence is if this becomes a highly confrontational process,” he said.

Britain’s new finance minister Philip Hammond on Saturday met his German counterpart Wolfgang Schaeuble and tweeted: “We agree we need a deal that works for the people of Britain & Germany.”

At a family photo on Sunday, Hammond was seated in the front row, but spent most of the event conversing only with one of his neighbors, World Bank president Jim Yong Kim.

‘More negative outcomes’

The IMF has expressed alarm over Britain’s looming departure from the EU.

“‘Brexit’ marks the materialization of an important downside risk to global growth,” IMF staff said in a report ahead of the meeting.

The IMF recently lowered its forecasts for global growth this year and next by 0.1 percentage point, to 3.1 percent and 3.4 percent respectively.

“But with ‘Brexit’ still very much unfolding, more negative outcomes are a distinct possibility,” the report said.

Other challenges threaten: a slowdown in the Chinese economy, as well as terrorist attacks and the failed coup in Turkey — which have rattled financial markets.

China’s economy, the world’s second largest, is caught in a fundamental transition to making domestic consumption the key driver instead of massive public spending and cheap exports.

Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek, who attended the meeting, said on Twitter that the attempted putsch against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would not merit mention in the final communique.

At an earlier meeting in Chinese commercial hub Shanghai in February, the G20 finance chiefs agreed to use “all policy tools” including monetary easing, fiscal spending and structural change to boost growth.

The IMF has called on some countries, notably Germany and the United States, to boost spending on infrastructure, which has been opposed by Berlin.

“The world economy is beleaguered with many serious problems,” China’s Lou said on Saturday.

“We should make monetary policy more forward-looking and transparent, enhance the effectiveness of fiscal policy… so as to support stronger recovery of the world economy.”/rga

source: business.inquirer.net

Pound sinks below $1.30 on Brexit jitters

NEW YORK, United States — The pound sank below $1.30 on Wednesday as growing worries about Britain’s vote to leave the European Union pushed investors toward safe haven assets.

“Sterling hit fresh lows against all of the major currencies and while there was no news to explain the move, the sharp sell-off sent fresh jitters across the financial markets, driving investors into the safety of the US dollar, Japanese yen and gold,” said Kathy Lien of BK Asset Management.

The pound sank to $1.2798 at one point, its lowest level since June 1985, before recovering somewhat. The British currency dropped 1.0 percent against the euro at 85.88 pence.

The euro strengthened slightly against the dollar, up 0.2 percent at $1.1097.

“The eurozone is hardly sheltered from the UK’s troubles and there could be a banking sector crisis brewing in Italy but for now, the greater concern is clearly Britain,” Lien said in a client note.

The dollar was little moved by the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s June 14-15 policy meeting, which showed Fed officials divided over US growth prospects as they kept rates on hold.

Omer Esiner of Commonwealth Foreign Exchange said the dollar stands to benefit from continued aversion to risk, but that the outlook for the Fed leaving rates unchanged through 2016 was likely to keep its upside limited.

“Even upcoming economic data, like the all-important payrolls report for June this Friday, may have a limited impact on the dollar as the Brexit story continues to dominate market focus,” he said.

source: business.inquirer.net

Oil prices up as global markets recover post-Brexit

SINGAPORE, Singapore—Oil prices rose in Asia on Friday as traders welcomed assurances from central bank around the world that they were ready to step in to prevent a global rout following Britain’s vote to leave the European Union.

After the initial shock of last Thursday’s referendum sparked a freefall, this week has seen a broad recovery across all asset classes.

South Korea has promised of $17 billion in stimulus and speculation swirls that Japan is planning to further loosen monetary policy while the chances of the US raising interest rates have all but evaporated.

On Thursday Bank of England boss Mark Carney hinted that policymakers were contemplating a cut in interest rates.

The news sent European and US shares soaring, and Asian traders picked up the baton Friday to press more gains.

The optimism filtered through to the oil market and at about 0315 GMT, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for August delivery was up 34 cents, or 0.70 percent, at $48.67.

Brent for September, a new contract, was up 39 cents, or 0.78 percent, at $50.10.

“Investors seemed to be finding reasons to be optimistic about the post-Brexit rebound,” said IG Markets analyst Bernard Aw.

CMC Markets analyst Margaret Yang said equity markets were on the rise partly because “the Bank of England hinted that more monetary stimulus is on the roadmap to battle the post-Brexit economic fallout.”

Oil market watchers said last week’s decline in US commercial inventories is also helping boost prices, but a sustained price rise will only come if producers make meaningful cuts in output.

The drop in US crude stockpiles “is certainly supportive” of prices, David Lennox, a resource analyst at Fat Prophets in Sydney, told Bloomberg News.

“But the market is waiting for real production cuts, and until that happens any strong rally in the oil price is just not going to be sustainable,” he said.

source: business.inquirer.net

Oil prices up in Asia but tremors over Brexit remain

SINGAPORE — World oil prices rebounded in Asia Tuesday on bargain hunting but tremors from Britain’s shock vote last week to leave the European Union continue to weigh on sentiment.

Financial markets are still reeling from Brexit’s fallout as investors sell riskier assets and flock to safe bets amid global economic uncertainty.

Asian stock markets resumed their losses early Tuesday, extending another sharp sell-off in Europe and New York.

At around 0330 GMT, US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in August was up 64 cents, or 1.38 percent, to $46.97 and Brent crude for August gained 60 cents, or 1.27 percent, to $47.76 a barrel.

Both contracts closed lower on Monday.

“The turmoil in the financial markets, triggered by the UK referendum results, is keeping the pressure on oil prices, which look set to clock a monthly loss in June,” said IG Markets Singapore analyst Bernard Aw.

“The lack of guidance from the UK government and the prospects of a leadership struggle continued to dampen investors’ appetite, and this should persist through the week,” he told AFP.

British Prime Minister David Cameron quit in the wake of the vote and the race is on to find his successor as party leader who would take over as prime minister.

Former London mayor Boris Johnson and Interior Minister Theresa May are considered to be the front-runners in the leadership race.

Policy makers in Europe are trying to calm global markets but analysts said uncertainty remains.

“Apart from economic considerations, concerns are that the Brexit vote could encourage other EU countries to seek their own referendums, including Netherlands, France, Spain and Greece,” DBS Bank said in a note.

It said “this could potentially revisit the EU breakup fears that plagued the region” a few years back.

A strengthening US currency — considered a safe investment in times of turmoil — will likely continue to dampen demand for dollar-priced oil which would become more expensive for holders of weaker units, Aw added.

source: business.inquirer.net

Britain’s EU workers gripped by fear, confusion, heartache

LONDON — A tsunami of uncertainty has engulfed Anna Woydyla, a Polish restaurant worker in London, since Britain voted to leave the European Union.

Would her two teenage children, who grew up in the United Kingdom, still qualify for loans to study at British universities? Would she and her husband, after 11 years of working here, have to sell the home they just bought? Leave their jobs? Leave their new country? Try to apply for citizenship?

The 41-year-old is among hundreds of thousands of European Union workers in Britain who are fearful and confused over what happens next as their adoptive country begins the long process of unwinding its many ties to continental Europe.

“If it were just me, I could even return to Poland,” a visibly tense Woydyla said as she stocked a bar in an Italian restaurant in London’s Camden district. “But my kids are more English than Polish. They don’t even want to go to Poland for their holidays anymore. They even speak to each other in English.”

An entire class of cosmopolitan entrepreneurs, workers, students and strivers who have made the U.K. their home since Britain opened its borders to its EU neighbors now see their futures in limbo. The immigrants changed the face of Britain, turning London’s Kensington neighborhood into a suburb of Paris, changing sleepy English towns like Boston into Baltic enclaves, filling supermarket shelves across the nation with Polish lager and Wiejska sausage.

“I personally cannot tell what’s going to change for me,” said Andrea Cordaro, a 21-year-old Italian student who compared the shock of hearing the referendum’s result to the punch-in-the-gut feeling of flunking an exam. “I’ll just have to keep my head up and hope for the best.”

Laurence Borel, a 36-year-old digital marketing consultant from France, isn’t waiting to find out what’s coming next. She asked for her British passport in May after more than 15 years living in the country.

“I’ll bet a lot of people are applying,” she said, explaining that she’d been mulling the idea of a passport for years but the referendum prompted her to act.

“I don’t want to go back to France,” she said. “My life is here.”

At workplaces and schools across the country, managers have sent out emails to worried foreign staffers and students, assuring them that — for now — nothing has changed.

“The formal process for leaving the European Union will take at least two years,” Oxford University said in one such statement. “Our staff and students can be assured that in the short term, we anticipate no disruption to employment or study.”

Over the long term though, the lives of the estimated 3 million EU citizens living in Britain may change in ways big and small. A survey commissioned by the Financial Times found that if Britain’s current immigration rules were applied to EU nationals, the overwhelming majority would lose their jobs and be forced to leave the country — catastrophic news for Spanish barristas, Romanian strawberry pickers, German investment bankers and the industries that rely on them.

The biggest impact may be on the Poles, the largest group of foreign EU workers in the U.K. An estimated 850,000 people from Poland are now in the U.K., seeking wages and opportunities far beyond what they could ever expect in their ex-communist homeland, a flow so dramatic that Polish is now England’s second-most-spoken language.

The fate of the Poles in Britain is such an important domestic issue in Poland that President Andrzej Duda vowed after the British referendum that Polish leaders will “do everything to keep the rights unchanged” in upcoming negotiations with British leaders.

“I trust that the British government will appreciate the contribution the Poles are bringing into the development of the British Islands, into their social and cultural life,” Duda said.

Under British law, EU immigrants who have resided in the U.K. for more than five years can apply for permanent residency. In practice, however, few EU citizens have bothered as their passports already allow them to travel freely and easily access education, health care, pensions and other services in Britain.

The Polish Institute of International Affairs, a Warsaw-based think tank, has estimated that still leaves up to 400,000 Poles who arrived in Britain after 2012. Though the path forward is still unclear, it’s possible that they — along with hundreds of thousands more from elsewhere in Europe — may have to apply for work visas and, if rejected, have to leave the country.

Aware of the EU workers’ anxiety, London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who had backed the failed “remain” side, issued a special message Friday to the nearly one million European citizens living in London alone.

“As a city, we are grateful for the enormous contribution you make, and that will not change as a result of this referendum,” he said. “You are very welcome here.”

To be sure, not all European workers in Britain are panicking or fearful.

“I feel good. Leaving the EU is a good idea,” said Gabriel Ionut, a 24-year-old from Bucharest, Romania, who works as a traffic marshal at a construction site in London. He has worked in the U.K. for four years and, with a residency permit, is confident about his chances of staying.

He says he fully understands native British concerns that their island has been forced to absorb too many immigrants in recent years, with too little control over who can come in due to the EU rules ensuring the free movement of people and labor.

“Now they will have more control over allowing in only the really good people,” he said. “And they will also be able stop more refugees from the Middle East. I am afraid there could be terrorists with them.”

Another Romanian construction worker said he was mostly confused. Iosif Achim, a 32-year-old from Satu Mare, Romania, has been in Britain for six years but never bothered to apply for a residency permit.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen now,” said Achim. “But in my opinion this is going to be bad.”

The concern was mirrored across the Channel by the estimated 1.2 million U.K. citizens living in Europe.

The referendum “shouldn’t affect me too much. But it could,” said Herman Martin, a British composer who has lived in Brussels for the past 24 years. Overall, he said, the British vote to leave the EU would be a disaster for both parties.

“I find it quite disturbing,” he said.

Everyone with foreign ties appears shaken.

“We’re all in shock and deeply saddened,” said Christine Ullmann, a German who works in digital marketing in London, including on the “Hug a Brit” campaign that pleaded with the British to remain in the EU. Ullmann said she cried on the train Friday morning.

Borel, the French consultant, agreed that emotions were still raw.

“I love London. I love the English. I’m heartbroken,” she said.

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

British vote on leaving the EU rocks world financial markets

SEOUL, South Korea — World financial markets were rocked Friday by Britain’s unprecedented vote to leave the European Union, with stock markets and oil prices crashing and the pound hitting its lowest level in three decades.

The uncharted, unexpected path of a European Union without Britain sparked the sell-offs, with more jitters expected as global markets try to digest the shock result.

Tokyo stocks plummeted about 8 percent, their biggest fall since 2008, while South Korea’s Kospi tumbled about 3 percent. Britain’s FTSE 100 futures tanked 8.3 percent.

Crude oil prices and US futures also took a big hit. The British pound plummeted more than 10 percent in six hours while the yen surged about 3 percent to the US dollar as investors seeking safety snapped up the Japanese currency.

By early afternoon in Asia, a tally by the BBC showed Britain had voted to leave the 28-nation European Union by about a 52 percent to 48 percent margin.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 plunged 8.3 percent to 14,897.32 while South Korea’s Kospi sank 3.4 percent to 1,918.70. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index tumbled 4.8 percent to 19,866.20 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 3.4 percent to 5,012.20. Stocks in Shanghai, Taiwan, Sydney and Southeast Asian countries were sharply lower.

US futures took a dive. Dow futures fell 3.4 percent and S&P futures nosedived 5 percent.

“Financial markets throughout the night have been chaotic to say the least and this may continue as the day progresses,” said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda in London. “All eyes will now be on central banks around the world to see how they respond to these market developments, particularly the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan.”

On Thursday, Wall Street finished with rallies as pre-poll forecasts showed that Britain would keep the EU membership. Asian stock markets opened the day higher but the mood turned sour as results started to show that the “leave” vote would win. As the results increasingly pointed to the EU exit, investors dumped stocks and other risky assets.

The results sent the pound on a wild ride. It rose to its highest point for the year of $1.50 before tumbling more than 10 percent to a low of $1.3303, its lowest level since 1985.

In other currencies, the dollar fell to 101.51 yen from 104.80 yen while the euro weakened to $1.097 from $1.132.

Benchmark US crude plummeted 6.4 percent, or $3.17, to $46.94 per barrel in New York. Brent Crude, the benchmark for international oil price, fell 6.1 percent, or $3.11, to $47.80 per barrel in London.

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

Pound, Asia markets collapse as Britain quits EU

HONG KONG—The pound collapsed to a 31-year low and currency, equity and oil markets went into freefall Friday as projections showed Britain has voted to leave the European Union.

Sterling crashed more than nine percent to $1.3305, its weakest level since 1985, while the greenback itself slumped below 100 yen for the first time in two-and-a-half years as traders fled to safety.

In the weeks leading up to Thursday’s historic vote, there had been widespread warnings that a vote to leave would cause another rout across global markets that would wipe trillions off valuations, just months after a painful China-fuelled sell-off.

And as results came in, the doomsday scenario began to unfold as the BBC and other broadcasters called a win for “leave”.

The pound had earlier topped $1.50 following predictions the “remain” group would win but as the Brexit camp posted victories around the country, traders stampeded to put in sell orders.

The dollar slumped briefly to 99.02 yen, the first time it has gone below 100 yen since November 2013, before edging back up slightly. The Japanese unit is considered a safe bet in times of uncertainty and turmoil.

Japan’s Finance Minister Taro Aso will hold an emergency news briefing Friday. He has previously said Japan would closely watch the dollar-yen rate and act accordingly if the yen became too strong, indicating the government could intervene in currency markets.

A flight to safety also saw higher-yielding and emerging market currencies slump, with the Australian dollar down 3.2 percent, South Korea’s won diving 2.4 percent, Malaysia’s ringgit down 2.3 percent and the Indonesian rupiah shedding 1.7 percent.

There were also heavy losses for India’s rupee, the Canadian dollar and the Singapore dollar.

‘Independence day’

The outcome has upturned expectations, which had been for a tight race narrowly won by the “remain”, while bookmakers had said there was a 90 percent chance of staying in.

But as the shock results rolled in, equity markets went into meltdown.

Tokyo plunged more than eight percent in the afternoon, Sydney shed 3.7 percent and Seoul was 3.5 percent off. Mumbai lost three percent and Shanghai sank 1.4 percent by lunch, while Taipei, Wellington, Manila and Jakarta all saw sharp losses.

Hong Kong tumbled 4.7 percent by the break with British banking giants HSBC and Standard Chartered both plunging more than 10 percent.

In the early hours in Britain, Nigel Farage, leader of the anti-Europe UK Independence Party, declared victory, saying it was the country’s “independence day”.

The prospect of a severe hit to the global economy also hammered oil prices, with both main contracts slumping more than six percent.

“We are seeing oil swept up in the general market nervousness to the vote,” Ric Spooner, a chief analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney, told Bloomberg News.

“Corrections are likely to be fairly shallow in oil because prices will be supported by the fact a balanced market is firmly on the horizon.”

source: business.inquirer.net

Asian shares mostly up as investors await more Brexit polls

MANILA, Philippines— Asian shares were mostly higher Wednesday, with investors focused on Thursday’s vote on Britain’s possible withdrawal from the European Union and after relief over U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s statement that the Fed would remain cautious in raising interest rates.

KEEPING SCORE: Japan’s Nikkei 225 was down 1 percent to 16,002.60 while China’s Shanghai Composite Index was up 0.4 percent to 2,891.03. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up 0.3 percent to 20,730.25. Australia’s S&P ASX 200 edged up 0.1 percent at to 5,281.60. South Korea’s KOSPI was up 0.4 percent at 1,990.07. Southeast Asian markets were mostly up.

ANALYST VIEWPOINT: “We still have three polls on UK referendum before the vote, and another shift back to ‘Brexit’ will see risk appetite disappear in a jiffy,” said Bernard Aw, IG market strategist, as the polls showed “remain” with a slight lead over “leave” sentiment. “Despite a positive performance in the overnight markets, Asia will continue to trade cautiously.”

WALL STREET: U.S. stocks rose Tuesday as investors were relieved to hear Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen say the Fed would remain cautious in raising interest rates. Stocks hardly budged for most of the day as investors were occupied by Yellen’s Congressional appearance and the looming vote on Britain’s possible withdrawal from the European Union. For the second day in a row, stocks traded higher and bond prices fell as investors felt a bit surer that Britain will stay in the EU. The Dow Jones industrial average picked up 24.86 points, or 0.1 percent, to 17,829.73. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 5.65 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,088.90. The Nasdaq composite added 6.55 points, or 0.1 percent, to 4,843.76.

OIL: Benchmark U.S. crude rose 19 cents to $50.04 a barrel in New York. On Tuesday, it fell 52 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $48.85 a barrel. Brent crude, the benchmark for international oil prices, was also up 15 cents to $50.77 a barrel in London. On Tuesday, it slipped 3 cents to $50.62 a barrel.

CURRENCIES: The dollar fell to 104.45 yen from 104.76 yen the previous day. The euro rose to $1.1271 from $1.1251 on Tuesday.

source: business.inquirer.net

World stocks up as Britain leans towards EU remain vote

HONG KONG — Asia led a rally in global markets Monday, building on gains at the end of last week as polls suggest Britain’s upcoming referendum will result in the country staying in the European Union.

The average of the last six British European Union referendum polls put the Remain and Leave camps neck-and-neck at 50-50, excluding undecided voters, according to the What UK Thinks website.

Markets across Asia and Europe slid early last week as polls showed the Leave side a few percentage points for the June 23 vote, but showed some improvement Friday as the Remain camp gained ground.

The upswing comes after the International Monetary Fund warned that a Brexit vote could deal a “negative and substantial” blow to the British economy, adding that the “contagion effects” of a vote to leave the bloc could hit markets worldwide.

Tokyo closed up 2.34 percent, adding to gains of one percent at the end of last week to finish at 15,965.30. Hong Kong was up 1.69 percent by close, its steepest gain in two weeks.

After ending the morning slightly down, Shanghai eked out gains to close 0.13 percent, or 3.70 points, up at 2,888.81. The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China’s second exchange, rose 0.44 percent.

European markets rose strongly at the start of trading with London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index jumping 2.10 percent, and Frankfurt and Paris up 2.30 and 2.60 percent respectively.

Gold was down 0.38 percent Monday, having hit a near two-year peak on Friday as investors sought the commodity on fears of the impact of a “leave” vote on the world economy.

‘Risk-on move’

The yen, often seen as a safe haven, eased slightly to 104.56 to the dollar in afternoon trade in Tokyo, from 104.19 yen in New York Friday as the “Stay” camp appeared to gain strength in the polls.

“We are seeing a risk-on move after the latest Brexit poll,” Niv Dagan, executive director at Peak Asset Management LLC in Melbourne, told Bloomberg.

“It may be short-lived and volatility is likely to remain high until Thursday’s vote. This really could still go either way.”

Oil prices extended gains on a weaker dollar, driving up demand for the commodity.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for July delivery was up 77 cents to $48.75 a barrel, while international benchmark North Sea Brent for August delivery was up 90 cents, trading at $50.07 a barrel.

Key figures around 0830 GMT

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 2.34 percent at 15,965.30 (close)

Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.13 percent at 2,888.81 (close)

Hong Kong – Hang Seng: UP 1.69 percent at 20510.20 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1342 from $1.1280 late Friday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.4623 from $1.4348

Dollar/yen: UP at 104.56 yen from 104.19 yen

New York – DOW: DOWN 0.33 percent at 17,675.16 (close)

London – FTSE 100: UP 2.10 percent at 6,147.48

source: business.inquirer.net

Europe rejects Greek bailout extension after referendum shock

BRUSSELS, Belgium - Greece hurtled towards default and a possible euro exit Saturday after Europe responded to the leftist government's announcement of a surprise referendum by refusing to extend Athens's desperately needed bailout.

The most dramatic day in the five-month crisis saw long lines of people queuing at cash machines in Greece after the announcement by radical Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, amid fears of a bank run and possible capital controls.

In Brussels, Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis had asked eurozone colleagues to stretch the aid plan for a few days past its June 30 expiry date and until after the July 5 referendum vote on a creditor reform plan, but they unanimously rejected his appeal.

The move leaves debt-laden Athens struggling to meet a crucial 1.5 billion euro IMF debt payment on Tuesday, putting Greece's place in the single currency at risk and threatening the entire post-war European project.

"The Greek government has broken off the process, has rejected the reform proposal and is now putting the question in a negative way to the Greek people, which is an unfair way of putting the question," Eurogroup president Jeroen Dijsselbloem told a press conference.

"Given that situation, I think we might conclude that however regretful, the program will expire Tuesday night," the Dutch minister said.

Underscoring Greece's perilous position in the currency union, Dijsselbloem said the other 18 eurozone finance ministers would now hold fresh talks without Greece present to discuss the "consequences" and "prepare for what's needed to ensure the stability of eurozone remains at its high level."

Greece fears ‘permanent’ damage

The Greek parliament will vote on whether to go ahead with the referendum at midnight  (2100 GMT), after an address by Tsipras.

The outspoken Varoufakis warned that the decision could permanently damage the single currency, formed in a bid to bring unity to a once fragmented continent.

"The refusal of the Eurogroup today to endorse our request for an extension of this agreement for a few days or a couple of weeks ...will certainly damage the credibility for the Eurogroup as a democratic union and I am very much afraid the damage will be permanent," Varoufakis said.

But he said he was "still fighting" for a deal, and insisted the radical leftist Syriza government would "honor the verdict of the Greek people" in the referendum.

A Eurogroup statement issued after the meeting said it was "supported by all members... except the Greek member."

Greece's negotiations with its international creditors that have dragged on since January, when Tsipras's Syriza party first took power on a promise of ending austerity after two EU-IMF bailout programs since 2010, worth 240 billion euros.

Syriza has repeatedly refused to make cuts to pensions and changes to the VAT system demanded by Greece's bailout monitors: the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund.

A week of intensive talks in Brussels ended with Greece's creditors on Friday offering Athens a five-month, 12-billion-euro ($13.4-billion) extension of its rescue program, on condition it committed to fresh reforms.

Germany's hardline pro-austerity finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said the Greek government had "ended the negotiations unilaterally" and rejected that offer.

ATM queues

The European Central Bank will now play a crucial role in ensuring Greece's banks have the cash to open on Monday, and two top Tsipras aides were meeting ECB head Mario Draghi in Brussels on Saturday.

The governing council of the ECB was also reported to be meeting on Sunday, and was "closely monitoring developments", the bank said.

Greece was stunned by the referendum announcement by radical leader Tsipras, which came just hours after he had been at a summit with European leaders in a bid to end the crisis.

"The people must decide free of any blackmail," the 40-year-old prime minister said in a televised address to the nation late on Friday.

"We were asked to implement austerity measures... allowing the deregulation of the labor market, pension cuts, and an increase in VAT on food products, targeting the humiliation of an entire people," Tsipras said in his address.

Queues built up at cash machines in Athens. In Greece's second city, Thessaloniki, some banks have run out of money, according to an AFP reporter, while a National bank branch had a queue of 50 people.

"I have a shop. I came to the bank to withdraw as much money as I can in order to cover the needs of my shop for next week," 42-year-old Maria Kalpakidou told AFP.

Demand at petrol stations was also said to have "heightened" but there were no fuel shortage problems, according to state news agency ANA.

Draghi has been keeping the Greek banking system alive with near-daily cash infusions as it is frozen out of the capital markets.

The Eurogroup will now discuss worst case scenarios, ranging from a Greek default next week to a possible exit from the eurozone and even, as suggested by the Greek central bank, the 28-nation European Union. — Agence France-Presse

source: gmanetwork.com

Wall Street edges up in quiet session; Nasdaq ends at record

U.S. stocks ended with slight gains on Tuesday, with the Nasdaq eking out another record close while investors continued to await clarity on whether Greece could reach a deal to prevent defaulting on its loans.

The day's action was quiet, with trading volume below average. While energy shares rose alongside a jump in the price of crude oil, a sharp rise in the U.S. dollar capped broader gains.

While there were no major developments involving Greece, investors continued to hope that the country's newest budget proposals - introduced on Monday - would avert a looming default.

Greece needs fresh funds to avoid defaulting on a $1.8 billion debt repayment to the International Monetary Fund on June 30. Equities have been largely driven by Greece lately, with investors concerned that if the country defaults, it may have to leave the euro or the European Union, potentially shaking the region's economic foundations.

"The market seems to expect that this will end favorably, or at least benignly, but I think people need to be nimble right now as circumstances could change at any time," said Steve Sosnick, equity-risk manager at Timber Hill/Interactive Brokers Group in Greenwich, Connecticut.

"Greece may not be all that meaningful to the U.S. market, but it could have a big impact on the euro and the dollar, and it is unclear how big of an impact that will have on stocks."

The U.S. dollar index .DXY, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, rose 1.1 percent. A strong dollar is considered a headwind for equity prices as it weighs on the profits of multinational corporations.

U.S. crude futures settled up 1 percent at $61.01 per barrel, lifted ahead of U.S. inventory data expected to show strong demand for gasoline. The S&P energy index .SPNY rose 0.3 percent and was one of the day's top-performing sectors. Halliburton Co (HAL.N) rose 0.9 percent to $44.49.

AT&T Inc (T.N) rose 2.5 percent to $35.91 and was one of the biggest percentage gainers on the S&P 500 after at least two brokerages upgraded the stock.

Facebook Inc (FB.O) shares rose 3.7 percent to $87.88, a record close. With the day's gains, the social network's market value is now bigger than that of Dow component Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N).

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose 24.29 points, or 0.13 percent, to 18,144.07, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 1.35 points, or 0.06 percent, to 2,124.2 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 6.12 points, or 0.12 percent, to 5,160.10. The Nasdaq ended at a record while the S&P 500 closed 0.3 percent below its own record.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by 1,772 to 1,276, for a 1.39-to-1 ratio on the upside; on the Nasdaq, 1,567 issues rose and 1,203 fell for a 1.30-to-1 ratio favoring advancers.

The S&P 500 posted 43 new 52-week highs and 2 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 180 new highs and 23 new lows.

About 5.4 billion shares traded on all U.S. platforms, according to BATS exchange data, below the month-to-date average of 6.15 billion. — Reuters

Microsoft fined €561M for breaking EU antitrust promise

BRUSSELS - EU antitrust regulators fined Microsoft 561 million euros ($731 million) on Wednesday for breaking a promise to offer European consumers a choice of web browser.

Microsoft had made the pledge in 2009 in settling an antitrust investigation in Europe, where the software group's regulatory troubles date from the last decade and have cost it a total of 2.16 billion euros, including the latest fine.

Microsoft promised to offer European consumers a choice of rival browsers in the previous version of its Windows operating system. But the European Commission, which acts as competition regulator across the 27-member European Union, said it found the company broke that undertaking between May 2011 and July 2012.

The Commission said it takes such settlement commitments very seriously.

"Legally binding commitments reached in antitrust decisions play a very important role in our enforcement policy because they allow for rapid solutions to competition problems," Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said in a statement.

"Of course, such decisions require strict compliance. A failure to comply is a very serious infringement that must be sanctioned accordingly," he said. — Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com