Scientists and engineers are constantly looking for more efficient ways to harvest energy from sustainable sources, such as the sun, wind, ocean waves and river flows. Researchers from Brown University have teamed up with a company from Rhode Island to build an innovative power generator suitable for slow-flowing rivers and tidal canals. VOA’s George Putic reports.
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It was another historic week for U.S. markets as the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 21,000 for the first time, taking only 24 trading sessions to rise from 20,000 to 21,000 — the second-fastest 1,000-point move ever by the index.

The S&P 500 closed higher for the week, completing a six-week win streak for the first time since late 2015.

Actually, this was the 14th time the S&P rose for six weeks consecutively since March 2009, according to analysts at LPL Financial.

Upward momentum

“Given the market’s strong performance since the election — and the tendency of markets to keep going in one direction [until they don’t] — I expect that the rally is likely to continue,” Commonwealth Financial Network’s chief investment officer Brad McMillan said in a research report.

“In the short run, there’s no reason markets can’t keep going, and we should enjoy the ride. It may end up being even better than we now think. The faster and higher we go, however, the more damaging any pullback could be. Keep that in mind as you celebrate the new records,” he added.

Even though the major averages closed higher for the week, Thursday’s session saw some weakness.

“It looks like many investors took money off the table Thursday after Wednesday’s big rally,” J.J. Kinahan, TD Ameritrade’s chief market strategist said. “That’s not too surprising, as profit taking often follows these sharp upward moves. Plenty of positive sentiment appears to remain in the markets, meaning we shouldn’t necessarily see Thursday’s sell-off as an indication of any fundamental change in market psychology.”

Week ahead seems quiet

Other than the key employment report for February next Friday, it will be a relatively quiet week. The employment data give the most comprehensive report of how many people are looking for jobs, how many have them, what they’re getting paid and how many hours they are working. These numbers provide the best way to gauge the current state of the economy and its future direction.

The upcoming jobs report is especially notable because it is the last one the Federal Reserve will see into account before its Federal Open Market Committee meeting on March 14-15, when the central bank is all but certain to announce an interest-rate increase. A rate hike now appears to be viewed by many investors as a vote of confidence in the economy, as opposed to the past where it was seen as a potential market derailment.

The futures market now prices in a 82 percent chance of a March hike.

The overseas calendar is full of potentially market-moving events, including a European Union summit, a potential House of Lords vote in London on Brexit, the European Central Bank meeting and China’s National People’s Congress, where Premier Li Keqiang will provide government targets for the Chinese economy in 2017.
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Cranes dot the skyline of China’s northeastern city of Shenyang. And from the street level, the slowing growth of the Chinese economy seems like a mirage in this rust-belt city.

Shenyang’s main street, Qingnian Dajie, or Youth Avenue, which also is known as the “Golden Corridor,” is lined with massive shopping malls and high-end outlets carrying everything from Louis Vuitton to Prada. There’s even a Ferrari dealership.

Beyond the facade of a city that is building all the trappings of a modern metropolis, though, is a different story.

Slowing growth has hit hard China’s industrial heartland in the northeast. For years, the region was seen as the engine of China’s economy. The area is rich in natural resources and has long been an industrial base for the rest of the country. Not long ago, it was contributing about 10 percent to the country’s growth.

Recession in 2016

Now, that engine is stalling. Shenyang is the capital of Liaoning, the only Chinese province to slip into a recession last year. And how bad things really are is anyone’s guess.

Liaoning’s governor, Chen Qiufa, admitted last year that from 2011 to 2014, city and local governments in the province had been systematically inflating their growth figures. The Chinese Communist Party-backed People’s Daily even reported that by 2014, some local governments inflated figures by as much as 23 percent.

Despite that, streets like Youth Avenue are lined with massive projects. There is a towering 568-meter building under construction, as well as a sprawling W Hotel and shopping complex, even as others only blocks away remain empty. Nor does one need to look far to find advertisements for office space. Around 40 percent of the city’s commercial space is unoccupied.

Policy and faith

Chinese officials are clearly concerned about the region, and the northeast is expected to be a key topic during the “Twin Sessions,” top-level political meetings that begin Friday and include China’s rubber-stamp legislature, the National People’s Congress, and a top political advisory body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, or CPPCC.

Spokesman Wang Guoqing of the CPPCC highlighted the importance of the northeast at a pre-meeting news conference.

“Looking at our work over the past year, there are many tough tasks that remain regarding rejuvenating the northeast,” Wang said. “To rejuvenate the northeast, we not only need strong policy support, but also solid faith.”

However, it’s unclear what kind of policy solutions officials might offer up during the meetings.

Restructuring the region’s debt-burdened state-owned enterprises is one big challenge. Keeping younger residents in places like Shenyang, who can help grow and drive the economy, is another, said Sabrina Wei, head of North China research for real estate services firm Cushman and Wakefield.

“Infrastructure creates some jobs, but how long will it last? It could help northeast China maintain its GDP growth for maybe two or three years,” Wei said, “but after that, how to stimulate the economy — that’s another question.”

The central government seems set on a continued program of throwing money and projects in the northeast’s direction. It has earmarked billions of dollars to support that effort and listed some 130 projects.

Uncertainty looms

For those whom VOA spoke with on the streets in Shenyang, who have forged their careers around this transforming city for better or worse, uncertainty is a big challenge.

One resident, surnamed Yang, who owns a small shop selling IT goods, said retailers like those here are not just dealing with a slowing economy.

“Times are tough now for those in the IT industry,” she said. “Amid the economic slowdown, profit margins are tighter, sales are on the wane, and then there’s the impact of online sales.”

Another longtime Shenyang resident surnamed Li, who works in the finance sector, said big money was drying up.

“Working in the financial sector is not as vibrant as it used to be, and the sector isn’t as prosperous as it used to be,” Li said. “Personal loans are still easy to come by, but business in the financial sector is not good and overall prospects have worsened.”

But some areas — such as tourism — have room for growth, according to one man surnamed Zhang. He said that while many residents in Shenyang easily travel on their own to Japan and South Korea, there is growing demand to visit Southeast Asia.

“I’ve worked all kinds of sales jobs, sold phones, real estate,” Zhang said. “That helped me get to know a lot of people, and is why I’ve switched over to work in the travel industry.”

More attractive opportunities

Keeping residents in Shenyang is difficult, and many that we spoke with say they worked at one time or another in other parts of the country. Shenyang and many cities in the northeast struggle to keep college graduates at home because many find jobs and opportunities in places like Beijing, Shanghai and other coastal cities more attractive.

And as the population of northeastern residents shrinks and talent flows elsewhere, some joke that everywhere you go there are people from dongbei, the Chinese word for northeast, to be found. But that’s not good for the local economy.

“If you lose people and there are only older people there, there is no hope,” said Cushman and Wakefield’s Wei.

She said that finding a way to get people to stay, find good jobs and contribute to the local economy is a big challenge, and an important one.
…

The head of the U.S. central bank says improvements in employment and rising inflation mean an interest rate increase will “likely be appropriate” later this month.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen told a Chicago audience the change will come if economic data continues to come in as expected.

The Fed raised rates just twice in the past decade after slashing them to record lows to boost economic growth and fight unemployment during the recession.

WATCH: Yellen on Federal Funds Rate, Interest Rates

The Fed’s job is to encourage full employment and stable prices. Yellen says the recovering U.S. economy is gaining 180,000 jobs a month, which is nearly double the number needed to accommodate new entrants to the workforce. At the same time, a key measure of inflation has risen nearly to its target rate of 2 percent, a low level that Fed experts say helps the economy grow. 

PNC Bank economist Gus Faucher says inflation has accelerated recently and might move above target. Central banks raise rates to cool economic growth and fend off inflation.  

Even if the Fed raises rates soon, they will still be lower than their historic averages. Economist Mark Zandi of Moody’s Analytics says U.S. officials are trying to “normalize” rates, which may mean they go a bit higher later this year. Zandi says the U.S. economy is on “solid ground” and raising rates now makes it less likely that inflation will spike and require more drastic action in the future. 
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Харківський тракторний завод (ХТЗ) починає відновлення після блокади поставок комплектуючих із Росії, заявив 3 березня під час огляду конвеєра на підприємстві президент України Петро Порошенко.

«Впевнений у тому, і з керівництвом ми сьогодні детально проговорили, починаємо імпортозаміщення, починаємо виходити з тої блокади, яку організувала для нас Росія з постачання комплектуючих», – сказав Порошенко.

За його словами, інвестор Олександр Ярославський підприємства вклав 150 мільйонів гривень у закупівлю комплектуючих.

Порошенко також обговорив з інвестором та керівництвом тракторного заводу плани відмови від закупівлі двигунів «ЯМЗ» («Ярославський моторний завод» Росії), і заміну їх на інші – німецькі або китайські.

Власник контрольного пакету акцій ХТЗ Олександр Ярославський, в свою чергу, заявив, що завод набирає обертів і планує випустити з конвейєра близько двох тисяч агромашин різної потужності.

У січні Харківський тракторний завод відновив свою роботу після тривалої перерви, викликаної тим, що майно і банківські рахунки підприємства були заарештовані на підставі низки кримінальних справ.

Торік у червні СБУ повідомила, що гендиректор ХТЗ Андрій Коваль здійснив підготовку до демонтажу обладнання ливарних цехів з метою вивезення його до Росії. Йому було повідомлено про підозру у підготовці до вчинення диверсії і оголошено в розшук.

Наприкінці квітня бізнесмен Олександр Ярославський за пропозицією австрійця Зігфріда Вольфа, інвестора ХТЗ, придбав у нього контрольний пакет акцій підприємства.
…

Україна в січні збільшила збір податків порівняно із січнем 2016 року вдвічі – з 30 до 68 мільярдів гривень, повідомив під час робочої поїздки на Харківщину президент України Петро Порошенко.

«За січень Україна зібрала податків 68 мільярдів гривень Що це? Це – детінізація, бо економіка в два рази не зросла, як би ми не старалися», – сказав Порошенко.

Президент заявив, що все ж у 2016 році економіка почала демонструвати зростання, зокрема в четвертому кварталі – на 4,7%.

«Ті гроші, які раніше йшли в корумповані канали, на фінансування тіньових оборудок, зараз заведені до державного бюджету, працюють на оборону і безпеку, на розвиток, на підвищення соціального забезпечення», – сказав Порошенко.

У Мінекономрозвитку України раніше повідомили, що за підсумками січня зростання ВВП України становить 5,1%.
…

Національний банк України вирішив віднести «Вектор Банк» до категорії неплатоспроможних.

Як повідомляє прес-служба відомства, суттєве зменшення ліквідних коштів банку та подання недостовірної статистичної звітності стали причинами призначення в банк куратора та віднесення «Вектор Банк» до категорії проблемних.

У Нацбанку зазначають, що єдиний власник «Вектор Банку» не надав фінансової підтримки банку.

Національний банк України наголошує, що 95% вкладників (852 особи) отримають свої вклади у повному обсязі, оскільки їх розмір не перевищує гарантовану Фондом гарантування вкладів фізичних осіб суму в 200 тисяч гривень.
…

Puffing on a cigar at Cuba’s annual Habanos cigar festival, American aficionado Paul Segal said he would buy as many boxes of cigars as he could carry home in case U.S. President Donald Trump tightens regulations on visitors to the communist-run island again.

Segal, who writes a cigar blog called Segal and Cigars, said he took 25 boxes back on a trip last year, shortly after former U.S. President Barack in October removed the $100 limit on the value of rum and cigars American travelers could bring back. An inexpensive box of 25 cigars costs about $100.

Trump, who took office in January, has threatened to reverse the United States’ detente with its former Cold War foe. Segal and other American visitors to the island are not taking any chances and are stocking up.

“This may be the last trip on which I can bring back cigars,” said Segal, who had several different brands sticking out of the pockets of his guayabera shirt. “So far, I have only got about 10 boxes but I still have five days left before I head home.”

US biggest cigar market

The United States is the biggest market worldwide for cigars, but its trade embargo on Cuba prevented the Caribbean island from selling its Cohibas, Montecristos and other legendary brands there for more than half a century.

U.S. cigar aficionados have long had to make do with non-Cuban brands, such as those made in Honduras, Nicaragua or the Dominican Republic.

Despite his drive to normalize U.S.-Cuban relations, Democratic President Obama was unable to lift the trade embargo, which requires action by the Republican-controlled Congress.

He did, however, ease some trade and travel regulations since announcing the detente in December 2014. These proved to be a gamechanger for U.S. cigar lovers, Habanos festival participants said.

Obama a boon to cigar lovers

Nicholas Syris, who hosts the Atlanta radio show “Smooth Draws” about “the cigar lifestyle,” last year started leading cigar tours to Cuba because of the interest from listeners. Travel had become a lot easier partly because of the re-establishment of commercial flights.

Smoking with other American festivalgoers in the gardens of Havana’s iconic Hotel Nacional overlooking the Caribbean Sea, he said he brought up to 20 aficionados monthly and could not keep up with the demand.

Meanwhile, the fact travelers could now bring back as many Cuban cigars as they wanted was had an impact on the U.S. market, said Rene Castaneda, head of the North American operations of Swiss cigar manufacturer Villiger.

“We are seeing more Cuban cigars in the United States than ever and that hits sales of non-Cuban cigars,” he said.

Visitors buy thousands of cigars

Syris said some of his tour participants were buying thousands of cigars at a time. In many instances, Habanos stores did not even have enough supply for the demand.

“People reckon they had better buy now because they don’t know if it will be legal next year,” he said. “You just don’t know about tomorrow.”
…

Federal law enforcement agents have searched three facilities of the American heavy-equipment manufacturer Caterpillar Inc. in the U.S. Midwest.

Caterpillar spokeswoman Corrie Heck Scott said in an email that the company, the world’s largest manufacturer of mining and construction equipment, was cooperating with law enforcement, but gave no further details about the searches Thursday.

Later in the day, Caterpillar said in a statement, “We believe the execution of this search warrant is regarding, among other things, export filings that relate to the CSARL matter,’’ referring to its Swiss subsidiary.

Two years ago, the Securities and Exchange Commission launched an “informal investigation’’ relating to CSARL and asked the company to preserve relevant documents.

The SEC spokesman in Washington declined to comment on the raids Thursday.

Federal agents with search warrants entered three Caterpillar offices in Peoria, Illinois, and the surrounding area.

News of the searches sent Caterpillar shares tumbling more than 4 percent on U.S. stock exchanges within hours. Caterpillar reported $38.5 billion in sales last year, but that was an 18 percent decline from 2015.

Sharon Paul, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s office in Illinois, said the searchers were agents from the Internal Revenue Service’s criminal investigation unit, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s office of export enforcement and inspectors from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which investigates banks.

The Commerce Department said its office of export enforcement focuses on “sensitive exports to hostile entities” and “prohibited foreign boycotts,” among other things.

Caterpillar has faced a number of investigations in recent years focusing on its business practices, according to filings with the SEC.

Most recently, in 2015, a federal court in Illinois subpoenaed the company for documents and information relating to the distribution of profits and movement of cash among its subsidiaries. The IRS has charged Caterpillar $2 billion in unpaid taxes and penalties in that case, but the corporation said it is “vigorously contesting” the tax demand.
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Street vendors are a part of the life of many American cities. They’re not always regulated and many are immigrants. Los Angeles is a prime example. Street vending is has been illegal. A number of the vendors there are undocumented immigrants. With hopes to protect them from deportation for breaking the law, the city recently decriminalized street vending. Goldy Fogel narrates for video journalist Arturo Martinez.
…

омпанія «Нафтогаз України» повідомила, що з початку опалювального сезону 2016–2017 років Україна використала 6,4 мільярда кубічних метрів газу з підземних сховищ, і це на 0,6 мільярда кубометрів, чи на 9%, менше, ніж за п’ять місяців опалювального сезону 2015–2016 років і на 2,2 мільярда кубометрів (25%) менше, ніж за цей же період опалювального сезону 2014–2015 років.

Станом на кінець лютого 2017 року в українських підземних сховищах газу було понад 8,3 мільярда кубометрів газу, а прогнозний рівень становив 8,0 мільярда кубометрів, повідомили в компанії.

«Ця зима була досить суворою, але ми закінчили лютий із дуже комфортними показниками у сховищах. За такого рівні ми без проблем пройдемо залишок опалювального сезону, навіть якщо в березні будуть 20-градусні морози. Ми раді, що завдяки грамотному плануванню закупівель газу вже третю зиму «Нафтогаз» надійно забезпечує паливом українських споживачів і бездоганно транспортує газ до країн ЄС», – наводить прес-служба «Нафтогазу України» слова керівника компанії Андрія Коболєва.

У компанії зазначили, що добовий відбір із підземних сховищ на початок березня становив 21–26 мільйонів кубометрів.

«Нафтогаз» також нагадав, що мінімальний технологічний обсяг газу в підземних сховищах оцінюється на рівні 4,7 мільярда кубометрів газу. Реально ж мінімальний залишок газу на кінець опалювального сезону було зафіксовано у квітні 2013 року, коли в ПСГ залишалося менше ніж 6,0 мільярда кубометрів газу.

«Нафтогаз» особливо наголосив, що не має контрактних зобов’язань перед російською компанією «Газпром» щодо підтримки будь-якого рівня запасів у ПСГ в будь-який період часу.

«Газпром», у свою чергу, не виконує свої зобов’язання за транзитним контрактом, серед яких забезпечення належного тиску на пунктах входу в українську ГТС, дотримання максимального рівня зміни денних заявок і фізико-хімічних показників палива, переданого для транспортування в країни ЄС, додали в «Нафтогазі».

У Росії днями вкотре заявили, що занепокоєні «низькими», як вважають у Москві, запасами газу в підземних сховищах газу України. Як заявляв 28 лютого міністр енергетики Росії Олександр Новак, цих запасів, на його думку, Києву не вистачить, і Україні доведеться або скорочувати споживання газу, або використовувати транзитний газ.

У Росії посадовці і засоби інформації регулярно стверджують, що Україні, яка вже давно не купує російського газу, не вистачить наявного газу протягом зими і їй доведеться забирати для своїх потреб транзитний газ, призначений для країн Європи, або «замерзнути». Але цього ще жодного разу не сталося.

Україна останнім часом не закуповує російського газу, купуючи його натомість у країнах Європи за реверсною схемою. Востаннє Україна купувала російський газ – 2 мільярди кубометрів для своїх сховищ для проходження зими – наприкінці листопада 2015 року, після чого знову припинила його закупівлі.
…

Національний банк України вирішив залишити облікову ставку на рівні 14%.

«У січні 2017 року інфляція прискорилася до 12,6% у річному вимірі, що відповідало прогнозу НБУ. Незначне прискорення інфляції відбулося у зв’язку зі збільшенням виробничих витрат, зокрема на виплату заробітної плати, зростанням сировинних цін на світових ринках», – йдеться у повідомленні прес-служби НБУ.

У лютому 2017 року, як зазначають у Нацбанку, інфляція у річному вимірі продовжила очікувано прискорюватися.

У березні 2015 року НБУ облікова ставка була на рівні 30%, згодом Нацбанк почав поступово знижувати облікову ставку, зокрема, у жовтні минулого року – до 14 %. 

Облікова ставка є одним із інструментів, за допомогою якого Нацбанк встановлює для комерційних банків орієнтир щодо вартості залучених і розміщених коштів. Фактично вона визначає ціну грошей.
…

Following a drastic decline in his small business after India scrapped 86 percent of its currency in November, fruit hawker Khubi Ram switched to selling vegetables, which are more of an essential household purchase. 

“My two helpers headed back to their villages, they had no money. I had to somehow eke out a living,” he said as he waited for customers in a crowded market near New Delhi.

Such reports of businesses, from small vendors to big consumer goods firms, taking a hit because of the cash squeeze following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s drastic currency ban prompted forecasts that India’s economy would see a sharp slowdown in recent months.

But the latest data indicates the Indian economy slowed down only marginally in the last quarter, surprising many economists.

Slowdown appears small

According to official data, India’s economy grew at a rate of 7 percent in the three months from October to December, slower than the 7.4 percent growth it was experiencing before, but much stronger than had been widely expected.

The numbers gave a huge boost to the government, which has faced a barrage of criticism from several economists and opposition leaders for the currency ban.

The drastic policy measure, which pulled 86 percent of the cash out of the economy overnight, aimed at fighting tax evasion, corruption and forgery.

“Despite demonetization, we continued to stay the world’s fastest growing economy,” said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. India takes pride in having surpassed the growth rate in China since 2015.

In a reference to reports of widespread distress in rural areas because of the cash squeeze, the minister said “the data clarifies that the farm sector has also shown healthy growth.”

Too soon to celebrate?

However financial experts in India cautioned that it may be too soon to celebrate.

Economists N. Bhanumurthy from the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, a think tank in New Delhi, said that when the final data is tabulated for the entire year, “we may have to put less weight on these numbers.”

Economists say the data may not have fully captured the impact on the country’s vast informal sector, which bore the brunt of the currency squeeze because it operates almost completely on cash.

The informal sector includes small traders, businesses and factories as well as millions of migrant workers in cities who drive rickshaws, hawk fruits and vegetables and are engaged in a variety of other trades. This sector contributes almost 50 percent of the gross domestic product and provides employment to 80 percent of the workers.

Bhanumurthy points out that official data shows consumer spending did not slow.

“That is a real surprise for us. They are showing no change in final consumption expenditure,” he said.

Dip in profits across the board

Besides small traders, even large companies reported a dip in profits as people held back on all but essential household purchases in the weeks after the currency ban. Auto firms said car and motorcycle sales slowed, while goods such as televisions and refrigerators and even beverages were slow to move off the shelves.

While it may take more time to assess the full impact of demonetization, there is widespread agreement that with the end of the cash shortage, the economy is rebounding. 

Official data projects growth at 7.1 percent this year, and minister Jaitley said he expects the economy to gather pace quickly. 

“Today money is in the market, demand is also increasing, economic activity is picking up,” he said.

The latest numbers also gave a boost to Prime Minister Modi, who had received widespread criticism for spearheading the drastic move.

In an apparent reference to economist Amartya Sen, who teaches at Harvard, and India’s Harvard-educated former finance minister, P Chidambaram, who were among his strongest critics, Modi told a campaign rally in Uttar Pradesh “Hard work is more important than Harvard.”
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