Російський газовий монополіст «Газпром» повідомив, що подав апеляцію на ухвалу Стокгольмського арбітражу за однією зі справ, що стосуються суперечки між російською компанією і «Нафтогазом України» – щодо контракту на постачання Україні газу від 2009 року.

Як мовиться в оприлюдненому щоквартальному звіті «Газпрому», це окреме рішення Арбітражного інституту Торговельної палати Стокгольма у Швеції, яке в Росії називають «проміжним», було оскаржене у Швеції в апеляційному суді округу Свеа 7 листопада.

Російська компанія також заявила, що остаточне рішення в цій справі Стокгольмський арбітраж має винести не пізніше ніж 30 грудня цього року.

Крім того, у звіті «Газпром» згадав і про другу справу, яку нині розглядає цей же арбітраж, – щодо контракту 2009 року з «Нафтогазом України» про транзит газу. Як заявили в компанії, в цій справі остаточне рішення має надійти не пізніше ніж 28 лютого 2018 року.

«Нафтогаз» прокоментував ці заяви «Газпрому» у фейсбуці такими словами: «Після рішення Стокгольмського арбітражу співробітники «Газпрому» засмітили інтернет лозунгами на кшталт «Перемога! Нафтогаз заплатить за все!». Але, вчитавшись за 5 місяців у рішення арбітражу, змінили свою думку і подали апеляцію».

31 травня Стокгольмський арбітраж виніс окреме рішення у провадженні з «Газпромом» щодо контракту про постачання газу. Саме рішення офіційно не публікували. Рішення встановлювало загальні принципи і не визначало конкретних сум розрахунків між сторонами, про які вони мали домовитися самостійно, – суми ретроактивної компенсації за переплати, здійснені «Нафтогазом», а також ціну, яка має бути застосована до будь-яких обсягів газу, отриманих «Нафтогазом», але не оплачених у повному обсязі. Такі переговори протривали до вересня і не дали результату, відтак остаточне рішення, з конкретними сумами, має винести сам Стокгольмський арбітраж. Раніше і «Нафтогаз», і «Газпром» заявляли, що очікують на це рішення не пізніше ніж 30 листопада.

Тоді ж, після отримання окремої ухвали арбітражу, «Нафтогаз України» заявляв, що Стокгольмський арбітраж задовольнив вимогу української компанії щодо перегляду ціни в контракті на постачання газу з «Газпромом» із урахуванням ринкових умов, а також скасував вимоги російського монополіста за умовою «бери або плати» і повністю скасував заборону на реекспорт Україною російського газу. За принципом «бери або плати», прописаним у контракті 2009 року, Україна мала щороку купувати 52 мільярди кубометрів газу або, навіть не купуючи, оплачувати його вартість.

У «Газпромі» ж заявляли, що принцип «бери або плати» не скасований, але не пояснили цю позицію. Там також стверджували, що, за їхніми підрахунками, рішення означає, що «Нафтогаз» муситиме заплатити «Газпромові» 1 мільярд 700 тисяч доларів, уникаючи згадок про те, яку частку його претензій арбітраж відхилив – із загальної суми цих претензій у понад 37 мільярдів доларів. Проте «Газпром» уже тоді обіцяв оскаржити рішення арбітражу.

2014 року компанія «Нафтогаз України» звернулася до Стокгольмського арбітражу з вимогою про перегляд контракту щодо ціни газу з російським «Газпромом», а «Газпром» того ж дня подав зустрічний позов, стверджуючи про заборгованість України за отриманий газ. Ці справи об’єднали в одне провадження, про яке йдеться нині в повідомленні російської компанії. Також окремо «Нафтогаз» подав позов про перегляд контракту на транзит газу і про компенсації у зв’язку з недостатніми обсягами прокачування; «Газпром», у свою чергу, подав зустрічну вимогу, заявляючи про необхідність оплатити обсяги газу, що нібито «несанкціоновано осіли на території України». На рішення в цій справі чекали ще влітку, але арбітраж відклав його.
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Світовий банк працює з Міжнародним валютним фондом, щоб отримати можливість надати Україні більшу підтримку, заявив президент Світового банку Джим Йонг Кім під час зустрічі з прем’єр-міністром України Володимиром Гройсманом 14 листопада у Києві.

«Я хочу сказати, що ми досягли й навіть перевищили наш ліміт підтримки України. Те ж саме зробив і МВФ. Але МВФ велика організація, набагато більша, ніж ми, і в них є понад трильйон доларів, які вони можуть надати як позику. Ми зараз працюємо дуже тісно з МВФ, щоб розширити цей ліміт і надати ще більшу підтримку, ще більше ресурсів для України, тому що я дійсно глибоко вірю в реформи в Україні і ми зробили нашу ставку на Україну. Ми фактично зробили найбільшу ставку у світі на цю країну, і зараз хочемо забезпечити успішність України», – сказав президент Світового банку.

Він додав, що Україні необхідно завершити процес реформ і «здійснити ще декілька кроків для того, щоб забезпечити процвітання українців». Джим Йонг Кім зазначив, що Світовий банк підтримує запровадження ринку землі в Україні й створення незалежного Антикорупційного суду.

У червні цього року Світовий банк схвалив концепцію партнерства з Україною на 2017-2021 роки, метою якого є «сприяння сталому й комплексному відновленню економіки України».

У вересні 2017 року міністр фінансів України Олександр Данилюк заявив, що Світовий банк за 25 років інвестував в українські проекти понад 11,6 мільярда доларів.
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General Electric’s new Chief Executive John Flannery on Monday outlined steps that will turn the biggest U.S. industrial conglomerate into a smaller, more focused company, surprising some investors who sold the company’s shares to a five-year low.

Flannery’s plan to shrink GE’s multi-industry array of businesses was a reversal of the deal-driven empire building of his predecessors, Jeff Immelt and Jack Welch, and potentially a milestone in the decline of the conglomerate as a business strategy.

Other companies that once emulated the GE model of spreading bets among diverse industries are now unwinding their portfolios as well, something Immelt also did throughout his 16 years as CEO, even as he made acquisitions.

Flannery said he will pare GE down to three core businesses: power, aviation and healthcare. He will keep Immelt’s strategy of building software to complement GE’s machinery, albeit with a narrower focus and reduced budget.

For investors, Flannery’s decision to cut both the dividend and the 2018 earnings forecast by half added up to a whole that was less than they judged GE be worth last week.

GE shares fell to their lowest level in more than five years as investors worried the years-long overhaul would not pare down enough expenses or generate as much cash as they hoped. They closed off the day’s lows, down 7.2 percent to $19.02.

“They need to cut more cost,” said Scott Davis, an analyst at Melius Research. “GE is still a bloated company with duplicate costs up and down the organization.”

GE stock has effectively been dead money since September 2001, when Immelt took over, posting a negative total return even after reinvesting its juicy dividends. Once the most valuable U.S. publicly traded company, GE now has a market value of $168 billion, less than a fifth of Apple.

“You have pessimism around its portfolio of businesses mixed with a pretty harsh cut in the dividend,” said John Augustine, chief investment officer at Huntington Private Bank. “It took them years to get into this mess and it will take them several years to right the ship and get back into a stronger position.”

‘Soul of the Company’

Flannery, who took over as CEO on Aug. 1, said he was “looking for the soul of the company again” and would focus on “restoring the oxygen of cash and earnings to the company.”

He will cut its board to 12 from 18 members, and bring on three new directors early next year.

GE said it already has shed 25 percent of its corporate staff, meaning 1,500 jobs around the world, including some at its Boston headquarters. It is aiming to reduce overhead cost by $2 billion next year, half of that at its troubled power unit that sells electrical generation equipment.

The transition includes GE getting rid of at least $20 billion of assets through sales, spin-offs or other means.

GE will jettison businesses with “a very dispassionate eye,” Flannery said, keeping only units that offer growth, a leading market position and a large installed base.

GE said it would exit its lighting, transportation, industrial solutions and electrical grid businesses, all of which were widely expected, closing factories around the globe.

But it was vague about other disposals.

It plans to get rid of its 62.5-percent stake in oilfield services company Baker Hughes, only months after making the multi-billion dollar investment. Baker Hughes shares lost 3.2 percent.

Flannery offered no quick fixes for investors. He said power, one of the businesses GE would focus on, was “challenged,” but could be turned around in one to two years.

GE’s Digital unit, on which Immelt bet billions of dollars, would focus on selling apps to customers in its core businesses, Flannery said. He confirmed that the shift meant sales staff were being let go, as Reuters reported last week.

GE also will cut spending on the digital unit to $1.1 billion in 2018 from $1.5 billion in 2017. GE had previously said it would invest $2.1 billion in its digital unit in 2017, but that tally included money not tied to Predix, GE’s industrial-internet platform, GE said.

Flannery said there is “no retreat on the idea” of GE providing both applications and the Predix platform to connect industrial equipment to computers that can make machines run better. However, getting one of its key applications to run on Predix could take two more years.

Flannery added that some of its healthcare IT business, such as software for imaging and hospital staff scheduling, were still critical to the company and not likely to be divested.

Dividend Cut

The dividend cut, to 48 cents from 96 cents next year, is only the third in the company’s 125-year history and the first not during a broader financial crisis. It is expected to save about $4 billion in cash annually.

“This dividend cut will be a major disappointment to GE’s (roughly 40 percent) retail shareholder base,” said RBC Capital Markets analyst Deane Dray.

The cut will be the eighth-biggest dividend cut in history among S&P 500 companies, according to Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst of S&P Dow Jones Indices. GE also had the biggest cut when it slashed its dividend by $8.87 billion in 2009, Silverblatt said.

GE forecast 2018 adjusted earnings of $1 to $1.07 a share, compared with its earlier estimate of $2 per share. Wall Street was expecting $1.16, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Industrial free cash flow will total just $6 billion to $7 billion next year, up from an estimated $3 billion in 2017, but far below earlier targets of $12 billion for 2017.

GE said the weak power business had largely prompted the dividend cut and lowered earnings forecast. Demand for new power plants will remain slow through 2019, Flannery predicted.

But GE also was to blame, he said.

“We did not manage the (power) business well,” he said. “That’s a fundamental change we need to make and that’s going to take some time. This is not a magic wand.”
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Mexico’s government is preparing a macroeconomic response in case U.S. President Donald Trump makes good on threats to quit the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), an event which could wreak havoc on the Mexican economy and hurt the peso.

Mexico’s Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray said on Monday the government and central bank were preparing a plan to address the possibility of a future without NAFTA, but gave few details.

The government has said it is examining how it could adjust Mexican legislation to give investors certainty about their investments if the almost 24-year-old NAFTA collapses.

Underpinning some $1.3 trillion in annual trade between the United States, Canada and Mexico, NAFTA has been a central pillar of recent Mexican economic development. Nearly 80 percent of Mexican exports are shipped to the United States.

Trade negotiators from the United States, Mexico and Canada meet in Mexico City this week to continue talks on overhauling the accord, and Videgaray reiterated the government’s position that the expectation was that talks would ultimately succeed.

Mexico would continue to work on diversifying trade, protect foreign investment, review possible changes to tariff barriers, and prepare a macro-economic response from the finance ministry and the central bank, Videgaray added.

“These are the four lines a plan B must include,” he told Mexican radio. “We have to be prepared for all the scenarios and one of the scenarios is that the United States leaves the treaty, and as we have said, that is not the end of the world, the Mexican economy is much bigger than NAFTA.”

Separately, the International Monetary Fund said in a report on Monday that ending NAFTA would bring back World Trade Organization “most-favored nation” tariffs, which would disrupt Mexican-U.S. trade, and could crimp economic growth, dampen capital inflows and raise risk premia.

The IMF suggested that among various policy responses at Mexico’s disposal, “temporary foreign exchange interventions and liquidity provision could help smooth extreme volatility.”

Concerns that Trump could follow through on his threats to dump NAFTA have battered the Mexican peso in recent weeks.

Additionally, Mexico should continue to implement its structural reforms and boost efforts to diversify trading relationships, which would increase competitiveness and help economic growth over the medium-term, the IMF said.

The IMF sees Mexico’s economy growing 1.9 percent next year after projected expansion of 2.1 percent in 2017.
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Promoted as needed relief for the middle class, the Senate Republican tax overhaul would increase taxes for some 13.8 million moderate-income American households, a bipartisan analysis showed Monday.

The assessment by Congress’ nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation emerged as the Senate’s tax-writing committee began wading through the measure, working toward the first major revamp of the tax system in some 30 years.

Barging into the carefully calibrated work that House and Senate Republicans have done, President Donald Trump called for a steeper tax cut for wealthy Americans and pressed GOP leaders to add a contentious health care change to the already complex mix.

Trump’s latest tweet injected a dose of uncertainty into the process as the Republicans try to deliver on his top legislative priority. He commended GOP leaders for getting the tax legislation closer to passage in recent weeks and then said, “Cut top rate to 35% w/all of the rest going to middle income cuts?”

That puts him at odds with the House legislation that leaves the top rate at 39.6 percent and the Senate bill as written, with the top rate at 38.5 percent.

Trump also said, “Now how about ending the unfair & highly unpopular individual mandate in (Obama)care and reducing taxes even further?”

Overall, the legislation would deeply cut corporate taxes, double the standard deduction used by most Americans, and limit or repeal completely the federal deduction for state and local property, income and sales taxes. It carries high political stakes for Trump and Republican leaders in Congress, who view passage of tax cuts as critical to the GOP preserving its majorities at the polls next year.

With few votes to spare, Republicans leaders hope to finalize a tax overhaul by Christmas and send the legislation to Trump for his signature.

The key House leader on the effort, Rep. Kevin Brady, said he’s “very confident” that Republicans “do and will have the votes to pass” the measure this week.

Brady, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said he doesn’t expect major changes to the bill as it moves to a final vote in the House. Still, he said Trump’s call for removing the requirement to have health insurance as part of the tax agreement “remains under consideration.”

Trump and the Republicans have promoted the legislation as a boon to the middle class, bringing tax relief to people with moderate incomes and boosting the economy to create new jobs.

“This bill is not a massive tax cut for the wealthy. … This is not a big giveaway to corporations,” Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, insisted as the panel had its first day of debate on the Senate measure.

Hatch also downplayed the analysis by congressional tax experts showing a tax increase for several million U.S. households under the Senate proposal. Hatch said “a relatively small minority of taxpayers could see a slight increase in their taxes.”

The committee’s senior Democrat, Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, said the legislation has become “a massive handout to multinational corporations and a bonanza for tax cheats and powerful political donors.”

Tax increase for some

The analysis found that the Senate measure would increase taxes in 2019 for 13.8 million households earning less than $200,000 a year. That group, about 10 percent of all taxpayers, would face tax increases of $100 to $500 in 2019. There also would be increases greater than $500 for a number of taxpayers, especially those with incomes between $75,000 and $200,000. By 2025, 21.4 million households would have steeper tax bills.

The analysts previously found a similar magnitude of tax increases under the House bill.

A group of more than 400 millionaires and billionaires, including prominent figures such as Ben and Jerry’s founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, designer Eileen Fisher and financier George Soros, asked Congress to reject the GOP tax plan and not give cuts to the super-wealthy like themselves.

“We urge you to oppose any legislation that further exacerbates inequality,” they said in a letter made public Monday.

Neither bill includes a repeal of the so-called individual mandate of Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, the requirement that Americans get health insurance or face a penalty. Several top Republicans have warned that including the provision would draw opposition and make passage tougher.

Among the biggest differences in the two bills that have emerged: The House bill allows homeowners to deduct up to $10,000 in property taxes while the Senate proposal unveiled by GOP leaders last week eliminates the entire deduction. Both versions would eliminate deductions for state and local income taxes and sales taxes.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., asked whether the Senate’s proposed repeal of the property tax deduction could bring higher taxes for some middle-class Americans, acknowledged there would be some taxpayers who end up with higher tax bills.

“Any way you cut it, there is a possibility that some taxpayers would get a higher rate,” McConnell told reporters after a forum in Louisville, Kentucky, with local business owners and employees. “You can’t craft any tax bill that guarantees that every single taxpayer in America gets a tax break. What I’m telling you is the overall majority of taxpayers in every bracket would get relief.”
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Venezuela’s socialist government welcomed scores of creditors on Monday for talks intended to renegotiate a crippling foreign debt and avert a default that could compound the once-prosperous OPEC nation’s economic crisis.

About 100 investors — including some bondholders from New York, and lawyers and representatives for others — gathered at the ornate “White Palace” opposite President Nicolas Maduro’s office in downtown Caracas for the afternoon meeting.

His chief negotiators Vice President Tareck El Aissami and Economy Minister Simon Zerpa — both on U.S. sanctions lists for drug and corruption charges respectively —  entered the building at around 3 p.m. local time (1900 GMT) and then departed around 20 minutes later.

Maduro had said more than 400 investors would attend — or 91 percent of Venezuela’s foreign debt holders, according to him.

But many were skipping the meeting, largely over concerns about meeting those sanctioned officials.

For those who did attend, a red carpet awaited them at the entrance, and a poster of Maduro’s predecessor Hugo Chavez at the entrance to the meeting room, witnesses said. With journalists kept outside, it was not immediately clear if El Aissami and Zerpa had sat down with the creditors.

The government wants to renegotiate some $60 billion in junk bonds in an attempt to shore up public finances squeezed by the unraveling socialist economy.

Markets appeared optimistic Venezuela would continue servicing debt, given that the government has made close to $2 billion in payments in the past two weeks, albeit delayed.

Bond prices were up across the board on Monday, with the benchmark 2022 notes issued by state oil firm PDVSA rising 3.25 percentage points.

But some investors fear Maduro’s promise to restructure and refinance debt rings hollow when U.S. sanctions make both options all but impossible, and that his government may in fact be paving the way for a default, despite vows to the contrary.

The economic implosion has already taken a brutal toll on Venezuelans. Citizens are increasingly suffering from malnutrition and preventable diseases because they cannot find food and medicine or cannot afford them because of triple-digit inflation.

The sight of poor Venezuelans eating from garbage bags has become a powerful symbol of decay. It contrasts sharply with the era of Chavez, when high oil prices helped fuel state spending.

‘Nothing to say to them’

Sanctions put in place by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, aimed at punishing Maduro’s government for undermining democracy and violating human rights, block U.S. banks from acquiring newly issued Venezuelan debt.

The European Union approved economic sanctions and an arms embargo on Venezuela on Monday, although it has yet to name who will be subject to the sanctions.

Maduro said earlier said this month he wanted to speak with creditors about restructuring, but also promised to continue making payments — leaving investors baffled.

“If they’re going to continue paying, I don’t have anything to say to them,” said one bondholder who asked not to be identified and who was not attending Monday’s meeting. “It’s when they say they’re going to stop paying that I’d have reason to talk to them.”

Separately, a committee of derivatives industry group ISDA delayed a decision on whether PDVSA triggered a credit event through a late payment of its more than $1 billion 2017N bond. It said was reconvening on Tuesday after meeting on Monday.

Investors have told Reuters the money has reached their accounts, albeit delayed.

It is not clear how a potential default would affect struggling Venezuelans.

Halting debt service would free up an additional $1.6 billion in hard currency by the end of the year. Those resources could be used to improve supplies of staple goods as Maduro heads into a presidential election expected for 2018.

But the strategy could backfire if met with aggressive lawsuits.

A default by PDVSA, which issued about half of the country’s outstanding bonds, could ensnare the company’s foreign assets such as refineries in legal battles — potentially crimping export revenue.

Bondholders would have fewer options if Venezuela rather than PDVSA defaults.

But the consequences of a default by the country could still be significant, said Mark Weidemaier, a professor of law at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an expert on international debt disputes and resolution.

Creditors could seek to block shipments of goods from leaving the United States for Venezuela or seize payments for those goods, Weidemaier said in a telephone interview.

“The real impact that a creditor can have in a sovereign default is to make it complicated for a government to engage in foreign commerce,” he said. “Companies may have to use complicated transaction structures to prevent seizures, which is going to make them wary of doing business with Venezuela.”

 
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The federal government began its new budget year with an October deficit of $63.2 billion, up sharply from a year ago.

The Treasury Department reported Monday that the October deficit was 37.9 percent higher than the $45.8 billion deficit recorded in October 2016.

Both government receipts and spending were up for the month, with receipts climbing 14.3 percent to $235.3 billion, a record for the month of October. The larger spending figure was up a sizable 11.6 percent to $298.6 billion.

The deficit for the 2017 budget year, which ended on Sept. 30, totaled $666 billion, up 13.7 percent from a 2016 deficit of $586 billion.

Many forecasters believe the deficit will rise higher in the current budget year, reflecting the impact of proposed tax cuts Congress is considering and hurricane relief.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated in June that the deficit for the current budget year, which runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30, would fall to $563 billion. However, that estimate did not include money for a tax cut being pushed by the Trump administration and GOP lawmakers. It also did not include increased spending to deal with three devastating hurricanes that have hit the U.S. mainland and territories.

Taking those developments into account, economists at JPMorgan Chase estimate that the deficit in the current budget year could climb to $675 billion, with the deficit in 2019 rising even higher to $909 billion.

Lawmakers passed a budget resolution that would provide for $1.5 trillion in additional deficits over the next decade to reflect the lost revenue from the pending tax cuts. The Trump administration contends the tax cuts will end up generating increased economic activity and will not be that expensive.

For October, the 11.2 percent rise in spending reflected an increase of $4 billion in spending by the Department of Homeland Security, with outlays rising from $4 billion in October 2016 to $8 billion last month, a jump that was attributed to higher spending for hurricane relief.

The 14.3 percent increase in revenues included a $12 billion increase in individual taxes, including payroll taxes for Social Security, compared to October 2016.

The government has run deficits in October for each of the past 64 years.
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Державний концерн «Укроборонпром» повідомив, що досяг із американським інвестором домовленості про залучення значних інвестицій на харківський авіазавод. Але в соцмережах щодо цього інвестора висловили сумніви.

За домовленістю, якої досягли під час міжнародної виставки Dubai Airshow 2017, що зараз триває в Об’єднаних Арабських Еміратах, американська Oriole Capital Group інвестує 150 мільйонів доларів США в серійне виготовлення літаків державним підприємством «Харківське державне авіаційне виробниче підприємство», що входить до складу «Укроборонпрому».

«У першу чергу мова йде про серійне виробництво на потужностях ДП «Харківське державне авіаційне виробниче підприємство» українських Ан-74 в різних модифікаціях. У свою чергу, Oriole Capital Group отримає право на інвестиції у виробництво, модернізацію та збут цих літаків», – мовиться в повідомленні.

«Ключовим елементом цього стратегічного партнерства є модернізація існуючого виробництва, повне залучення всіх 3000 фахівців харківського підприємства, а також програма модернізації літаків і авіоніки, яка допоможе підвищити унікальні експлуатаційні можливості літака Ан-74», – додали в «Укроборонпромі».

Крім того, харківський авіазавод буде отримувати замовлення на виготовлення запасних частин для літаків, проведення технічного обслуговування та навчання пілотів.

«Маємо зазначити, що домовленість передбачає планування та реалізацію проекту протягом значного терміну. Це означає, що «Харківське державне авіаційне виробниче підприємство» отримало стабільний багаторічний план розвитку, який забезпечує його ефективну роботу, розширення виробничих потужностей, створення нових робочих місць та збільшення прибутку, а разом із цим – відрахувань до бюджету України», – інформує державний концерн.

Генеральний директор «Укроборонпрому» Роман Романов назвав цю домовленість «надважливою подією для України». «Це є доказом того, що підприємства «Укроборонпрому» є надійними партнерами світового рівня, які гарантують якісне та своєчасне виконання замовлень. Фактично це чіткий сигнал, «зелене світло», для інших інвесторів, які зараз обмірковують можливості інвестицій в українську високотехнологічну промисловість», – заявив він.

Близькомагістральний транспортний літак Ан-74 був створений у першу чергу для використання у приполярній авіації, але здатен працювати в різних умовах, у тому числі з мало пристосованих злітно-посадкових смуг.

Про компанію Oriole Capital Group відомо мало що. За даними відкритого бізнес-реєстру штату Делавар у США, вона була зареєстрована там менш ніж п’ять місяців тому, 28 червня 2017 року. Її сайт, на якому обіцяють інвестиції в інноваційні авіаційні проекти в усьому світі і підтримку таких проектів, складається з однієї сторінки без ніяких додаткових подробиць і матеріалів про діяльність, його доменне ім’я було зареєстроване 16 травня цього року через посередників, даних про його власників немає.

У соцмережах висловили певні сумніви щодо цієї компанії.
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У Державній фіскальній службі України повідомили, що від початку року в Україну було імпортовано 123 тисячі автомобілів, з яких 56 тисяч – вживані. 

«За січень-жовтень 2017 року обсяги митного оформлення вживаних авто зросли у 6 разів. Якщо раніше в середньому за місяць ввозилося близько 1 тисячі вживаних авто, то у поточному році – майже 6 тисяч авто щомісячно, а у жовтні ввезено понад 7 тисяч таких автомобілів», – йдеться в повідомленні на сайті відомства.

За даними митників, причиною збільшення числа вживаних авто стали зміни до Податкового кодексу, за якими суттєво знижені ставки акцизного податку на легкові авто, що були у використанні.

«До набрання чинності закону акцизний податок був настільки великий, що податкове навантаження на вживаний транспортний засіб сягало 90% – майже стільки, скільки коштував цей автомобіль», – додали у ДФС.

За даними фіскальної служби, від початку року завдяки імпорту авто бюджет через митні платежі поповнився на понад 17 мільярдів гривень.

З 1 серпня 2016 року в Україні набрав чинності закон, який передбачає зниження ставки акцизу на ввезення вживаних автомобілів, але вироблених до 1 січня 2010 року, тобто яким не більше ніж 7 років. Документ передбачає до 31 грудня 2018 року пільгові умови ввезення автомобілів для громадян України, які ввозять їх для власного користування чи для інших осіб.

Раніше у ДФС повідомляли, що понад 63 тисячі транспортних засобів з іноземною реєстрацією, які потрапили в Україну транзитом чи у режимі тимчасового ввезення за останні роки, перебувають в країні з порушенням терміну.
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Two became three as a scheduled Monday morning meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was expanded to include Japan’s Shinzo Abe.

The change underscored the growing three-way relationship concerning regional security, especially regarding how to respond to North Korea’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, as well as countering China’s increasingly assertive maritime territorial claims.

“The key for us is to ensure very close trilateral cooperation so as to bring peace and stability on the ground,” said the Japanese leader, who has been displaying a united front against North Korea with Trump.

“We’ve got the same values and the same focus on ensuring that the North Korean regime comes to its senses and stops its reckless provocation and threats of conflict in our region,” Turnbull said. “Peace and stability have underpinned the prosperity of billions of people over many decades, and we’re going to work together to ensure we maintain it.”

​Show of military force

A massive naval drill involving three U.S. aircraft carrier strike groups is underway in western Pacific waters as a show of force.

The U.S. naval vessels and aircraft have been joined by elements of the South Korean navy and Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force.

Trump says he will make “a major statement” on North Korea and trade when he returns to Washington following his 12-day, five-nation trip to Asia.

“We’ve made a lot of big progress on trade,” Trump said at the start of his meeting with Turnbull and Abe on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit, adding that his Asia trip has generated $300 billion “in sales to various companies, including China.” However, he offered no details on the coming announcement.

​Duterte meeting

Trump also had a one-on-one meeting on Monday with Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, who is the host for the ASEAN summit.

“We’ve have a great relationship,” Trump said. “This has been very successful.”

Reporters tried to query whether Trump had raised the issue of human rights with Duterte.

The U.S. president did not respond. Duterte, facing strong criticism from human rights groups internationally, replied, “Whoa, whoa. This not a press statement. This is the bilateral meeting.”

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders later said of the meeting between Trump and Duterte: “The conversation focused on ISIS, illegal drugs, and trade. Human rights briefly came up in the context of the Philippines’ fight against illegal drugs.”

Earlier, as regional leaders gathered at a colorful ceremony to open the summit in Manila, Duterte sidestepped the controversy over his war on illegal drugs and its thousands of extrajudicial killings.

In opening remarks before the 17 other leaders at the summit’s plenary session, he called illegal drugs a menace that threaten “the very fabric of our society,” without mentioning methods of the response.

“I apologize for setting the tone of my statement in such a manner,” Duterte said. “But I only want to emphasize that our meetings for the next two days present an excellent opportunity for us to engage in meaningful discussions on matters of regional and international importance.”

South China Sea talks

The communique resulting from the talks is expected to announce that ASEAN will begin official negotiations for a code of conduct for the South China Sea, where several nations have conflicting territorial claims.

A number of countries have concerns about China’s increased militarization of disputed islands it controls.

For a second day Monday, several thousand militant protesters marched in Manila, clashing with riot police who responded with truncheons, water cannons and sonic alarms to keep the demonstration out of sight of the delegates at the ASEAN Summit, which is surrounded by a security cordon.

Protesters burned an effigy of Trump on Monday. Some protesters pushed the police, organizer Renato Reyes told VOA News, who said “scores” of protestors had been injured and some had to be treated at an on-site clinic.

Local media reporters say 10 people were injured, including six police officers.

The protesters shouted for Trump to leave and accused the United States, a former colonizer of the Philippines, of looking for overseas wars.

Reyes, describing the Trump-Duterte encounters, told VOA that “the two will get along very well, but that’s not good for the Philippine people.”

The U.S. president is praising his hosts in Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines for the welcome he has received.

“It was red carpet like nobody, I think, has probably ever seen,” Trump told reporters.

Ralph Jennings and Kenneth Schwartz contributed to this report.
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The United Nations says Asia Pacific countries need to address issues surrounding the rights of migrant workers as international talks move toward a Global Compact on migrant labor.

The Global Compact’s rise, with a final agreement set for 2018, was a result of the migrant crisis faced by the European Union with the influx of refugees and migrants from North Africa since 2015.

The U.N.’s Special Representative on migrant labor, Louise Arbour, says states can no longer ignore the issues of labor migration in a globalized economy.

“It has become increasingly clear that globalization has opened up more opportunities for people to migrate and that it has been in everybody’s interest not to curtail migration, actually, but to facilitate safe, orderly, regular migration,” Arbour told VOA.

Arbour, a Canadian lawyer and jurist, is overseeing the international consultations setting the framework for the draft document to be negotiated among U.N. member states.

​40 countries involved

Talks in Bangkok included representatives from more than 40 countries, including officials, academics and civil society, providing input into the final document.

The meeting called for migrant labor to have access to regular and safe migration opportunities, to be protected by labor laws as well as social protection.

U.N. Under Secretary General Shamshad Akhtar told the conference migrant rights were overlooked with their contributions “going unrecognized.”

“Migrants are often poorly paid, concentrated in labor work, employed in low skill jobs and in the informal sector requiring difficult and sometimes dangerous physical labor,” Akhtar said. “Addressing these challenges directly is all the more critical.”

Millions of migrant workers

In Asia and the Pacific there is estimated to be more than 60 million migrants living in the region, with more than 100 million originating from its shores working abroad.

Nepal and the Philippines are prime examples of countries heavily dependent on income from funds sent by migrant workers.

In 2017 remittances from migrant labor is forecast to inject almost $276 billion into the region’s economies.

​Vulnerabilities

A U.N. report released to coincide with the Bangkok meeting detailed the issues of migrants’ vulnerabilities to “exploitation and abuse” that governments need to address.

“The human rights of migrants face significant risks throughout the migration process by recruitment agents, employers and others,” the report said.

The report added that women migrant workers “face particular risks,” especially those in domestic work. “These risks are even more acute for migrants in an irregular situation.”

The Global Compact aims to build on existing conventions related to the protection of the rights of all migrant workers and conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO).

Arbour said the Global Compact “should be helpful in putting together better interstate cooperation to facilitate safer and more orderly migration flows.”

But she said challenges remain. These include reducing extravagant recruitment costs, lowering the cost of transfers of remittances, portability of benefits, specific protection for migrants, women workers and children.

Key to greater protection

Arbour said the Global Compact is a key step to greater protection for migrant workers.

“In some cases we will continue to see a lot of bilateral agreements or multilateral, very regional agreements with, I hope, much, much better implementation of existing human rights and labor standards.”

“So it’s not the end of the road, but I think it’s going to propel much, much better international cooperation and policy to deal particularly labor related migration,” Arbour said.

A global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration, is set for final acceptance at the U.N. in New York by late 2018.
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Venezuela’s foreign debt renegotiation committee will meet with creditors at 2 p.m. (1800 GMT) on Monday at the government’s “White Palace” in downtown Caracas, the finance minister said on Saturday.

“Once again, we invite investors to register their participation in this meeting,” Simon Zerpa, who is also the finance boss of state oil company PDVSA but is on a U.S. sanctions list for alleged corruption, said in a Tweet.

Foreign investor sources had said Zerpa and committee head Tareck El Aissami, who is Venezuela’s vice president but also on a U.S. blacklist for alleged drug traffickers, would probably sit out the meeting to allay any fears about meeting them.

But Saturday’s exhortation by Zerpa, and the location of the meeting right opposite the Miraflores presidential palace, appear to indicate the meeting will not be a low-profile affair.

Socialist leader Nicolas Maduro’s move a week ago to summon bondholders for talks about “restructuring” and “refinancing” some $60 billion in bonds has spooked markets worried Venezuela is heading for a default amid U.S. financial sanctions.

President Donald Trump’s measures against the Maduro administration, which it accuses of being a “dictatorship” that has impoverished Venezuela’s 30 million people through corruption and incompetence, effectively bar U.S. banks from rolling over the country’s debt into new bonds.

Venezuela did, however, appear to be honoring its most recent debt payment: a $1.2 billion payment due on a bond from state oil company PDVSA. Two investors told Reuters they had finally received payment, albeit delayed.

It is unclear how widespread investor participation in Monday’s meeting in Caracas will be. U.S.-based creditors are not prohibited from attending the meeting, but are barred from dealings with officials like Zerpa and El Aissami.
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