Farmers in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh are getting back land that was taken from them more than a decade ago by the government because it was not used, a rare move in a country riven by conflict over land.

Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel of the Congress Party, which won a state election earlier this month with pledges to honor land rights, said he has asked officials to return about 2,000 hectares (7.7 square miles) in Bastar district.

“The process of returning the land will start soon,” Baghel said in a statement earlier this week, without giving details.

Return of land is rare in India, where conflicts have risen as highways and factories are built in one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

About 660 disputes over land have stalled hundreds of projects and forced millions of people from their farms across India, according to research organization Land Conflict Watch.

Chhattisgarh, under the earlier Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, agreed in 2005 to allocate land for a Tata Steel factory in Bastar. Farmers protested giving up their land.

Tata Steel, among the world’s top producers, pulled out of the project in 2016, citing delays.

Authorities said then the land would go into a land bank for other developments to generate jobs in one of India’s poorest states.

“The farmers who lost their land have suffered for years, and struggled to make a living,” said Kishore Narayan, a lawyer with advocacy Human Rights Law Network in Chhattisgarh.

“We hope that the state will look into all cases of lands lying idle and return them,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation on Wednesday.

India has enacted numerous laws to protect the rights of farmers.

A 2013 federal land acquisition law, passed by the Congress government, made consent of farmers mandatory, and introduced adequate compensation and resettlement for those affected.

Any unutilized land is to be returned to owners after five years, or go into the state land bank.

In 2016, the Supreme Court ordered West Bengal state to return land that had been acquired for a Tata Motors factory but was not used, after a decade-long fight by farmers.

Last year, South Korean steelmaker POSCO asked Odisha state to take back land allotted to it for a long-delayed steel project and return it to villagers, although authorities said the land will revert to the state.

Also last year, the Supreme Court heard a petition by an advocacy group, which said about 80 percent of land acquired for large industrial zones was lying idle.

Land rights have come to the fore in recent state elections, and could hurt Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Hindu nationalist BJP party in an upcoming national election, as farmers make up a big voting bloc, analysts say.
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Загальна сума державного та гарантованого державою боргу України у листопаді зросла на 1,4% – до 2,122 трильйона гривень. Про це повідомляє міністерство фінансів України.

У доларовому еквіваленті зростання склало 0,6% – до 74,76 мільярдів.

Ці суми не враховують запозичень, які надійшли в Україну в грудні.

18 грудня Рада директорів Світового банку вирішила надати Україні фінансові гарантії на 750 мільйонів доларів

21 грудня Україна отримала перший транш за новою програмою співпраці з Міжнародним валютним фондом – близько 1,4 мільярда доларів.
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Українська гривня продовжує стрімко посилюватися на міжбанківському валютному ринку щодо долара США. За проміжними результатами торгів 26 грудня о 12:00 Національний банк України встановив довідкове значення курсу 27 гривень 27 копійок за долар. Офіційний курс на сьогодні відрізнявся на 16 копійок – 27 гривень 43 копійки.

Посилення гривні активізувалося після того, як 18 грудня Рада директорів МВФ затвердила нову програму співпраці з Україною на суму 3,9 мільярда доларів. Того ж дня Рада директорів Світового банку вирішила надати Україні фінансові гарантії на 750 мільйонів доларів.

Прем’єр-міністр України Володимир Гройсман 19 грудня привітав рішення МВФ та Світового банку. «Це важлива підтримка для нас, адже вона дозволяє фінансово впевнено пройти 2019 рік – піковий з огляду на обсяг запланованих боргових виплат», – зазначив очільник уряду.
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Котирування нафти марки Brent після значного зниження намагаються консолідуватися на рівні від 50 до 51 долара за барель. Торги у час після Різдва і перед Новим роком відбуваються на так званому «тонкому» ринку, коли значна частина трейдерів не бере в них участі.

Не дає нафті зрости стурбованість інвесторів щодо перспектив розвитку економіки у всьому світі, і, зокрема, в Азії, де нині торговельні сесії в розпалі.

Ще однією причиною занепокоєння є те, що, попри домовленість членів ОПЕК, Росії та кількох інших країн поза межами картелю про скоординоване зниження видобутку, ринок ще не відчув скорочення пропозиції нафти. На думку аналітиків, ті обсяги «чорного золота», які скоротяться через угоду ОПЕК+, можуть бути заміщені американськими нафтовидобувними компаніями.

Міністр енергетики Росії Олександр Новак висловлював думку, що ціна на нафту в діапазоні 55–65 доларів за барель прийнятна як для виробників, так і для споживачів на світовому ринку. Коридор, який у Росії називають прийнятним, нафта залишила ще 20 грудня.

Котирування нафти суттєво впливають на формування бюджетів Росії та інших країн, значною мірою залежних від експорту енергоносіїв.
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Japan is withdrawing from the International Whaling Commission and will resume commercial whaling next year, a government spokesman said Wednesday, in a move expected to spark international criticism.

“We have decided to withdraw from the International Whaling Commission in order to resume commercial whaling in July next year,” top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga told reporters.

“Commercial whaling to be resumed from July next year will be limited to Japan’s territorial waters and exclusive economic zones. We will not hunt in the Antarctic waters or in the southern hemisphere,” Suga added.

The announcement had been widely expected and comes after Japan failed in a bid earlier this year to convince the IWC to allow it to resume commercial whaling.

Tokyo has repeatedly threatened to pull out of the body, and has been regularly criticized for catching hundreds of whales a year for “scientific research” despite being a signatory to a moratorium on hunting the animals.

Suga said Japan would officially inform the IWC of its decision by the end of the year, which will mean the withdrawal comes into effect by June 30.

Leaving the IWC means Japanese whalers will be able to resume hunting in Japanese coastal waters of minke and other whales currently protected by the IWC.

But Japan will not be able to continue the so-called scientific research hunts in the Antarctic that has been exceptionally allowed as an IWC member under the Antarctic Treaty.

The withdrawal means Japan joins Iceland and Norway in openly defying the IWC’s ban on commercial whale hunting.

It is certain to infuriate conservationists and anti-whaling countries such as Australia and New Zealand, and deepen the divide between anti- and pro-whaling countries.

Japan has hunted whales for centuries, and their meat was a key source of protein in the immediate post-World War II years when the country was desperately poor.

But consumption has declined significantly in recent decades, with much of the population saying they rarely or never eat whale meat. 
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President Donald Trump on Tuesday expressed confidence in Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin amid worries over a weakening economy and a stock market slump, but repeated his criticism of the U.S. Federal Reserve, saying it has raised interest rates too quickly.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office after a Christmas video conference with U.S. troops deployed abroad, Trump also said U.S. companies were “the greatest in the world” and presented a “tremendous” buying opportunity.

Asked if he has confidence in Mnuchin, Trump said: “Yes, I do. Very talented guy. Very smart person,” he said. His comments came after Mnuchin on Monday held a conference call with U.S. regulators to discuss plunging U.S. stock markets.

The call did more to rattle markets than to assure them. All three major U.S. stock indexes ended down more than 2 percent on the day before the Christmas holiday. The S&P 500 has lost about 19.8 percent from its Sept. 20 closing high, just shy of the 20 percent threshold that commonly defines a bear market.

Mnuchin also spoke on Sunday with the heads of the six largest U.S. banks, who confirmed they have enough liquidity to continue lending and that “the markets continue to function properly.”

Investors said his move to convene a call with the president’s Working Group on Financial Markets, known as the “Plunge Protection team,” may have weighed on sentiment.

On Tuesday, Trump praised U.S. companies and said their lower stock prices present an opportunity for investors. “I have great confidence in our companies. We have companies, the greatest in the world, and they’re doing really well. They have record kinds of numbers. So I think it’s a tremendous opportunity to buy.”

U.S. stocks have dropped sharply in recent weeks on concerns over weaker economic growth. Trump has largely laid the blame for economic headwinds on the Fed, openly criticizing its chairman, Jerome Powell, whom he appointed.

“They’re raising interest rates too fast because they think the economy is so good. But I think that they will get it pretty soon,” Trump said, repeating his criticism.

Media reports have suggested Trump has gone as far as discussing firing Powell, and he told Reuters in August that he was “not thrilled” with the chairman.

On Monday, Trump said “The only problem our economy has is the Fed.”

The Fed hiked interest rates again last week, as had been widely expected.
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Former Nissan Motor Co. executive Greg Kelly was released from jail in Japan Tuesday after a Tokyo court rejected prosecutors’ request to continue to detain him.

The Tokyo District Court granted his release after setting bail at $636,000.

Kelly had been detained for 37 days after being arrested and charged with underreporting the pay of his boss, ousted Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn, by $44 million.

Ghosn was also arrested along with Kelly on November 19 on suspicion of conspiring to understate Ghosn’s pay. Ghosn remains in custody.

The charge is part of a wider effort by Japanese prosecutors and the auto company to show that Ghosn leveraged his position for personal gain.

The court set restrictions on Kelly’s release. Kelly is prohibited from traveling outside Japan without the court’s permission and from meeting with people linked to the case against him.
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U.S. stock markets fell sharply on Monday with the S&P 500 down more than two percent and the Dow off nearly three percent.

President Donald Trump is blaming the Federal Reserve (central bank) for stock market declines and other economic problems.

In tweets, Trump has said the only U.S. economic problem is rising interest rates. He accused Fed chief Jerome Powell of not understanding the market and damaging the economy with rate hikes.

The Fed slashed the key interest rate nearly to zero to boost growth during the recession that started in 2007. The central bank kept rates low for several years.

Eventually, growth recovered, and unemployment dropped to its lowest level in 49 years, and Fed officials judged that the emergency stimulus was no longer needed. Fed leaders voted to reduce the stimulus by raising interest rates gradually. The concern was that too much stimulus could spark inflation. Experts say such a sharp increase in prices could prompt a damaging cycle of price increases leading to rising wage demands, which would spark another round of price hikes.

Analysts quoted in the financial press say Trump’s attacks on the Fed make investors worry that the central bank might lose the independence that allows it to make decisions based on economic factors rather than what is politically popular.

Some economists say investor confidence has also been shaken by Trump’s tariffs on major trading partners. Raising trade costs can reduce trade and cutting trade cuts demand for goods and services, which slows economic growth.

Investor confidence, or a lack of it, can cause stock and other markets to decline as worried stock holders sell shares and prospective investors stop buying available stocks. When buyer demand drops, prices fall.

Another factor hurting investor confidence is the political impasse in Washington over money for Trump’s border wall with Mexico. The bickering means Trump and congress can not agree on spending priorities, so legislation paying some government employees has lapsed.

In an effort to calm turbulent markets, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin spoke with leaders of top U.S. banks in an unusual session Sunday. He says they have the money they need for routine operations.
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The leading pan-European stock exchange has launched a 625 million euro takeover bid to acquire the Oslo Stock Exchange.

Euronext, the operator of stock exchanges in Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Dublin and Lisbon, said in a statement that it had approached the board of directors of the Oslo Stock Exchange (Oslo Bors VPS) to seek its support for an all-cash offer for all the outstanding shares of Oslo Børs VPS, the Norwegian Stock Exchange and national CSD operator, based in Oslo.

“Euronext strongly believes that Oslo Børs VPS’ unique strategic and competitive positioning, including a global leading position in seafood derivatives and a deep-rooted expertise in oil services and shipping, would further strengthen Euronext’s position as the leading market infrastructure for the financing of the real economy in Europe,” the statement said. 

If the offer is accepted, Euronext would be fully committed to support the development of Oslo Børs VPS and of the broader Norwegian financial ecosystem, the statement said.

Following the initiative of a group of its shareholders to acquire the Oslo Stock Exchange, Euronext has secured support for the offer from shareholders representing 49.6% of all outstanding shares.

However, it is not certain that a transaction will be completed, Euronext’s statement said, but the pan-European stock exchange will communicate material information, if any, in due course.
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South Korea said Monday it will fine BMW $9.9 million and will file a criminal complaint against the German automaker for delaying a recall of cars with faulty engines that caught fire. 

South Korea’s transport ministry said its investigation uncovered that BMW knew about the faulty engines, but did not execute a prompt recall. 

The ministry said BMW deliberately tried to cover up the technical issues with the exhaust gas recirculation, or EGR, even after dozens of fires had been reported earlier this year. 

“BMW announced earlier that it had become aware of the connection between the faulty EGR cooler and the fire only on July 20 this year,” the ministry said in a statement. “But we discovered that . . . BMW’s German headquarters had already formed a special team in October 2015 tasked with solving the EGR problem.” 

BMW did eventually mount a recall of more than 170,000 cars. 

The French news agency AFP reports some South Korea parking lots had refused to accept BMW cars for fear the cars would catch fire. 
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The U.S. Treasury Secretary said on Sunday he had held a series of phone conversations with top American bankers in what appeared to be a bid to ease nerves in financial markets.

U.S. stocks have plunged in recent weeks on concerns over slowing economic growth, with the S&P 500 index on pace for its biggest percentage decline in December since the Great Depression.

“Today I convened individual calls with the CEOs of the nation’s six largest banks,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Twitter.

The Treasury said in a statement that Mnuchin talked with the chief executives at Bank of America, Citi, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo.

“The CEOs confirmed that they have ample liquidity available for lending,” the Treasury said.
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