South Korea on Friday launches the world’s first nationwide 5G mobile networks, a transformational leap that has superpowers sparring for control of an innovation that could change the day-to-day lives of billions of people.

The fast communications heralded by fifth-generation wireless technology will ultimately underpin everything from toasters to telephones, from electric cars to power grids. 

But while Seoul has won the race to be first to provide the user experience, that is only one part of a wider battle that has pitted the United States against China and ensnared giants including Huawei. 

Hyper-wired South Korea has long had a reputation for technical prowess, and Seoul has made the 5G rollout a priority as it seeks to stimulate stuttering economic growth. 

The system will bring smartphones near-instantaneous connectivity — 20 times faster than existing 4G — allowing users to download entire movies in less than a second. 

In the same way that 3G enabled widespread mobile web access and 4G made new applications work ranging from social media to Uber, 5G will herald a new level of connectivity, empowered by speed. 

It is crucial for the future development of devices ranging from self-driving vehicles that send data to one another in real time to industrial robots, drones and other elements of the Internet of Things.  

That makes it a vital part of the infrastructure of tomorrow, and the 5G standard is expected to bring about $565 billion in global economic benefits by 2034, according to the London-based Global System for Mobile Communications, an industry alliance. 

‘1 million devices’

But the implications of the new technology have pitted Washington against Beijing in an increasingly bitter standoff. 

The U.S. has pressed its allies and major economies to avoid 5G solutions from Chinese-owned telecom giant Huawei, citing security risks that technological back doors could give Beijing access to 5G-connected utilities and other components. 

But Chinese firms dominate 5G technology.  

Huawei, the global leader, has registered 1,529 5G patents, according to data analysis firm IPlytics. 

Combined with manufacturers ZTE and Oppo, plus the China Academy of Telecommunications Technology, Chinese entities own a total of 3,400 patents, more than a third of the total, according to the research firm.    

South Korea comes next, with its companies holding 2,051 patents. 

In contrast, U.S. firms have 1,368, IPlytics said, 29 fewer than Finland’s Nokia alone. 

All three of South Korea’s mobile operators — KT, SK Telecom and LG UPlus — will go live with their 5G services on Friday. 

“5G’s hyperspeed can connect 1 million devices within a 1-square-kilometer zone simultaneously,” KT said in a report. 

Neither KT nor SK Telecom uses Huawei technology in its 5G network, but Huawei is a supplier to LG UPlus, the companies told AFP. 

On the same day, Samsung Electronics will release the Galaxy S10 5G, the world’s first available smartphone using the technology, and rival phonemaker LG will follow with the V50s two weeks later. 

Deployment in US

Until now, no mobile networks have offered nationwide 5G access.  

U.S. network carrier Verizon said Wednesday that it had become the first carrier in the world to deploy a 5G network — in Chicago and Minneapolis, with more cities due to follow this year.  The system will work with Lenovo’s Moto Z3 smartphone. 

“Verizon customers will be the first in the world to have the power of 5G in their hands,” said Hans Vestberg, Verizon’s chairman and chief executive officer. “This is the latest in our string of 5G firsts.” 

Rival US carrier AT&T deployed what it called its 5G E network in 12 cities last year with speeds faster than 4G networks but below those being deployed in other fifth-generation systems. 

Andre Fuetsch, president of AT&T Labs, said in a statement Wednesday that independent testing shows “that we are the fastest wireless network nationwide.” 

Qatari firm Ooredoo says it offers 5G services in and around Doha but does not have devices available to use them. 

Japan is also expected to roll out a limited deployment in 2019 before full services start in time for next year’s Tokyo Olympics. 

Cost barrier

More than 3 million South Koreans will switch to 5G by the end of this year, predicted KT Vice President Lee Pil-jae. 

Cost is likely to be a barrier initially for users, analysts say, as the cheapest version of the new Galaxy handset will be priced at 1.39 million won ($1,200). 

“While there are many cheap 4G smartphones under $300, Samsung’s 5G phones are well over $1,000, which could be a major minus point for cost-savvy consumers,” a KT representative told AFP.  

None of South Korea’s three network operators would say how much they have invested in 5G, but Seoul’s Economy Minister Hong Nam-ki estimated it would be at least $2.6 billion this year alone. 

“If 5G is fully implemented,” he said, “it will greatly improve people’s lives.”
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Trucks inched through traffic Wednesday and some stores reported fewer customers in U.S.-Mexico border towns as staffing shortages tied to a surge in asylum seekers slowed checkpoints and threats of a complete closure of the border scared shoppers.

U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated his threat to close the border, or parts of it, saying Congress could avert such a shutdown by changing laws to fix what he called immigration “loopholes.”

Business leaders on both sides of the border have lashed out against the threat, saying a shutdown would hurt supply chains and $1.7 billion in daily trade at some of the world’s busiest land crossings.

Already, Washington’s decision to move 750 agents from commercial to immigration duties has triggered long delays for legitimate cross-border traffic. 

Petra Gomez, 63, who owns discount store Buy 4 Less near the Otay Mesa crossing in California, opposite Tijuana, said Trump’s threats were also taking a toll. 

​Fear of being trapped

“Many people are not crossing for fear that if they close the border, they will be trapped,” she said, referring to the tens of thousands of people who cross every day from the Tijuana area into California. “If they close the border, I will have to close because I will not have clients.”

However, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Wednesday there were no “serious problems” at the border, and that the government was in constant communication with U.S. authorities to keep it open. 

“It’s not in anyone’s interest to close the border,” he told reporters at his regular morning news conference. 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has estimated that 100,000 migrants were apprehended or encountered at the border in March, the highest level in a decade. Most were Central American families claiming asylum. 

The CBP said it would suspend cargo operations every Saturday at one of its El Paso crossing points until it had enough staff to operate fully.

On Wednesday, some lanes were open to commercial traffic at El Paso, Laredo and Otay Mesa. The longest wait stretched up to five hours at a section of the El Paso crossing where only one of six lanes was open at a major bridge, according to the CBP. In Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, lines of trucks were longer than usual, according to a 

Reuters witness.

​’Green gold’

Mexico is the third-largest trading partner of the United States, and is its largest supplier of agricultural products, including vegetables and avocados.

“Avocados in particular have the potential to become the new green gold in terms of prices” if a shutdown caused shortages, Moody’s said in a report on Wednesday. 

Americans would run out of avocados in three weeks if imports from Mexico were stopped, Steve Barnard, president and chief executive of Mission Produce, the largest distributor and grower of avocados in the world, said this week. 

The Business Roundtable, a powerful private sector lobby, said in a letter to White House officials on Wednesday that shutting the border would severely damage U.S. businesses, particularly those that depend on employees who commute daily to work from Mexico. 

Luis Ventura, 23, crosses from Tijuana every day to work at a customs agency in San Diego. More than just concern over his job, he fears a shutdown would take him away from his son. 

“If you close the border, either I stay in Tijuana without work or I stay here without family,” he said. 
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White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said Wednesday that U.S. trade talks with China are continuing to progress as negotiations between the world’s two biggest economies resume in Washington this week.

Kudlow told reporters that the two countries made good headway in Beijing last week, with China acknowledging such problematic issues as the theft of intellectual property, forced technology transfers and computer hacking.

He said no decisions have been made on automobile tariffs.

U.S. lawmakers are taking a wait-and-see attitude on the lengthy talks.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, a key ally of President Donald Trump, told VOA’s Mandarin service, “I’m hopeful. I think the president is right to insist on change. We want it to be a win-win for both countries. And I will see. We will know in a few weeks.”

He added, “It’s got to be some enforcement mechanism that future Congresses and presidents can believe will work, because it just can’t be, you know, a deal in name only.”

Another Republican, Sen. Thom Tillis, said, “One of the things that I’m particularly focused on is intellectual property and intellectual property protection. So, I hope that we’re moving along not only the general terms of the trade agreement but also a real focus on what I think is the single greatest threat long term, and that’s having China more productively participate in the production of intellectual property.”

Republican Sen. Charles Grassley said the U.S. hopes to complete the trade negotiations by the end of April. 

But Myron Brilliant, executive vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a lobby for the biggest American corporations, said concluding the talks will not be easy.

“The end game is never going to be easy,” he said. “It’s talks about the two largest economic powers in the world. You are talking about a set of issues that requires some changes, significant changes, in China’s behavior.” 

Yihua Lee of VOA Mandarin service contributed to this report.
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Національний банк України встановив офіційний курс на 4 квітня на рівні 27 гривень 8 копійок за долар США. Це на 11 копійок більше, ніж курс, встановлений регулятором на 3 квітня.

Торги на міжбанківському валютному ринку 3 квітня відбувалися різноспрямовано: з початкового рівня 27 гривень 1 – 4 копійки котирування до 12:00 злетіли до 27 гривень 13 – 17 копійок, а згодом опустилися – 27 гривень 5 – 9 копійок, повідомляє сайт «Мінфін».

Свого пікового значення 28 гривень 39 копійок за курсом НБУ впродовж останнього року долар сягнув 30 листопада 2018 року. На 12 березня 2019 року офіційний курс становив 26 гривень 31 копійку, це найвищий курс гривні від липня 2018 року. 
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U.S. President Donald Trump met NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the White House Tuesday, where he took credit for increased burden sharing in collective defense spending. As White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara reports, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization is commemorating its 70th birthday in Washington with less pomp than usual, out of concerns for further verbal attacks from an American president who has repeatedly criticized the trans-Atlantic military alliance.
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The United States will not send high-level officials to attend China’s second Belt and Road summit in Beijing this month, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said on Tuesday, citing concerns about financing practices for the project.

China’s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, said on Saturday that almost 40 foreign leaders would take part in the summit due to be held in Beijing in late April. He rejected criticisms of the project as “prejudiced.”

The first summit for the project, which envisions rebuilding the old Silk Road to connect China with Asia, Europe and beyond with massive infrastructure spending, was held in 2017 and was attended by Matt Pottinger, the senior White House official for Asia.

There are no such plans this year.

“We will not send high-level officials from the United States,” a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said in answer to a question from Reuters.

“We will continue to raise concerns about opaque financing practices, poor governance, and disregard for internationally accepted norms and standards, which undermine many of the standards and principles that we rely upon to promote sustainable, inclusive development, and to maintain stability and a rules-based order.

“We have repeatedly called on China to address these concerns,” the official added.

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative has proven controversial in many Western capitals, particularly Washington, which views it as a means to spread Chinese influence abroad and saddle countries with unsustainable debt through non-transparent projects.

On Saturday, Yang called such criticisms “prejudiced,” saying China has never forced debt upon participants and the project was to promote joint development.

On Saturday, he did not name the 40 leaders he said would attend, but some of China’s closest allies have already confirmed they will be there, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.

​The United States has been particularly critical of Italy’s decision to sign up to the plan this month, during a visit by Xi to Rome, the first for a G7 nation.

Washington sees China as major strategic rival and the Trump administration has engaged Beijing in a tit-for-tat tariff war. 

The world’s two biggest economies have levied tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of bilateral trade since July 2018, raising costs, disrupting supply chains and roiling global markets.

White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow on Tuesday said the countries “expect to make more headway” in trade talks this week, while the top U.S. business lobbying group said differences over an enforcement mechanism and the removal of U.S. tariffs were still obstacles to a deal.
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Trade tensions between China and the United States are putting a drag on economies in the region, with growth likely to continue to slow in the coming two years, the Asian Development Bank says in a report released Wednesday.

The Manila, Philippines-based regional lender’s latest economic outlook forecasts that growth in developing Asia will slow slightly to 5.7 percent this year and 5.6 percent in 2020. In 2017 growth was at 6.2 percent.

“The main risk to the outlook is still the ongoing trade conflict, as heightened trade policy uncertainty can negatively affect investment and manufacturing activity,” it said. “A sharper slowdown in the advanced economies or the PRC (People’s Republic of China) is another risk.”

The annual update comes as China and the U.S. prepare for another round of talks, this week in Washington, aimed at resolving their dispute over China’s industrial policies and acquisition of technology.

After the dispute escalated in mid-2018, with both sides imposing billions of dollars’ worth of tariffs on each other’s products, world trade weakened, contracting nearly 2 percent in January from a year earlier, the report shows.

It said the solid growth momentum in the first nine months of the year began to fade in the last quarter. Growth in industrial production also showed signs of weakness, the ADB report said.

This is an added burden as the business cycle for major economies heads into a “negative trend,” said the ADB’s chief economist, Yasuyuki Sawada.

“This global business cycle seems to create some impact on Asian economies,” he said in an interview. “It’s not only trade tensions.”

Other reports show similar sluggishness in the region, which remains the main driver for world economic growth.

The latest set of purchasing manager indexes showed slight improvements in exports in March from January-February for Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and Taiwan as well as China.

“But other data suggest that growth in China could well weaken again in the near term,” Capital Economics said in a report. “As such, we think it is too soon to predict a turn in fortunes for the region’s manufacturing sectors.”

The Asian Development Bank forecasts that growth in major economies will slip to 1.9 percent in 2019 and 1.6 percent in 2020 from 2.2 percent last year. The U.S. economy is forecast to expand at a 2.4 percent annual rate this year, slowing from 2.9 percent in 2018, and to decelerate to 1.9 percent growth in 2020. Japan’s growth will remain flat at 0.8 percent this year, it estimates, and fall to 0.6 percent next year.

The bank expects growth in the area using the euro to fall to 1.5 percent in 2019 and 2020 from 1.8 percent in 2018.

On the positive side, inflation should remain manageable and domestic demand in many economies in Southeast and South Asia is vibrant, the Asian Development Bank said.

That’s less true of East Asia, where consumers have grown more cautious about spending: auto sales in China, for example, have plunged in recent months in one of the biggest reversals of sentiment.

Developing countries in Asia are seeing an uptick in investment from many parts of the world, especially China, it noted. China’s foreign direct investment in new projects such as renewable energy, textile factories and property in the region nearly tripled, while investment by the U.S. jumped by nearly three-quarters.

While much of the ADB’s report focused on trade and investment, the bank urged governments across the region to devote more resources to cultivating resilience and taking measures to help prevent or mitigate natural disasters.

The report noted that 84 percent of the 206 million people affected by natural disasters each year in 2000-2018 lived in developing Asian economies. More than half of the 60,000 deaths from such catastrophes each year were in this region, which suffers a large share of extreme weather events and earthquakes.

The report says that a large share of the $1.7 trillion in annual investments in infrastructure needed over the coming decade should go to reducing risks from such disasters.

One area of concern is insurance.

“Almost all direct damage is not covered by insurance,” Sawada said.

Another area that could yield strong results is in weather forecasting and warnings in the Asia-Pacific, home to four of every five people affected by storms and other disasters.

While earthquakes and tsunamis are virtually impossible to predict, when it comes to extreme weather, “there is room for constructing mechanisms and building up early warning systems,” Sawada said. “There is huge potential.”
…

Вища рада правосуддя звільнила суддю Солом’янського районного суду Києва Людмилу Кізюн за «вчинення істотного дисциплінарного проступку» під час розгляду позову до Національного банку України, «Приватбанку», Міністерства фінансів України та інших про визнання недійсними договорів та припинення дій. У ВРП вказали, що суддю звільнили 1 серпня 2018 року, однак вона оскаржила це рішення.

На думку адвоката Самойленко А. О., ухвала суду за цим позовом ґрунтується «винятково на припущеннях судді, не містить жодних посилань на докази та перешкоджає господарській діяльності зазначених в ухвалі юридичних осіб, що є втручанням у їхню діяльність».

«З аналогічних підстав подано дисциплінарну скаргу НБУ, у якій, зокрема, вказується, що зазначеною ухвалою суду неправомірно зупинено рішення, акти НБУ, встановлено для НБУ заборони вчиняти певні дії, що суперечить нормам процесуального законодавства», – зазначають у Вищій раді правосуддя.

В установі вказали, що рішення судді призвело «до істотних негативних наслідків» для Національного банку України, Міністерства фінансів України та «Приватбанку».

В якій саме справі суддя ухвалила своє рішення, не повідомляється.

У грудні 2016 року уряд України за пропозицією Нацбанку й акціонерів «Приватбанку», найбільшими з яких на той час були Ігор Коломойський і Геннадій Боголюбов, ухвалив рішення про націоналізацію цієї найбільшої на українському ринку фінустанови.

Банк перейшов у державну власність, на його докапіталізацію загалом держава витратила понад 155 мільярдів гривень.

Як заявили в НБУ, до націоналізації «Приватбанку» завдали збитківщонайменше на 5,5 мільярдів доларів.

Колишній акціонер «Приватбанку» Ігор Коломойський назвав «маячнею»опубліковані Національним банком України дані.
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Національний банк України встановив на 3 квітня курс 26 гривень 97 копійок за долар США. Порівняно з курсом на 2 квітня національна валюта додала близько 22 копійок.

Торги на українському міжбанківському валютному ринку 2 квітня відбувалися різноспрямовано: в перші години гривня посилилася до 26 гривень 85 копійок, згодом тренд змінився, і курс сягав 27 гривень 20 копійок.

Свого пікового значення 28 гривень 39 копійок за курсом НБУ впродовж останнього року долар сягнув 30 листопада 2018 року. На 12 березня 2019 року офіційний курс становив 26 гривень 31 копійку, це найвищий курс гривні від липня 2018 року.
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На українському міжбанківському валютному ринку 2 квітня зафіксовані різкі коливання впродовж однієї торговельної сесії. За даними профільного сайту «Мінфін», який відстежує перебіг торгів, станом на 14:00 котирування сягнули 27 гривень 14 – 20 копійок.

Це відповідає офіційному курсу, встановленому НБУ на 2 квітня – 27 гривень 19 копійок.

Торги 2 квітня розпочалися зі значного посилення національної валюти станом на 11:00 за Києвом торги відбувалися на рівні 26 гривень 84 – 86,5 копійки. За повідомленнями учасників торгів, у цей час на ринок виходив НБУ, намагаючись приборкати посилення гривні і викуповуючи долар по 26 гривень 85 копійок.

Ранкові тренди на міжбанку регулятор зафіксував опівдні, встановивши довідкове значення курсу гривні до долара США на рівні 26 гривень 88 копійок.

У другій половині дня на ринку розпочалася масована купівля долара, що й спричинило зміну тенденції.

Офіційний курс НБУ оприлюднює в будні після 16:00.
…

The World Trade Organization has cut its forecast for trade growth this year by more than a percentage point, to 2.6 percent, due to an economic slowdown and amid a trade conflict between the United States and China.

The downgrade — from 3.7 percent forecast issued in September — reflects how quickly the prospects for global business are fading as, among other things, the U.S. and China struggle to agree on how to lift tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars-worth of trade.

“With trade tensions running high, no one should be surprised by this outlook,” WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo said Tuesday.

Beyond the trade war, the WTO has cited weaker economic growth in North America, Europe and Asia — largely as the effect of fiscal stimulus by the Trump administration wears off. It noted a “phase-out” of monetary stimulus in Europe and China’s efforts to shift its economy away from its traditional reliance on manufacturing and investment toward services and consumption.

In 2018, trade grew by just 3 percent — far below the WTO’s forecast for 3.9 percent, which had itself been downgraded last year. And next year, the Geneva-based trade body expects only a small uptick in trade growth by volume next year, to 3 percent.

The WTO oversees international trade rules and settles disputes between countries. The Trump administration has also been critical of the WTO, accusing it of being “unfair” with the United States.

The U.S. has slowly squeezed the WTO by blocking appointments to its dispute settlement group, the Appellate Body, which could in December fall below the minimum number of members required.

Azevedo pointed to the “fundamental importance of the rules-based trading system,” saying that its weakening would “be an historic mistake with repercussions for jobs, growth and stability around the world.”

 
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