«Дія Угоди про лібералізацію вантажних автоперевезень пролонгована до 30 червня 2024 року»
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Зниження інфляції розпочалося раніше та відбувається швидше, ніж прогнозувалося, кажуть в НБУ
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U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told lawmakers on Thursday the U.S. banking system remains sound even though two regional banks failed in the last week.

She told the Senate Finance Committee that Americans “can feel confident” their deposits “will be there when they need them.”

Yellen said the government “took decisive and forceful actions to strengthen public confidence” in the U.S. banking system by ensuring that all depositors, including those holding uninsured funds exceeding $250,000, were protected by federal deposit insurance when Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank collapsed.

Some critics of the government’s action have called it a bailout, but investors have lost their financial stakes in the two banks, something that would not occur in the normal definition of a bailout, and their executives have been fired.

Senator Mike Crapo of Idaho, the committee’s lead Republican, said, “I’m concerned about the precedent of guaranteeing all deposits,” calling the federal rescue action a “moral hazard.”

“Nerves are certainly frayed at this moment,” said Democratic committee chairman Senator Ron Wyden. “One of the most important steps the Congress can take now is make sure there are no questions about the full faith and credit of the United States,” referring to raising the country’s $31.4 trillion debt ceiling in the next few months so the government can borrow more money to continue to pay its bills.

Some Republicans have demanded large spending cuts in exchange for raising the debt ceiling, while the White House has requested passage of a debt limit increase that is not tied directly to spending cuts. Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have said they will not cut health insurance and pensions for older Americans.

Stock markets in both Europe and the U.S. rallied sharply Thursday after Credit Suisse announced it would borrow almost $54 billion from the Swiss central bank to shore up its finances.
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Правління Національного банку України ухвалило рішення зберегти облікову ставку на рівні 25% річних, повідомила у четвер пресслужба регулятора.

Згідно з повідомленням, рішення ухвалили «для забезпечення подальшого зниження інфляції, захисту гривневих заощаджень від інфляційного знецінення та підтримання курсової стабільності».

Очільник НБУ Андрій Пишний заявив, що потенціал ставки «ще не вичерпаний, як і можливості банківської системи забезпечити відчутніший відгук».

За його словами, з 7 квітня запроваджується тримісячний депозитний сертифікат під облікову ставку з прив’язкою обсягів до динаміки залучення банком депозитів населення від трьох місяців.

«Водночас ми знизимо ставку за депсертифікатами овернайт, щоб збільшити стимули для банків конкурувати за вкладників, а не покладатися виключно на дохідність цього інструменту НБУ. Зараз вона 23%, але з 7 квітня – буде 20%», – зазначив Пишний.

Облікова ставка – один із головних інструментів, за допомогою якого Національний банк встановлює для банків та інших суб’єктів грошово-кредитного ринку орієнтир щодо вартості залучених і розміщених грошових коштів на відповідний період.
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Credit Suisse announced Thursday that it would borrow almost $54 billion from the Swiss central bank to reinforce the group after a plunge in its share prices.

The disclosure came just hours after the Swiss National Bank said capital and liquidity levels at the lender were adequate for a “systemically important bank,” even as it pledged to make liquidity available if needed.

In a statement, Credit Suisse said the central bank loan of up to $53.7 billion would “support… core businesses and clients,” adding it was also making buyback offers on about $3 billion worth of debt.

“These measures demonstrate decisive action to strengthen Credit Suisse as we continue our strategic transformation to deliver value to our clients and other stakeholders,” CEO Ulrich Koerner said in the statement.

“My team and I are resolved to move forward rapidly to deliver a simpler and more focused bank built around client needs.”

Credit Suisse, hit by a series of scandals in recent years, saw its stock price tumble off a cliff Wednesday after major shareholder Saudi National Bank declined to invest more in the group, citing regulatory constraints.

Its shares fell more than 30% to a record low before regaining ground to end the day 24.24% down, at 1.697 Swiss francs.

Credit Suisse’s market value had already taken a heavy blow this week over fears of contagion from the collapse of two U.S. banks, as well as its annual report citing “material weaknesses” in internal controls.

Mounting concerns

Analysts have warned of mounting concerns over the bank’s viability and the impact on the larger banking sector, as shares of other lenders sank Wednesday after a rebound the day before.

Credit Suisse is one of 30 banks globally deemed too big to fail, forcing it to set aside more cash to weather a crisis.

Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at trading firm Finalto, said Wednesday that if the bank did “run into serious existential trouble, we are in a whole other world of pain.”

In February 2021, Credit Suisse shares were worth 12.78 Swiss francs, but since then, the bank has endured a barrage of problems that have eaten away at its market value.

It was hit by the implosion of U.S. fund Archegos, which cost it more than $5 billion.

Its asset management branch was rocked by the bankruptcy of British financial firm Greensill, in which some $10 billion had been committed through four funds.

The bank booked a net loss of nearly $8 billion for the 2022 financial year.

That came against a backdrop of massive withdrawals of funds by its clients, including in the wealth management sector — one of the activities on which the bank intends to refocus as part of a major restructuring plan.
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The EU will reveal hotly debated proposals Thursday to boost spending on clean tech, possibly overcoming internal divisions to include nuclear energy in the mix, to confront growing industrial competition from the United States and China.

Brussels wants to protect European businesses by prioritizing green technologies, including solar and wind, for more financing and greater regulatory freedom.

The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, will publish draft plans for a Net Zero Industry Act on Thursday to meet its ambitious target to become a “climate neutral” economy with zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

The proposal was to be made public Tuesday, but a standoff in the commission over whether to include nuclear power, a low-carbon energy, delayed the announcement. Heated discussion was expected until the last minute.

Another landmark draft regulation will also be unveiled on Thursday that aims to secure supplies of critical raw materials needed to make the most of the electrical products consumers use today, including smartphones and electric vehicles.

Green technology production took on greater urgency after the United States unveiled a $370 billion “buy American” subsidy program for tax credits and clean energy subsidies, known as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) last year.

European businesses have warned that lavish subsidies elsewhere alongside lower energy bills could tempt the continent’s firms to Asia or North America, and EU officials have complained that the IRA will discriminate against Europe’s industry.

Matching subsidies

The commission has toiled over a response to the IRA despite divisions in the 27-member bloc, with some countries arguing for looser subsidy rules to allow them to back their own firms with state aid, and others opposed over fears of triggering a subsidies war.

Last week, the commission loosened state aid rules for green technology and allowed members to match subsidies offered in other states.

The clean technology sector is expected to be worth $630 billion worldwide by 2030, more than three times current levels.

Under draft proposals seen by AFP, the commission now wants at least 40% of green tech to be produced in the EU by 2030.

This will be achieved, the commission hopes, by ensuring businesses obtain permits faster and says public tenders would be considered based on green criteria that could favor European companies.

If nuclear is included as a green technology, that would be a victory for around a dozen countries including France, although there is stringent opposition from anti-nuclear Germany.

Some have questioned the bloc’s “protectionist” objectives.

“The purpose of this law and how the draft was written is not to achieve faster decarbonization, but it’s basically to reshore production and that is a protectionist goal,” said Niclas Poitiers, research fellow at the Brussels-based Bruegel think tank.

“This is about making sure that batteries and solar panels are produced in the EU.”

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, however, this week dismissed such claims and insisted the proposal was in fact “a very open act.”

‘Vulnerable’ EU

The EU also wants to meet the rapidly growing need for raw materials, much of which it currently imports from China, to avoid relying on one country for a specific product.

When Moscow invaded Ukraine last year, the EU was brought to its knees by higher energy costs as Brussels raced to find fossil fuels elsewhere instead of Russia.

“The EU’s supply of raw materials is highly concentrated on a few countries… This makes us vulnerable to supply disruptions or aggressive actions,” the bloc’s internal market commissioner Thierry Breton said.

According to the leaked proposals, the EU wants the bloc to meet 10% of the demand for mining and extraction of raw materials.

It also says the EU should not rely on one single country for more than 70% of imports for any strategic raw material by 2030.
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With fewer people coming to work at offices in Manhattan, New York City’s commercial real estate market has lost about $400 billion dollars in value since the start of the pandemic. Aron Ranen has this story from the Big Apple.
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Stock markets in Europe and the U.S. tumbled Wednesday as investors worried about the stability of global banking systems in the immediate aftermath of the collapse of two American banks.

Major stock indexes in London, Paris and Frankfurt all plunged by more than 3% while three key U.S. indexes — the Dow Jones Industrial Average of 30 key stocks, the broader S&P 500 index and the tech-heavy Nasdaq index — also dropped, although by 1% or less in late-day trading. Asian markets increased, mirroring Tuesday gains in the U.S.

The newest worries centered on Credit Suisse, with shares for the beleaguered Swiss lender falling more than 17% after its biggest shareholder, the Saudi National Bank, said it would not invest more money in it.

Problems at Credit Suisse, with outlets in major global financial centers, predated the U.S. government takeover of operations at Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in the last week.

Credit Suisse said Tuesday that managers had identified “material weaknesses” in the bank’s internal controls on financial reporting as of the end of last year.

But on Wednesday, Credit Suisse chairman Axel Lehmann, speaking at a financial conference in the Saudi capital of Riyadh, defended the bank’s operations, saying, “We already took the medicine” to reduce risks. “We are regulated. We have strong capital ratios, very strong balance sheet. We are all hands on deck.”

But with the drop in the share price for Credit Suisse, bank stocks in Britain, France and Germany also fell sharply, although not by as much as for Credit Suisse.

S&P Global Ratings said on Tuesday that the failures at the two U.S. banks would have little effect on the fortunes of European banks. But the S&P analysts added, “That said, we are mindful that SVB’s failure has shaken confidence.”

Share prices of other U.S. regional banks like Silicon Valley have fallen sharply in recent days.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press.
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Уряди кількох країн та один банк намагаються переконати Швейцарію у необхідності термінових дій, інформує Reuters
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In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses, truck drivers, grocery clerks and other essential workers were hailed as heroes.

“Now we are vilifying them … and this has long-term ramifications for our well-being,” said Manuela Tomei, International Labor Organization assistant director-general for governance, rights, and dialogue.

“The work that these persons perform is absolutely essential for families and societies to function,” she said, speaking Wednesday in Geneva. “So, the non-availability of their services would really result into a loss of well-being and the impossibility of ensuring safe lives to society at large.”

And yet a new study by the International Labor Organization (ILO) finds essential workers are undervalued, underpaid and laboring under poor working conditions, exposed to treatment that “exacerbates employee turnover and labor shortages, jeopardizing the provision of basic services.”

The U.N. agency’s report classifies key workers into eight main occupation groups covering health, food systems, retail, security, cleaning and sanitation, transport, manual, and technical and clerical occupations.

Data from 90 countries show that during the COVID-19 crisis key workers suffered higher mortality rates than non-key workers overall, with transport workers being at highest risk.

The report found 29% of key workers globally are low paid, earning on average 26% less than other employees. It reports they tend to work long, unpredictable hours under poor conditions.

Tomei said inaction in improving sub-standard conditions of work is having consequences today.

“In a number of countries, these sectors are facing some labor shortages because people are increasingly reluctant to engage in work which is not fairly valued by society and rewarded in terms of better pay and also improved working conditions.

“So, we are facing a crisis right now,” she added.

Richard Samans, director of the ILO research department, noted that a critical shortage of nurses in many countries is of particular concern.

“This affects the very life of people,” he said Wednesday. “Many people in countries are facing long delays in treatment. In the event of a shock — some sort of a major health disruption or natural disaster or otherwise — if the system is already strained, it cannot handle the major influx of demand for those nursing services.”

A new report by the World Health Organization warns the “widespread disruptions to health services” due to the COVID-19 pandemic “has resulted in a rapid acceleration in the international recruitment of health professionals,” mainly from poor to rich countries, exacerbating shortages of this vital workforce in developing countries.

The ILO reports that countries are still experiencing supply shortages three years after WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic. ILO research director Richard Samans attributes this to a scarcity of truck drivers due to lack of training and bad working conditions.

“In the event of a shock that increases the demand for certain types of products and services, if the underlying logistical infrastructure is not fit for purpose, then that affects the daily livelihood of people and, in some cases, their health and well-being,” he said.

The ILO report also says key workers fare worse than non-key workers in both wealthy and poor countries, but ILO senior economist Janine Berg said the problems are worse in low-income countries.

“There are particularly severe problems, for example, in agricultural work in low-income countries, and the entire agricultural food chain is part of the key worker definition,” she said. “There are also very severe problems in lower-income countries with respect to very low coverage in social protection.”

The report urges nations to identify gaps in decent work and develop national strategies to address the problems facing key workers through strengthened policies and investment.

Among its recommendations, the report calls on governments to reinforce occupational health and safety systems, improve pay for essential workers, guarantee safe and predictable working hours through regulation, and increase access to training so that key workers can carry out their work effectively and safely.
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Argentina’s annual inflation rate breached the 100% mark for the first time since 1991.

The government’s statistics agency said Tuesday the yearly inflation rate for February rose to 102.5%, making it one of the highest in the world. The agency said consumer prices rose 6.6% last month compared to the same period a year ago, and a combined 13.1% for the first two months of this year.

The sharp rise in the rate was due to an increase in the price for food and beverages, finishing up at 9.8% last month compared to January.

Reports say the surge in consumer prices has defied numerous attempts by the government of President Alberto Fernandez to tame inflation, including a cap on the price of food and other goods.

The soaring inflation rate has been blamed on a number of factors, including a flood of money into circulation by the central bank, along with a lingering heatwave and subsequent drought that has destroyed crops and impacted agricultural exports. The high inflation rate has further left the South American country mired in a lingering economic crisis.

The International Monetary Fund has approved a $44 billion financial aid package for Argentina.

Some information for this report came from Reuters.
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