Голова правління «Нафтогазу України» Андрій Коболєв заявив, що остання інформація зі Стокгольмського арбітражу, який розглядає суперечки між «Нафтогазом» і російським газовим монополістом «Газпромом», оптимістична для української сторони.

«Ми останнім часом отримуємо багато інформації вже від трибуналу щодо можливих термінів і результатів. Ми стаємо більш оптимістичними, ніж ми були до цього. І це все, що я можу сказати. Я надто обмежений у будь-яких інших коментарях, поки я не зможу показати остаточне рішення, а це буде найближчим часом», – сказав він в ефірі телевізійного «5-го каналу».

Крім того, керівник «Нафтогазу» зазначив, що в «Газпромі» на сьогодні вже обговорюються варіанти можливого програшу.

«Газпром» публічно обговорює це питання, і вони також само найближчим часом очікують рішення. Я спостерігаю в публічному домені певну зміну риторики в напрямку того, що можуть бути і варіанти програшу, і різні варіанти. Що це означає? Я не можу сказати, але повторюся – рівень нашого оптимізму потроху зростає», – сказав Коболєв.

«Нафтогаз» і «Газпром» подали одне на одного кілька взаємних позовів стосовно газових контрактів 2009 року про постачання і про транзит газу і стосовно їхнього виконання (чи невиконання, як стверджують сторони) до Арбітражного інституту Торгової палати Стокгольма, як передбачено цими контрактами. Загальна сума позовів – десятки мільярдів доларів.
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The U.S. economy had a net gain of 98,000 jobs in March, which is much weaker job growth than most economists expected.

Payroll growth was slowed by stormy weather in March after unusually good weather helped growth in January and February, according to economist Jed Kolko, of the job web site “Indeed.”

Friday’s report from the Labor Department also said the unemployment rate fell two-tenths of a percent, to 4.5 percent. Government data show that is the lowest level since April, 2007.  The unemployment rate has been five percent or lower for well over a year.

The slight decline in the jobless rate is due to 145,000 people entering the workforce and nearly half a million Americans finding jobs, according to S&P Global Rating’s economist Beth Ann Bovino. She says this is the latest in a series of mostly positive reports on the job market.   

PNC Bank economist Gus Faucher says the job market “is getting tighter and business are finding it more difficult to hire.”  That may force employers to raise wages to attract and keep workers.  

Job gains were found in professional and business services and mining, while retail continued to lose positions.  Faucher also said problems in retail may reflect a shift from traditional stores to on-line commerce.  That shift is evident in the announcement that several major retail chains are closing a large number of stories, according to economist Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research.

While the report shows that the total number of unemployed Americans fell by over 300,000, there are still 7.2 million people out of work across the country.  

 
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U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross held out hope Thursday that the Trump administration will revive the U.S. Export-Import bank’s full lending powers, saying the institution is part of its “trade toolbox” to boost exports.

The U.S. government trade lender has been hobbled for the better part of two years by conservative Republicans in Congress who tried to shut it down in 2015 by revoking its charter, and then limited its lending powers last year by blocking nominations to its board of directors.

Big loans impossible

With only two active members on its five-seat board, the bank cannot make or guarantee loans of more than $10 million, preventing it from financing large exports such as U.S.-built commercial aircraft, nuclear reactors or petrochemical plants.

Thus far, Trump administration officials have not said publicly whether they support reviving EXIM’s full lending powers, but some members of Congress say that Trump has told them privately that he supports the institution.

“The bank is part of a domestically focused trade toolbox that this administration will continue to focus on in the coming months,” Ross said in brief video remarks to EXIM’s annual conference in Washington. “We will use that toolbox to rebalance our trade policy in order to put American workers first.”

Ross did not provide details of how EXIM will be used in his trade strategy or whether the administration has specific plans to nominate new board members.

Trump appears to be an ally

He urged hundreds of U.S. manufacturers, lenders and foreign government and company officials attending the meeting to work toward increasing U.S. exports to create jobs.

U.S. Representative Chris Collins of New York, a Republican Trump ally who headed a small manufacturer that used EXIM working capital loan guarantees in the past, told the conference that Trump told him February 16 at a White House meeting that he was “all in” on supporting EXIM.

“We asked him very directly about the five board seats,” Collins said. “The president looked to his right and to his left and said ‘Can you get me some names? I’m all in.’ There was no hesitation whatsoever.”

Reviving EXIM, however, would anger conservative groups backed by the Koch brothers, the influential billionaire Republican donors. The groups have waged a campaign that has painted EXIM as unnecessary corporate welfare even though it is self-funding through the interest and fees it charges borrowers.
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When the U.S. president hosts a foreign leader at his home, it can be seen as a sign of hospitality, an indicator of warm relations, and a chance to put American culture on display.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt famously hosted the king and queen of England at his Hyde Park estate, where he served hot dogs for dinner. President Ronald Reagan hosted Britain’s Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev at his California ranch. President George H.W. Bush hosted a string of international leaders at the family compound in Kennebunkport, Maine, and his son President George W. Bush did the same at his family home in Crawford, Texas.

With so many precedents, why would anyone point fingers at President Donald Trump for hosting foreign dignitaries at Mar-a-Lago, his Palm Beach, Florida, estate?

The answer is money. Mar-a-Lago functions as a vacation home for the Trumps, but it also serves as a resort for paying members — which has not been true of any of the aforementioned properties that played host to presidential guests. It is not clear how much access paying guests have to the visiting diplomats, but during a visit by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Mar-a-Lago earlier this year, Abe and Trump carried on some of their discussions over dinner in a restaurant on the property, in full view of other guests.

Having presidential guests stay at Mar-a-Lago — a commercial property owned by the president — raises questions about whether other guests at the property have extraordinary access to the president and his guests by virtue of their club membership — a membership whose price doubled after Trump was elected to the presidency. Critics refer to the situation as “pay to play” — where money buys access to power.

On the other hand, Mar-a-Lago — with its proximity to the beach, a spa, tennis courts and golf courses — seems an ideal place to host foreign dignitaries, as it can be a more relaxed atmosphere than Washington, D.C. The setting also implies a close, personal relationship between the president and his visitor.

Abe visit ‘well received’ in Japan

“The Mar-a-Lago meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping offers a great opportunity for the two leaders to get to know each other in a more relaxed atmosphere,” said Zhiqun Zhu, professor of political science and international relations, and director of The China Institute at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania.

He said Abe’s visit to the Florida estate “was well received in Japan because many Japanese liked the fact that Abe was the first Asian leader to be invited by the Trump administration to the U.S., and Trump and Abe spent several intimate hours playing golf together, highlighting the close alliance between the U.S. and Japan and the strong personal ties between Trump and Abe.”

The Xi meeting, however, lacks one important component of that visit: Xi does not play golf. His government frowns on the sport.

Ely Ratner, a senior fellow in China studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, told The Boston Globe that the Xi visit to Mar-a-Lago provides a “controlled media environment,” a situation prized by the Trump administration and difficult to arrange in Washington. But it also implies a favorable relationship that, in Ratner’s mind, has yet to be achieved.

“They should have had the opening meeting in Washington and said ‘we can do the Mar-a-Lago meeting, but you have to earn it,'” he said.

Property once government-owned

Mar-a-Lago — built in the 1920s by heiress and socialite Marjorie Merriweather Post — was actually planned as a presidential retreat. Post bequeathed the estate to the federal government upon her death in 1973. But then-President Richard Nixon preferred using his own Florida vacation home in Key Biscayne, and successive presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter were not interested in the estate, either.

Carter preferred the official presidential retreat, Camp David, not far from the nation’s capital and owned by the U.S. military, where he arranged the historic Camp David Accords between the leaders of Israel and Egypt.

In 1980, the government returned Mar-a-Lago to the Post family.

Trump bought the resort five years later, after threatening to buy the land between the home and the beach, spoiling the view and driving down the sales price. When Trump began struggling financially, he converted part of the property into a private club. The initiation fee for Mar-a-Lago membership is $200,000. Yearly dues are $14,000. Overnight guests pay up to $2,000 per night.

Critics say it’s not only the “pay-to-play” problem that worries them. It’s also the cost of the Trump visits and the impact on the community, where roads must be closed when the president is in town, and local law enforcement works overtime to help with security.

Democratic lawmakers are pushing legislation that would mandate that Mar-a-Lago keep a public log of its visitors.

As for the high-security Camp David, hidden in the Maryland mountains, Trump has called the property “very rustic.” He recently told a German reporter, “It’s nice, you’d like it. You know how long you’d like it? For about 30 minutes.”
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Conservative activist groups that generally support Republicans but oppose a pro-export, anti-import Republican tax proposal released a study on Thursday estimating its impact on individual U.S. states, underscoring the party’s division over taxes.

The two activist groups, backed by billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch, reported that seven states won by President Donald Trump in November’s election would be among the 10 hardest hit by the proposal.

Freedom Partners and Americans for Prosperity, both based in the Washington area, said the “border adjustment tax,” or BAT, would harm all 50 states, but that those heavily dependent on imports could suffer most.

The report predicted economic harm to Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas — all states Trump won in the 2016 presidential election. The list of hard-hit states also includes California, New Jersey and Illinois, which Democrat Hillary Clinton carried.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, a Texas Republican who intends to include the BAT in tax reform legislation this spring, sharply criticized the study.

‘Fantasy figures’

“That so-called study will be easily discredited and probably fits the definition of fake news,” Brady told reporters. “It takes one provision, pretends the economy freezes … applies it in our current tax code and comes up with fantasy figures.”

BAT, billed as a way to boost U.S. manufacturing, would exempt export revenues from federal tax, while ending the deductibility of import costs by corporations, making imports for production or resale costlier.

The plan is part of a tax reform blueprint supported by House Speaker Paul Ryan. Trump is also working on a tax plan.

The proposal is also opposed by a number of Senate Republicans who could prevent its passage, should the House approve a tax reform bill that contains it.

Koch organizations, including the brothers’ privately held conglomerate, Koch Industries, have warned that BAT could devastate the U.S. economy by raising prices on consumer goods, including gasoline. Refineries owned by Koch Industries rely on oil imports from Canada.

The Koch groups say they support tax reform but oppose BAT.
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Речник Міжнародного валютного фонду Джеррі Райс заявив, що ще цього року Україна може отримати від МВФ іще три транші позики на загальну суму близько 4,4 мільярда доларів, але наголосив, що це обумовлене виконанням реформ, передбачених програмою співпраці.

Як сказав він на прес-конференції у Вашингтоні, головними цілями програми на наступні кілька місяців є, зокрема, всеосяжна пенсійна реформа, поступ у приватизації, створення ринку продажу сільськогосподарських земель, також важливим елементом цієї програми є рішуча боротьба з корупцією.

«У принципі, ми можемо завершити цього року ще три перегляди (програми співпраці з Україною – ред.) – якщо, наголошую, все буде відбуватися за планом. Це залежить від здатності влади вчасно виконати зобов’язання щодо реформ за цією програмою. Це майже самозрозуміло, але це дуже важливе застереження. Ці три перегляди, якщо вони будуть завершені, можуть привести до надання ще приблизно 4,4 мільярда доларів цього року – але, знову ж таки, це залежить від поступу за програмою і здійснення реформ», – сказав речник. За його словами, залежно від дій Києва ці плани МВФ іще можуть змінитися.

У Національному банку України у вівторок заявляли, що до кінця року Україна очікує надходження від МВФ 4,5 мільярдів доларів.

У понеділок, 3 квітня, Міжнародний валютний фонд за результатами завершення третього перегляду виконання програми співпраці ухвалив рішення надати Україні четвертий транш позики за програмою розширеного фінансування в розмірі близько 1 мільярда доларів.

Цього рішення очікували ще 20 березня, але Рада директорів МВФ перенесла його. В Міністерстві фінансів України тоді це пояснили необхідністю уточнення розрахунків, зокрема, наслідків від заходів, застосованих Україною у відповідь на блокаду на Донбасі. У МВФ теж повідомили, що засідання щодо України перенесли для «оцінки наслідків останніх подій в Україні».

У березні 2015 року між МВФ і Україною була затверджена чотирирічна програма розширеного фінансування на суму близько 17,5 мільярдів доларів США. Наразі, разом із нинішнім траншем, МВФ надав Україні за цією програмою близько 8 мільярдів 400 мільйонів доларів. Метою програми є відновлення економіки України, відновлення її незалежності від зовнішніх джерел, зміцнення державних фінансів, утримання фінансової стабільності і підтримка економічного зростання шляхом структурних і управлінських реформ за одночасного захисту найменш вразливих верств.
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Strong trade ties between the United States and nations in Southeast Asia are under a cloud as a U.S. investigation into trade imbalances gets underway. Regional governments say the apparent policy shift has spurred concern and anxiety.

A 90-day investigation by the U.S. Commerce Department of countries with large trade surpluses with the United States follows President Donald Trump’s call for a crackdown on “foreign importers that cheat.” Trump said the shift will result in a “historic reversal” in U.S. trade policy.

“While we’ve seen an improvement in the trade figures between January and February, we continue to be very focused on eliminating our nation’s trade imbalance,” said Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. “This administration is determined to achieve free and fair trade, to protect hard working Americans, and to grow our economy.”

Among the Asian economies singled out by Trump were those of China, Japan, Thailand, South Korea, Malaysia, India, Taiwan, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Analysts say the review may mark a major change in Asia’s trading relationship with the United States.

Campaign rhetoric

After World War II, Southeast Asia’s emerging economies, beginning with Japan, looked to the U.S. economy to spur export led growth — key to the region’s progress in lifting millions out of poverty.

But charges that some trade policies, particularly China’s, had damaged the U.S. economy were a prominent feature of Trump campaign rallies.

Krystal Tan, an economist with the Singapore-based Capital Economics, said the trade investigation has led to concerns and uncertainties across the region.

“At this stage it’s still quite difficult to see what kind of measures the U.S. might want to take. It does look like countries that are probably most nervous about potentially being named currency manipulators are [South] Korea and Taiwan,” Tan told VOA.

The United States argues that currency manipulators deliberately keep their currency low in value against the U.S. dollar in order to boost their exports.

Taiwan trade officials say the trading relationship with the U.S. is not a hostile one, as over 80 percent of Taiwan’s exports to the U.S. are intermediate goods — those sent to the U.S. for final assembly.

David Hsu, deputy director general of Taiwan’s Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT) told local media the trading relationship with the U.S. was “mutually beneficial.”

Taiwan’s main concern is the potential imposition of sanctions following the review.

Tan says South Korea and Taiwan, to avoid sanctions, will need to open their markets to more U.S. products.

Malaysia’s International Trade and Industry Minister, Ong Ka Chuan, told local media Malaysia was neither responsible for, nor taking advantage of, the U.S. trade deficit.

Ong said any sanctions could impact American manufacturers in Malaysia, such as Intel and Western Digital.

“If Trump were to punish us for this [trade surplus] the American firms will be ones dealt a severe blow,” he said.

Kuala Lumpur-based RHB Research chief economist Peck Boon Soon said the U.S. policy revision left Malaysian business cautious on the outlook.

“Yes, certainly it remains very uncertain until [Trump] really implements those policies and whether those policies would be able to be implemented. We are watching these things quite closely and we would be waiting for more developments before we decide what to do with our forecasts on exports,” Peck told VOA.

In late 2016, export growth boosted Malaysia’s economic growth rate to 4.5 percent — “the strongest in the four quarters.”

The United States is Thailand’s third largest trading partner after China and Japan. Two-way trade reached $36.5 billion in 2016, with $24.49 billion from Thai exports. The trade surplus with the U.S was $12.4 billion.

Major exports to the United States include machinery, electrical appliances, electronics and parts, rubber products and gems and jewelry.

Both Malaysia and Vietnam were key participants to the 12 nation Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), a key component of President Barack Obama’s “pivot to Asia” policy intended to counter China’s growing political and economic influence.

TPP withdrawal

Trump withdrew the United States from the TPP soon after taking office.

This week, Vietnam’s Prime Minister, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, criticized the U.S. policy shift, saying the trade policies would have a “huge impact” on Vietnam’s export driven economy.

Carl Thayer, a political scientist with the University of New South Wales, says Phuc’s comments were “guarded”, but with Hanoi looking to build trading ties under China’s Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

“Vietnam had its heart and soul on the TPP. They have a massive surplus with the U.S. It almost equals their massive deficit with China. But there’s not very much they can do, they’re being pragmatic and looking at the RCEP – the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership,” Thayer said.

Thayer said Vietnam has banked on a strong U.S. presence in Asia as a counterweight to China’s regional influence, especially in the South China Sea.

“The more Trump goes his own way Vietnam has got to do a five power balance with India, Russia, Japan, as well as China and the U.S. weakness; the U.S. side. So Vietnam has a harder time preventing being sucked into China’s orbit — in all of this — it needs a strong U.S. action,” he said.

He says bilateral relations with Vietnam, built up over the past two decades, are a casualty of the trade policy shift.

“Yes, it gets worse for Vietnam because they can’t rely on the U.S. They have no idea what [the U.S.] is going to do,” he said.
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Struggling U.S. farmers are pressing their luck with soybeans this spring, sowing record acreage even though the world is awash with the oilseed, as demand from China offers a potential lifeline.

Soybean plantings could surpass corn for the first time this year, with rising exports holding up prices and providing a narrow path to profitability for U.S. farmers facing their fourth straight year of declining incomes.

But fierce competition to supply China threatens the bottom line for U.S. growers, and 2017 prices, while seen as up slightly from 2016, are still projected to be 50 cents per bushel lower than three years ago.

Diplomatic concerns also weigh heavily as the market eyes tense relations between the two countries. U.S. President Donald Trump and China’s leader Xi Jinping meet this week in Florida.

Trump has said he wants U.S. companies to stop investing in China and instead create jobs at home. He has also  accused China of manipulating its currency to boost exports.

Mike Jordan, a farmer from Beloit in north-central Kansas, plans to boost soy acreage by 10 percent after success both on the yield and price fronts for his crop in 2016.

“The general sentiment is … even though Kansas is a wheat state, beans look pretty good,” Jordan said. “If you told me five years ago beans were going to produce more than half the total income on my farm, I would have wondered where you were coming from.”

Planting records

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) forecasts farmers will sow 89.482 million acres of soybeans this year, up 7.2 percent from the record 83.433 million acres in 2016. Corn acreage was seen falling to 89.996 million acres, just 514,000 greater than soybean intentions.

During the past decade, final soybean acreage has topped the March forecast by more than 500,000 acres five times, with the biggest gain in 2012, when plantings beat initial projections by 3.296 million acres. A year ago, final soybean plantings came in 1.197 million acres above March intentions.

Soybeans also are taking acreage from wheat, which has struggled on the export market. U.S. wheat plantings were seen falling to 46.059 million acres — the lowest since the government started tracking them in 1919.

The soybean crop is planted to be exported, part of its allure to farmers who see demand for wheat and corn declining on both the export and domestic fronts.

On average, 45 percent of the soybean crop has been exported during the past 10 years and the USDA projects that will rise above 50 percent in 2017/18. Corn is typically used for domestic feed or ethanol, with only about 14 percent exported.

The rising soy acreage is seeded with China in mind.

“With China, if we can keep them as a good customer … I am hoping that they can soak up the extra supplies and keep the price from collapsing,” said Dave Newby, a farmer in Bondurant, Iowa, who plans to boost his soybean acreage by 50 percent this year.

China’s soybean imports have grown for 13 years in a row and the USDA expects them to hit 87 million tonnes in the year ending Sept. 1. That would soak up one-fourth of the world crop and represent a 130 percent surge in demand in the last decade.

The next-biggest importer is the European Union — set to bring in just 13.80 million tonnes in the 2016/17 crop year.

The United States sold 62 percent of its exports to China in 2016, worth more than $14 billion, according to the American Soybean Association. Soybean exports helped spur the U.S. economy to its biggest gains in two years during the third quarter of 2016.

South America steps up

But growing Chinese demand does not guarantee a profit as stocks should be huge even after China satisfies its needs.

Chicago Board of Trade November soybean futures, which track the crop to be harvested this autumn, have fallen 1.0 percent since the USDA issued its acreage outlook on March 31. CBOT December corn has risen 2.1 percent.

Additionally, massive crops in Brazil and Argentina provide China with purchasing options, and the competition is likely to persist as South American farmers also have the export market at the forefront of planting decisions.

“We plant soy in Brazil because there is global demand for the grain,” said Elso Pozzobon, a farmer in Mato Grosso, Brazil’s largest soy producing state. “This crop gives producers a sense of security.”

In Argentina, soybean acreage looks set to rise as an export tax that held back seedings is expected to decrease.

“Considering that world demand is still strong and prices are better than the alternatives,” said David Hughes, who farms thousands of hectares in Argentina’s bread basket Buenos Aires province. “I would guess we are probably at a low level of acreage limit.”
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Many companies aim for “Best in Class” status, but some are seeking another “B” — B corporation certification.

Certified B corporations, or “B corps,” address the growing consumer interest in supporting socially and environmentally responsible companies.

B corps are essentially for-profit companies that behave more like nonprofits, tackling global issues such as pollution and income disparity through everyday business practices.

‘Business as a force for good’

“B corporations are companies that are using their business as a force for good,” said Andrew Kassoy, co-founder of B Lab, the nonprofit organization that issues B corp certification. “By having that B corp certification, it makes good easy for the consumer … to know that the company is having a positive impact on society,” he added.

For many companies, doing good may take a back seat to making money. But not for certified B corps.

Multimillion-dollar brands like fashion company Eileen Fisher and ice cream maker Ben & Jerry’s are among businesses certified as B corps.

“In some cases, it’s about the company trying to create more value for its workers, to create opportunity for workers to grow in the economy and have a job with dignity,” Kassoy said.

“In other cases, it might be about creating a product that’s more environmentally sustainable or socially responsible,” he said.

Growing around the globe

B corps are a growing global movement. Brands large and small make up the more than 2,000 certified B corporations, representing 130 different industries in 55 countries.

“Our foreign certifications are outpacing our U.S.-based certifications for the last year,” said Jennifer Warden, B Lab’s global partner manager. “We’ve got partners in 13 different regions — a lot in Latin America, Europe, a lot of momentum now in the Asia Pacific regions and Africa.”

To qualify as a B corp, companies must score at least 80 out of 200 points on an assessment that covers four key areas: corporate governance, employee rights, community outreach and environmental impact. Everything from waste reduction efforts to leadership roles for women and minorities are considered.

“You’re able to measure how you rank in terms of taking care of the community, how you rank in taking care of the environment, how you take care of your customer,” said Sean Cullen, project coordinator at Uncommon Goods, a Brooklyn-based online retailer that is a certified B corp.

Assessments are made every two years. In addition to maintaining a minimum score, certified B corps are also required to revise company bylaws to reflect accountability to workers and customers.

Depending on a company’s size, B corp certification costs $500 to $25,000 annually. For many, the payoff is in being among the best in the business.

Look for the logo

“When you see that certified B Corp logo on different products, you know that you’re getting a good product,” Cullen said.

B Lab maintains a website with a B corporation directory so consumers can look up a company and verify its certification.

“The goal is that one day, all companies will be able to manage and measure their impact with the same rigor as their profits,” Kassoy told VOA.

“And by doing that … all companies will compete to be best for the world, not just best in the world,” he said.
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Національний банк України повідомив, що міжнародні резерви України за підсумками березня зменшилися, але нині значно зросли завдяки підтримці зовнішніх партнерів.

Як мовиться в повідомленні, міжнародні резерви України на 1 квітня становили 15 мільярдів 123 мільйони доларів США (в еквіваленті), за попередніми даними. За місяць вони зменшилися на 2,2% у зв’язку з необхідністю здійснення платежів для обслуговування і погашення державного і гарантованого державою боргу в іноземній валюті.

Станом на 1 березня ці резерви становили 15 мільярдів 459,7 мільйона доларів США (в еквіваленті), за попередніми даними.

Та при цьому нині обсяг міжнародних резервів зріс до 16,7 мільярда доларів США – максимального рівня з середини 2014 року, додали в Нацбанку.

У середу на рахунок Національного банку України для поповнення міжнародних резервів надійшов черговий транш за програмою розширеного фінансування (EFF) Міжнародного валютного фонду. Кошти за цим четвертим траншем на загальну суму 1 мільярд доларів США надійшли кількома частинами у різних валютах: 367 мільйонів спеціальних прав запозичення (СПЗ – розрахункова одиниця МВФ), 200 мільйонів британських фунтів стерлінгів, 146 мільйони євро, 92 мільйони доларів США.

Крім того, Європейський союз перерахував Україні другий транш макрофінансової допомоги на суму 600 мільйонів євро.

«Як наслідок, міжнародні резерви зросли з рівня 15,1 мільярда доларів США за підсумками березня до 16,7 мільярда доларів США станом на сьогодні», – повідомили в НБУ.

Національний банк очікує, що до кінця 2017 року отримає ще три транші фінансування за програмою EFF на загальну суму близько 4,5 мільярда доларів США.

«Отримання всіх чотирьох траншів протягом цього року є критичною передумовою зростання міжнародних резервів приблизно до 21 мільярда доларів США. Ще 3,9 мільярда доларів США фінансування від МВФ ми розраховуємо отримати наступного року. Саме за цієї умови на кінець 2018 року резерви зростуть приблизно до 26 мільярдів доларів США», – заявили в Нацбанку.

Уранці в середу в Міністерстві фінансів України повідомляли, що МВФ почав перераховувати кошти свого четвертого траншу позики, а Євросоюз кошти свого траншу допомоги переказав іще у вівторок.
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As Britain begins the process of leaving the European Union, it is trying to rekindle old trade links with Commonwealth countries. However, the push for new commerce has sparked a debate on the historical legacy of the British Empire, with accusations that ministers are trying to whitewash atrocities committed during colonial times.

British Chancellor Philip Hammond arrived in India for a three-day trip to, in his government’s words, “Bang the drum for British business.” The quest for new Commonwealth trade links has been dubbed “Empire 2.0.”

International Trade Secretary Liam Fox, on a trade mission in the Philippines, wrote on Twitter recently that Britain “Is one of the few European countries that does not need to bury its 20th-century past.”

Indian lawmaker and former U.N. Under-Secretary-General Shashi Tharoor, author of the book Inglorious Empire, has a different assessment of Britain’s colonial conduct: “Of which the highlights, but only the highlights, include the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar in India which killed defenseless, unarmed women, children and men; the use of chemical weapons in Mesopotamia; the air-bombing of a number of innocent civilians in Basra; you have the horrendous partition of India; you have the cruelty with which the Mau Mau insurrection was put down in Kenya.”

Despite that history, Tharoor says India is listening carefully to what Britain has to offer.

“The idea that Commonwealth countries represent a possible alternative area for preferential free trade agreements is welcome, provided of course, as in every negotiation, that there is give and take,” he said.

But Britain must give more if it wants to benefit, Tharoor added.

India is critical of tightening visa restrictions on its citizens wanting to work in Britain.

Many people working in the $5.6 billion restaurant industry backed Brexit, hoping it would open the door to more migration from Commonwealth countries.

Enam Ali, a chef in an award-winning restaurant just outside London, says he feels betrayed, and warns the industry is in trouble.

“We feel it would be fair policy and we can bring people from outside the EU — from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan — where people can come and look after our business because the industry needs chefs desperately,” Ali said. “So this is something now that is happening opposite, because the people we are currently working on, helping hand from the European worker, Romanian and Polish, they are now going to leave. So, what we end up with is nobody to work for us.”

Cutting migration was a central pledge of Britain’s campaign to leave the European Union, but countries like India want visa restrictions relaxed as part of any trade deal.

Indian lawmakers say they are open to rekindling old trade links, but in the 21st century, Britain will no longer dictate terms.
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Національне антикорупційне бюро почало провадження щодо зловживань службовим становищем під час формування ціни на вугілля за схемою «Роттердам+», повідомив у Facebook позафракційний депутат Віктор Чумак. За його словами, таку відповідь НАБУ надало на його запит.

У НАБУ та НКРЕ поки що це повідомлення не підтверджували і не коментували.

У березні 2016 Національна комісія, що здійснює державне регулювання у сфері енергетики та комунальних послуг, запровадила нову схему розрахунку оптової ринкової ціни на електроенергію, за якою туди, зокрема, закладається вартість вугілля для ТЕС та його доставки в Україну із порту Роттердам у Нідерландах.
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У Луганську область постачати вугілля будуть із Африки, Китаю або Австралії, розповів у коментарі радіо «Донбас.Реалії» керівник департаменту із сервісів ДТЕК Луганська ТЕС Борис Сафонов. За його словами, крім як на непідконтрольних територіях Донбасу, потрібної марки вугілля в Україні немає. Планується, що наприкінці травня в порт Одеси прибуде перший вантажний корабель з вугіллям, зазначив Сафонов.

 «Вартість виробництва електроенергії однозначно істотно зміниться. Якою мірою? Про це можна буде говорити, коли у нас буде повна картина. Вона зросте. І можна говорити не про відсотки, а про порядок», – сказав він.

 Як повідомлялося раніше, Луганська ТЕС у Щасті нині залишається єдиним джерелом електроенергії у регіоні, оскільки нині область відімкнута від єдиної енергосистеми України. Ця електростанція постачає електроенергію як на підконтрольні, так і на непідконтрольні Україні території Донбасу.

 Збройний конфлікт на сході України почався навесні 2014 року після російської анексії Криму. Україна і Захід звинувачують Росію у підтримці сепаратистів на Донбасі, Москва ці звинувачення відкидає і заявляє, що на непідконтрольних Києві територіях можуть бути російські «добровольці».
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Бюджетні витрати на діяльність Національного агентства з питань запобігання корупції в першому кварталі 2017 року становлять 14,6 мільйона гривень. Така інформація міститься на порталі використання публічних коштів e-data, повідомляє #Точно, проект Радіо Свобода.

Зокрема, 8,3 мільйона гривень сплачено як заробітна плата співробітникам НАЗК.

Національне агентство з питань запобігання корупції є центральним органом виконавчої влади зі спеціальним статусом, який формує та реалізує державну антикорупційну політику. Агентство є колегіальним органом, до керівного складу якого має входити п’ять членів. На сьогодні затверджено чотири члени на чолі з Наталією Корчак. Одне із ключових завдань НАЗК – забезпечення процесу електронного декларування статків посадових осіб органів влади та місцевого самоврядування.

У кінці березня друга хвиля декларування, яка частково мала завершитися 1 квітня 2017 року, була перервана через те, що публічна частина держреєстру декларацій не працювала.

У той же період члени уряду закликали керівництво НАЗК подати у відставку.

Через проблеми в електронному декларуванні Мін’юст розпочав розробку законопроекту для повного перезавантаження НАЗК. Зокрема, планується, що замість п`яти членів НАЗК буде один голова агентства. 

Минулого року на роботу НАЗК витратили 65,6 мільйона гривень.

Відповідно до державного бюджету, у 2017 році на діяльність Нацагентства планують витратити 162,8 мільйона гривень.

 
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America’s infrastructure is crumbling. A report card from the American Society of Civil Engineers gives the country’s roads, bridges and public works a D+, with a large portion of the structures showing significant deterioration. Tuesday, President Donald Trump reiterated his promise to spend one trillion dollars to overhaul the infrastructure. For local communities, that money can’t come fast enough. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi reports from Pittsburgh.
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Cash is crucial, Germany’s economy minister said on Wednesday, defending the role of notes and coins in a debate in Europe about the merits of limiting cash payments to counter terrorism.

The European Commission is weighing stricter rules on the use of cash to cut terrorists’ funding, and Germany’s finance ministry – led by conservative Wolfgang Schaeuble – has said Berlin could imagine talking about a ceiling of 5,000 euros ($5,331.50).

Such a prospect is unwelcome to many Germans, who are renowned for their love of cash. The Bundesbank, Germany’s central bank, said they carry an average of 103 euros on their person.

“Cash must remain an important means of payment,” Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries, a Social Democrat, said in a statement.

“Even in the era of digitization, it is valid,” she added, echoing a similar message from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi at the launch of a new 50 euro note on Tuesday.

Draghi said three-quarters of euro zone payments are made in cash, and that it remains essential for the economy despite the rise of digital payments.

The Bundesbank has warned that an upper limit on cash payments could lead to a loss of faith in the euro as a currency.

The ECB’s decision last year to phase out the 500-euro banknote irked some at Germany’s central bank, who feared people’s freedom to store their savings in cash was being curtailed.

 
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Some big American coal companies have advised President Donald Trump’s administration to break his promise to pull the United States out of the Paris Climate Agreement — arguing that the accord could provide their best forum for protecting their global interests.

Remaining in the global deal to combat climate change will give U.S. negotiators a chance to advocate for coal in the future of the global energy mix, coal companies like Cloud Peak Energy and Peabody Energy told White House officials over the past few weeks, according to executives and a U.S. official familiar with the discussions.

“The future is foreign markets, so the last thing you want to do if you are a coal company is to give up a U.S. seat in the international climate discussions and let the Europeans control the agenda,” said the official, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the issue.

“They can’t afford for the most powerful advocate for fossil fuels to be away from the table,” the official said.

Cloud Peak and Peabody officials confirmed the discussions.

‘Path forward’

In Cloud Peak’s view, staying in the agreement and trying to encourage “a more balanced, reasonable and appropriate path forward” on fossil fuel technologies among signatories to the accord seems like a reasonable stance, said Richard Reavey, Cloud Peak’s vice president of government affairs.

The coal industry was interested in ensuring that the Paris deal provides a role for low-emission coal-fired power plants and financial support for carbon capture and storage technology, the officials said. They also want the pact to protect multilateral funding for international coal projects through bodies like the World Bank.

The Paris accord, agreed by nearly 200 countries in 2015, would seek to limit global warming by slashing carbon dioxide and other emissions from burning fossil fuels. As part of the deal, the United States committed to reducing its emissions by between 26 percent and 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025.

During his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump vowed to pull the United States out of the pact, tapping into a well of concern among his fellow Republicans that the United States’ energy habits would be policed by the United Nations.

Seeking companies’ advice

But since being elected, he has been mostly quiet on the issue, and administration officials have recently been asking energy companies for advice.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer said last week that the administration expected to make a decision on whether to remain a party to the deal by the time leaders of the Group of Seven wealthy nations meet in late May.

The prospect of the United States remaining in the Paris deal has irritated some smaller miners, including Murray Energy Corp, whose chief executive, Robert Murray helped fund Trump’s presidential bid.

Staying in the Paris accord could also face resistance from within Trump’s party. Republican Congressman Kevin Cramer of North Dakota has been circulating a letter among Republican lawmakers calling on the president to stay in the deal but has gathered only seven signatures so far.
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Michael Evangelista-Ysasaga wants to build a humane wall on the border between the U.S. and Mexico.

That is one reason the Mexican-American answered a call from U.S. Customs and Border Protection for proposals on sections of the wall to be built on the Southwestern border.

Evangelista-Ysasaga said his company, the Penna Group, has experience managing large projects for the government like runways and prisons.

He told VOA that his Texas company has worked for years in the difficult desert environment where mountains, sand, rivers, steep slopes and unusual rock formations complicate the job.  

Evangelista-Ysasaga said if his proposal is one of those accepted, the next step would be to build brief portions of the wall to demonstrate its quality and costs. He said winning a large part of this project could mean work for 150 people for several years.

The Penna Group chief said, however, the job is about more than money. He said he has been concerned about reports that rival companies are offering electric fences or razor wire that he calls “inhumane.”

Evangelista-Ysasaga also said he hoped the controversy over the wall eventually leads to a reformed immigration system that allows people to come to the U.S. who obey the law, pay taxes, and perhaps serve in the military to eventually earn the right to stay here.

High-security

Another company offering proposals is a small manufacturing firm near Boston that is partnering with companies that design and build projects, as well as other firms with experience managing major government contracts.

Riverdale Mills would supply a high-security fence product that CEO Jim Knott said is nearly impossible to climb or cut. He says it also allows border security officers to see through it, so they will not surprised by activity on the other side of the border.

Riverdale already protects nearly 50 kilometers of the border with this product.

It was developed with technology first used to make tough, inexpensive lobster traps, and refined over many years in projects around the world that protect airports, borders, utilities, embassies and industrial facilities.

In a VOA interview, Knott said if the proposal is accepted, its impact on his company will depend on the size of the order for fencing. His company has the capacity to make fencing now, but a really large order might prompt him to hire and train more people or even invest in additional equipment.

The unusual high-security fencing is built inside a factory the size of a small house on a complex manufacturing system that preforms hundreds of welds at a time.
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With legislation overhauling taxes and health care on an uncertain path, President Donald Trump returned to the familiar. Trump brought 52 business leaders from New York City to the White House Tuesday to talk about another favorite campaign issue — infrastructure and economic growth.

The U.S. economy has so far proven to be a point of pride for a presidency that has otherwise gotten off to a rocky start. Trump inherited a stable economy from former President Barack Obama, an economic recovery that’s heading toward its eighth year. But Trump believes he can do more for business.

Trump and several of his top aides emphasized plans to cut red tape and jumpstart infrastructure projects at Tuesday’s meeting, while also previewing for the CEOs other priorities that include shortening flight times for airplanes, increasing the power grid’s efficiency and targeting programs to improve job training.

At one point the president had an aide come on stage to hold up a long scroll of the government’s approval process for building a highway. The president then pledged to eliminate more than 90 percent of the regulations involved and “still have safety.” He provided no details.

The administration has committed to directing as much as $1 trillion for infrastructure over the next decade, although it has yet to release policy specifics. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao recently said she expects a plan will be unveiled later this year.

But getting a measure through Congress could be difficult given the Republican majority in both chambers and their desire to reduce tax rates as much as possible. An infrastructure plan that relies on direct funding could possibly raise the budget deficit more than one that uses tax credits.

Trump touted the plan he says is in the works, telling the room, “We’re talking about a very major infrastructure bill of a trillion dollars, perhaps even more.”

Administration officials stressed that it can take more than 8 years between funding and the start of project construction, a timeline White House officials say is too slow given the commitment of hundreds of billions of dollars a year.

Trump wanted the CEOs gathered at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building — many of them involved in real estate — to start building roadways, airports, railways, bridges and other infrastructure as quickly as possible.

“If you have a job that you can’t start within 90 days, we’re not going to give you money for it,” Trump said.

The president followed up his remarks at the town hall by giving an afternoon speech to the Building Trades Union, pledging to “rebuild our nation.”

At the CEO town hall, Gary Cohn, director of the White House National Economic Council, noted that infrastructure upgrades could help growth.

A new air traffic control system that relied on GPS instead of radar would shorten flights and save on jet fuel, helping consumers, he said. Cohn also suggested updates to the power grid to avoid the loss of 20 percent of electricity in transmission. Trump’s daughter Ivanka spoke to the CEOs about the value of job training.

The sales pitch with its technocratic angle seemed perfectly targeted for the assembled business leaders.

“It’s terrific in terms of the stuff you’re trying to do to modernize the government, educate and so forth,” said Stephen Schwarzman, CEO of the Blackstone Group, an investment firm, and chairman of the president’s policy forum.

“The outside world doesn’t always get the message that that’s really what is going on,” he said.
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Цього року на обслуговування державного боргу Україна витратить 111 мільярдів гривень. Про це в ефірі Радіо Свобода заявив народний депутат «Радикальної партії» Віктор Галасюк.

«В державному бюджеті на цей рік тільки видатки на обслуговування державного боргу, тобто це сплата відсотків, в тому числі МВФ, становить 111 мільярдів гривень на рік. Це більше, ніж на фінансування ЗСУ під час військової агресії проти нас найпотужнішої військової країни», – зазначив Галасюк. 

На обслуговування державного боргу у 2016 році Україна витратила майже 96 мільярдів гривень.

За даними Міністерстві фінансів, у лютому сума державного та гарантованого державою боргу становила 1,941 трильйонів гривень або 71,76 мільярдів доларів.
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Міжнародний валютний фонд прогнозує, що економічне зростання економіки України збережеться цього року на рівні 2 відсотків через наслідки блокади на Донбасі і зросте до 3 відсотків уже у 2018-му.

На подальші роки в середньостроковій перспективі це зростання може становити близько 3,5–4 відсотків у разі значного прискорення критично важливих структурних реформ, мовиться в повідомленні МВФ про завершення так званих консультацій за статтею IV з Україною, в перебігу яких дається чергова оцінка економічного розвитку країни та  її економічної політики.

Як мовиться в повідомленні, у перебігу консультацій ішлося про те, що ці структурні реформи мають поліпшити ділову атмосферу й привабити інвестиції, збільшити продуктивність і розширити ринок праці.

У такому разі інфляція має через кілька років упасти до рівня у 5 відсотків, що є метою Національного банку України, а належні валютні резерви будуть забезпечені до кінця 2018 року, прогнозують в МВФ. Державний борг має впасти нижче від 70 відсотків від валового внутрішнього продукту до 2021 року в разі успішного завершення боргової операції, збереження досягненого рівня фіскальної консолідації і поступового економічного зростання.

У МВФ зазначили, що поступ у здійсненні структурних реформ був неоднозначний. В енергетичному й фінансовому секторах є значні досягнення, а в реформуванні й приватизації державних підприємств, земельній та пенсійній реформах і в ефективній боротьбі з корупцією поступ обмежений. Також залишаються великі економічні виклики – зокрема, зависокий державний борг, що цього року, за прогнозами, має зрости до 90 відсотків від ВВП, занизькі валютні резерви, глибока доларизація фінансової системи чи великий обсяг і неефективність державного сектору економіки.

При цьому Рада директорів МВФ високо оцінила рішучі політичні дії влади України за минулі два роки, що повернули економіку до зростання, різко скоротили інфляцію і збільшили валютні резерви.

Водночас у МВФ закликали владу України невідкладно ухвалити всеосяжну пенсійну реформу, що мала б підвищити пенсійний вік, подолати значний дефіцит пенсійного фонду й створити підґрунтя для зростання розміру пенсій. Крім того, Рада директорів МВФ наголосила на необхідності втримувати зростання зарплат на виправданому рівні, поліпшити збирання податків і роботу державної адміністрації і втілити реформи систем охорони здоров’я й освіти.

Раніше у вівторок свій прогноз щодо зростання економіки України оприлюднив Світовий банк, який зберіг помірний прогноз зростання валового внутрішнього продукту України у 2017 році в розмірі 2%.

«Економіка (України), нарешті, стабілізувалася й почала відновлюватися. Це відновлення стало можливим завдяки реформам. Однак прогноз залишається помірним… У разі прискорення реформ у наступні два роки зростання становитиме по 4%», – повідомила директор банку в Україні, Білорусі й Молдові Сату Кахконен.

Минулого місяця Національний банк України погіршив прогноз зростання валового внутрішнього продукту України в 2017 році з 2,8% до 1,9% у зв’язку з тимчасовим припиненням переміщення вантажів через лінію розмежування на Донбасі.
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Національний банк України ухвалив рішення, яким пом’якшив обмеження із продажу іноземної валюти населенню з суми у 12 тисяч гривень на день до 150 тисяч на день.

«Національний банк продовжує суттєво пом’якшувати обмеження на продаж готівкової іноземної валюти населенню, яке стало вже менш дієвим заходом стабілізації ринку через його тривале застосування. Досі населення мало можливість купувати валюту на суму не більше ніж на 12 тисяч гривень в еквіваленті одній особі в день. Відтепер Національний банк підвищив цю максимальну суму до 150 тисяч гривень, тобто до суми, понад яку фінансові операції з готівкою підлягають обов’язковому фінансовому моніторингу. Такий крок допоможе збільшити глибину і ліквідність офіційного готівкового валютного ринку», – мовиться в повідомленні на сайті НБУ.

За повідомленням, ці зміни до постанови Нацбанку від 13 грудня 2016 року набудуть чинності 5 квітня.

Крім того, НБУ заявив, що пом’якшує вимогу до обов’язкового продажу надходжень в Україну в іноземній валюті. Відтепер юридичні особи повинні будуть продавати не 65%, а 50% своїх валютних надходжень.

«Реалізувати чергові кроки з лібералізації валютного регулювання дозволяє сприятлива кон’юнктура на зовнішніх ринках та рішення Міжнародного валютного фонду про погодження третього перегляду програми співпраці з Україною та виділення четвертого траншу фінансування», – додали в НБУ.

Від вересня 2014 року НБУ запровадив ліміт на продаж населенню валюти – на три тисячі гривень на день. У червні 2016 року це обмеження пом’якшили до 12 тисяч гривень.

3 квітня Рада директорів МВФ ухвалила позитивне рішення щодо надання Україні чергового траншу допомоги за програмою розширеного фінансування. Завершення третього перегляду програми фінансування дозволило Україні отримати четвертий транш допомоги обсягом близько 1 мільярда доларів.
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