EUROZONE
Spanish protest austerity
Thousands of people took part in a “march for dignity” in Madrid on Saturday to protest against austerity measures on the eve of a closely watched regional election in southern Spain. Yesterday’s vote in Andalusia, one of the poorest parts of the country, is seen as a test of the national mood ahead of Spain’s most unpredictable general elections in decades. The demonstrators were voicing their discontent with the painful austerity policies that have led the government to cut billions of euros from spending between 2012 and last year. Education, public health and social benefits have all been affected. Spain saw growth of 1.4 percent last year but after an economic crisis that lasted six years, the economy remains battered with an unemployment rate of 23.7 percent. Half of all young people between the ages of 16 and 25 are without jobs.
GEORGIA
Protests blame goverment
Tens of thousands of people marched on Saturday in one of the biggest anti-government rallies of recent years, blaming the authorities for an economic crisis and worsening crime. The former Soviet republic has been battered by a plunge in the Russian ruble and the conflict in Ukraine. Lower exports and remittances are also contributing to a rising current account deficit. A fall of nearly 30 percent in the lari over the past year has hurt many people, especially those with US dollar loans. Protesters, led by activists and leaders of the opposition United National Movement, marched down Tbilisi’s main avenue waving the national flag as well as the EU flag and holding posters saying “resign.”
FINANCE
Citigroup fires trader
Citigroup Inc fired a trader on Friday for allegedly mismarking an inflation-options book and dismissed his boss for lax oversight, according to a person familiar with the matter. Carl Bonde lost his job in New York after the bank determined he had inflated the value of his trading positions by less than US$30 million, the person said. Keith Price, head of US inflation trading, was dismissed for his failure to supervise Bonde, said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing a personnel matter. Bonde, a director, and Price, a managing director, left the bank this week, Citigroup spokeswoman Danielle Romero-Apsilos said in a telephone interview. Price reported to Citigroup managing director Roland Wikstrom.
PHARMACEUTICALS
GSK in UK talks to sell drug
GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK) said it wants to wrap up negotiations with the British Department of Health over the cost of its meningitis B vaccine so the medicine can be distributed in Britain.
The UK’s biggest drugmaker is engaged in “active discussions” with the government, GSK spokeswoman Catherine Hartley said in an e-mailed statement yesterday. British Secretary of State for Health Jeremy Hunt told the BBC earlier that he had spoken with GSK chief executive officer Andrew Witty in the past week and hopes to strike a deal “soon.” GSK, based in Brentford, England, acquired the Bexsero vaccine from Swiss drug maker Novartis AG last year. It has been approved for use in the US and Europe, yet disagreement over the price per dose has prevented a widespread rollout in Britain. Bexsero’s list price is ￡75 (US$112) a dose, and Hunt told the BBC on Saturday “the right price is around ￡5 a dose.” About 1,700 people a year in the UK contract meningitis B, which kills one in 10 people affected.
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
ADVERSARIES: The new list includes 11 entities in China and one in Taiwan, which is a local branch of Chinese cloud computing firm Inspur Group The US added dozens of entities to a trade blacklist on Tuesday, the US Department of Commerce said, in part to disrupt Beijing’s artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced computing capabilities. The action affects 80 entities from countries including China, the United Arab Emirates and Iran, with the commerce department citing their “activities contrary to US national security and foreign policy.” Those added to the “entity list” are restricted from obtaining US items and technologies without government authorization. “We will not allow adversaries to exploit American technology to bolster their own militaries and threaten American lives,” US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said. The entities
Minister of Finance Chuang Tsui-yun (莊翠雲) yesterday told lawmakers that she “would not speculate,” but a “response plan” has been prepared in case Taiwan is targeted by US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs, which are to be announced on Wednesday next week. The Trump administration, including US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, has said that much of the proposed reciprocal tariffs would focus on the 15 countries that have the highest trade surpluses with the US. Bessent has referred to those countries as the “dirty 15,” but has not named them. Last year, Taiwan’s US$73.9 billion trade surplus with the US
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
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