Business

BEIJING — China’s November factory activity rebounded for the first time in seven months, data showed on Saturday, despite the looming threat of fresh US tariffs within weeks if Beijing and Washington fail to sign a partial trade deal.

The closely watched Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), a key gauge of activity in the country’s factories, rose to 50.2 in November, up from 49.3 last month, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

The reading is slightly above the 50-point mark that separates growth and contraction every month.

A sub-index of new export orders climbed to a 7-month high at 48.8, but was still in contraction as demand wanes for China’s exports abroad.

Ting Lu, chief China economist at investment bank Nomura, says “the blip” of a rise in the official manufacturing PMI does not signify a recovery in the economy.

“The jump of manufacturing PMI from 49.2 in February to 50.5 in March this year made the whole market very excited about a strong recovery, but it turned out to be an illusion,” said Lu.

“This time is no different.”

The reading comes as Beijing and Washington edge towards a partial deal to a trade war that has dragged on for nearly 20 months.

Top US and Chinese negotiators held phone talks on Tuesday and agreed to keep in touch over “remaining issues” for a “phase one” trade deal between the two countries, Chinese state media said.

The two sides have slapped tariffs on nearly half-a-trillion dollars worth of goods in two way trade, and US President Donald Trump is threatening fresh tariffs in mid-December if there was no mini-deal.

Beijing has also implemented a number of measures to stimulate the economy, which expanded at its slowest pace in nearly three decades in the third quarter.

People’s Bank of China trimmed the interest rate it charges on funding to commercial lenders last week, to boost lending to credit-starved parts of the economy.

BEIRUT — An international oil trader is suing a Lebanese bank in the United States over failing to release $1 billion in deposits, court documents showed, charges the banking institution denied on Thursday.

IMMS has filed a suit against BankMed in the Supreme Court of the State of New York over the "brazen theft of more than $1 billion", according to court documents dated November 22 and seen by AFP.

The lawsuit comes as Lebanon grapples with widespread anti-government protests since October 17, a free-falling economy, and an escalating liquidity crisis.

The oil trader, which is incorporated in Belize, said it asked to withdraw its money on November 8, and received no response for several days, according to the court documents.

It said the bank on November 12 informed it that it was terminating overdraft and letter of credit facilities due to "the prevailing circumstances and to the material adverse change in the economic condition of Lebanon and the Lebanese financial markets".

BankMed on Thursday strongly denied the allegations.

"The $1 billion deposit is a blocked deposit by instructions of IMMS maturing in about 2 years from now," it said.

"Between October 30 and November 12, 2019, BankMed discovered material breaches of contract and attempts by IMMS to direct funds due to BankMed overseas," it said.

"BankMed opposed such attempts by IMMS and took appropriate actions."

It said the banking contract was subject to Lebanese law and that it would submit its response to a court hearing in Beirut next month, without giving a specific date.

BankMed is chaired by Mohammed Hariri, a cousin of outgoing Prime Minister Saad Hariri's late father Rafik.

Nazek Hariri, the widow of the embattled premier's father, sits on the bank's board of directors — as does the current interior minister, Raya Al Hassan.

Since September, debt-saddled Lebanon has had a liquidity crisis, with banks rationing the withdrawal of dollars.

The exchange rate in the parallel market has shot up from the pegged rate of 1,507 pounds to a dollar to more than 2,000.

SAINT PETERSBURG — President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday opened what has been billed as Russia’s first modern motorway, almost halving the driving time between the two biggest cities of Moscow and Saint Petersburg.

The “Neva” toll road, running 669 kilometres and named after Saint Petersburg’s main river, is Russia’s first long-distance toll road.

It boasts no traffic lights and a higher maximum speed limit of 130 kilometres per hour versus 110kph on other roads.

“We’ve never had anything like this in our country’s history, in the history of road construction,” said Putin, who grew up in Saint Petersburg. “Now we do.”

National media reported that the five-and-a-half to six-hour drive will beat most commuter trains for the first time.

“I used to take the old road, the M10, it took 10 hours,” Putin said. Transport Minister Yevgeny Ditrikh added: “And that was the best case scenario”.

“You can really drive it in six hours,” said state-owned daily Rossiiskaya Gazeta after a test drive.

Putin, nevertheless, flew to the city, local media noted.

High-speed trains between the cities are still quicker, at around four hours but are relatively expensive.

The new motorway toll costs up to 2,020 rubles ($32) per car.

First mooted in 2006, construction reportedly cost 495 billion rubles ($7.7 billion), including private investment.

French group Vinci took part in the project in a consortium with Russia’s VTB Bank.

SAN FRANCISCO — Google on Monday fired four employees on the grounds they violated data security policies, prompting ire among colleagues concerned it was retaliation for worker organising.

One of the workers fired was connected to a petition against Google working with the US immigration and border patrol agency. She confirmed her firing in a message posted on Twitter.

A memo to employees titled “Securing our data” sought to correct what it contended was misinformation about the purported wrongdoing, saying it involved “systematic searches for other employees’ materials and work”, according to reports by US media.

Google, the money-making engine of parent company Alphabet, confirmed a copy of the note published by Bloomberg but declined to comment further.

However, a Medium account connected to a massive walkout by Google employees last year argued that the four workers were fired in an attempt to crush efforts to organise staff.

“Four of our colleagues took a stand and organised for a better workplace,” read the post by Google Walkout for Real Change.

“When they did, Google retaliated against them.”

Authors of the post contended that Google policies on data security were tightened to provide cover for getting rid of workers involved in efforts to unionise.

“They think this will crush our efforts, but it won’t,” the Medium post said.

“One of the most powerful companies in the world wouldn’t be retaliating against us if collective action didn’t work.”

The Google workplace long seen as a blend of fun, good-will and free food has been disrupted by employee opposition to top-level decisions ranging from making contracts with the military to tailoring a version of the search engine for China and the handling of sexual misconduct allegations.

Google employees poured out of buildings at the company’s Mountain View campus a year ago, filling courtyards and patios in solidarity with co-workers who staged similar demonstrations at offices in countries around the world to protest the company’s handling of sexual misconduct.

LONDON — London's transport authority on Monday refused to renew an operating licence for ride-hailing giant Uber because of safety and security concerns.

"Transport for London [TfL] has concluded that it will not grant Uber London Limited [Uber] a new private hire operator's licence in response to its latest application," it said in a statement.

The American giant, which has 3.5 million customers and 50,000 drivers in London, described the move as "wrong" and added that it will appeal.

The TfL rejection is the latest set-back to the firm's London operation, which has suffered previous licence suspensions in addition to protests from traditional black cab drivers.

In September, Uber was granted a two-month extension to its licence following the expiry of a previous 15-month agreement. The extension was conditional on passenger safety improvements.

'Pattern of failures' 

TfL on Monday said there were a "pattern of failures", including the use of unauthorised drivers on other drivers' accounts, allowing them to pick up passengers.

The transport authority said this happened at least 14,000 times, endangering users, as it invalidated insurance. Some trips took place with unlicensed, suspended or dismissed drivers.

TfL said it recognised steps the company had taken to address such issues but was concerned about the ease with which its checks and balances could be manipulated.

"Despite addressing some of these issues, TfL does not have confidence that similar issues will not reoccur in the future, which has led it to conclude that the company is not fit and proper at this time," said the transport body charged with regulating the capital's taxi services.

Uber has 21 days to appeal, during which time it can continue to operate.

"We think this decision is wrong and we will appeal," Uber said in a brief statement emailed to all of its customers.

"You and the 3.5 million riders who rely on Uber can continue to use the app as normal. We remain 100 percent committed to your safety."

Uber would have to demonstrate on appeal that it has put in place sufficient measures to eliminate risks to passengers.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan insisted companies needed to play by the rules.

"Keeping Londoners safe is my absolute number-one priority, and TfL have identified a pattern of failure by Uber that has directly put passengers' safety at risk.

"I know this decision may be unpopular with Uber users, but their safety is the paramount concern."

Unite, Britain's biggest trade union, welcomed the announcement and called for a level-playing field to allow traditional taxi services to compete.

"There remains fundamental problems in the way the company operates, particularly issues around passenger safety," said Unite official Jim Kelly."Uber's DNA is about driving down standards and creating a race to the bottom which is not in the best interests of professional drivers or customers."

'Hammer blow' to drivers 

However, the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain — which represents gig economy workers — criticised TfL's decision.

"The mayor's decision to once again deny Uber a license will come as a hammer blow to its 50,000 drivers working under precarious conditions," said James Farrar, chair of the union's United Private Hire Drivers branch.

"We are asking for an urgent meeting with the mayor to discuss what mitigation plan can now be put in place to protect Uber drivers."

PARIS — Two French environmental NGOs and a union group on Sunday slammed the environmental impact of Amazon, vowing to disrupt its “Black Friday” sale campaign later this week.

The NGOs Attac and les Amis de la Terre, as well as the Solidaires association of unions, said in a report that the “world according to Amazon is not sustainable”.

But Amazon said in a statement to AFP that it rejected the “erroneous” information put forward by the groups, saying their report contained numerous factual errors and speculation lacking foundation.

The three groups pledged to turn the upcoming Black Friday on November 29 into a “Black Day for Amazon” by staging dozens of demonstrations across France to protest the policies of the company.

There were no details on the nature of the demos but Attac has in the past staged unannounced protests outside Amazon facilities.

Their statement accused Amazon of increasing greenhouse gas emissions through rapid delivery services, of destroying unsold products and showing a lack of transparency in its carbon budget.

Putting together information from all the three groups, it accused Amazon of being responsible for 55.8 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, the equivalent of all the emissions of Portugal.

Meanwhile, the report claimed that Amazon’s practices involved “considerable waste”, with some three million new products destroyed by Amazon in France alone in 2018.

It also charged that Amazon worldwide hired people on insecure, short term contracts, meaning that “for every job created by Amazon, two are destroyed”.

The groups also accused Amazon — which has its European headquarters in Luxembourg, of tax avoidance, an issue which has already seen the company in the crosshairs of the French authorities.

The report alleged Amazon hid 57 per cent of its sales in France, a charge denied by the company.

The French parliament earlier this year defied US anger to pass a law taxing companies like Amazon, Google, Facebook or Apple for revenues accrued in the country, even if they are not based there.

NEW YORK — Wall Street stocks on Friday cut their losses for the week following solid consumer data that lifted indices after three down sessions. 

But Tesla shares plunged following a bumpy launch of an electric pickup truck.

Investors welcomed a University of Michigan report which showed higher consumer confidence in November, while shares of Nordstrom and Gap after earnings reports.

“The market is focused on the health of the consumer going into the holiday shopping season,” said Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Investments.

“US consumers make up two thirds of the economy so the fact that the consumer spending is so strong, both on Main Street and Wall Street, especially as we head into the holiday season, is significant.”

The broad-based S&P 500 ended up 0.2 per cent, but ended the week down 0.3 per cent.

London was the standout equity performer in Europe on Friday, rising well over one per cent, while Frankfurt and Paris advanced more modestly as they had to absorb a sobering set of data showing the eurozone’s economy has almost stalled after successive months of manufacturing decline.

Stocks have been under pressure much of the week amid rising uncertainty over US-China trade talks. There were more ambiguous statements on Friday.

The grinding US-China trade dispute has hung over markets for more than a year. Word of preliminary agreement in early October helped lift stocks to records, but markets have pulled back somewhat this week as the two sides have struggled to finalise the deal.

All-electric pickup? 

Meanwhile, Tesla slumped 6.1 per cent after its launch of an all-electric pickup truck drew several lackluster reviews, with analysts saying the space-age design was unlikely to challenge top-selling models by Ford and other conventional car companies.

The launch also included an embarrassing moment for Chief Executive Elon Musk, who was heard using an expletive when the vehicle’s supposedly indestructible windows cracked after being struck with a steel ball.

Some “important unanswered questions” hang over the vehicle, said Deutsche Bank, including whether the design was “too polarizing” and whether it would be able to carry heavy loads without requiring customers to opt for higher-cost trims.

“Will commercial buyers trust Tesla’s build quality?” Deutsche queried. “While the materials used appear robust, there could be questions about the truck’s durability when used under work conditions, especially in light of its seemingly unibody construction.”

“And the shattering of the truck’s unbreakable glass windows during the live demonstration was not a good start.”

HWASEONG, South Korea — Under the watchful gaze of Samsung Electronics security personnel, health and safety staffer Ko Jee-hun stood outside his semiconductor plant, handing out leaflets touting the benefits of joining a trade union.

For almost 50 years the firm avoided unionisation of its employees — sometimes adopting ferocious tactics according to critics — while rising to become the world's largest smartphone and semiconductor manufacturer.

It is the flagship subsidiary of the giant Samsung Group, by far the biggest of the family-controlled conglomerates, known as "chaebol", that dominate the world's 11th-largest economy.

But last week local authority officials in Suwon, where the chipmaker is headquartered, certified the National Samsung Electronics Union.

It is affiliated to the powerful Federation of Korean Trade Unions umbrella group (FKTU), and analysts say the move could spell trouble down the line for the firm.

Ko is the union's deputy general secretary. "What's at stake here is more than wages," he said as he mounted a recruitment drive this week.

"We demand communication and to have our voices heard. Because we are not just components."

The leaflets he handed out showed a series of cartoon characters complaining about issues from holidays and lunch breaks to forced early retirement and unexplained bonus reductions.

"The real union has arrived," it proclaimed, with a link and QR codes for employees to sign up.

The security guards would not let him stand directly outside the factory gate in Hwaseong, about 50 kilometres south of Seoul, forcing him to take up a position at the next intersection — but almost all passers-by took a copy.

"The fight has just only begun," Ko told AFP.

Ahead of its formal establishment the union registered 400 expressions of interest from Samsung Electronics employees, the FKTU says.

The new group has set itself a goal of signing up 10,000 members — almost 10 per cent of the workforce — which analysts say could see it demand a right to collective bargaining.

'Dismiss before launch' 

Samsung's founder Lee Byung-chul, who died in 1987, was adamantly opposed to unions, saying he would never allow them "until I have dirt over my eyes".

Internal documents from 2012 obtained by a South Korean MP instructed managers to control "problematic personnel" seeking to establish unions.

"To avoid claims of unfair labour practices, dismiss key organisers before the launch of a union," it read, among other recommendations.

But organisers have seized the opportunity presented by the left-leaning government of President Moon Jae-in — a former rights lawyer who represented trade unions — and controversy around the bribery trial of the company's Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, the founder's grandson.

It also faces challenges from the US-China trade war and export restrictions imposed by Tokyo on key supplies as part of a dispute with Seoul over wartime forced labour.

"The level of repression is much weaker now than before," said the union's Ko. "I think the company is being cautious over possible repercussions."

Samsung Electronics declined to comment to AFP.

Problematic personnel 

Samsung's share price soared in 2016-7 and a staffer who asked to be identified only as Kim welcomed the union's establishment personally, hoping for higher year-end bonuses and other benefits.

But the global chip market has since seen a prolonged downturn and Kim also feared the union's possible impact when even small production delays "could result in a significant loss of market share".

"Waging a collective strike could be fatal," he added.

Samsung Electronics' no-union policy was "anachronistic", but it could now end up following "in the footsteps of Hyundai Motor embroiled in strikes every year", the Korea Times warned in an editorial.

Higher labour costs could also impact its business model, which is based on large-scale, long term investments, said Sejong University business professor Kim Dae-jong.

"With the labour union, it could find it much harder to carry out large investments with finances diverted to pay for increased wages," he said.

Three unions were set up at Samsung last year, but none of them had the backing of a bigger federation and fizzled after attracting only a handful of members.

Samsung needed to move with the times and acknowledge that standards had changed since its founder's time, said Chun Soon-ok, a labour campaigner and former MP whose brother burned himself to death in 1970 in protest at brutal working conditions in the textile industry.

Unions also needed to move on from previous militancy, Chun added.

In the past, unions and management "saw each other as competitors to knock down in a boxing ring", she said. "But the 21st century requires them to dance together in partnership."