Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Netflix becomes 'global TV network' in 190 countries

JAN 7, 20167:20 AM

[LAS VEGAS] Streaming pioneer Netflix said Wednesday it had significantly expanded its global footprint to 190 countries, making its Internet TV service available in 130 new markets including India - but not China.

California-based Netflix, which began as a mail-order DVD service but is now producing award-winning original content alongside its offering of older shows and movies, launched in 2007. Now, 70 million subscribers pay a monthly fee for unlimited service.

"Today you are witnessing the birth of a new global Internet TV network," cofounder and chief executive Reed Hastings said at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

"With this launch, consumers around the world - from Singapore to St. Petersburg, from San Francisco to Sao Paulo - will be able to enjoy TV shows and movies simultaneously - no more waiting.

"While you have been listening to me talk, the Netflix service has gone live in nearly every country in the world except China, where we hope to be in the future." Netflix noted in a statement that it "continues to explore options for providing the service" in China, the world's most populous country, where the government censors online content it deems to be politically sensitive.

Netflix is keen to get the streaming service to China's population, but needs special permission from the government there and expects the process is "going to take time," Mr Hastings said during a press briefing at CES.

Other countries or markets without the service are Crimea, North Korea and Syria due to US government restrictions on American companies, Netflix said.

While English is the main language for most of the new markets, Netflix said it has added support for Arabic and Korean, along with simplified and traditional Chinese to the 17 languages it now uses.

"From today onwards, we will listen and we will learn, gradually adding more languages, more content and more ways for people to engage with Netflix," said Hastings.

"We're looking forward to bringing great stories from all over the world to people all over the world." Following its US launch, Netflix first expanded to Canada, and then to Latin America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Until Wednesday, it was available in 60 countries.

The company has been shifting from recycling old shows and movies to producing more original content, with its shows such as the award-winning "House of Cards" and "Orange Is the New Black." However, availability of original content could differ from country to country due to local licensing deals.

"We want citizens around the world to have access to the same content," Mr Hastings said, noting it may take several years to get to a point where Netflix content is consistent worldwide.

It remained to be seen whether Netflix would have to serve up edited versions of some shows or films to suit cultural sensitivities in some countries.

"The thrust of what we are trying to do is have the artistic vision be consistent around the world," Mr Hastings said.

With Netflix now available nearly everywhere in the world, the company's focus for the coming decade will be on providing stellar content.

Mr Hastings playfully compared the big launch with having a baby, saying. "It's a big deal, but the real work is the next 20 years." In 2016, the company plans to release 31 new and returning original series, two dozen original feature films and documentaries, as well as its own stand-up comedy specials and 30 original children's programmes.

"Our teams are not going to be focused on doing launches, which are wildly disruptive," said Netflix head of content acquisition Ted Sarandos.

"Now we can be fully focused on finding the best content for the world." The global reach also means that Netflix should be tapping into more local talent for original productions from various parts of the world. Mr Hastings and Mr Sarandos were confident that people around the world are hungry for on-demand films and shows.

"We are just throwing out the old paradigm; everything is gone," said actor Will Arnett, who will star in an upcoming Netflix comedy series titled "Flaked." "Everything you do is available everywhere around the world at the same time, it is amazing." Netflix is ahead of key rivals in streaming such as Amazon and Hulu, which have also begun to produce original content.

The rapid expansion is likely to impact the bottom line at Netflix. In its most recent quarterly update, the company said that it expects "to run around break-even through 2016 and to deliver material profits thereafter."

AFP

China goes underground to expand its strategic oil reserves

JAN 7, 20167:35 AM

[BEIJING] China is building underground caverns capable of holding up to a quarter of its expanded strategic oil reserves by 2020, as it looks for new storage methods away from expensive and exposed above-ground tanks in crowded coastal regions.

In a move to improve its energy security and take advantage of cheap oil, China is spending billions of dollars to build up strategic petroleum reserves (SPR) to meet up to 90 day's worth of net import demand in case of a disruption.

While many western countries make SPR data public, China rarely gives detailed information on its oil reserves or locations.

So far, China has built almost all of its SPR tanks above ground, but now at least five underground sites have been identified, with one at Huangdao in Shandong province completed and another four under construction, according to local media and several oil analysts surveyed by Reuters.

"Building facilities all on the ground would be like putting all your eggs in the same basket. That is why the government diversified its stockpile centres," said a senior researcher involved in storage design at the Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, run by China National Petroleum Corp.

The official declined to be named because he was not authorized to speak to media.

Despite the cost of drilling the caverns, underground storage can be up to two-thirds cheaper than above-ground tanks, especially as the cost of land surges in coastal regions, and are less prone to potential sabotage, experts said. "While traditional above-surface storage has the advantage of a shorter construction period, the underground caverns generally have the advantages of lower costs, lower environmental risks, as well as greater perceived level of security," said Wendy Yong, a senior analyst with energy consultancy FGE.

Underground sites are slated to hold about 130 million barrels, which would account for nearly a quarter of the 550 million-barrel SPR target set by Beijing for 2020, according to local media and analysts.

Three underground rock cavern sites under construction are at Jinzhou in northeast Liaoning province, and Zhanjiang and Huizhou in southern Guangdong, all expected to be ready to take oil over 2016 or early 2017, according to industry sources and analysts. A salt cavern has been partially completed in Jintan, in eastern Jiangsu province.

TECHNICAL PROBLEMS

Beijing confirmed the completion of its first underground site, a 19 million-barrel facility in Huangdao in Shandong province, in December when it said its reserves had doubled in the eight months to mid-2015 to 190 million barrels.

However, construction of caverns is taking longer than expected as Chinese builders are new to the technology and challenges such as water seepage during excavations and rock disposal can be daunting, experts said.

Engineers are encountering technical problems in adapting to local geological conditions, resulting in construction delays and the abandonment of one small, pilot underground facility due to oil leakage and high maintenance costs.

"China had a late start on research related to underground oil. In practice we borrowed foreign technologies that don't apply to China's scenario," said Zhuang Duanyang, a researcher at Dalian University of Technology.

Unlike the United States, which stores its vast oil supplies in hollowed-out underground salt domes, China's different geology means it mainly has to excavate hard rock caverns up to 200 metres (220 yards) below the surface, similar to South Korea.

Once the caverns are filled with oil, pressure from water naturally present in surrounding rock prevents it from seeping away, and Chinese officials say the caverns are relatively cheap, long-lasting and require little maintenance.

China has still identified two salt mines, the Jintan site and Qianjiang in central Hubei province that could be suitable for oil storage.

Work is also being carried out at Jintan by companies including PetroChina and Hong Kong's Towngas for gas storage.

REUTERS

UK finance minister warns of "dangerous cocktail" of threats for 2016

JAN 7, 20168:21 AM

[LONDON] Finance minister George Osborne said on Thursday that Britain's economy was not immune from a "dangerous cocktail" of threats from abroad, and urged against complacency after two years of solid growth.

Mr Osborne - whom Prime Minister David Cameron has named as a possible successor - said in a new year's message that Britain faced headwinds from slower growth in China, Brazil and Russia as well as tensions in the Middle East.

"The economy has slipped down the list of many people's everyday concerns. But the biggest risk is that people think that it's 'job done'," Mr Osborne said.

Britain has been the fastest growing of its peers for the past couple of years, but Mr Cameron and Mr Osborne regularly focus on the danger of economic mismanagement. Mr Cameron spoke of "red warning lights" from the world economy in late 2014.

Since becoming finance minister in 2010, Mr Osborne has made reducing Britain's large budget deficit his priority, and more than halved it to just under 5 per cent of gross domestic product during his first five years in office.

In the run-up to May 2015's national election, Mr Osborne said he wanted Britain to run a budget surplus in normal economic times, a goal the opposition Labour Party and many economists think is too stringent and risks hurting growth.

Public borrowing during the current financial year has come in above forecasts, raising doubts about whether Mr Osborne will meet his most immediate fiscal goals.

Business surveys have also suggested the outlook for economic growth is darker than thought a few months ago. The British Chambers of Commerce said on Thursday that manufacturing exports had stagnated for the first time since 2009.

"This year opens with a dangerous cocktail of new threats," Mr Osborne said. "We are only seven days into the New Year, and already we've had worrying news about stock market falls around the world, the slowdown in China (and) deep problems in Brazil and in Russia."

While a big fall in oil prices was good for most British consumers and businesses, it would hurt oil and gas output and investors who had lent to the sector, he said. Tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran were also a worry.

Mr Osborne made no mention of the referendum on European Union membership which Mr Cameron has promised to hold before the end of 2017 but which many analysts expect to take place as early as June. They warn it could cause businesses to delay investment.

REUTERS

North Korea nuclear test poses sanctions dilemma for major powers

JAN 7, 20167:58 AM

[WASHINGTON] US presidential candidates and members of Congress demanded more sanctions on North Korea on Wednesday after its latest nuclear test, but major powers will likely be reluctant to take the tough steps necessary to force Pyongyang to abandon its weapons program, former US officials and analysts said.

North Korea is already under a wide array of international sanctions, and diplomats said UN Security Council members were expected to discuss the possibility of adding to these in coming days. But the steps taken so far stop short of the all-out economic offensive that forced Iran to the nuclear negotiating table.

Asia analysts said China would likely support more UN sanctions, even though it is North Korea's neighbour and main ally, but within limits, for fear of destabilising what has long been a physical buffer between it and US-backed South Korea.

Washington, too, has been cautious. While US sanctions have aggressively targeted Pyongyang's military and weapons programme, the United States has not imposed crippling economic sanctions, in part because these would hit Chinese firms and banks that do the vast bulk of business with North Korea, former US officials said.

"We are deeply interlinked and if you hold an economic gun to China's head, you are holding it to your own head," said Joseph DeThomas, a former US diplomat who worked on sanctions on North Korea and Iran, referring to the close economic relations between the world's two largest economies.

Republican front-runner Donald Trump urged China to rein in its ally or face trade repercussions, while his main Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, said the United States should tighten sanctions on North Korea and called on Beijing to be more assertive in deterring Pyongyang's "irresponsible actions."

US State Department spokesman John Kirby said the United States would work with the international community on an"appropriate response" to Pyongyang. He said this would be"measured, deliberate, tough, clear and concise."

Mr DeThomas, the former diplomat, said China could exert more pressure on North Korea by restricting energy supplies and investment in areas such as minerals and mining. It could also restrict informal border trade, or even take a different approach to North Korean refugees - allowing them in rather than shutting them out.

In 2013 China, which has often played as moderating influence on North Korea, cut crude oil exports to North Korea as an apparent punishment for an earlier nuclear test.

But Mr DeThomas said any discussions on sanctions at the United Nations would go nowhere close to the steps necessary to effect change in North Korea.

"From China's perspective, North Korean nuclear weapons are a bad thing, but the collapse of the North Korean regime would be worse thing," Mr DeThomas said.

NORTH KOREA SANCTIONS BILL

Republican leaders of the US House of Representatives are considering a vote as soon as next week on long-delayed legislation to impose stiffer punishments on foreign companies doing business with Pyongyang, US congressional sources said on Wednesday.

The bill would target banks facilitating North Korea's nuclear programme and authorise freezing of US assets of those directly linked to illicit North Korean activities. It would also penalise those involved in business providing North Korea with hard currency.

A Republican congressional aide said US sanctions could go even further by freezing the assets of North Korean leaders as they had targeted leaders in Belarus, Zimbabwe and Russia, or focus on money laundering as they had done in Myanmar and Iran.

Jeff Bader, Obama's top Asia adviser during his first term, said the Obama administration had discussed in the past going after the assets of North Korean leaders. But tracking down their finances would be no easy task, said Bader, now a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution think tank.

Peter Harrell, a former US deputy assistant secretary of state for counter-threat finance and sanctions, said blockading major sectors of North Korea's economy, like textiles, could have an impact and convince Chinese firms to back away from North Korea trade. But he said the policy could backfire if it alienated Beijing or made North Korea more aggressive.

Unlike in the case of Iran, the United States has not sought to strangle regular trade between North Korea and the international community, with threats to blacklist any company that does business in the country.

To cut Tehran off from international trade, Washington used so-called "secondary sanctions" that threatened to expel from the financial system any company, anywhere in the world, that purchased oil from Iran. But secondary sanctions against Pyongyang have so far remained off the table.

Adam Smith, a former senior adviser at the US Treasury Department Office of Foreign Assets Control, which enforces US sanctions, said even the toughest steps might not change North Korea's behaviour, given its small, isolated economy, which unlike Iran's had few international connections. "It's not clear to me that if they maxed out sanctions and made it like Iran that it would make any policy difference," he said.

REUTERS

World Bank lowers 2016 global economic growth forecast

JAN 7, 20166:59 AM

[WASHINGTON] The World Bank slashed its growth forecast for the global economy in 2016 on Wednesday, citing "disappointing" growth in major emerging-market economies like China and Brazil.

The bank cut its June forecast for global economic expansion in 2016 by 0.4 per centage point to 2.9 per cent, though that is still faster than 2015's sluggish 2.4 per cent.

"Simultaneous weakness in most major emerging markets is a concern for achieving the goals of poverty reduction and shared prosperity because those countries have been powerful contributors to global growth for the past decade," the World Bank said.

In the midst of a deep economic transition, China should see economic growth slow to 6.7 per cent this year from 6.9 per cent in 2015, it said. The 2016 forecast for the world's second-largest economy is 0.3 point lower than six months ago and would mark its weakest performance since 1990.

Since mid-2014, China has endured bouts of financial turbulence, the latest on Monday with a spectacular seven per cent plunge in stock market indices.

The World Bank's growth revisions are even more drastic for two other big emerging-market economies already in recession: Brazil, down 3.6 points to a 2.5 per cent contraction, and Russia, a 1.4-point drop to a 0.7 per cent contraction.

Both countries have been hammered by falling prices for commodities such as oil and agriculture products.

"There is greater divergence in performance among emerging economies. Compared to six months ago, risks have increased, particularly those associated with the possibility of a disorderly slowdown in a major emerging economy," said Kaushik Basu, World Bank chief economist.

"A combination of fiscal and central bank policies can be helpful in mitigating these risks and supporting growth." Risks to the outlook included financial stress linked to the US Federal Reserve's launch in December of an interest rate hiking cycle, and heightened geopolitical tensions, the Bank said in its Global Economic Prospects report.

"The simultaneous slowing of four of the largest emerging markets - Brazil, Russia, China, and South Africa - poses the risk of spillover effects for the rest of the world economy," said Basu.

"Global ripples from China's slowdown are expected to be greatest but weak growth in Russia sets back activity in other countries in the region." Developing countries were expected to expand by 4.8 per cent this year, 0.4 point weaker than the prior estimate, the 188-nation institution said.

High-income countries on a whole fared better. The forecast for their growth in gross domestic product, the broad measure of output of goods and services, was lowered to 2.1 per cent, a 0.3-point drop.

Only a 0.1 point dip in GDP was notched for the United States, the largest economy, and for the 19-nation eurozone, to 2.7 per cent and 1.7 per cent, respectively.

Hard-hit has been Sub-Saharan Africa, where growth stumbled to 3.4 per cent in 2015, its weakest performance since 2009, on falling commodity prices.

But with commodity prices expected to stabilize this year, growth in the region, home to some of the world's poorest countries, was expected to pick up to 4.2 per cent, the institution said, lowering its June forecast by 0.3 point.

The dimmer picture of the world economy painted by the World Bank' echoed concerns already expressed by the International Monetary Fund, which will update its own economic projections on January 20.

"Global growth in 2016 will be disappointing and patchy," IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde warned in late December.

"And the medium-term outlook has clouded over, too, because low productivity, aging populations and the fallout from the global financial crisis are putting the brakes on growth."

AFP

US dollar drops as Fed cites currency as risk to its inflation goal

JAN 7, 20166:50 AM

[NEW YORK] The dollar fell after minutes from the US Federal Reserve's December meeting cited the strength of the greenback as a risk to the central bank's objective of raising inflation toward its 2 per cent goal.

The US currency weakened against the euro and the yen after the Federal Open Market Committee minutes showed the central bank raised interest rates for the first time in almost a decade on a "close call" for some policy makers. The yen climbed to a four-month high against the dollar on concern China's currency weakness reflects a slowing economy and as North Korea's claim that it successfully tested its first hydrogen bomb added to demand for the safest assets.

"More and more, we see a certain level of discomfort among the Fed regarding the strength of the dollar," said Mazen Issa, senior foreign-exchange strategist at Toronto-Dominion Bank in New York.

The greenback declined 0.3 per cent to US$1.0781 per euro and lost 0.5 per cent to 118.47 yen as of 5 p.m. in New York. The yen reached its strongest level against the US currency since Aug. 24 on a closing basis.

The 10 voting FOMC members decided unanimously three weeks ago to raise the benchmark federal funds rate target by a quarter per centage point to a range of 0.25 per cent to 0.5 per cent. The move marked the end of an era of near-zero rates dating back to December 2008.

"They tried hard to show their confident, but cautious, approach," said Robert Tipp, chief investment strategist in Newark, New Jersey, for Prudential Financial's fixed-income division. He expects greenback to attract more buyers this week amid improving labour data and rising demand from investors for safe assets.

Before the Fed minutes were released, Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said policy makers' forecasts predicting four interest- rate increases in 2016 were "in the ballpark," though China's slowing economy and other sources of uncertainty make it difficult to predict the path of policy.

A gauge of the dollar reached an 11-year high after a private report showed US companies added more workers than projected in December. Firms boosted payrolls by 257,000 last month, figures from the ADP Research Institute in Roseland, New Jersey, showed. That's the biggest jump since December 2014. A Labor Department report Jan 8 will probably show nonfarm payrolls rose by 200,000 last month, compared with 211,000 in November, according to a Bloomberg survey.

BLOOMBERG

Australian dollar drops to worst start on record as China angst intensifies

JAN 7, 20169:20 AM

[SYDNEY] The Australian and dollar fell to its the worst start of any year since it began trading freely amid concern China's economy is struggling to regain momentum.

The Aussie and kiwi currencies are dropping amid a meltdown in China, the biggest buyer of the commodities that are key for both Australia and New Zealand.

Concerns that a slowdown in Asia's biggest economy may deepen were exacerbated Wednesday when the central bank cut its yuan reference rate for the seventh day in a row, sending China's currency to a five-year low.

The yen closed at a four-month high against the US dollar on Wednesday as stocks slumped worldwide, spurring demand for havens.

"The Australian dollar has been highly sensitive to Chinese factors and it is vulnerable to further declines," Masafumi Yamamoto, chief currency strategist in Tokyo at Mizuho Securities, wrote in a note.

"The scope of declines against the greenback from the start of the year among Asian currencies is biggest for the Australian dollar and the New Zealand dollar."

The Aussie was at 70.79 US cents as of 9:27 am in Tokyo from 70.72 the day before. It fell nearly 3 per cent through Wednesday, its worst start to any year since currency controls were scrapped in December 1983, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The kiwi was little changed at 66.49 US cents. It also weakened nearly 3 per cent this year.

The Antipodean currencies also have more scope for declines against the yen, which has benefited from demand for safer assets and surged against the US dollar, Mr Yamamoto said.

The yen was at 118.63 to the dollar from 118.47 when it closed at its highest since Aug 24 on Wednesday. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, which tracks the greenback's performance against 10 currencies of major trading partners, on Wednesday reached the strongest ever in data that start at the end of 2004.

BLOOMBERG

Space Station Tour (Video)

Space Station Tour

2012

This is an excellent documentary-type tour of the International Space Station made by Sunita Williams in her last few days as a Commander up there. It shows us just how big this Space Station is, yet also letting us know how small everything is, or rather cramped.

The film makes you reflect and think about how really cool it is to be human, with our thoughts, emotions and our capabilities. It shows what we can do - occasionally we come together and build something monumental, we build castles in the sky (Space Stations).

It's cramped, cluttered, and supremely hostile environment, where a meteor fragment could breach the hull and empty the atmosphere in seconds. Just getting there and back entails more risk than 99 percent of us would accept, which defines the astronauts and cosmonauts as a very brave individuals.

It makes you wonder how long it takes for your mind to accept the fact that you don't have to set things down. Just leave the object floating in the air until you need it again. Conversely, one might ask if a returning astronaut forgets to set things down, assuming they will float like in space, when he gets back to earth.

One funny thing is that Sunita constantly displays that weightlessness also does strange things to a long hair. It sure looks like a messy place with wires and packets and pipes all over the place which kind of shatters the nice tidy image that Sci-Fi movies present, but in the same time it makes you appreciate what is actually presented in this stunning video.

Sing dollar falls sharply; market 'shocked' by weaker yuan fixing

Siow Li Senlisen@sph.com.sg@SiowLiSenBT

JAN 6, 20163:55 PM

THE Singapore dollar fell sharply on Wednesday after a weaker-than-expected yuan fixing by China's central bank.

The SGD was quoted at 1.4324 to the US dollar at 3.24pm, according to Bloomberg, just shy of the 52-week low of 1.4342 on Oct 2, 2015.

Wednesday's move up in the USD-SGD could largely be due to the 150 basis-point jump in the USD-CNY fixing, said Saktiandi Supaat, Maybank head of foreign-exchange research.

This is due to the much weaker yuan reference rate that the People's Bank of China (PBOC) had set at 9.15am, said United Overseas Bank economist Francis Tan.

"Market was shocked by it, I think . . . and felt that there could be some 'competitive devaluation' coming up and so start to short SGD (and even regionals too)," said Mr Tan.

The yuan fell to a five-year low after the PBOC cut its daily fixing to the lowest level since April 2011, weaker than the yuan's last onshore closing level, reported Bloomberg
.

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Netflix becomes 'global TV network' in 190 countries

Netflix becomes 'global TV network' in 190 countries

China goes underground to expand its strategic oil reserves

China goes underground to expand its strategic oil reserves

UK finance minister warns of "dangerous cocktail" of threats for 2016

UK finance minister warns of "dangerous cocktail" of threats for 2016

North Korea nuclear test poses sanctions dilemma for major powers

North Korea nuclear test poses sanctions dilemma for major powers

World Bank lowers 2016 global economic growth forecast

World Bank lowers 2016 global economic growth forecast

US dollar drops as Fed cites currency as risk to its inflation goal

US dollar drops as Fed cites currency as risk to its inflation goal

Australian dollar drops to worst start on record as China angst intensifies

Australian dollar drops to worst start on record as China angst intensifies

Space Station Tour (Video)

Space Station Tour

Sing dollar falls sharply; market 'shocked' by weaker yuan fixing

Sing dollar falls sharply; market 'shocked' by weaker yuan fixing

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