We need to find a fairer way of providing Goods and Services to the rest of the people on Earth.Cryptocurrencies and/or Gold Standard of money....maybe the answer to fight hyperinflation caused by too much printing of paper/fiat currencies by Governments and Central Banks all over the World. (https://nomorefiatmoneyplease.blogspot.com)
Chinese president, Egypt to discuss infrastructure investments
[CAIRO] Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to discuss potential investments in infrastructure projects with Egypt during his upcoming visit in the fields of transport, electricity, housing and agriculture, the government spokesman said on Friday.
Hossam al-Qawish said in a statement that possible projects include train lines worth US$1.5 billion.
Xi will visit Saudi Arabia, Iran and Egypt on a Jan 19-23 tour, China's Foreign Ministry said. It provided no other details.
Egypt needs foreign investment to strengthen an economy that was battered by political turmoil triggered by the 2011 uprising that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak.
China Premier Li pledges stable yuan, no competitive devaluation
[BEIJING] China Premier Li Keqiang pledged a "stable" yuan exchange rate after a volatile week in which offshore interbank borrowing costs in Hong Kong surged to a record as the country's central bank sought to force a narrowing of its discount to the mainland rate.
"China has the ability to continue to maintain the yuan exchange rate basically stable at a reasonable and balanced standard," Li said in comments posted on a government website Friday.
"China has no intention of stimulating exports through competitive currency devaluation. There's no basis for a continued depreciation of the yuan exchange rate."
The offshore yuan posted its biggest weekly gain since October after the People's Bank of China repeatedly bought the currency in Hong Kong. The yuan traded in the city rose 1 per cent from Jan 8, swinging from the worst weekly performance since the currency's August devaluation.
China is struggling to restore confidence in its currency as economic growth slows despite repeated rate cuts and Chinese citizens accumulate a record level of foreign-currency holdings. The nation's foreign-exchange regulator was said to have verbally instructed some onshore banks to stop yuan leaving the mainland and reduce offshore liquidity.
US business inventories post largest fall since 2011
[WASHINGTON] US business inventories in November posted their biggest drop since 2011 as businesses stepped up efforts to reduce stockpiles of unsold merchandise, the latest sign that economic growth slowed significantly in the fourth quarter.
The Commerce Department said on Friday inventories fell 0.2 per cent, the largest decline since September 2011, after a downwardly revised 0.1 per cent dip in October. Inventories in October were previously reported to have been unchanged.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast inventories slipping 0.1 per cent in November. Inventories are a key component of gross domestic product.
Retail inventories excluding autos, which go into the calculation of GDP, rose 0.2 per cent in November after a downwardly revised 0.3 per cent gain in October. They were previously reported to have increased 0.4 per cent in October.
A record inventory accumulation in the first half of 2015, which outstripped demand, left businesses saddled with unsold merchandise and little incentive to order more goods. That has contributed to a sharp slowdown in manufacturing activity.
Inventories subtracted 0.71 per centage point from third-quarter GDP, limiting the rise in output to a 2.0 per cent annualized rate. Fourth-quarter GDP growth estimates range between a 0.5 per cent and 1.4 per cent pace.
In November, business sales fell 0.2 per cent after declining 0.3 per cent in October. At November's sales pace, it would take 1.38 months for businesses to clear shelves, unchanged from October.
The still lofty ratio suggests businesses could continue working through the inventory bloat for a while, and hold back GDP growth.
Ukraine launches new China trade route bypassing Russia
[ILLICHIVSK, UKRAINE] Ukraine on Friday launched the first cargo train to China that will bypass Russia along a new "Silk Road" meant to counter the Kremlin's most stringent trade embargo on Kiev to date.
"This is a historic event," Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Andriy Pyvovarskiy wrote on Facebook.
"Now, Ukraine is not just a potential transit country between the East and West, but one that has finally realised its potential." An AFP team near the Black Sea port of Odessa saw the first shipment being loaded onto a train that was then moved to a ferry destined for the former Soviet republic of Georgia.
The ceremony was attended by top ministers and Odessa governor Mikheil Saakashvili - the former Georgia president who waged a brief 2008 war with Russia and remains a hated figure in Moscow.
The 10-car and 20-container train will later cross the Caspian Sea and traverse Azerbaijan and the Central Asian republic of Kazakhstan before reaching China nearly 12 days later.
It is partially loaded with iron ore and is due to bring back Chinese building materials and consumer goods.
Russia this month slapped new sanctions on Ukraine in response to its westward-leaning neighbour's decision to enter a much disputed free trade and political association agreement with the European Union.
Moscow's latest bans include transit restrictions on Ukrainian products to other former Soviet republics in Central Asia and the Caucasus.
Prime Minster Arseniy Yatsenyuk said on Wednesday that the Kremlin's most recent steps against Kiev "significantly complicated" Ukraine's trade.
"An absence of several months from these markets would immediately see us lose them for good," Ukrainian Economy Minister Aivaras Abromavicius told reporters during the loading ceremony.
ReutersA protester holds a placard outside the venue for the annual general meeting for mining company BHP Billiton in Perth, Western Australia, November 19, 2015.
The falling oil price driven by the OPEC countries' high supply targets are to blame, the company said.
BHP Billiton's oil price forecasts were wrong and they've had to change them.
"Although we expect prices to improve from their current lows, we have reduced our oil price assumptions for the short to medium term," the company said.
BHP Billiton Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Mackenzie, said: “Oil and gas markets have been significantly weaker than the industry expected. We responded quickly by dramatically cutting our operating and capital costs, and reducing the number of operated rigs in the Onshore US business from 26 a year ago to five by the end of the current quarter.
“While we have made significant progress, the dramatic fall in prices has led to the disappointing write down announced today. However, we remain confident in the long-term outlook and the quality of our acreage. We are well positioned to respond to a recovery.”
BHP Billiton shares fell more than 5% on the news:
Investing
BHP Billiton timed the market all wrong.
It made big investments in oil in 2012 and spent more than $20 billion on US shale acquisitions, according to the FT. Since then, the oil price has collapsed from triple figures to around $30, wiping billions from its investment.
