Hungary to join China-backed AIIB investment bank: PM Orban

      

1 Apr10:33 PM

[ASTANA] Hungary has decided to join the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Wednesday.

More than 40 countries, including Australia, South Korea, Britain, France, Germany and Italy, have said they would sign up to the AIIB, with Japan and the United States the two notable absentees.

"I would like to announce here that we will join the Asian international development bank," Mr Orban, referring to the AIIB, told a news briefing during a visit to Kazakhstan.

"We will follow the example of Kazakhstan," he added, giving no further details.

China set a March 31 deadline to become a founding member of the AIIB, an institution that could enhance Beijing's regional and global influence.

Washington initially tried to dissuade its allies from joining the AIIB, seeing it as a challenge to the World Bank and Asian Development Bank over which the US exerts considerable influence, but changed tack after many signed up for it.

REUTERS

      

China premier says will fight pollution, corruption

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Thursday that his government will fight pollution and corruption this year. 

PHOTO: AP

5 Mar9:08 AM

[BEIJING] Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Thursday that his government will fight pollution and corruption this year.

Mr Li, speaking at the opening of the annual full session of the National People's Congress, the country's largely rubber-stamp parliament, calling pollution a "blight on people's quality of life".

He also said the government will eradicate the breeding grounds for corruption.

REUTERS

   

US board may delay sweeping accounting rule change for revenue

2 Apr7:45 AM

[NEW YORK] The board that sets accounting rules for US public companies proposed on Wednesday a one-year delay in sweeping new rules that would change the way companies recognise revenue, one of the most important numbers in corporate financial statements.

The revised timeline from the US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) calls for the rules to take effect for public companies starting in 2018 and for nonpublic companies in 2019.

FASB spokeswoman Christine Klimek said the board proposed the delay to give companies more time to prepare for the rules. Some companies that need new systems to implement the rules do not yet have necessary software, she said.

FASB said it would seek public comments for 30 days before deciding on the timeline.

The new standard for revenue recognition was approved in May 2014 as part of an effort to align US accounting rules, called Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, with international rules known as International Financial Reporting Standards.

For US companies, the rule change would replace an array of industry-specific guidance with a single principle for recognising revenue across various industries. Generally, revenue will be recognised when a company transfers control of goods or services.

The accounting change calls for more judgment on the part of managers of US companies in recognising revenue, while international companies that currently lack detailed rules on when revenue should be booked would have more guidance.

Rule-makers had worked for years to align the US and international standards so that investors could more easily compare financial results from companies in all parts of the world.

Accounting experts had said the rule change would present a logistical challenge for companies. The change calls for extensive disclosures and requires many businesses to change their book-keeping practices and technology systems.

A spokesman for the International Accounting Standards Board, which sets the international standards, was not immediately available for comment.

REUTERS

    

Smartphones a lifeline for many Americans: study

      

Americans love their smartphones and rely on them as a key way to go online, but many find the cost too steep, a survey showed on Wednesday. 

PHOTO: AFP

1 Apr10:26 PM

[WASHINGTON] Americans love their smartphones and rely on them as a key way to go online, but many find the cost too steep, a survey showed on Wednesday.

The Pew Research Center found some 64 percent of American adults owned a smartphone as of the survey last year, almost double the percentage of 2011.

And 15 percent of those surveyed said they had a smartphone and "limited" access to the Internet from other sources. Ten percent in the survey said they had no broadband Internet at home.

In sum, the figures mean around one out of 14 Americans is "smartphone dependent," with no high-speed Internet at home and little access elsewhere, Pew said.

A large number of these "smartphone-dependent" users are young adults: some 15 per cent of those in the 18-29 age group fit that description, the survey found. Those with lower incomes and lower educational attainment were also more likely to depend on their handsets.

"Compared with smartphone owners who are less reliant on their mobile devices, these smartphone-dependent users are less likely to own some other type of computing device, less likely to have a bank account, less likely to be covered by health insurance and more likely to rent or to live with a friend or family member rather than own their own home," the Pew report said.

But because these people have lower incomes, many have had trouble paying their smartphone bills, according to Pew.

Around 23 per cent of smartphone owners said they had to cancel or suspend their service for financial reasons, and 15 per cent said they often reach the maximum amount of data allowed on their plan.

"The connections to online resources that smartphones facilitate are often most tenuous for those users who rely on those connections the most," said Aaron Smith, a Pew researcher.

"A substantial minority of Americans indicate that their phone plays a central role in their ability to access digital services and online content, but for many users, this access may not be available when they need it due to financial stresses or technical constraints."

Although 93 per cent said their smartphone is useful, less than half - 46 per cent - claimed they "could live without" their device, and 54 per cent said it was "not always needed."

While smartphone users access the Internet on their handsets for a variety of things, low-income and smartphone-dependent users are especially likely to use their phone for work, or to help find a job.

Overall, the study found 62 per cent of smartphone owners have used their phone to look up information about a health condition, and 57 per cent for online banking.

More than four in 10 used their phone to look up real estate listings or other information about a place to live, or to find information about a job. And 18 per cent used their phone to submit a job application.

More than two thirds of smartphone owners said they used the devices to follow breaking news, with 33 per cent saying that they do this "frequently." And 67 per cent said they used their phones at least occasionally as GPS devices while driving, with 31 per cent using this feature often.

Among younger adults, 91 per cent said they used their smartphones for social networking such as Facebook or Twitter, but the figure was much lower (55 per cent) for users over 50 years old.

The report is based on telephone surveys conducted in December 2014 among 2,002 adults, with some data from surveys in October and November. The margin of error was estimated at 2.5 percentage points.

AFP

   

Greece denies will delay IMF payment without new aid

Greece's government denied on Wednesday it would delay a payment to the International Monetary Fund due on April 9, after the interior minister was quoted as saying Athens would take the step if it did not get fresh aid from lenders. 

PHOTO: AFP

1 Apr10:46 PM

[ATHENS] Greece's government denied on Wednesday it would delay a payment to the International Monetary Fund due on April 9, after the interior minister was quoted as saying Athens would take the step if it did not get fresh aid from lenders.

"There is no chance that Greece will not meet its obligations to the IMF on April 9," government spokesman Gabriel Sakellaridis told Reuters in response to the comments by the minister to Germany's Spiegel.

Interior Minister Nikos Voutsis told Spiegel that if foreign creditors do not send it further funds by April 9, the government would first pay salaries and pensions first and then come to an agreement with lenders on paying the IMF late.

Greece is rapidly running out of cash but its eurozone and IMF lenders have frozen aid until it implements reforms, with talks bogged down over the measures Athens must take. It must make a payment of about 430 million euros to the IMF next week.

Mr Sakellaridis said talks with lenders had covered common ground and that the government expected a "positive outcome" at a meeting of eurozone finance ministers.

REUTERS

    

US targets overseas cyber attackers with new sanctions programme

      

2 Apr7:19 AM

[WASHINGTON] US President Barack Obama launched a new sanctions program on Wednesday to target individuals and groups outside the United States that use"malicious" cyber attacks to threaten US foreign policy, national security or economic stability.

In an executive order, Mr Obama declared such activities a"national emergency" and allowed the US Treasury Department to freeze assets and bar other financial transactions of entities engaged in destructive cyber attacks.

The executive order gave the administration the same sanctions tools it deploys to address other threats, including crises in the Middle East and Russia's aggression in Ukraine. Those tools are now available for an escalating epidemic of cyber threats aimed at US computer networks.

It was the Obama administration's latest effort to get tough with hackers, following indictments of five Chinese military officers and the decision to "name and shame" North Korea for a high-profile attack on Sony. Officials said they hoped US allies would follow suit.

US lawmakers and security and legal experts welcomed the move as an encouraging step after a steady stream of cyber attacks aimed at Target, Home Depot and other retailers, as well as military networks.

But they said the executive order was surprisingly broad, which could result in a compliance nightmare for companies, and warned that it remained difficult to definitively "attribute"hacking attacks and identify those responsible.

Mr Obama said in a statement that harming critical infrastructure, misappropriating funds, using trade secrets for competitive advantage and disrupting computer networks would trigger the penalties.

Companies that knowingly use stolen trade secrets to undermine the US economy would also be targeted. "From now on, we have the power to freeze their assets, make it harder for them to do business with U.S. companies, and limit their ability to profit from their misdeeds," Obama said.

The program was designed as a deterrent and punishment, filling a gap in U.S. cybersecurity efforts where diplomatic or law enforcement means were insufficient, Michael Daniel, Mr Obama's cybersecurity adviser, told reporters. He said there was no timeline for determining an initial round of targets.

BIG BANG

Under the programme, cyber attackers or those who conduct commercial espionage in cyberspace can be listed on the official sanctions list of specially designated nationals, a deterrent long-sought by the cyber community. "This sends a signal that the days of free-range hacking are over," said James Lewis, a cyber expert with the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

But Mr Lewis said it would take time for the system of penalties to take hold. "People keep looking for a 'Big Bang'moment, but this will take years," he said.

John Reed Stark, a former head of Internet enforcement for the Securities and Exchange Commission, expressed skepticism, citing the high number of state-sponsored cyber attacks and the difficulty of identifying hackers.

Mark Rasch, a former Justice Department trial attorney and former executive with defense contractor SAIC, said the breadth of the order gave the executive branch vast new powers to respond to even routine criminal hacking.

Even denial-of-service attacks that knock websites offline with meaningless traffic, which can be orchestrated over the Internet for a few hundred dollars, could officially qualify for sanctions, he said.

If used widely, he said, the order could spell "a compliance nightmare for companies." Representative Michael McCaul, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said many questions remained about the administration's overall strategy, and what underlying definitions would be used to govern implementation of sanctions.

Dmitri Alperovitch, chief technology officer of Crowdstrike, a cybersecurity firm, said the order could have a "momentous"effect by preventing cyber criminals from spending the proceeds of their attacks, and closing off companies based in China and elsewhere from the US financial market.

The program could prompt a strong reaction from China, which routinely denies accusations by US investigators that hackers backed by the Chinese government have been behind attacks on US companies.

Senior administration officials said the new program was focused on activities rather than countries or regions.

Mr Obama has moved cybersecurity toward the top of his 2015 agenda after recent breaches. Last month, the Central Intelligence Agency announced a major overhaul aimed in part at sharpening its focus on cyber operations.

REUTERS