On the broader market, gainers outpaced losers 223 to 109, while 255 counters were unchanged, 1,691 untraded and 51 others suspended. — Picture Ahmad Zamzahuri
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KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 28 — Bursa Malaysia extended Friday’s gains to start the week higher today, lifted by persistent bargain-hunting predominantly by foreign funds, a dealer said.
At 9.03am, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) gained 9.94 points to 1,601.66 compared with 1,591.72 at Friday’s close.
The market bellwether opened 4.02 points higher at 1,595.74.
On the broader market, gainers outpaced losers 223 to 109, while 255 counters were unchanged, 1,691 untraded and 51 others suspended.
Turnover stood at 142.75 million units valued at RM70.12 million.
Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd vice-president of Equity Research Thong Pak Leng said Wall Street remained defiant with a strong upswing despite the ongoing tensions in Ukraine, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI Average) jumping 835 points to surge above the 34,000 level, while Nasdaq was 221 points higher.
“Whether such buying can sustain, it remains to be seen,” he told Bernama.
Back home, he said the FBM KLCI is expected to continue its uptrend within the 1,585-1,600 range today, in view of a slew of good corporate earnings of late.
“We also noticed that consensus began to take heed of the strong crude palm oil prices and upgrading their average price assumptions,” he said.
As for the heavyweights, Maybank rose six sen to RM8.94, Public Bank and Petronas Chemicals added three sen to RM4.40 and RM9.32, respectively, CIMB inched up one sen to RM5.68, and IHH Healthcare bagged 12 sen to RM6.60.
Of the actives, Siab Holdings improved three sen to 33 sen, while KNM Group eased one sen to 15.5 sen and EA Technique fell 2.5 sen to 4.5 sen.
On the index board, the FBM Emas Index expanded 65.42 points to 11,415.66, the FBMT 100 Index jumped 64.85 points to 11,088.02, and the FBM Emas Shariah Index recovered 67.88 points to 12,084.35.
The FBM 70 ticked up 61.77 points to 13,577.71 and the FBM ACE strengthened 22.41 points to 5,971.25.
Sector-wise, the Industrial Products and Services Index climbed 0.38 of-a-point to 209.03, the Financial Services Index rose 93.52 points to 16,578.17, and the Plantation Index widened 90.44 points to 8,188.73. — Bernama
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MALAYSIA was battered by the Covid crisis in 2020 and 2021 and the current headwinds blowing from the Russia-Ukraine war and the US-China conflict together with the recent upsurge in commodity prices is causing companies to downsize, rightsize or restructure their operations to stay afloat. The repercussions resulted in companies laying off employees.
In most situations, such employees were paid some money either in the form of compensation for loss of employment, or as gratuities. The terminology used to describe such payments is compensation for loss of employment, ex-gratia, contractual payment, retrenchment payments, gratuity.
HOW IS IT TAXED?
Gratuities
The starting point is all payments received in connection with your employment will be taxable. However, there are specific provisions in the Income Tax Act 1967 that exempt either partially or fully payments received in respect of compensation for loss of employment or retirement gratuities.
Retirement gratuities are fully exempt if you retire on the grounds of ill-health. The understanding of “ill-health” adopted by the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) requires a person to be certified unfit to continue working permanently. This can be an issue of dispute as to whether you have to be totally unfit to work before you fall within the words of “ill-health”. Similarly, sums received by way of death gratuities are exempt.
Retirement gratuities are also fully exempt if you retire on or after the age of 55 or compulsory age of retirement from an employment which has lasted 10 years with the same employer or with companies in the same group. This will also apply if you have a contract of employment or collective agreement which allows you to retire between 50 and 55 provided you meet the above 10-year requirement.
In case you don’t meet any of the above requirements, you are still entitled to claim a tax exemption of RM1,000 on for each completed year of service on the gratuities received.
Compensation for loss of employment
You are entitled to a full tax exemption if it is on the grounds of ill-health.
In all other cases, an exemption of RM10,000 is given for each completed year of service with the same employer or companies in the same group. This exemption is eligible to be exercised for payments received in respect of early termination of employment contracts under separation schemes such as voluntary or mutual separation schemes.
If you received the above payments for ceasing employment between Jan 1, 2020 but not later than Dec 31, 2021, the exemption is increased to RM20,000 per completed year of service.
Areas to watch out for
An area of common dispute is determining whether the payment is a gratuity payment or a compensation for loss of employment. This will depend on determining the true characteristics and the underlying nature of the payment as opposed to only looking at the legal document.
Generally, gratuity is a payment for the past services, while compensation for loss of employment is a payment received due to premature termination of employment where the employee has a prospect of continuing until retirement age.
If an employee receives the retirement gratuity at 55 after having met the 10-year rule, but continues his employment thereafter, the employee will not be entitled to the retirement gratuity tax exemption.
Please note that compensation payments made to non-service directors in a controlled company will not enjoy the tax exemption. A service director is someone who owns not more than 5% of the ordinary share capital of the company and is employed in a managerial or technical capacity.
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The rouble was indicated as low as 119 per dollar, a more than 29 per cent tumble. — Reuters pic
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TOKYO, Feb 28 — The Russian rouble was set to plunge nearly 30 per cent to all-time lows versus the dollar today, while the euro sank after Western nations announced fresh sanctions to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, including blocking some banks from the SWIFT international payments system.
Safe haven currencies including the US dollar and yen were in demand after Russian President Vladimir Putin put nuclear-armed forces on high alert yesterday, the fourth day of the biggest assault on a European state since World War Two.
The rouble was indicated as low as 119 per dollar, a more than 29 per cent tumble.
The euro declined 0.83 per cent to US$1.1181, after earlier falling as much as 1.34 per cent. The single currency lost 0.72 per cent to ¥129.32, and was 0.67 per cent lower at 1.03655 Swiss franc.
“The escalating crisis in Ukraine will force markets to price in a substantially higher geopolitical risk premium, (and) that is going to leave safe havens like the USD bid,” Westpac strategists wrote in a client note.
“The Ukrainian situation is volatile, and so too is market sentiment, although a risk-averse backdrop near term appears the most prudent assumption,” meaning more downside for Australian and New Zealand dollars, they said.
The Aussie slid 0.76 per cent to US$0.71795, while New Zealand’s kiwi sank 0.82 per cent to US$0.6689.
Sterling slipped 0.29 per cent to US$1.3368. — Reuters
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Exxon Mobil previously ended two Russian joint ventures after sanctions were imposed following Russia’s 2014 military operations in eastern Ukraine. Exxon took a US$200 million hit to earnings from the exit. — Reuters pic
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HOUSTON, Feb 28 — Exxon Mobil likely will face new pressure to severe ties with Russia’s largest oil producer, said analysts, after rival BP agreed to unload a Rosneft stake.
Russia’s attack on Ukraine has unleashed broad economic and political rebukes and corporate withdrawals by banks, technology and other firms unprecedented in their extent. BP yesterday said it would take a US$25 billion (RM105 billion) writedown to abandon its Rosneft holdings.
Exxon holds a 30 per cent stake, alongside Rosneft, Japan’s SODECO and India’s ONGC Videsh, in Sakhalin Island oil and gas fields in Russia’s Far East. The group with Exxon as operator has exported more than 1 billion barrels of oil and 1.03 billion cubic feet of natural gas since production began in 2005.
“Supermajor E&Ps and major service providers with exposure to Russia will now be facing tremendous pressure to pull investments from Russia,” said Rystad Energy analyst Artem Abramov.
“I will not be surprised if we see big announcements similar to (the) BP-Rosneft one in the next few days, but it will be difficult to speculate on how exactly things will play out,” he said.
An Exxon spokesperson did not reply to a request for comment.
The US oil major previously ended two Russian joint ventures after sanctions were imposed following Russia’s 2014 military operations in eastern Ukraine. Exxon took a US$200 million hit to earnings from the exit.
Sakhalin represents one of the largest single direct investments in Russia, according to Exxon, with its three oil and gas fields. The partners have been advancing development of a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility on the island. Such plants typically cost several billion dollars to construct.
Exxon last year employed more than 1,000 people across Russia with offices in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and Yuzhno-Sakhalinst, according to its website. — Reuters
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The euro slid 0.9 per cent to US$1.1165 and 0.85 per cent to ¥129.15, while the risk-sensitive Australian and New Zealand dollars sank 0.76 per cent and 0.85 per cent, respectively. — Reuters pic
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TOKYO, Feb 28 — US equity futures sank with the euro while the safe-haven dollar and yen were in demand on Mon after Western nations imposed fresh sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, including blocking some banks from the SWIFT international payments system.
US 10-year Treasury futures rose a full point, while the Russian rouble indicated as much as 25 per cent weaker at a new record low around 112 per dollar.
The fall in the rouble came after Russian President Vladimir Putin put nuclear-armed forces on high alert yesterday, the fourth day of the biggest assault on a European state since World War Two.
At the same time, Asia-Pacific stock markets were higher in early trade, with Australia’s benchmark rising 0.39 per cent and New Zealand’s up 0.74 per cent.
That was the knock-on effect of Wall Street gains from Friday, when the S&P 500 closed up 2.51 per cent, said Kyle Rodda, a market analyst at IG Australia.
US emini stock futures though were pointing to a 2.32 per cent drop at the restart.
“We had a deluge of very negative information over the weekend,” Rodda said.
“My sense is there’s not going to be much staying power behind this particular move (in Asia-Pacific stocks), considering we’re talking about financial stability risks, and sprinkle over that the threat of nuclear war.”
“The FX market seems to be the best signal (of market sentiment) at the moment.”
The euro slid 0.9 per cent to US$1.1165 and 0.85 per cent to ¥129.15, while the risk-sensitive Australian and New Zealand dollars sank 0.76 per cent and 0.85 per cent, respectively. — Reuters
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BP, the biggest foreign investor in Russia, said it was abandoning its stake in state oil company Rosneft at a cost of up to US$25 billion, shrinking its oil and gas reserves in half. — Reuters pic
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NEW YORK, Feb 28 — Energy major BP opened a new front in the West’s campaign to isolate Russia’s economy, with its decision to quit the oil-rich country the most aggressive move yet by a company in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Western allies have ramped up efforts to punish Russia with new sanctions including shuttering their airspace to Russian aircraft, cutting some of its banks off the SWIFT financial network and limiting Moscow’s ability to deploy its US$630 billion (RM2.6 trillion) foreign reserves — measures that are expected to pulverise the country’s financial markets and economy.
BP, the biggest foreign investor in Russia, said it was abandoning its stake in state oil company Rosneft at a cost of up to US$25 billion, shrinking its oil and gas reserves in half.
The British company’s abrupt move puts the spotlight on other Western corporations with operations in Russia amid growing pressure from governments to tighten the financial screws on Moscow after it launched the biggest assault on a European country since World War Two.
In a video call yesterday, the European Union’s internal market chief told the chief executives of Alphabet and its YouTube unit to ban users pushing war propaganda as part of measures to halt disinformation on Ukraine.
Alphabet’s Google has already barred Russia’s state-owned media outlet RT and other channels from receiving money for ads on their websites, apps and YouTube videos, similar to a move by Facebook after the invasion.
A no-go zone
In an unprecedented step, European nations and Canada moved to shut their airspace to Russian aircraft and the United States is mulling similar action, according to US officials.
US-based United Parcel Service Inc and FedEx Corp, two of the world’s largest logistics companies, have said they are halting delivery service to Russia and Ukraine.
Large parts of the Russian economy will be a no-go zone for Western banks and financial firms after the decision to cut some of its banks off from SWIFT, a secure messaging system used for trillions of dollars’ worth of transactions around the world.
Even neutral Switzerland will likely follow the European Union in sanctioning Russia and freezing Russian assets, its president said yesterday.
Russians queued at ATMs over the weekend worried that the new sanctions will trigger cash shortages and disrupt payments.
Tech companies have also been affected with chipmaker Dell Technologies Inc suspending sales in Ukraine and Russia after US restrictions on exports of computers, sensors and other hi-tech equipment was announced. — Reuters
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PETALING JAYA: Changing consumer behaviour is making its way into the dining scene, thanks to a craving for speed and convenience in people’s lifestyle today.
The shift is leading to a whole new experience where diners can enjoy their meal without stepping of their home. The change has given rise to virtual or online food halls, which are redefining the concept of having a “home meal” by tapping into the growing appetite for convenience and speed.
Epic Food Hall co-founder and CEO Lai Wick Kee (pix) sees the internet restaurant model as the way forward for the food & beverage (F&B) industry.
Epic Food Hall is a halal-certified chain of online food halls.
Lai said fast-changing consumer behaviour has translated into a relatively short product life-cycle in the F&B market these days. “Fast iteration and fast adaptation are one of the critical survival or success factors today,” he told SunBiz.
Lai elaborated that Epic leverages technology and data in its business decisions, developing new brands and new products based on data analytics.
“More importantly, our innovation/iteration cycle is relatively short. We typically launch a new minimal viable brand/product as quickly as we can to collect data and feedback.”
Backed by data and results, Epic will retain brands that work, iterate brands that underperform and, in the scenario it doesn’t improve after exhausting all efforts, the brand will be retired.
Compared with the traditional restaurant model and the newer cloud kitchen concept, Lai explained, an internet kitchen is an omni channel which caters to delivery, dine-in and pick-up as well as a multi-brand offering under one roof.
He highlighted that under this model, Epic utilises three levers – number of brands of internet restaurants, number of kitchens and average sales per brand – as opposed to the traditional levers of number of stores and average sales per store.
When he started the venture in 2014, food delivery was largely confined to big fast food chains and there was no food aggregator such as Grab Food and Food Panda in the market.
“We would take the orders through phone or online, cook the meals and deliver the prepared food to our customer’s doorstep via our own rider fleets.”
From its first store in Damansara Perdana, the first year saw revenue of RM580,000 with a workforce of 15 people. Subsequently, it expanded to Bandar Sunway and Mont Kiara.
In 2021, Epic recorded sales of RM12.2 million with a 70-strong workforce.
“We made a strategic shift in our business model from a single-brand kitchen to a multi-brand kitchen strongly attributable to our strong intent to solve inefficient pricing in food delivery,” explained the Epic co-founder.
With eight years of cumulative growth in online food delivery competencies under its belt, Epic has created over 30 brands, managed over 90 internet restaurants and more than 200 food products.
“Among our notable brands are Epic Fit Meals and Pak Adam’s Nasi Lemak. We designed the brands and their products with clear and indistinctive food missions in mind,” he shared.
Lai atributed its model’s competitive edge over the traditional kitchen model to its ability to achieve economies of scale in each individual kitchen proficiently.
At the same time Epic is on a mission to achieve the right product market fitting.
“We will only expand into new locations with the right addressable market size, high internet penetration rate and with a population that is digital savvy.”
For 2022, Lai revealed that he is looking to open up more Epic Kitchen outlets, launch new brands, and venture into the ready-to-eat meals segment, among others.
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Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc, May 6, 2018. — Reuters pic
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NEW YORK, Feb 27 — Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc BRKa.N on Saturday said fourth-quarter profit swelled, boosted by gains in many of its businesses and common stock investments such as Apple Inc AAPL.O, and said annual earnings reached a record high.
Berkshire also signaled renewed confidence in its own stock, repurchasing US$6.9 billion (RM29 billion) in the quarter, and boosting total buybacks in 2021 to a record US$27 billion.
But the pace of buybacks has slowed, with Berkshire, whose share price is just 2 per cent below its record high, repurchasing just US$1.2 billion of stock in 2022.
In his annual letter to Berkshire shareholders, Buffett said buybacks make “good sense” when alternatives such as buying whole companies or more stocks appear “unattractive.”
He also expressed confidence in Berkshire’s dozens of operating businesses such as the BNSF railroad and Geico auto insurer, after having gone six years since a major acquisition and letting Berkshire’s cash stake swell to US$146.7 billion.
“Today, internal opportunities deliver far better returns than acquisitions,” Buffett wrote.
Quarterly operating income rose 45 per cent to US$7.29 billion, or approximately US$4,931 per Class A share, from US$5.02 billion a year earlier.
Analysts on average expected operating profit of US$4,251 per Class A share, according to Refinitiv I/B/E/S.
“Overall results looked good,” said Cathy Seifert, an analyst at CFRA Research with a “hold” rating for Berkshire. “Many industrial and consumer businesses benefited from the tailwind of an economic recovery.
She said 2022 could be tougher for top-line and margin growth because of inflationary pressure, including higher fuel and other input costs, and geopolitical pressure.”
For all of 2021, operating income rose 25 per cent to US$27.46 billion, topping the previous record US$24.78 billion set in 2018.
Net income more than doubled to US$89.8 billion, aided by the stock prices of Berkshire’s largest stock investments — Apple, Bank of America Corp BAC.N and American Express Co AXP.N — which each rose by more than one-third.
Buffett considers net income a misleading performance measure because it includes gains and losses from stock holdings, regardless of what Berkshire buys or sells.
Crashes affect Geico
Quarterly operating results benefited from improvement in property and casualty insurance operations, offset by rising accident claims at the Geico auto insurer as people drive more.
James Shanahan, an Edward Jones & Co analyst who rates Berkshire “buy,” said insurers are raising premiums to offset crash losses, and that higher premiums should be a “pretty strong catalyst” for improvement at Geico in 2022.
Seifert, however, said the deterioration in claims trends in life insurance “won’t turn around in the next couple of quarters. That affects underwriting profitability for reinsurers such as Berkshire.”
The BNSF railroad, one of Berkshire’s largest units, boosted profit 13 per cent, helped by higher shipping volumes of consumer products, industrial products and coal.
Profit also rose 11 per cent at Berkshire Hathaway Energy, as units including PacifiCorp and MidAmerican Energy reported benefiting from higher margins and increased income tax benefits.
Precision Castparts, an aircraft and industrial parts unit that took a US$9.8 billion writedown in 2020 as plane production and air travel plummeted, boosted full-year pretax earnings 79 per cent after eliminating more than 13,000 jobs, though revenue fell 8 per cent.
A quick recovery for Precision’s aerospace business isn’t likely, Berkshire said, citing supply chain disruptions and Boeing Co’s BA.N ”significant inventory levels” following quality issues with its 737 and 787 planes.
Berkshire’s share price rose 30 per cent in 2021, topping the 29 per cent gain in the Standard & Poor’s 500 .SPX including dividends, and ending two years of significant underperformance relative to that index. They are also outperforming in 2022. — Reuters
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File picture shows a Russian flag flying over Russian Central Bank headquarters in Moscow, December 3, 2018. — Reuters pic
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NEW YORK, Feb 27 — The United States, Britain and European Union ratcheted up sanctions against Moscow on Saturday as Russia continued its assault against Ukraine, saying they would block access to the SWIFT international payment system.
Here is a rundown of how sanctions which have already been announced impact banks and investors:
What has been announced so far?
The United States, Britain, Europe and Canada committed on Saturday to removing some Russian banks from the SWIFT payments system, deploying what the French finance minister had earlier called a “financial nuclear weapon” because of the damage it would cause to Russia as well as its trading partners.
The latest round of sanctions came after the US Treasury Department said it was targeting the “core infrastructure” of Russia’s financial system, sanctioning two of its largest banks — state-backed Sberbank SBER.MM and VTB VTBR.MM. Also on the sanctions list are Otkritie, Sovcombank and Novikombank and some senior executives at state-owned banks.
US banks must sever their correspondent banking ties — which allow banks to make payments between one another and move money around the globe — with Russia’s largest lender, Sberbank, within 30 days.
Officials in Washington also wielded the government’s most powerful sanctioning tool, adding VTB, Otkritie, Novikombank and Sovcombank to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list. The move effectively kicks the banks out of the US financial system, bans their trade with Americans and freezes their US assets.
The US sanctions also target two Belarusian state-owned banks — Belinvestbank and Bank Dabrabyt — over the country’s support for Moscow’s attack.
The US sanctions came soon after the British government said it would impose an asset freeze on all major Russian banks, including VTB, and stop major Russian companies from raising finance in Britain.
Russian banks would be cut off from sterling markets and clearing payments, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.
Britain also announced asset freezes and travel bans on members of Russia’s political and financial elite, including those who have long enjoyed high-rolling London lifestyles.
More than 100 individuals, entities and subsidiaries will ultimately be sanctioned.
EU leaders have agreed sanctions on Moscow that target 70 per cent of the Russian banking market, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday.
The bloc imposed a ban on issuing bonds, shares or loans in the EU for refinancing Alfa Bank and Bank Otkritie, after freezing assets at Rossiya Bank, Promsvyazbank and VEB earlier in the week.
The top three Russian banks Sberbank, VTB and Gazprombank, however, do not face an EU asset freeze.
The bloc also set a cap of €100,000 (RM473,000) for EU bank accounts of Russian citizens, who will not be allowed to buy euro denominated shares.
Refinancing in the EU of Russian state-owned enterprises is also forbidden, with the exception of some utilities. Securities settlement houses in the EU will not be allowed to serve Russian counterparties.
What next?
Russia’s large banks are deeply integrated into the global financial system, meaning any sanctions on the biggest institutions could be felt far beyond its borders. Cutting them from SWIFT would make transactions more difficult and costlier.
But it is also expected to hurt the country’s trading partners in Europe and elsewhere. While further details are awaited, Germany suggested on Saturday that the allies were looking for “targeted and functional restriction of SWIFT” to limit collateral damage.
A ban from SWIFT would come on top of other sanctions that limit the ability of some of Russia’s largest banks to do business internationally.
US Treasury said Thursday’s sanctions would disrupt billions of dollars worth of daily foreign exchange transactions conducted by Russian financial institutions. Overall, these institutions conduct about US$46 billion worth of forex transactions, 80 per cent of which are in dollars. “The vast majority of those transactions will now be disrupted,” it said.
The sanctions target nearly 80 per cent of all banking assets in Russia.
Sberbank said that it was prepared for any developments.
VTB said it had prepared for the most severe scenario.
Sovcombank, Otkritie and Novikombank did not reply to requests for comment. The Russian embassy in the United States also did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
What would hit hardest?
Banks and Western creditors have been fearing Russia getting blocked from SWIFT, which is used by more than 11,000 financial institutions in over 200 countries.
Such a move would hit Russian banks hard but the consequences are complex. Western officials have said blocking Russia is technically difficult and would hurt trading partners. There have been concerns, for example, about how payments for Russian energy imports would be made and whether foreign creditors would get paid.
Analysts said Russian institutions are better able to cope with sanctions than eight years earlier, although that does not mean they would not hurt.
Which foreign banks are most exposed?
Many foreign banks have significantly reduced their exposure to Russia since its annexation of Crimea in 2014 but several Western banks have been involved in deals and have other relationships.
Shares of banks with significant operations in Russia such as Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank International RBIV.VI and France’s Societe Generale SOGN.PA were hard hit last week.
Italian and French banks each had outstanding claims of some US$25 billion on Russia in the third quarter of 2021, based on Bank of International Settlement figures.
Austrian banks had US$17.5 billion. That compares with US$14.7 billion for the United States. — Reuters
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Swift code bank logo is displayed on an iPhone 6s on top of Euro banknotes in this picture illustration, January 26, 2016. — Reuters pic
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WASHINGTON, Feb 27 — Western allies on Saturday agreed on a new volley of financial sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, including taking the key step of banishing a number of Russian banks from the SWIFT interbank system.
In a joint statement, the White House said the group of world powers were “resolved to continue imposing costs on Russia that will further isolate Russia from the international financial system and our economies.”
With Ukrainian forces resisting the Russian advance, Western officials say there is a genuine interest in ensuring President Vladimir Putin pays the maximum price for the invasion.
Chief among steps to do so was “ensuring that selected Russian banks are removed from the SWIFT messaging system,” the White House said in the joint statement, which also included the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and Canada.
SWIFT’s messaging system allows banks to communicate rapidly and securely about transactions, and cutting Russia off would cripple its trade with most of the world.
The move comes after embattled Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday once again asked European nations to sever Russia from the SWIFT system.
Banks hit by the new measures are “all those already sanctioned by the international community, as well as other institutions, if necessary,” said the German government’s spokesman in a statement.
“This is intended to cut off these institutions from international financial flows, which will massively restrict their global operations,” he added.
The allies also agreed to impose restrictive measures to prevent the Russian central bank “from deploying its international reserves in ways that undermine the impact of our sanctions,” the joint statement said.
A US official said the move on Russia’s central bank meant Moscow “can’t support the ruble” and that the measures would make the country “a global economic and financial pariah.”
Wealthy Russians connected to Putin’s government will also no longer be allowed to use the so-called golden passport system to obtain European citizenship for themselves and their family members.
A working group will be set up between the United States and the EU to ensure “the effective implementation of our financial sanctions by identifying and freezing the assets of sanctioned individuals and companies that exist within our jurisdictions,” the joint statement added.
The group said it planned to additionally coordinate against disinformation and other forms of “hybrid warfare.”
The Kremlin has so far brushed off sanctions already imposed by Western powers, including those targeting Putin personally, as a sign of Western impotence. — AFP
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A sign adorns the building where mining company Rio Tinto has their office in Perth, Western Australia November 19, 2015. — Reuters pic
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MELBOURNE, Feb 27 — Australia-based mining giant Rio Tinto on Wednesday reported record earnings of US$21.4 billion (RM90 billion) last year, on the back of soaring iron ore prices and solid demand from China.
Earnings were up 72 per cent versus 2020, reaching the highest levels in Rio’s 149-year history, as iron ore earnings roughly doubled.
Rio Tinto chief executive Jakob Stausholm cited “significant price strength for our major commodities,” as he announced a record dividend to shareholders.
Australia is the world’s largest iron ore exporter, and the product has been a mainstay of the country’s economy for decades.
Despite political tensions with Beijing, Australian producers continue to sell vast quantities of the material that is turned to steel and ends up in Chinese-made cars, fridges and buildings.
China accounted for more than 57 per cent of Rio’s sales for the year, rising from US$26 billion to US$36 billion year-on-year. — AFP
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Representations of the Ripple, Bitcoin, Etherum and Litecoin virtual currencies are seen on a PC motherboard in this illustration picture, February 13, 2018. ― Reuters pic
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LONDON, Feb 26 — Having evacuated part of his team from Kyiv, Mike Chobanian, boss of cryptocurrency exchange Kuna, is watching the effects of Russia’s invasion on his flourishing industry with a weary eye.
“Business is running, but we’re in survival mode over here,” the 37-year-old boss said during a video call from his current refuge after leaving the Ukraine capital.
Russia’s military build-up led many Ukrainians to turn to cryptocurrencies, before the invasion seized up the sector.
But it is still facilitating global fundraising efforts, albeit through an opaque decentralised system that Russia could also exploit to circumvent sanctions.
The Ukrainian government yesterday imposed sanctions against the rouble, forcing Chobanian to halt cryptocurrency swaps with the Russian currency.
“But who cares when it’s war?” said Chobanian.
His platform saw a steady rise in business from Ukrainian accounts in recent weeks.
Worried about rising tensions, locals were buying up stablecoins, the dollar-backed electronic currencies often criticised by Western regulators for their opacity.
“Bitcoin, you engage yourself in gambling, you don’t know if it’s going to go up or down,” he explained.
“But here you’re trying to preserve what you have and people perceive the US dollar as a safe heaven. Cash is useless, you can’t do much with it, it can be easily taken away with a gun. USDT (stablecoin) is a safe haven.”
But trading has become increasingly difficult since the invasion.
Several cryptocurrency users have, however, launched fundraisers that they say are dedicated to aiding the Ukrainian military and relief efforts.
More than US$4 million (RM16 million) in cryptocurrencies arrived in two days on a single fundraising wallet for the “Come Back Alive” organisation, cryptocurrency research firm Elliptic said yesterday.
Sanction busting
“There’s no limit, it can be raised from around the world, it’s not dependent on the banking system, it’s more transparent because it’s a blockchain. It’s a better option,” said Chobanian.
This enthusiasm is not completely shared by the Ukrainian government.
On the communication site UkraineNOW, the Ministry of Defence calls for donations via bank transfers, but specifies that “national legislation does not allow the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine to use other payment systems (‘Webmoney’, ‘Bitcoin’, ‘PayPal’, etc.).”
And the same decentralised network that makes cryptocurrencies attractive to Ukrainian fundraisers could also benefit Russia.
Among the sanctions being considered against Moscow is exclusion from the Swift system, which allows interbank settlements between financial institutions around the world.
Some fear that cryptocurrencies could allow Russia to bypass such sanctions.
“North Korea has conducted robust hacking efforts with the intention of stealing cryptocurrency from exchanges and DeFi platforms,” explained Caroline Malcolm, from the analysis firm Chainalysis.
“They’ve been able to bring in billions of dollars worth of funds to the country, evading sanctions.”
Iran has also used cryptocurrency to bring money into the country, but mined it rather than hacking it, she added.
But as with the traditional financial system, “the cryptocurrency ecosystem can put measures in place to identify transactions from identified sanctioned entities,” she said.
This could mainly be achieved by analysing data from blockchains—the registers where all cryptocurrency transactions are recorded. — AFP
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European Union flags flutter outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium May 5, 2021. — Reuters pic
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KYIV, Feb 26 — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today again asked European nations to sever Russia from the SWIFT banking system as Hungary and Italy suggested they were not blocking the move.
SWIFT’s messaging system allows banks to communicate rapidly and securely about transactions, and cutting Russia off would cripple its trade with most of the world.
“There is already almost full support from the EU countries to disconnect Russia from SWIFT. I hope that Germany and Hungary will have the courage to support this decision,” Zelensky said in a video address posted online.
The Hungarian government angrily denied suggestions it had blocked moves to exclude Russia from SWIFT.
Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Facebook that such claims were “fake news”.
“We have never spoken out against a single sanction proposal, we have not blocked and are not blocking anything,” he said.
Government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs further tweeted that “Hungary stands 100 per cent in alignment with the joint EU effort.
“We’re doing no less than what the EU position calls for. And it’s not dependent on Hungary to do more,” he added.
However, neither statement explicitly clarified whether Budapest was in favour of the move.
Germany has been more cautious about excluding Russia from SWIFT. Russian gas makes up a higher share of energy supplies in Germany and other parts of Europe than in France, which backs the move.
Italy has been another country which has have been reluctant to exclude Russia from SWIFT over fears Moscow could cut off key gas supplies.
Italian Prime Minster Mario Draghi spoke to Zelensky today and “reaffirmed... that Italy will fully support the EU line on sanctions against Russia, including those relating to SWIFT,” according to an official statement released by the Italian government after the phone call.
Iran has been disconnected from the SWIFT system in the past over its nuclear programme.
Russia meanwhile has been developing domestic financial infrastructure to counter such a threat, including the SPFS system for bank transfers and the Mir card payments system.
Cutting off Russia could complicate remaining trade with Europe. — AFP
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Editor's Note: This story originally appeared on HireAHelper. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans are rethinking whether their monthly mortgage payments should go towards obtaining bigger living spaces or securing the ease of nearby work and school proximity. Today, according to a recent Pew survey, more potential and existing homeowners prefer larger houses with more rooms to...
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Older workers are the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. labor market. The share of workers ages 65 to 74 and beyond is expected to keep growing, the Bureau of Labor Statistics says. But if you think money is why people are working past age 65, you’d be only partly correct. In fact, many intriguing motives are behind this workplace trend. We consulted the latest annual retirement survey of...
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Here’s another good reason to eat your veggies: They may help prevent cognitive decline, according to a 2021 study out of Harvard University. Published in the journal Neurology, the study looked at the health data and self-reported dietary information of more than 77,000 men and women in the U.S. over a 20-year period. Average age at the start of the period was 51 for men and 48 for women.
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Getting older can have its disadvantages, but discounts certainly aren’t one of them. Both T-Mobile and Verizon offer discounted unlimited plans for anyone age 55 or above. You can also get an affordable plan from Lively, a carrier that focuses on providing extra health and safety features. Let’s take a look at the senior discounts from the major carriers. T-Mobile offers a discounted Essentials...
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In this file photo a Wall St sign hangs at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) at Wall Street on March 23, 2021 in New York City. — AFP pic
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NEW YORK, Feb 25 — Wall Street stocks mostly rose early today as markets digested the latest headlines on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and more US data showing rising inflation.
The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin was ready to send a delegation to Belarus for talks with Ukraine, as Russian forces approached Kyiv on the second day of Moscow’s invasion of its neighbour.
The early gains Friday came after US equities reversed themselves Thursday and pushed higher amid sentiment that share prices had fallen too much.
“We’re bouncing from deeply oversold levels,” said Adam Sarhan from 50 Park Investment said Friday.
About 10 minutes into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.9 per cent at 33,528.61, and the broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.6 per cent to 4,313.56.
But the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 0.2 per cent to 13,450.74.
Meanwhile, government data showed spending on goods and services rebounded after a drop in December, with personal consumption expenditures jumping 2.1 per cent, a bigger increase than economists had forecast.
The PCE price index rose 0.6 per cent compared to December, and jumped 6.1 per cent in the latest 12 months — the biggest increase since 1982.
Rising inflation has sparked a sharp shift in Federal Reserve policy which central bankers say will bring interest rate hikes starting in March. — AFP
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When your car breaks down, the right roadside assistance program can be a lifesaver. However, consumer advocate Clark Howard says one seller of these programs is best avoided. Many auto insurance companies offer a roadside assistance program. Because you already get your car coverage from this provider, it can be tempting — and convenient — to simply add the coverage to your policy.
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Editor's Note: This story originally appeared on NewRetirement. Retirement is a big deal. It is a major life transition and, just like you didn’t want to choose the wrong college, marry the wrong partner, take the wrong job, or have too many kids, you want a retirement without regret! Here are a few tips to make sure you are happy and satisfied with this big decision — even if you have already...
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Editor's Note: This story originally appeared on Point2. With remote and hybrid working models still prevalent, paired with the continuing growth in the tech sector, many employees are increasingly attracted to the idea of relocating. And as tech hubs crop up across the country, their options are no longer limited to Silicon Valley either. For those looking to change the scenery...
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The concept of providing a guaranteed basic income to some residents is catching on in a big way in several U.S. cities and at least one state. Local governments are offering monthly payments — often with few strings attached and no work requirements — to specific groups of people who are at the economic margins. These programs can be controversial. Some see them as a form of economic justice...
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The headquarters of Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt January 29, 2015. — Reuters pic
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FRANKFURT, Feb 24 — Financial firms from Frankfurt to Wall Street suffered heavy share price falls today as they grappled with the impact of shockwaves from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Deutsche Bank, Germany’s largest lender, said it had contingency plans in place as US and European officials warned of further sanctions on Moscow.
British bank Lloyds said it was on “heightened alert” for cyberattacks, while German insurance and asset management giant Allianz said that it had frozen its Russian government bond exposure.
Shares of leading banks plunged after Russian forces moved into neighbouring Ukraine on Thursday, with the European banking sector down 7.7 per cent mid-afternoon, steeper than a 4.6 per cent fall for the Euro Stoxx index.
Top US banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley, shed 3-4.5 per cent at the start of trading. That was a heavier fall than the broader market, with the S&P 500 down 2.6 per cent.
European banks are most exposed to Russia, especially in France, Italy and Spain, far outstripping US banks’ exposure, data from the Bank for International Settlements shows.
And those banks with significant operations in Russia were hardest hit after its forces invaded Ukraine by land, air and sea, with the biggest attack by one state against another in Europe since World War Two.
Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank International RBIV.VI was down 19.5 per cent, while shares in Societe Generale SOGN.PA lost 11.2 per cent, although the French bank said its Russian unit Rosbank continued to operate normally.
UniCredit CRDI.MI shares fell 12.4 per cent and triggered an automatic trading suspension, although the Italian bank said its Russia “exposures are highly covered”.
German financial regulator BaFin said it was keeping a watchful eye on the crisis.
Some banks organised calls for clients with experts to explain the situation, invitations seen by Reuters showed, with JPMorgan scheduling one with Michael Singh, senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Goldman Sachs ran a call for its private wealth clients hosted by Alex Younger, a former chief of British foreign intelligence service MI6, who is now an employee of the firm.
European Union leaders will impose new sanctions on Russia, freezing its assets, halting access of its banks to the European financial market and targeting “Kremlin interests” over its “barbaric attack”, senior officials said.
But in what will be a relief to Europe’s banks, the EU is unlikely at this stage to take steps to cut off Russia from the SWIFT global interbank payments system, several EU sources said.
Both Deutsche Bank and Allianz, two of Europe’s most important financial businesses and both with operations in Russia, said they were ready to comply with sanctions.
Allianz, one of the world’s biggest asset managers, said that the share of Russian government bonds in its portfolio was “very low” and that it had implemented a freeze on them.
Shares in Deutsche Bank, which like many lenders in recent years has reduced its presence in Russia as sanctions have expanded, were down more than 10.2 per cent, the biggest decline among German blue chips.
“We have contingency plans in place,” it said in a statement. A spokesperson declined to elaborate, but said “risks are well contained”.
Lloyds Chief Executive Charlie Nunn said that the British bank was on “heightened alert ... internally around our cyber risk controls”, adding that preparation for potential cyberattacks was discussed in a meeting between the government and banking industry leaders yesterday.
Lloyds has been on heightened alert for several months, Nunn told reporters.
RBI, which this month said it had earmarked €115 million (RM542 million) in provisions for possible sanctions on Russia, said on Thursday, as its shares dropped sharply, that it was “premature to assess” the impact on its business.
The Austrian group said its banks in Russia and Ukraine were “well capitalised and self-financing”.
Italian heavyweight Intesa Sanpaolo ISP.MI, which has financed major Russian investment projects such as the ‘Blue Stream’ gas pipeline and the sale of a stake in oil producer Rosneft ROSN.MM, fell 8.2 per cent.
While many bankers have played down the importance of Russia to their operations, it is the European Union’s fifth-largest trading partner, with a 5 per cent share of trade, data shows.
US trade with Russia is less than 1 per cent of its total.
Some of the region’s top bankers have been more concerned about the potential secondary effects of the crisis.
The boss of HSBC, one of Europe’s largest banks, this week said that “wider contagion” for global markets was a concern, even if its direct exposure was limited.— Reuters
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File picture shows a Russian flag flying over Russian Central Bank headquarters in Moscow, December 3, 2018. — Reuters pic
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MOSCOW, Feb 24 — The Russian central bank beefed up the banking sector with extra liquidity and started to sell foreign currency on the forex market after the rouble fell to all-time lows on the day Moscow sent its troops into Ukraine.
After weeks of denying plans to attack neighbouring Ukraine, Russian forces fired missiles at several cities in Ukraine and landed troops on its coast today.
The United States promised harsh sanctions, covering everything from Russia’s top banks’ operations with dollars to the energy sector should Moscow invade its neighbour. Read full story
And as Russia’s currency, bonds and stocks all tanked, the central bank intervened on the forex market for the first time since 2014, when Russia annexed the Crimea peninsula from Ukraine.
It was not immediately clear how much forex the central bank was selling but the rouble pared some losses and moved away from an all-time low of 89.60 against the dollar and a crucial threshold of 100 versus the euro it was approaching in the morning.
“The military operation in Ukraine makes harsh sanctions unavoidable,” Raiffeisenbank said in a note. “The rouble crash was stopped by the central bank’s interventions but its potential for further weakening remains high.”
The regulator might have spent between US$1 billion (RM4.2 billion) and US$2 billion to support the rouble on Thursday, according to Promsvyazbank analysts. The central bank is due to disclose the sum on Monday.
It also nearly doubled daily dollar offers under forex swap operations with banks to US$5 billion, provided another 874 billion roubles (RM42 billion) at a daily repo auction and expanded collateral options for its funds to secure its 300 lenders with additional funds.
As a precaution before the sanctions, Russian lenders brought US$5 billion in foreign exchange bank notes to the country in December and increased liquidity coverage of their foreign exchange assets last month. Read full story
State-owned Sberbank and VTB both said their operations continued as usual on Thursday, but the latter urged its corporate clients to refrain from dollar and euro transactions. Read full story
A number of Muscovites experienced troubles in withdrawing dollars and euros from ATMs in the centre of the city, and a cash machine in Moscow’s northeast stopped operating after a Reuters witness withdrew 20,000 roubles.
But no big ATM queues were seen in Moscow today.
Government pledges control
While Russian officials say that Moscow’s financial shield is strong enough to withstand both the volatility and sanctions, new curbs would “weaken Russia’s economic base and its capacity to modernise”, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said. Read full story
Russia ran a historic high current account surplus of US$120.3 billion last year, its gold and forex reserves stand at a record US$643 billion and debt-to-GDP level is below 20 per cent.
“Russia has financial resources enough to maintain the financial system in the light of sanctions and external threats,” the government said today, adding that the budget has over 4.5 trillion roubles in available extra funds.
The government drew up specific plans after conducting stress-tests to assess possible sanctions, saying in the statement that the “financial market and largest companies are fully ready to implement them”. It did not provide details.
But a Moscow real estate company urged its staff in an email marked ‘IMPORTANT’ today to use cards connected to the domestic MIR payment system, set up as an alternative to the western Visa and MasterCard payment systems after 2014.
“We recommend all our staff members to move their salary payments to the cards using this payment system,” the letter seen by Reuters said, adding that a decision to open such cards in Sberbank, VTB and AlfaBank should be taken by the end of the day. — Reuters
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