J/ca: Govt to push legislative changes to go after unexplained wealth

Minister of Constitutional Affairs

Marlene Malahoo Forte has given notice that the Government will be moving to amend the Constitution as part of efforts to help speed up investigations related to unexplained wealth.

In her remarks at the opening of the biennial conference of the Financial Investigations Division (FID) at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel on Wednesday, Malahoo Forte said, "The kind of changes that we desire to make are to the provisions which have special protection. In the National Security Council, we look at a number of issues requiring response legislatively, and even constitutionally, and among the many issues that we grapple with is the form of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms that we now have."

She said the provisions of the charter had been revolutionary when they were enacted in 2011, but questions have since been raised as to whether the provisions have moved from one extreme to another, "or whether we have moved too far along the spectrum because we encountered severe issues in law enforcement in respect of rights and freedoms".

Malahoo Forte advised that the Government is eyeing the protection of the right to due process.

The constitutional affairs minister stressed that the amendment cannot be made without the support of the Opposition, as the only alternative is to put it Jamaicans in a referendum on constitutional reform. (Excerpt from Jamaica Observer)

The Peruvian Congress has voted down another proposal to bring forward elections to 2023, a day after a similar bid was turned down amid nationwide protests that are shaking the country’s economy.

The motion put forward by the Free Peru party was rejected on Thursday with 75 votes against and only 48 in favour, with one abstention. In addition to moving elections up from April 2024 to July 2023, the proposal included the calling of a referendum on forming a constitutional convention –another key demand of protesters.

The previous day, a similar motion which failed to gain enough votes had been backed by President Dina Boluarte.

Peru has been embroiled in a political crisis with near-daily demonstrations since December 7, when then-President Pedro Castillo was arrested after attempting to dissolve Congress and rule by decree.

At least 48 people, including a police officer, have been killed in clashes between security forces and protesters, according to the human rights ombudsman’s office.

Protesters have erected roadblocks causing shortages of food, fuel and other basic commodities in sever- al regions of the Andean nation.

The economic fallout of the demonstrations is hitting hard on workers. Luz Camacho, a local farmer who picks up pomegranates in the southern region of Ica has lost one-quarter of her wage, enough to not be able to pay her debt to the bank.

“It has affected us a lot because we haven’t worked and we have loans and debts. Where are we going to get an income?” Camacho told Al Jazeera.

The chamber of commerce estimates that the region has lost $300m since the crisis started in December. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Mexico in talks with top carmakers to make electric vehicles, Foreign Minister says

est in producing in the country.

Ebrard said, "we'll give them all the facilities we can".

His comments come as Tesla is said to be looking to build a plant in Mexico and BMW is investing 800 million euros (US$866 million) in the central Mexican state of San Luis Potosi to produce high-voltage batteries and fully electric cars.

"The Mexican auto industry, in comparison to the United States, has so many advantages," Ebrard said, pointing to its geography, existing infrastructure and expertise.

Mexico is gearing up to build several manufacturing hubs for electric vehicles across the country, Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard told Reuters, and is in talks with some of the world's top carmakers.

The shocks of the pandemic and two years of supply chain chaos are colliding with a once-in-a-century shift of the industry's fundamental technology as combustion vehicles give way to electric ones.

Ebrard said in an interview late on Thursday that Mexico was keen to capitalise on the global shift to electric vehicles.

Mexico wants to "attract all that we can", Ebrard said in an interview on Thursday, adding that the likes of BMW and Audi , General Motors, Fiat Chrysler and Tesla had all expressed inter-

"The fiscal burden for the export sector is already a lot lower - compared with the United States."

Returning from a trip to a solar park under construction in the northern border state of Sonora, Ebrard said Mexico was focused on ensuring it had the right conditions to persuade foreign companies to invest. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Oil falls about 3% as strong US jobs data prompt interest rate concerns

Oil prices fell to over three-week lows on Friday in a volatile session, after strong US jobs data raised concerns about higher interest rates and as investors sought more clarity on the imminent EU embargo on Russian refined products.

Brent crude futures fell US$2.23, or 2.7 per cent, to US$79.94 a barrel, after rising to a session high of US$84.20. It hit a session low of US$79.72, its lowest since Jan 11.

US West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) ended down US$2.49, or 3.3 per cent, at US$73.39, after trading between US$78.00 and US$73.13, its lowest since Jan 5.

Brent registered a 7.8 per cent decline this week while WTI dropped 7.9 per cent.

US job growth accelerated sharply in January amid a persistently resilient labour market, but a further moderation in wage gains should give the Federal Reserve some comfort in its fight against inflation.

"The market can't decide whether it should be nervous about a recession or more worried about the Federal Reserve being aggressive with interest rates," said Phil Flynn, analyst at Price Futures Group.

The US central bank on Wednesday scaled back to a milder rate increase than those over the past year, but policymakers also projected that "ongoing increases" in borrowing costs would be needed.

Increases in interest rates in 2023 are likely to weigh on the US and European economies, boosting fears of an economic slowdown that is highly likely to dent global crude oil demand, said Priyanka Sachdeva, market analyst at Phillip Nova.

European Union countries agreed to set price caps on Russian refined oil products to limit Moscow's funds for its invasion of Ukraine, the Swedish presidency of the EU said on Friday.

EU diplomats said the price caps are US$100 per barrel on products that trade at a premium to crude, principally diesel, and US$45 per barrel for products that trade at a discount, such as fuel oil and naphtha.

The Kremlin said the EU embargo on Russia's refined oil products would lead to further imbalance in global energy markets.

Meanwhile, ANZ analysts noted a sharp jump in traffic in China's 15 largest cities after the Lunar New Year holiday but said that Chinese traders had been "relatively absent."

In US supply, energy firms this week cut the number of oil and natural gas rigs by the most since June 2020, energy services firm Baker Hughes Co said. US oil rigs fell 10 to 599 this week, their lowest since September, while gas rigs dropped by two to 158.

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission said on Thursday that as a result of the ransomware attack on ION Trading UK, the CFTC's weekly Commitments of Traders report will be delayed until all trades can be reported. CFTC reports provide a snapshot of investor positioning on various assets, including oil. (Reuters)