WORLD NEWS 53
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Russian Import Ban Leads To Hike In Food Prices
Food prices are rising in parts of Russia and experts say the state embargo on imports of Western food appears to be making things worse. Since the ban was imposed on 7 August imported pork used in processed meat in Moscow has gone up by 6%, Russian business daily Kommersant reports. In St Petersburg food prices have risen 10%. That inflation occurred even before the impact of sanctions. Russia’s ban on many Western foods is retaliation for sanctions over Ukraine. The St Petersburg government’s
economic policy chief, Anatoly Kotov, said the pork price had risen by 23.5% and chicken by 25.8%. On Monday, Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said he did not expect the ban on food imports to lead to price rises or shortages in the shops. But he also said he hoped the ban introduced for a year - would not last too long. Nina Oding, an economist at the city’s Leontief Centre, criticised “clumsy efforts by the state somehow to regulate price formation”. She said such efforts had failed in Soviet times, when
goods simply disappeared from the shelves, and in Russia in the 1990s. “We’re heading for restricted choice, more monopolistic tendencies, prices will rise - and we’re already seeing the start of that process,” she told Russian business website RBK. In Russia’s far east - the Primorye region and island of Sakhalin - food prices have gone up more than in Russia’s big western cities since 7 August, Kommersant reports. A regional agriculture official, Nikolai Borisov, said cheese prices had gone up by 10% and meat by 15% on Sakhalin. They were outstripped by the cost of chicken thighs, which rose by 60%. In Primorye the cost of apples from China has reportedly risen by a third, while some meats have risen by 26% and fish by 40%. The Russian ban covers a wide range of foods imported from the West, though there are exemptions for some categories, notably alcoholic drinks, baby food, pet food, coffee and olive oil. —BBC
Wall St. Rises On Home Depot, Apple Data
US stocks advanced yesterday after solid earnings from Home Depot helped lift retailers’ shares and Apple touched $100 for the first time since its stock split this summer. Data on housing and inflation gave the market more support. Home Depot Inc (HD.N) gained 6 percent to $88.66, marking the stock’s largest percentage gain since May 2009 and giving the biggest boost to the Dow. The world’s largest home improvement retailer reported earnings and revenue that topped Wall Street’s expectations. Home Depot also raised its full-year profit forecast. The S&P 500 retail index .SPXRT shot up 2 percent, its biggest gain since Feb. 6. The index is up nearly 6 percent for the month so far. Apple Inc (AAPL.O) returned to the triple-digit zone, hitting $100 for the first time since its seven-for-one stock split in June and giving the iPad and iPhone maker
a market capitalization that topped $600 billion. The rally in Apple’s stock was the single biggest force lifting the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 .NDX index on Tuesday. At midday, Apple was up 1.3 percent at $100.49. “People have been looking to put a stake in the heart of retailers, due to a weak consumer and weak jobs market, relatively speaking, but they have been a ‘bend but don’t break’ group, which gives a comfort to those on the fence,” said Andre Bakhos, managing director at Janlyn Capital LLC in Bernardsville, New Jersey. Housing starts rebounded strongly in July as groundbreaking surged 15.7 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 1.09 million units to halt two straight months of declines and top expectations for a rate of 969,000 units. In addition, the Consumer Price Index edged up 0.1 percent last month, in line with expectations, which could give the Federal Reserve reason to keep interest rates low for a while. “All of these together are giving the market a good tone, shrugging off the recent dip related to geopolitical concerns,” Bakhos said. Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s July meeting will be released on Wednesday. Investors will also closely monitor the annual meeting of top central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, from Thursday through Saturday for possible insight into the path for monetary policy. —Reuters
UK Inflation Falls More Than Expected In July The annual rate of UK inflation rate fell more than expected in July as the cost of clothing, footwear, food and non-alcoholic drinks eased. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation fell to 1.6% from 1.9% a month earlier. But CPI remains well above average wages which grew by just 0.6% in the three months to June. The Retail Prices Index, which includes housing costs, fell to 2.5% from 2.6%. Economists had expected CPI inflation to fall to 1.8% in July.
The ONS said consumer price inflation for the three month period to the end of July was 1.7%. It means the Bank of England remains under little pressure to raise interest rates in order to keep inflation at or below its target rate of 2%. The pound fell against both the dollar - hitting its lowest point against the currency since April - and the euro following the release of the inflation figures. Last week, Bank policymaker Professor David Miles told the BBC he believed inflation was likely to remain below target for some time to come. —BBC
Smoke rising from the scene of the the crash. photo by BBC
Disaster Italy Tornado Fighter Jets Collide Near Ascoli Two Italian military jets have collided in mid-air during a training exercise in eastern Italy. The aircraft crashed 30km (18 miles) from Ascoli in the Marche region on Tuesday, setting off raging fires in the forest below. Four people are thought to be missing, including both the pilots and navigators. Local reports had indicated that the two pilots had ejected, but they have not been con-
firmed. No casualties have been reported on the ground. “A giant ball of fire lasted for five seconds before slamming into the mountains”, Fabio Valeri, who witnessed the crash, told Italian news channel Sky TG24. Residents in the nearby villages of Olibra and Venarotta described hearing a bang before the fire broke out on the ground. —BBC
ACCIDENT Pope’s Relatives Killed In Argentina Crash Three relatives of Pope Francis, two great nephews and their mother, have been killed in a traffic accident in Argentina, police said. The dead from Tuesday’s crash include a baby aged eight months and a two-year-old toddler, police commissioner Carina Ferreyra said. The vehicle in which they were travelling collided with a lorry, the police said. Their father, the pope’s nephew Emanuel Horacio Bergoglio, was in serious condition, she told the media. Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said the pope had been informed about the accident and
was “deeply pained.” “He asks all those who share in his pain to join him in prayer,” Lombardi added. The accident happened on a highway after midnight in the central province of Cordoba. For reasons that are under investigation the car hit a truck carrying grain from behind. Bergoglio is in hospital with multiple injuries. Official details of his condition have not been released. The truck driver, a 60-year-old man, was not hurt. Bergoglion is the son of Alberto, the pope’s late brother. —Al Jazeera
Int’l Relations Nigerian Diplomats To Benefit From Foreign Affairs Guideline Book By Ugochukwu Iroka, Abuja
Diplomats who are newly elected to ambassadorial roles to represent Nigeria in different parts of the world can now benefit from documented accounts of Foreign Service to enable them effectively carry out their various missions. This is made possible, thanks to three books co-edited by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Martin Uhomoibhi and Professor Ehiedu Iweriebor. According to the executive governor of Kebbi State who yesterday, chaired the official launching of the books in Abuja, the books are ‘a tool for any diplomat who is accredited to any country.’ He stated that experiences documented in the books will facilitate better rela-
tionships between Nigeria and the other country, which is the primary motive of diplomatic missions. The books are titled; “Effective And Affirmative Representation Of Nigeria,” “The Affirmative Promotion And Administration Of Nigerian Foreign Policy,” and “Diplomatic Spouses As Co-promoters Of An Affirmative Nigerian Image Abroad.” During a chat with journalists, co-editor, Prof. Ehiedu Iweriebor said that the books intended to provide, for the first time in Foreign Service, “documented account that can be used by newly appointed ambassadors as well as other Foreign Service officers with resources to equip themselves to undertake their works effectively with knowledge and not merely experience.”