People nixing vacations to Hawaii’s Big island has cost the tourism industry millions of dollars as the top attraction, Kilauea volcano, keeps spewing lava.

Cancellations from May through July have hit at least $5 million, said Ross Birch, executive director of the island’s tourism board.

The booking pace for hotels and other activities, such as tours for lava viewing, zip lines and glass bottom boats have fallen 50 percent. A handful of cruise ships have also decided not to come into port even in Kona on the west side of the island, about 80 miles (129 kilometers) away from the volcano.

This is the “first leak we’re seeing out of the bucket,” Birch said.

Tourism is one of Hawaii’s biggest industries and a big part of the local economy. The Big Island topped other islands in the archipelago pulling in $2.5 billion in revenue last year. 

On Monday, another fissure spewing lava and unhealthy gas opened up, and a crack in the Earth that emerged a day earlier was sending molten rock on a slow run for the ocean, officials said.

The National Weather Service has warned residents of “light ashfall” throughout the day in Kau, the island’s southernmost district, after a burst of volcanic emissions around 9 a.m. 

Nearly 20 fissures have opened since the Kilauea volcano started erupting 12 days ago, and officials warn it may soon blow its top with a massive steam eruption that would shoot boulders and ash miles into the sky. 

A fissure that opened Sunday led authorities to order 10 people to flee their homes, Hawaii County Managing Director Wil Okabe said. Overall, nearly 2,000 people have been told to evacuate since May 3, and lava has destroyed more than two dozen homes. 

The U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said the flow from the crack that emerged Sunday was heading on a path that would take it to the ocean, about 2 miles (3 kilometers) away. No homes or roads were threatened by the flow.

Lava on Sunday spread across hundreds of yards of private land and loud explosions rocked the neighborhood not far from the Leilani Estates subdivision, where more than a dozen other active vents opened over the past week.

Nearby resident Richard Schott, 34, watched from a police checkpoint as the eruption churned just over a ridgeline and behind some trees.

“I’ve actually seen rocks fly over the tree line, and I can feel it in my body,” Schott said. “It’s like a nuclear reaction or something.”

Few fissures, ground deformation and abundant volcanic gases indicate eruptions on the eastern flank of Kilauea are likely to persist, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said.

“The appearance of the fissures in the past couple of days does not change the overall picture or concern,” Geological Survey scientist Steve Brantley said.

Christian and Maritza Ricks, who moved to the area from California in April, stopped at the side of the road to watch and listen to the latest eruption.

“I guess it’s just part of living on the island,” Ricks said.

He said he wasn’t really afraid of the destruction happening around him. 

“In a way, it’s kind of exciting to see what’s going on and be this close to it,” Christian Ricks said.

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported a fissure opened Saturday just east of the Puna Geothermal Venture energy conversion plant, where steam and hot liquid are brought up through underground wells and the steam feeds a turbine generator to produce electricity. 

As a precaution, plant workers last week removed 50,000 gallons (189,265 liters) of a flammable liquid stored at the site.
…

People nixing vacations to Hawaii’s Big island has cost the tourism industry millions of dollars as the top attraction, Kilauea volcano, keeps spewing lava.

Cancellations from May through July have hit at least $5 million, said Ross Birch, executive director of the island’s tourism board.

The booking pace for hotels and other activities, such as tours for lava viewing, zip lines and glass bottom boats have fallen 50 percent. A handful of cruise ships have also decided not to come into port even in Kona on the west side of the island, about 80 miles (129 kilometers) away from the volcano.

This is the “first leak we’re seeing out of the bucket,” Birch said.

Tourism is one of Hawaii’s biggest industries and a big part of the local economy. The Big Island topped other islands in the archipelago pulling in $2.5 billion in revenue last year. 

On Monday, another fissure spewing lava and unhealthy gas opened up, and a crack in the Earth that emerged a day earlier was sending molten rock on a slow run for the ocean, officials said.

The National Weather Service has warned residents of “light ashfall” throughout the day in Kau, the island’s southernmost district, after a burst of volcanic emissions around 9 a.m. 

Nearly 20 fissures have opened since the Kilauea volcano started erupting 12 days ago, and officials warn it may soon blow its top with a massive steam eruption that would shoot boulders and ash miles into the sky. 

A fissure that opened Sunday led authorities to order 10 people to flee their homes, Hawaii County Managing Director Wil Okabe said. Overall, nearly 2,000 people have been told to evacuate since May 3, and lava has destroyed more than two dozen homes. 

The U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said the flow from the crack that emerged Sunday was heading on a path that would take it to the ocean, about 2 miles (3 kilometers) away. No homes or roads were threatened by the flow.

Lava on Sunday spread across hundreds of yards of private land and loud explosions rocked the neighborhood not far from the Leilani Estates subdivision, where more than a dozen other active vents opened over the past week.

Nearby resident Richard Schott, 34, watched from a police checkpoint as the eruption churned just over a ridgeline and behind some trees.

“I’ve actually seen rocks fly over the tree line, and I can feel it in my body,” Schott said. “It’s like a nuclear reaction or something.”

Few fissures, ground deformation and abundant volcanic gases indicate eruptions on the eastern flank of Kilauea are likely to persist, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said.

“The appearance of the fissures in the past couple of days does not change the overall picture or concern,” Geological Survey scientist Steve Brantley said.

Christian and Maritza Ricks, who moved to the area from California in April, stopped at the side of the road to watch and listen to the latest eruption.

“I guess it’s just part of living on the island,” Ricks said.

He said he wasn’t really afraid of the destruction happening around him. 

“In a way, it’s kind of exciting to see what’s going on and be this close to it,” Christian Ricks said.

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported a fissure opened Saturday just east of the Puna Geothermal Venture energy conversion plant, where steam and hot liquid are brought up through underground wells and the steam feeds a turbine generator to produce electricity. 

As a precaution, plant workers last week removed 50,000 gallons (189,265 liters) of a flammable liquid stored at the site.
…

Uber Technologies’ growth has slowed as a series of scandals has allowed the ride-hailing company’s chief U.S. competitor, Lyft, to grab more market share, digital research firm eMarketer said in a report on Monday.

The research firm has lowered its forecasts for Uber’s growth for the next several years. It projects 48 million U.S. adults will use Uber at least once this year, up 18 percent from last year but well off eMarketer’s earlier forecast of more than 51 million.

EMarketer based its analysis on data from Uber and Lyft, such as trip numbers and app downloads, as well as customer surveys from researchers at JP Morgan and other firms.

Series of scandals

The report quantifies the effect of a series of scandals at Uber last year, which included an internal probe of sexual harassment and workplace behavior; a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into whether Uber managers violated U.S. laws against bribery of foreign officials; a lawsuit by Alphabet alleging trade secrets theft that Uber settled for $245 million; and the departure of Uber’s chief executive officer, who was pushed out by investors concerned about the growing list of problems.

Uber did not respond to a request for comment.

Meanwhile, Lyft has grown quickly, adding more than 160 cities last year, benefiting from Uber’s tarnished image and as a later entry into markets where people are already familiar with ride-hailing services, eMarketer said. On Monday, Lyft said it has 35 percent of the national ride-hailing market, and in 16 U.S. markets its share exceeds 40 percent.

“Uber’s brand image took an even bigger hit than expected as it grappled with a series of scandals and PR disasters in 2017,” said Shelleen Shum, eMarketer’s forecasting director. “Lyft, which had been rapidly expanding its coverage, seized on the opportunity to brand itself as a more socially conscious alternative.”

Lowered forecast

The research firm said it has lowered its forecast for Uber’s growth every year through 2021, reflecting the company’s competitive disadvantage after last year’s problems. EMarketer’s previous projections pegged the number of Uber users in 2017 at about 44 million, but the actual number ended up being fewer than 41 million.

Even so, Uber remains the dominant U.S. ride-hailing company. At the end of this year it will have about 77 percent of the market, down from 90 percent in 2016, while Lyft will have 48 percent, up from nearly 29 percent, according to eMarketer.

EMarketer’s projections for 2022 show Uber with nearly 74 percent of customers and Lyft with 59 percent of ride-hailing customers. Some people use both services.

Lyft operates in roughly the same number of U.S. cities as Uber, as well as in Toronto. Uber operates across the globe, although it has retreated from Southeast Asia, Russia and China after losing billions of dollars competing with local rivals.
…

Uber Technologies’ growth has slowed as a series of scandals has allowed the ride-hailing company’s chief U.S. competitor, Lyft, to grab more market share, digital research firm eMarketer said in a report on Monday.

The research firm has lowered its forecasts for Uber’s growth for the next several years. It projects 48 million U.S. adults will use Uber at least once this year, up 18 percent from last year but well off eMarketer’s earlier forecast of more than 51 million.

EMarketer based its analysis on data from Uber and Lyft, such as trip numbers and app downloads, as well as customer surveys from researchers at JP Morgan and other firms.

Series of scandals

The report quantifies the effect of a series of scandals at Uber last year, which included an internal probe of sexual harassment and workplace behavior; a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into whether Uber managers violated U.S. laws against bribery of foreign officials; a lawsuit by Alphabet alleging trade secrets theft that Uber settled for $245 million; and the departure of Uber’s chief executive officer, who was pushed out by investors concerned about the growing list of problems.

Uber did not respond to a request for comment.

Meanwhile, Lyft has grown quickly, adding more than 160 cities last year, benefiting from Uber’s tarnished image and as a later entry into markets where people are already familiar with ride-hailing services, eMarketer said. On Monday, Lyft said it has 35 percent of the national ride-hailing market, and in 16 U.S. markets its share exceeds 40 percent.

“Uber’s brand image took an even bigger hit than expected as it grappled with a series of scandals and PR disasters in 2017,” said Shelleen Shum, eMarketer’s forecasting director. “Lyft, which had been rapidly expanding its coverage, seized on the opportunity to brand itself as a more socially conscious alternative.”

Lowered forecast

The research firm said it has lowered its forecast for Uber’s growth every year through 2021, reflecting the company’s competitive disadvantage after last year’s problems. EMarketer’s previous projections pegged the number of Uber users in 2017 at about 44 million, but the actual number ended up being fewer than 41 million.

Even so, Uber remains the dominant U.S. ride-hailing company. At the end of this year it will have about 77 percent of the market, down from 90 percent in 2016, while Lyft will have 48 percent, up from nearly 29 percent, according to eMarketer.

EMarketer’s projections for 2022 show Uber with nearly 74 percent of customers and Lyft with 59 percent of ride-hailing customers. Some people use both services.

Lyft operates in roughly the same number of U.S. cities as Uber, as well as in Toronto. Uber operates across the globe, although it has retreated from Southeast Asia, Russia and China after losing billions of dollars competing with local rivals.
…

U.S. President Donald Trump urged for a quick conclusion to a renegotiated North American Free Trade Agreement during a phone call Monday with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. 

The White House said Trump “underscored the importance” of quickly reaching a deal, while Trudeau’s office said the two spoke of the “possibility of bringing the negotiations to a prompt conclusion.”

The talks have come under increased pressure to quickly produce a deal after U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said this week he would need to be notified of a new agreement by May 17 to give the current Congress a chance to pass it this year.

Canada, the United States and Mexico are renegotiating their 24-year-old free trade pact in a process triggered by the Trump administration. Trump has been highly critical of the 1994 deal, blaming it for the loss of millions of manufacturing jobs that hurt the U.S. economy.

He has repeatedly threatened to leave the pact if a satisfactory updated agreement is not reached.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Monday that none of the contentious issues the three countries have been discussing appear to have been resolved. Ross, who is not directly involved in the NAFTA talks, told reporters in Washington Monday that the big issues are still a “work in progress.”

Last week, the latest round of NAFTA talks ended in Washington without any major breakthroughs on how to renegotiate the deal. Those talks were the first to involve all three of the top officials in the negotiations — U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland and Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo.
…

U.S. President Donald Trump urged for a quick conclusion to a renegotiated North American Free Trade Agreement during a phone call Monday with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. 

The White House said Trump “underscored the importance” of quickly reaching a deal, while Trudeau’s office said the two spoke of the “possibility of bringing the negotiations to a prompt conclusion.”

The talks have come under increased pressure to quickly produce a deal after U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said this week he would need to be notified of a new agreement by May 17 to give the current Congress a chance to pass it this year.

Canada, the United States and Mexico are renegotiating their 24-year-old free trade pact in a process triggered by the Trump administration. Trump has been highly critical of the 1994 deal, blaming it for the loss of millions of manufacturing jobs that hurt the U.S. economy.

He has repeatedly threatened to leave the pact if a satisfactory updated agreement is not reached.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Monday that none of the contentious issues the three countries have been discussing appear to have been resolved. Ross, who is not directly involved in the NAFTA talks, told reporters in Washington Monday that the big issues are still a “work in progress.”

Last week, the latest round of NAFTA talks ended in Washington without any major breakthroughs on how to renegotiate the deal. Those talks were the first to involve all three of the top officials in the negotiations — U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland and Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo.
…

U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday that he is trying to find a way to let giant Chinese technology firm ZTE “to get back into business, fast” after the U.S. had barred the company from using American components.

“Too many jobs in China lost,” Trump said in a Twitter comment days after ZTE announced it had ceased “major operating activities” because of the cutoff of U.S.-made parts that provide a quarter or more of the parts needed to build its wireless stations, optical fiber networks and smartphones.

Trump has often complained about China stealing U.S. jobs, but said he is working with Chinese President Xi Jinping to ease the economic fallout at ZTE and had ordered the U.S. Commerce Department “to get it done!”

ZTE halted manufacturing at its Shenzhen factory after the Commerce Department blocked access to American-made components until 2025, contending that ZTE had failed to punish its workers for violating U.S. trade controls against North Korea and Iran.

The U.S. fined ZTE $1.2 billion last year but said last month the company had failed to live up to the agreement and lied about punishing the employees believed to be involved in skirting the sanctions, instead paying them bonuses.

ZTE, with 75,000 employees and business in more than 160 countries, is the No. 4 smartphone vendor in the U.S. When the U.S. sanctions were announced in April, ZTE said it had worked to improve its compliance with the trade bans and sent the U.S. commerce agency information to support its request to end the U.S. export ban.

Trump’s move to help the Chinese technology firm could signal a thaw in trade relations between the world’s two biggest economies, the U.S. and No. 2 China.

The U.S. leader has proposed tariffs on as much as $150 billion in Chinese imports, and Beijing has responded in kind. The two countries have held trade talks during the tariff standoff, but there has been no immediate resolution to call off the tariff hikes.
…

U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday that he is trying to find a way to let giant Chinese technology firm ZTE “to get back into business, fast” after the U.S. had barred the company from using American components.

“Too many jobs in China lost,” Trump said in a Twitter comment days after ZTE announced it had ceased “major operating activities” because of the cutoff of U.S.-made parts that provide a quarter or more of the parts needed to build its wireless stations, optical fiber networks and smartphones.

Trump has often complained about China stealing U.S. jobs, but said he is working with Chinese President Xi Jinping to ease the economic fallout at ZTE and had ordered the U.S. Commerce Department “to get it done!”

ZTE halted manufacturing at its Shenzhen factory after the Commerce Department blocked access to American-made components until 2025, contending that ZTE had failed to punish its workers for violating U.S. trade controls against North Korea and Iran.

The U.S. fined ZTE $1.2 billion last year but said last month the company had failed to live up to the agreement and lied about punishing the employees believed to be involved in skirting the sanctions, instead paying them bonuses.

ZTE, with 75,000 employees and business in more than 160 countries, is the No. 4 smartphone vendor in the U.S. When the U.S. sanctions were announced in April, ZTE said it had worked to improve its compliance with the trade bans and sent the U.S. commerce agency information to support its request to end the U.S. export ban.

Trump’s move to help the Chinese technology firm could signal a thaw in trade relations between the world’s two biggest economies, the U.S. and No. 2 China.

The U.S. leader has proposed tariffs on as much as $150 billion in Chinese imports, and Beijing has responded in kind. The two countries have held trade talks during the tariff standoff, but there has been no immediate resolution to call off the tariff hikes.
…

There’s a push to level the playing field for women in India, where women account for 42 percent of university graduates but only 24 percent are hired as entry level professionals. Of these, 19 percent are likely to reach senior level management. To make matters worse, the number of women who leave the work force is also higher than men. As Ritul Joshi reports, a specially designed management course for women in New Delhi is teaching them to make their way in a male dominated work force.
…

There’s a push to level the playing field for women in India, where women account for 42 percent of university graduates but only 24 percent are hired as entry level professionals. Of these, 19 percent are likely to reach senior level management. To make matters worse, the number of women who leave the work force is also higher than men. As Ritul Joshi reports, a specially designed management course for women in New Delhi is teaching them to make their way in a male dominated work force.
…

Senior officials from the United States, Canada and Mexico ended the latest round of talks on the North American Free Trade Agreement without any major breakthroughs on how to renegotiate the deal.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said Friday after a week of talks in Washington that the United States will continue to work with its partners to update the 1994 trade pact. 

“The United States is ready to continue working with Mexico and Canada to achieve needed breakthroughs on these objectives,” he said.

The talks involved all three of the top officials in the NAFTA negotiations: Lighthizer, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland and Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo.

The talks have come under increased pressure to produce a deal quickly after U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said this week he would need to be notified of a new agreement by May 17 to give the current Congress a chance to pass it this year.

Guajardo said Friday that revising the deal will take time. “We’re not going to sacrifice the quality of an agreement because of pressure of time. We’ll keep engaged,” he said.

Freeland echoed those comments. “The negotiations will take as long as it takes to get a good deal.”

She told reporters that there was a long “to-do” list to finish a renegotiation of NAFTA, but said the talks were making progress.

U.S. President Donald Trump again heaped criticism on NAFTA during a meeting with auto executives Friday at the White House. “NAFTA has been a horrible, horrible disaster for this country. And we’ll see if we can make it reasonable,” he said.

Trump has long criticized NAFTA, blaming it for the loss of millions of manufacturing jobs that hurt the U.S. economy.

The auto industry has featured prominently in the NAFTA talks, with one of the key sticking points being a U.S. demand to increase the U.S.-made components in vehicles that receive duty-free status in NAFTA.

Trump praised Fiat Chrysler chief Sergio Marchionne on Friday for plans to move production of its popular Dodge Ram truck back to the United States from Mexico.

“Right now, he’s my favorite man in the room,” Trump said.
…

Senior officials from the United States, Canada and Mexico ended the latest round of talks on the North American Free Trade Agreement without any major breakthroughs on how to renegotiate the deal.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said Friday after a week of talks in Washington that the United States will continue to work with its partners to update the 1994 trade pact. 

“The United States is ready to continue working with Mexico and Canada to achieve needed breakthroughs on these objectives,” he said.

The talks involved all three of the top officials in the NAFTA negotiations: Lighthizer, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland and Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo.

The talks have come under increased pressure to produce a deal quickly after U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said this week he would need to be notified of a new agreement by May 17 to give the current Congress a chance to pass it this year.

Guajardo said Friday that revising the deal will take time. “We’re not going to sacrifice the quality of an agreement because of pressure of time. We’ll keep engaged,” he said.

Freeland echoed those comments. “The negotiations will take as long as it takes to get a good deal.”

She told reporters that there was a long “to-do” list to finish a renegotiation of NAFTA, but said the talks were making progress.

U.S. President Donald Trump again heaped criticism on NAFTA during a meeting with auto executives Friday at the White House. “NAFTA has been a horrible, horrible disaster for this country. And we’ll see if we can make it reasonable,” he said.

Trump has long criticized NAFTA, blaming it for the loss of millions of manufacturing jobs that hurt the U.S. economy.

The auto industry has featured prominently in the NAFTA talks, with one of the key sticking points being a U.S. demand to increase the U.S.-made components in vehicles that receive duty-free status in NAFTA.

Trump praised Fiat Chrysler chief Sergio Marchionne on Friday for plans to move production of its popular Dodge Ram truck back to the United States from Mexico.

“Right now, he’s my favorite man in the room,” Trump said.
…

British Prime Minister Theresa May and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed in a phone call Friday that talks were needed to discuss how U.S sanctions on Iran would affect foreign companies operating in the country.

Trump’s decision to pull the United States out of the Iranian nuclear deal and revive U.S. economic sanctions has alarmed the leaders of Britain, France and Germany who remain committed to the deal and who have significant trade ties with Tehran.

“The prime minister raised the potential impact of U.S. sanctions on those firms which are currently conducting business in Iran,” her spokeswoman said. “They agreed for talks to take place between our teams.”

The spokeswoman said May had told Trump that Britain and its European partners remained “firmly committed” to ensuring the deal was upheld as the best way to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

The two leaders also condemned Iranian rocket attacks against Israeli forces earlier this week and strongly supported Israel’s right to defend itself.

“They agreed on the need for calm on all sides and on the importance of tackling Iran’s destabilizing activity in the region,” the spokeswoman said.
…

British Prime Minister Theresa May and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed in a phone call Friday that talks were needed to discuss how U.S sanctions on Iran would affect foreign companies operating in the country.

Trump’s decision to pull the United States out of the Iranian nuclear deal and revive U.S. economic sanctions has alarmed the leaders of Britain, France and Germany who remain committed to the deal and who have significant trade ties with Tehran.

“The prime minister raised the potential impact of U.S. sanctions on those firms which are currently conducting business in Iran,” her spokeswoman said. “They agreed for talks to take place between our teams.”

The spokeswoman said May had told Trump that Britain and its European partners remained “firmly committed” to ensuring the deal was upheld as the best way to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

The two leaders also condemned Iranian rocket attacks against Israeli forces earlier this week and strongly supported Israel’s right to defend itself.

“They agreed on the need for calm on all sides and on the importance of tackling Iran’s destabilizing activity in the region,” the spokeswoman said.
…

Mexico will not be rushed into revamping the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) just to get a deal, Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said on Friday ahead of trilateral talks with his U.S. and Canadian counterparts.

Guajardo said he would meet at 1 p.m. EDT (1700 GMT) with Canada’s Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, and that the three are closer to agreeing new rules for autos that are vital for a deal.

However, Guajardo, who is eager to reach an agreement on all the principal aspects of a modernized NAFTA before sealing a new deal, said plenty of other issues were outstanding.

“I have to make very clear [that] the quality of the agreement and the balance of the agreement has to be maintained. So we are not going to sacrifice balance and quality for time,” he told reporters on the doorsteps of Lighthizer’s office.

“We believe there is a way to solve autos. I think we are trying to make a very good effort … We are looking at the whole set of items we have to solve. So it’s not autos, it’s everything else.”

Guajardo and Freeland have been meeting Lighthizer separately since the start of the week. Friday’s trilateral meeting will be the first held this week.

Drafting new rules of origin governing what percentage of a car needs to be built in the NAFTA region to avoid tariffs has been at the center of the talks to update the 1994 deal. It forms a key plank of the Trump administration’s aim to boost jobs and investment in the United States.

Officials and industry sources say the three sides have been gradually narrowing their differences on autos.

However, several other major issues are still unresolved, including U.S. demands for a five-year sunset clause that would allow NAFTA to expire, and elimination of settlement panels for trade disputes.

U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan set a May 17 deadline to be notified of a new NAFTA to give the current Congress a chance of passing it. The United States will hold elections in November for a new Congress that will be seated early next year.

Mexico’s top trade official, however, said time was running short to meet such a deadline. Mexico will hold its presidential election on July 1.
…

Mexico will not be rushed into revamping the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) just to get a deal, Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said on Friday ahead of trilateral talks with his U.S. and Canadian counterparts.

Guajardo said he would meet at 1 p.m. EDT (1700 GMT) with Canada’s Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, and that the three are closer to agreeing new rules for autos that are vital for a deal.

However, Guajardo, who is eager to reach an agreement on all the principal aspects of a modernized NAFTA before sealing a new deal, said plenty of other issues were outstanding.

“I have to make very clear [that] the quality of the agreement and the balance of the agreement has to be maintained. So we are not going to sacrifice balance and quality for time,” he told reporters on the doorsteps of Lighthizer’s office.

“We believe there is a way to solve autos. I think we are trying to make a very good effort … We are looking at the whole set of items we have to solve. So it’s not autos, it’s everything else.”

Guajardo and Freeland have been meeting Lighthizer separately since the start of the week. Friday’s trilateral meeting will be the first held this week.

Drafting new rules of origin governing what percentage of a car needs to be built in the NAFTA region to avoid tariffs has been at the center of the talks to update the 1994 deal. It forms a key plank of the Trump administration’s aim to boost jobs and investment in the United States.

Officials and industry sources say the three sides have been gradually narrowing their differences on autos.

However, several other major issues are still unresolved, including U.S. demands for a five-year sunset clause that would allow NAFTA to expire, and elimination of settlement panels for trade disputes.

U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan set a May 17 deadline to be notified of a new NAFTA to give the current Congress a chance of passing it. The United States will hold elections in November for a new Congress that will be seated early next year.

Mexico’s top trade official, however, said time was running short to meet such a deadline. Mexico will hold its presidential election on July 1.
…

Burden or business opportunity? A new U.N.-backed study of refugees from the World Bank’s International Financial Corporation argues for the latter. The IFC researchers examined one of Africa’s oldest and largest refugee camps, Kakuma in northwest Kenya. What they found is a growing consumer base they say is ripe for more private investment in sectors like mobile banking and energy. The IFC took VOA’s Daniel Schearf on a tour of the camp. He has this report.
…

Burden or business opportunity? A new U.N.-backed study of refugees from the World Bank’s International Financial Corporation argues for the latter. The IFC researchers examined one of Africa’s oldest and largest refugee camps, Kakuma in northwest Kenya. What they found is a growing consumer base they say is ripe for more private investment in sectors like mobile banking and energy. The IFC took VOA’s Daniel Schearf on a tour of the camp. He has this report.
…

A senior United Nations official says trade protectionism, rising private and corporate debt, and shortcomings in revenue raising are growing challenges to the economic outlook for the Asia Pacific.

Shamshad Akhtar, executive secretary of the UN’s Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), noted the threats of trade wars undermining the region’s positive economic growth outlook.

The United States has pressed states, notably China, to reduce trade and current account deficits with the U.S., recently imposing tariffs on steel exports from several countries.

Akhtar said such trade protectionism represents “quite a big threat” along with nontariff barriers, which have been rising since the 2008 global financial crisis, such as cross border restrictions that further limit trade.

“If you look at the trends, there has been a post-2008 crisis, there has been an increase in nontariff barriers that face the Asia Pacific region as a whole. [The U.S. tariff increases] have been classified as a trade war eventually, if at all those [measures] are invoked there will be a counter reaction,” Akhtar said.

Trade war and growth

She said a trade war would directly impact the region’s economic growth, especially affecting small- and medium-sized enterprises in the Asia Pacific that have trading links to economies such as China, a key target of the U.S. tariffs.

“Yes, growth in itself would be impacted, and it’s happening at a time when we have just seen a recovery; both in terms of growth as well as trade,” Akhtar told VOA.

She said the trade conflicts represented a challenge to the long-standing multilateral rules set down under the World Trade Organization (WTO).

But economists with the Singapore/London based Capital Economics, say recent trade talks between the U.S. and China, and slowing global growth may have eased the threat of a trade war.

China trade surplus leveling

Capital Economics Senior China economist, Julian Evans-Pritchard, in a May commentary, said that while the trade surplus with the U.S. remains near an all-time high, there were “some signs” of it leveling off.

Evans-Pritchard said China’s export performance was also easing as global growth may have peaked.

“This will hopefully encourage [China] to adopt a pragmatic approach to trade negotiations in order to try to avoid the imposition of tariffs and an even sharper slowdown in export growth,” he said.

Outlook for 2018-2019

UNESCAP’s annual economic survey for the Asia Pacific, released this week, remained upbeat for the region’s economic growth at 5.5 percent in 2018 and 2019, with a “slight moderation” in China, offset by a recovery in India, with steady growth elsewhere in the region.

But Akhtar said there are still significant economic headwinds going forward, including infrastructure financing, estimated to be as much as $1.7 trillion.

To meet such demand, she said there is a need to reform taxation administration “in some of the Asia Pacific economies” through simplified tax regimes that could mobilize as much as $60 billion.

Mounting debt

The survey warned of “potential financial vulnerabilities” in regions of high private and corporate debt, particularly in China, South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand, in order to avoid a repeat of the Asian financial crisis of 1997-1998.

“It’s very clear to me we need to tackle the issue of private and corporate debt because from our previous experiences any overexposure in terms of whether the debt is private, corporate or household can induce a huge amount of domestic financial vulnerability,” Akhtar said.

Akhtar noted progress achieved in reducing poverty from almost 44 percent in 1990 to around 12 percent in early 2010.

But poverty levels remain “relatively high” in South and Southwest Asia. The Asia Pacific region still has some “400 million people living in poverty.”

Another issue is growing income inequalities in key economies, with the most marked changes in China and Indonesia, and to a lesser extent in India and Bangladesh.

“Given that we have steep inequalities with countries, it basically means that people don’t have access to basic economic and social services,” which can also sustain poverty rates, she said.

Akhtar said in the medium term “potential economic growth” appeared on a downward trend in several countries because of aging populations and a need to boost investment in human resources, such as education.
…

A senior United Nations official says trade protectionism, rising private and corporate debt, and shortcomings in revenue raising are growing challenges to the economic outlook for the Asia Pacific.

Shamshad Akhtar, executive secretary of the UN’s Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), noted the threats of trade wars undermining the region’s positive economic growth outlook.

The United States has pressed states, notably China, to reduce trade and current account deficits with the U.S., recently imposing tariffs on steel exports from several countries.

Akhtar said such trade protectionism represents “quite a big threat” along with nontariff barriers, which have been rising since the 2008 global financial crisis, such as cross border restrictions that further limit trade.

“If you look at the trends, there has been a post-2008 crisis, there has been an increase in nontariff barriers that face the Asia Pacific region as a whole. [The U.S. tariff increases] have been classified as a trade war eventually, if at all those [measures] are invoked there will be a counter reaction,” Akhtar said.

Trade war and growth

She said a trade war would directly impact the region’s economic growth, especially affecting small- and medium-sized enterprises in the Asia Pacific that have trading links to economies such as China, a key target of the U.S. tariffs.

“Yes, growth in itself would be impacted, and it’s happening at a time when we have just seen a recovery; both in terms of growth as well as trade,” Akhtar told VOA.

She said the trade conflicts represented a challenge to the long-standing multilateral rules set down under the World Trade Organization (WTO).

But economists with the Singapore/London based Capital Economics, say recent trade talks between the U.S. and China, and slowing global growth may have eased the threat of a trade war.

China trade surplus leveling

Capital Economics Senior China economist, Julian Evans-Pritchard, in a May commentary, said that while the trade surplus with the U.S. remains near an all-time high, there were “some signs” of it leveling off.

Evans-Pritchard said China’s export performance was also easing as global growth may have peaked.

“This will hopefully encourage [China] to adopt a pragmatic approach to trade negotiations in order to try to avoid the imposition of tariffs and an even sharper slowdown in export growth,” he said.

Outlook for 2018-2019

UNESCAP’s annual economic survey for the Asia Pacific, released this week, remained upbeat for the region’s economic growth at 5.5 percent in 2018 and 2019, with a “slight moderation” in China, offset by a recovery in India, with steady growth elsewhere in the region.

But Akhtar said there are still significant economic headwinds going forward, including infrastructure financing, estimated to be as much as $1.7 trillion.

To meet such demand, she said there is a need to reform taxation administration “in some of the Asia Pacific economies” through simplified tax regimes that could mobilize as much as $60 billion.

Mounting debt

The survey warned of “potential financial vulnerabilities” in regions of high private and corporate debt, particularly in China, South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand, in order to avoid a repeat of the Asian financial crisis of 1997-1998.

“It’s very clear to me we need to tackle the issue of private and corporate debt because from our previous experiences any overexposure in terms of whether the debt is private, corporate or household can induce a huge amount of domestic financial vulnerability,” Akhtar said.

Akhtar noted progress achieved in reducing poverty from almost 44 percent in 1990 to around 12 percent in early 2010.

But poverty levels remain “relatively high” in South and Southwest Asia. The Asia Pacific region still has some “400 million people living in poverty.”

Another issue is growing income inequalities in key economies, with the most marked changes in China and Indonesia, and to a lesser extent in India and Bangladesh.

“Given that we have steep inequalities with countries, it basically means that people don’t have access to basic economic and social services,” which can also sustain poverty rates, she said.

Akhtar said in the medium term “potential economic growth” appeared on a downward trend in several countries because of aging populations and a need to boost investment in human resources, such as education.
…

Mexico on Thursday indicated time was running out to see whether NAFTA nations could agree a new deal in the short term while Canada struck a upbeat tone, saying top-level talks this week had achieved a great deal.

Major differences remain between the three members of the North American Free Trade Agreement after more than eight months of largely slow-moving negotiations launched at the insistence of Washington, which wants major changes to the 1994 pact.

A source close to the talks said U.S. officials have told Canada and Mexico that May 17 or 18 is the deadline for a text that could be dealt with by the current U.S. Congress. A second source confirmed that those dates had been discussed.

Need solutions before elections

Mexico’s Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said he expected to learn by the end of Friday whether a new deal was possible in the short term.

“I think we will be finding out through the day and tomorrow … if we really have what it takes to be able to land these things in the short run,” Guajardo told Reuters.

Top-level talks between the three members this week hit an obstacle as the United States and Mexico sought to settle differences over the key issue of automobiles.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer wants a quick agreement to avoid running into complications caused by a Mexican presidential election on July 1 and U.S. midterm Congressional elections in November.

‘Getting closer’

Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said the three nations had “made a lot of progress since Monday … we are definitely getting closer to the final objective.”

Freeland, speaking to reporters after meetings with senior U.S. legislators on Capitol Hill, sidestepped questions as to when an agreement might be reached.

Guajardo told Reuters that “we have suitcases for two weeks if necessary.”

U.S. President Donald Trump regularly threatens to walk away from NAFTA, underscoring uncertainty over the pact. Business executives complain that the lack of clarity is hitting investment.

Mexico has launched a counterproposal to U.S. demands to toughen automotive industry content rules and boost wages. U.S. President Donald Trump blames cheaper wages in Mexico for manufacturing job losses in the United States.

Many major issues remain

Many other major issues crucial to a deal are still unresolved, including U.S. demands for a five-year sunset clause, and elimination of settlement panels for trade disputes.

After meeting with Lighthizer on Thursday, Guajardo told reporters that the talks were not just covering autos.

“You cannot think that in a process of negotiations we’re going to solve one item without reviewing the overall balance of the agreement,” he said. “We’re going over all the items. It’s very important to stress that.”
…

Mexico on Thursday indicated time was running out to see whether NAFTA nations could agree a new deal in the short term while Canada struck a upbeat tone, saying top-level talks this week had achieved a great deal.

Major differences remain between the three members of the North American Free Trade Agreement after more than eight months of largely slow-moving negotiations launched at the insistence of Washington, which wants major changes to the 1994 pact.

A source close to the talks said U.S. officials have told Canada and Mexico that May 17 or 18 is the deadline for a text that could be dealt with by the current U.S. Congress. A second source confirmed that those dates had been discussed.

Need solutions before elections

Mexico’s Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said he expected to learn by the end of Friday whether a new deal was possible in the short term.

“I think we will be finding out through the day and tomorrow … if we really have what it takes to be able to land these things in the short run,” Guajardo told Reuters.

Top-level talks between the three members this week hit an obstacle as the United States and Mexico sought to settle differences over the key issue of automobiles.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer wants a quick agreement to avoid running into complications caused by a Mexican presidential election on July 1 and U.S. midterm Congressional elections in November.

‘Getting closer’

Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said the three nations had “made a lot of progress since Monday … we are definitely getting closer to the final objective.”

Freeland, speaking to reporters after meetings with senior U.S. legislators on Capitol Hill, sidestepped questions as to when an agreement might be reached.

Guajardo told Reuters that “we have suitcases for two weeks if necessary.”

U.S. President Donald Trump regularly threatens to walk away from NAFTA, underscoring uncertainty over the pact. Business executives complain that the lack of clarity is hitting investment.

Mexico has launched a counterproposal to U.S. demands to toughen automotive industry content rules and boost wages. U.S. President Donald Trump blames cheaper wages in Mexico for manufacturing job losses in the United States.

Many major issues remain

Many other major issues crucial to a deal are still unresolved, including U.S. demands for a five-year sunset clause, and elimination of settlement panels for trade disputes.

After meeting with Lighthizer on Thursday, Guajardo told reporters that the talks were not just covering autos.

“You cannot think that in a process of negotiations we’re going to solve one item without reviewing the overall balance of the agreement,” he said. “We’re going over all the items. It’s very important to stress that.”
…

Virginia Wallen is a wife, a mother of three, and a woodworker. She achieved what she has never imagined she would — turning her carpentry hobby into a business. The entrepreneur isn’t just succeeding in her new career, she’s tearing down stereotypes and building a new role model.

It happens for a reason

Wallen, who grew up helping out on her family’s farm, developed all the skills required by a professional woodworker early on.

“It wasn’t so much as a passion — growing up doing woodworking – as much as a requirement: help mend a fence or work on the farm or do things like that,” she recalls. “When given a choice in high school between home economics and woodshop class I picked woodshop and welding. But the passion happened a lot later when the HGTV [TV channel for home improvement] came out.”

Still, carpentry wasn’t her first career choice. Wallen worked for 11 years with an IT company.

“I was pretty certain that that was my career path for the rest of my life,” she says. “So when I got laid off I was devastated. I just never expected that I would ever be laid off. I was applying for jobs everywhere but because I’m so type A. I can’t sit around and do nothing. And, I was driving my husband crazy.”

New career

Inspired by her dogs, Penny and Chloe, Wallen returned to her hobby… and made a crate for them. Then, she posted the pictures on line.

“That week I had five people reached out to me asking if I would build them one,” she says. “I wasn’t expecting that feedback. But I took it as divine intervention, maybe I need to change. I told my husband I was going to start building dog kennels.”

That surprised her husband, Kevin Wallen, who works in IT and also enjoys carpentry as hobby.

“I thought she was crazy,” he admits. “But after the first one was well-received, it was great. It was like ‘OK, this is going to take off.’”

And it did. But that wouldn’t have been possible without her husband’s help.

“I took over Mr. Mom,” he explains. “I kind of stepped in and had to be more hands on with kids and more hands on with the school stuff and dinners and things like that because her work was focused on building the business. So it was a big change, but being married that’s what you got to do. You got to step up every now and then.”

Wallen is thankful for her husband’s support.

“Kevin can also help pick up that slack when I need it,” she says. “He can come down here when I need help building and he can help me do that. If I need help putting kids to bed because I’m here building until eleven o’clock at night, he can do that too.”

That gave Wallen the time she needed to build her brand, Ginny Bins. Her products are made of recycled wood and have a warm, vintage look. She markets them on-line.

On line at the right time

Around the same time Wallen started her business, psychologist Heather Abbott was in the process of starting a day care center, Little Oaks Montessori Academy. She went online searching for furniture.

“I didn’t want to get the standard, just ordered off the Internet pieces, I wanted something very customized that looked like it would go into a home,” she says. “I saw Ginny Bins, Virginia woodwork business. I liked it. I contacted her.

Abbott says Wallen understood what she wanted, from the whimsical to the practical.

“One of the things that I really was looking for is a book shelf that looks like a tree,” Abbott says. “She’s like, ‘you know I’ve never made anything like this, but I’m going to give it a shot.’ She did it and it happens to be one of the children’s favorite pieces in the school. She made boards with little clips. A table for the staff kitchen. The angle of the room was weird and she had to make it small enough to fit in. She did Dutch doors on all the classrooms so we wouldn’t have to shut the doors, we don’t have to close it all completely. ”

Abbott loves each of these items and the message of unlimited possibilities behind them. “It’s to teach our teachers, our students, our families that pass by, so they know that Virginia made those pieces and they can say this is a stereotype that we’re breaking.”

Woodworker Virginia Wallen doesn’t like stereotypes and believes it’s time for women to ignore them and just do what they want.

That’s what she’s doing. And that’s how she’s found her passion, woodworking- the work she has fun doing every day.

 
…

Virginia Wallen is a wife, a mother of three, and a woodworker. She achieved what she has never imagined she would — turning her carpentry hobby into a business. The entrepreneur isn’t just succeeding in her new career, she’s tearing down stereotypes and building a new role model.

It happens for a reason

Wallen, who grew up helping out on her family’s farm, developed all the skills required by a professional woodworker early on.

“It wasn’t so much as a passion — growing up doing woodworking – as much as a requirement: help mend a fence or work on the farm or do things like that,” she recalls. “When given a choice in high school between home economics and woodshop class I picked woodshop and welding. But the passion happened a lot later when the HGTV [TV channel for home improvement] came out.”

Still, carpentry wasn’t her first career choice. Wallen worked for 11 years with an IT company.

“I was pretty certain that that was my career path for the rest of my life,” she says. “So when I got laid off I was devastated. I just never expected that I would ever be laid off. I was applying for jobs everywhere but because I’m so type A. I can’t sit around and do nothing. And, I was driving my husband crazy.”

New career

Inspired by her dogs, Penny and Chloe, Wallen returned to her hobby… and made a crate for them. Then, she posted the pictures on line.

“That week I had five people reached out to me asking if I would build them one,” she says. “I wasn’t expecting that feedback. But I took it as divine intervention, maybe I need to change. I told my husband I was going to start building dog kennels.”

That surprised her husband, Kevin Wallen, who works in IT and also enjoys carpentry as hobby.

“I thought she was crazy,” he admits. “But after the first one was well-received, it was great. It was like ‘OK, this is going to take off.’”

And it did. But that wouldn’t have been possible without her husband’s help.

“I took over Mr. Mom,” he explains. “I kind of stepped in and had to be more hands on with kids and more hands on with the school stuff and dinners and things like that because her work was focused on building the business. So it was a big change, but being married that’s what you got to do. You got to step up every now and then.”

Wallen is thankful for her husband’s support.

“Kevin can also help pick up that slack when I need it,” she says. “He can come down here when I need help building and he can help me do that. If I need help putting kids to bed because I’m here building until eleven o’clock at night, he can do that too.”

That gave Wallen the time she needed to build her brand, Ginny Bins. Her products are made of recycled wood and have a warm, vintage look. She markets them on-line.

On line at the right time

Around the same time Wallen started her business, psychologist Heather Abbott was in the process of starting a day care center, Little Oaks Montessori Academy. She went online searching for furniture.

“I didn’t want to get the standard, just ordered off the Internet pieces, I wanted something very customized that looked like it would go into a home,” she says. “I saw Ginny Bins, Virginia woodwork business. I liked it. I contacted her.

Abbott says Wallen understood what she wanted, from the whimsical to the practical.

“One of the things that I really was looking for is a book shelf that looks like a tree,” Abbott says. “She’s like, ‘you know I’ve never made anything like this, but I’m going to give it a shot.’ She did it and it happens to be one of the children’s favorite pieces in the school. She made boards with little clips. A table for the staff kitchen. The angle of the room was weird and she had to make it small enough to fit in. She did Dutch doors on all the classrooms so we wouldn’t have to shut the doors, we don’t have to close it all completely. ”

Abbott loves each of these items and the message of unlimited possibilities behind them. “It’s to teach our teachers, our students, our families that pass by, so they know that Virginia made those pieces and they can say this is a stereotype that we’re breaking.”

Woodworker Virginia Wallen doesn’t like stereotypes and believes it’s time for women to ignore them and just do what they want.

That’s what she’s doing. And that’s how she’s found her passion, woodworking- the work she has fun doing every day.

 
…