Aurelia Butler

Treasury said Yellen, who made a surprise visit to Kyiv on Monday, days after the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion, met with Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko and commended his work to stabilize Ukraine’s economy and stay focused on economic reforms as the war continued.She also expressed support for creation of a multi-agency donor coordination platform for Ukraine to help the country address near-term recovery and future reconstruction needs together with international partners, Treasury said.Yellen’s comments reflect growing momentum toward agreement on a new IMF financing package for Ukraine, coming days after IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva also visited Kyiv.French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told reporters on Friday that European finance chiefs have endorsed a $15.5 billion IMF loan program for Ukraine, a sum in line with that given last week by Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.Yellen spoke with Georgieva before leaving Washington to attend the Group of 20 meeting in India, and senior Treasury officials were in daily touch with IMF counterparts about the Ukrainian program, a Treasury official said. Yellen and Treasury officials also had conversations at the G20 with counterparts about an IMF program for Ukraine, the official said. More

KYIV (Reuters) -U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen paid a surprise visit to Kyiv on Monday to reaffirm U.S. support for Ukraine in its struggle against Russia’s invasion and promote U.S. economic aid that is bolstering Ukraine’s war effort.Yellen met with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko and other key government officials just days into the war’s second year, repeating U.S. assurances delivered by President Joe Biden a week ago in Kyiv.”America will stand with Ukraine as long as it takes,” Yellen, flanked by sandbags at the cabinet ministers’ office, told Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, in a trip also aimed at shoring up support at home for continued aid.In a private meeting with Zelenskiy late in the afternoon, the Treasury chief aid she commended him “for his leadership and resolve in the face of Russia’s illegal and unprovoked war.”Yellen said she welcomed Zelenskiy’s actions to strengthen governance and address corruption – actions needed to ensure that U.S. economic aid is being spent responsibly, a message she repeated in her meeting with Marchenko.”The United States has been powerfully supporting us since the first days of this war not only with weapons, but also on the financial front,” Zelenskiy said on his Telegram social media channel.”It is necessary to further strengthen sanctions to deprive Russia of the ability to finance the war.”In public remarks, Shmyhal said he and Yellen discussed additional sanctions on Russia, including confiscating frozen Russian assets to benefit Ukraine’s recovery.But Yellen told reporters in a phone briefing that there were still significant legal obstacles to fully seizing some $300 billion in Russian frozen central bank assets and expressed caution about new curbs on Russia’s nuclear energy sector. Yellen announced the transfer of the first $1.25 billion from the latest, $9.9 billion tranche of economic and budget assistance from Washington.AIR RAID SIREN ON ARRIVALYellen’s visit comes a week after Biden staged an unannounced trip to Kyiv and promised $500 million in additional military aid for Ukraine and new sanctions on Russia announced days later, including effectively banning U.S. imports of Russian aluminum.As Biden did, Yellen’s staff worked to keep the visit a secret until she left Kyiv, with a daily media advisory for Monday saying only that she would “meet with advisors and staff.”She traveled into Kyiv via an overnight train with a small group of senior aides after landing in a U.S. military aircraft near Rzeszow, Poland, near Ukraine’s western border, and left again by overnight train after a full day of meetings. Shortly before her arrival in the capital, city air raid sirens wailed as a warning of a possible attack, although they often turn out to be false alarms.On a chilly morning, Yellen laid a wreath at a memorial wall for Ukrainian soldiers killed in the war, saying: “I am witnessing first-hand the devastating toll of Putin’s brutal war.”She stopped to inspect a destroyed Russian tank and mobile artillery piece on display at a city square cleared of visitors and met with first responders from the city’s emergency services.BUDGET SUPPORTYellen visited Kyiv on her return to Washington from a G20 finance leaders meeting in Bengaluru, India, where she urged counterparts to boost economic aid to Ukraine and insisted that G20 ministers issue a strong condemnation of Russia’s invasion.Since the war began, the U.S. has given Ukraine more than $13 billion in economic and budget support funding, and the latest disbursement will push that to over $14 billion, with an additional $8.65 billion expected through Sept. 30.Yellen and Treasury officials viewed the trip as a key way to reinforce the importance of sustaining economic and budgetary assistance for Ukraine to the American public, a Treasury official said, amid signals from some Republican lawmakers that they are growing skeptical.Ukraine is estimated to need $40 billion to $57 billion in external financing this year to support its economy and is negotiating a $15.5 billion loan program with the International Monetary Fund to partly fill the gap.Yellen told Marchenko she backed completion of a fully financed program for Ukraine with the IMF by the end of March, Treasury said in a statement.Yellen said such economic support is keeping Ukraine’s government and critical public services running, schools open and pensions paid, providing a “bedrock of stability” that fuels Ukrainian resistance.”A sustained military effort cannot succeed without an effective government at home,” Yellen said at the Kyiv Obolon School No. 168, where the salaries of teachers, administrators and support staff are reimbursed from U.S. budget support funds.A chalkboard at the school, damaged in Russia’s initial assault on the capital last year, read “Crimea is Ours,” next to one with “2+2=4.” More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Inflation for a broad array of services in the United States remains “stubbornly high,” Federal Reserve Governor Philip Jefferson said Monday, though slower-growing wages might help slow prices in those parts of the economy as well.Though the Fed has seen some progress in slowing price increases for goods and expects the same to happen in housing, inflation continues for services ranging from restaurants to medical care — and will likely need to slow for the central bank to make clear progress back towards its 2% inflation target. “Core goods inflation has started to come down. Several indicators suggest that housing services inflation is likely to come down in the coming months. There is more uncertainty surrounding inflation in core services excluding housing,” Jefferson said in remarks to a Harvard University economics class.”The inflation outlook for this nonhousing category of core services partly depends on whether growth in nominal labor costs comes back down, and recent data suggest that labor compensation has indeed started to decelerate somewhat over the past year.”In later comments in response to questions, Jefferson said he was under “no illusion” that inflation would return quickly to the Fed’s target, and noted that the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index remained “elevated,” jumping unexpectedly last month to a 5.4% annual rate versus a 5.3% rate as of December.The Fed uses the PCE index to sets its inflation target.”I’m under no illusion that it’s going to be easy to get the inflation rate back down to 2%,” Jefferson said. “There’s a lot of resolve on the part of the (Federal Open Market) Committee. I know that I am committed to doing what it takes.” Jefferson did not detail his views on the Fed’s upcoming policy decision, or how much higher he thinks the target federal funds rate might have to move beyond the 4.5% to 4.75% range set at the Fed’s last meeting. The central bank meets on March 21-22 and is expected to approve a quarter point rate increase, while also providing new projections about policy for the rest of the year. More

Good morning. We begin today with the news that Britain and the EU have clinched a deal to settle their toxic dispute over Northern Ireland trading rules in a turning point after years of post-Brexit tensions. Rishi Sunak, UK prime minister, and Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission president, sealed the agreement in the shadow of Windsor Castle, with both talking of a “new chapter” in relations. Sunak and von der Leyen hope the deal to smooth trade between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK will end years of grim post-Brexit ties between London and Brussels. “We have made a decisive breakthrough,” Sunak said at a press conference with von der Leyen, as the two hailed an agreement to reform the so-called Northern Ireland protocol, dubbed “the Windsor framework”.The protocol was established to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland. But Sunak’s next task will be selling the deal to its critics, Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist party and Eurosceptic Tory MPs. Go deeper: Rishi Sunak and Ursula von der Leyen are using the deal on Northern Ireland to herald renewed friendship between the UK and EU.A note to readers: FirstFT is getting a new look, starting tomorrow. We’re excited to see what you think. As always, you can share your feedback with us at [email protected] more stories in the news1. Congress to examine operations of US companies in China The US congressional panel created to focus on threats from Beijing plans to look at the role of private equity, venture capital and Wall Street firms in China as it prepares to launch its first hearing featuring witnesses such as Matt Pottinger, the deputy national security adviser during the Trump administration, and former national security adviser HR McMaster.2. Two Abu Dhabi state funds agree 1MDB settlement The International Petroleum Investment Company and Aabar, both mired in the 1MDB financial fraud, have agreed a $1.8bn settlement with the Malaysian sovereign fund and the ministry of finance to end a legal dispute in London.3. JPMorgan slashes China weighting in proposed Asia bond index The new version of the JPMorgan Asia Credit index would seek to compensate for a lack of new dollar bond sales by Chinese property groups by adding corporate debt from other Asia-Pacific countries, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. China’s weighting would decrease from about 43 per cent to roughly 30 per cent, the person said.4. EY China staff encouraged to wear Communist party badges Communist party members at EY China in Beijing have been asked to wear their party badges to show their political loyalty while they are at work. A Communist party branch committee at the company made the demand just ahead of China’s annual parliamentary meetings, a time of high political sensitivity in the country.5. Investcorp opens Tokyo office to target Japan deals The Bahrain-based alternative investment manager that once owned Tiffany and controlled Gucci is opening an office in Tokyo to raise funds and pursue acquisitions of high-end Japanese manufacturers and other hidden gems. The move represents the debut of major, private Middle Eastern funds in Japan.The day aheadPeace Memorial day Taiwan will observe the final day of the Peace Memorial day holiday weekend. The Taiwan Stock Exchange remains closed today. India GDP figures India’s gross domestic product data for the fourth quarter of 2022 will be released today. Economists expect growth to have slipped to an annual 4.6%, according to a Reuters poll. Earnings Companies reporting results today include abrdn, AMC Entertainment Holdings, Bayer, Duolingo, Man Group, Moncler, Ocado, Schrodinger, Serco, Target, and Universal Health Services. More in our Week Ahead newsletter. Join the FT and the FT’s Financial Literacy and Inclusion Campaign on March 8 at 9pm HKT for an hour of financial empowerment in the key areas affecting women in all relationships as well as those without any ties. Register free.What else we’re reading Battle of Asia hubs: how Singapore stacks up against Hong Kong Hong Kong has lost ground to regional rival Singapore, according to an FT analysis of real estate prices, air traffic and other indicators, underlining the challenge the Chinese territory faces as it reopens to the world after years of pandemic controls.

The war in Ukraine forced the EU to rewrite defence policy Decades of engagement with Moscow, through trade, investment and diplomacy, in the belief that it would stop the Kremlin threatening the continent’s security, has been exposed as a monumental error since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. A generation of individual government cuts to defence spending has been replaced by an unprecedented rush to re-arm. Opinion: The inherent flaws of corporate bond ETFs ETFs are supposed to be ultra-simple products — cheap, easy-to-use funds that invest in a broad range of shares, bonds or other assets, spreading risk for inexpert investors. But as with so much of modern finance, the reality is very different from the appearance, writes Patrick Jenkins.The art of getting over an office faux pas There are two sorts of people in the world, writes Pilita Clark. Those who know how to recover from a faux pas at work and those who do not. In her latest column, the FT’s business columnist offers examples of both. ‘I do not see us having a problem getting to Mars’ Tim Peake, the first British astronaut to undertake a spacewalk, is convinced that humans will live on the Red Planet. But freshly retired from European Space Agency m missions, Peake sits down for an interview with FT’s Henry Mance.Take a break from the newsFor the best Japanese food in London, use our guide, written by Nikkei’s Joshua Ogawa. Discover hidden gems between and behind red-brick buildings that serve excellent, and sometimes creative, Japanese cuisine.

Popular grilled skewers ‘Set A’ include minced chicken meatball, asparagus with pork, and king prawn More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Commerce Department and other government agencies approved about 69.9% of export license applications involving China in the 2022 budget year, according to written testimony made public ahead of a U.S. House hearing Tuesday.Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Alan F. Estevez will tell the House Foreign Affairs Committee that the U.S. government denied or returned-without-action approximately 30.1% percent of such license applications. “Approvals of any licenses involving (China) are not loopholes in our controls,” Estevez said, adding “license applications for (China) had an average processing time of approximately 77 days, which was significantly longer than the average processing time of approximately 40 days for all cases.”At the hearing titled “Combating the Generational Challenge of CCP Aggression” Estevez will tell lawmakers China “remains a huge focus of our enforcement efforts, and we will continue to prioritize this work in the coming year.”The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has over 639 China-based parties on its trade blacklist known as the “Entity List” and over 155 of those were added during the Biden Administration, Estevez said.Companies on the Entity List are restricted from receiving U.S.-origin goods and technology.Commerce also maintains the Unverified List (UVL) that requires checks for U.S. technology use. Estevez said BIS conducted about 1,151 end-use checks in around 54 countries, where approximately 75% of checks were considered favorable.He defended the restrictions especially on semiconductors.”These changes are designed to address concerns related to the production of advanced semiconductors,” Estevez said. “These controls are not intended to stop production of legacy semiconductors, and these controls are not tools of economic protectionism. They are national security and foreign policy tools.”BIS warned in October that unverified users could be moved to the more restrictive Entity List.Estevez said it removed 25 of 28 entities from the unverified list after checks in late 2022. “This cooperation continues in 2023, but we are continuing to monitor cooperation closely,” Estevez said. More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Biden administration announced measures to crack down on child labor on Monday amid a steep rise in violations and investigative reports by Reuters and other news outlets on illegal employment of migrant minors in dangerous U.S. industries.U.S. officials said the Labor Department had seen a nearly 70% increase in child labor violations since 2018, including in hazardous occupations. In the last fiscal year, 835 companies were found to have violated child labor laws.U.S. officials told reporters on a Monday conference call that the administration was probing the employment of children at companies including Hearthside Food Solutions and suppliers to Hyundai Motor Co. It has created an interagency task force on child labor, and plans to target industries where violations are most likely to occur for investigations. The Democratic administration of U.S. President Joe Biden is also pushing for heavier penalties for companies that violate these laws, and more funding for enforcement and oversight, they said. U.S. federal law prohibits people under age 16 from working in most factory settings, and those under 18 are barred from the most dangerous jobs in industrial plants. “This isn’t a 19th century problem, this isn’t a 20th century problem, this is happening today,” said one of the officials on the call. “We are seeing children across the country working in conditions that they should never ever be employed in the first place.” The maximum civil monetary penalty is currently just $15,138 per child, the administration noted in a press release, a figure that’s “not high enough to be a deterrent.” The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) opened an investigation into Hearthside Food Solutions, a U.S. food contractor that makes and packages products for well-known snack and cereal brands, for reportedly employing underage workers and violating child labor laws, officials confirmed on the call. Reuters reported the DOL’s investigation into Hearthside earlier on Monday. The company came under scrutiny following a New York Times investigation that said Hearthside’s factories employed underage workers making Chewy (NYSE:CHWY) granola bars and bags of Lucky Charms and Cheetos, which the company would later ship around the country.It was not clear whether the probe will lead to criminal charges, fines or other penalties. Hearthside said in a statement the company would “work collaboratively with the Department of Labor in their investigation and do our part to continue to abide by all local, state and federal employment laws,” and that they were “appalled” by the report alleging child labor at their company. The Hearthside investigation is the latest in a rise in similar probes. Reuters last year published a series of stories on child labor including revelations about the use of child labor among suppliers to Hyundai, including a direct subsidiary of the Korean auto giant, in the U.S. state of Alabama.The first story in the Reuters series, published in February 2022, uncovered young teens working in dangerous chicken processing plants in Alabama. Earlier this month, a major food safety sanitation company paid $1.5 million in penalties for employing more than 100 teenagers in dangerous jobs at meatpacking plants in eight states, following another Labor Department investigation.As Reuters previously reported, a record number of unaccompanied migrant minors entered the country in recent years, with many entering federal shelters and then released to sponsors, usually relatives, while immigration authorities resolve their requests for refuge in the United States. But authorities are struggling with long-term follow-up to prevent minors from being sucked into a vast network of enablers, including labor contractors, who recruit workers for big plants and other employers. At times they have steered kids into jobs that are illegal, grueling and meant for adults. The majority of minors Reuters found working were from Central America.Separately, the Biden administration said earlier this year it will speed up the deportation relief process for immigrants in the United States illegally who witness or experience labor abuses.”We also absolutely need to protect workers who do come forward and participate in wage and hour and other worker protection investigations and activities,” one official said on the Monday call. More