Aurelia Butler

The fund also said in a statement issued late on Tuesday it had put Marfrig Global Foods, one of Brazil’s largest producers of beef, under observation for possible exclusion from its investments for contributing to “severe environmental damage”.The fund, one of the world’s largest investors, follows an ethical mandate set by parliament and is not allowed to invest in companies that produce nuclear weapons, tobacco or cluster munitions, among other things.The fund held a 0.11% stake in Yunnan Baiyao, worth $23 million at the end of 2020 according to fund data. It did not say when it had made the divestment. The Chinese company was not immediately available for comment.Referring to Marfrig, the fund’s ethical watchdog said deforestation occurs on properties in its supply chain.”Marfrig’s supplier monitoring has not been sufficient to avoid deforestation. Moreover, the monitoring system has mainly targeted the Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN). Suppliers from other regions with a high rate of deforestation have barely been checked,” the watchdog said.In an emailed comment, Marfrig said it recognises the challenge of protecting the environment in Brazil. It said it plans to track 100% of its suppliers in the Amazon – including indirect sellers – by 2025 to ensure its products are deforestation free. That will be expanded to all Brazilian biomes by 2030, the company said.The company was not immediately available for comment outside normal office hours in Brazil. The fund had a 0.22% stake in the company worth $4.4 million at the end of 2020, according to fund data. More

(Reuters) -President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that his administration was extending the pause on student loan repayment for an additional 90 days, citing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.”Today my Administration is extending the pause on federal student loan repayments for an additional 90 days – through May 1, 2022 — as we manage the ongoing pandemic and further strengthen our economic recovery”, Biden said in a statement released by the White House. In August, the Biden administration extended the pause through Jan. 31, 2022.”We know that millions of student loan borrowers are still coping with the impacts of the pandemic and need some more time before resuming payments,” Biden said on Wednesday.The extension of the pause comes as cases of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus surge across the United States.Nearly 41 million borrowers benefited from a freeze on interest accruals and about 27 million borrowers have not had to pay their monthly bills since the forbearance began.The Student Borrower Protection Center, a nonprofit group, described the step by the Biden administration as “a lifeline to student loan borrowers in the face of economic and public health reality.”Democratic lawmakers including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Elizabeth Warren welcomed Biden’s announcement and continued to call on the administration to cancel up to $50,000 in student debt.”We continue to call on President Biden to take executive action to cancel $50,000 in student debt, which will help close the racial wealth gap for borrowers and accelerate our economic recovery,” the Democratic lawmakers said in a statement. More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Corporate tax advisers are warning clients not to celebrate the apparent demise of U.S. President Joe Biden’s $1.75 trillion climate and social spending package, which they say could be resuscitated with a similar price tag and proposed tax hikes.Any changes in a new version of the bill negotiated between Biden and his fellow Democrat, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, are likely to focus more on the spending side than on revenue-raising measures, said Ryan Abraham, a principal with Ernst & Young’s Washington Council advisory practice.The bill’s revenue measures include higher taxes on companies and the wealthiest households. Over the weekend, Manchin shocked the White House when he said in an interview on the “Fox News Sunday” program that he would not support the spending package. The moderate Democrat has expressed concerns about its impact on inflation as well as measures such as the expansion of the child tax credit program. But Manchin, who represents West Virginia, one of the poorest states in the country, has continuously said he supports increasing taxes on corporations and the wealthy and reversing some of the Trump administration’s 2017 tax cuts that he opposed. “I don’t know whether outside of the child tax credit and some discreet changes that Manchin needs, that much, really, on the tax side is going to change. That doesn’t seem to be where his biggest concerns are,” Abraham told Reuters.The revenue measures in Biden’s “Build Back Better” bill, which include a 15% minimum tax on corporate book income, a higher 15% minimum tax on overseas corporate income and a surtax on individual income above $10 million, may still be needed to ensure that whatever emerges from new negotiations covers the costs, Abraham said. Some tax breaks, such as a deduction for U.S. union-made electric vehicles, could be dropped, while green energy goods makers and other industries may be exempted from the book income tax.GLOBAL CORPORATE MINIMUM TAXTwo days after Manchin dealt the legislation what appeared to be a body blow by publicly rejecting its latest version, Biden said on Tuesday that he and the senator were “going to get something done” on the legislation.A Manchin aide on Wednesday had no comment on the talks.”Our first piece of advice is that it’s not over until it’s over,” said Manal Corwin, a former U.S. Treasury official who is now head of KPMG’s Washington National Tax practice. “The motivation to get something done is pretty strong, even if it has to get pared down.” Even if Biden’s White House is able to get Manchin to support the “Build Back Better” bill, it will still have to win over Democratic Senator Kyrsten Sinema to pass it in the 100-seat Senate, which is narrowly controlled by the Democrats. Sinema and all 50 Republican senators have rejected higher corporate tax rates.The current tax provisions, crucial to a deal among 136 countries for a 15% global corporate minimum tax, are less controversial and are likely to survive in a revamped version, Corwin said.”From a global tax perspective, it’s really about whether they are successful getting a deal or not” to allow the package to win approval, Corwin said, adding that Manchin’s announcement over the weekend is “raising alarm bells” in some countries about U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s ability to deliver on her promises.A Treasury spokesperson said on Wednesday that the department was confident it could meet the commitment to implement the 15% global corporate minimum tax next year, with the rules coming into force in 2023. More

“In light of (the JV’s) inability to meet its current financial obligations, the company’s board of directors has resolved to initiate a restructuring process,” a spokesperson said. A source in September told Reuters Renault (PA:RENA) was in discussions to end its joint venture to build vans with the state-backed Chinese company.The tie-up dates back to 2017, when Renault and Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd established manufacturing operations in Shenyang, the provincial capital of Liaoning, and set out to make a push into electric commercial vans in particular.The Chinese market has proved difficult for some foreign producers – sales faltered right before the COVID-19 pandemic, which walloped the industry.Renault last year ditched its main passenger car business in China following poor sales at its loss-making venture with Dongfeng Motor Group. But it is making a fresh attempt to crack the market with Geely Holding Group, announcing in August a hybrid vehicle joint venture.Bloomberg earlier on Wednesday reported that the French carmaker had decided to initiate a restructuring process. More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The aviation and telecom industries said Wednesday they were making progress to address air safety concerns about potential interference from the planned Jan. 5 5G wireless deployment.Wireless trade group CTIA, Airlines for America and Aerospace Industries Association said in a joint statement “after productive discussions we will be working together to share the available data from all parties to identify the specific areas of concern for aviation.” Last week, airlines said interference from 5G networks could cause 4% of U.S. flights to be diverted, delayed or canceled. “The best technical experts from across both industries will be working collectively to identify a path forward, in coordination” with the Federal Communications Commission and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the statement said.”By working collaboratively in good faith on a data-driven solution, we can achieve our shared goal of deploying 5G while preserving aviation safety,” the groups added.AT&T (NYSE:T) and Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) are moving forward with plans to deploy C-Band spectrum 5G wireless in about two weeks that they won in an $80 billion auction.Both the aviation industry and FAA have raised concerns about potential interference of 5G with sensitive aircraft electronics like radio altimeters.The FAA said it was encouraged that aviation manufacturers and wireless companies “are taking steps to test how dozens of radio altimeters will perform in the high-powered 5G environment envisioned for the United States.”It added it will work “to make sure the testing provides adequate safety margins and accounts for the variety of safety systems that rely on accurate information from radio altimeters.”The FAA this month issued airworthiness directives warning 5G interference could result in flight diversions.Hoping to avoid any deployment issues, the groups have been holding talks to share data on U.S. airports, including base station locations, power levels and antenna positioning, as well altimeter data, that could potentially be impacted.On Monday, Boeing (NYSE:BA) Chief Executive Dave Calhoun and Airbus Americas CEO Jeffrey Knittel urged the Biden administration to delay the 5G deployment.Airlines for America has said if the FAA 5G directive had been in effect in 2019, about 345,000 passenger flights and 5,400 cargo flights would have faced delays, diversions or cancellations.In November, AT&T and Verizon delayed commercial launch of C-band wireless service by a month until Jan. 5 and adopted precautionary measures to limit interference.Aviation industry groups said that was insufficient. The aviation industry made a counterproposal that would limit cellular transmissions around airports and other critical areas.Wireless industry group CTIA said 5G is safe and the spectrum is being used in about 40 other countries. It has previously accused the aviation industry of fearmongering and distorting facts. More

“We believe that Senator Manchin has been engaging with us over the course of time and months in good faith,” spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters. “There will be more negotiations, no doubt about it. Everybody stay tuned and settle in.”Psaki said there was still broad agreement among President Joe Biden and his fellow Democrats to enact the legislation targeting social benefits and climate change. Manchin, whose vote is critical in the 50-50 divided Senate, on Sunday told Fox News he would not vote for the bill. Biden on Tuesday said he and the lawmaker would still “get something done.”Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has said the chamber would vote on a package in early 2022.Psaki told reporters Biden has been clear he wants the package to be paid for even if some programs would later have to be extended, acknowledging disagreements over the timelines in the bill. “Compromise is not a dirty word. We’re going to continue discussing it,” she said. More