Burberry's shares fell by nearly 7% despite the company reporting a 16% rise in same-store sales for Q4. The performance of the company's biggest market, China, was cited as the reason for the boost, with sales up 13% due to the lifting of COVID restrictions in January. However, despite this quarter's growth, China sales were down 11% for the year, reflecting the impact of the pandemic. Analysts have highlighted economic uncertainties that could impact the brand's post-COVID recovery. Overall Asia-Pacific sales grew by 19% for the quarter.
Leaders from seven of the world's wealthiest democracies and the EU are meeting at this year's Group of Seven (G7) summit, which kicked off on Friday in the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The talks are expected to cover tensions in the Asia-Pacific following the exclusion of China from the summit, with much of the early attention focused on growing fears over North Korea's nuclear programme. The situation in Ukraine and Britain's EU referendum will also feature on the summit’s agenda.
From Ukraine war to China’s rising power: 5 reasons this G7 matters
CNN
23-05-18 08:48
The leaders of the world’s most advanced democracies will meet in Hiroshima today to discuss the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and emerging threats from China. The meeting’s location has placed nuclear arms at the top of the agenda, with the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum looming close by. The museum reminds visitors of the risks of nuclear war with dozens of exhibits, including timepieces stopped at 8.16am, the exact timing of the atomic bomb that was dropped on the city in August 1945 by a US Army Air Force B-29 bomber. Global risk monitors, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, states that the Doomsday Clock, an annual indicator of how close the world is to nuclear disaster, now stands at 90 seconds to midnight, an unprecedentedly dangerous rating; Russia’s war on Ukraine is cited as a major cause, together with Chinese weapons building, and a North Korea testing nuclear capable missiles.
The leaders of the G7 industrialised nations have gathered in the Japanese city of Hiroshima for their annual summit. The meeting is expected to focus on the West's relationship with China, as well as Russia's war in Ukraine and the ongoing global economic uncertainties. To avoid possible “economic blackmail”, G7 leaders are expected to diversify their supply chains and markets, but are not aiming to “decouple” from China. In terms of military activity, discussions will include China’s behaviour in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, yet Robert Ward, director of geo-economics and strategy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, believes that the G7 nations are unlikely to agree on specific measures to counteract China's power in the Indo-Pacific.
UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak has signed an agreement with his Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida, aimed at boosting defence, security, and cyber ties between the two countries. Key provisions include deploying a naval fleet to the Indo-Pacific, increasing UK troops in joint exercises, and partnering on semiconductors to reduce reliance on Beijing. The agreement reportedly signals understanding of the “systemic challenge China poses to our collective economic security and regional stability”. At a dinner at Mr Kishida’s favourite restaurant, Mr Sunak became the first British Prime Minister to visit Hiroshima, where he laid a wreath for those killed in the nuclear attack of 1945.
A trade agreement between India and the UK could be unlikely before the end of 2022 due to divergence on several tariffs and investment-protection rules, said Indian sources. New Delhi and London remain unable to agree on the concessions on duties relating to car and liquor imports, while the UK requires India to agree on strong investment-protection clauses, said officials. The nations have committed to reaching a deal to double bilateral trade by 2030, and India's interim agreement with Australia last year marked its first deal with a developed country.
Leaders of the G7 gathered in Hiroshima, Japan this week to discuss several issues including the economic and security tensions with China and how the most advanced economies in the world can de-risk strategic industries and diversify global supply chains. A key issue at the summit was the need for leaders to reaffirm their pledge of support for Ukraine, and commitment to impose costs and pressure on Russia and any other nations that assist it. Leaders will focus on calling out China’s actions such as economic retaliation against nations over policy disputes and other agreements, and pledging that their nation's industries will resist such coercion and take concrete steps to start building resiliency. To make the world’s largest economies more resilient in strategic minerals and rare earths, the G7 summit should agree on a plan to collectively become more resilient. This week’s summit should also address how the G7 forum can continue to bolster the rules-based international order, its democratic values and norms, and how to drive technical standard-setting for emerging technologies.
The G7 is significant as it reflects an effort to bring in key countries in the Global South to balance against China’s growing diplomatic and economic influence in that sphere. This year’s summit coincides with a Quad Leaders’ meeting that will take place in Japan on the sidelines of the G7 following President Biden’s decision to shorten his Asia trip. The leaders of Australia, Japan, and India will come together to discuss the changing geopolitical scenario in the Indo-Pacific and will present China with a united and coherent strategy to tackle issues that put current international norms at risk. Given the strategic importance of the Indo-Pacific, there is a growing need for stakeholders to consolidate the rules-based order. It is without doubt that the Quad and G7 grouping need to find a sustainable consensus that would provide space for regional peace and stability in an increasingly competitive and contested world order. These forums should work together to fight back and preserve a space of international affairs which could, directly or indirectly, hurt China’s interests. Any concrete effort to this end will require a competitive collective approach and a shared vision for addressing complex challenges.
Japan and the UK have signed an agreement to collaborate in areas including semiconductors, defence, cybersecurity and clean energy. The two countries’ agreement includes the establishment of a semiconductors partnership aimed at strengthening the supply chain for the components that are essential for defence, cars and many modern consumer goods. Japanese companies have agreed to invest £17.7bn ($22bn) in clean energy projects in the UK, including funding for offshore wind, low carbon hydrogen and other projects. The UK is trying to forge closer trade relationships with Japan and other Asian countries as part of an effort to replace trade with the EU.
The cost of the damage caused by El Nino could be significantly greater and longer-lasting than previously thought, and could amount to trillions of dollars, according to a new study in journal Science. An El Nino is a temporary part of natural climate change which warms parts of the Pacific. It causes drought, floods and other extreme weather in different parts of the world, and also causes global warming. The average El Nino costs the world economy about $3.4tn, according to the report. A new El Nino is brewing and scientists predict it could be strong and therefore costly.
El Nino events, which are characterised by warming of parts of the equatorial Pacific, are far costlier and their economic scars last longer than previously thought, according to a new study by a team of researchers at Dartmouth College published in the journal Science. While the environmental event causes droughts, floods and heat waves on different parts of the globe, the study focused on its lasting economic impact on innovation and technology, arguing that economies bear the scars of El Nino for a decade or more, or even forever. The average El Nino costs the global economy about $3.4tn, the researchers said.
George Goldhoff, the newly appointed President of Atlantic City’s Hard Rock casino, has declared that despite the casino’s success, there is not a single aspect of Hard Rock's operations that couldn’t be improved. Goldhoff has revealed marketing initiatives in the planning stages and plans to resume community input meetings that Hard Rock hosted before the casino was built. Goldhoff has also emphasized his concern for improving Atlantic City’s safety and cleanliness as the casino seeks to increase tourism business.
Debt-ceiling talks in the US could improve China’s image as a destination for foreign investors, according to analysts. While costs and strict Covid-19 controls have caused China’s sheen to slip in recent years, the country could reap the benefits of US budget negotiations that aim to prevent a global credit crisis. If the US Congress fails to reach a deal to raise the current $31.4tn debt ceiling by 1 June, the likelihood of a default would cause “significant volatility” and hit global financial markets, according to a commentary by Zhang Zhiwei at Pinpoint Asset Management in Hong Kong.
World Leaders Land in Hiroshima for G7 Meeting, With Ukraine War High on Agenda
Diplomat
23-05-18 16:50
Leaders from the G7 countries have arrived in Hiroshima for a meeting where Russia's war in Ukraine is expected to be high on the agenda. Ahead of talks with Prime Minister Kishida Fumio on Thursday, US President Joe Biden remarked: "When our countries stand together, we stand stronger, and I believe the whole world is safer when we do.” Discussions regarding the battlefield in Ukraine and the state of play on sanctions are expected. Meanwhile, G7 leaders and guests from countries are also expected to discuss how to deal with the military buildup and growing assertiveness of China.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is hosting an event to commemorate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. The event will include a keynote address by Ambassador Katherine Tai, the U.S. Trade Representative and Co-Chair of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. A panel discussion will also explore ways to counter AAPI hate and discrimination and its intersections with U.S. foreign policy in Asia, building on a previous event held in 2021. The event is being hosted by CSIS' Asia Program, Diversity and Leadership in International Affairs Project, and the staff-led Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Employee Resource Group.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Papua New Guinea on 21-22 May, aiming to bolster defense and maritime security ties via bilateral agreements, and to meet Pacific Islands Forum leaders. President Joe Biden had cancelled his own visit to Papua New Guinea due to the unfolding US debt ceiling crisis. Blinken hails planned talks with Pacific Islands leaders about addressing the pressing shared priorities of tackling climate change, and fostering "inclusive economic growth for the people of the Pacific Islands".
New energy vehicle makers will enjoy an annual growth rate of over 30% in China this year, with EVs expected to account for 35% of all the country's vehicles, according to Fitch analysts. The report predicts that traditional car manufacturers will move into new areas such as vehicle intelligence, sales and infrastructure as the prices offered in the current discount war become unsustainable. Meanwhile the report also notes that NEVs, while outperforming traditional vehicles in functionality and comfort, struggle with capital and regulatory restrictions regarding the adoption of fast-charging and higher-level automated driving systems.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who was previously the Foreign Minister, spoke about his vision of a world without nuclear weapons seven years ago in Hiroshima and called this his dream. But as he returns to the city to chair the G7 summit, he admits it is a far-off prospect and disarmament remains central to his political career. As well as the threat of nuclear proliferation, Japan could be dragged into approaches to Taiwan if a conflict is sparked between Beijing and Washington, a concern experts say will be a key focus of the summit.
Japanese Prime Minister, Yoshihide Suga, has written an opinion piece for The Telegraph in which he emphasised the importance of maintaining the unity of the G7 in the face of a range of geopolitical, environmental, and health challenges. Suga listed issues ranging from the Covid-19 pandemic to climate change, as well as the regional situations involving Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific, and called for the G7 nations to take a united, multilateral approach to combat them.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is hosting an event to commemorate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. The event will include a keynote address by Ambassador Katherine Tai, the U.S. Trade Representative and Co-Chair of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. A panel discussion will also explore ways to counter AAPI hate and discrimination and its intersections with U.S. foreign policy in Asia, building on a previous event held in 2021. The event is being hosted by CSIS' Asia Program, Diversity and Leadership in International Affairs Project, and the staff-led Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Employee Resource Group.
A 7.7 magnitude earthquake was recorded near the Loyalty Islands in the far Pacific on Friday. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said waves up to 3 meters above tides were possible for Vanuatu, while smaller waves were possible for Fiji, New Caledonia, Kiribati and New Zealand.
