News Summary: Coal country on the defensive

COAL CHUTE: After taking a beating from the weak economy, new pollution rules and cheap natural gas, the coal industry was on the rebound this year in the Western U.S. Now coal is on the defensive again with President Barack Obama's push to rein in climate change.

CO2 SIEGE: Emphasis on cuts in carbon dioxide emissions from power plants puts coal-fired power plants and strip mines in regulators' crosshairs, and some worry that cleaner air will cost jobs.

MORE JOBS? The Natural Resources Defense Council plans to release a report detailing new jobs that would be created to retrofit plants.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/news-summary-coal-country-defensive-191000670.html

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IAC's CityGrid, Parent Of CitySearch And Urbanspoon, Lays Off Two-Thirds Of Staff, As Local Ad Push Bites

TechCrunch has learned that CityGrid Media, the parent of local ad-based listings portals CitySearch, Urbanspoon and Insider Pages, is laying off two-thirds of its staff, or around 130 people. IAC, which owns CityGrid, confirmed the number to us and described the process as "streamlining." The layoffs are taking place amidst some other big shifts at CityGrid: Andrew Moers, president of another IAC subsidiary, Ask Partner Network, is taking over as CEO. This is, however, only a temporary move: Ron LaPierre, who has been acting CEO since April, is taking a leave of absence for family matters and is expected to return in August.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/o_4dctO739I/

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As China's growth slows, US and world stand to lose

12 hours ago

CHINA DAILY / Reuters

A laborer polishes the bottom of a cargo ship at a shipyard in Qingdao, Shandong province July 1, 2013.

The continued decline in China's manufacturing activity, reflected in twin manufacturing surveys released on Monday, highlights the risk the world's second largest economy now poses to global growth.

China's official purchasing managers index (PMI) slipped to 50.1 in June from 50.8 in May, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics. The final reading of HSBC PMI, meanwhile, fell to a nine-month low of 48.2, below the flash estimate of 48.3 and down from 49.2 in the previous month.

A reading above 50 indicates expanding activity and one below 50 signals contraction.

(Read More: Even Resilient Yuan Is Feeling China's Pain)

"I think the story for China is basically that there is no story left. Economic activity in China has peaked...," Sailesh Jha, chief strategist at Arcus Capital Singapore, told CNBC on Monday.

A weakening of both external and domestic demand weighed on manufacturers last month, with falling orders and rising inventories plaguing factories, HSBC said.

Both the official and HSBC employment sub-indexes showed that businesses shed more jobs last month. The pace of job cuts was the fastest since last August, the HSBC sub-index showed.

David Poh, regional head of asset allocation at Societe Generale Private Banking, said that rather than powering the world economy as it has done in recent years, China is now becoming a threat to global growth.

"China plays a very big part in the global growth ? if this trend continues to go down its really bad for the entire world," Poh said.

"33 percent of exports go to the euro zone, and we know the euro zone is still licking its wounds, Australian [mining] companies are highly dependent on Chinese growth. Latin America is the same thing. U.S. consumption may slow down too if the whole global economy isn't going as planned," Poh said.

(Read More: China PMI Slump Will Test Authorities' Resolve)

According to Nomura, softness in the manufacturing sector is set to continue as tight liquidity conditions dampen economy activity. The bank forecasts the official PMI will fall below 50 in July.

"The weak PMI reinforces our view that there is 30 percent chance GDP may drop below 7 percent in third quarter or fourth quarter," wrote Zhiwei Zhang, chief China economist at Nomura.

Hongbin Qu, chief economist, China & co-head of Asian economic research at HSBC agreed that growth is likely to continue slowing in the coming months as Beijing refrains from using stimulus. Last month, the bank downgraded its growth forecast for China from 8.2 percent to 7.4 percent, below the government's target of 7.5 percent.

(Watch Now: What China Has in Common With 1979 America)

China's president Xi Jinping said in a speech reported by Xinhua news agency at the weekend that the performance of leaders should not be evaluated simply by GDP growth, underscoring the government's recent reluctance to embark on further stimulus programs.

Xi said factors like welfare improvement, social development and environmental indicators should also be used to assess leaders.

More business news:

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Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/663286/s/2e09cc38/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Cbusiness0Cchinas0Egrowth0Eslows0Eus0Eworld0Estand0Elose0E6C10A489611/story01.htm

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Mandela still 'critical': South African government

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Former South African president Nelson Mandela remains in a critical condition in hospital after being admitted more than two weeks ago with a lung infection, the government said on Tuesday.

President Jacob Zuma's office said doctors were doing their best to ensure the "recovery, well-being and comfort" of the 94-year-old anti-apartheid leader who became South Africa's first black leader in historic all-race elections in 1994.

Madiba, as he is affectionately known, is revered among most of South Africa's 53 million people as the architect of the transition to multi-racial democracy after three centuries of white domination.

However, his latest hospitalization - his fourth in six months - has reinforced a realization that the father of the post-apartheid "Rainbow Nation" will not be around forever.

A deterioration in Mandela's health this weekend to 'critical' from 'serious but stable' has caused a perceptible switch in the national mood, from prayers for his recovery to preparations for a fond farewell.

U.S. President Barack Obama is due to visit South Africa this week as part of a three-country Africa tour, but Zuma said on Monday Mandela's worsened state of health would not affect the trip.

(Reporting by Ed Cropley; Editing by Pascal Fletcher)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mandela-still-critical-south-african-government-122613062.html

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US consumer confidence at five-year high in June

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Americans' confidence in the economy rose to its highest level in more than five years, bolstered by a more optimistic outlook for hiring.

The Conference Board, a New York-based private research group, said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index jumped to 81.4 in June. That's the best reading since January 2008. And it is up from May's reading of 74.3, which was revised slightly downward from 76.2.

Consumers' confidence in the economy is watched closely because their spending accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity.

The report shows consumers are more positive about current economic conditions and have a more optimistic view of the economy and job market in the next six months.

Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at the Conference Board, said that "suggests the pace of growth is unlikely to slow in the short-term, and may even moderately pick up."

Employers added 175,000 jobs in May, nearly matching the average monthly gain for the past year. That's enough to slowly lower the unemployment rate. The rate ticked up to 7.6 percent last month but has fallen 0.6 percentage points in the past year.

Americans have been resilient this year, despite tax increases and steep government spending cuts. Consumer spending rose at the fastest pace in two years in the first three months of the year. That helped the overall economy grow at a 2.4 percent annual pace during the January-March quarter.

Economists forecast that overall economic growth is slowing to a 2 percent annual pace in the April-June quarter, in part because they expect consumers have eased up on spending from the robust first-quarter pace.

So far, reports on consumer spending for the second quarter have been mixed. In April, consumer spending fell as income was unchanged. But spending appears to have rebounded in May, based on a preliminary report on retail sales. Americans spent more on cars, home improvements and sporting goods, boosting retail sales 0.6 percent.

The Commerce Department will release a more complete report on May consumer spending and income on Thursday.

The Conference Board survey is conducted in the first half of the month. So the June report didn't capture the impact of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's comments last week after the Fed's policy meeting.

Bernanke said the Fed could begin to slow its bond purchases by the end of the year. Since then, stocks have plunged and interest rates have spiked.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-consumer-confidence-five-high-june-140911097.html

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Roadside bomb hits Iraqi minibus carrying pilgrims

BAGHDAD (AP) ? Iraqi officials say a roadside bomb has hit a minibus carrying Shiite pilgrims to the holy city of Karbala, killing three.

Police and hospital officials say the bus was struck Tuesday about 55 kilometers (35 miles) south of Baghdad while it was traveling between the towns of Musayyib and Iskandariyah. They say another 15 were wounded.

Tens of thousands of Shiites are massing in the holy city of Karbala, 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Baghdad, for the annual festival of Shabaniyah marking the anniversary of the birth of the ninth-century Shiite leader known as the Hidden Imam.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information to journalists.

Iraq is weathering its deadliest outburst of violence since 2008.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/roadside-bomb-hits-iraqi-minibus-carrying-pilgrims-101417133.html

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On a technicality, Hong Kong and China extradite themselves from Snowden

The case of NSA leaker Edward Snowden was one that neither Hong Kong nor Beijing wanted to get involved in. With a stalling maneuver, Hong Kong let Mr. Snowden flee US extradition.

By Peter Ford,?Staff Writer / June 23, 2013

A giant screen at a Hong Kong shopping mall shows Edward Snowden, the former contractor accused of leaking information about NSA surveillance programs. He left Hong Kong on Sunday.

Vincent Yu/AP

Enlarge

By allowing Edward Snowden to leave Hong Kong Sunday, hours after the United States sought to extradite him, the government there has rid itself ? and Beijing ? of an awkward diplomatic and legal problem.

Skip to next paragraph Peter Ford

Beijing Bureau Chief

Peter Ford is The Christian Science Monitor?s Beijing Bureau Chief. He covers news and features throughout China and also makes reporting trips to Japan and the Korean peninsula.

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Indeed there are strong suspicions in the former British colony that the Hong Kong authorities deliberately gave the fugitive NSA whistleblower time to get out.

The US extradition request, filed on Saturday, ?did not fully comply with the legal requirements under Hong Kong law,? the Hong Kong government said on Sunday, so it had asked Washington for ?additional information.?

In the meantime, there was ?no legal basis to restrict Mr. Snowden from leaving Hong Kong,? the statement added. On Sunday morning, Snowden boarded a plane bound for Moscow, accompanied by legal advisors from the anti-secrecy group Wikileaks according to a post on the group?s Twitter account.

His final destination was unclear.

?I suspect it was ?wink, wink, nudge, nudge, you?ve got 48 hours to get out of Dodge City?,? says Kevin Egan, a Hong Kong lawyer with experience of extradition cases. ?When the government got the clarification it had sought, it might not have been able to let him go.?

?Snowden managed to get away because Hong Kong decided to stall,? adds Claudia Mo, a lawmaker with the pro-democracy Civic Party. ?The matter was too tricky for Sino-American relations ? so Beijing gave instructions he should be given time to leave.?

Snowden had said he planned to challenge any US extradition attempt in Hong Kong courts, declaring his faith in the city?s rule of law. But he faced the possibility of having to stay in jail throughout the court proceedings, which could have taken several years according to local lawyers.

His case was a thorny one for Beijing, anxious to improve relations with the United States and embarrassed by the US fugitive?s presence in Hong Kong, but unable to intervene openly in Hong Kong?s judicial process under the ?one country, two systems? principle that safeguards Hong Kong?s courts.

Hong Kong?s top official, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying had promised that the case would be handled ?in accordance with the laws and established procedures of Hong Kong.? But the politically sensitive case ?would have been quite a test for our rule of law,? says Ms. Mo. ?It would have been a very thorny issue and it is all for the best for both Hong Kong and Beijing that he has gone.?

?This was not a case that Hong Kong or Beijing ever wanted to get involved in,? agrees Mr. Egan. ?The best thing for both of them was for Snowden to leave.??

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/DTvJw4WYO4c/On-a-technicality-Hong-Kong-and-China-extradite-themselves-from-Snowden

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