Company News

Poland may Limit Use of Huawei Phones after Chinese Official Arrested for Espionage

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A senior government official said on Sunday that Poland could consider banning the use of Huawei products by the public bodies, following the arrest of one Huawei official from China in Poland last week.

And the Polish Government also is considering passing legislation to limit the use of particular products if it poses any threat to national security. As of now, no such legislation or law is existing in Poland.

Huawei has been facing the ire of western countries as the company was allegedly involving in data theft and security breach on foreign soil. And the recent arrest of a Chinese employee of Huawei along with a former Polish Security official fuelled the western allegations.

But, the Government sources denied that the move to ban Huawei products is not the direct consequence of the arrest. And, he said that after the arrest, the use of the products in Poland for Governmental purpose would definitely be reviewed.

Karol Okonski, a digital expert of the Polish Government, said they would analyze the issue further and then decide whether the use of Huawei products will be totally ended or not.

He also added that the Polish Government did not have any legislation to limit the use of particular products or ban particular products for the public. And it could not be ruled out that in future Poland would see any such legislation for security reasons which would ban certain IT company’s products.

A spokesman for Poland’s security services said that the Polish security official who was arrested by the Internal Security Agency (ISA) had been responsible for issuing security certificates to the equipment to be used by the Government for public purposes. The suspect arrested, also has worked for a number of public institutions, held important managerial positions and was also connected with institutions that protect internal security.

And distancing itself from the incident, Huawei said that it had fired the employee and the allegation made by the Polish Government has no direct relation with the Company.

It should be reported here that Huawei has replaced Apple recently and became the second largest smartphone brand in the world after the Korean giant Samsung. However, it has faced multiple allegations and scrutiny for its relationship with the Chinese Government. The United States also alleged that the Huawei devices could be used to spy on foreign citizens and Governments by China.

However, no evidence could have been produced to sustain the allegation, and Huawei has been continuously denying the charges made by the western countries. And, in the meantime, several western countries have blocked access of Huawei products to their market.

Poland’s internal affairs minister, Joachim Brudzinski, has approached the European Union and NATO to work on a joint position to decide whether to allow or ban the entry of Huawei into their market.

He said that they were examining the readiness of the European Union and NATO countries to work on a joint proposition referring to the new generation (5G) technology telecommunication infrastructure.

In response to all these, China said that the western countries are adopting unnecessary protectionist measures to keep the Chinese growth limited and retain their importance in the market. And, it also added that the steps taken by the western countries are unfair and will be treated and responded with equal responses.

Cost of Shutdown
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Cost of Shutdown to Soon Exceed Price of Trump’s Border Wall

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After a deadlock between Trump’s administration and the Congress, the budget could not be passed. And it has been more than 22 days that the United States is facing the longest shutdown of the past few years.

And now as per a study by S&P Global Ratings, if the shutdown doesn’t end in two weeks, the cost of the shutdown is likely to surpass the cost of the proposed border wall for which the shutdown has happened in the first place.

As per the report, around $6 billion will be the cost of the shutdown to the American economy and the proposed expenditure of the Border wall by Trump is $5.7 billion. And as per the latest data, by the end of the last week, US has lost around $4 billion.

Beth Ann Bovino, S&P’s chief U.S. economist said they have estimated that the shutdown is going to shave $1.2 billion each week in this quarter from the real GDP. Though it seems very little owing to the large American economy, it will have major impacts on the workers whose dependence on the paycheck is tremendous.

The firm said that they had come up with this figure of the loss due to the shutdown including lost productivity by furloughed workers and a decrease in sales for contractors to the government.

It should be reported here that the shutdown has entered into the 23rd day on Monday and it has been the longest period of shutdown. President Trump’s demand for money for the U.S.-Mexico border wall could not be fulfilled by the Congress; hence the whole budget got stopped. Trump has also threatened the House to veto any legislation passed by the Democrats in the House for temporary Government reopening.

Consumer Spending-

As the economic shutdown enters into a record-breaking number of days, the retail stores like Best Buy and Bed Bath & Beyond have started to feel the slump in sales.

According to Wells Fargo retail analysts, with more than 800000 federal workers not being paid for the work they have been doing, the economic effect of the shutdown will at least be $2 billion per week.

The retailers who deal with discretionary products will be affected the most. And some retailers like Ulta Beauty and Dick’s Sporting Goods have started to see changes in demand as they operate in the area where Government employees can be found predominantly.

Retailers dealing with household necessities are safe for now. But, if the shutdown persists for more number of days, it may affect the stores like Walmart and Kroger. But, the retailers dealing with staple products like groceries and auto parts are least likely to be affected.

Also, the effect of shutdown can be seen on restaurant chains and hotels. The leisure activities are down specifically in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia.

GDP-

The shutdown of 2013 which lasted for 16 long days ultimately shaved off 0.4 percent of GDP of the fourth quarter. The payments to the government workers and house sale will also be affected as the delay will be happening in passing federal loans.

J.P. Morgan has already cut their first-quarter growth prediction by 2 percent because of the shutdown. Bank of America Merrill Lynch has downgraded 0.1 percent bringing the forecast to 2.8 percent for the first quarter.

As per the experts, if the shutdown ends before the end of this quarter, the economy is likely to be revived once the workers and contractors get their pay. Though the government workers are likely to be paid after the shutdown, their disposal cash at hand will be higher ultimately reviving the economy, the value lost to the contractors and the other related businesses cannot be revived.

Omans Oil Minister
Trading News

Oman’s Oil Minister says of Talks between Trump and OPEC

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After a series of criticisms by the U.S. President Donald Trump on OPEC, the relationship of the largest economy and the biggest oil exporting congregation seems to have halted. On the same note, Oman’s oil minister Mohammed bin Hamad al-Rumhi also said President Trump has not been very fair on OPEC. The criticisms made by him were undue and uncalled for.

At the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Forum in Abu Dhabi, he said that Trump’s ideas and views on OPEC were misplaced. Though he accepted that Trump must be having good intentions for the people he is representing, the way things were happening was not correct.

He also added no one wants volatility in the market and the price, the same way President Trump also does not want volatility in the oil import, as volatility is difficult to manage.

It should be reported here that U.S. President Donald Trump has been criticizing the 14 member group for its management of oil output, urging the group to keep the taps open and oil prices low. OPEC has created much volatility in the American economy.

It should be reported here that in last December, OPEC members along with Russia had made an agreement to cut their crude production by 1.2 million barrels of oil per day from the market in order to stem the fall in prices. This has also attracted Trump’s criticism on a larger scale.

Oman’s minister also said that Politics had forced the President to take the issue on the social media and he said that was the reason for this scuffle between the OPEC and the United States.

But he did not fail to express his eagerness to have talks with the United States to resolve the issue. The issue should be resolved satisfying each of the parties despite it is impractical.

He also said he wishes to sit with President Trump and exchange ideas, though it seems tough in the present circumstances. But, this is the only way, as per the minister, to see the convergence.

As per the records, Oman produces about 900,000 barrels of oil per days, which is less than one-tenth the volume of OPEC’s largest producer Saudi Arabia. Oman has a population of 4.6 million, and it is expected to suffer more than other OPEC neighbors as the economic growth of Oman has been predicted to take a dip. Also, the once used to be strong, Omani rial, has also come under pressure and the country should consider of adopting austerity measures to recover.