Author: Brian Sanchez

Go to Source

As the White House champions a “hire American” agenda, the administration wants to slash funding for a small government office that many U.S. companies say they rely on to stay ahead of foreign rivals, underscoring how competing political interests are complicating President Trump’s pledge to restore the manufacturing industry.

The Trump administration is seeking to nearly gut funding for a Labor Department bureau that monitors the treatment of foreign workers, a program that U.S. businesses and labor groups alike say helps American workers compete fairly in the global economy. The program is unpopular among some conservatives, who criticize its backing for groups that support labor unions.

The behind-the-scenes funding fight comes as the White House seeks to demonstrate its progress on Trump’s campaign promise to stop outsourcing jobs to foreign countries, hosting a series of events this week showcasing “Made in America” goods.

But experts say bringing back manufacturing in a substantial way would require dramatic shifts in trade policy, corporate incentives and international business deals. Those challenges are underscored by the business practices of the apparel brand owned by the president’s daughter, Ivanka Trump. The company relies exclusively on low-wage workers overseas, and executives say it is impossible to bring its production back to the United States on a large scale, as The Washington Post reported last week.

“There are certain things that we may not have the capacity to do here, in terms of having a plant or a factory that can do it,” White House press secretary Sean Spicer conceded Monday when asked about companies such as the Ivanka Trump brand that say they cannot produce in the United States.

[She talks about working women. Her father says “buy American.” We go inside Ivanka Inc.]

Meanwhile, major U.S. food and apparel companies are warning in letters to Congress that the deep cuts the White House wants to make to the low-profile Bureau of International Labor Affairs would undermine American workers.

Among the corporations urging Congress to restore the bureau’s funding are well-known brands such as the Gap and Hanes, as well as Nestlé and PepsiCo, two of the largest food conglomerates. Many companies see the office’s work as a check on foreign competitors who operate under loose labor rules, and they depend on the bureau’s reports on global labor conditions to inform their compliance efforts.

Without the bureau’s efforts to improve workers’ rights oversees, “you’re saying, basically, that it’s okay for forced labor and child labor to run rampant, which undercuts our own labor force,” said Nate Herman, a senior vice president for the American Apparel and Footwear Association.

On the other side of the debate are many House Republicans and the Heritage Foundation, the conservative think tank, which has objected to spending Labor Department money to promote the welfare of foreign workers.

The proposed cuts have highlighted a central tension in Trump’s administration: that his policies often directly impact the businesses he and his family members continue to own while they are in public office.

Executives at Ivanka Trump’s brand recently told The Post that some of the company’s factories participate in an international program called Better Work that seeks to boost workplace conditions and prod foreign governments to strengthen labor laws. The initiative has received nearly $23.6 million from the Labor Department since 2010, according to Better Work officials.

President Trump tries on a Stetson cowboy hat during a “Made in America” product showcase in the East Room of the White House on Monday. (Calla Kessler/The Washington Post)

Ivanka Trump’s company declined to comment on the administration’s proposed cuts to the labor bureau, which would eliminate grants for Better Work. A spokesman for Ivanka Trump did not respond to requests for comment.

White House officials did not respond to questions about why the administration is proposing to eliminate $67 million of the bureau’s $86 million budget, a nearly 80 percent reduction.

In its budget proposal, the administration said the move is necessary because many of the grants handed out by the bureau were of “questionable long-term effectiveness.” With fewer resources, the bureau could focus “on ensuring that U.S. trade agreements are fair for American workers,” according to the White House’s Office of Management and Budget.

A Labor Department spokesman declined to comment.

The administration’s budget closely resembles a blueprint developed by the Heritage Foundation, which proposed cutting the labor bureau by 80 percent.

“I think it would make sense to get them out of international grant-giving and focused on stuff that has to do with labor in the U.S.,” said David Kreutzer, a senior research fellow at Heritage focused on labor and trade.

The Bureau of International Labor Affairs monitors labor provisions in international trade agreements and finances projects to reduce child and forced labor in countries such as Bangladesh, Madagascar and Tunisia. It also produces a comprehensive annual report that catalogues foreign goods made with forced or child labor.

“It’s the best tool we have to examine what’s happening in supply chains overseas,” said Reid Maki, director of child-labor issues for the National Consumers League.

Last month, 13 major American clothing brands and manufacturers sent a letter to congressional appropriators urging them to preserve money the bureau gives to Better Work to improve garment factories in countries such as Haiti, Nicaragua, Jordan and Bangladesh. Among the signatories were the Walt Disney Co. and PVH, the parent company of Calvin Klein that once made shirts and neckties for the Donald J. Trump brand.

Objections to the cuts were also raised by five of the country’s biggest food companies — Mars, Nestlé USA, the J.M. Smucker Co., PepsiCo and Kellogg — which wrote a letter in May to congressional appropriators urging them to preserve funds for the bureau.

“Any lowering of such standards would harm American workers by making the global labor market less fair, giving a competitive advantage to countries who do not play by the rules,” the companies wrote.

Labor unions, too, have joined in support, saying the bureau has helped protect American workers from being forced to compete with exploited laborers overseas. The AFL-CIO sent a letter in March to appropriators, co-written with the corporate advocacy group U.S. Council for International Business, saying the bureau’s work helped in “creating markets for U.S. exports, creating good jobs at home and making it more likely that imports consumed by U.S. consumers are made consistent with American values.”

The debate highlights the difficult decisions Trump faces as he tries to fulfill his ambitious pledge to bring back manufacturing to the United States.

The biggest showpiece so far of his “hire America” agenda came in April at the headquarters of toolmaker Snap-on in Kenosha, Wis., when he signed an executive order stating that federal agencies should “maximize, consistent with law . . . the use of goods, products, and materials produced in the United States.”

Administration officials said they intend to boost the agenda further through deregulation and trade renegotiations.

One rule already on the books could help Trump push forward on his pledge.

A federal law signed last year by President Barack Obama allows U.S. customs officials to seize goods made with forced labor at the border. The law was formally implemented last month, allowing anyone to report imported merchandise believed to be made with forced or indentured labor.

Go to Source

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Germany’s SAP named a new executive team in South Africa on Friday, two days after the software giant put four senior managers on leave, pending its investigations into allegations that it was involved in a government bribery scheme.

SAP said 25-year company veteran Claas Kuehnemann will step into the role of acting managing director for Africa, in charge of the company’s business in 51 countries, and that Peter David, its finance chief for Europe, Middle East and Africa, will become acting chief financial officer, SAP Africa.

Europe’s largest software company also said it had hired Chicago-based international law firm Baker McKenzie to conduct an external investigation. SAP said on Wednesday it would run its own, internal probe using its own compliance organization.

Baker McKenzie will work with various experts, including forensic firm FTI Consulting, the company said.

“My interim role is to support our employees, customers and partners across all our business sectors while the due diligence process is conducted,” Kuehnemann said in a statement. Twenty-five years ago, he started his first job with SAP in South Africa.

South African media reported on Tuesday that SAP paid alleged kickbacks in the form of sales commissions to a firm linked to the politically connected Gupta family, who are known to be close friends of President Jacob Zuma. (reut.rs/2tnArLY)

AmaBhungane, an investigative reporting group, together with the Daily Maverick’s Scorpio investigative team, reported that the alleged kickbacks were to clinch a deal with rail and logistics company Transnet and other state-owned firms worth 1 billion rand ($76.7 million).

The AmaPhungane report was based on leaked emails and documents that they say show how the powerful Gupta family unduly influenced the awarding of government contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

SAP has not named the four senior executives it put on administrative leave while investigating the company’s actions.

Reuters has not been able to independently verify the allegations.

The Guptas, Indian-born South Africans, and Zuma have denied wrongdoing. A Gupta family spokesman and Zuma’s spokesman did not respond to calls and emails for comment on the SAP story.

Transnet said in a statement that it has been an SAP customer since 2000 but that it was unaware of the parties reportedly involved in SAP sales to the company. It referred queries to SAP and its sales partners.

Baker McKenzie advises a wide range of African companies, multinationals and financial institutions and employs 60 attorneys from its offices in Johannesburg.

(Company spokesman corrects statement to say Kuehnemann joined unit 25 years ago, rather than set it up in paragraph 5)

Go to Source

By

Reuters

Published:
13:09 EDT, 17 July 2017

|
Updated:
13:09 EDT, 17 July 2017

Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.

Go to Source

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Germany’s SAP named a new executive team in South Africa on Friday, two days after the software giant put four senior managers on leave, pending its investigations into allegations that it was involved in a government bribery scheme.

SAP said 25-year company veteran Claas Kuehnemann will step into the role of acting managing director for Africa, in charge of the company’s business in 51 countries, and that Peter David, its finance chief for Europe, Middle East and Africa, will become acting chief financial officer, SAP Africa.

Europe’s largest software company also said it had hired Chicago-based international law firm Baker McKenzie to conduct an external investigation. SAP said on Wednesday it would run its own, internal probe using its own compliance organization.

Baker McKenzie will work with various experts, including forensic firm FTI Consulting, the company said.

“My interim role is to support our employees, customers and partners across all our business sectors while the due diligence process is conducted,” Kuehnemann said in a statement. Twenty-five years ago, he started his first job with SAP in South Africa.

South African media reported on Tuesday that SAP paid alleged kickbacks in the form of sales commissions to a firm linked to the politically connected Gupta family, who are known to be close friends of President Jacob Zuma. (reut.rs/2tnArLY)

AmaBhungane, an investigative reporting group, together with the Daily Maverick’s Scorpio investigative team, reported that the alleged kickbacks were to clinch a deal with rail and logistics company Transnet and other state-owned firms worth 1 billion rand ($76.7 million).

The AmaPhungane report was based on leaked emails and documents that they say show how the powerful Gupta family unduly influenced the awarding of government contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

SAP has not named the four senior executives it put on administrative leave while investigating the company’s actions.

Reuters has not been able to independently verify the allegations.

The Guptas, Indian-born South Africans, and Zuma have denied wrongdoing. A Gupta family spokesman and Zuma’s spokesman did not respond to calls and emails for comment on the SAP story.

Transnet said in a statement that it has been an SAP customer since 2000 but that it was unaware of the parties reportedly involved in SAP sales to the company. It referred queries to SAP and its sales partners.

Baker McKenzie advises a wide range of African companies, multinationals and financial institutions and employs 60 attorneys from its offices in Johannesburg.

(Company spokesman corrects statement to say Kuehnemann joined unit 25 years ago, rather than set it up in paragraph 5)

Go to Source

(c) 2017, Bloomberg.

Microsoft Corp. and Google pleaded with U.S. regulators on Monday to preserve strong net neutrality rules, while AT&T and Verizon Communications backed weakened oversight and said Congress should settle the issue that’s burned for more than a decade.

The tech pillars and the broadband providers are trying to sway the Federal Communications Commission, which is moving toward gutting rules against interfering with web traffic. Monday was a deadline for comments on the FCC proposal advanced by Republican Chairman Ajit Pai entitled “Restoring Internet Freedom,” which already has attracted more than 8 million comments.

The rules passed by an Obama-era, Democratic-led FCC bar broadband providers from blocking or slowing data — to hinder rivals, for instance, or to favor affiliated services — and from setting up “fast lanes” that would cost more. Under Pai’s proposal announced in April, the FCC would end its claim to strong legal authority to enforce the rules, and the chairman asked whether the FCC should retain the ban on paid fast lanes.

For broadband providers, the change would remove a threat of intrusive rate regulation as FCC authority is cut back. If Congress passed a law that would insulate net neutrality rules from changing as partisan control of the FCC switches following elections.

Web-based companies see peril in relaxing rules that they say protect consumers’ ability “to enjoy the unfettered ability to access the lawful content of their choice,” the Internet Association, a Washington-based trade group with members including Microsoft, Alphabet Inc.‘s Google, Netflix Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. said in a filing Monday. Undoing the rules “would introduce significant uncertainty and would threaten the virtuous circle of innovation” that’s seen broadband services boom.

Internet service providers see the issue differently, and argue that the embattled rules have deterred broadband investment.

Rules should return to the lighter-touch framework that existed before the current rules were set in 2015 “in order for the U.S. to retain its leading role in shaping and benefiting from the internet,” USTelecom, a trade group with members including AT&T and Verizon Communications Inc., said in a summary of its comments Monday to the FCC. “A lasting congressional solution is needed, but, in the interim, the commission must undo the harm.”

The current FCC rules include “the framework for price regulation – a toxic approach if the goal is to encourage investment,” Verizon said in its filing. Reverting to a “longstanding, light-touch” approach “will not leave consumers unprotected.”

At top cable provider Comcast Corp., “we support permanent, strong, legally enforceable net neutrality rules,” David Cohen, senior executive vice president, said in a blog post July 12. “You can have strong and enforceable open internet protections without relying on rigid, innovation-killing utility regulation.”

Cohen called for Congress to act.

Prospects appear “dim” for a solution from Congress, Matthew Schettenhelm, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst, said in a July 13 note. Republicans likely will seek limits on FCC power, which Democrats will resist in order to preserve the agency’s flexibility to address future problems, Schettenhelm said.

—

Shields is based in Washington.

fcc

Keywords: NET-NEUTRALITY-FIGHT

Go to Source

Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) has initiated insolvency proceedings against 10 large corporate borrowers, bringing a fifth of its gross bad loans under the resolution process, managing director and chief executive officer R. Subramaniakumar said.

These 10 accounts are among 12 large defaulters named by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 13 June for immediate commencement of insolvency proceedings before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). The accounts make up more than 21% of IOB’s over Rs35,000-crore gross non-performing assets (NPAs), Subramaniakumar said in an interview to Mint.

Most of these accounts have adequate provision coverage of 38-40% and, hence, are not expected to impact bank’s balance sheet substantially, he said. “As per RBI guidelines, I have to provide 50% in three quarters. I will have to provide 10% incrementally, which otherwise could have come due to ageing of these accounts,” he said. “(The additional provision is) taken into the consideration in the (bank’s) turnaround strategy,” he added.

For cases referred to NCLT, RBI has directed 50% provisioning against secured exposures and 100% against unsecured exposures. Banks can spread them over three quarters starting July-September quarter.

These 10 accounts also contribute to nearly half of its corporate NPA book, he said. Nearly all of IOB’s exposure to these 10 accounts is fund-based, he added.

RBI placed the Chennai-based lender under its prompt corrective action (PCA) programme on 5 October 2015 because of a rise in bad loans. PCA entails banks to step up recoveries of bad loans, reduce risky loans, strengthen capital base and restrict branch expansion, among other measures in order to improve the health of the balance sheet.

As part of its plan to improve asset quality, for large accounts other than the 10 cases, IOB has evaluated each case for a possible resolution using RBI’s various restructuring schemes, Subramaniakumar said. IOB has also started outreach programmes to resolve bad loans from its retail, agriculture and small and medium enterprise portfolios.

Subscribe to Our Newsletter »

Recovery is top priority for the bank, he said. It has set a target of increasing recoveries by at least 25% in the current fiscal. In fiscal 2017, IOB recovered over Rs8,700 crore from bad loan accounts.

With 22.39% gross NPA at end of March 2017, IOB tops the list of 21 public sector banks in terms of gross NPAs. However, Subramaniakumar said this has to be seen from the context of slowing credit growth because the number is a part of the loan book. The bank is focusing more on non-corporate loans now.

First Published: Tue, Jul 18 2017. 12 17 AM IST

Go to Source

NEW YORK, July 17, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Repros Therapeutics, Inc. (“Repros” or the “Company”) 
                                    RPRX, -33.49%
                                           Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888-476-6529, ext. 9980.

The investigation concerns whether Repros and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices. 

[Click here to join a class action]
On July 17, 2017, Repros announced receipt of preliminary feedback from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) on the Company’s clinical development program for Proellex, its oral delivery mechanism for telapristone acetate.  Repros advised investors that “[t]he Proellex program will remain on partial clinical hold, and based upon the FDA’s review of all the existing liver function safety data, the FDA has indicated that the Company will be required to compile a large pre-approval safety data base to support future development.”  Repros stated that “a much larger clinical trial, with associated time and cost requirements, would be necessary.” 

On this news, Repros’s share price has fallen more than 30% during intraday trading on July 17, 2017.

The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Florida, and Los Angeles, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com

        CONTACT:Robert S. Willoughby  
Pomerantz LLP  
rswilloughby@pomlaw.com
View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/shareholder-alert-pomerantz-law-firm-investigates-claims-on-behalf-of-investors-of-repros-therapeutics-inc–rprx-300489102.html
SOURCE  Pomerantz LLP

Copyright (C) 2017 PR Newswire. All rights reserved



                                        From MarketWatch


Go to Source

							

The 250-metre Dr Kane Road is sandwiched between Mahatma Gandhi Road and the Bombay High Court, and merges into the Mumbai University Road. (Express Photo by Ganesh Shirsekar)

The thousands of individuals who flock to the Bombay High Court daily use Dr Kane Road to enter it. However, not many know about Dr Pandurang Vaman Kane, or his contribution to the modern Hindu Law.

Born in 1880, Dr Kane was a Sanskrit scholar, lawyer, Parliamentarian and Indologist. He is best known for his work History of the Dharmasastra, one of the most comprehensive books on Hindu Law, spanning nearly 6,500 pages. For his work, he was awarded the Bharat Ratna, and Mahamahopadhayaya, an honour given to Sanskrit scholars.

Rajan Jayakar, city historian and solicitor, notes, “P V Kane was a pioneer in interpreting and collating different perspectives of Hindu Law and his book is one of the greatest contributions made to this field.”

The 250-metre street named after him is sandwiched between Mahatma Gandhi Road and the Bombay High Court, and merges into the Mumbai University Road. The court’s two major entrances are located on the road, which is flanked by different law firms and is home to HSBC Bank’s India headquarters and the Standard Chartered Bank.

Dr Kane was a practising lawyer at the Bombay High Court from 1911, but also took pro-bono cases from districts like Pune and Satara. After working as a lawyer for less than six years, Dr Kane was appointed Professor of Law at the Government Law College, Bombay. Kane was also a member of the managing committee of the Bombay Asiatic Society and Vice-chancellor of Bombay University.

According to Uma Narayan, Deputy Registrar of the Bombay High Court Library Museum and Legal Research, “He was a great man and must be remembered for his work.” Some of Dr Kane’s pro-bono cases were especially important in changing the socio-political ethos of the country.

They included fighting for the rights of Mahars to securing the rights of widows in Hindu temples and preventing the closure of the Deccan college, recounts Jayakar. He passed away in 1972.

Dr Kane Road merges onto the University Road to come exactly opposite Mumbai university, a perfect way to commemorate his legacy of scholarly research, litigation and teaching.

Jayakar says, “The road behind the high court is appropriately named because it connects two institutions that Dr Kane was an integral part of and extensively contributed to,” Jayakar says.

Have a comment or suggestion for Streetwise? Write to mumbai.newsline @expressindia.com with subject line: Streetwise

For all the latest Cities News, download Indian Express App

Go to Source

‘);
$(‘html, body’).animate({
scrollTop: $(“#subscription-scroll-location”).offset().top
}, 2000);
$(“.subscription-tooltip”).show();
//window.location.hash = ‘#show-msg’;
return false;
}else{
$(“#value_pack_form”).submit();
}
}

function resetValuePack(packid){
if(packid==2){
$(‘#premium-price’).trigger(‘click’);
$(‘#toggleText’).show();
$(‘#digital-subscribe’).attr(‘checked’,false);
$(‘#value_pack_price’).val($(‘#subs-final-amount’).html());
}
if(packid==4){
$(‘#premium-price’).trigger(‘click’);
$(‘#toggleText’).show();
$(‘#digital-subscribe’).trigger(‘click’);
$(‘#value_pack_price’).val($(‘#subs-final-amount’).html());
}
if(packid==3){
$(‘#special-offer’).trigger(‘click’);
$(‘#toggleText1’).show();
$(‘#digital-subscribe_1’).attr(‘checked’,false);
$(‘#value_pack_price’).val($(‘#subs-final-amount’).html());
}
if(packid==5){
$(‘#special-offer’).trigger(‘click’);
$(‘#toggleText1’).show();
$(‘#digital-subscribe_1’).trigger(‘click’);
$(‘#value_pack_price’).val($(‘#subs-final-amount’).html());
}
}

Go to Source