Amazon to create over 5,000 jobs in Britain in 2017
n Monday, boosting its investment in the country once more even as it prepares to leave the
European Union.
Amazon, along with other tech giants such as Google and Apple, has increased its commitment
to Britain in the last year, saying Britain's referendum decision to leave the EU last June
did not affect its investment plans.
The plans to add over 5,000 jobs in 2017 is a record for Amazon in Britain, although at
least 2,000 of the jobs had been previously announced.
The moves would take its permanent workforce in the country to 24,000.
Doug Gurr, UK country manager at Amazon, said the jobs would provide "even faster delivery,
more selection and better value" for British customers.
Amazon's new head office in London will have capacity for more than 5,000 people by the
end of the year, the firm said.
The concentration of tech expertise in London has been cited by many firms as an attraction.
How Indians will 'vote their caste' in huge state election
The Indian state of Uttar Pradesh is voting in the biggest democratic election anywhere
in the world this year.
If it were a country, Uttar Pradesh - with a population of nearly 220 million - would
be the world's fifth-largest.
Even though India today is a vibrant democracy, politics in the battleground state is still
influenced by the Hindu caste system, a social hierarchy with its origins in antiquity.
Figuring out which party can win in Uttar Pradesh depends on a complex equation of so-called
"vote-bank" politics.
Or, as a famous Indian saying goes: "It's not how you cast your vote, but how you vote
your caste."
This Reuters graphics package looks at likely caste voting in the election: tmsnrt.rs/2m1vS6I
It's shaping up to be a three-cornered contest.
Each party needs to shore up its core support – and grab votes from rivals – to stand
a chance of winning.
The ruling Samajwadi Party (SP), led by youthful Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, is seeking
re-election in voting that is being held in seven stages – starting in the West and
moving East – that run until March 8.
He is up against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is in
opposition in the state assembly but swept Uttar Pradesh in the 2014 general election.
The third main contender is the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) led by Mayawati, who was chief
minister in Uttar Pradesh from 2007-2012.
Indian elections are based on Britain's first-past-the-post system.
In a triangular contest, the party or coalition that wins a vote share significantly above
30 percent can win by a landslide.
Results are due on March 11.
Oil edges up, but U.S. drilling drags on prices
Oil prices rose on Monday, but gains were minimal as investors gauged whether an increase
in U.S. drilling and record stockpiles would undermine efforts by producers to cut output
and bring the market into balance.
Brent futures LCOc1 were up 1 cent at $55.82 a barrel at 0050 GMT, while U.S. West Texas
Intermediate crude CLc1 rose 3 cents to $53.43 a barrel.
U.S. energy companies added oil rigs for a fifth consecutive week, Baker Hughes said
on Friday, extending a nine-month recovery with producers encouraged by higher crude
prices, which have traded mostly over $50 a barrel since late November.
[RIG/U]
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers, including
Russia, agreed last year to cut output almost 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) during the
first half of 2017.
Estimates indicate compliance with the cuts is at around 90 percent, while Reuters reported
last week that OPEC could extend the pact or apply deeper cuts from July if global crude
inventories fail to drop enough.
But rising U.S. output helped boost crude and gasoline inventories to record highs last
week, amid faltering demand growth for the motor fuel.
[EIA/S]
Hedge funds and other money managers raised their net long U.S. crude futures and options
positions in the week to Feb.14 to a new record high, data from the U.S. Commodity Futures
Trading Commission (CFTC) showed on Friday.
The increase in long positions leaves the market vulnerable to a downward correction,
analysts have said.
The U.S. market will be closed on Monday for the Presidents Day holiday.
Murder of leader's half-brother shows North Korea getting bolder South Korea PM
The killing of North Korea leader Kim Jong Un's estranged half- brother in Malaysia last
week shows the brutality of isolated North Korea and its "terrorism tactics are getting
bolder", South Korean Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn said on Monday.
Malaysian police said on Sunday they had arrested a North Korean man in connection with the
murder of Kim Jong Nam, and that four other North Korean suspects had fled Malaysia on
the day of the attack at Kuala Lumpur airport.
Flood worries in Northern California after deadly storm hits south
Large parts of Northern California were placed on a flood advisory on Sunday ahead of a storm
system expected to bring heavy rain, wind and snow to the state, still cleaning up from
a deadly storm that deluged Southern California two days ago.
The storm is expected to drop as much as 5 inches (13 cm) of rain in the San Francisco
region through Wednesday, bringing more water to already saturated land that has been inundated
with heavy precipitation since early January, the National Weather Service said.
"We could see flooding in areas that haven't flooded in a long time and there will be additional
stress on levees, rivers, creeks & streams," the service said.
"The heaviest rainfall and higher elevation snow will be from Monday through Tuesday,"
it said.
It added the Sierra Nevada mountain area could receive as much as 40 inches (101 cm) of new
snow.
The California Governor's Office of Emergency Services said the state was more susceptible
to flooding because of destructive wildfires that left many areas in Northern and Southern
California with burn-scarred hills.
There were no new warnings for the region near the Oroville Dam, about 150 miles (240
km) northeast of San Francisco, where officials had ordered the temporary evacuation of 188,000
people living down river from the structure last week because of damage to drainage channels,
the local sheriff's office said.
On Friday and Saturday, Southern California was hit with its biggest storm in years.
The system unleashed a wave of rain and snow that killed at least five people and triggered
flooding, mudslides, high winds and power outages, officials said.
In one of the wettest spots near Santa Barbara, over 10 inches (25 cm) of rain fell on Friday,
with several other stations in Southern California reporting at least 9 inches (23 cm), said
meteorologist Patrick Burke of the Weather Prediction Center.
Trump administration drafts plan to raise asylum bar
The Department of Homeland Security has prepared new guidance for immigration agents aimed
at speeding up deportations by denying asylum claims earlier in the process.
The new guidelines, contained in a draft memo dated February 17 but not yet sent to field
offices, directs agents to only pass applicants who have a good chance of ultimately getting
asylum, but does not give specific criteria for establishing credible fear of persecution
if sent home.
The guidance instructs asylum officers to "elicit all relevant information" in determining
whether an applicant has "credible fear" of persecution if returned home, the first obstacle
faced by migrants on the U.S.-Mexico border requesting asylum.
(Graphic: tmsnrt.rs/2m4aPAs)
Three sources familiar with the drafting of the guidance said the goal of the new instructions
is to raise the bar on initial screening in order to ease strain on the courts and reduce
the number of immigrants allowed to stay in the United States, often for years, while
they await a hearing.
The administration's plan is to leave wide discretion to asylum officers by allowing
them to determine which applications have a "significant possibility" of being approved
by an immigration court, the sources said.
The guidance was first reported and posted on the internet by McClatchy news organization.
In 2015, just 18 percent of asylum applicants whose cases were ruled on by immigration judges
were granted asylum, according to the Justice Department.
Applicants from countries with a high rate of political persecution have a higher chance
of winning their asylum cases.
A tougher approach to asylum seekers would be an element of President Donald Trump's
promise to crack down on immigration and tighten border security, a cornerstone of his election
campaign and a top priority of his first month in office.
The guidelines are contained in two draft memos signed by Homeland Security Secretary
John Kelly and currently under review by the White House, according to two people familiar
with them.
The memos also outlined plans for greatly expanding the categories of people that immigration
agents target for deportation, and gives them wide discretion in deciding who to deport.
Previously, recent arrivals and convicted criminals were the prime targets.
The new plan would include migrants who have been charged but not convicted of crimes,
and would also apply to illegal immigrants who have been in the country for many years.
The memos also call for quickly hiring 10,000 more Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents
as well as 5,000 more border patrol agents.
The DHS declined to comment for this story, referring questions to the White House, which
did not respond to a request for comment.
WHAT IS "CREDIBLE FEAR"?
Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, an applicant must generally demonstrate "a
well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership
in a particular social group, or political opinion."
Immigration lawyers say any applicants who appear to meet that criteria in their initial
interviews should be allowed to make their cases in court.
They oppose encouraging asylum officers to take a stricter stance on questioning claims
and rejecting applications.
Interviews to assess credible fear are conducted almost immediately after an asylum request
is made, often at the border or in detention facilities by immigration agents or asylum
officers, and most applicants easily clear that hurdle.
Between July and September of 2016, U.S. asylum officers accepted nearly 88 percent of the
claims of credible fear, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services data.
Asylum seekers who fail the credible fear test can be quickly deported unless they file
an appeal.
Currently, those who pass the test are eventually released and allowed to remain in the United
States awaiting hearings, which are often scheduled years into the future because of
a backlog of more than 500,000 cases in immigration courts.
Between October 2015 and April 2016, nearly 50,000 migrants claimed credible fear, 78
percent of whom were from Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala or Mexico, according to statistics
from USCIS.
The number of migrants from those three countries who passed credible fear and went to court
to make their case for asylum rose sharply between 2011 and 2015, from 13,970 claims
to 34,125, according to data from the Justice Department.
Former border patrol chief Mike Fisher credits that trend to advice from immigration lawyers
who know "asylum officers are going to err on the side of caution and refer most cases
to a judge."
The new guidance on asylum seekers is for border personnel implementing Trump's Jan.
25 executive order on tightening U.S. border security.
Among other measures, the president's directive calls for expediting eligibility claims of
those attempting to stay in the United States and promptly deporting those whose claims
are rejected.
COMPLICATED LOGISTICS
Some immigration officers familiar with the draft guidance say they are concerned that
a rapid increase in deportations of asylum seekers could strain overcrowded detention
facilities and create transportation problems.
Deportations take time and coordination, even when immigrants are quickly targeted for expulsion.
U.S. officials must get approval from a deportee's home country before repatriation can take
place, and transportation can be complicated and expensive.
Immigrants from non-contiguous countries are flown home by plane, while Mexicans are often
bused across the border.
Homeland Security personnel who worked on the guidance say they hope to expand detention
space by at least 8,000 beds.
The money to pay for that would require congressional sign-off.
The extra beds, they say, would further the president's goal, expressed in his executive
order on border security, of ending the practice known as "catch and release" in which migrants,
including asylum seekers, are freed pending a court hearing.
The new guidance calls for expanding detention, but acknowledges that ending the practice
"may not be immediately possible."
A congressional aide familiar with the administration's plans said DHS is considering expanding its
contracts with private prison companies like GEO Group (GEO.N) and CoreCivic (CXW.N), which
currently hold most immigrant detainees.
Immigrants rights advocates say they fear that raising the bar on the credible fear
test could screen out migrants with a rightful claim to asylum, because asylum officers may
dismiss cases that could make it through court if the asylum seeker were given legal counsel,
said Marielena Hincapie, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center.
Asylum applicants have the right to appeal denials of credible fear claims and may request
to see a judge to assert their claim to be in the United States for other reasons, such
as family ties.
For that reason, raising the bar on credible fear might not deter asylum seekers as much
as the Trump administration hopes, said former border patrol head Fisher.
U.S. economy now on 'sound footing' Fed's Mester
The U.S. economy is on "sound footing," a hawkish Federal Reserve official said on Monday
in a speech that cautioned against asking the central bank to solve problems beyond
its control such as low productivity growth.
Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester, at a forum in Singapore, did not comment specifically
on interest rates.
However she has dissented in the past in favor of quicker rate hikes and on Monday urged
the Fed to focus on returning to a more normal policy footing, including trimming its $4.5-trillion
bond portfolio.
The Fed has raised rates twice in two years and expects to pick up the pace of tightening
this year as unemployment, at 4.8 percent, has fallen to near an equilibrium level and
as the Republican-controlled White House and Congress are expected to provide fiscal stimulus.
The U.S. economy is "now on sound footing," Mester, who does not vote on monetary policy
until next year, said in prepared remarks to The Global Interdependence Center.
However, she said, "am very doubtful that monetary policy could be targeted to spur
a strong pickup in the types of investment in human capital and physical capital that
would raise productivity growth."
Years of disappointing productivity growth has stymied the Fed's expectations that the
U.S. economy would grow sustainably quicker than its roughly 2-percent rate.
Turning to the balance sheet, which the Fed quadrupled in the wake of the financial crisis
to spur investment and hiring, Mester reiterated the central bank expected to shed its mortgage-backed
bonds and return to an all-Treasuries portfolio.
"The return to primarily Treasuries will take some time, but it will be welcome because
... it may help guard against future calls for the Federal Reserve to enter into the
realm of fiscal policy," she said.
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