Canada added 54,000 jobs in September, StatsCan says - CBC.ca

The economy added 54,000 jobs in September, bringing the unemployment rate down to 5.5 per cent from 5.7 per cent, according to Statistics Canada.

The gains were mostly in full-time work, the agency's Labour Force Survey says.

There are 456,000 more jobs in Canada than a year ago, bringing employment up 2.4 per cent.

The rate of employment grew in Ontario and Nova Scotia, but held steady in the rest of the country. Growth was evenly split between men and women of core working age between 24 and 54.

Employment in health care and social assistance accounted for 30,000 of the new jobs. Year over year, employment in this sector has grown by 108,000. 

There were also notable gains in accommodation and food services, which grew by 23,000 jobs last month.

"Canada posted another strong overall increase in employment in September," said Brendon Bernard, economist for job site Indeed Canada, in a written statement. "Gains were driven by the more volatile self-employment and public sectors, while the number of private sector employees fell-back after a spike in August.

"The increase was large enough to bump up the working-age employment rate 0.2 percentage points to 74.7 per cent, edging out May as the highest rate on record."

Big gains for Ontario, Nova Scotia

Most of the growth was concentrated in Ontario, where there were 41,000 new, mostly full-time jobs last month, bringing the unemployment rate down to 5.3 per cent.

In Nova Scotia, employment grew by 3,200 jobs, bringing the higher-than-average unemployment rate to 7.2 per cent. 

Employment was little changed in other provinces, but there were improvements in the unemployment rate in Newfoundland and Labrador (down 1.6 percentage points to 11.5 per cent) and Alberta (down 0.6 percentage points to 6.6 per cent).

Wages also saw a bump in September. The average hourly rate rose to $28.13 from $27.66, an increase of 2.6 per cent.

"Wage growth was a bit of a positive surprise in today's numbers. Hourly earnings growth rose at perhaps exaggerated rates earlier in the second quarter, but looked to be easing last month," said Bernard. "However the pace reaccelerated in September to 4.3 per cent from a year earlier.

"Should other wage metrics follow, it could be a signal that Canadian incomes are ready to show progress in step with the quantity of jobs."

Reason to 'wait and see' on interest rates?

James Marple, senior economist for TD Economics, said "we're running out of superlatives to describe Canadian job market performance."

While global economic uncertainty stemming from factors like the U.S.-China trade war continues to cloud the outlook, Marple said the Canadian labour market is sending a different signal.

"Ongoing healthy growth, with a wide dispersion across regions, alongside accelerating wage gains should give pause to expectations for the Bank of Canada to follow its peers in reducing interest rates. If anything, this puts the central bank back in wait-and-see mode."

In August, the labour market report found Canada added 81,100 jobs, most of them part time. 

This is the last report from the national statistician's monthly Labour Force Survey before Canadians head to the polls Oct. 21.

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October 11, 2019 at 09:49PM

US, China start talks aiming for mini deal to ease tariff pain - BNNBloomberg.ca

The U.S. and China began two days of talks aimed at easing hostilities in their 18-month trade war, with both sides signaling cautious optimism in securing a partial deal that could lead to a temporary truce on tariffs.

Vice Premier Liu He and the rest of the high-level Chinese team arrived at the office of U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer at around 9 a.m. in Washington.

Here’s a rundown of developments:

• President Donald Trump said in a Twitter post that he plans to meet with Liu on Friday, adding that it’s a “big day of negotiations with China. They want to make a deal, but do I?”
• The White House is looking at rolling out a previously agreed currency pact with China as part of an preliminary deal that could also see a planned tariff increase next week suspended, people familiar with the discussions told Bloomberg.
• Separately, Bloomberg is reporting that China plans to ask the U.S. to lift sanctions on its biggest shipping company, citing people familiar with the matter.
• A Chinese official said Wednesday the country was still open to reaching a partial trade deal with the U.S. that may include large purchases of American commodities, but added that success was contingent on Trump halting further tariffs.
• Trump last week approved licenses for some American companies to sell nonsensitive goods to Huawei Technologies Co., the New York Times reported, citing people familiar with the move. While Trump committed to the move after meeting President Xi Jinping in June, no licenses have been issued yet.
• U.S. stocks were up 0.7 per cent at 10 a.m. in New York, the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was down 0.2 per cent and the yield on 10-year Treasuries rose for a second day.

Big day of negotiations with China. They want to make a deal, but do I? I meet with the Vice Premier tomorrow at The White House.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 10, 2019

The currency accord, which the U.S. said had been agreed to earlier this year before trade talks broke down, would be part of what the White House considers to be a first-phase agreement with Beijing. It would be followed by more negotiations on core issues like intellectual property and forced technology transfers, the people said.

The internal deliberations come as the countries hold the first face-to-face talks between senior officials since July.

People familiar with the Chinese delegation’s arrangements said negotiators are currently scheduled to leave on Friday evening, though there could be changes depending on how the talks progress.

What Our Economists Say:

“An agreement on exchange rates could be a practical, face-saving way for both sides to reach a mini-deal that helps de-escalate trade tensions. In practice, though, it would probably have limited implications on China’s exchange rate policy -- barring an (unlikely) Plaza Accord type of commitment.”

--Chang Shu and David Qu

The discussions around an interim deal come as the Trump administration this week further ramped up pressure on Beijing by blacklisting Chinese technology firms over their alleged role in oppression in the far west region of Xinjiang, as well as placed visa bans on officials linked to the mass detention of Muslims. At the same time, a fight over free speech between China and the NBA, triggered by a tweet backing Hong Kong’s protesters, has underscored the heated tensions.

The window for such an agreement is closing before the U.S. plans to raise duties to 30 per cent from 25 per cent on about US$250 billion of Chinese imports on Oct. 15. Additional duties are set to take effect Dec. 15.

Liu He, China's vice premier, right stands with Robert Lighthizer, U.S. trade representative, while arriving for a meeting at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2019. Chinese and American negotiators are set to start meeting again in Washington on Thursday in the latest round of their so-far fruitless talks to strike a trade deal. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg)

Showing progress with a currency pact and other matters could serve as a reason to delay next week’s tariff hike. Bloomberg News last month reported the White House was discussing plans for an interim deal.

Still, Trump on Monday said he preferred a complete trade agreement with China. “My inclination is to get a big deal. We’ve come this far. But I think that we’ll just have to see what happens. I would much prefer a big deal. And I think that’s what we’re shooting for,” he said.

A White House spokesman declined to comment. A Treasury spokesman didn’t respond to a request for comment. China’s Ministry of Commerce did not immediately respond to fax about the high-level talks.

Manipulation Label

No details were made public about the U.S.-China currency pact reached in February that Mnuchin at the time called the “strongest” ever. Broader trade negotiations between the two countries broke down in May after the U.S. accused China of backtracking on its commitments. Then, in August, the Trump administration formally declared China a currency manipulator.

According to people familiar with the currency language, the pact largely resembles what the U.S. agreed to in a new trade agreement with Mexico and Canada and also incorporates transparency commitments included in Group of 20 statements.

Still, Lighthizer cautioned earlier this year that the currency agreement hinges on the overall enforcement of the trade deal. “There’s no agreement on anything until there’s agreement on everything. But the reality is we have spent a lot of time on currency, and it’ll be enforceable,” he said in congressional testimony on Feb. 27.

The U.S. Treasury, which is in charge of monitoring potential currency manipulators, is expected to publish its next report on the foreign-exchange policies of major trading partners around mid-October.

Liu met with a small group of business executives and separately with International Monetary Fund officials Wednesday afternoon, people familiar with the meetings said.

--With assistance from Saleha Mohsin, Livia Yap, Angus Whitley, Miao Han, Steven Yang and William Edwards.

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October 10, 2019 at 09:22PM

Apple is getting slammed by both Republicans and Democrats for pulling an app used by Hong Kong protesters to monitor police activity - Business Insider

• Both Democrats and Republicans in Congress slammed Apple on Thursday for the company's decision to pull a Hong Kong protest app from the App Store.
• The app, HKmap.live, allowed protesters to share the location of police activity.
• Apple pulled the app, saying the app was "used in ways that endanger law enforcement and residents in Hong Kong."
• "An authoritarian regime is violently suppressing its own citizens who are fighting for democracy," one senator tweeted. "Apple just sided with them."
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Apple drew harsh criticism from both Republicans and Democrats in Congress on Thursday after the tech giant decided to pull an app from the App Store that was being used by protesters in Hong Kong.

The app, HKmap.live, allowed protesters in Hong Kong to share the location of police and plan their movements accordingly, similar to apps like Waze.

Apple has repeatedly flip-flopped on whether to allow the app — it initially rejected the app earlier this month, then made it available for download a few days later, before ultimately removing it from the app store on Thursday.

"Apple assured me last week that their initial decision to ban this app was a mistake. Looks like the Chinese censors have had a word with them since," Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri tweeted. "Who is really running Apple? Tim Cook or Beijing?"

An Apple spokesperson was not immediately available to comment. In a previous statement explaining the rationale for removing the app, Apple said HKmap.live was "used in ways that endanger law enforcement and residents in Hong Kong," the New York Times first reported.

In response, developers of HKmap.live told The Verge that "HKmap App never solicits, promotes, or encourages criminal activity. HKmap App consolidates information from user and public sources, e.g. live news stream, Facebook and Telegram."

Democratic Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, who has a record of being tough on China, also criticized Apple's decision.

"An authoritarian regime is violently suppressing its own citizens who are fighting for democracy," Wyden tweeted. "Apple just sided with them."

Other lawmakers to blast Apple's decision included Republican senator Rick Scott of Florida and Tom Cotton of Arkansas.

—Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR)

October 10, 2019

—Rick Scott (@SenRickScott)

October 10, 2019

Tim Cook, in a leaked memo to employees obtained by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, talked more about Apple's decision to remove the app. Cook wrote that the app was being used to "maliciously target individual officers for violence," and that he received "credible information" from the Hong Kong Cybersecurity and Technology Crime Bureau as well as the app's users which indicated it was being used for those purposes.

Google on Thursday was accused of removing a game about the Hong Kong protests at the request of Hong Kong police, which the company has denied, saying instead it was because the app violated its policies.

The video game distributor Blizzard has also drawn backlash this week for banning a Hearthstone player for supporting the Hong Kong protests. Before that, a Houston Rockets manager walked back his statement in support of Hong Kong protesters after China's state broadcaster said it wouldn't show future Rockets games.

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October 11, 2019 at 04:59AM

Striking union demands GM import no cars to U.S., even from Canada - Driving

Marking its 24^th day of striking against General Motors, the UAW is calling for the company to halt the import of all cars from foreign assembly plants as part of its demands. Right now, GM brings in vehicles for sale in the U.S. from several other countries, including Canada.

Furthermore, UAW brass doesn’t want The General to put emphasis on electric and autonomous vehicle production.

This epithet is puzzling, since both of those segments are arguably the future of the automotive industry. To not embrace them seems akin to demanding a contractor build one’s house out of straw while standing in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius because “that’s the way we’ve always done it.”

The Detroit Free Press reports that UAW and GM bargaining agents were at the table until 3:00 a.m. Thursday morning before taking a recess and returning to talks mid-morning. About 46,000 GM union workers have been striking since 12:01 a.m. on September 16.

In a letter to union members, UAW’s lead GM negotiator Terry Dittes said “We have made it clear that there is no job security for us when GM products are made in other countries for the purpose of selling them here in in the U.S.A.”

This could prove troublesome for production that currently remains at Canadian facilities. Earlier this year, GM announced a $170-million investment in its Oshawa plant, transitioning the place from manufacturing to stamping, sub-assembly, and — autonomous vehicle testing. It would seem the UAW’s double-barrelled demands – more American assembly and binning autonomy – are aimed, at least in part, at Canada.

Vehicle assembly in Mexico, of course, is a major bone of contention. Several of the company’s SUVs and crossovers – such as the Equinox and Blazer – are made south of the Rio Grande. GM’s announcement it’s ‘unallocating’ product to a number of plants last year has added several gallons of accelerant to this particular fire.

Talking heads are split on whether GM would be able to weather hauling all of its production out of labour-cheap Mexico. The UAW’s demand that RenCen abandon its EV and AV plans shines a particularly harsh light on the uncomfortable fact those types of machines generally have fewer parts and require fewer people to assemble.

Will the Motor City continue to run if that motor is electric? Only time – and, apparently, union negotiations – will tell.

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October 11, 2019 at 12:44AM

Tim Cook Defends Removal of Hong Kong Mapping App From App Store in Leaked Memo - MacRumors

Apple CEO Tim Cook has written to employees defending the company's controversial decision to pull an app used by Hong Kong protestors to coordinate gatherings and avoid large concentrations of police.

Apple removed HKMap Live from the App Store on Thursday following the app's approval last week, which itself only came after an internal review of the company's original decision to reject it. Apple's reversal came after the Chinese Communist Party's flagship newspaper criticized Apple for letting the app into its store.

In a company-wide memo, a verified copy of which has been reproduced on Pastebin, Cook told staff that the decision to remove the app was not easy, but that Apple had received "credible information" from Hong Kong police that the app was being used to target individuals for violence. Here's the memo in full:

Team,

You have likely seen the news that we made the decision to remove an app from the ‌App Store‌ entitled HKmap.live. These decisions are never easy, and it is harder still to discuss these topics during moments of furious public debate. It’s out of my great respect for the work you do every day that I want to share the way we went about making this decision.

It is no secret that technology can be used for good or for ill. This case is no different. The app in question allowed for the crowdsourced reporting and mapping of police checkpoints, protest hotspots, and other information. On its own, this information is benign. However, over the past several days we received credible information, from the Hong Kong Cybersecurity and Technology Crime Bureau, as well as from users in Hong Kong, that the app was being used maliciously to target individual officers for violence and to victimize individuals and property where no police are present. This use put the app in violation of Hong Kong law. Similarly, widespread abuse clearly violates our ‌App Store‌ guidelines barring personal harm.

We built the ‌App Store‌ to be a safe and trusted place for every user. It’s a responsibility that we take very seriously, and it’s one that we aim to preserve. National and international debates will outlive us all, and, while important, they do not govern the facts. In this case, we thoroughly reviewed them, and we believe this decision best protects our users.

Tim

Cook has since been criticized for his claim that the app is used to target individual police and members of the public. The developers say HKmap Live is designed to help protestors avoid law enforcement. As such, it doesn't show individual officers but only large concentrations of police, as reflected in the web-hosted version of the app.

In a Twitter post, Charles Mok, a developer and member of Hong Kong's legislative council, revealed that he had written to Cook saying he was "deeply disappointed with Apple's decision to ban the app, and would like to contest the claims made by Hong Kong Police Force's Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau (CSTBC)."

"There are numerous cases of innocent passers-by in the neighborhood injured by the Kong Kong Police Force's excessive force in crowd dispersal operations," he wrote.

"The user-generated information shared using HKmap.live in fact helps citizens avoid areas where pedestrians not involved in any criminal activities might be subjected to police brutality which many human rights organizations such as Amnesty International have observed."

Mok's letter went on to note that since the banned app aggregates real-time reports from Telegram, Facebook and other sources, then the same standard should also be applied to review these social media apps.

In the U.S., lawmakers have also criticized Apple for not standing up for democratic values and free speech. "An authoritarian regime is violently suppressing its own citizens who are fighting for democracy," said Democrat senator Ron Wyden in a tweet. "Apple just sided with them."

"Apple assured me last week that their initial decision to ban this app was a mistake," tweeted Republican senator Josh Hawley. "Looks like the Chinese censors have had a word with them since. Who is really running Apple? ‌Tim Cook‌ or Beijing?"

At a press conference on Thursday, Hong Kong's Secretary for Transport and Housing was asked by reporters which local laws HKmap Live had violated that led Apple to remove it from the ‌App Store‌, but the official deferred to Cupertino: "The taking down of the app from the ‌App Store‌ is the decision made by the operating company – Apple. So, if you want to know the reason for them to take down the app, maybe you can approach Apple and the Apple Store."

Apple has so far declined to comment on the matter.

Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.

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2019-10-11 10:06:00Z
52780405656458

Renault Fires Its C.E.O., as the Post-Ghosn Shake-Up Continues - The New York Times

Renault’s board on Friday fired its chief executive, Thierry Bolloré, just days after Nissan shook up its leadership, as the two automakers in a much-vaunted alliance struggled to regain their footing nearly a year after the ouster of their former chairman, Carlos Ghosn.

The French automaker named its chief financial officer, Clotilde Delbos, as the interim chief executive. Mr. Bolloré, a former executive who served under Mr. Ghosn, became chief executive after Mr. Ghosn’s arrest on charges of financial wrongdoing last year.

Renault and Nissan are attempting to turn a page on the Ghosn era by shedding executives who have complicated efforts to reboot the world’s largest auto alliance since his arrest.

On Tuesday, Nissan appointed a new leader following the ouster of longtime chief executive Hiroto Saikawa, a protégé of Mr. Ghosn’s.

Friday’s surprise maneuver paves the way for Renault to look for a new chief to work closely with Nissan and Renault’s chairman, Jean-Dominique Senard, who took the helm of the French automaker in January.

In a Thursday interview with a French financial newspaper, Les Échos, Mr. Bolloré said he was the target of a “very disturbing coup” and that the only thing he had done wrong was to be promoted by Mr. Ghosn, who resigned under pressure from Renault. The French carmaker has also alerted prosecutors in France to investigate possible irregularities with the funding of Mr. Ghosn’s wedding at Versailles in 2016.

New leadership at the head of both auto giants could open a new chapter in the partnership, which has been plagued by festering relations, governance problems, corporate intrigue and an increasingly flagging financial performance since Mr. Ghosn was toppled last November as head of the alliance, which also includes Mitsubishi Motors of Japan.

Nissan declined to comment on the changes at Renault.

Ben Dooley contributed reporting.

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2019-10-11 09:51:00Z
52780406003083

With U.S. tariffs looming, China drums up hope for a partial trade deal - Reuters

BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese state newspaper said on Friday that a “partial” trade deal would benefit China and the United States, and Washington should take the offer on the table, reflecting Beijing’s aim of cooling the row before more U.S. tariffs kick in.

Both sides have slapped duties on hundreds of billions of dollars of goods during the 15-month trade dispute, which has shaken financial markets and uprooted global supply chains as companies move production elsewhere.

As top U.S. and Chinese negotiators wrapped up a first day of trade talks in more than two months on Thursday, business groups expressed optimism the two sides might be able to ease the conflict and delay a U.S. tariff hike scheduled for next week.

China’s top trade negotiator, Vice Premier Liu He, said on Thursday that China is willing to reach agreement with the United States on matters that both sides care about so as to prevent friction from leading to any further escalation.

He stressed that “the Chinese side came with great sincerity”.

Adding to that, the official China Daily newspaper said in an editorial in English: “A partial deal is a more feasible objective”.

“Not only would it be of tangible benefit by breaking the impasse, but it would also create badly needed breathing space for both sides to reflect on the bigger picture,” the paper said.

Hours ahead of an expected meeting between China’s Liu and U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House, China’s securities regulator unveiled a firm timetable for scrapping foreign ownership limits in futures, securities and mutual fund companies for the first time.

China previously said it would further open up its financial sector on its own terms and at its own pace, but the timing of Friday’s announcement suggests Beijing is keen to show progress in its plan to increase foreigners’ access to the sector, which is among a host of demands from Washington in the trade talks.

Chinese officials are offering to increase annual purchases of U.S. agricultural products as the two countries seek to resolve their trade dispute, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing unidentified sources.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Thursday confirmed net sales of 142,172 tonnes of U.S. pork to China in the week ended Oct. 3, the largest weekly sale to the world’s top pork market on record.

A U.S.-China currency agreement is also being floated as a symbol of progress in talks between the world’s two largest economies, although that would largely repeat past pledges by China, currency experts say, and will not change the dollar-yuan relationship that has been a thorn in the side of Trump.

PESSIMISM ‘STILL JUSTIFIED’

Analysts have noted China sent a larger-than-normal delegation of senior Chinese officials to Washington, with commerce minister Zhong Shan and deputy ministers on agriculture and technology also present.

The sudden optimism about a potential de-escalation is in stark contrast to much more gloomy predictions in business circles just days ago on the heels of a series of threatened crackdowns on China by the Trump administration.

On Tuesday, the U.S. government widened its trade blacklist to include Chinese public security bureaus and some of China’s top artificial intelligence startups, punishing Beijing for its treatment of Muslim minorities.

Surprised by the move, Chinese government officials told Reuters on the eve of talks that they had lowered expectations for significant progress.

Friday’s China Daily editorial also warned that “pessimism is still justified”, noting that the talks would finish just three days before Washington is due to raise tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese imports.

The negotiations were the “only window” to end deteriorating relations, it added.

Trump, said on Thursday that the talks had so far gone very well. But he has previously insisted he would not be satisfied with a partial deal to resolve his two-year effort to change China’s trade, intellectual property and industrial policy practices, which he argues cost millions of U.S. jobs.

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin (R) and Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer welcome China's Vice Premier Liu He before the two countries' trade negotiations in Washington, U.S., October 10, 2019. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File Photo

There have also been reports that the Trump administration is readying additional measures aimed at China, with unknown consequences for trade negotiations.

Such wildly shifting expectations have been a persistent feature of the trade war, and observers remained cautious over what might emerge from this week’s talks.

“China wants peace, but I don’t think China will give more,” one Chinese trade expert said on condition of anonymity.

Reporting by Yawen Chen and Michael Martina; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore & Kim Coghill

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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2019-10-11 08:50:00Z
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