Lotte Considers Selling China Malls Amid Anti-Korean Sentiment www.bloomberg.com

Lotte Group, reeling from a wave of anti-Korean sentiment in China for more than a year, is considering selling some of its department stores in the country, a move that would accelerate the conglomerate’s withdrawal from the world’s second-largest economy.

'Happy with tariffs': Steel industry emerges as trade war winner www.cnn.com

1. Blockbuster profits: The trade war has cast a shadow over parts of Corporate America, but it is bringing a bit of good fortune to the steel industry.
President Donald Trump's metal tariffs have sent steel prices surging and sparked blockbuster profits for steel manufacturers.

Reliance Steel & Aluminum (RS) hauled in record sales, thanks to an 18% spike in prices. Nucor (NUE) recorded the best second quarter in its history. Its profit more than doubled.

"All in all, we're very happy with tariffs," Nucor CEO John Ferriola told analysts earlier this month.

Those words haven't been uttered by many other corporate bosses, who are grappling with sticker shock.

Tariffs levied by the United States and major trading partners are eating into the profits of Harley-Davidson (HOG), General Motors (GM), General Electric (GE), 3M (MMM) and hundreds of other companies. CEOs are scrambling to raise prices and reshuffle their supply chains.

Unsurprisingly, steel companies are feasting on a price spike from Trump's 25% steel tariff. The benchmark price of US-made steel has zoomed 41% higher since the start of the year to $917 per short ton, according to S&P Global Platts.

Tariffs aren't the only factor. Steel demand is strong in an economy that just clocked its fastest growth since 2014.

Following the booming profits from Nucor and Reliance, US Steel (X) and AK Steel are scheduled to report results this week.

Both steel makers are expected to reveal a jump in revenue, though not by as much as their rivals. That's because US Steel and AK Steel (AKS) are locked into annual contracts that have fixed pricing. Those contracts expire later this year, potentially allowing them to capitalize on the price hikes.

Nucor is seizing on the momentum to plow $1 billion back into its business, a huge increase that will mostly go toward expansion.

"What will happen to our great country if we continue to operate with a massive trade imbalance?" Ferriola asked. "We agree with the administration's efforts to address this issue."

Of course, steel customers are less than thrilled.

Material costs have risen by as much as 50% at FJM Ferro, a Brooklyn company that fabricates steel used in Manhattan skyscrapers.

Steel companies may have record profits, but it does hurt the mom-and-pop shops," said Joe Casucci, FJM Ferro's founder and CEO.

Even large companies are getting squeezed. GM slashed its profit outlook last week, warning of a $300 million jump in commodity costs linked to higher steel and aluminum costs.

"You have to be careful with tariffs because there's always a cost," said Philip Gibbs, a steel analyst at KeyBanc Capital Markets.

He pointed out that spiking US steel prices threaten to make American businesses less competitive. Some companies may eventually try to find other ways to get steel into the country.

"It feels good in the short run as prices go up," Gibbs said. "But then all the customers complain."

2. Jobs report: Economists are expecting another solid month of gains when the Labor Department reports Friday on job growth for July.

The US economy has cranked into high gear, growing at the fastest pace in almost four years, and unemployment is 4%, near the lowest in a half-century.

Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect 195,000 jobs were created in July, roughly in line with the average for this year.

3. Fed watch: The Federal Reserve is not expected to raise interest rates when it meets on Tuesday and Wednesday. But investors will be watching the Fed's statement closely for its read on the economy and clues about interest rates.

The Fed has signaled that it plans two more rate hikes this year and three in 2019.

4. Critical moment: This may be the most closely watched earnings report in Tesla's history.

The electric car maker reports results on Wednesday. Tesla just hit an important target for production of the Model 3, its most accessibly priced car. But Tesla is trying to stop mounting losses, and Elon Musk keeps making headlines with bizarre tweets.

5. Apple earnings: Apple will release is quarterly results on Tuesday, and a strong report could push the most valuable company in America to a milestone — a $1 trillion market cap.

Analysts may question Apple executives on whether the trade war its hurting the bottom line. And Apple fans will be hunting for hints about the next iPhone.

6. Coming this week:

Monday — Caterpillar (CAT) earnings

Tuesday — Eurozone second-quarter GDP; Pfizer (PFE), Procter & Gamble (PG), Apple (AAPL) earnings

Wednesday — Fed statement; Humana (HUM), Sprint (S), Tesla (TSLA) earnings

Thursday — Bank of England meets; Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA), Yum Brands (YUM), Aetna (AET) earnings

Friday — US jobs report; Kraft Heinz (KHC), Toyota (TM) earnings

CNNMoney (New York)
First published July 29, 2018: 7:18 AM ET

Civil servant salaries to be raised in Q4'18 www.gogo.mn

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation is working in Mongolia to conduct a 5th review of Mongolia’s extended fund facility (EFF) program. Cabinet and the IMF staff reached an initial agreement to raise salaries for civil servants in the fourth quarter of 2018. On July 26, Minister of Labor and Social Welfare S.Chinzorig reported that negotiations will continue on salary increases.

More than 20,000 households to take part in the Refined Fuel Project www.gogo.mn

Cabinet issued a decree to completely ban the use of raw coal in Ulaanbaatar, starting in May 2019. State authorities, including the Ministry of Nature, Environment and Tourism and the Ministry of Energy, have been conducting research regarding future demand for refined fuel and supply levels, along with price stabilization. This September, the state plans to conduct a test run of the Refined Fuel Project with participation from more than 20,000 households residing in highly-polluted areas.

Mongolia to implement digital training project with USD 2 million www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Sports and Allin Technologies Pte Ltd of Singapore signed an agreement on implementing a project ‘Digital training’ on July 26.

LendMN to have access to Viber resources www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The first Mongolian fintech financial services company LendMN was selected to join the Rakuten Accelerator program powered by Techstarts, kicked off on July 16 in Singapore. The program is considered as one of the best startup incubator and accelerators.

Turkish School Leader Abducted, and Released, in Mongolia www.nytimes.com

A Turkish educator in Mongolia was briefly abducted on Friday, in what appeared to be the latest episode of a global campaign by Turkey’s president to capture suspected allies of the exiled cleric accused of plotting a 2016 coup attempt.

The educator, Veysel Akcay, runs a network of international schools that has been associated with the exiled Turkish preacher Fethullah Gulen. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who blames Mr. Gulen for the failed coup, has purged tens of thousands of suspected Gulen supporters from government and military posts, and seized dozens of people from abroad.

Turkey has maintained that it extradites suspected Gulenists only with the permission of the foreign governments concerned. But the case of Mr. Akcay, who has lived in Mongolia for nearly 25 years, appears to cast doubt on that claim.

Mr. Akcay was near his apartment building in the capital, Ulan Bator, on Friday morning when he was bundled into a Toyota minivan, according to a colleague, Ganbat Batbuyan, who was in communication with the Mongolian police. That account was corroborated by two other people, including another colleague and a senior Mongolian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case.

Mr. Ganbat, the Mongolian general director of the Empathy foundation, which runs the Mongolia-Turkish schools, said the Mongolian police told him that the vehicle had a fake license plate and that three masked people were inside.

Several hours later, what the Mongolian Ministry of Foreign Affairs described as a Turkish-chartered aircraft landed at Ulan Bator’s airport. It was a Bombardier jet with a call sign matching that of a plane operated by the Turkish Air Force, according to an online flight-tracking service, Flightradar24.

As word leaked out about the aircraft on Friday afternoon, Mr. Akcay’s friends and family congregated at the airport.

Later that afternoon, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement saying that the Mongolian government had ordered the flight grounded. Any seizure of Mr. Akcay, it added, would constitute an “unacceptable act of violation of Mongolia’s sovereignty and independence and Mongolia will strongly object.”

The jet left before 9:15 p.m., without Mr. Akcay on board. He was released several hours later, officials said.

In April, Bekir Bozdag, Turkey’s deputy prime minister, said in a television interview that Turkish intelligence operatives in 18 countries, including Kosovo and Malaysia, had seized dozens of Turks suspected of having links to Mr. Gulen and taken them back to Turkey.

Mr. Erdogan’s government has pressured foreign countries to shutter schools that it says are allied with the spiritual movement of Mr. Gulen, who now lives in Pennsylvania and has denied involvement in the attempted coup.

In 2016, for instance, the Turkish ambassador to Cambodia urged the closure of schools he said were linked to Mr. Gulen, whom he accused of running a “terrorist organization.”

The same year, Turkish diplomats attempted to do the same with the educational network now run by Mr. Akcay, according to his colleagues.

The Turkish government accused six Turkish citizens who were deported from Kosovo on March 29, of having connections to Mr. Gulen, whose Islamic movement has garnered support in the Balkans, among other places.

Kosovo’s prime minister, Ramush Haradinaj, said that he had not authorized the deportations, and fired his interior minister and secret service chief on the grounds that they had known about the operation and failed to inform him in advance.

This month, Mr. Erdogan’s son visited Mongolia and met with high-level officials, according to a post on the Turkish Embassy’s Facebook page.

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

But in its statement, the Mongolian Foreign Ministry said that a Turkish diplomat in Mongolia had “reaffirmed that the Republic of Turkey respects the independence and sovereignty of Mongolia, and any illegal activities, including the abduction of persons, have not been conducted on the territory of Mongolia.”

For their part, Mr. Akcay’s friends and family said that the fast response of Mongolian authorities underscored the relative openness of the country’s political system.

“I would like to thank the Mongolian police and government for acting so quickly,” Mr. Ganbat said. “We are a democracy with human rights, and this is not the kind of place where these things normally happen.”

Turkish intelligence jet departs Mongolia without Gulenist educator in it: Mongolian government www.turkeypurge.com

The Mongolian government has announced that a private jet, identıfied by code number TT4010 and reportedly carrying agents of Turkey’s notorious National Intelligence Organisation (MİT), departed without managing to board an overseas follower of the Gulen group.

Turkish intelligence agency abducts 2 more Gulenists in Mongolia www.turkeypurge.com

Turkish Intelligence Agency (MIT) has abducted two overseas followers of the Gulen group in order to force them back to Turkey in the latest of such forced returns by the organization.

Turkey’s MİT abducts Veysel Akçay, general director of schools affiliated with Gülen movement, in Mongolia www.stockholmcf.org

Veysel Akçay, the General Director of the schools affiliated with the Gülen movement in Mongolia, was abducted by the agents of Turkey’s notorious National Intelligence Organisation (MİT) Friday morning in front of his house in the capital city Ulan Bator, according to a report by online news outlet TR724.

It was also reported that a private jet plane has waited at Ulan Bator Airport to transfer Akçay to Turkey. Akçay, who has worked at the educational institutions in Mongolia for 24 years, is reportedly one of a few Turkish nationals possessing the Mongolian Friendship Medal bestowed by Mongolian State.

According to a statement by New York-based Journalists and Writers Foundation (JWF), on Friday, at 9:00 am (local time in Mongolia), Veysel Akçay left his home to his workplace at the Empathy Worldwide Educational Institution. According to eyewitnesses (and CCTV recordings), he was stopped by a minibus in front of his house and abducted by people working on behalf of the Turkey’s National Intelligence Organisation (MİT).

When his wife Meryem Akçay and his co-workers learned about the abduction, they called the local police and the national intelligence agency of Mongolia. The Mongolian police and intelligence revealed that they do not know about this incident and they do not have any information about his abduction or deportation.

Veysel Akçay is married to Meryem Akçay and together they have four children. Akçay works as the General Manager of the Empathy Worldwide Educational Institution, which is running the Turkish-Mongolia Schools (4 high schools, 1 international school, 1 day care center) established by the Gülen Movement 25 years ago.

The JWF has made an urgent appeal to Nils Melzer, United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while counter-terrorism; Bernard Duhaime, UN Chair-Rapporteur Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances; Seong-Phil Hong, Chair-Rapporteur UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; Koumbou Boly Barry, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to education; Felipe Gonzalez Morales, UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants; Agnes Callamard, UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions for the abducted Turkish national Veysel Akçay in Ulan Bator, Mongolia.

The full text of the JWF to UN authorities as follow:

“We write to request urgent action from the United Nations regarding the abduction today, in the morning hours local time (9:00 am) in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia of the Turkish national Mr.Veysel Akcay, a Turkish citizen living in Mongolia for 24 years. He is married to Ms. Meryem Akcay and together they have four children. Mr. Akcay works as the General Manager of the Empathy Worldwide Educational Institution, which is running the Turkish-Mongolia Schools (4 high schools, 1 international school, 1 day care center) established by the Hizmet/Gulen Movement 25 years ago.

On Friday, July 27, 2018 at 9:00 am (local time in Mongolia), Mr. Veysel Akcay left his home to his workplace at the Empathy Worldwide Educational Institution.[1] According to eyewitnesses (CCTV recordings), he was stopped by a minibus in front of his house and abducted by people working on behalf of the Turkey’s Intelligence Service (MIT). When his spouse (Ms. Meryem Akcay) and his co-workers learned about the abduction, they called the local police and the national intelligence agency of Mongolia. The Mongolian police and intelligence revealed that they do not know about this incident and they do not have any information about his abduction or deportation.

The Journalists and Writers Foundation is gravely concerned on the fate of Mr. Veysel Akcay who is at risk of imminent deportation from Ulaanbaatar airport in Mongolia, as there is a Turkish Air plane scheduled to take off for Turkey in less than 2-hours.

The Journalists and Writers Foundation shares grave concerns on the fate of Mr. Akcay at risk of imminent illegal transfer to Turkey. We further note, with regret and utmost deal of concern, that the above individual is about to be transferred not only in defiance of relevant domestic law and international standards, but also without any consideration whatsoever on the pervasive climate of fear and repressionand the real risk to his life and health in Turkey.

Any effort to forcibly deport Mr. Akcay to Turkey, or any other place where he faces torture, ill-treatment and a real risk to his life, violate the relevant obligations of Mongoliaunder its own legislation and international law, notably the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishmentand the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

We respectfully request, in accordance with your mandate, urgent action and your support during this critical time for Veysel Akcay under risk of imminent deportation to Turkey. Specifically, we request that the United Nations and the UNHCR assists in securing the release of Mr. Akcay and prevent his deportation to Turkey. We respectfully urge the OHCHR to take immediate action.

A copy of Mr. Akcay’s passport data page is herewith attached and the Journalist and Writers Foundation would welcome the opportunity to provide your offices with further information or to clarify any issues in relation to this communication.

Sincerely,

Mehmet Kilic 
President

Journalists and Writers Foundation”

MİT abducted journalist Yusuf İnan and Salih Zeki Yigit in Ukraine, and İsa Özdemir in Azerbaijan early in July. They were transferred by MİT agents to İstanbul by private plane. The MİT agents had abducted six teachers in Kosovo on March over their alleged links to the Gülen movement. In cooperation with Kosovar intelligence, MİT’s abduction of the teachers had sparked widespread debate and drew ire from around the world.

According to a statement made by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, over 100 alleged members of the Gülen movement have been abducted by MİT agents abroad and brought back to Turkey as part of the Turkish government’s global manhunt.

“We have been watching these traitors for two years and have brought the leading figures of FETÖ to our country. Some of these cases were covered by press, while others weren’t at the request of the countries involved. I can frankly say that more than 100 FETÖ-affiliated people have been brought to Turkey,” Çavuşoğlu said in an interview with Turkey’s pro-government CNN Türk.

“FETÖ” is a derogatory term coined by ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) led by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to refer to the Gülen movement.

Turkey survived a controversial military coup attempt on July 15, 2016 that killed 249 people. Immediately after the putsch, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government along with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan pinned the blame on the Gülen movement.

Fethullah Gülen, who inspired the movement, strongly denied having any role in the failed coup and called for an international investigation into it, but President Erdoğan — calling the coup attempt “a gift from God” — and the government initiated a widespread purge aimed at cleansing sympathizers of the movement from within state institutions, dehumanizing its popular figures and putting them in custody.

Turkey has suspended or dismissed more than 150,000 judges, teachers, police and civil servants since July 15. On December 13, 2017 the Justice Ministry announced that 169,013 people have been the subject of legal proceedings on coup charges since the failed coup.

Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu announced on April 18, 2018 that the Turkish government had jailed 77,081 people between July 15, 2016 and April 11, 2018 over alleged links to the Gülen movement.