Super-rich American ‘preppers’ buying in New Zealand ready for US doomsday www.rt.com

Wealthy Americans are preparing for a possible US collapse or revolt by the poor and buying properties in New Zealand, The New Yorker magazine reported.

Australia and New Zealand to pursue 'TPP 12 minus one' www.bbc.com

Australia and New Zealand say they are hopeful of pressing ahead with the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, despite America's formal withdrawal.
The US-led 12-nation agreement was set to cover 40% of the world's economic output.
Pulling out of the TPP was one of Mr Trump's first executive orders and fulfils a long-held campaign promise.
Australia has already devised a name for a possible new agreement: TPP 12 Minus One.
The country's trade minister Steve Ciobo said Australia would not abandon the TPP just because it would require "a little bit of elbow grease" to keep it alive.
Meanwhile China, which was not part of the deal, hinted it may look to take advantage of TTP's collapse saying it was in favour of "open and transparent regional economic arrangements".
The trade agreement was negotiated by former US President Barack Obama and was aimed at deepening economic ties between member its countries, which were Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Chile and Peru.

Mr Ciobo was in Switzerland last week to discuss new deals at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

"I've had conversations with Canada, with Mexico, with Japan, with New Zealand, with Singapore, Malaysia," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) from New York on Monday.
"I know that there's been conversations that have been had with Chile and with Peru. So there's quite a number of countries that have an interest in looking to see if we can make a TPP 12 minus one work," he said.
Mr Ciobo also said the original architecture of the TPP was designed to enable other countries to join.
"Certainly I know that Indonesia has expressed a possible interest and there would be scope for China if we were able to reformulate it to be a TPP 12 minus one for countries like Indonesia or China or indeed other countries to consider joining and to join in order to get the benefits that flow as a consequence," he said.
New Zealand: Hopeful for TPP, but eyeing one-on-one deals
New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English has said he is hopeful of keeping a free trade deal alive with remaining members of the TPP agreement, while the country's trade minister Todd McClay told local media he expected TPP ministers would meet in the coming months to navigate a way forward.

Like his Australian counterpart, Mr McClay said he had met with a number of TPP member countries in Davos.
"New Zealand's economy depends upon fair access to overseas markets. We will continue to advocate for the benefits of trade liberalisation on the world stage," he said.
The country is also looking to hammer out bilateral deals with other countries and has recently been to the Middle East, promoting key New Zealand products including dairy.
Last week, Mr McClay confirmed New Zealand and Sri Lanka would move ahead with discussions on new trade and investment opportunities, including a free trade agreement between the two countries.
And the minister has said trade relations with the UK are in good shape, with an agreement in place to try and ensure there is no disruption to bilateral trade between New Zealand and Britain in the wake of Brexit.

Any hope of resurrecting the TPP will surely depend on Japan, the world's third largest economy.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has reinforced his trust in President Trump's leadership and said he hopes to continue talks with the US around free trade.
"I believe President Trump understands the importance of free and fair trade, so I'd like to pursue his understanding on the strategic and economic importance of the TPP trade pact," said Mr Abe during a parliament session on Monday.
Prime Minister Shinzo in parliamentImage copyrightKYODO NEWS
Image caption
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has repeatedly said he has trust in US President Donald Trump
Japan's finance minister Taro Aso reiterated this stance on Tuesday and told reporters that plans were being put in place for Mr Abe to visit the US and meet Mr Trump.
Trade Minister Hiroshige Seko said he would now be closely watching for any changes to the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) - which includes Canada, Mexico and the US - and how that might impact Japanese companies.
China: Left out in the cold, is Beijing now rejoicing?
China, which was left out of the TPP deal, has its eye on its own regional trade pacts.
It has suggested a Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific and is supportive of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which could see a free trade deal between countries including Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand.

Chinese president Xi Jinping defended free trade at the World Economic Forum in Davos last week
In Davos, President Xi Jinping defended the notion of free trade and said protectionism was akin to "locking oneself in a dark room".
The Chinese leader's comments were widely viewed as a reference to Mr Trump's "America first" policies and a clear signal that Beijing saw the move as an opportunity to play an even larger role in world trade - filling the vacuum left by the US.
At a press conference on Tuesday, a Beijing spokesman avoided answering questions about whether China would look to join the TPP.
China had been advocating open transparent trade routes in the Pacific region "along with win win solutions," he said.
"We believe in regional economic integration. We are for open and transparent regional economic arrangements. The economies of the Asia Pacific region are diverse. It's important to behave in a open way. We're ready to work with all sides to provide impetus for the Asia Pacific and the global economy."

Faraday Future accused of defaulting on $1.8 million in payments to visual-effects company www.businessinsider.com

Goldman Sachs files $1 billion countersuit against Indonesian businessman www.reuters.com

Goldman Sachs filed a $1 billion counter lawsuit on Tuesday against an Indonesian businessman who is seeking damages from the U.S. bank for conducting what he called "unlawful" trades in the shares of a property firm.

Bank of Ireland sees IT investment as boosting deal potential www.ft.com

Ireland’s oldest lender Bank of Ireland wants to use a €500m technology investment to give itself “optionality” for future acquisitions, said its chief executive Richie Boucher.

The bank, the only significant Irish lender not to be nationalised during the financial crisis, unveiled the IT investment plan in October last year, saying that it would position the institution for “long-term sustainability and competitiveness”.

“It gives us optionality into the future,” Mr Boucher told the Financial Times. “It’s hugely important . . . if you’re in retail banking and thinking about an acquisition you have to be really very comfortable that you can get synergies . . . a lot of that is about IT.”

Retail banking mergers have been repeatedly thwarted by technology issues.

One of the most high-profile failures was Royal Bank of Scotland’s attempt to sell Williams & Glyn as a separate bank carved out of its branch network to Santander in 2012 — largely due to IT problems. RBS must divest Williams & Glyn as a condition of EU rules for receiving a £45bn bailout during the financial crisis.

RBS dropped plans last year to float Williams & Glyn as a standalone bank, after spending about £1.5bn on its technology platform. RBS is still in the process of finding a buyer for Williams & Glyn, with Santander UK and Clydesdale & Yorkshire Banking Group the two interested parties.

Mr Boucher, who recently became a non-executive director of Greece’s Eurobank, stressed that Bank of Ireland is not in the market for an immediate acquisition. “It [the IT spending] will make the bank a better place and give great optionality to the people that come after me,” he added.

He would not comment on when he might step down; his eight years at the helm already make him Ireland’s longest serving bank chief executive.

Bank of Ireland had to sell swaths of its noncore business under the terms of an EU approved rescue plan, but has begun rebuilding. Earlier this month, the lender paid an undisclosed sum to Irish company Covestone Asset Management, which had €100m under management.

Policymakers are not yet supportive of big bank mergers, but some believe this will eventually change as regulators realise that the M&A-inspired economies of scale are the only way for banks to make the profits they need to pay for their rising regulatory costs.

Nordea and ABN Amro were almost a test case for regulators’ willingness last year when the Nordic bank made an approach to the Dutch government about a bid for ABN, but the talks ultimately went nowhere.

Permanent TSB, a smaller Irish lender, is facing a 20 per cent increase in its cost base “in the near term” because of regulatory costs alone, chief executive Jeremy Masding told the FT.

As well as cutting costs, acquisitions would also allow Irish banks to deflect criticism from Ireland’s central bank governor Philip Lane who last year said they have “relatively concentrated business models, focused primarily on Ireland and to some extent the UK”.

Still, there is little immediate appetite for an acquisition spree. Mr Masding said the bank was concentrating on “getting it right here in Ireland” rather than “spreading our wings” in other markets where he would have a “small presence and a lack of familiarity”.

Bernard Byrne, chief executive of AIB, in which the government hopes to sell a significant stake later this year, said acquisitions were not in the bank’s “short-term horizon” and that it can be “more effective” in its core market.

Bank of Ireland had the third worst capital ratio in the most recent stress tests run by the European Banking Authority; Mr Boucher said this was largely because of a “bizarre accounting convention” on how its pension is treated.

“The most important thing for us is that we’re generating capital organically,” he said, pointing to the 100 basis points of capital the bank generated in the first six months of 2016.

WeChat dominates Chinese mobile app use www.chinadaily.com.cn

US demand growth to push copper market into deficit www.mining.com

54TH ANNUAL ACADEMY OF AMERICAN AND INTERNATIONAL LAW

May 21 - June 23, 2017 in Plano, Texas, USA

Chip sales boost Samsung Electronics operating profit www.asia.nikkei.com

Spain focuses on lucrative gay tourism market www.rt.com