At the request of the Ukrainian authorities, Switzerland is providing Ukraine with a batch of equipment for extinguishing fires, cleaning polluted water and clearing rubble, the Federal Council of Switzerland reports.
“The Federal Ministry of Defence, Civil Defense and Sports and the city of Basel provided equipment worth a total of 5.2 million Swiss francs. The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, which is part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will finance and organize the transport of goods. The first two trucks left today Switzerland,” the statement said.
It is noted that all cargo will be transported by land transport in stages. The first two trucks with four construction vehicles left for Ukraine today. In total, Switzerland will supply 20 construction vehicles, three fire trucks and a smaller vehicle to transport equipment and personnel, two mobile containers for the collection and treatment of contaminated water, and two containers for emergency response, including handling equipment, lighting equipment and generators.
The goods will be handed over to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine after on-site training of specialists conducted by the Swiss Humanitarian Aid Unit. Then the Ukrainian authorities will transport the equipment to places, including Kharkiv, for restoration and repair work.
The Association of Woodworking Enterprises of Ukraine public union asks the government not to impose licensing and quotas on the export of fuel wood from Ukraine, as this may upset the balance in the industry and lead to attempts to manually control the work of enterprises.
The negative impact on wood processing of the possible introduction of licensing or export quotas was reported on the association’s website on Friday.
It is clarified that the organization asks the Cabinet of Ministers not to adopt the relevant changes to Decree No. 1424 of December 29, 2021 regarding exported fuel wood in the form of logs, logs, brushwood, branches, knots, wood chips or cod, sawdust, cod, shavings, debris and wood waste and scrap, agglomerated or non-agglomerated, fuel briquettes and pellets.
“While the Ukrainian economy needs to be supported like never before, the Cabinet of Ministers may adopt changes to the legislation that will actually lead to an increase in the number of corruption schemes, pressure on woodworking enterprises and a decrease in the investment attractiveness of Ukraine,” the association emphasizes.
In addition, it is noted that the adoption of this document may lead to the fact that, under the guise of providing the domestic market with fuel lumber, the process of manual control over enterprises engaged in the corresponding production will begin to be set up.
Reportedly, the activities of the industry are already controlled by authorities, including when commissioning the necessary equipment, hiring workers, obtaining environmental permits, etc. The introduction of wood processing licensing will allow these departments to openly demand funds from exporting enterprises.
“We ask the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine not to accept this document, to hold additional discussions on this issue with representatives of business and the public in order to make effective decisions for the industry and the country’s economy as a whole,” the association quotes its head Pavel Vasiliev.
European stocks rose weakly on Friday ahead of the release of US Department of Labor data on the number of jobs and unemployment for September.
The composite index of the largest enterprises in Europe Stoxx Europe 600 rose by 0.1% to 396.75 points as of 12:30 p.m.
German DAX and French CAC 40 add about 0.1%, British FTSE 100 – 0.12%, Italian FTSE MIB – 0.22%. The Spanish IBEX 35 loses 0.44%.
The consensus forecast of experts surveyed by Market Watch suggests that the number of jobs in the United States last month increased by 275 thousand (315 thousand in August), while maintaining unemployment at 3.7%.
The situation on the US labor market is a key factor influencing the policy of the Federal Reserve System (FRS), and the signals of “cooling” of the market, according to experts, may hold back a further rise in rates by the US Central Bank.
Fed officials speaking on Thursday, however, signaled that it is too early for the Fed to think about a pause in the tightening cycle as inflation eases slowly.
European Central Bank (ECB) officials, meanwhile, are concerned about “self-increasing inflationary pressures” in the eurozone, showed the minutes of the September meeting of the Central Bank, during which all three key interest rates were raised by 75 basis points (bp).
“The nature of the pricing process has changed and inflationary pressures are becoming self-intensifying to the extent that even an expected economic slowdown will not be enough to bring consumer price growth back in line with the ECB’s target,” the minutes released on Thursday show.
German economic statistics released on Friday showed a sharper-than-expected decline in both the country’s industrial output and retail sales in August.
At the same time, the cost of imports to Germany the month before last soared by 32.7% in annual terms – the highest rate since March 1974, against the backdrop of a fourfold jump in gas prices, the country’s Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reported.
Industrial production in Germany in August decreased by 0.8% compared to July. Analysts polled by Trading Economics had expected a decline of 0.5% on average. Construction volumes decreased by 2.1%, electricity generation fell by 6.1%, production in the processing industry decreased by 0.1%.
Retail sales in Germany in August fell by 1.3% compared to the previous month, while experts had expected a decline of 1.1%.
In Italy, retail sales fell 0.4% in August from a 1.3% rise in July.
Quotes of bank shares rise on Friday due to expectations of further rate hikes by the European Central Bank. Deutsche Bank rose 0.4%, Societe Generale – 0.8%, BNP Paribas – 0.2%, UniCredit – 0.3%.
Shares of Credit Suisse rose 5.8%. The Swiss bank said it was willing to spend about $3 billion to buy back its own bonds to save on interest payments.
Adidas AG lost 1.4% on information that the company is reviewing its partnership with American rapper Kanye West due to growing disagreements between the parties.
Shares of European semiconductor manufacturers STMicroelectronics and Capgemini fell 1% and 1.7%, respectively, after the release of weak preliminary reports from US chip maker AMD.
The US dollar is stable against major world currencies on Friday morning ahead of the publication of data on the US labor market.
The ICE-calculated index showing the dynamics of the US dollar against six currencies (the euro, the Swiss franc, the yen, the Canadian dollar, the pound sterling and the Swedish krona), as of 8:20 am CST, fell by 0.05%, the broader WSJ Dollar – by 0 .04%.
The euro/dollar pair is trading at $0.9799 compared to $0.9793 at the close of the session on Thursday, the euro adds about 0.06%.
The exchange rate of the US currency against the Japanese is 145 yen compared to 145.14 yen the day before. The so-called offshore yuan (traded in Hong Kong) dropped against the dollar to 7.1022 yuan per $1 from 7.0853/$1 the day before.
The pound rose 0.02% to $1.1164 compared to $1.1162 at the close of the previous session.
The market is waiting for the publication of data on unemployment in the US for September, which may indicate the “health” of the country’s labor market and determine the expectations of traders regarding the further trajectory of monetary policy.
Experts believe that the unemployment rate in the country in September remained at the August mark of 3.7%, and the number of new jobs increased by 250 thousand, writes Trading Economics. The report of the Ministry of Labor will be published at 15:30 CST.
Quotes of interbank currency market of Ukraine (UAH for 1 PLN, IN 01.08.2022-31.08.2022)
graphics of the Club of Experts
Asian stock markets are falling on Friday in anticipation of the release of fresh statistics on the US labor market, which may influence the further actions of the Federal Reserve, writes MarketWatch.
In addition, US stock indices showed negative dynamics in the trading session a day earlier.
In China, the festive “golden week” continues, in connection with which the exchanges of the mainland of the country do not work.
The value of the Japanese Nikkei 225 index decreased by 0.7% by 8:20 a.m. following the shares of technology companies. However, it may show an increase in the first week of the last four, says Trading Economics.
The leaders of the fall in quotations are papers of the electronics manufacturer Sharp Corp. (-3.8%) and retailer Seven & I Holdings Co. (-3.1%). In addition, the cost of Tokyo Electron (-1%), Keyence (-0.6%), Recruit Holdings (-2.2%) and Advantest (-1.6%) is declining.
Meanwhile, stocks of railroad operators Central Japan Railway Co. are on the rise. (+2.4%), East Japan Railway Co. (+1.9%), West Japan Railway Co. (+1.9%), Keisei Electric Railway Co. (+1.6%), Tobu Railway Co. (+1.5%).
The price of securities of the investment and technology SoftBank Group (+0.7%), the manufacturer of consoles and video games Nintendo (+0.2%) is rising.
The Hong Kong Hang Seng fell 1.3% by 8:25 am KSK. The index is falling for the second trading session in a row, but since the beginning of this week it has gained more than 3%.
The stock prices of Country Garden Holdings Co. developers fell most significantly on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. (-11.6%) and Longfor Group Holdings Ltd (-9%), automakers BYD (-5.1%) and Geely (-3.8%), online retailer JD.com (-3.7%) and consumer electronics manufacturer Xiaomi (-3.6%).
At the same time, securities of the Sands China Ltd casino operator are rising in price. (+2.8%), chip manufacturer Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (+1.1%), insurer AIA Group (+1%).
The South Korean index Kospi by 8:20 am Ksk decreased by 0.3%.
The value of the shares of automaker Hyundai Motor fell by 2%.
Meanwhile, stock quotes of one of the world’s largest manufacturers of chips and electronics Samsung Electronics Co. are up 0.2% despite the company forecasting a 31.7% fall in third-quarter profit amid weakening consumer demand.
The Australian S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.8%, following shares of banks and technology companies.
Xero Ltd fell 3.5%, Wisetech Global – 3.3%, Commonwealth Bank of Australia – 0.5%, Westpac Banking – 0.3%, Australia & New Zealand Banking and National Australia Bank – by 0.4%.
The capitalization of the world’s largest mining companies BHP and Rio Tinto fell by 1.7% and 1.4%, respectively.
