US lawmakers reject trade proposal

Gibran Irfani Abdulllah
1801441436

The US House of Representatives has rejected a high-profile trade bill backed by the White House.

President Barack Obama made a rare trip to Capitol Hill to drum up support for his "fast track" bill but Democrats in the House voted it down.

The measure would have allowed Mr Obama to negotiate global trade deals Congress could not change, but still approve or reject.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi led the charge against Mr Obama's plea.

Mrs Pelosi called on fellow Democrats to "slow down the fast track to get a better deal for the American people".

The vote specifically was for legislation to renew federal aid for workers who lose jobs because of imports.

S&P cuts UK outlook on EU exit vote

Gibran Irfani Abdullah
1801441436

The ratings agency Standard and Poor's (S&P) has cut its outlook for the UK economy because of a planned referendum on EU membership.

The referendum "represents a risk to growth prospects" for the country's economy, S&P said in a statement.

S&P changed its outlook to negative from stable but kept its current rating on the UK the same.

Prime Minister David Cameron has promised an in-out referendum on the UK's membership in the EU by 2017.

Responding to the move, the Treasury said: "We are the first to say that this is a time of heightened risk that threatens the recovery, which is why we need to go on working through the plan that is delivering economic security.

"Central to that plan is giving the British people their first say on our EU membership in forty years and resolving the uncertainty around Britain's relationship with the EU," it added.

The true scale of Tony Blair's global business empire

Gibran Irfani Abdullah
1801441436

Secret documents seen by the Telegraph disclose details of private jets, five-star hotel stays and police guards funded by taxpayer.

The scale of Tony Blair’s globe-trotting is exposed for the first time in secret documents that suggest the taxpayer is paying up to £16,000 a week to help the former prime minister build his business empire.

Documents seen by The Telegraph contain details of Mr Blair’s travels around the world, accompanied by a squad of police bodyguards, flying on private jets and staying in five-star hotels.

The files suggest Mr Blair has used identical trips to carry out both private business meetings and talks in his capacity as Quartet Representative to the Middle East – leaving him open to accusations of a potential conflict of interest.

US, Russian Navies Meet For First Time Since Ukraine Crisis To Discuss Ways To Avoid Accidental Clashes

Gibran Irfani Abdullah
1801441436

The U.S. and Russian navies held talks earlier this week to discuss how to avoid accidental clashes between both forces at sea and in the air, a U.S. naval official said Friday. It was the first meeting involving naval officials from both countries since the crisis in eastern Ukraine deteriorated ties between Washington and Moscow.
Russia’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula, as well as its alleged military involvement in the Ukrainian crisis has led to the worst rift in U.S.-Russia relations since the Cold War. While Russia has stepped up surveillance of NATO’s defense capabilities over the past few months, the intergovernmental military alliance has also increased its military presence in eastern Europe, Reuters reported, adding that the two navies last met in November 2013.
“There was an open, frank and direct discussion ... about how we can better operate in the same bodies of water and avoid miscues, mistakes or miscalculations,” Reuters quoted vice-admiral James Foggo, deputy commander of U.S. naval forces in Europe, a saying. “I think that dialogue was productive.”

Nusa Construction Engineering Dividend Rp 18.5 Billion

Mawaddah Farhany
1801441354

Construction companies, PT Nusa Construction Engineering Tbk distribute a dividend of Rp 18.5 billion, equivalent to USD 3.35 per share, up by 34 percent compared to last year, which totaled US $ 13.8 billion. The company delivers greater dividends despite the company's net profit last year fell. Despite the profit decline, but the company claims that its performance is still better seen from an increase in revenue of Rp 2.03 trillion, an increase of 40 percent from last year with the achievements revenue of Rp 1.45 trillion. In addition to increasing the amount of dividends distributed, the company also raised its dividend payout ratio of 20.88 per cent of net profits to 30.29 of net income. The company also lowered the amount of retained earnings of the Rp 52.3 billion to Rp 36.54 billion or 59.75 percent of profit in 2014, despite capital expenditure this year is also greater than ever before.

www.cnnindonesia.com

JCI Touch Lowest Level Since Beginning of Year

Mawaddah Farhany
1801441354

Composite Stock Price Index (CSPI) closed corrected ahead of the Fed's meeting on 16 June 2015. The index fell by 98 points (1.99 percent) to 4,837 after moving between 4837-4926 on Monday. That level is the lowest point since the beginning of this year stock index, which earlier had touched 4899.88 on June 9, 2015. Furthermore, if calculated since the beginning of the year (year to date), the composite index has plummeted to 7.45 percent from 5226 points , 95 at the end of 2014. A total of 51 stocks rose, 233 stocks declined, 78 stocks did not move, and 192 shares not traded. All sectors fell, led by property sector fell 3.31 percent and the plantation sector which fell 3.10 percent. From Asia, the majority of stock indices moved lower. The condition is indicated by the Nikkei 225 index in Japan fell by 0.09 percent, Hang Seng index in Hong Kong fell by 1.53 percent, and the KOSPI Composite index in South Korea fell by 0.48 percent. This afternoon, the majority of European stock markets also weakened since it opened this afternoon. FTSE100 index in Britain dropped 0.72 percent, Germany's DAX fell 1.23 percent, and the CAC in France fell 0.82 percent. Meanwhile, in the foreign exchange market, the exchange rate appreciated by 8 points (0.06 percent) to Rp 13 326 per US dollar (US), after moving in the range of USD 13 313-USD 13 350 per dollar.





www.cnnindonesia.com

The Trans-Pacific Partnership is No Secret Deal

Mawaddah Farhany
1801441354

Critics' claims that the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership is a secret deal simply don't hold water.

A few weeks ago, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., soared into full-throated whine mode on the floor of the Senate. Having blasted the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement as a secret deal, she finally had availed herself – after months of complaining – of her privilege to read the entire draft. She was now incensed that she and her accompanying staff were not allowed to take physical copies of the current (and ever-evolving) draft of the 29 chapters out of the building.

What she neglected to mention (or maybe even know) was that the rules for viewing trade agreements were not something newly concocted by the Obama administration. They were put in place by the Congress itself. Though now controlled by Republicans, the security arrangements go back to the NAFTA negotiations of the early 1990s, and have been renewed by Republicans and Democrats alike. Boxer opposed the Trans-Pacific Partnership even before reading parts of the text; and like other congressional opponents of the agreement, she is just using the "secrecy" ploy as another arrow in the quiver of darts to bring down the trade deal.

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