The King and ISIS

King Salman came to Washington touting military and counterterrorism cooperation. But can the U.S.-Saudi relationship survive the House of Saud’s sponsorship of Islamic radicalism across the globe?

Photo credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

Photo credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

en Saudi Arabia’s King Salman made his first visit to Washington since ascending the throne in January, his goals were simple. The 79-year-old ruler wanted to paper over the disputes that have eroded the U.S.-Saudi relationship for years and extract from President Barack Obama’s administration a payoff for Riyadh’s tepid support of the nuclear deal with Iran. With the White House eager to maintain momentum on the nuclear agreement after securing the Senate votes to block the Republican rejection of the deal, King Salman’s timing was excellent — all but erasing memories of his no-show at a Camp David conference of Gulf leaders in May.

Papering over differences is one of diplomacy’s finer and more useful arts. With the Saudis anxious about a possible warming in the U.S. relationship with Iran and sharp disagreements regarding Syria, Egypt, Iraq, and the broader sectarian blood bath in the Middle East, the visit was a solid piece of work in the service of Washington’s ever more schizophrenic partnership with Riyadh — perhaps the most convoluted bilateral relationship the United States has had with any country. The atmospherics around the visit were sufficiently positive that few mentioned the contradictions that seem to be fraying ties between the United States and its longtime friend in the Gulf.

One commentator who did dwell on the deep dissonance in the relationship was Thomas Friedman, in a New York Times column published just before King Salman’s arrival. Teeing off on some benighted retired Air Force general who opposed the nuclear deal on the grounds that Iran was the leading sponsor of Islamic radicalism in the world, Friedman exclaimed: “Nothing has been more corrosive to the stability and modernization of the Arab world, and the Muslim world at large, than the billions and billions of dollars the Saudis have invested since the 1970s into wiping out the pluralism of Islam … and imposing in its place the puritanical, anti-modern, anti-women, anti-Western, anti-pluralistic Wahhabi Salafist brand of Islam.”

Friedman is on target in arguing that Saudi Arabia’s contribution to Islamist extremism has far outstripped Iran’s. Indeed, Tehran’s effort to transcend sect and become the leader of the Muslim world’s radical rejectionist stream has been in tatters since the Arab Spring and the heightening of sectarian tensions because of the Syrian civil war. Although systemic misgovernance is the Arab world’s deadliest disease, Saudi Arabia’s energetic propagation of Wahhabism — which began as a response to Iran’s Islamic Revolution in 1979 — has been central to the rise of violent extremism, from Indonesia to Mali.

Wahhabism has been a devastating invasive species in Islam’s enormous ecosystem — it’s the zebra mussel, the Asian Tiger mosquito, and the emerald ash borer wrapped into one. The consequences have been fateful: A solid line of causation from the slaughter in Islamic State-controlled Iraq and the tragedy of 9/11 traces back directly to Saudi evangelization and the many radical mosques and extremist NGOs it spawned.

Friedman’s explanation for why the United States has never challenged Riyadh is crude — in both senses of the word. “We’re addicted to their oil and addicts never tell the truth to their pushers,” he wrote.

This is too easy; if oil were the only vital U.S. interest binding it to the kingdom, dealing with the export of extremism would be vastly easier. What Friedman and almost everyone else misses is the increasingly pivotal importance of counterterrorism cooperation in the U.S.-Saudi relationship. That may set heads spinning, but when it comes to tactical counterterrorism — uncovering conspiracies and disrupting them — Saudi Arabia has become an invaluable partner, one of the very best Washington has.

Following Saudi Arabia’s apparent epiphany after the May 2003 bombings in Riyadh, which killed 39 people, ties between U.S. counterterrorism authorities and their Saudi counterparts have grown close, collegial, and effective. There is a reason why Interior Minister Mohammed bin Nayef, now second in line to the throne and the architect of Saudi counterterrorism strategy, is far and away Washington’s favorite leader in Riyadh.

The golden age of this cooperation began in 2009, when the terrorist threat was developing most dangerously in the kingdom’s backyard: Yemen. Saudi counterterrorism cooperation at the time prevented hundreds of American deaths, possibly more. Some of the cases are well-known, like the plot to hide bombs in printer cartridges aboard U.S.-bound planes. Without these tips, one or more aircraft would have gone down. Other operations have helped the United States defend against a new class of undetectable bombs that might also be used against aviation. Wherever else one might find fault with them, the Saudis did superb work in these cases.

The cooperation extends beyond the cloak and dagger stuff. Since 2003, the Saudi government’s work on counterterrorism finance has improved considerably, and its efforts in the area of rehabilitating extremists have been recognized internationally.

Still, there is an extraordinary paradox here. Because of the large sums that flow from the country’s religious establishment and huge NGOs to institutions that promote Wahhabi-style Islam — with its malignant views of Shiites, Jews, Christians, and the West — Saudi Arabia remains the fountainhead for Islamist extremism. These funds, together with curricular materials, preachers, television broadcasters, religious literature, and the like stoke radicalism in scores of countries, even if they are typically not directly implicated in violent acts. At the same time, Saudi intelligence services are active around the world trying to prevent the terrorism that grows from this activity.

Crazy? Absolutely, but it is an insanity borne of the kingdom’s original political compact between Muhammad ibn Saud, progenitor of the House of Saud, and Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, the original Wahhabi, a charismatic preacher — who joined forces to wrest control of the Arabian Peninsula in the mid-18th century. The royal family could rule Arabia so long as it promoted Wahhabism, and the monarchy has relied on Wahhabi clerics to validate its legitimacy as Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques ever since. Whenever the monarchy has faced challenges to its rule, it has pumped even more money to the clerical establishment, some of which went abroad. Not surprisingly, the prospect of a democratic wave sweeping the region during the Arab Spring led to billions being disbursed.

So why hasn’t the United States pressed Riyadh more effectively to dial back the support for extremism that so clearly affects our security and global interests?

There are several reasons. To begin with, counterterrorism cooperation of the kind that Riyadh has supplied is hard to argue with. No president wants to risk alienating a government that is helping safeguard American lives. While some officials have pushed for engaging the Saudis on the export of extremism, many others are averse to starting a tough discussion that could go nowhere. The Saudis, after all, are unlikely to reconceive their polity on our account.

Further complicating matters has been what might be called the “Politburo syndrome.” As with the Soviet Union in the 1980s, the small handful of Saudi gerontocrats who are authorized to do anything — either the king or a few of the senior-most princes — are either dying or too intellectually ossified to persuade anyone to adopt a radically different approach.

So for all the advances after 9/11 and the kiss-and-make-up atmosphere of the moment, the prognosis for the U.S.-Saudi relationship is not encouraging. The two countries’ priorities are simply too far apart.

For the United States, the imperatives are to implement the nuclear deal with Iran and halt the rise of Islamist extremism — above all, contain and diminish the Islamic State without dispatching American combat troops to the region. For the Saudis, the paramount goal is to check and roll back what they see as Iranian advances, especially in Yemen and Syria.

In Yemen, the Saudi campaign against the Houthi insurgents has become the signature initiative for Riyadh’s new and emboldened foreign policy. The United States has voiced hedged support for the Saudi effort — primarily an effort at alliance maintenance, which was a necessity against the backdrop of the nuclear negotiations.

But behind the scenes, Washington has gnawing concerns about the Saudi war effort. The bombing runs are killing civilians in appalling numbers, and a country that hovers on desperation has been plunged into a humanitarian disaster. The United States is trying to refine Saudi targeting, but the carnage remains ghastly, and the Saudi claim that the Houthis are nothing more than an Iranian proxy has also worn thin.

This isn’t just bad for the Yemenis. It’s also bad for the United States because terrorist groups thrive in conflict zones and Yemen’s jihadis — especially al Qaeda — are gaining territory and influence, since they face no pressure except from the occasional U.S. drone shot.

Meanwhile in Syria, the Saudis are not supporting the Islamic State, but they would be quite happy to see other Islamists topple Bashar al-Assad and make Damascus again a Sunni capital. Plenty of money is now flowing from the Persian Gulf to al-Nusra Front, the al Qaeda affiliate in Syria. Again, extremists are benefiting from the chaos.

As for the U.S.-led coalition fighting against the Islamic State, the Saudi contribution has been minimal. It hasn’t flown a mission in Iraq yet, according to the accounting on the Pentagon’s website. Exactly why is not clear: Perhaps the Saudis can’t ask for permission from the Shiite-dominated Iraqi government because they don’t have an embassy in Baghdad, or perhaps they just can’t bring themselves to support the Baghdad government. In Syria, it has flown a scant few of the 119 airstrikes not carried out by the United States. In short, Riyadh believes that the extremist problem can be cleaned up later — after it wins the wars in Yemen and Syria and puts Iran back in its place.

Can any of this be fixed? Will our partners of seven decades, as U.S. officials like to refer to the Saudis, join in the fight against extremism and not just its terrorist end-product? Don’t count on it: Saudi Arabia has avoided taking such steps for decades, and there is no reason to think the kingdom can’t stay on its current course for decades more.

As for the United States, it will remain saddled with tactical imperatives that prevent it from addressing the bigger mess. And so Washington will muddle forward against the jihadi threat.

In: foreignpolicy

Dual U.S.-Russian Citizen Admits to Spying on the United States for Moscow

Image: gettyimages

Image: gettyimages

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper has called Russia’s cyber-espionage capabilities the most sophisticated in the world. This week, U.S. officials showed that Russian President Vladimir Putin, a former KGB agent, still likes to engage in old-fashioned spying as well. But this time, his agent got caught.

Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Kelly Currie and Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Carlin announced Wednesday that Alexander Fishenko, a dual citizen of the United States and Russia, pleaded guilty to illegally exporting controlled microelectronics to Russia. He also admitted to conspiring to launder money and obstruction of justice.

Fishenko, whom Carlin called “an agent of the Russian government,” was charged in October 2012, along with 10 other individuals and two corporations. Four of those arrested have already pleaded guilty, while the trial for three others is set to begin Sept. 21.

“Fishenko lined his pockets at the expense of our national security,” Currie said. “This prosecution highlights the importance of vigorously enforcing United States export control laws.”

Fishenko’s guilty plea could heighten espionage tensions between Russia and the United States. Putin took in NSA leaker Edward Snowden in 2013 after the American revealed the vast extent of American snooping around the world. Russian hackers also recently infiltrated State Department and White House computer systems.

According to federal prosecutors, between October 2008 and October 2012, Fishenko illegally shipped about $50 million worth of microelectronics and other technologies to Russia from the United States. This included equipment often used in military systems like detonation triggers, radar and surveillance systems, and missile guidance technology. Russia does not make this kind of technology domestically, prosecutors said.

Here’s how Fishenko’s scheme worked: In 1998, he founded Arc Electronics, Inc. in the United States, a company which claimed to be a traffic light manufacturer. He also served as an executive of Apex System, LLC, a procurement firm based in Moscow. Fishenko used his U.S.-based company to illegally ship technology to Apex, which then supplied the illicit goods to Russia’s military and intelligence services.

Prosecutors cited a letter from a lab linked to the FSB, Russia’s domestic intelligence agency. They said it proves Moscow’s spooks got their hands on the American technology: Namely, they complained that Fishenko’s equipment — routed through an affiliate of Apex — didn’t work properly.

Fishenko, 49, is possibly looking at a lengthy prison sentence. He faces up to 20 years in jail for each violation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the Arms Export Control Act, as well as up to 20 years in prison for obstruction of justice and money laundering conspiracy. In addition, he could serve up to 10 years behind bars for acting as a Russian agent.

In June, the FBI arrested alleged Russian spy Evgeny Buryakov, who officials claim posed as a banker in the New York office of an unidentified Russian bank. He stands accused of working for Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service to collect information on U.S. markets and financial institutions.

In: foreignpolicy

OTAN, preocupada por mayor presencia militar rusa en Siria

El secretario general de la alianza, Jens Stoltenberg, dijo que las acciones de Moscú no ayudan a solucionar el conflicto desatado en 2011.

Un tanque ruso secuestrado por los rebeldes a las fuerzas de Al Assad.

Un tanque ruso secuestrado por los rebeldes a las fuerzas de Al Assad.

Los reportes de inteligencia que hablan de una mayor presencia militar de Rusia en Siria tienen preocupada a la OTAN. Al menos así lo señaló este miércoles (09.09.2015) el secretario general de la alianza, el noruego Jens Stoltenberg, durante una visita a Praga. “Estoy preocupado por las informaciones sobre un aumento de la presencia militar rusa en Siria. “Eso no va a contribuir a la solución del conflicto”, dijo en la capital checa, en su primera visita al país desde que asumió el cargo.

Rusia ha negado esta semana cambios en la cooperación militar con Siria, sea en el estatus de la base naval de Tartus o en el suministro de armamento, en medio de los rumores occidentales sobre una intervención militar rusa en el país árabe. Según Moscú, esa colaboración militar se limita al suministro de equipos militares y a que especialistas militares adiestren en su manejo a los militares sirios.

Sin embargo, tres fuentes libanesas citadas por la agencia de noticias Reuters aseguran que fuerzas de combate rusas comenzaron a participar en operaciones militares en Siria, apoyando a las tropas del presidente Bashar al Assad. A eso se sumaría el reciente envío de barcos con tanques y aviones, además de desplegar un pequeño número de efectivos de infantería naval. Las fuentes de inteligencia estadounidenses no tienen clara la intención de estos movimientos militares, aunque el objetivo sería preparar una pista aérea en Latakia, bastión de Al Assad.

No solo asesoran

“Los rusos ya no son solo asesores. Los rusos decidieron unirse a la guerra contra el terrorismo”, dijo una de las fuentes libanesas citadas por Reuters. “Empezaron con números pequeños, pero la fuerza mayor no ha participado aún. (…) Hay algunos rusos combatiendo en Siria, pero todavía no se unieron con fuerza a la lucha contra el terrorismo”, destacó otra fuente, mientras un funcionario sirio señaló que “los expertos rusos siempre han estado presentes, pero en el último año han estado presentes en mayor grado”.

Luego de que Bulgaria negara el uso de su espacio aéreo a aviones de carga rusos (una medida que Moscú calificó como “grosería internacional”), el diplomático ruso Maxim Suslov, de la embajada en Irán, dijo que el gobierno de Teherán no impedirá los traslados, así como tampoco pondrá objeciones el gobierno de Grecia. El Ministerio de Exteriores ruso subrayó nuevamente que Rusia jamás ocultó su ayuda militar al gobierno sirio.

En tanto, el ministro de Exteriores, Sergei Lavrov, conversó con su par estadounidense, John Kerry, al que llamó a trabajar en conjunto para combatir al Estado Islámico. “Lavrov recalcó la necesidad de responder conjuntamente a los grupos terroristas que han capturado una parte importante de territorio sirio y amenazan la seguridad internacional”, informó la cancillería rusa en un comunicado.

DZC (EFE, dpa, Reuters)

En: DW

Julia Child cooked up double life as spy

New files show many other famous Americans moonlighted as spies

Government files released Thursday reveal new information about some of the more unexpected, and famous, World War II-era spies, including Julia Child, Boston Red Sox' catcher Moe Berg and Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg. Image: nbcnews

Government files released Thursday reveal new information about some of the more unexpected, and famous, World War II-era spies, including Julia Child, Boston Red Sox’ catcher Moe Berg and Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg. Image: nbcnews

WASHINGTON — Before Julia Child became known to the world as a leading chef, she admitted at least one failing when applying for a job as a spy: impulsiveness.

At 28 as an advertising manager at a furniture store, Child clashed with new store managers and left her job abruptly.

“I made a tactical error and was out,” she explained in a handwritten note attached to her application to join the Office of Strategic Services, a World War II-era spy agency. “However, I learned a lot about advertising and wish I had been older and more experienced so that I could have handled the situation, as it was a most interesting position.”

Child was not yet married and was applying for the job under her maiden name, McWilliams, according to previously top-secret records released by the National Archives on Thursday.

Not to worry. She did well on her OSS job interview.

“Good impression, pleasant, alert, capable, very tall [she was 6 feet, 155 pounds],” her unnamed interviewer wrote.

She was hired in the summer of 1942 for clerical work with the intelligence agency and later worked directly for OSS Director William Donovan, the personnel records show.

Details about Child’s background and nearly 24,000 other OSS employees are revealed in the newly released documents, withheld from public view as classified records for decades by the CIA.

The 750,000 documents identify the vast spy network managed by the OSS, which later became the CIA. President Franklin Roosevelt created the OSS, the first centralized U.S. intelligence operation.

The OSS files offer details about other agents, including Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg, major league catcher Moe Berg, historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr., and actor Sterling Hayden.

Other notables identified in the files include John Hemingway, son of author Ernest Hemingway; Kermit Roosevelt, son of President Theodore Roosevelt; and Miles Copeland, father of Stewart Copeland, drummer for the band The Police.

Some of those like Child have been identified previously as having worked for the OSS, but their personnel records never have been available before. Those records would show why they were hired, jobs they were assigned to and perhaps even missions they pursued while working for the agency.

Sterling Hayden (“Dr. Strangelove,” “The Godfather”) left Hollywood to serve anonymously under the name “John Hamilton” in the OSS’s information office during the war.

Arthur Goldberg actually infiltrated enemy lines and organized anti-Nazi European transportation workers into an extensive intelligence network during his wartime service with the OSS.

‘I think it’s terrific’

The release of the OSS personnel files unmasks one of the last secrets from the short-lived wartime intelligence agency, which for the most part was later folded into the CIA after President Truman disbanded it in 1945.

“I think it’s terrific,” said Elizabeth McIntosh, 93, a former OSS agent. “They’ve finally, after all these years, they’ve gotten the names out. All of these people had been told never to mention they were with the OSS.”

The CIA long resisted releasing the records. But a former CIA director, William Casey, himself an OSS veteran, cleared the way for transfer of millions of OSS documents to the National Archives when he took over the spy agency in 1981. The personnel files are the latest documents to be made public.

Information about OSS involvement was so guarded that relatives often could not confirm a family member’s work with the group.

Walter Mess, who handled covert OSS operations in Poland and North Africa, said he kept quiet for more than 50 years, only recently telling his wife of 62 years about his OSS activity.

“I was told to keep my mouth shut,” said Mess, now 93.

The files provide new information even for those most familiar with the agency. Charles Pinck, president of the OSS Society created by former OSS agents and their relatives, said the nearly 24,000 employees included in the archives far exceed previous estimates of 13,000.

The newly released documents will clarify these and other issues, said William Cunliffe, an archivist who has worked extensively with the OSS records at the National Archives.

“We’re saying the OSS was a lot bigger than they were saying,” he said.

Julia Child as world traveler

As for Julia Child’s career, she started as a typist and then as a research assistant.

In 1944, she was posted to Ceylon, where she befriended Fisher Howe, a fellow member of the OSS.

“We became fast friends there,” Howe, 94, said in an interview. “Julia was head of the secretariat, the documents control, and she was a genial person, and we rode elephants and went to restaurants together.”

While the OSS was a spy agency, Howe emphasized neither one of them were considered spies.

“You can be an able and effective intelligence officer but not be undercover, and we were not,” he said. “But she was a very effective person in the job she had.”

So effective she received the “Emblem of Meritorious Civilian Service” for her work at her final posting, in Chunking, China.

“Her drive and inherent cheerfulness, despite long hours of tedious work, served as a spur to greater effort for those working with her,” her citation read.

After the war, she turned from derring-do to the kitchen, gaining fame and fortune as a chef. She died in 2004.

NBC News producer John Rutherford and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

In: nbcnews

Se avecina una recesión mundial ‘Made in China’, según Citigroup

Existe un 15% de probabilidades de que la crisis sea una ‘recesión severa’

Imagen: economiahoy.mx

Imagen: economiahoy.mx

Los expertos de Citigroup han alertado en su último análisis de que la desaceleración económica de China puede llevar al mundo a una nueva recesión. En dicho informe, el economista jefe del gigante financiero estadounidense ha asegurado que hay un 55% de posibilidades de que se produzca una recesión global en los dos próximos años

Según los expertos del banco, sólo existe un 15% de probabilidades de que la nueva crisis alcance el nivel de ‘recesión severa’. Esta nueva recesión probaría que la estructura económica a nivel mundial está cambiando, mientras que las últimas crisis han nacido en EEUU está sería una recesión ‘Made in China’ con ayuda de los países emergentes.

Según los economistas de Citigroup una de las principales razones de preocupación es el ‘bajo’ crecimiento de China. El gigante asiático estaría creciendo al 4% interanual frente al objetivo del 7% marcado por el Gobierno. Además, otras economías emergentes como Rusia, Sudáfrica o Brasil ya están en serios problemas, mientras que el comportamiento de las economías desarrolladas está siendo mediocre. El precio de las materias primas, el comercio y la inflación son otra prueba de la desaceleración, mientras que los beneficios de las empresas también se están moderando.

Con este informe, Buiter nada contra la corriente de sus colegas de Goldman Sachs o JP Morgan, que han vaticinado que el aterrizaje chino no se notará con excesiva fuerza en las economías desarrolladas. También Societe Generale ha querido restar importancia a esta cuestión asegurando que la caída del precio del petróleo amortiguará el efecto China. Los expertos del banco francés creen que sólo hay un 10% de probabilidades de que el mundo entre en recesión los próximos años.

Los elevados niveles de endeudamiento en China restarán efecto a las políticas que se implementen desde el Banco Popular de China como recortes de los tipos de interés o reducciones del coeficiente de caja. Las autoridades se muestran reacias a la hora de permitir que el yuan se deprecie más, lo que también puede suponer un límite a la actuación monetaria.

¿Cómo será el contagio?

Según publica Bloomberg, Buiter cree que las heridas chinas pueden infectar al resto del mundo a través del comercio internacional. China supuso en 2013 el 14,3% de todos los flujos comerciales del mundo. Si China sigue reduciendo su ritmo de importaciones muchos países importantes en sus zonas de influencia geográfica pueden sufrir parones en la economía.

Porción del consumo mundial de China de algunas materias primas

(click to enlarge)

Imagen: economiahoy.mx

Imagen: economiahoy.mx

Por otro lado, el gigante asiático podría verse tentando a deshacer de parte de sus billones de dólares en activos extranjeros. Si China vende en masa sus activos financiero extranjeros, los mercados vivirán tiempos turbulentos, aseguran desde el portal financiero estadounidense.

Estos riesgos podrían ser amortiguados por las políticas fiscales y monetarias de los países desarrollados. Sin embargo, Buiter cree que estas economías se han quedado sin munición. Los tipos de interés de los bancos centrales están en mínimos históricos, mientras que los niveles de deuda pública de estos gobiernos han alcanzado niveles peligrosos.

“Hoy en día, los tipos de interés no pueden usarse como una herramienta monetaria en los mercados desarrollados, mientras que el espacio fiscal está severamente limitado, a diferencia de 2008, que había un gran margen”, explica el economista jefe de Citigroup.

Para culminar, Buiter asegura que “los economistas raras veces hablan de recesión, crisis, recuperación o burbujas, a menos que estos estén llegando… Creemos que este puede ser uno de esos momentos”.

En: economiahoy

Mientras ministro del interior dice que sí, ministro de justicia Adrianzén dice que los ataques con granada no pueden equipararse con terrorismo

El ministro de Justicia y Derechos Humanos, Gustavo Adrianzén, lamentó la muerte de un suboficial por el estallido de una granada dejada por delincuentes fuera de un colegio, pero aclaró que este tipo de actos “no puede equipararse con el delito de terrorismo”.

En declaraciones a la prensa, consideró que lo sucedido en Villa El Salvador “es un acto criminal horrendo”, pero de ninguna manera debe ser tipificado como terrorista. “Es una granada de guerra, pero el terrorismo como tipo penal tiene una connotación diferente”, sostuvo.

Indicó que “hace aproximadamente cuatro décadas el Perú se viene desangrando por la barbarie terrorista y que hoy día esta encapsulado en pequeños bolsones en el Vraem”. “No tenemos terrorismo en la ciudad de Lima”, afirmó categóricamente.

“Llegar a dimensionar este lamentable suceso con un acto de terrorismo va a significar, entre otras cosas, que tengamos que aceptar que hay distritos en Lima donde estas prácticas se están realizando”, comentó.

El ministro de Estado explicó que “organizaciones criminales establecidas con un fin ideológico, con estructuras destinadas a desestabilizar el Estado, no pueden compararse con hechos aislados de crímenes ordinarios, que lo único que pretenden es obtener beneficios económicos, como cualquier crimen ordinario de la calle”.

Adrianzén Olaya expresó, asimismo, su pesar por el fallecimiento del suboficial Adolfo Leonidas Castellano Carrillo, de 51 años de edad y con 29 años de servicios, en cumpliendo de su deber. “Lamento como ciudadano y como ministro de Estado que estos hechos tengan que enlutar a la familia policial”, manifestó.

En: RPP

Sunafil fiscalizó cumplimiento de normas laborales en más de 150 fábricas en Lurín

El operativo estuvo a cargo de 30 inspectores quienes verificaron las condiciones de seguridad ocupacional que se manejan al interior de las plantas industriales.

El operativo estuvo a cargo de 30 inspectores especializados en Seguridad y Salud en el Trabajo de la Sunafil. Imagen: gestion.pe

El operativo estuvo a cargo de 30 inspectores especializados en Seguridad y Salud en el Trabajo de la Sunafil. Imagen: gestion.pe

Con el objetivo de salvaguardar permanentemente la integridad física de los trabajadores, la Superintendencia Nacional de Fiscalización Laboral (Sunafil) realizó hoy un operativo en la zona industrial del distrito de Lurín, que tiene como meta fiscalizar más de 150 empresas de dicha jurisdicción.

El operativo estuvo a cargo de 30 inspectores especializados en Seguridad y Salud en el Trabajo de la Sunafil, se inició en la urbanización Las Praderas de Lurín y posteriormente se desarrolló a lo largo de todo el mencionado distrito, a fin de verificar las condiciones de seguridad ocupacional que se manejan al interior de las plantas industriales.

Los inspectores de la Sunafil accedieron a las fábricas de empresas dedicadas a actividades productivas como la fabricación de plásticos, vidrios, productos de belleza, industrias textiles, avícolas, operadores logísticas, manufactureras y otros.

Durante estas acciones de fiscalización, se supervisó la implementación de un Sistema de Gestión de Seguridad y Salud en el Trabajo y la existencia de un comité, que tiene como propósito proteger la integridad física de los trabajadores en el ambiente laboral, y vigilar el cumplimiento de lo dispuesto en la normativa.

De igual manera, el operativo requirió que los representantes de las empresas muestren los registros obligatorios que se implementan para prevenir los accidentes y minimizar los riesgos en el lugar de trabajo.

La Sunafil realizó también acciones de orientación en normativa laboral en cada centro laboral que es visitado por sus inspectores, pues como entidad responsable del cumplimiento de los derechos y obligaciones laborales, viene cumpliendo una labor preventiva y a la vez fiscalizadora.

En: gestion

Resolución del Indecopi sobre las aplicaciones de servicios de taxi

Gestión TV. En esta edición del programa Ruta Legislativa, se analiza la reciente resolución del Indecopi sobre las aplicaciones de servicios de taxi, específicamente, el caso de Easy Taxi. Mira las ediciones anteriores aquí.

Video Resolución del Indecopi sobre las aplicaciones de servicios de taxi http://gestion.pe/economia/resolucion-indecopi-sobre-aplicaciones-servicios-taxi-2142232#ooid=ZxZGZmdzrUT6OT06__gXd3RrmjWREFIE

Cuando una empresa compite en el mercado sin cumplir con normas imperativas o sin contar con las autorizaciones necesarias, y con ello obtiene una ventaja significativa frente a sus competidores, califica como un supuesto de violación de normas, una modalidad de competencia desleal.

Andrés Calderón , Director de Contribuyentes por Respeto, indica que el Indecopi consideró que Easy Taxi no estaba infringiendo las normas, puesto que dicha empresa no brindaba directamente el servicio de taxi, sino que ofrecía una aplicación móvil que permitía conectar rápidamente a una persona que necesitaba un taxi con un prestador de dicho servicio.

No se pierda el vídeo del programa de hoy, espacio elaborado por Contribuyentes por Respeto y Gestión TV. Y mire aquí las ediciones anteriores.

LEA TAMBIÉN: Más de diez empresas operan ‘apps’ para servicio de taxi en Lima

Aprueban decreto que crea el sistema de parques industriales

Ministro de la Producción, Piero Ghezzi, afirmó que con la normativa se permitirá el reordenamiento territorial en el país

El Poder Ejecutivo aprobó hoy el decreto legislativo que crea el Sistema Nacional de Parques Industriales, anunció el ministro de la Producción (Produce), Piero Ghezzi.

Tras la reunión del Consejo de Ministros, el titular del Produce afirmó que con esta normativa se sientan las bases para cambiar la política de parques industriales en el país.

“En el Perú no existen parques industriales modernos, sino espacios industriales, que con el crecimiento de la ciudad, terminan conviviendo con zonas residenciales y comerciales; con muy poca infraestructura, tugurizados, en muchos casos, y eso no genera los beneficios de competitividad que tiene un parque industrial moderno”, precisó.

En esa línea, Ghezzi señaló que con el decreto legislativo se podrá crear una red de parques industriales que incluirán a los parques tecnológicos, científicos y de relevancia nacional, tanto privados como públicos, estos últimos inexistentes en la actualidad.

Así, los parques industriales se dispondrán en espacios cerrados alejados de la ciudad, con conectividad única de servicios, con su propio modelo de gestión así como de manejo de residuos y desechos unificado, todos bien articulados. “Los parques industriales también van a permitir el reordenamiento territorial”, sostuvo el ministro.

En: elcomercio

China Just Killed the World’s Biggest Stock-Index Futures Market

By: Kyoungwha Kim.

Loss of liquidity may hamper efforts to lure institutions. Hedge funds among biggest losers from new trading curbs

Add the world’s biggest stock-index futures market to the list of casualties from China’s interventionist campaign to stop a $5 trillion equity rout.

Volumes in the country’s CSI 300 Index and CSI 500 Index futures sank to record lows on Wednesday after falling 99 percent from their June highs. Ranked by the World Federation of Exchanges as the most active market for index futures as recently as July, liquidity in China has dried up as authorities raised margin requirements, tightened position limits and started a police probe into bearish wagers.

While trading in Chinese equities has also slumped amid curbs on short sales and an investigation into computer-driven orders, the tumble in futures volumes may cause even greater damage because of their central role in the investment strategies of domestic hedge funds and other institutional money managers. A failure to revive the market would undercut the government’s own efforts to attract professional investors to local stock exchanges, where individuals still account for more than 80 percent of trades.

“It is further evidence that the Chinese authorities are not yet ready to commit to freely trading markets,” said Tony Hann, a London-based money manager at Blackfriars Asset Management, which oversees about $350 million. “Fully functioning developed financial markets in China will take many years.”

Popular Tool

Chinese policy makers, intent on ending a selloff that has eroded confidence in their management of the economy, are targeting the futures market because selling the contracts is one of the easiest ways for investors to make large wagers against stocks. It’s also a favored product for short-term speculators because the exchange allows participants to buy and sell the same contract in a single day. In the cash equities market, there’s a ban on same-day trading.

Yet futures are also a popular tool among sophisticated investors with longer-term horizons. For hedge funds, they provide an easy way to adjust exposure to market swings. And large institutions use them to make cost-effective asset-allocation changes. As an example, selling index futures might be cheaper than unloading a large block of shares — an order that could put downward pressure on prices.

A sustained slump in liquidity may spur some institutional investors to “give up hedging in futures, unwind futures positions and reduce their stock positions,” said Dai Shenshen, a trader at SWS Futures Co. in Shanghai.

(Click to enlarge)

Image: bloombergbusiness

Image: bloombergbusiness

China, which has been investigating evidence of “malicious” short selling since July, stepped up curbs in the futures markets on Monday. The China Financial Futures Exchange now labels a position of more than 10 contracts on a single index future as “abnormal trading.” While the bourse said the restriction won’t apply to futures used for hedging purposes, it didn’t detail how it will identify such trades. Before last month, investors could have as many as 600 contracts.

The bourse also raised fees for settling positions opened on the same day to 0.23 percent from 0.0115 percent. Margin requirements on stock-index futures contracts were lifted to 40 percent from 30 percent. For those with hedging demand, the levels climbed to 20 percent from 10 percent. Exchange officials didn’t respond to e-mailed questions from Bloomberg News on Tuesday.

Futures trading on the CSI 300 Index, a gauge of the nation’s biggest companies, shrank to just 27,899 contracts on Wednesday. That’s down from 3.2 million at the end of June and compares with the 30-day average of 1.7 million. For the CSI 500 Index of small-cap shares, volumes have dropped to 11,820 from about 144,000 a month ago.

The CSI 300 climbed 2 percent on Wednesday, while the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index increased 2.3 percent.

Reform Agenda

While Bocom International Holdings Co.’s Hao Hong says the futures curbs will be especially painful for domestic hedge funds, he doesn’t think Chinese authorities are abandoning their long-term goal of giving markets a greater sway in the economy. Right now, Hong says, policy makers are primarily focused on ensuring stability in the nation’s financial system.

“Reform is still a very important agenda, but it is also a longer term one,” said Hong, the China strategist at Bocom in Hong Kong.

For Yoyo Shi, a Shenzhen-based trader at Citic Futures Co., it’s unclear how long the latest measures will last. What she does know is that they’re bad for the securities business as volumes evaporate.

“It’s a tough time for all of us,” said Shi, whose firm is a unit of China’s biggest brokerage. “All the measures the authorities introduced to help the market become more healthy over the past three months were supposed to be temporary. But as we can see, there are more measures coming in.”

In: bloombergbusiness

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