The wildfires burning through Northern California are sending visitors packing, threatening the $2 billion-plus spent annually by tourists on wine tours, fine food, limousine rides and much more, business leaders said.

At the Inn on First bed and breakfast in the famous wine town of Napa, co-owner Jamie Cherry was encouraging callers to postpone rather than cancel visits, as wildfires burned largely unchecked across the region.

“People are canceling as far as November already,” Cherry said. “It’s going to be devastating in terms of financial loss for everybody.”

The fast-moving fires have killed at least 26 people and left hundreds missing in an area less than an hour’s drive from San Francisco.

With hundreds of wineries, expensive restaurants and bucolic rolling scenery, the wine country of Sonoma and Napa counties is a major draw for visitors. Limousines and buses clog parking lots at weekends as visitors sip Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignons in towns known for their mix of rural and cosmopolitan vibes.

Now, with at least 13 burned wineries, shuttered tasting rooms and thick smoke in the air from nearly two dozen fires that have charred more than 190,000 acres across the state, it is unclear how quickly the region can lure back tourists.

‘We’d go back’

Napa Valley welcomed 3.5 million visitors last year, with overnight guests spending on average $402 per day, according to Visit Napa Valley, the region’s tourism marketing group.

“There is a good amount of infrastructure that has burned down, homes have burned down, wineries have burned. There are restaurants that are not going to open quickly,” said Clay Gregory of Visit Napa Valley.

On Thursday, tasting rooms remained closed and the famous Napa Valley Wine Train, which ferries tourists through the vineyards, said it planned to reopen Sunday.

Dozens of limousines and tour buses, their polish dulled by a film of ash, sat in a parking lot and warehouse on the outskirts of Napa. The company’s owner, Michael Graham, said the business had just hit peak demand of 100 reservations a day, but since the fires that had slumped to two.

Graham remains hopeful, however, citing tourism’s quick recovery after the 6.0 earthquake that hit Napa in 2014: “People were out wine-tasting the same day.”

Graham said the region was still largely intact, with vast swathes of countryside untouched by fire.

“It’s just smoky. As soon as they get this contained it will be back to business as usual,” he said.

Others agreed the effect of the fires on tourism would be short-lived.

Roseanne Rosen has fond memories of the trip with her husband to wine country that she just finished ahead of the fires. The couple from Kansas City has been coming for the last decade and has no plans to abandon that tradition.

“It’s one of our favorite destinations and I don’t see that changing,” Rosen said by telephone. “Once people are open and ready for business, we’d go back in an instant.”
…

The government of Peru’s President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said Thursday that it will request special powers to legislate economic policies from the opposition-ruled Congress, after growth slowed sharply during his first year in office.

During a presentation in Congress, Prime Minister Mercedes Araoz said her cabinet wants to legislate policies aimed at consolidating an incipient economic recovery and making Peru a member of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a wealthy-country think tank.

In Peru, Congress traditionally grants legislative powers to the executive branch at the start of a president’s term, and it is rare for a prime minister to seek them so far into an administration – underscoring ongoing worries about the economy.

Growth in Peru, one of the region’s most robust economies, faltered early this year after a corruption scandal halted public work projects and severe flooding destroyed billions of dollars in infrastructure.

The government and central bank now expect the economy to grow by about 2.8 percent this year thanks to better prices for Peru’s key copper exports, down from 3.9 percent last year.

Araoz said the economy should expand by at least 4 percent in coming years.

It was unclear whether the opposition would grant the government its request for new legislative powers following a political crisis in September that ended with Congress ousting Kuczynski’s former cabinet.

Kuczynski appointed a more socially conservative cabinet led by Araoz that won initial praise from the right-wing populist party Popular Force, which has an absolute majority in Congress.

But Congress must approve the new cabinet with a vote of confidence scheduled for Thursday.

Araoz said that she would present the request for legislative powers in coming days.

Congress gave Kuczynski legislative authority on economic policies in September 2016, which his government used to pass laws aimed at reducing and expediting bureaucratic permits.
…

New research finds nearly 14 million people a year are losing their homes because of sudden onset disasters such as floods and cyclones.

The Internal Displacement Monitoring Center, which analyzed the impact of sudden onset disasters in 204 countries and territories, warns that homelessness will continue to rise unless significant progress is made in managing disaster risk.

According to the research — officially released on Friday, marking International Day for Disaster Reduction — eight of the 10 disaster-prone countries with the highest levels of displacement are in East, South or Southeast Asia. India and China top this list. The two countries outside this region are Russia, ranked ninth, and the United States, ranked 10th.

The head of data and analysis at the center, Justin Ginnetti, said the 13.9 million people displaced by sudden onset disasters excluded those told to evacuate an area before a disaster struck. He called this a conservative figure, since homelessness due to drought was not included in the data.

Floods chiefly repsonsible

“Most of this displacement is being driven by floods, which is on the increase in a globally warming world and where population growth is increasing in flood-prone areas,” Ginnetti said. “Population exposure is indeed a key component of displacement risk. More people are likely to be displaced by disasters in countries with large populations.”

The data show displacement associated with disasters will mainly affect developing countries. However, the chief spokesman for the U.N. International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, Dennis McClean, said economic losses would be greatest in the richer countries. He said this year would probably be the worst year on record in terms of economic losses.

“If we look just at the Atlantic hurricane season, which is still ongoing, we see that economic losses in the United States alone are probably in the region of about $300 billion,” McClean said. “That is what the initial estimates are telling us. And, of course, the losses are perhaps even more significant in small island states in the Caribbean, which have also been devastated by these events.”

Specialists in disaster risk reduction are urging nations to improve land zoning and the quality of buildings, especially in seismic zones and on land exposed to storms and floods. They note that good early warning systems may not save homes but will save lives.
…

Washington has increased tensions in talks to renew the North American Free Trade Agreement by insisting that any new deal be allowed to expire after five years, two officials familiar with the negotiations said on Thursday.

Canada and Mexico both strongly oppose the concept of a so-called sunset clause, a provision that had been floated earlier.

But the officials, who asked not to be identified because the talks are confidential, said the U.S. side formally proposed it late on Wednesday during the fourth of seven scheduled rounds to update the rules governing one of the world’s biggest trade blocs.

The Trump administration says the clause, causing NAFTA to expire every five years unless all three countries agree it should continue, is to ensure the pact stays up to date.

But Mexico and Canada insist there is no point updating the pact with such a threat hanging over it, arguing the clause would stunt investment by sowing too much uncertainty about the future of the agreement.

“It’s a source of total uncertainty,” said one of the NAFTA government officials familiar with details of the negotiations.

U.S. President Donald Trump says NAFTA, originally signed in 1994, has been a disaster for the United States and has frequently threatened to scrap it unless major changes are made.

Business and farm groups say abandoning the 23-year-old pact would wreak economic havoc, disrupting cross-border manufacturing supply chains and slapping high tariffs on agricultural products.

Trade between the United States, Canada and Mexico has quadrupled under NAFTA, now topping $1.2 trillion a year. As well as the sunset clause, the United States wants to boost how much North American content autos must contain to qualify for tax-free status and eliminate a dispute settlement mechanisms that Canada insists must stay.

Some trade observers said it is difficult to see how negotiators could reach an agreement given U.S. demands that many see as nonstarters.

The head of Unifor, Canada’s largest private sector labor union, said it was clear the United States did not want a deal.

“NAFTA is not going anywhere. This thing is going into the toilet,” Jerry Dias told reporters on Thursday.

Despite clear signs of impatience from Canada in particular, U.S. negotiators have yet to submit their proposal on rules of origin for the auto sector. That looked unlikely to come before Friday, another official familiar with the talks said.

Trump on Wednesday repeated his warnings that he might terminate the pact and said he was open to doing a bilateral deal with either Canada or Mexico if three-way negotiations fail.

He was speaking at the White House with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who said Canada was “braced” for Trump’s unpredictability but taking a serious approach to the NAFTA talks.

Negotiators were also set to cover the difficult issue of government procurement on Thursday.

Canada and Mexico want their companies to be able to bid on more U.S. federal and state government contracts, but this is at odds with Trump’s “Buy American” agenda. U.S. negotiators have countered with a proposal that would effectively grant the other countries less access, people familiar with the talks say.

On automotive rules of origin, NAFTA negotiators face tough new U.S. demands to increase regional vehicle content to 85 percent from 62.5 percent, with 50 percent required from the United States, according to people briefed on the plan.

The rules of origin demands are among several conditions that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has labeled “poison pill proposals” that threaten to torpedo the talks.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Wednesday that he believed higher percentages for automotive content would be achieved, and “car companies will adapt themselves to it.”

However, a study released on Thursday by the Motor Equipment Manufacturers Association, which represents U.S. auto parts makers, showed the higher content requirements would lead to the loss of up to 24,000 U.S. jobs, as some companies would forgo NAFTA’s tariff-free benefits and ship in more components from other countries.
…

The European Union’s Brexit negotiator said Thursday that that little progress was made with the U.K. in a fifth round of talks on the country’s departure from the EU in 2019, and that he cannot yet recommend broadening negotiations to include trade.

 

Michel Barnier said that despite the “constructive spirit” shown in this week’s negotiations in Brussels, “we haven’t made any great steps forward.” On the question of how much Britain has to pay to settle its financial commitments, he said: “We have reached a state of deadlock, which is disturbing.”

 

Barnier said he would not be able to recommend to EU leaders meeting next week that “sufficient progress” has been made to broaden the talks to future EU-British relations like trade.

 

The leaders meet in Brussels on Oct. 19-20, and it had been hoped they would agree to widen the talks.

 

The EU says this can only happen when there has been progress on the issues of the financial settlement, the rights of citizens affected by Brexit and the status of the Northern Ireland-Ireland border.

 

But Britain says these issues are closely intertwined with their future relations like trade and must be discussed together.

 

“I hope the member states will see the progress we have made and take a step forward” next week, British Brexit envoy David Davis told reporters.

 

“We would like them to give Michel the means to broaden the negotiations. It’s up to them whether they do it. Clearly I think it’s in the interests of the United Kingdom and the European Union that they do,” Davis said.

 

Barnier said the two sides would work to achieve “sufficient progress” in time for a subsequent meeting of EU leaders in December.

 

Britain must leave the EU on March 29, 2019, but the negotiations must be completed within about a year to leave time for EU states’ national parliaments to ratify the Brexit agreement.

 

Barnier reaffirmed that parting with “no deal will be a very bad deal.”

 

“To be clear, on our side, we will be ready to face any eventualities, and all the eventualities,” he said.
…

China has a new richest man, according to the annual Hurun rich list of the country’s top movers and shakers.

Xu Jiayin, the chairman of developer China Evergrande Group, has seized top spot – beating out more familiar faces such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s Jack Ma and rival property magnate Wang Jianlin of Dalian Wanda Group.

Xu’s reported $43 billion wealth – a gain of around $30 billion against last year – comes on the back of a surge in Evergrande’s shares, up over 450 percent so far this year amid plans to cut debt and focus on profit over scale.

The Hurun Report, established in 1999, is the leading China-based organization ranking the wealth of the country’s rich and famous, and its list gives a temperature check on the winners and losers in China.

Growth in China stabilized this year, but while the world’s second largest economy averted a hard landing, some major corporations have buckled under the weight of their debt or been sanctioned by authorities over risky investments overseas.

Wanda’s Wang – who took top spot for the last two years – dropped to fifth in the list after Wanda sold off much of the firm’s hotel and theme park assets to rivals in July, after coming under regulatory scrutiny over its high leverage.

Close behind Evergrande’s Xu were China’s top tech titans – Alibaba’s Jack Ma and Tencent Holdings Ltd’s Pony Ma, who has seen his firm’s value rise on the popularity of its WeChat messaging app and its popular online games.

The list also underlined those who have fallen from grace in corporate China.

Jia Yueting, founder of sprawling conglomerate LeEco that once looked to rival both Tesla Inc and Netflix, dropped to 1,978th place from 31st last year.

Yang Kai, chairman of embattled Huishan Dairy – 66th last year – dropped off the list entirely as his firm fights off creditors amid billions of dollars of unpaid debt.

On the up was Wuxi Pharma Tech’s Li Ge and his wife, propelled by China’s push towards drug innovation, Zhang Lei of fast-growing online news portal Toutiao and Li Shufu of carmaker Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd.

“It has been a good year for manufacturing, cars, education, TMT and healthcare,” Hurun founder Rupert Hoogewerf said.

While many of those on the 2,000-strong list were members of the National People’s Congress and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, only a few were delegates at the upcoming five-yearly Party Congress that begins next week.

These included corn magnate Li Denghai, alcohol billionaire Wu Shaoxun and Pan Gang of dairy giant Yili.

The list, with a combined wealth of $2.6 trillion, saw average wealth rising 12.5 percent – faster than broader economic growth – pointing to the growing financial muscle of China’s super-rich elite.
…

The Trump administration says coal is back and nuclear energy is cool. Not at the expense of natural gas, wind and solar, insists an unusual coalition of business and environmental groups.

Dow Chemical, Koch Industries and U.S. Steel Corp. are standing with environmentalists in opposing an Energy Department plan that would reward nuclear and coal-fired power plants for adding reliability to the nation’s power grid and are pressuring the administration to shift course.

Energy Secretary Rick Perry says the plan is needed to help prevent widespread outages such as those caused by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria and a 2014 “polar vortex” in the Eastern and Central U.S. The plan aims to reverse a steady tide of retirements of coal and nuclear plants, which have lost market share as natural gas and renewable energy flourish.

“The continued loss of baseload generation … such as coal and nuclear must be stopped,” Perry wrote in a Sept. 28 letter urging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to adopt the new rule. “These generation resources are necessary to maintain the resiliency of the electric grid” amid sharp shifts in the U.S. energy market.

Perry’s plan coincides with President Donald Trump’s vow to achieve U.S. “energy dominance” while ending what he and other Republicans call a “war on coal” waged by the Obama administration. Perry, who has said he wants to “make nuclear energy cool again,” is certain to face questions about the plan and the opposition at a congressional hearing Thursday.

Critics see a bailout

The plan would compensate power plant owners that maintain a 90-day fuel supply protected against the elements. Critics say it could result in subsidies worth billions of dollars.

Environmental groups say the plan would boost dirty fuels and harm consumers, while the energy industry warns about interference in the free market and manufacturers complain about higher energy prices that could be passed on to consumers.

“Rick Perry is trying to slam through an outrageous bailout of the coal and nuclear industries on the backs of American consumers,” said Kit Kennedy, an energy policy expert for the Natural Resources Defense Council. “This radical proposal would lead to higher energy bills for consumers and businesses, as well as dirtier air and increased health problems.”

A coalition of industry groups, ranging from the American Council on Renewable Energy to the American Petroleum Institute and the Natural Gas Supply Association, also blasted the plan, saying it could harm “entire industries and their tens of thousands workers.”

Amy Farrell, senior vice president of the American Wind Energy Association, said the proposal could “upend competitive markets that save consumers billions of dollars a year.”

Oil, gas: Let markets work

Marty Durbin, executive vice president of the petroleum institute, the top lobbying group for the oil and gas industry, said officials “need to be careful that government doesn’t put its thumb on the scale” in energy markets. “It’s better to let markets choose, which is what the United States is seeing with the growth of natural gas” as the leading U.S. electricity source, Durbin said.

The Industrial Energy Consumers of America, a trade group that represents Dow, Koch Industries and other manufacturing giants, is among those lobbying against the plan. In a letter to Congress, the group called the proposal “anti-competitive” and said it could distort or “destroy competitive wholesale electricity markets, increase the price of electricity to all consumers” and harm U.S. manufacturing.

The manufacturers and other critics say there is no evidence of a threat to the grid’s day-to-day reliability that would justify the emergency action Perry is seeking.

Indeed, in a report commissioned by Perry and delivered in August, the Energy Department said “reliability is adequate today despite the retirement of 11 percent of the generating capacity available in 2002, as significant additions from natural gas, wind, and solar have come online since then.”

Gerry Cauley, CEO of the North American Electric Reliability Corp., an international regulatory authority, said at a conference in June that “the state of reliability in North America remains strong, and the trend line shows continuing improvement year over year.”

Coal, nuclear groups hail plan

Even so, coal and nuclear groups hailed the plan. National Mining Association President and CEO Hal Quinn called Perry’s action “a long-overdue and necessary step to address the vulnerability of America’s energy grid,” while Maria Korsnick, president and CEO of the Nuclear Energy Institute, said disruptions caused by hurricanes and other extreme weather events show that “the urgency to act in support of the resiliency of the electric grid has never been clearer.”

The Energy Department seeks final action by mid-December, although industry groups and some members of Congress have pushed for a delay.

Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said the energy commission should reject Perry’s plan.

“Secretary Perry has embraced an obsolete view of the grid (that) would bail out coal and nuclear power plants at the expense everyone else,” she said.
…

The ranking of the 50 most powerful women by Fortune magazine is out. The list include such stalwarts as General Motors Mary Barra and PepsiCo’s Indra Nooyi. But it also seven newcomers, including the first foreign-born Latina CEO on the Fortune 500, Geisha Williams. VOA Correspondent Mariama Diallo was at their annual gathering in Washington this week and has this report.
…

Billionaire philanthopist Michael Bloomberg has pledged an additional $64 million for the initiatives intended to slash the number of U.S. coal power plants. Bloomberg’s charity announced Wednesday the money will be donated to environmental groups working to replace coal-fired plants with cleaner forms of energy production. The move came after the Trump administration said it would repeal the Clean Power Plan. VOA’s Zlatica Hoke has this story.
…

Over the past few years, Chinese companies have flooded the globe with investments, buying up everything from real estate to football clubs and entertainment companies. As a result, hundreds of billions of dollars in capital have flowed out of the country, draining China’s foreign exchange reserves. But that all has come to a halt this year with the Communist Party beginning to label such high-profile transactions a “national security” risk and bringing some of the country’s biggest dealmakers under scrutiny.

 

The first in a series of shockwaves came in January, when Xiao Jianhua, an eccentric and politically connected wealthy Chinese billionaire, was seized from his residence at the Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong by Chinese authorities.

When Xiao was taken away, reports suggested that he was helping Chinese authorities with an investigation into the country’s massive stock market crash of 2015 that saw stocks lose some $4 trillion in value.

But, it is Xiao’s reported ability to secretly move massive amounts of money and his political connections that most have focused on. In an earlier report, China analyst Willy Lam told VOA that Xiao is known as a “white glove” — a broker for powerful political families that include those with ties to former President Jiang Zemin.

The New York Times has described Xiao as a “banker for the ruling class and in 2013, the newspaper reported that he paid $2.4 million to buy shares in an investment firm held by the sister and brother-in-law of Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Xiao’s legal status is unclear and while he is believed to be helping authorities in China with investigations into the financial industry, authorities have made no formal statement about whether he is in custody.

A few months later, as the Communist Party, accompanied by state media, continued to hone its message about the financial risks of heavily-leveraged debt, and overseas investments started to slow dramatically, another jolt occurred with the detention of Wu Xiaohui, the chairman of Chinese financial and insurance giant Anbang.

One of China’s richest and most powerful companies, Anbang is known for its headline-grabbing overseas investments such as its purchase of New York’s iconic Waldorf Astoria Hotel and Manhattan’s JW Marriott Essex House Hotel — and ones that failed — like its $14 billion bid to purchase Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide.

Anbang chairman Wu Xiaohui is married to Zhuo Ran, the granddaughter of former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping. In a statement shortly after he was detained in early June, Anbang said Wu was temporarily stepping aside as chairman for “personal reasons.” Wu has not been seen in public since June.

 

Soon after Wu’s detention came a second and even broader shock, the ripples of which continue to be felt. News surfaced that China’s banking regulator was scrutinizing the investment and loan guarantees used to back the big overseas investments of not only Anbang, but other big dealmakers including HNA Group, Dalian Wanda Group and Fosun, whose chairman dubs himself the Warren Buffett of China.

 

Many of the companies, such as Dalian Wanda, have become the international face of China with their marquee acquisitions in recent years. Dalian’s shopping spree alone has been dazzling. Over the past two years, the company’s purchases have included the world’s largest cinema chain, a luxury yacht builder, a Spanish football club as well as Hollywood’s Legendary Entertainment media company.

 

So far, the heads of the four other companies appear to have avoided anything beyond scrutiny, and calls to sell off their assets overseas, but there are no signs that the pressure is easing.

When rumors surfaced online in early August that police detained Dalian Wanda chairman Wang Jianlin as he was about to leave China via private jet for London, the company had to work hard to stamp out the speculation.

 

The company called the accusations “groundless,” and noted that Wang was in China’s western province of Lanzhou.

 

Since his company came under scrutiny, Wang moved quickly and in July sold off 77 hotels and 13 theme parks to pay off nearly $10 billion in debt. Still, some continue to believe that he has been barred from leaving the country. In early September, Wang traveled to Hong Kong where he met with the port city’s former chief executive, Tung Chee-hwa. Pictures from the visit were posted on Dalian Wanda’s website.

 

According to Bloomberg, China has asked Anbang to sell its assets outside of the country. For now, the company says it has no plans to sell its overseas acquisitions.

 

 

 
…

 Economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa is expected to be 2.4 percent in 2017, the World Bank said on Wednesday, down from the 2.6 percent projected in April.

It said the downgrade was due to a number of reasons, including Nigeria’s failing to meet expectations but also broader conditions.

“Regional per capita output growth is forecast to be negative for the second consecutive year, while investment growth remains low, and productivity growth is falling,” it said.

Growth across the region, however, was seen rising 3.2 percent in 2018 and 3.5 percent in 2019, forecasts unchanged from earlier this year.

In its latest Africa Pulse report, the Bank said the region would be helped by better commodity prices. Sub-Saharan African economies have been hit by lower commodity prices which slowed growth in the last few years, cutting government revenues.

Albert Zeufack, World Bank chief economist for Africa, said the region’s growth recovery would partly be driven by the continent’s two largest economies — Nigeria and South Africa — exiting recession.

He said the two countries need “deeper reforms” to get back to pre-2014 levels of growth and their political uncertainty needs to be reined in. He said they make up about half of sub-Saharan Africa’s GDP growth.

The World Bank said Nigeria’s economy, the largest in the continent, was expected to expand by 1 percent in 2017.

South Africa’s economy, hit by political worries, was expected to grow just 0.6 percent this year.
…

U.S. President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met at the White House Wednesday to discuss the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement amid growing animosity over how to reshape the pact.

Trade experts predict the fourth round of the talks will probably stall as the U.S. aggressively pushes for controversial changes to a rule governing how cars are made.

The rule currently requires at least 62-percent of the parts of a car sold in North America come from the region to avoid import taxes. The Trump administration is calling for an 85-percent threshold, with a 50-percent requirement for U.S.-specific content.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Tuesday accused the Trump administration of attempting to undermine the negotiations with a “poison pill proposals.”

The Trump administration has imposed duties on Canadian Bombardier airliners and lumber exports in recent months and has criticized Canada’s wine and dairy industries. But Canadian officials deny Trump is targeting Canada, saying the aircraft and softwood differences have continued for years.

Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said Trudeau will try to persuade Trump to focus on Mexico, which is also participating in the talks, as a source of potential problems at the negotiations to update NAFTA.

“We are your biggest client,” is the message Freeland said Canada will bring to the table. Freeman said Canada is not the cause of lost U.S. manufacturing jobs under NAFTA, as it buys more from the U.S. than China, Britain and Japan combined.

Mexico

Many U.S. manufacturing jobs have instead relocated to Mexico, where wages are far lower than those in the U.S. Mexico has lured U.S. auto plants and other manufacturers to the country, resulting in a $64 million trade surplus with the U.S. last year. Trump administration officials have promised to cut the surplus.

Mexico Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray warned that an end to NAFTA would significantly damage U.S.-Mexican relations and adversely impact bilateral cooperation in non-trade areas.

Other contentious U.S. proposals opposed by Canada, Mexico and much of the U.S. business community include a five-year sunset provision on deals, an overhaul of NAFTA’s dispute arbitration systems, revisions to intellectual property requirements and new protections for U.S. seasonal produce growers.
…

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the country’s surging stock markets would grow even faster if Congress enacts his proposed overhaul of the country’s tax laws.

Trump is heading to a Pennsylvania airport hangar to talk to a group of truckers about the tax plan, contending they would get “a $4,000 pay raise” with the changes he wants, although economists say that benefit would only materialize over eight years, at a rate of about $500 annually.

Trump’s speech to hundreds of truck drivers, the most common job in 29 of the country’s 50 states, is intended to counter the views of independent analysts that the Republican tax blueprint Trump is advancing would mostly benefit the highest income earners. These analysts contend that at least some middle-income taxpayers would pay more, not less, to the government under Trump’s proposal.

So far, Trump has detailed only some of the specifics of the proposal, including trimming the number of tax rates applying to certain levels of income from seven to three categories under the progressive U.S. tax system of levying higher rates on taxpayers who have earned more than others.

But the Republican-controlled Congress has yet to determine at what levels of income the new rates would apply, leaving the analysts to guess what effects the changes would have on any individual taxpayer. Trump also wants to trim corporate taxes to further boost the U.S. economy, already the world’s largest.

In Twitter comments ahead of his speech, Trump said, “Stock Market has increased by 5.2 Trillion dollars since the election on November 8th, a 25% increase. Lowest unemployment in 16 years and if Congress gives us the massive tax cuts (and reform) I am asking for, those numbers will grow by leaps and bounds.”

The Republican president also took another shot at two of his favorite targets, the national mainstream news media and opposition Democratic lawmakers.

“It would be really nice if the Fake News Media would report the virtually unprecedented Stock Market growth since the election,” Trump said. “Need tax cuts. The Democrats want MASSIVE tax increases & soft, crime producing borders. The Republicans want the biggest tax cut in history & the WALL!” built along the southern U.S. border with Mexico to thwart illegal immigration.

The Trump administration, when it took office in January, predicted it would complete a tax overhaul by August, but now has its sights set on completing the reforms by the end of the year. However, congressional tax-writing panels have yet to hold hearings and Democratic and Republican lawmakers have widely divergent views on what changes should be made.

Under some scenarios, the tax cuts could add to the country’s long-term debt of more than $20 trillion, which would be anathema to many conservative Republican lawmakers. Democratic lawmakers are calling for tax changes to mostly benefit the country’s middle class and lowest-income taxpayers, not the wealthiest. 
…

Financial markets in Istanbul were pummeled this week as the tit-for-tat visa spat between the Unites States and Turkey escalated. Turkish stocks and currency values fell on Monday before rebounding in Tuesday’s trading. The Oct. 8 decision by the United States to place the NATO ally on the same list of pariah states as North Korea and Iran comes at a critical time for the Turkish economy. Mil Arcega has more.
…

Attorneys for the Trump administration said a federal judge has no authority to second-guess a presidential permit for the Keystone XL oil pipeline as they seek to stop a lawsuit that would block the project.

Justice Department attorneys are due in U.S. District Court in Montana on Wednesday to defend the administration’s March approval of the 1,179-mile pipeline — a lightning rod in the debate over what to do about climate change.

The TransCanada proposal would transport Canadian crude oil through Montana and South Dakota to Nebraska, where it would connect with an existing system of lines to carry oil to Gulf Coast refineries.

The Obama administration rejected the project before the proposal was revived in March by President Donald Trump, who said it would create jobs and lead to greater energy independence.

Conservation groups and Native American organizations that sued over the project argue that an environmental review completed in 2014 was inadequate. They’ve asked U.S. District Judge Brian Morris to revoke its permit.

Government attorneys said in their motion to throw out the case that Morris can’t interfere because the Constitution gives Trump authority over matters of foreign affairs and national security.

“The remedy that plaintiffs seek — an injunction against the presidential permit — is not available because such an order would impermissibly infringe on the president’s authority,” Justice Department attorney Bridget McNeil wrote.

The project’s economics have shifted considerably since the pipeline was proposed in 2008, with low oil prices and the high cost of extracting Canadian crude from Alberta’s oil sands now casting doubt on whether it would be profitable.

Opponents say those market changes undercut arguments from Keystone supporters that oil sands crude would get to consumers by another means if the pipeline was not built.

The opponents said the current market conditions should have been weighed by the State Department before it issued the permit.

“In a low oil market world, adding close to a million barrels a day of capacity out of the tar sands is a lifeline for that industry. You can’t say it’s going to find its way to market whether this pipeline is built,” said attorney Doug Hayes with the Sierra Club, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuits.

A State Department spokeswoman said the agency does not comment on lawsuits.

A TransCanada executive in August raised doubts about Keystone’s prospects and said the Calgary-based company would decide later this year about whether to start construction.

Company spokesman Matthew John said Tuesday that the project was in the national interests of the U.S. and Canada. He declined to address the lawsuits or the pipeline’s economic prospects.

TransCanada last week canceled plans for a pipeline that would have carried crude from Alberta to New Brunswick on the Atlantic coast. The company cited regulatory delays and “the associated cost implications” faced by its Energy East Pipeline proposal.

Heated opposition

In the U.S., Keystone has faced heated opposition from landowners whose property would be crossed by the line and farmers who live downstream from river crossings.

Opponents planned a rally ahead of Wednesday’s hearing in Great Falls to draw attention to their concerns.

Among the protesters will be Dena Hoff, who farms along the Yellowstone River near the small city of Glendive, Montana, 13 miles downstream of where Keystone XL would cross the waterway. Hoff worries about a repeat of a 2015 oil pipeline spill into the Yellowstone at the edge of her property that fouled Glendive’s drinking water supply.

“They’re talking about endangering one of the most historic, iconic and economically important rivers in this part of the country,” she said.

The Nebraska Public Service Commission must decide by Nov. 23 whether to give approval. South Dakota and Montana regulators have approved the project.
…

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan pledged gas, investment and support for the Balkans on Tuesday, in an apparent bid to expand influence in a region frustrated by the slow pace of EU accession.

His two-day trip to Serbia — a mainly Orthodox Christian country at fierce odds with Turkey during Yugoslavia’s bloody collapse — could help grow Turkey’s role in a region that spent centuries under Ottoman rule and remains susceptible to big-power rivalries.

Turkish influence is already strong among fellow Muslims in Bosnia, Albania and Kosovo. Serbia is Russia’s closest ally in the Balkans.

“Together with Serbia and with the entire Balkans, we want to make steps to resolve all the problems,” Erdogan told reporters in Belgrade, saying Ankara planned to build a road between Serbia and Bosnia.

Erdogan and his Serbian counterpart, Aleksandar Vucic, signed a political declaration to create a cooperation body that would meet annually to coordinate joint projects.

Erdogan confident in relationship with Russia

Erdogan expressed confidence that Russia would not object to a Turkish plan to transfer natural gas from its TurkStream project to Serbia.

“We do not want any division of the Balkans or that someone might see those countries as their sphere of influence. We oppose all those who want that,” Erdogan told a business forum.

The visit, and Erdogan’s thanks to Vucic for his support during a failed coup in 2016, will not go unnoticed in the European Union, where some diplomats are concerned about deepening authoritarianism among some Balkan leaders in the absence of tangible progress towards EU accession.

Serbia still looks to join EU

Serbia has to balance its ambition of joining the EU with an affinity felt by many Serbs for fellow Orthodox Russia. It also badly needs investment to grow an economy still in transition from communism and recovering from the demise of Yugoslavia.

“(Turkish) relations with the EU are not that great at the moment; the Balkans is the closest they (Turks) can get to Europe,” Mahmud Busatlija, a foreign investment consultant in Belgrade, told Reuters of Erdogan’s first to Serbia since 2010 when he was prime minister.

“This visit is meant to build up political ties between the two countries. Whether that political cooperation will result in investment depends to a great extent on Serbia and what it can offer to Turkish companies.”

Free trade deal signed

Some 70 Turkish companies do business in Serbia and trade exchanges are expected to reach $1 billion this year. Erdogan said they should target $5 billion and signed deals with Vucic to expand a free trade agreement to include sunflower oil and beef.

Erdogan was due to visit an Ottoman-era fortress in Belgrade later on Tuesday before traveling south on Wednesday to Novi Pazar, center of the Muslim-majority region of Sandzak that has witnessed large-scale emigration to Turkey since the wars of the 1990s.
…

The most powerful U.S. business lobby accused the Trump administration of making “poison pill proposals” to sabotage NAFTA on Tuesday, as Mexico’s foreign minister said the demise of the regional trade pact would hurt bilateral cooperation.

The process of renegotiating the 23-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement has turned increasingly acrimonious. Mexico accuses U.S. President Donald Trump of spoiling for a “protectionist war” with proposals aimed at balancing trade.

Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray said Tuesday that an end to NAFTA would mark a breaking point in U.S.-Mexican relations and affect bilateral cooperation in other areas.

Mexico is a key partner of the United States in fighting drug trafficking and stemming illegal immigration across the U.S. southern border.

Videgaray spoke after Trump warned again that he would like to scrap the treaty that created one of the world’s biggest trade blocs.

“I happen to think that NAFTA will have to be terminated if we’re going to make it good,” Trump said in an interview with Forbes published  Tuesday.

The Mexican peso weakened for the fifth straight session Tuesday amid the increased tensions, and hit its weakest level against the dollar since early June.

A fourth round of negotiations on modernizing NAFTA, starting in Washington on Wednesday, Has been prolonged by two days to October 17, two sources in Mexico said.

Businesses, Farmers Back NAFTA

Trump’s hard-line position did not appear to have wide support ahead of the talks, with many U.S. businesses and farmers lining up to back the existing agreement.

Speaking in Mexico City, Thomas Donohue, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s president and chief executive, listed several U.S. proposals that he said would undermine $1 trillion in annual trilateral trade, including a “sunset clause” to force regular negotiations.

His comments marked the second broadside the chamber has launched against the Trump administration’s stance on NAFTA in less than a week. It has argued repeatedly that the trade pact is critical to U.S. industries such as agriculture and manufacturing.

“There are several poison pill proposals still on the table that could doom the entire deal,” Donohue said at an event hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce of Mexico, where he said the “existential threat” to NAFTA threatened regional security.

U.S. officials have suggested incorporating a sunset clause in NAFTA that would kill it unless it was renegotiated every five years. The officials have also suggested eliminating a key dispute resolution mechanism, much to the dismay of Canada.

Donohue singled out plans to make automakers source more parts in North America and proposed changes to the dispute resolution mechanism as obstacles to NAFTA’s renewal. He also cited plans to limit Canadian and Mexican access to U.S. government procurement rules.

Harm to competitiveness

Automakers in Mexico say excessive content requirements could do serious damage to the industry’s competitiveness.

“The impact would be the opposite of what’s intended: U.S. industry would source more inputs from Asia and less from the U.S. That’s right — this proposal would actually send business overseas,” Donohue said.

He also slammed the emphasis placed by the White House on reducing the U.S. trade deficit.

“It’s the wrong focus and is impossible to achieve without crippling the economy,” he said.

The chamber sent a letter to the White House on Tuesday signed by more than 300 local U.S. business groups in support of NAFTA.

The United States, Mexico and Canada began renegotiating NAFTA this summer.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to withdraw if he does not win concessions to reduce a U.S. trade deficit of around $64 billion with Mexico.

“The president has strongly criticized this agreement for years. We realize that as bad as it has been for us, it has been great for Mexico and Canada. Naturally they will defend this lopsided accord,” U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said Tuesday.

“To rebalance will require substantial change and not mere tweaking. The president has vowed to bring jobs and investment back to America. We will do no less,” he added.
…

European Union Council President Donald Tusk said Tuesday that Brexit negotiations will not move to the next stage focused on trade relations before December at the earliest — not later this month, as Britain was hoping.

Tusk bemoaned the slow pace of divorce negotiations with London and said it was still far too early to move to the next phase of planning a new trade relationship because the initial breakup talks have yet to reach “sufficient progress.”

“We are negotiating in good faith, and we still hope that the so-called ‘sufficient progress’ will be possible by December,” Tusk said.

 

He added that “if it turns out that the talks continue at a slow pace, then together with our U.K. friends we will have to think about where we are heading.” He did not elaborate.

Divorce talks are in fifth round

Negotiators are holding a fifth round of talks this week on divorce proceedings, centered on the rights of citizens in each other’s nations once the breakup is complete, the border between Ireland and the U.K. and the financial commitments Britain will have to pay.

As a compromise on those issues remains elusive, both sides have said the onus is on the other to take the initiative. On Monday, British Prime Minister Theresa May insisted “the ball is in their court.”

When asked about it following his lunch with his British counterpart David Davis, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier chided journalists chasing him and said: “Brexit is not a game. Don’t forget it.”

More than a year has passed since Britain voted to leave the EU, and six months since Britain triggered the two-year countdown to its EU exit.  

May hints talks may not be completed

On Monday, May said the U.K. was planning for the possibility that the two-year negotiating period might end without a deal.

Critics have accused the government of failing to prepare for a “no deal” Brexit, which would mean an end to tariff-free trade with the EU and would be a shock to the British economy.

May focused on a ‘good deal’

May said Tuesday Britain wanted to strike a good deal with the EU, but “we have teams of people working on every possible outcome.”

“If there is no deal, we have to be prepared for it,” she told LBC radio.

Tusk insisted the EU is hoping to avoid that.

 

“We hear from London that the U.K. government is preparing for a ‘no deal’ scenario. I would like to say very clearly that the EU is not working on such a scenario,” the EU leader insisted.
…

The global economy is expected to expand to a 3.6 percent annual rate this year, up from last year’s rate of 3.2 percent.   

Tuesday’s assessment comes from the International Monetary Fund as economic officials from the World Bank and nations around the world gather to discuss growth, jobs, worries, ideas, and pleas for action this week in Washington.

The global lender’s experts say improving investment, industrial production, business and consumer confidence are helping economic expansion. The IMF says advanced nations, including the United States, will grow more slowly than developing countries.

The report puts U.S. economic expansion at 2.2 percent this year, up from 2016. IMF experts say future U.S. growth is uncertain because proposals to cut taxes and regulations and boost spending on infrastructure have not yet made their way through a divided legislature.

The outlook for China has been cut slightly, but remains strong at 6.8 percent this year.

The economy in sub-Saharan-Africa is expected to reach a 2.6 percent annual growth rate this year, and 3.4 percent next year. That is a little slower than earlier projections.

IMF officials say national leaders need to make reforms now “while times are good.” They urge efforts to boost potential output, reduce inequality, and make national economies more resilient. The global lender also calls on advanced economies to keep interest rates low, at least until inflation begins to rise, and work to strengthen international economic cooperation.

The economic experts warn that commercial credit problems in China, faster interest rate increases in advanced nations, or a drastic rollback of rules intended to prevent another financial crisis could derail economic growth.
…

Global unemployment this year stands at more than 201 million, an increase of 3.4 million compared to 2016, says the International Labor Organization.

The ILO says the private sector, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, plays a crucial role in creating decent jobs around the world.

The ILO study (World Employment and Social Outlook 2017: Sustainable Enterprises and Jobs) reports private businesses account for nearly 3 billion workers, or 87 percent of total global employment. It says a strong public sector is the foundation for growth, job creation and poverty reduction.  

Deborah Greenfield, the ILO deputy director general for policy, says investing in workers is a key to sustainability. She also says providing formal training for permanent employees results in higher wages, higher productivity and lower unit labor costs. Greenfield says temporary workers are at a disadvantage.

“But, intensified use of temporary employment is associated with lower wages and lower productivity without achieving any gains in unit labor costs,” Greenfield said. “The report also finds that on-the-job training is an important driver of innovation. Since temporary workers are rarely offered training, this might also affect innovation in firms in a negative way.”  

The ILO report says in some cases, innovation has led to the hiring of more temporary workers, mainly women. It notes, however, that while this might be beneficial in the short term, in the long term, it depresses wages and leads to lower productivity because of the instability of temporary work and lack of benefits.

The report, however, finds innovation increases competitiveness and job creation for enterprises. It says innovative firms tend to be more productive, employ more educated workers, offer more training and hire more female workers.
…

American Richard H. Thaler was awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize for Economics — officially the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.

The award committee said Thaler was chosen “for his contributions to behavioral economics.”

 

“By exploring the consequences of limited rationality, social preferences, and lack of self-control,” Thaler “has shown how these human traits systematically affect individual decisions as well as market outcomes,” the Swedish Academy said.

Thaler developed the theory of “mental accounting,” explaining how people simplify financial decision-making by creating separate accounts in their minds, focusing on the narrow impact of each individual decision rather than its overall effect.

Thaler was born 1945 in East Orange, New Jersey and received his Ph.D. in 1974 from the University of Rochester, New York. He is a Charles R. Walgreen Distinguished Service Professor of Behavioral Science and Economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Illinois.

 

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced the award Monday. It carries a $1.1 million prize.
…

Ants and beetles in the kitchen? Normally that’d close down a restaurant immediately, but for a unique eatery in Bangkok, bugs in the beef ragu and pests in the pesto are the business plan.

 

Tucking into insects is nothing new in Thailand, where street vendors pushing carts of fried crickets and buttery silkworms have long fed locals and adventurous tourists alike. But bugs are now fine-dining at Insects in the Backyard, a Bangkok bistro aiming to revolutionize views of nature’s least-loved creatures and what you can do with them.

 

“In Thailand, there is a long history of local populations, of people consuming insects and they continue to do, in large amounts. But it’s essentially as a snack, not a part of dishes, not a part of cuisine,” said Regan Suzuki Pairojmahakij, a Canadian partner at the eatery. “We are interested in moving people away from seeing insects from purely as a snack to be a part of a gourmet and a delicious cuisine.”

 

That’s the responsibility of executive chef Thitiwat Tantragarn, a veteran of some of Thailand’s top restaurants. Together with his team he’s designed a menu that features seven different insects, including ants, crickets, bamboo caterpillars, silkworms and giant water beetles.

“It’s a new thing,” Thitiwat said. “You live in the world, you need to learn the new thing.” He said he’s cooked with pork and chicken for a long time, but insects are “a new world of cooking [and a] new lesson.”

 

For Kelvarin Chotvichit, a lawyer from Bangkok, the menu has been a revelation of taste and texture.

 

“When I taste this, it’s opened my new attitudes about foods: that insects are one of the foods that’s edible,” he said. “And it’s tasty too. It’s not weird as you thought. And the feeling — it’s crispy; it’s like a snack. Yeah, I like it.”

 

United Nations food experts have pushed insects as a source of nutrition for years. Studies show they’re higher in protein, good fats and minerals than traditional livestock. Even when commercially farmed, their environmental impact is far lower, needing less feed and emitting less carbon.

 

Wholesaler Amornsiri Sompornsuksawat is one the suppliers to Insects in the Backyard. The prospect of a new market — the fine-dining sector — is enough to make her salivate.

 

“I hope that people will eat more of my bugs and I can sell more of them,” she said. “We can have new menus, replacing the old familiar ones. It’s great.”

 

Insects in the Backyard has only been open a matter of weeks, so it’s too early to tell whether its mission to metamorphose insect cuisine is on track.

Amornrat Simapaisan, a local shop manager, tucked in quite happily to her watermelon and cricket salad on a recent evening.

 

“It’s tasty. It’s munchy,” she said.

 

But her dining partner exemplified the biggest problem the restaurant faces: that lingering feeling of disgust.

 

“I still have a barrier, something on my mind to stop me from eating it,” said Patr Srisook, a freelance photographer. “But, yes, it kind of tastes like normal, nothing, like normal food.”

 

And that is the message from the restaurant itself: Judge us on our food.

 

“There is obviously the shock value with insects and that might bring some people into through the door,” Pairojmahakij said. “But, essentially, for the longevity or sustainability of the restaurant, and, for the sector of the edible insects as a whole, it has to stand on its on legs, so to speak. It has to be attractive. It has to be delicious. And it actually has to add something to the cuisine as we know it.”
…

The New Zealand currency sunk to a fresh four-month low on Monday as a small nationalist party carried out negotiations to determine the country’s next government.

The currency fell to $0.7160, its lowest since early June, from $0.7090 on Friday evening.

New Zealand’s inconclusive election on Sept. 23 has generated intense political uncertainty that has weighed on the Kiwi.

A final vote count on Saturday showed the governing National Party lost some ground to the center-left Labour-Green bloc from a preliminary tally, even though it still held the largest number of seats in parliament.

The populist New Zealand First Party holds the balance of power and started negotiations with both Labour and National on Sunday.

The negotiation talks continued on Monday as the clock counts down to New Zealand First’s self-imposed deadline of Oct. 12 to announce which party it would put in government.
…

Born and raised in this Texas Gulf Coast beach town, James Wheeler Jr. finds himself sawing plywood and hanging sheet rock at a time when he would normally be leading deep-sea fishing excursions, trying to hook tuna or Spanish mackerel by the cooler-full.

 

Since Hurricane Harvey came through Port Aransas just before Labor Day — damaging or destroying 80 percent of homes and business and wiping out the lucrative summer season’s final weeks — the 38-year-old boat captain has become an amateur builder, working to repair the roof of a sea headquarters building where he and others dock their pleasure crafts.

“Port Aransas is built on the tourist dollar,” said Wheeler, ticking off attractions besides fishing: surfing, nature reserves, seafood restaurants and beaches where it’s always cocktail hour. “That dollar’s not coming right now.”

 

In many Texas seaside enclaves, the owners of bars and eateries, inns and T-shirt shops are facing a painful paradox: Tourists who are their economic lifeblood likely won’t return until the rebuild is in full swing, but picking up the pieces after Harvey may not truly begin without the profits tourists bring.

 

“That’s the risk,” said David Teel, president of the Texas Travel Industry Association. “The recovery will come. But it will never be fast enough for these folks.”

 

Insurance money and support from federal grants will help residents rebuild homes and businesses, and in some cases even cover businesses’ lost income and employees’ lost wages. But that will pale in comparison to what tourists would normally be spending, likely helping ensure that recovery moves more slowly.

 

Locals expect the normally busy Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s holidays to be slow. Even the possibility of getting back to business by spring break looks bleak.

Visitors to Texas’ Gulf Coast spent $18.7 billion last year, according to state estimates, and the region’s tourism industry employed 170,000-plus people. Visitors spent $221 million in 2016 just in Port Aransas, a onetime fishing village that’s now home to around 4,000 full-time residents.

 

In other years, October is when “Winter Texans” — part-time residents from colder locales — take up temporary residence, while shorter-term tourists come for the weekends. The influx of people is normally enough to keep the economy robust through the holidays and until spring.

 

Wheeler says he’d usually be organizing large fishing trips nearly every day, but now takes just one smaller excursion a week.

 

“It’s not that no one wants to come,” Wheeler said. “There’s just nowhere for them to stay yet.”

 

Drivers entering Port Aransas encounter bulldozers tearing into a roadside mountain of debris more than three-stories high.

Power company and internet provider vans are everywhere, as crews repair infrastructure.  Golf carts — a favored mode of local transportation — have to avoid shattered glass and mangled light poles. They’re more likely, these days, to be filled with Salvation Army personnel or construction crews than tourists hitting the beach.

 

“We are Port A Proud and on the Rebound,” proclaims the website of the chamber of commerce, whose office was damaged. It lists six local hotels planning to be open by Christmas.

 

Sweeping dust out of the gutted Destination Beach and Surf store, Olya Soya said some regular visitors have come as volunteers helping to rebuild, while others simply gawk at Harvey’s wrath.

“They want to see what it looks like now. It’s very different,” said Soya, 24, who instead of working in the air-conditioned store sweats through her days on a makeshift debris removal crew. Beside her is a towering plaster shark that survived the storm despite extensive damage to the store it guarded.

Harvey’s eye passed directly over nearby Rockport, where operators hope to have 500 hotel rooms available by November — down from 1,500 pre-Harvey.

 

“Yes, we’re open for business. But please be patient,” said Diane Probst, president of the local chamber of commerce, adding that visitors should expect frustratingly slow debris removal.

 

Back in Port Aransas, dozens of restaurants and businesses have reopened, at least part time. One shop, Gratitude, suffered only light damage, despite being crammed with fragile keepsakes and knickknacks such as wind chimes and oversized wine glasses proclaiming “Summer is for mimosas and mermaids.”

 

“You almost feel guilty opening because there are a lot of stores and places that can’t,” said owner Sally Marco, 60. “But it’s nice to have people smile when they come in.”

One bright spot is that area beaches didn’t suffer major ill-effects. On a recent, balmy Saturday, seagulls and pelicans outnumbered the few surfers, children splashing in the waves and couples strolling on the sand with dogs.

 

“As these communities begin to open back up — and little pieces will open — the good part about it is, they’ve got a beach,” said Teel, of the state tourist association. “And it’s a great beach.”
…