Business

DAMASCUS — Syria's central bank said Monday depositors' funds in the country's lenders were "safe" after rebels took the capital, and following chaotic scenes near some official institutions.

"We assure our fellow citizens dealing with all operating banks that their deposits and funds at these banks are safe and have not been and will not be exposed to any harm," said a statement on the central bank's official Facebook page.

AFP footage taken on Sunday showed fighters rushing to stop looters at the central bank after the capital fell, firing into the air to disperse people and sending them away from the building.

On Sunday, the rebels issued a statement saying "we emphasise the need to safeguard public and private property in the capital Damascus and the need to protect it".

Violators risk "heavy penalties that could include imprisonment or a fine", the statement added.

ZURICH — In a year set to be declared the hottest on record, natural disasters caused $310 billion in economic losses globally in 2024, as climate change increasingly takes its toll, Swiss Re said last week.

The estimated economic losses from natural disasters were six-per cent higher than in 2023, which currently stands as the hottest year ever, the Zurich-based reinsurance giant said in a statement.

Of the total, insured losses swelled by 17 per cent year-on-year to $135 billion, with the devastating hurricanes Helene and Milton in the United States and intense flooding in Europe pushing up the costs, it said.

It marks the fifth consecutive year that insured losses have topped $100 billion, the Swiss company said.

"Much of this increasing loss burden results from value concentration in urban areas, economic growth, and increasing rebuilding costs," Balz Grollimund, Swiss Re's head of catastrophe and perils, said in the statement.

Swiss Re, which serves as an insurer of insurance companies, stressed the impact of climate change, with this year on course to be declared the hottest since records began.

Just this week, China, the world's leading emitter of the greenhouse gases scientists say are driving climate change, reported its warmest autumn ever recorded.

Intense flooding

Global warming can make extreme weather more frequent and intense, not only through high temperatures but also the knock-on effect of extra heat in the atmosphere and the seas.

"By favouring the conditions leading to many of this year's catastrophes, climate change is also playing an increasing role," Grollimund said.

The European Union's climate monitor Copernicus said last month that 2024 would likely be more than 1.55 degrees Celsius (2.8 degrees Fahrenheit) above the 1850-1900 average — the period before the industrial-scale burning of fossil fuels.

This does not amount to a breach of the Paris climate accords, which strive to limit global warming to below 2C and preferably 1.5C, because that is measured over decades and not individual years.

But scientists say the safer 1.5C limit is rapidly slipping out of reach, while stressing that every tenth of a degree in temperature rises heralds progressively more damaging impacts.

Swiss Re highlighted in particular the swelling insurance cost of floods in 2024, which was the third-costliest year for that peril worldwide and the second-costliest year for floods in Europe.

Intense flooding in Europe alone caused around $10 billion in insured losses this year, it said, pointing to the major floods in the wake of Storm Boris in Central Europe in September and the devastating floods in Spain in October that killed at least 230 people.

It also highlighted the massive flooding in the Gulf region in April, which disrupted operations at Dubai airport, the world's busiest international hub.

Hurricane havoc 

The United States saw the highest insured losses this year.

Hurricanes Helene and Milton struck the southeastern United States in quick succession in late September and early October.

They alone resulted in estimated insured losses approaching $50 billion, Swiss Re said.

Coupled with a high frequency of severe thunderstorms, it meant the United States accounted for at least two-thirds of 2024's total global insured losses, its estimates showed.

Swiss Re warned global insured losses were sure to keep climbing.

"Losses are likely to increase as climate change intensifies extreme weather events while asset values increase in high-risk areas due to urban sprawl," it said.

"Adaptation is therefore key, and protective measures, such as dykes, dams and flood gates, are up to 10 times more cost-effective than rebuilding."

BRUSSELS, Belgium — Germany and Spain hailed the conclusion Friday of a controversial free-trade deal between the European Union and South America's Mercosur bloc while France said the deal was still unacceptable and farmers' unions expressed dismay.

The agreement was announced by the head of the EU's executive arm, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, at a summit in Montevideo.

Although negotiations have concluded, the EU-Mercosur deal still needs to be approved by at least 15 of the European Union's 27 member nations representing a minimum of 65 per cent of the EU population.

It would create a sprawling free-trade zone of more than 700 million people between the EU states and Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.

"Today, the European Union has achieved a historic agreement with Mercosur to establish an unprecedented economic bridge between Europe and Latin America," Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez wrote on X.

"Spain will work to ensure that this agreement is approved at the (European) Council, because trade openness with our Latin American friends will make us all more prosperous and resilient," the Socialist premier added, referring to the body representing EU states.

Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that "an important hurdle for the agreement has been overcome."

"After more than 20 years of negotiations, the Mercosur countries and the EU have reached a political agreement," he added on X.

Portugal's Prime Minister Luis Montenegro also welcomed the conclusion of the negotiations, saying on X the deal will "create opportunities for our citizens and our companies."

But an official in President Emmanuel Macron's office said the deal remains "unacceptable" to France in its current form.

"This is not the end of the matter, the agreement with Mercosur has not entered into force," the official told reporters.

"The deal has neither been signed, nor ratified."

France has led opposition to the deal along with Italy and Poland.

'Profound consequences'

Meanwhile the European agricultural community complained that its "fears have materialised".

The COPA-COGENA farmers group said in a statement that the agreement "will have profound consequences" for family farming across the European Union if it is ratified by EU states.

"The (European) Commission has sent a very worrying message to millions of farmers across Europe," COPA president Massimiliano Giansanti said in a statement.

The head of the German farmers union, Joachim Rukwied, said the agreement will "massively weaken our farms against the competition."

European farmers are crying foul over supposedly less stringent regulations on the sector in South America, pointing especially to the industry's role in destroying huge swathes of the Amazon rainforest, a crucial buffer against climate change.

One of the leaders of Polish farmers blockading the Ukrainian border to protest the import of Ukrainian grain said his country's farmers are against the deal with Mercosur.

"We're going to oppose it here, shout as loud as possible to block it and say that it's no good," he told AFP.

But the deal has the support of industry groups.

"The agreement provides an urgently needed growth stimulus for the German and European economy and is very good news for our companies," said Siegfried Russwurm, head of the Federation of German Industries.

The EU expects that European companies stand to save around four billion euros ($4.2 billion) a year in customs duties.

German and Spanish officials argued that the agreement with Mercosur will help boost economic security by diversifying trade.

"The Mercosur agreement is of great trade and geopolitical importance for Germany and the EU," said German Economy Minister Robert Habeck.

Spanish Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo said "it will support the diversification of trade flows, the resilience of our supply chains, economic growth and ultimately job creation."

He called it "a very positive and balanced agreement, with unquestionable economic benefits for both regions".

Spain is Europe's leading exporter of fruit and vegetables, and the world's top producer of olives. It is one of the EU's agriculture powerhouses along with France, Germany, Italy and Poland.

HONG KONG — Bitcoin burst past $100,000 for the first time Thursday, while Seoul stocks slipped as South Korea's president faced impeachment after his brief imposition of martial law this week.

After hovering around the mid-$90,000 mark in recent weeks, the popular cryptocurrency finally shattered the historic level in Asia after incoming US president Donald Trump picked crypto proponent Paul Atkins to take over as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Atkins is founder of risk consultancy firm Patomak Global Partners, whose clients include companies in the banking, trading and cryptocurrency industries.

And Trump's transition team noted he had co-chaired the Digital Chamber of Commerce, which promotes the use of digital assets, since 2017.

Atkins "recognises that digital assets and other innovations are crucial to Making America Greater than Ever Before", Trump said.

Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management said Atkins has "a track record of critiquing the SEC's tough stance on cryptocurrency firms".

"This strategic move has electrified the crypto community, fuelling investor optimism about a potentially more accommodating regulatory landscape under Atkins' watch," said Innes.

After breaking the key level, bitcoin continued to push higher and hit a peak of $103,800 on Thursday.

It has jumped more than 50 per cent since Trump's victory — and around 140 per cent since the turn of the year — on hopes the US president-elect will push through measures to deregulate cryptocurrencies.

On the election campaign trail, he pledged to make the United States the "bitcoin and cryptocurrency capital of the world".

Swift response

The rally in bitcoin came as traders keep track of events in South Korea, after President Yoon Suk Yeol's dramatic declaration of martial law which was lifted within hours.

The nation's opposition has now pushed for his impeachment, while the defence minister has resigned over the crisis.

The upheaval comes as Asia's number-four economy struggles to gain traction, while worries build on the possible impact of Trump's presidency as he prepares to reignite his hardball trade policy when he takes power next month.

But analysts saw some optimism.

"The silver lining we think is that the swift reversal of the martial law underscores the resilience of South Korea's institutions," said analysts at BMI, a unit of Fitch Solutions.

"For now, we expect limited implications for the economy and financial markets as the Bank of Korea and the ministry of finance have responded swiftly by reassuring investors," they said.

Trinh Nguyen, senior economist for emerging Asia at Natixis CIB, said the turmoil represented "a growth shock rather than a sovereign risk".

Seoul's Kospi fell 0.9 per cent, having finished more than one per cent down on Wednesday.

And the won — which initially hit a two-year low when the crisis erupted — remained at around 1,415 per dollar, slightly up from its levels before the martial law declaration late Tuesday.

Investors are also keeping tabs on France after the three-month-old government of Prime Minister Michel Barnier was brought down in a no-confidence vote linked to a controversial budget proposal.

The news out of the eurozone's second-largest economy had been expected and the euro saw no major impact, but the move injected fresh uncertainty into an already fraught political situation in France after divisive elections earlier this year.

In early European exchanges, the euro was trading at $1.0544, a little stonger than recent days. Paris stocks opened marginally higher.

Most other markets in Asia rose, tracking a record for all three main indexes on Wall Street, where soft data on jobs and services boosted hopes for a Federal Reserve interest rate cut this month.

Tokyo, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Wellington, Mumbai and Taipei advanced but Hong Kong, Jakarta and Manila slipped.

London was flat at the open. Frankfurt was down.

LONDON — Donald Trump's presidential election victory is fuelling fears that Britain must choose between its "special relationship" with the United States and forging closer ties with the European Union regarding trade.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer insists this is not the case and that Britain can have strong ties with the United States and the EU, its main trading partner despite fallout from Brexit.

"The idea that we must choose between our allies, that somehow we're with either America or Europe is plain wrong. I reject it utterly," Starmer said in a speech on Monday that spelled out also the importance of maintaining close relationships with the pair on security.

"The national interest demands that we work with both," he added.

Since Starmer's Labour party won a general election five months ago, the prime minister has set out to repair tensions with the EU after Britain's exit from the bloc and more recently has sought to get close to Trump's team.

'Socialism v free enterprise'

The UK "has to choose between the Europe economic model of more socialism and the US model which is more based on a free enterprise system", Trump advisor Stephen Moore told the BBC last month after the US election.

Moore went on to say that "Britain would be better off moving towards more of the American model of economic freedom and if that were the case, I think it would spur the Trump administration's willingness to do the free trade agreement with the UK".

Britain has needed to negotiate new trade deals following its 2016 referendum vote in favour of departing the European Union.

While it has secured a number of agreements, including with Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, a much sought-after trade deal with the United States remains elusive, while hopes of one with Canada faltered earlier this year.

A major stumbling block for a US deal is reluctance by the UK to open its borders to certain American agricultural products.

Britain and the EU have yet to be included in Trump's pledge to impose hefty tariffs on major trading partners as soon as his first day in office next month.

That has so far been reserved for China, Mexico and Canada, igniting worries about a vast trade war.

Regulatory choice

"The UK is going to be put in a position where they're going to have to make some pretty difficult decisions," noted Marco Forgione, director general of the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade.

The UK must consider whether it chooses "deregulation, which undoubtedly will be the approach of the Trump administration" or "align with the EU which is taking a different route,... more around regulation and compliance, particularly around environmental issues", Forgione told AFP.

"Can the UK play both sides? Yes, but it's incredibly difficult and will take a huge amount of time," he concluded.

Britain's finance minister Rachel Reeves last month announced reforms to the country's financial sector in a bid to grow the nation's economy, including a plan to allow greater risk-taking.

Rather than a broad free-trade agreement with the US, companies see the prospect of sectorial deals between London and Washington.

According to a survey published on Sunday, nearly half of Britons want Starmer to prioritise closer economic ties with the EU over a trade deal with Trump's administration.

BMG Research said 49 per cent of people polled preferred the EU route compared with 28 per cent in favour of a US agreement. The remainder either did not wish to express an opinion or had no preference.

"America will always be important to the UK," Fiorentino Izzo, business development manager at logistics company Cargo Partner, told AFP.

"But our biggest trading partner is the EU. If I have to choose I put Europe before the US."

BEIJING  — Beijing said on Tuesday it would restrict exports to the United States of some key components in making semiconductors, after Washington announced curbs targeting China's ability to make advanced chips.

Among the materials banned from export are metals gallium, antimony and germanium, Beijing's commerce ministry said in a statement that cited "national security" concerns.

Exports of graphite, another key component, will also be subject to "stricter reviews of end-users and end-uses", the ministry said.

"To safeguard national security interests and fulfil international obligations such as non-proliferation, China has decided to strengthen export controls on relevant dual-use items to the United States," Beijing said.

"Any organisation or individual in any country or region violating the relevant regulations will be held accountable according to the law," it added.

In its own latest curbs, Washington on Monday announced restrictions on sales, without additional permission, to 140 companies including Chinese chip firms Piotech and SiCarrier.

They also impact Naura Technology Group, which makes chip production equipment, according to the US Commerce Department.

The move expands Washington's efforts to curb exports of state-of-the-art chips to China, which can be used in advanced weapons systems and artificial intelligence.

The new US rules also include controls on two dozen types of chip-making equipment and three kinds of software tools for developing or producing semiconductors.

Beijing swiftly vowed to defend its interests, saying the United States "abuses export control measures" and has "hindered normal economic and trade exchanges".

'Weaponised' trade

And on Tuesday, China said Washington had "politicised and weaponised economic, trade and technological issues" as it unveiled its own export curbs.

The moves also restrict the exports of "dual-use items to United States military users or for military purposes", Beijing said.

China accounts for 94 per cent of the world's production of gallium, used in integrated circuits, LEDs and photovoltaic panels, according to a report by the European Union published this year.

For germanium, essential for fibre optics and infrared, China makes up 83 per cent of production.

Beijing last year had already tightened restrictions on exporters of the metals, requiring them to provide information on the final recipient and give details about their end use.

But the curbs unveiled on Tuesday now ban them outright.

It had also previously restricted curbs on exports of certain types of graphite, also key to making batteries for electric vehicles.

"The move is clearly a retaliatory strike at the US," Dylan Loh, an assistant professor at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University, told AFP.

"It drives home an important point which is that China is not completely passive [and] there are some cards it can play and hit the US with as well with regards to chips," Loh added.

These "back and forth curbs" could create supply chain disruption, as well as inflationary pressures, should they affect trade for third parties, said Chong Ja Ian, an associate professor of political science from the National University of Singapore.

But while the metals play critical roles in high-tech industries, they are upstream in the supply chain, which means their immediate impact on production "is limited", Brady Wang, associate director at technology market research firm Counterpoint, told AFP.

"As the US-China trade tensions have persisted for some time, many intermediary manufacturers in the supply chain have been stockpiling these materials," Wang added.