U.S. Consumer Confidence Hits Pre-Pandemic High

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June 29, 2021

U.S. consumer confidence rose in June to its highest level since the COVID-19 pandemic started more than a year ago, boosting forecasts for strong economic growth in the second quarter.
The mood of the American consumer is now the brightest it’s been since the health crisis struck more than a year ago.

Consumer confidence as measured by the Conference Board jumped in June to highs not seen since February 2020.
The data released Tuesday bolsters expectations that the economy grew swiftly during the second quarter as parts of the economy reopened and vaccinated Americans were happy to go out and spend.
Consumer spending is responsible for roughly two-thirds of all economic activity.
Capri Holdings, parent company of the Michael Kors brand, gave another positive snapshot into the mind of the consumer on Tuesday.
The upscale brand company with names like Kors, Versace and Jimmy Choo under its umbrella boosted its annual forecasts.

It is betting that consumers will want to upgrade to its luxury products after spending more than a year mostly in jeans and workout gear.
Consumers are already splurging on high-end handbags and shoes, the company said.
Like many retailers, Michael Kors and its sister brands, have beefed up their online presence to meet a surge in online shopping.

English And French Bishops In Joint Appeal Over Treatment Of Migrants

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Angel Gimalo

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June 29, 2021

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Bishops on both sides of the English Channel have appealed to their countries for more “constructive” policies on migrants and refugees than “closing frontiers”.

In a joint statement to coincide with World Refugee Week, the Anglican and Catholic bishops called for “better treatment” of undocumented migrants trying to reach Britain from France.

They were critical of current policies, which they said were being driven by “prejudice and fear”.

“These are fellow humans who deserve to be helped to find places where they can live in dignity and contribute to civil society,” they said.

“With sadness, we observe the lack of hope that drives people in distress to become exploited by traffickers and add to the profits of their illegal trade.”

The bishops went on to say that they were committed to creating a “climate of welcome”.

“We are heartened by those who generously offer financial and material support, time and skills, shelter and accommodation, whatever their religious conviction,” they said.

“They ignore the myths that lead to prejudice and fear that apparently prevent politicians from creating new and constructive policies that go beyond closing frontiers and employing more security staff.

“Their stories should be heard before decisions about their futures are announced.”

Figures show that 5,000 people have attempted the dangerous crossing in the first half of 2021.

Kent County Council has threatened legal action against the government over the crisis and refused to take any more unaccompanied asylum-seeking children into its care.

The council, which already has care of 400 unaccompanied migrant children, said its services were under “extreme pressure” and had reached “the limit of safe capacity”.

Oil Drops As Another round of Restrictions Threaten Fuel Demand Outlook

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Elizabeth Williams

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June 29, 2021

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Oil prices dropped for a second day on Tuesday on worries about slower fuel demand growth as speculations and news of outbreaks of the highlycontagious variant Delta sparked new mobility restrictions around the world.

Brent crude futures fell 35 cents, or 0.5%, to $74.33 a barrel by 0706 GMT, after slumping 2% on Monday.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell 34 cents, or 0.5%, to $72.57 a barrel, extending a 1.5% loss on Monday.

The flare-up in cases of the Delta variant comes as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Russia and allies, together known as OPEC+, are set to meet on July 1 to discuss easing their supply curbs.

OPEC’s demand forecasts show that in the fourth quarter global oil supply will fall short of demand by 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd), giving the producers some room to agree to add output.

“We expect the cartel to release 250 (thousand barrels per day) of supply curbs from August onwards. Failure to turn on the taps further may see Brent top $80 (a barrel) by next month,” said Howie Lee, economist at OCBC Treasury Research in Singapore.

Spain and Portugal, favourite summer holiday destinations for Europeans, imposed new restrictions on unvaccinated Britons on Monday, while 80% of Australians faced tighter curbs due to flare-ups of the virus across the country.

Talks on a travel corridor between the United States and Britain also slowed, partly on concerns about a rise in cases of the Delta variant in Britain, the Financial Times reported, citing officials.

Analysts expect OPEC+ to step up supply by about 500,000 bpd in August, as the market has tightened on strong growth in fuel demand in the United States and China, the world’s two biggest oil consumers.

U.S. S’Court Revives Excessive-Force Suit Against St. Louis Police

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Zoe Maven

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June 29, 2021

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The U.S. Supreme Court has revived a lawsuit filed by the parents of a homeless man who died in police custody in Missouri that accused officers of using excessive force in the moments before their son died handcuffed and shackled in a cell.

The justices, in an unsigned decision, threw out a lower court ruling in favor of police that had concluded excessive force was not used, meaning the lawsuit was over.

Nicholas Gilbert, aged 27, died in 2015 in a St. Louis police holding cell after six officers restrained him for 15 minutes, handcuffing him, shackling his legs and placing him face down on the ground.

The Supreme Court’s decision said the St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had not clearly analyzed whether the police use of a “prone restraint” was constitutional and asked the lower court to revisit the issue.

The civil rights lawsuit filed by Bryan Gilbert and Jody Lombardo accused the officers of violating the U.S. Constitution’s 4th Amendment protections against unlawful searches and seizures.

The Supreme Court stated commonly used police guidance informs officers of the suffocation risks and “indicates that the struggles of a prone suspect may be due to oxygen deficiency” rather than resistance,.

Conservative Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch dissented from the decision.

The officers had asserted a legal doctrine called qualified immunity that protects police and other types of government officials from civil litigation in certain circumstances.

Bible Withdrawn From Auction Over Looting Claims

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Angel Gimalo

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June 29, 2021

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A Bible has been withdrawn from auction after the Ethiopian Embassy said it had been looted by British forces in the 19th century.

The vellum-bound Bible had been among the items for auction at Busby Auctioneers and Valuers in Dorset last Thursday.

But the auction house agreed to remove the Bible after the embassy said it was among the artefacts taken by the British after the 1868 Battle of Magdala.

The embassy told Busby that the sale of the items was “unethical” and represented a continued “cycle of dispossession perpetrated by those who would seek to benefit from the spoils of war.”

It described the looting of Magdala as “a great injustice of the 19th century” and “a scar on the, otherwise, warm and friendly relations between the peoples of Ethiopia and the United Kingdom.”

Repatriating items looted from Magdala would “bring closure” to a “painful chapter” in Britain and Ethiopia’s shared history, the embassy said.

It is “a well-established fact that British soldiers engaged in indiscriminate looting of both the Fortress of Magdala and the surrounding areas”, said Deputy Head of Mission Beyene Gebremeskel said in a statement.

The Bible came in a sewn leather satchel and featured an Ethiopian cross. Before the embassy’s intervention, it was to go up for auction with a set of graduated horn beakers also from Magdala.

Both items came from the estate of Major-General William Arbuthnot, a Scot who served in the late 19th century British expedition to what was then Abyssinia, which culminated in the Battle of Magdala.

The Ethiopian Embassy said it was preparing for the eventual repatriation of the items to Ethiopia.

“These items are of immense cultural, spiritual, and historical value to Ethiopians,” said Gebremeskel.

“Current and future generations of Ethiopians are deserving of the restitution of their cultural heritage, so we very much look forward to returning these precious items to Ethiopia in due course.”

A spokesperson for Busby said: “The matter has been resolved with the vendor and the Ethiopian embassy in London.”

Iranian Christians Sentenced To 5 Years In Prison Over ‘Propaganda’

By

Angel Gimalo

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June 29, 2021

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Three Iranian Christians have been sentenced to five years in prison for “engaging in propaganda against the Islamic regime.”

Amin Khaki, Milad Goudarzi and Alireza Nourmohammadi were sentenced by the Revolutionary Court in Karaj, northern Iran.

All three are planning to appeal the verdict, Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) reports.

The men were charged under a new amendment to the Iranian penal code that criminalizes “sectarian activities”.

It adds that “any deviant education or propaganda that contradicts or interferes with the sacred Islamic shari’a, will be severely punished.”

Until the introduction of the amendment earlier this year, Christians were targeted with national security laws.

CSW reports that the three men suffered the additional injustice of being made to stand trial without the presence of a lawyer.

The court said this was because their lawyer had failed to register in time, but CSW says he met the necessary requirements for participation 10 days before the start of the trial.

CSW’s Founder President Mervyn Thomas said the men should be acquitted.

“The campaign of harassment against Iranian Christians is unrelenting, as these baseless charges against these three men, under a new clause in the penal code, demonstrate,” he said.

“CSW calls for the acquittal of these innocent men. We also reiterate our call for the repeal of laws and articles formulated or utilised to target minority communities.

“Finally, we urge the Iranian authorities to release all prisoners detained on account of their religion or belief, and to end the relentless campaign of harassment of Christians and other religious minorities through the judicial system.”

S&P Futures Stall at All-Time High

By

Elizabeth Williams

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June 29, 2021

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Futures tracking the S&P 500 paused at an all-time high on Monday as investors stayed away from making big bets ahead of data on the health of a U.S. labor market recovery and corporate earnings later in the week.

The S&P 500 on Friday logged its best weekly performance in 20 following an agreement on President Joe Biden’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure spending deal and waning concerns about a sooner -than-expected policy tightening from the Federal Reserve.
Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hit record levels last week. But the tech-heavy Nasdaq’s 4.4% gain is outpacing its peers in June as investors pile back into tech-oriented growth stocks on waning worries about runaway inflation.
With the S&P 500 up almost 14% as the first half of 2021 draws to a close, activity in some areas of the market indicates concern over potential volatility, with some investors suggesting the market may be overdue for a significant pullback.
At 6:41 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 60 points, or 0.17% and S&P 500 e-minis were down 2 points, or 0.05%.
Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 23.5 points, or 0.16% as megacap companies including Microsoft Corp, Amazon.com Inc and Facebook Inc edged higher in premarket trading.

EU Court Says Poland Denied Court Officials Right To Appeal

By

Zoe Maven

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June 29, 2021

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The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled that Polish justice minister infringed on the rights of two court officials when he dismissed them without letting them appeal.

The Justice Ministry said the ruling was politically motivated and did not involve human rights.

Poland’s ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party has introduced a series of judiciary reforms that critics, including the European Union’s executive, say may harm the independence of the courts.

Those included legislation giving the justice minister the power to hire and fire the heads of courts of general jurisdiction. These judges coordinate the court’s works and execute administrative duties.

Under the new rules, judges Mariusz Broda and Alina Bojara were removed from their posts as vice-presidents of the Kielce Regional Court before their six-year term of office ended without being given an explanation or the possibility to appeal.

It ruled that Poland should pay each applicant 20,000 euros in damages. Both sides have three months to appeal.

The justice ministry said in a statement that the applicants were not deprived of their judicial functions.

Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro fired more than 150 court presidents and vice-presidents over a six-month period in 2017 and 2018, according to Polish Judges Association Iustitia.

In May, the ECHR ruled that a Polish company had been denied its right to a proper hearing due to the illegal appointment of a Constitutional Court judge, opening the way for challenges to Poland’s top court.

Edo Modular Refinery Finalises Crude Sale Contract

By

Elizabeth Williams

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June 29, 2021

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The Executive Governor of Edo State , Godwin Obaseki, says the Edo Modular Refinery, being developed by Edo Refinery and Petrochemical Company Limited (ERPC) with support from the Edo State Government, is ready for operations.
Obaseki stated this shortly after the Managing Director in charge of the refinery, Tim Tian, conducted him round the facilities.

According to Obaseki, “We travelled to China last three years to sign this Memorandum of Understanding (MoU); I am very impressed that work has moved at such an astounding speed, in spite of the delay caused by the COVID-19 outbreak.
“The plant is ready to receive crude oil; it is ready to process and deliver products. They have done the pre-commissioning with the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR). They have certified the refinery as ready for production.
“What we have left now is to finalise the crude oil sale contract; these facilities have to get a certain type of crude from the Escravos line and that is being finalised. I hope that before the end of August, we should start lifting products from these facilities,” he said.

Also, the traditional ruler of Ologbo community, Owen Akenzua, said that he is glad that a project of such magnitude is sited in his community.
“My people are excited that such a project will go a long way in improving the socio-economic development of our community. The governor has this project dear to his heart; not only this project, the power plant is also situated in Ologbo.
“The OSSIOMO power plant is capable of generating power for the immediate environment and the state at large; we are glad that this project is sited here,” he said.
In his response, the Managing Director of the Edo Modular Refinery, Tim Tian, commended the governor for his contribution in the actualization of the project.
Tian, who attributed the outbreak of the pandemic as a major challenge, which affected the project, said the refinery is ready to produce crude oil products.

Methodist Church Appoints First Black Woman As President

By

Angel Gimalo

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June 29, 2021

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The Methodist Church has reached a historic milestone with the appointment of its first black female President.

The Rev Sonia Hicks was inducted at the Methodist Conference, which is meeting online and in Birmingham.

She comes from a long line of Methodists, with her great-grandfather having been a Methodist preacher in Jamaica.

In her Conference address, Rev Hicks spoke about the racism her family experienced when they first came to Britain.

She told of her Great Aunt Lize who was turned away from a local Methodist church for being black, despite having her Methodist membership card with her.

Later, the family were able to find a home at Walworth Methodist Church in South London.

“In a world where people are excluded because of their ethnic background, their sexual orientation, their gender or simply because, like me, they were brought up on a council estate, I believe that we are called to show God’s love for all people,” she said.

“It is a calling that Christian people have always struggled with, but we can and should be better at making God’s love a reality in the British Methodist Church, overcoming the systemic discrimination that exists.”

She continued: “As Christians we are to mirror the grace and the mercy of God. We are to find ways of issuing God’s invitation of acceptance to those we meet on a daily basis. No ifs, no buts.

“I believe that there is a place for all in the presence of God, at God’s Table. But, as we acknowledge that everyone has a place, we also must acknowledge that we will therefore live with the tension of not all thinking the same. We will also have to recognise that living with such tension is never the easy option.”

The Methodist Conference is continuing to meet this week. One of the more contentious points on the agenda is a debate on a report called ‘God in Love Unites Us’, which proposes that the Church embrace same-sex unions and the cohabitation of unmarried couples, and which may cause evangelicals to leave.

Barbara Easton, head of the Methodist Academies and Schools Trust, who was inducted as Vice President, told delegates: “I am urging you, my sisters and brothers, to see that we still have something valuable to bring to the Church’s table and to be confident about the colour and texture that we add to make the ecumenical quilt richer.”