When the Chinese Super League debuted in 2004, few were so optimistic to bet on its future. The highest-paid Chinese football players barely earned $500.000, let alone Chinese people showed very little interest for their home teams, more attracted by the “Gods of Football” in the European leagues. The business was in such a struggle that many players gambled money against their own teams and some referees where caught up fixing matches and taking bribes.

More than a decade after, a revolution broke out. New ultra-modern stadiums swelled up and many football teams became global brands. The best European players started moving to China for extortionate prices that only a few clubs can afford worldwide. Most important, what seemed nothing more than a niche and a pretty snubbed league only in 2012, it is now gaining momentum and trying to be one of the landmarks for football.

The environment is well-equipped: strong internal investors and business opportunities, Chinese tycoons and funds manager buying compulsively and, above all, Xi Jinping who, since his mandate started in 2013, wanted to developed football in the country.

Big companies’ hands on football

Nobody thought to ever see these numbers when all started in 2004. Teams boomed. Take the Guangzhou Evergrande as an example. According to Forbes, revenues in 2015 were around $58m, for a total brand value accounting for $282m. The shareholders are two country’s giants: the Evergrande Group, China’s second-largest property developer and, and Alibaba, one of the world’s most renowned e-commerce company. The team is the first in Asia to be listed at the Chinese New Third Board Market and the capitalisation floats around $2bn.

Xu Jiayn and Jack Ma are not the only ones looking to pioneer the sector. The Greenland Group, a public company that manages $58b in real estate assets, owns the Shanghai Shenhua, while the private financial holding Suning Appliance Group, that has recently bought one of the most glorious Italian team, FC Internazionale, and has total assets for $29b in 2016, is the owner of the Jiangsu Suning Fc.

Overall, all the 16 teams playing in the Chinese Super League are owned by private or public big companies that are looking for profits. Money is streaming: according to ChinaClub, the Ping An Insurance Company of China has assured the sponsorship for the Chinese Super League over a deal worth $75m, competing also with Mazda, Volkswagen and Coship Eletronics. Other sponsors are famous brands like Carlsberg, JD.com, Samsung and China Auto Rental.

But a question clearly arises: if the football market is in a long-standing crisis in Europe, how can they Chinese managers hope for returns?

Feng Lin, CEO of Deal Globe, told CKGSB, a China-focused website: “Many investors are using the clubs to leverage the sports industry. In the future, Chinese companies will be more interested in other properties: game organisation and media rights. They want to connect with the Chinese market”.

A market that grows fast. More and more Chinese people watch football matches and buy related clothing. They attend events, they consume sports news and they play with friends. The companies are then ready to offer them their products and share the TV rights, which play a key role. In China, indeed, TV rights are among the most expensive worldwide: $1.3bn purchased by China Media Capital last year to exclusively broadcast the Super League for the next five years.

As a report by Daxue Consulting, a China-based market research and strategy firm, suggests, the doors for investments can open for European managers as well: “With the absence of powerful domestic clubs or players, professional football education in China is full of business opportunities. Ebbe Sand, the former Danish international and top scorer from German powerhouse Schalke04, established the Ebbe Sand Soccer Academy in Shanghai in 2012. The aim is to be the best and give the talents the best football education in China”.

Also David Beckham, probably the most known football player in the world, has recently become a Chinese Super League’s ambassador and he is expanding his brand and business there.

Xi’s dream of “a great sports nation”

As the sector is growing, what is the role of the Chinese government? Although sport and football are not at the top of the political agenda and they are not obviously seen as strategic as energy, banks, real estate and manufacturing, China has got all to gain.

Xi Jinping, the President of China, is especially likely to boost football, mainly for three reasons: he is a fanatic, he wants to incite domestic growth and aims to spread new Chinese brands worldwide. When he came to the power he instantly proposed to make the country “a great sports nation”, and targeted to reach a market size of around $760bn by 2025.

The economy is still growing even if it slowed down. The GDP in 2016 was 6.7%. The balance of trade remained but export is now slumming while import increased minimally. Export was down 7.7 % in 2016 according to Reuters data, while the import went up 0.2% in renminbi terms.

What is worrying the most is the state of investments in the country. The government is gradually giving more prominence to the free market, reducing its presence on the companies, but the Global Economic Report released by the World Bank highlighted a marked slowdown of both private and SOE investments. The growth slows from 24% in 2010 to 9% in 2016.

Football is going against the tide. It is driving up the entire sports markets where investments in facilities and players literally skyrocketed. And the government has shown all the intentions to support this stunning growth.

In 2014 football has become compulsory in all schools since early childhood and pitches and facilities are set to pass from the current 5000 in 50000 in less than a decade. The government also outlined a guideline to promote football and sports in general where it is pushing both SOE and private companies to enter the sector.

It is still unclear if China will become the new face of globalisation. What is sure, football is attracting people, interests and capitals. If the industry will succeed, Chinese teams will be the first kinds of international and appealing brands, perhaps an original Chinese dream.

Football: the Chinese fast-growing billions-worth sector you would not expect was originally published in Giovanni Prati’s Portfolio on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The large majority of Islamic financing products are debt-like instruments, a report by the World Bank highlights.

Around 90% of the assets in the balance sheet of Sharia’a compliant banks are Murabahah and Ijarah. The first refers to a deferred sales contract where a buyer receives a good for a forward payment with a mark-up agreed upon with the seller. The latter is very close to a leasing contract used by conventional banks: a buyer receives a good in leasing and pays a fee to take it.

It is clear that the practices in Islamic banking are dominated by debt-based transactions rather than the profit and loss sharing system that is the peculiar feature of the sector.

Stunningly, Murabahah contracts represent 78.5% of all financial instruments, whereas Ijarah account for 10.8%. Conversely, Musharakah and Mudarabah, instruments typically associated to pure and concrete risk-sharing practices, remain outstandingly low, at around 5% overall. If we also number the Qard Hasan, a benevolent fund where no kind of interest, mark-up or fee is required, the real Islamic practices are less than 8% as a whole.

The finding scattered alarms in the industry. Although banks’ profit continue to exceed those of conventional banks and all the main indicators mirror an enviable financial soundness, the Islamic finance risks not complying with its founding and most inspiring principles, closing its doors to millions of potential investors.

CAR floats between 26.3% in the GCC and 19.1% in Asia, firmly above the 8% set by Basel III. Tier 1 Capital is strong and the exposure to NPL is going down in the last few years. Return on assets is satisfactory elsewhere but the GCC, burdened by two year low oil prices.

This frame must not mislead: the challenges are many in the months that follow. Islamic finance is still unable to serve a wider segment of population. Liquidity remains relatively low as the capital market is warming up and the banks are less likely to accept higher risks. As a result, banks are serving the big institutional investors but are failing to serve the poorer brackets of population and be the engine of economic growth and development.

The regulatory framework is not homogeneous and consistent differences from country to country are the major hindrance to international investments and the global spread. So far, two institution are meant to regulate the banking environment and set common standards: the AAOIFI and the IFSB. The bodies are not binding though, and not every State, such as Saudi Arabia, follows them.

The World Bank has started working alongside the main Islamic institutions with the clear aim to bring Sharia’a compliant and traditional finances together. Many projects were launched to foster growth by adopting profit and loss sharing contracts but cooperation also regards key sectors such as improving liquidity, bolstering human and professional capital and serving the middle class.

Islamic banks grow in a heavily debt-based market was originally published in Giovanni Prati’s Portfolio on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Global oil soared up to 50$ per barrel the day after a consensus on cutting production was reached within OPEC countries in Vienna’s meeting.

WTI crude gained 2.75% to $50.80 and Brent rose by 8.82% to 50.47. This upside trend has been last since yesterday morning, when the deal went public and inspired faith and optimism into the market.

All the main oil producers cut their production shares in the attempt to make prices fluctuate after two years of historical low price. The total cut was about one million barrels, passing from 33.6m to 32.5m per day.

The deal was all but certain. The last time the organisation was able to act unanimously was in 2008. The internal struggle between Saudi Arabia and Iran risked undermining seriously the agreement and the future of OPEC itself.

Saudi Arabia will then cut its production by 486,000 barrels next year, Iraq by 210,000, Iran by 90,000 and the Emirates by 139,000. Prices are expected to go up and unburden these countries’ budget deficit. However, analysts claim it won’t be any spike, as OPEC would be unable to be a price determiner as it used to be in the last decades.

Khalid al-Falih, the Energy Minister of Saudi Arabia, told reporters after the meeting: “I think it is a good day for the oil markets, it is a good day for the industry and … it should be a good day for the global economy. I think it will be a boost to global economic growth.”

Most European energy producers benefitted and boosted the stock markets, with also the dollar recovering against the main currencies.

Some doubts still remain alive in spite of the deal. Sceptics are afraid OPEC will maintain this deal, as in the past some members didn’t respect. Moreover, as the unconventional oil is getting more convenient, some suspicions arose whether the organisation is going to have a strong effect on the elasticity of the oil global demand.

Yet, the Supermajors need a breakeven above 55$ per barrel to sustain their upstream operations and many experts have forecast this is hardly going to happen next year, forcing them to cut investments and capex.

Russia (non-OPEC) has joined the cut for the first time since 2001, in the attempt to boost prices up. The shares will move down by between 300,000 and 600,000.

OPEC deal pushed prices up amid persisting doubts was originally published in Giovanni Prati’s Portfolio on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

A lot has been said about Fidel Castro, Cuba’s communist Leader “Maximo” that died today aged 90. A threat for the US, a hope for many Communist Parties across the world, a dictator for Cuban migrants in Miami and most history books, his political impact on the last 60 years is needless to be remarked. From the conquest of Cuba in 1959 and the missile crisis in 1962 until 2006, when a disease forced him to step down, Castro has been perhaps one of the most important world leaders.

Few, though, has been found out about the way he worked as to the economy. Here we have outlined the five most important measures he took during his 50 years long mandate.

1) A real Socialist economy

Since 1961 onward, two years after taking the power, he adopted a socialist system: no private property, governments control of political and business life and strict plan of all the national economy. This system lasted until recently and also went through a tough embargo but it failed essentially in making people richer: income for capita, indeed, didn’t grow as much as the other countries in Latin America. For most economists, Castro failed to create a fair and richer system, forcing the majority of people into poverty.

2) Stunning Education and Health systems

Castro was able to create a public education service that outweighed many more developed countries. Moreover, the health system is renowned to be undoubtedly the best across the world, with people coming to cure cancer from everywhere. The system is completely free, of course.

3) High life expectancy and a outstanding human development index

Despite suffering from the long-lasting embargo, Cubans can boast a life expectancy as high as the one in the US, at 79,7. This is mainly due its human development in fields such as health and education that put the country 52 out 177 for general living standards, just behind developed countries.

4) Shadows on the economy

The Cuban economy remains stagnant and growth is still lower than the other Latin American countries. Monitoring the real data is difficult, because the regime doesn’t provide reliable data on growth, unemployment rate and production. What is sure is that the Cuban economy is suffering and is behind many economies in South America.

5) Tourism and manufacturing

These are the two areas where Cuba is best performing. L’Avana, the capital, attracts dozens of thousands of people every year and tourism is the most important factor for foreign exchange. Manufacturing and processing of agricultural food is the field that gives more employment in the country

Article published on 8 October 2016

The pound tumbled to its lowest point in 31 years against the dollar this week after PM Theresa May set out plans for a hard-Brexit on March 2017 and French President Francois Hollande warned that “the UK must pay for leaving the EU”.

Sterling fell on Friday morning with an unprecedented rate since Brexit vote in June, as a short Flash Crash occurred for no apparent reason apparent no reasons. The pound fell abruptly 1.184 versus dollar, a 6% downside spike in few minutes at around 7am (Hong Kong time), and then recovered to around $1.24.

Analysts were not able to explain such a drop, claiming it could be due to a “fat finger”, an error of an automatic computer in placing an order in Asia.

The British currency eventually dropped by 4,2% in the week. As forex markets closed on Friday, the GBP/USD was at $1.2436. The promise to start the talks over Brexit in March has also affected the GBP/EUR, which closed at €1.1103. The risks of barriers to the single market as Brexit approaches may move the exchange rate of the sterling against the euro further down to parity, analysts at HSBC have forecast.

Hans Redeker, a strategist at Morgan Stanley, told the Financial Times: “The new British government appears to have chosen an economic course which could bear substantial risks. The substantial foreign funding needs should make authorities nurse the supply side of the economy. The opposite seems to be taking place with hard Brexit talk adding the problem.”

The other main currencies

In the other main forex markets, the dollar strengthens against the yen until Thursday with a hike to 104.1, and went down the day after as US data on employment did not match the expectations. The unemployment rate decreases less than expected in the Non-farm payroll. The USD/JPY exchange rate at closing price is 102.91 yen.

And the US data loss, along with vows of hard Brexit and the possibility to stop the ECB policy of Quantitative Easing, led to devaluation of the euro against the dollar through the week, with the European currency recovering only on Friday. Indeed, Europe’s possible restriction to single market made the euro buckle to 1.11061 until Thursday. The day after, the weak performance of US data strengthened the euro, gaining +0,47% with a closing price at $1.1201.

As the yuan joined the IMF’s SDR basket early this month, the Chinese currency hit its lowest point against the dollar since January 7, as a result of more-than-expected drop of foreign reserves and the combined decision by Fed not to change the interest rates. The USD/CNH, referring to offshore yuan, closed at 6.7080 yuan. The government is keeping the currency stably weak to boost investments abroad.

Gao Qi, a Singapore-based forex exchange strategist at Scotiabank, told Bloomberg: “The direction is depreciation amid a broadly strengthening dollar, but the chances of a sharp drop are low as steady global economic and financial developments are required to pave the way for a Fed rate hike in December.”

Hard-Brexit vows pushed pound to its lowest point in 31 years was originally published in Giovanni Prati’s Portfolio on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Thousands of people gathered and rallied to oppose the renewal of Trident in Central London on Saturday.

More than 6000 demonstrators, according to both the Met Police and the organisers, took the streets to join the Stop Trident National Demo. People came from all over the UK, with many buses arriving from Scotland.

The protest was led by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, the Stop the War Coalition and other groups supporting refugees, NHS, social housing and climate change.

The march started from Marble Arch at 1 pm and ended in Trafalgar Square. Numerous front rank politicians joined the rally, among which Nicola Sturgeon, the First Minister of Scotland, Leanne Wood, the leader of the Welsh party Plaid Cymru, Caroline Lucas, a Green Party’s MP and the MPs against the Trident.

People rallied down to Park Lane, then through Piccadilly Street and Regent Street to eventually reach Trafalgar Square. Many speakers took the stage which was built at the basement of the statue of admiral Nelson.

Several banners and chants came alongside the protest, such as “Cut War Not Welfare”, “NHS not Trident”, Scrap Trident” and “Homes not Trident”.

Despite the presence of different groups, the opposition to Trident was the common goal.

Ian Pattison, a member of the Socialist Party, said: “With all the money we might save by relinquishing Trident, we could invest on social housing, education, renewable sources and jobs.”

Trident, officially known as Trident Nuclear Deterrent, is the UK’s nuclear weapon system installed in 1994 for deterrence purposes. It consists of submarines carrying nuclear-powered ballistic missile platform.

The current entire range of Trident is made up of 58 D-5 missiles, four ballistic missile submarines and 160 thermonuclear weapons. The initial cost was 9,8 billion, but it is taking from 3% to 4,5% of the annual defence budget.

A huge debate arose over the replacement of Trident with the Leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, convinced on its uselessness since the 1980s, when the programme was ideated.

Speaking to an overcrowded Trafalgar Square, Nicola Sturgeon opposed the nuclear programme: “I would rather see these millions of money spent on education, health and giving our children the best life.” (See the video below for Sturgeon’s entire speech).

Also Leanne Wood pointed out the financial issue related to Trident. She said: “It is never acceptable to unleash weapons of mass destruction on a population. Nuclear weapons belong to the past of history alongside the Cold War. We have the NHS which is crying out for investments instead of spending hundred of billion pounds on weapons of mass destruction.

She went on: “Disarming the world from nuclear weapons won’t happen by accident: it is a decision to do that. Say no to nuclear weapons, say no to nuclear war. We will prevail.”

On the same opinion the Green Mp Caroline Lucas. She insisted on more investments on schools, houses, railways and local economy.

Chris Nineham, one of the founders of the Stop the War Coalition, explained what the movement is doing to stop the Trident: “We have numerous meetings in the Parliament. The leader of four parties, included the Labour Party, joined this demonstration. We have constructed a kind of alliance. We continue with local lobby, email lobby, lobby with the local MPs. We want to make them notice of what is now the majority of public opinion.”

Asked whether relinquishing Trident will leave the UK defenceless, Mr Nineham answered: “Think about the situation in a different way: nuclear weapons increase the likelihood of more of them. The way the Foreign policy is now conducted is creating huge tension with Russia. The more aggressive and heavily armed Britain is, the more likely there would be attacks.”

Jeremy Corbyn concluded the National Demo. He did not take part to the march but he took a 10 minutes speech where he explained the devastating financial and humanitarian costs of the nuclear weapons and outlines the guidelines of his hypothetical election at Downing Street. (See the sum of his speech in the video below).

Words, Pictures and Videos by Giovanni Prati

Article published on WestminsterWorld on 28 February 2016

6000 people rallied against Trident. Corbyn: “We are the majority.” was originally published in Giovanni Prati’s Portfolio on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Two men are sitting on a bench hugging each other, in Leicester Square. In front of them, a blonde and blue-eyed child is chasing pigeons. She smiles and shouts at the animals that fly away. One of the two men says to the child: “Come on, princess, it is getting late. We have got to come home.” She holds the hands of the two men and they all go home.

A scene like this is usual in London. Gay couples can go out freely, without the fear of rejection or prejudice. And they have rights. They can get married and have a family. From the UK to the USA, from France to Spain, gay marriages are now recognised as a right in the most civilised nations in the world.

Though Italy, a member of the G8 and one of the most important countries in the EU, is still lagging behind. Not only are gay people roughly discriminated in many cases, but also the State does not recognize any rights to them. They are not considered as a family. They cannot adopt children. They do not have the right of inheritance.

As Lorenzo Martini, a PR student at the University of Westminster, explained, being gay in Italy is tough. He also said what he thinks about the same-sex law in Italy and his experience in London.

What are the civil unions?

The families already exist. In Italy, there are about 16 million families, of which 7,513 are homosexual couples, according to the most recent statistics released by Istat (the official institute for data) in 2011. 7,513 families that the Italian State does not recognise. Istat also suggests that they could be even more.

In 2007, the government led by Prime Minister Romano Prodi tried to establish the civil partnerships for LGBT couples but the bill was greeted with criticism. As Prodi’s government ended with his resignation in early 2008, also the civil partnerships were set aside.

In the last few months, the Italian Parliament debated over the re-establishment of civil partnerships again, that will regularise the status of same-sex couples.

The bill, known as “Cirinnà” which is the name of the democrat MP who drew it up (see her on the tweet below), is being underway for two years and it is now discussed in the Senate, the Chamber of the Parliament where there is no a clear majority.

It sets up the civil unions. According to it, same-sex couples (as well as heterosexual ones) are now recognised as a nuclear family. Civil unions are a new institution that would safeguard all the thousands of couples in Italy that are not married.

The bill also envisages giving the chance for same-sex couples to adopt a child, only if one partner already has one. This right, contained in the Article 5, is known as “stepchild adoption” and it has been accepted with heavy criticism.

The Catholic members of the Parliament, even in the Democratic Party itself, are obstructing the bill in the Senate. They are concerned that the stepchild adoption may open the doors to the practice of surrogacy.

During last week, after an intense debate over some amendments to the Article 5, no majority came out and the vote was postponed, with the increasing discontent of the LGBT associations. It is a situation that reminds the bill through which Mr Cameron legalised the same-sex marriage in the UK in 2013.

The different points of view?

Daniele Viotti, a member of the European Parliament for the Democratic Party and activist for the right and equality of LGBT people, outlined the Italian situation: “The ruling class in our country has no courage, it is not able to think of a future. It is normal that a society is conservative but politics should not.”

He went on: “Politics cannot be based on polls, but on values and perspectives, otherwise we will never make it through. The bill must pass without changes”

Mr Viotti is also clear when it comes to the stepchild adoption. He affirmed: “Those who are against the bill use the stepchild adoption to scare the moderates. Paradoxically, they can deny us the marriage but not the possibility of adoption that already exists. The family is a concept: there is no natural family. Family clusters around love.”

Massimo Gandolfini, promoter of the committee “Difendiamo i nostri bambini” (Defend our children), attacks the bill. He said: “This law is unacceptable. It should be stopped and reviewed. They are trying to change the human sociology but the only family is the one recognized in the article 29 of our Constitution: the Republic recognizes the rights of the family as a natural society based on the marriage.”

He added: “It is a distortion when we compare the family to a civil union. Besides, stepchild adoption will legalise the surrogacy. A gay couple can go to another country, buy a child, come back and settle down as a family. But we are clear: we want that our children grow up thinking the only family is the one made up of a mother and a father.”

What is the future?

As the debates embittered, the LGBT associations took to the streets in 100 cities to push the Parliament to approve the bill on 23 January. Instead, the committees against the civil unions responded with a manifestation called Family Day at the Circo Massimo in Rome, on 30 January.

On the above picture, the manifestation for the LGBT rights in Piazza della Scala, Milano. In tweet below, the thousands of participants at Family Day in Rome.

While the bill is blocked in the Senate, Mr Viotti explains the next step: “We need to have a set of rules that guarantees the rights to same sex couples. We do not have the majority so we have to vote with those who want. We bite the bullet. And we hold our noses.”

If the Cirinnà will pass, Italy will exceed the level of the other most developed countries in terms of civil rights. 7513 already existing families are waiting for a regularisation.

Published on WestminsterWorld on 21 February 2016

Italy struggles for same-sex marriage law was originally published in Giovanni Prati’s Portfolio on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Coel Gosling is nine. He loves watching animated cartoon and playing football as many kids of his age. But ask him what his lifelong ambition is, and you may be left astonished by his clear ideas. He wants to become a steelworker as his father Tony.

Tony Gosling, 50, works for Tata Steel Limited group in the main factory of the country in Scunthorpe. His father, his grandfather and his great-grandfather were steelworkers before him. Thus, it is not a surprise that his son wants to follow in his family’s footsteps.

Unfortunately, the future seems to be hard for Coel. Scunthorpe has been facing a slow decline for the last 30 years as the number of steelworkers has sharply decreased. And for the new generations finding a suitable job is getting even harder.

“I know that many students at the top of their learning life move away because of the lack of high quality and high professional jobs,” Tony says.

He knows very well the state of the affair because he is a trade union member who has led the recent strikes against TATA’s redundancies and cut policy and he is also a councillor of the North Lincolnshire for the Labour Party.

“We want to save steel,” he argues, “We are in the process of saying to people that we are talking about 900 job losses in Scunthorpe.” However he says the issue affects the entire Great Britain: “Steel is an important sector for the country and if the government will not support it you will not have any kind industry in the United Kingdom.”

Scunthorpe, located on the south bank of the river Humber in North Lincolnshire, is clustering around the steel since the first veins were found in the middle of 19th century. As the steel production improved reaching its highest level during the 1970s, the city enlarged sensibly, attracting new workers and their families.

“All this is related to steel,” insists Tony, “that is to say everyone here is connected in some point and in some time with the industry.” Therefore, it is hard to see a future beyond the steel.

Since the second half of 19th century onwards, Scunthorpe could offer many opportunities to the youngest generations. The several steel factories here provided all the needs so that the town became a wealthy city always on the move. Many young people found well-paid jobs easily and it allowed the population to grow up to the current 75000.

In Scunthorpe, every person, every place talks about steel. From the Humber bridge, you can see a white smoke coming out from the several chimneys of the factories. In the skyline, you can see both the minster and the cistern with Tata logo clearly standing out.

This shows how important TATA has been for Scunthorpe. The firm built up entire residential areas to greet new workers and played an important role in enhancing people’s lifestyle.

In its golden age 40 years ago, there were more than 30,000 steelworkers in Scunthorpe. Nowadays, 90% of the jobs have gone. The sector that was the beacon for an entire community seems not to be able to back the city in the future.

Indeed, in October TATA announced 1200 job losses in the UK, which will worsen and quicken the decline of Scunthorpe, creating more instability and unemployment. Needless to say, the current trend is mainly affecting young people’s life who cannot plan their future here as many generations did before.

Different reasons explain the descent. According to Tony, one issue is the increasing competition in the area. During the last years, many unqualified Eastern European workers came to Scunthorpe and found a job in the factory. This created a turnaround because local young people stopped being hired.

Moreover, Tony laments the combined effect of unfair Chinese competition, whose import is increasing year by year, and the fall of the price of steel since the financial crisis broke out in 2008.

In last September, for instance, China exports reached almost 12 million tonnes, the equivalent of a yearly production in the UK. Then, the current price of a tonne of steel is £250 while the pre-crisis level was £1200.

And Tony also adds: “Even if I think our government is not making all its effort to safeguard this industry and our city, the EU law does not help: for the fiscal compact we cannot invest further in infrastructure, revitalising the domestic demand for steel.”

In light of all, it is very difficult to be optimistic about the future. When the axe of the cut will hit again Scunthorpe and its industrial grassroots, youngsters will hardly have a future and they will be forced to move away.

According to data from the Office of National Statistic, North Lincolnshire is one of the areas with the highest youth unemployment rate. In February 2015, 665 people aged 18–24 had no job, with a rate of 3,7%. This percentage exceeds both the UK average (2,4%) and the bordering Yorkshire (3,2%).

“There are young people working at TATA,” Tony says, “However it is happening that they will be employed just for a couple of months. People are struggling because basically they go from job to job. They have to get short-term minimum wage contracts. They do not have any regular employment. This is good when you are in your early twenties, but then you cannot afford to settle down and create a family.”

A man at Scunthorpe’s Citizen Advice Bureau, who does not want to reveal his name, frankly suggests to young people to move away: “I do not really think Scunny can offer anything to them. It is dying. In a decade it will be a ghost town. Once the city was all steel and it was even pretty nice. Now I cannot really imagine it without steel, so I do not know what the future will be like.”

Daniel spends most of his time in the town centre with his friends. He is 23 but he has just changed many jobs. He says: “I worked in some stores here, but always for few months. I was even in TATA but I was among the redundancies last year. It is hard. My father was a steelworker but he lost his job in 2009. I cannot stand being any longer a burden for my family. If nothing changes, I will move to London.”

Darcy’s experience is similar. “A job here is a dream. I sometimes get a job but it lasts very few. They do not even give me any chance to show I am worth. I know what I am good at but here I cannot express myself,” he says with a desolate appearance.

All the people agree on this: Scunthorpe has to reinvent itself, following the example of Hull, once the centre of coal miners and heavy industry and now the city of culture and tourism.

This seems to be the only way to catch up. Otherwise, the city will not offer anything and young generation will be forced to settle down elsewhere. And that would be the end for Scunthorpe.

This seems to be the only way to make Coel’s dream come true: being a steelworker like his father. However, if the steel will eventually pass away, he has a plan B: “I may also become a football player. I want to play for Scunthorpe United that is the team I cheer for. I am a good defender and I would like to be as Sean McAllister, our number 4.”

Published on 23 November 2015

Is there a future for Scunthorpe, city of steel? was originally published in Giovanni Prati’s Portfolio on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks, is arbitrarily held in the Ecuadorean embassy in London, the UN’s Group on Arbitrary Detention said earlier on Thursday.

The UN panel, whose work will be published on Friday, states: “Mr Assange has been deprived of his liberty in an arbitrary manner for an unacceptable length of time.”

Mr Assange’s lawyers instantly asked the UK to respect the sentence, unless legally unbinding, and free their assisted. The UN Human Rights account also tweeted a video explaining why the UN’s verdict should be binding.

The UK always said Julian Assange would be arrested if he had left the embassy. Earlier this morning, a government spokeperson reported to the BBC: “Mr Assange is voluntarily avoiding lawful arrest by choosing to remain in the Ecuadorean embassy. We continue to have a legal obligation to extradite him.”

The Swedish government is on the same opinion. Anna Ekber, spokeperson for Sweden, told the Guardian: “The working group’s view differs from that of Swedish authorities.”

On Twitter, Julian Assange did not break his silence that lasts since April 2013. Thousands of messages of solidarity came as the news broke out.

The Wikileaks page has tweeted a recent message of Julian Assange saying he would accept the UN’s decision and expects the return of his passport.

Published on Westminster World — http://westminsterworld.com/uns-panel-declares-julian-assange-arbitrarily-detained/

UN’s panel declares Julian Assange “arbitrarily detained.” was originally published in Giovanni Prati’s Portfolio on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

London will be a city for renters rather than owners in 2025, research by PwC reveals.

The forecast outlines a deterioration of the problems for the Generation Rent, with an increase of rental housing in the UK capital. People born in the late 1980s and in the 1990s will be most affected.

The research shows a reversal of the situation in 2000 when homeowners were about 60 percent. Instead, 60 percent of Londoners will rent a home rather than owning one in 2025. Of these, 40 percent will be private rents and 20 percent social rents.

The increase of prices for renting and the decline of average income are the main causes of this trend.

Richard Snook, senior economist at professional services firm PwC, told the Financial Times earlier on Tuesday: “High prices are making homes in the capital unaffordable to most and could undo a century-long trend towards rising home ownership rates.”

The Office for National Statistics said that housing prices rose by 6.7 percent all over the UK in 2015. London led the way with a increase by 9 percent.

According to the housing portal Homelet, the average rental price in London is £1,510 a month, while in the rest of the UK is £740.

Campbell Robb, chief executive of Shelter, an organisation that helps find homes, said: “The shortage of affordable homes in the capital is putting huge pressure on London’s renters. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Many renters in Europe enjoy greater stability, and there’s no reason London’s tenants can’t as well.”

He went on: “To turn around this crisis, the next Mayor of London must prioritise longer, more stable tenancies in the capital, and finally commit to building the genuinely affordable homes that Londoners are crying out for.”

As the elections for the Mayor of London are fast approaching, the housing issue is already dominating the debate.

Earlier on Tuesday, Sadiq Khan, the Labour candidate, promised to set up a non-profit lettings agency to tackle the problem.

Zac Goldsmith, the Conservative candidate, has said, through his Press Office, that he will provide more houses by clamping down on building delays.

Published on Westminster World — http://westminsterworld.com/homeowners-in-london-will-decrease-to-40pc-in-2025/

Homeowners in London will decrease to 40 percent in 2025 was originally published in Giovanni Prati’s Portfolio on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.