That is a crisis for democracy is a crisis of concentration the bottom line. Hello im daryn george this is counting the cost of aljazeera your weekly look at the world of business economics this week. A battle for the heart of opec who will capitulate 1st putin all m. B. A. s as a price war decimates the market. Will the most liberal democratic nations by beijings Ai Facial Recognition Technology to control their citizens. And the lebanese lived a dream that was a delusion while lebanon was drowning in debt words of the Prime Minister of his country defaulted on its debt for the very 1st time. Well at a time when the world is dealing with the fast spreading coronavirus that has decimated supply chains induce panic buying and grounded flights the last thing it needed was 2 nations declaring economic war well saudi arabia and russia have been working together to prop up oil prices for the last 3 years but fell out of a riyadhs insistence that they agreed to cut oil supplies by 1500000 barrels a day the reason was simple china the biggest importer of oil was turning back tankers as the coronavirus forced the economy to a standstill. Well oil prices have had their biggest one day crash in the 991. 00 gulf war and theres more pain to come as saudi arabia and russia flood the market with more Oil Goldman Sachs predicted oil prices could hit 20. 00 a barrel both nations should be able to stomach a protracted economic war saudi arabia has Foreign Exchange reserves of 490000000000. 00 and russia has reserves of 440000000000. 00 foreign reserves of course are important without them an economy can grind to a halt unable to pay for imports and pay for its debt that is where it becomes a little more tricky saudi arabia may need to borrow money to fill in between what is spent and the revenue it receives it needs all prices at around 82. 00 a barrel to balance its budget and russia according to the International Monetary fund needs oil at 42 dollars a barrel there but for economies when in themselves off Oil Dependency it means they have less money to spend in those areas but whats at the heart of the fallout well russia has been angered by sanctions targeted at ross neff trading a subsidiary of the russian oil giant washington impose the sanctions last month over its continued support in selling Venezuelas Oil well in return moscow was hoping to get riyadh on side to inflict economic pain on u. S. Shell producers who moscow fields have been taking a free ride in the back of opec plus is cuts in production what share of production has pushed the United States into the number one spot as the worlds biggest producer of oil moscow hopes it could lead to the collapse of some of those businesses if Oil Prices Remain below 40. 00 a barrel. So lets get some analysis now joining me from london is niamh aslam hes chief market analyst at arbor trade good to have you on the program how long do you think saudi arabia and russia can keep up this fight and whether low oil prices they can keep up for the for the for the for this fight for long why because it is killing both countrys economy the oil where it is trading currently isnt really good for russia or for saudi arabia so i think it is better for both countries to troy in the towel and be more sensible with their porsche which is curbing the oil supply which the market really needs otherwise this 30 percent one day drop that weve seen because of the failure of these 2 particular countries curbing the supply can get even more even more worse in the market so do you think them that the 2 sides can reconcile their differences and perhaps get opec plus back together i mean is this a fight about who controls opec m. B. s or putin to answer the latter part of who controls the fight is obviously m. B. s is in the driving seat put in is isnt even in the picture with respect to that and yes the far right was in a it all started with russia are not coming to the table d and not villan to curb the supply what n. B. S. Took it to a different level when the saudi arabia announced that it is going to increase its Oil Production to 12300000 Barrels Per Day so i think both countries as i said before really need to consider this situation carefully and through this concept is that who is going to control the narrative with respect to a pay i think now is the time that it all supply should be massively curbed and that is the only only situation where it we can see some sort of arrested. Mission with respect to the oil in demand equation and thats an interesting point you make name because isnt it in the interest of both countries that us shale producers do not benefit from any opec plus production cuts though thats a really interesting thing because when the prices were trading in around 45. 00 russia wasnt willing to cut the price because it really want to us shell industry to suffer but now the prices are even more lower we are you know its early thirtys thats where the brant is really w. T. R. Is really trading at so it is going to even the u. S. Shell industry more as compared to where they were there when the prices were trading at 45. 00 so of we going to see some reaction from saudi arabia or from a pipe plus in my opinion yes definitely because both countries are eager to make some sort of a supply cut very soon i think it is only a matter of time before we hear that and that are really part of the virus its just a quick thought on saudi arabia why is it taken so long for aramco to fall below its i. P. O. Price the iran co i. P. O. The stock price was massively supported by the government virenque shares right and it is not something new because we have seen various different Central Banks supporting the equity market through corporate debt and sometimes even direct intervention into the stock market who knows today the European Central bank could be doing something very similar as well but to answer your question precisely i think in the wrong because the stock price had a massive support from the government lets talk about investors finally if we can spin it a hugely volatile week for the markets hasnt it i mean how should small investors trade the market now where should they be putting their money right now like if youre a retail in rest there then the Current Situation presents a huge opportunity you should be preparing go Shopping List now rather than. Going into the market and start buying it but if you are a day trader then the current market volatility presents a huge opportunity because we are looking at the dow jones index for instance where 1000 points its just become a norm usually you dont see that sort of a movement in the in the in the market so from investor perspective were down 20 percent bear market official territory right now but i think the market is still going to continue to move to the downside so for Retail Investors they dont really need to rush into the markets now because it is going to continue to move lower it is only a start of a bear market there is no control of a corner virus more worst news is about to come were going to see that in the in Economic Data and also baked into earnings as well so sit tight keep repairing your a Shopping List now muslim thank you very much indeed for talking to counting the cost thank you. Now the Rapid Advances in Technology May give the appearance that its all for our own benefit but at what cost china has use its vast Surveillance Network more than 350000000 face recognition cameras to suppress its minority we get muslims and introduce a controversial social Credit System where now india is rolling out cameras under the guise of law and order its estimated it plans to spend 4300000000. 00 by 2024 on the project delhi has already captured the biometric records of more than a 1000000000 people while the United States has more than 70000000 cameras one for every 4 point one citizens washington has warned its agencies and local governments not to buy chinese made cameras but thats not stopping us Companies Like fidelity silverlake and call come from investing in firms critical to chinas Surveillance Network since time raised a 1000000000. 00 from investors valuing the company at 4500000000 dollars well now china has turned its facial Recognition Network to detect citizens who may have the coronavirus out as it was katrina you has this report. What is all thats needed to end a jumbo subway system the citys a 1st in china to set up a show recognition in all of its underground stations the government says its about customer convenience. Here this is especially heavy for people who carry a lot of heavy bags all the people. Run out of battery problems could be solved by facial recognition now facial recognition cameras are being used alongside infrared temperature scan is to help contain the spread of corona virus in the city of joe a man was reprimanded after facial recognition cameras filmed him leaving his home before completing 2 weeks of self quarantine high tech surveillance cameras allowed authorities to access a citizens travel history there are more of these in china than in any other country in the world an estimated 350000001 for every 4 people. Using. Composites. The same form for their faces i think are really. The technology is part of the governments nationwide plan to boost security and surveillance cameras will be linked to phone and other personal data making it easier for police to identify and monitor citizens than ever before for some the benefits are clear. Heard about facial recognition as new and seems very. Easy but others are wary of how that information will be used. In our. Private information is common and the problem is very serious is something im afraid of facial recognition is used to name and shame minor offenders such as pedestrians who ignore traffic lights. But the government says its crucial for catching criminals and everyone with nothing to hide has nothing to fear so all of a minute of positive aspect is because people are now living under the spotlight they will be more careful with their behavior but of course there is a risk privacy is violated and information being abused. In should john human Rights Groups say muslims for the week a minority are being monitored and imprisoned using the vast digital Surveillance Network one which several u. S. Technology companies have helped build. In junk joe people can so far choose but the teams facial recognition gates but that may be the way out. Well joining us now from london is chadri hes the head of think tank future advocacy so talk us through how it is being used right now because of course the big elephant in the room is chinas Surveillance System and its draconian use against some ethnic minorities. So what were saying is the increases of facial Recognition Systems in china also across the world and these systems basically are the out of a decade of selfies and social media we live in an increasingly Data Driven Society and what weve seen every recently is individual spatial data being collected and deployed for Surveillance Systems or so i sense a suspect in china as perhaps. A more extreme and of those deployment are big so what about then more democratic societies like the u. K. India and the us i mean theyre rolling out systems under the guise of fighting crime but the evidence to date from the u. K. Hasnt been a resoundingly success of that many u. K. And not so respects as a world leader and how to run a surveillance state its important to remember the context which the u. K. Finds itself in london is the 2nd most surveilled city in the world with 420050 t. V. Cameras for example which is just behind beijing which is on a 1000 more and this far ahead of washington which any has 30000. 00 c. C. T. V. Cameras and the way its being used in london as you said for surveillance passes each individual now in london for example will be subjected to facial recognition cameras which essentially scans the facial dates on individuals faces in a way thats very different actually to how c. C. T. V. Is and i guess the main difference between the u. K. And perhaps china is that there are theories some checks and balances in the areas and trying to it being used for almost everything you can get a made about sim card without having to subject yourself to actual recognition china and we know that the u. S. Has cautioned against using chinese made camera systems whats the state of play here rick. At the u. S. Actually this theres a lot more question back i think against facial Recognition Systems especially in california where most most of these Tech Companies are based there are themselves imposing bans on facial Recognition Systems even though thats where the developers are so they do seem to be a bit further ahead in terms of pushing back against this kind of technology whereas in the u. K. China india is another example indias is rolling out facial Recognition Systems in particular for elections so if you want to go and vote at a polling station there are trialing facial recognition cameras a number of polling stations there in india also actually within the wider context of the current virus scanner youre seeing facial Recognition Systems being deployed in different parts of the world and it is worth pointing out that despite all the controversy surrounding all this it hasnt stopped private equity and funds from buying into Chinese Companies that are streets ahead in facial Recognition Technology are. Potentially a huge market in the future if you think about it because this is this will be of interest to every Security Service across the world every police force across the world will potentially be interested in facial Recognition Technology for surveillance so those Companies Like the head of it now absentia going to be in a leading position in the future and you are seeing companies in china perhaps. Leaping ahead in this space and just a final thought to you how close are the big chinese Tech Companies to the actual chinese stated so because we know that some technology is being used as a tool for social control in china. And i thought over that the reason why china is. A powerful when it comes to technology is because they have separate state backing for a lot of new developments i was in the u. S. Obviously dependent on Telecom Valley is dependent on pulling together the resources across Member States china has a lot of state investment of state support for Technology Start up so they gave earlier about the same cards this is a mandated system in china. Leaping ahead so fun. As a recent report that cameras in china which can identify individuals even if theyre wearing a medical facemask. There is a really almost quite a big goal difference between farhad trying to rest of the world or each of you thank you very much indeed for talking to counting the cost now for the 1st time in its history lebanon says it will default on its 90000000000 dollar debt mountain the Prime Minister sunday ive been a televised address said how can we pay creditors and there are people in the streets who do not have the money to buy a loaf of bread in a holder in beirut has more. Businesses are closing unemployment is rising inflation is soaring and the local currency depreciated by at least 50 percent and now for the 1st time in its history lebanon is defaulting on paying its debt the countrys facing its worst economic crisis in decades Prime Minister has sandia who took office in january after massive protests toppled the previous government told the nation his administration will work on restructuring the debt which has become too much for the country to bear enough the i thought you know i mean i dont want our hard currency reserves are at a critical record low as a result the republic of lebanon is forced to default the coming march 9th obligation on the euro bond these funds must be channeled towards securing the basic necessities for the lebanese people 2. People have been on the streets for months demanding a new leadership they have little faith in a government appointed by the old Political Class they accused of corruption demonstrators have also vented their anger at banks for imposing capital controls but bankers are blaming the authorities for looking for an easy way out restructuring the public that seems to be a way to avoid the other reforms that are necessary to jumpstart the economy and to solve the crisis which is essentially it is structured in the Public Sector some parties in lebanon have been used to look at the Public Sector source of benefits and favors to their political constituency International Donors have made clear there will be no assistance unless reforms are carried out its not just about implementing reforms lebanons government does not have many friends it is seen by the United States and its allies as controlled by hezbollah or any iranian backed group they consider a terrorist organization and they have been trying to contain irans growing influence in the middle east the only option to secure foreign for. Finding and without risking further isolation is through the International Monetary fund but hezbollah the power broker in government has rejected an i. M. F. Bailout it says it would involve taxes and calls the institution a tool of the United States. Signs up to the i. M. F. Some of. The 2000 elections the 1st election that theyve won since 2004 and if they lose power this means that they conceded some sort of defeat to the i. M. F. And to the International Community the United States. Financial crisis has entered a new stage and there doesnt seem to be any rescue plan and as conditions worsen for the people many are warning of further unrest. Joins us live now from beirut so talk us through what this means for the lebanese economy well it just shows how this state of the economy and how bankrupt the lebanese government is its unable to pay a debt worth 1200000000. 00 that is a large amount for state yes the government has to pay almost 5000000000. 00 until the end of the here but according to the Prime Minister there is enough money they have to save whatever they have left the currency reserves to pay for the basic needs of the people we fuel medicine the government needs 10000000000. 00 until the end of this year to ensure that it can import those products for the lebanese people so a dire state of the economy the 1st time really in lebanon history and now the government needs to enter negotiations with creditors in order not to be its really shows you that lebanon and lebanon has lost its place in International Financial markets officials ministers theyre talking about weeks before they can come up. With a government rescue plan a plan that will reduce spending and raise revenues because this country spends more than it earns and the depth really has been a burden servicing the debt just paying for the interest of the debt has been very very difficult so it just shows you how bad the economy is and say no it does beg the question though is the i. M. F. The only institution that can help it i mean theres no chance of the middle Eastern Countries could step up and assist well like we mentioned earlier this is a government that doesnt have many friends and its not just that those in power are people who are not by the International CommunityInternational Donors have repeatedly said time and time again were not bailing you out this time we want you to implement reforms what the structural Economic Reforms mean it means that these politicians will will no longer have access to state resources theyre going to have to clamp down on corruption on tax evasion on custom evasion theyre going to have to trim the Public Sector theyve been using the Public Sector to provide jobs to their to their own supporters and so far there is no commitment or serious commitment on the part of the authorities to do just that and so thats why many believe the International Monetary fund is the only way forward but hezbollah which is the power broker in the government is refusing it saying that this is a tool that the United States uses a Financial Institution that the United States uses to impose its wishes on on the country but they may know they may not have much of a choice because this country needs billions of dollars in order to restart the economy and jumpstart the economy so then what does that mean for the people i mean the Prime Minister has made it clear that the state has already failed them yes he said that the state is facing immense difficulties and we can no longer provide a decent life to the lebanese people people are getting poorer businesses are close. People are losing their jobs and now with the coronavirus and government measures demanding restaurants closed pubs closed people are more and more people are losing their jobs and the value of the lebanese currency it has lost a lot of value the purchasing power people are finding it very very hard to make ends meet and its not just that you cant access your Savings Banks people are there is that there is a cap on how much money you can withdraw from banks and theyre not giving them much dollars so people are being forced to use the lebanese pound which like i mentioned is losing its losing its value but at the end of the day people have held months of protests against the government calling for a new leadership calling for a new election but they were faced with a very militarized state a state which is intent or politicians who are intent on staying in power so the situation is quite dire for the lebanese people. In beirut thank you well thats our show for this week but remember you can get in touch with us via twitter use the hash tag. When you do drop us an email counting the cost of aljazeera dot net is our address but theres more for you on line down to 0 dot com slash c. T. C. Double take you straight to your page which has individual reports links and entire episodes for you to catch up on well thats it for this edition of counting the cost im daryn jordan from the whole team here thanks for joining us the news of aljazeera is next. 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