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Spain

El Jefe And The Indignados - Springsteen Salutes Spain's Protesters

EL MUNDO (Spain)

SEVILLA - Veteran American rocker Bruce Springsteen kicked off his European tour Sunday night in Sevilla with a special nod to Spain's indignados, a grassroots movement launched in 2011 to protest austerity measures and high unemployment.

Addressing the crowd of some 30,000 in Spanish, the 62-year-old musician dedicated one of his new tracks, Jack Of All Trades, to the indignados and others who "are fighting hard here in the south of Spain," El Mundo reported.

"Too many people have lost their jobs and their homes," he said. "Here in Europe, the tough times are even worse. Our hearts are with you."

"The Boss," as Springsteen is known, told reporters before the concert that he wanted to see politics that included "more Socialism for the tycoons and more capitalism for everyone else."

"You've got it rough in Spain," he added. "We in the United States are in recession, but you are in a real depression."

Springsteen's tour of Europe will extend for more than two months, wrapping up with a show in Helsinki, Finland on July 31.

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Economy

How A Xi Jinping Dinner In San Francisco May Have Sealed Mastercard's Arrival In China

The credit giant becomes only the second player after American Express to be allowed to set up a bank card-clearing RMB operation in mainland China.

Photo of a hand holding a phone displaying an Union Pay logo, with a Mastercard VISA logo in the background of the photo.

Mastercard has just been granted a bank card clearing license in China.

Liu Qianshan

-Analysis-

It appears that one of the biggest beneficiaries from Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to San Francisco was Mastercard.

The U.S. credit card giant has since secured eagerly anticipated approval to expand in China's massive financial sector, having finally obtained long sought approval from China's central bank and financial regulatory authorities to initiate a bank card business in China through its joint venture with its new Chinese partner.

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Through a joint venture in China between Mastercard and China's NetsUnion Clearing Corporation, dubbed Mastercard NUCC, it has officially entered mainland China as an RMB currency clearing organization. It's only the second foreign business of its kind to do so following American Express in 2020.

The Wall Street Journal has reported that the development is linked to Chinese President Xi Jinping's meeting on Nov. 15 with U.S. President Joe Biden in San Francisco, part of a two-day visit that also included dinner that Xi had with U.S. business executives.

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