Why North Koreans are hoarding US dollars and Chinese yuan, but use local won to buy cheap items like vegetables and soda
North Koreans are likely resisting attempts by authorities to take their foreign currency given the low level of public trust in the government’s economic policies, said Choi Ji-young, an analyst at Seoul’s state-funded Korea Institute for National Unification.
Climate change fuels human-wildlife conflict in Kenya as Maasai herders spear lions that feasted on their livestock
Last month, one of Kenya’s oldest lions, Loonkiito, was speared to death as it wandered out of the Amboseli National Park in search for food. The Kenya Wildlife Service said it is working on lasting solutions that would address the conflict while protecting both humans and wildlife.
Oil prices rise after US debt ceiling deal, shifting attention to OPEC meeting in Austria this week
OPEC+ in April announced a surprise cut of 1.16 million barrels per day in April, but the gains from that move have since been retraced and prices are below pre-cut levels. But signals on any fresh cut have been varied, with Reuters reporting and bank analysts indicating that further output cuts are unlikely.
It’s a sigh of relief for President Biden as US debt ceiling bill passes House with broad bipartisan support
The legislation suspends – in essence, temporarily removes – the federal government’s borrowing limit through January 1, 2025. The timeline allows Biden and Congress to set aside the politically risky issue until after the November 2024 presidential election.
China’s teetering economic recovery unleashes hordes of hawkers on streets as low wages bite
For decades, street stalls and hawkers – common elsewhere in Asia – have been banned or tightly regulated in many Chinese cities, with authorities seeing them as unsightly. There are signs, however, that local governments are giving hawkers more leeway, a trend expected to continue.
American business community hails debt ceiling deal between Biden and McCarthy, Republicans jeer it
With the nation roughly a week away from the risk of a default that could roil the global economy, major business groups have been urging Washington to act quickly on a debt-ceiling increase. The Business Roundtable, a group of more than 200 chief executive officers, called on Congress to pass the bill as soon as possible.
How President Biden and Speaker McCarthy avoided putting US in recession mode with debt ceiling deal
When Kevin McCarthy was struggling early this year to get enough votes from his own Republicans to become speaker of the House of Representatives, Democratic President Joe Biden called the prolonged saga a national embarrassment, then had a little fun. “I’ve got good news for you,” Biden said, pointing playfully...
Biden expresses optimism as debt ceiling negotiations push toward critical default deadline
Hard-line Republicans in the House of Representatives have threatened to block any bill that does not meet their expectations, including sharp spending cuts. Progressive Democrats have also threatened to withhold support for some of the compromises raised, particularly around imposing new work requirements on federal anti-poverty programmes.
De-dollarisation: Why world trade can’t shed King Dollar even as fallout with China, Russia rolls on
Many currencies, from the Hong Kong dollar to the Panama balboa, are pegged against the dollar for similar reasons. The almighty dollar has had a lock on commodity trading, allowing Washington to hinder market access for producer nations from Russia to Venezuela and Iran.
Worried about Kenya’s current economic mess, Chinese hackers have made digital intrusions into government’s sensitive ministries
The hacks constitute a three-year campaign that targeted eight of Kenya’s ministries and government departments, including the presidential office, according to an intelligence analyst in the region. The analyst also shared with Reuters research documents that included the timeline of attacks, the targets, and provided some technical data relating to the compromise of a server used exclusively by Kenya’s main spy agency.
