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.
Banks in US treat social media as pariah on back of $1-million-per-second withdrawals before SVB eventual collapse
Lenders are taking action, rethinking social media’s role as a potential risk rather than marketing tool, after tweets questioning SVB’s financial health prompted nervous customers to pull $1 million per second from their accounts before the bank failed on March 10.
Artificial Intelligence is dangerous to humanity’s future and civilisation, new poll finds
When it came to religious beliefs, Evangelical Christians were more likely to “strongly agree” that AI presents risks to humanity, standing at 32 per cent compared to 24 per cent of non-Evangelical Christians.
US Treasury Secretary warns economic disruption looms minus debt ceiling hike by June 1
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office last week said the United States faces a “significant risk” of defaulting on payment obligations within the first two weeks of June without a debt ceiling hike, with payment operations uncertain throughout May.
Foreign military sales and direct commercial sales data show US is selling weapons to world’s autocracies
Since the end of the Cold War, the United States has been the world’s biggest weapons dealer, accounting for about 40 per cent of all arms exports in a given year. In general, these exports are funded through grants or sales. There are two pathways for the latter category: foreign military sales and direct commercial sales.
G7 leaders evaluating type of sanctions to impose on Russia at the Japan summit this week
While US allies have not agreed to apply the more-restrictive approach broadly, US officials expect that in the most sensitive areas for Russia’s military G7 members will adopt a presumption that exports are banned unless they are on a designated list.
Florida court finds MacDonald’s USA at fault for selling hot food that scalded, injured child
Lawyers for McDonald’s noted that the food had to be hot to avoid salmonella poisoning, and that the nuggets were not meant to be pressed between a seat belt and human flesh for more than two minutes.
