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I believe it is profoundly wrong, in difficult times like these, to campaign using a precious forum like the G7,” Meloni told reporters Thursday. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni welcomes US President Joe Biden to the G7 summit, June 13, 2024. The 2023 G7 communique, released after the last summit in Hiroshima, Japan, called for “access to safe and legal abortion and post abortion care.” Previous summits’ communiques had stopped short of using the word “abortion,” calling instead for access to sexual and reproductive health services. The spat between Meloni and Macron comes after France in March became the world’s first country to enshrine abortion rights in its constitution, the culmination of an effort which began in direct response to the US Supreme Court’s decision to roll back abortion rights in America. The same sensibility is not shared in your country today,” Macron told an Italian journalist at the summit.

Persons: Emmanuel Macron, Georgia Meloni, Macron, ” Meloni, “, ” Italy’s, ”, Giorgia Meloni, Joe Biden, Luca Bruno, communiques, Biden, Meloni, Roe, Wade, Donald Trump, Francesco Lollobrigida, Meloni’s, Pope, ” Macron Organizations: CNN, Seven, “, AP, United, Ukraine Locations: Italy, Italian, France, “ France, Puglia, Ukraine, Hiroshima, Japan, America

☆ Here's why you may be saving more in your 401(k) — and not even know it
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-24 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

It automatically raises workers' savings rate each year, often by 1 percentage point at a time up to a cap. In an ideal world, workers would be saving at least 15% of their annual pay in a 401(k) plan, Lander said. Automated 401(k) savings is more widespreadAuto-escalation has become more widespread alongside automatic enrollment, which is when employers divert a portion of workers' paychecks into a 401(k) if they don't sign up voluntarily. Most, or 84%, of these 401(k) plans raise workers' savings rate by 1 percentage point a year. (This example doesn't account for additional financial factors like taxes or annual pay increases.)

Persons: Ellen Lander, Lander Organizations: Renaissance, of America, Finance, U.S, Labor Locations: Pearl River , New York

☆ European Central Bank gives strong signal that cuts are on the way despite Fed uncertainty
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank (ECB), at a rates decision news conference in Frankfurt, Germany, on Thursday, March 7, 2024. The European Central Bank on Thursday held interest rates steady for a fifth straight meeting and gave its clearest signal yet of an upcoming rate cut, despite uncertainty over the U.S. Federal Reserve's next moves. In a press conference following the announcement, ECB President Christine Lagarde said this "important" new sentence was a "loud and clear indication" of the bank's current sentiment. The ECB made no direct reference to loosening monetary policy in its previous communiques. The central bank for the 20 countries that share the euro currency hiked its key rate to a record 4% in September.

Persons: Christine Lagarde, Hussain Mehdi Organizations: European Central Bank, ECB, U.S, U.S . Federal, HSBC Asset Management Locations: Frankfurt, Germany, U.S .

☆ China's Taiwan approach 'has been counterproductive,' Blinken says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Rebecca Picciotto | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that China's growing aggression toward Taiwan has undermined the country's own interests. "I think the approach that they've shown in recent years has actually been totally counterproductive to their interests," Blinken said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street." Blinken's comments come days after Taiwan voters elected the Democratic Progressive Party's Lai Ching-te to serve as the next president. In the weeks leading up to the election, Taiwan officials reported several attempts by the Chinese government to sway the election via escalating military pressure and disinformation campaigns. At Davos, Blinken reiterated the official U.S. stance on Taiwan and China, which simultaneously supports Taiwan's democratic systems but does not support its independence.

Persons: Antony Blinken, CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin, Blinken, Party's Lai Ching, Lai, Joe Biden's, Xi Jinping, we've Organizations: State, Economic, Taiwan, Democratic, White Locations: U.S, Davos, Switzerland, Taiwan, CNBC's, China, Beijing, China's Taiwan

NEW YORK (AP) — The next book by Erik Larson, widely known for the best-selling “The Devil in the White City,” is a work of Civil War history inspired in part by current events. Crown announced Wednesday that Larson's “The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War” will come out April 30. Larson sets his narrative over a short but momentous time span, from Abraham Lincoln's election in 1860 to the firing on Fort Sumter five months later. Lincoln's primary concern had been about whether the electoral vote count would be disturbed, and then came the grave concern about the inauguration. Besides “The Devil in the White City,” based in Chicago during the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, Larson's books include “The Splendid and the Vile,” “Dead Wake” and “Isaac's Storm.”

Persons: Erik Larson, Larson, Abraham Lincoln's, Donald Trump, “, Robert Anderson, Edmund Ruffin, Mary Boykin Chesnut, ledgers, it’s, ” Organizations: Crown, Fort, U.S, Capitol, Confederate Army Locations: White City, ”, Fort Sumter, Virginia, South Carolina, America, Chicago

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva did not mention the new conflict at opening events. The inability to respond extended to chair's statements issued by the Group of 20 major economies and the IMF and World Bank steering committees, which failed to mention the conflict. "You know, without peace, it's hard for people to get stability, growth, look after their children, get jobs," he said. But conflicts remain the biggest challenge to the global economy, said Josh Lipsky, a former IMF official who directs the Atlantic Council's GeoEconomics Center. "Geopolitical shocks are economic shocks now and economic shocks are geopolitical shocks - and they're trying to detach the two."

Persons: Kristalina Georgieva, that's, Rachel Nadelman, Joe Biden, China's Xi, Ajay Banga, Josh Lipsky, Andrea Shalal, David Lawder, Giles Elgood Organizations: Global, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, IMF, West Bank, Reuters, Research Center, Group, GeoEconomics, Thomson Locations: MARRAKECH, Morocco, Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, Ukraine, United States, China, Bali, Africa

The Group of 20 major economies did reach consensus on an official communique but omitted any mention of the Israel-Hamas war. Senior World Bank Group officials were more pointed in a statement to staff, saying they were "shocked and appalled by the unprecedented escalation of violence in Israel and Gaza." "We condemn terrorism in all forms, including the abhorrent targeting of innocent civilians and kidnapping," the leaders of the World Bank, the International Finance Corp and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, said in an internal statement seen by Reuters. "Geopolitical shocks are economic shocks now and economic shocks are geopolitical shocks - and they're trying to detach the two." Reporting by Andrea Shalal and David Lawder; Editing by Giles Elgood and Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Kristalina Georgieva, that's, Rachel Nadelman, Joe Biden, China's Xi, Ajay Banga, Josh Lipsky, Andrea Shalal, David Lawder, Giles Elgood, Stephen Coates Organizations: Global, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, IMF, West Bank, Reuters, Research Center, U.S, Treasury, Bank Group, International Finance Corp, Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, GeoEconomics, Thomson Locations: MARRAKECH, Morocco, Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, Ukraine, United States, China, Africa

☆ China's Wang Yi and US national security adviser Jake Sullivan meet in Malta for 'substantive and constructive' talks
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-17 | by ( Simone Mccarthy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

China’s Foreign Ministry said the two sides agreed to continue high-level communication on several fronts, including consultations on Asia-Pacific affairs, maritime affairs, and foreign policy. Biden and Xi last met in November 2022 on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali. Military communicationThe two sides also discussed the need to re-establish military-to-military dialogue between the US and China, the senior Biden official said following the weekend meeting. Wang would visit the country between September 18 and 21, China’s Foreign Ministry said Monday. He is expected to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to discuss “a wide range of bilateral cooperation issues,” according to a statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry last week.

Persons: Hong Kong CNN —, Wang Yi, Jake Sullivan, Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, Xi, Biden, Wang, Sullivan, Nancy Pelosi, China’s, ’, Li Shangfu, Li, Qin Gang, Sergey Lavrov, Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, United, China’s, Ministry, Economic Cooperation, Biden, White, US, Party, Foreign Ministry, Chinese Defense, Communist Party, Foreign, Russian, Russian Foreign Ministry, North Locations: China, Hong Kong, United States, Malta, Asia, Pacific, Beijing, San Francisco, Bali, Washington, Taiwan, Taiwan Strait, ”, Ukraine, Moscow, Pyongyang

☆ Opinion: Putin’s virtual bravado, Xi’s big win, and 6 new members. Why this was a summit like no other
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Opinion Michael Bociurkiw | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The move breathes new life into a group set to rival the G7 and brings the world closer to multi-polarity. BRICS leaders could be forgiven for not knowing whether to exhibit exuberance or concern on Wednesday. (Summit host, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, said it should be seen as an accomplishment for the entire BRICS bloc.) Hours later, just as BRICS leaders were sitting down to dinner, news alerts started to steal the show on the crashed private jet said to be carrying Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin. Host South Africa just manages to pull it offThat South Africa managed to pull off hosting the summit is an accomplishment in itself.

Persons: Michael Bociurkiw, Michael Bociurkiw Chrystia, “, —, Xi Jinping, you’ve, Nicolás Maduro, Russia’s, Cyril Ramaphosa, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, couldn’t, Swagger, I’ve, Modi, Vladimir Putin’s, Sergey Lavrov, Lula da Silva, Lula, Vladimir Putin, Michele Spatari, It’s, ” Nontsikelelo, Facebook Xi, Xi, Putin Organizations: Atlantic Council, Organization for Security, Cooperation, CNN, Johannesburg CNN, United Arab, —, for Security, UN, Wagner, Getty, Democratic, Twitter, Facebook, National Congress, ANC Locations: Odesa, Europe, Johannesburg, Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Iran, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Africa, ”, Beijing, Donbas, Ukraine, AFP, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon

☆ Old Cold War tool could help in new era of tension
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Hugo Dixon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

The United States may soon expand its export controls to cover semiconductors used in artificial intelligence and access to cloud computing. The People’s Republic has responded with tit-for-tat export controls on gallium and germanium, two strategic metals used in chips and other technologies where it has a dominant position. This is what the U.S. and its allies did during the last Cold War, when they established the Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls (CoCom). The United States’ subsidies for green technologies via its Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) caused tension with its allies. Its premier, Li Qiang, travelled to Germany last month hoping to persuade it not to row in behind the United States.

Persons: Joe Biden, Hung Tran, Li Qiang, –, Biden, Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Frances Burwell, Canada –, George Hay, Oliver Taslic, Pranav Kiran Organizations: Reuters, NATO, Soviet, Atlantic Council, Reuters Graphics Reuters, European Union, Multilateral Export Controls, United, Republican, Florida, EU, U.S, U.S . Trade, Technology Council, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, China, Republic, U.S, Netherlands, Japan, States, United States, People’s Republic, Germany, Beijing, ’, Russia, Britain, Canada, Australia, South Korea

[1/7] Top ranking official attendees of the NATO summit pose for a family picture in Bucharest April 3, 2008. And officials often cite the Bucharest declaration as a reference point. The parallels with the 2008 summit, held in the colossal Parliament Palace commissioned by Romanian communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, have struck many NATO-watchers. But others argue that promising Ukraine NATO membership after the war could encourage Putin to keep the conflict going. They say the Bucharest declaration in fact prompted Putin to test Western Ukrainian militarily in both Ukraine and Georgia.

Persons: Francois Lenoir, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Dmytro Kuleba, Nicolae Ceausescu, Orysia, Zelenskiy, Vladimir Putin, Putin, ”, Timothy Sayle, Andrew Gray, Kevin Liffey Organizations: NATO, REUTERS, Kyiv, Ukrainian, Chatham House, Russia, Ukraine NATO, University of Toronto, Thomson Locations: Bucharest, VILNIUS, Vilnius, Ukraine, Georgia, U.S, United States, France, Germany, Russia, Moscow, Soviet Union, NATO, Romanian, Russian, Eastern, Ossetia, Tbilisi, Crimea, Ukraine's

☆ Biden administration approves potential $440 million arms sales to Taiwan
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Michael Callahan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

Washington CNN —The Biden administration has approved two potential arms sales totaling $440 million to Taiwan amid ongoing tensions between the self-governing island and Beijing, the State Department announced Thursday. “This proposed sale serves US national, economic and security interests by supporting the recipient’s continuing efforts to modernize its armed forces and to maintain a credible defensive capability,” the State Department said. Washington has long provided arms to the island under the terms of the Taiwan Relations Act, and there is bipartisan support for supplying Taiwan with weapons. “China’s ever-expanding military and grey zone oppression have posed a severe threat to Taiwan,” the ministry said in a statement. “The US arm sales this time not only helps to build Taiwan’s capacity in responding to China’s military threat, but also strengthens our defense resilience and satisfies our training needs.”

Persons: Washington CNN —, Biden, –, “, Mao Ning, “ China’s, ” Organizations: Washington CNN, State Department, Cultural, Washington, Taiwan Relations, Foreign Ministry, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry Locations: Taiwan, Beijing, Taipei, United States, China, Taiwan Strait

☆ Australian PM backs G7 on 'de-risking' trade with China
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, May 21 (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Sunday that he backed a Group of Seven (G7) joint statement out of Japan stressing the need to ease reliance on trade with China. Albanese said Australia had "for some time" expressed concern about China's activity, pointing to the "chafing" of an Australian aircraft. In May 2022, a Chinese fighter aircraft dangerously intercepted an Australian military plane in the South China Sea region, according to Australia's defence department. China, firmly opposing the G7 statement, has complained to summit organiser Japan, the Chinese foreign ministry has said. "That clarity should be there before the Prime Minister entertains a formal state visit to Beijing," Shadow Foreign Minister Simon Birmingham told ABC television.

WASHINGTON/PARIS, May 17 (Reuters) - The longest shadows at the Group of Seven (G7) leaders' summit this week will be cast by two countries that weren't even invited to the Hiroshima gathering: China and Russia. The G7 countries -- the United States, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Canada and Italy -- are all closely tied economically to China, the world's second-largest economy and a key global manufacturing base and market. "Everything is part of the great power competition that is taking place between the United States and Russia, and the United States and China." A woman walks past a “G7 Hiroshima” flower installation near the Peace Memorial Museum, ahead of the G7 summit, in Hiroshima, Japan, May 17, 2023. The United States is at the forefront in pushing for stronger investment controls, yet Germany is more cautious, given its heavy reliance on trade with Beijing.

The G7 countries -- the United States, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Canada and Italy -- are all closely tied economically to China, the world's second-largest economy and a key global manufacturing base and market. "Everything is part of the great power competition that is taking place between the United States and Russia, and the United States and China." A woman walks past a “G7 Hiroshima” flower installation near the Peace Memorial Museum, ahead of the G7 summit, in Hiroshima, Japan, May 17, 2023. The G7 is looking to draw closer to members of the "Global South" to counter China's role on the global stage. The United States is at the forefront in pushing for stronger investment controls, yet Germany is more cautious, given its heavy reliance on trade with Beijing.

☆ US urges WHO to invite Taiwan to observe May meeting
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, May 9 (Reuters) - The United States is encouraging the World Health Organization to invite Taiwan as an observer at its annual meeting in Geneva from May 21 to 30, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday, in remarks that provoked criticism from China. "Inviting Taiwan as an observer would exemplify the WHO’s commitment to an inclusive, 'health for all' approach to international health cooperation," Blinken said in a statement. Excluded from most global groups due to Beijing's objections, Taiwan says its exclusion from the WHO hampered efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. In Beijing, a spokesperson for China's foreign ministry said the United States' comments were confusing the public, and urged it to avoid using the WHO assembly meeting to "hype up" Taiwan-related issues. "Taiwan's participation in the activities of international organisations, including WHO, must be handled in accordance with the one-China principle," Wang Wenbin told a regular press conference on Wednesday.

CNN —The Group of Seven (G7) advanced economies stressed their solidarity against Russia’s assault on Ukraine, and called on China to “abstain from threats,” in a communique Tuesday following talks in Japan. The G7 foreign ministers said, however, that they “recognized the importance of engaging candidly with and expressing our concerns directly to China” and working together with Beijing on global challenges, according to the statement. He pointed to the language referring to “one China policies” or agreements by which governments have established diplomatic relations with Beijing and not Taipei. The communique was released as the foreign ministers wrapped up three days of talks in the central Japanese town of Karuizawa in Nagano prefecture. The minister also urged fighting parties in the recent outbreak of violence in Sudan to “end hostilities immediately,” and return to negotiations.

The White House said in a statement after the meeting that Biden raised concerns about human rights and China’s provocations around Taiwan. “President Biden and President Xi reiterated their agreement that a nuclear war should never be fought and can never be won,” a White House readout said, referring to the threat of nuclear weapons use in Ukraine. U.S. President Joe Biden meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 leaders' summit in Bali, Indonesia, November 14, 2022. Planning for Monday’s meeting predated Pelosi’s trip, and discussions continued between US and Chinese officials despite Beijing’s furor. “Xi is not an enigma to President Biden,” a senior administration official told CNN.

☆ Yellen to travel to India, G20 summit as forum struggles with Ukraine war
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON, Nov 4 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will travel to India and the Group of 20 Summit in Indonesia next week to bolster U.S.-India economic ties and to try to overcome G20 divisions prompted by Russia's war in Ukraine, the Treasury said on Friday. Russia, a G20 member, has blocked the group from issuing communiques with language condemning the conflict. "In fact, we see the biggest beneficiaries of the price cap being large emerging market countries like India, so we wouldn't be pressuring them away from it." Asked whether Yellen would meet with her Chinese counterpart while in Bali, the official said that Treasury had no specific meetings to announce at present. There are also cooperative aspects, and we look forward to engaging with Chinese authorities going forward," the official said.

[1/4] Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi gestures during an interview at the Foreign Ministry in Jakarta, Indonesia, November 3, 2022. REUTERS/Ajeng Dinar UlfianaJAKARTA, Nov 3 (Reuters) - G20 summit host Indonesia is waiting to see if Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend, Indonesia's foreign minister said on Thursday, adding that differences over Ukraine had made preparations for the meeting particularly fraught. Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi told Reuters in an interview that Putin's attendance at the meeting might only become clear at the last minute. The grouping has failed to release joint communiques at several meetings this year, including a G20 foreign ministers' meeting in July. Retno said that while discussion of the Ukraine war was inevitable, the G20 remained "intact".

☆ Moldova’s crisis has regional and transatlantic implications, Bucharest expert
▼ + stars: | 2019-06-11 | by ( ) www.ipn.md time to read: +3 min

Moldova’s crisis has regional and transatlantic implications, Bucharest expertWhile Moldova is not new to political deadlock and infighting, what happened this weekend has regional and transatlantic implications, writes Alina Inayeh, director of the German Marshall Fund/Black Sea Trust in Bucharest, in an opinion piece. However, thinks the expert, Russia’s cooperation with the United States and the EU in this case should not be mistaken for realignment, or for the beginning of a new partnership. (...) Cooperation in Moldova hands Russia a chip it will eventually use in its interest”. According to the expert, Russia’s support for the ACUM-Socialists government also signals to regimes in the region that playing the transatlantic community against Moscow is no longer an option. In 2017, Black Sea Trust was blacklisted as an undesirable organization in Russia.

Persons: Alina Inayeh, “, ”, Plahotniuc, Georgia ” Organizations: German Marshall Fund, Trust, EU, Constitutional, Socialists, Ukraine —, German Marshall, Sea Trust, Regional Cooperation Locations: Bucharest, Moldova, Russia, Chisinau, ACUM, United States, Ukraine, Cooperation, Moscow, Georgia, American, Romania

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