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☆ North Korea spent the pandemic building a huge border wall
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +11 min

As the pandemic began, North Korea moved to seal its northern borders, tightening control over informal trade routes and making escape harder for defectors. Nov. 16, 2019 Minimal security features visible along North Korea’s border with Russia. Food shortages in North Korea have worsened in recent months, due in part to the border closures, according to international experts. Still, he said, there were reports of foreign shows such as the South Korean hit “Squid Game” finding their way into North Korea. “It's all the more reason for the international community to step up efforts to support North Korean rights,” he said.

☆ Debt ceiling debacle is ultimate winner’s curse
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-23 | by ( John Foley | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The ongoing debt-ceiling standoff, which has the potential to tip markets into mayhem, is a kind of winner’s curse. Put differently, the U.S. government has racked up so much debt because everybody else needed it to. Reuters GraphicsBy getting into ever more debt, Americans have done the rest of the world a favor. Nobody knows when that point will come, though, and the debt ceiling doesn’t seem to reflect the market’s view of how much is too much. The U.S. share of the global economy is shrinking, the debt is growing, and so is the political theater it generates.

☆ Fresh round of debt ceiling talks kick off as US default worries grow
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

A failure to lift the debt ceiling would trigger a default that would shake financial markets and drive interest rates higher on everything from car payments to credit cards. Any deal to raise the $31.4 trillion debt limit must pass both chambers of Congress before Biden could sign it into law. A plan passed by the House last month would cut a wide swath of government spending by 8% next year. Biden has said he would consider spending cuts alongside tax adjustments but that Republicans' latest offer was "unacceptable." McCarthy told reporters debt ceiling talks have not included discussions about tax cuts passed under former President Donald Trump, a Republican.

☆ Biden, House Speaker McCarthy could speak Sunday on debt limit
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Trevor Hunnicutt | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HIROSHIMA, Japan, May 21 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden and top congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy could speak as soon as Sunday in talks over raising the federal $31.4 trillion debt ceiling. Biden will be headed back to Washington on Sunday after cutting his trip to Asia short to focus on the debt limit talks. The Republican-led House last month passed legislation would cut a wide swath of government spending by 8% next year. The source also said House Republicans want to extend tax cuts passed under former President Donald Trump, which would add $3.5 trillion to the federal debt. Congressional Republicans voted to raise the debt ceiling three times, with no budget cut pre-conditions, when Republican President Donald Trump was in the White House.

"Unfortunately, the White House moved backwards," McCarthy said, adding that the "socialist wing" of the Democratic Party appeared to be in control. McCarthy's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the White House statement. Democratic President Biden’s proposed 2024 budget and Republicans’ ‘Limit, Save, Grow’ Act will both generate budget savings over a decade, but how they will do so is starkly different. The source also said House Republicans want to extend tax cuts passed under former President Donald Trump, which would add $3.5 trillion to the federal debt. Congressional Republicans voted to raise the debt ceiling three times, with no budget cut pre-conditions, when Republican President Donald Trump was in the White House.

☆ Biden says GOP must move off 'extreme' positions, and that there will be no debt limit deal solely on its 'partisan terms'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

GOP lawmakers are holding tight to demands for sharp spending cuts, rejecting the alternatives proposed by the White House for reducing deficits. GOP lawmakers are also seeking cuts to IRS funding and asking the White House to accept provisions from their proposed immigration overhaul. Republicans had also rejected White House proposals to raise revenues in order to further lower deficits. He said "the socialist wing" of the Democratic party appears to be in control, "especially with President Biden out of the country." For months, Biden had refused to engage in talks over the debt limit, insisting that Congress was trying to use the borrowing limit vote as leverage to extract other policy priorities.

☆ Washington quiet as debt ceiling deadline inches closer
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Nathan... Read moreWASHINGTON, May 20 (Reuters) - White House and Republican congressional negotiators on raising the federal $31.4 trillion debt ceiling were quiet on Saturday after meetings on Friday failed and President Joe Biden said in Japan he believed a default could be avoided. Biden said in Japan late on Friday Washington time that he still believed a default could be avoided. Biden was upbeat despite the White House acknowledging that "serious differences" remained with Republicans, who control the House of Representatives. Democrats have been pushing to hold spending steady at this year's levels, while Republicans want to return to 2022 levels. A plan passed by the House last month would cut a wide swath of government spending by 8% next year.

WASHINGTON, May 18 (Reuters) - Vice President Kamala Harris and top White House economic adviser Lael Brainard said on Thursday that a default on the U.S. debt of $31.4 trillion would throw the American economy into a recession. In a conference call for Democratic activists, Harris and Brainard urged them to contact lawmakers to express opposition to a debt default that could be less than two weeks away. "A debt default could trigger a recession," she said. Negotiators for the White House and congressional Republicans met again on Capitol Hill to discuss their search for common ground on lifting the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling, and plan to meet again on Friday, a White House official said. Brainard said the administration's goal, in its talks with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's team, is to work toward a reasonable, bipartisan budget agreement.

Here's the latest:ELECTRIC VEHICLE FRICTIONBiden's domestic policy is embodied in working to electrify roadways across the United States. Getting more electric vehicles on the roads is central to his climate change agenda, ensuring the vehicles are "Made in America" is part of his commitment to restore manufacturing jobs. But the IRA's consumer tax credits are tightly linked to the cars' and batteries being made in the U.S., roiling allies in Europe and Asia whose companies sell into U.S. markets. Instead, Japanese and U.S. officials struck a trade deal on electric vehicle battery minerals that expands eligibility for the $7,500 per vehicle EV tax credits in the IRA. NEW RACE FOR SUBSIDIESThe promise of corporate tax credits has renewed interest in investing in the U.S., and Europe has responded with subsidies of their own.

"Put simply, inflation is more than double the Fed's target rate and the unemployment rate is below every FOMC participant's estimate of the natural rate. "In our view, rather than lean against a mild recession, the Fed would view it as an acceptable price for bringing inflation back down to target." A slight majority, 22 of 41 respondents, said the risk of a default was higher this time compared to prior episodes of debt ceiling brinkmanship. Elevated worries about a default will push U.S. Treasury yields higher over the coming weeks, a separate Reuters poll showed. The macroeconomic consequences of a short default would be somewhat more severe."

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude edged down 2 cents to $70.84 as of 0222 GMT. "Crude prices remain heavy as energy traders just can't shake off global demand concerns. U.S. crude stockpiles rose by about 3.6 million barrels in the week ended May 12, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures. U.S. government data on crude and product stockpiles is due at 1430 GMT. The U.S. Treasury Department has estimated that the United States will go into a crippling default as early as June 1 if Congress does not lift the debt ceiling.

☆ Oil dips on demand worries after unexpected U.S. crude build
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Katya Golubkova | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Brent crude futures was 29 cents lower, or down by 0.4%, to $74.60 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude edged down by 32 cents, also 0.4% down, to $70.55, as of 0005 GMT. Right now too much oil is still available," Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA, said in a note. The U.S. Treasury Department has estimated that the United States will go into a crippling default as early as June 1 if Congress does not lift the debt ceiling. Oil prices fell even as the International Energy Agency raised its forecast for global oil demand this year by 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) to a record 102 million bpd.

WASHINGTON, May 16 (Reuters) - Democratic President Joe Biden and top congressional Republican Kevin McCarthy will sit down on Tuesday to try to make progress on a deal to raise the U.S. government's $31.4 trillion debt ceiling and avert an economically catastrophic default. House of Representatives Speaker McCarthy on Tuesday told reporters that his party, which controls the chamber by a 222-213 margin, would only agree to a deal that cuts spending. "We can raise the debt ceiling if we limit what we're going to spend in the future," McCarthy told reporters. Tuesday's White House meeting, which will include Biden, McCarthy, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell and top House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries, is due to begin at 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT). 2 Senate Republican John Thune told reporters that the talks appear to have "too many cooks."

White House officials have described the talks as constructive, but McCarthy on Monday warned that he believed little progress had been made. Democrats including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who is also expected to attend Tuesday's White House meeting, said that talks were proceeding in a "serious way." 'TOO MANY COOKS'Some observers have raised concerns that the five-party talks -- featuring Biden, McCarthy, Schumer, top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell and top House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries -- are too unwieldy to make progress. 2 Senate Republican John Thune told reporters that the talks appear to have "too many cooks." "As we've said all along, it is Biden and McCarthy," Thune said.

☆ German exports to Russia's neighbours fuel sanctions evasion fears
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Rene Wagner | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Although they remain relatively modest in value, German exports to Georgia rose by 92%, while those to Kazakhstan rose 136%, to Armenia 172% and to Tajikistan 154%. An 11th package of EU sanctions, currently being negotiated, will also focus on people and countries circumventing existing trade restrictions. "The circumvention of sanctions against Russia is unacceptable," German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said in Brussels on Tuesday. That came after a six-fold rise in German exports to Kyrgyzstan last year following Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. "But because Turkey does not participate in EU sanctions, EU goods are further exported from there to Russia."

[1/2] The United States Department of the Treasury is seen in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 30, 2020. In her second letter to Congress in two weeks, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen confirmed that the agency will be unlikely to meet all U.S. government payment obligations by early June, triggering the first-ever U.S. default. The debt ceiling could become binding by June 1, she said. She said she will provide an additional update to Congress next week as more information becomes available. 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.

☆ Treasury Secretary Yellen reaffirms U.S. could run out of money to pay bills by early June
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Christina Wilkie | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Ukraine Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal speak to the press after holding a bilateral meeting at the U.S. Treasury Department Building in Washington, D.C., U.S. April 13, 2023. WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reaffirmed to Congress on Monday that the United States could default on its debt as early as June 1. The Democratic majority Senate is expected to back whatever the White House negotiates with the GOP controlled House. "In fact, we have already seen Treasury's borrowing costs increase substantially for securities maturing in early June," said Yellen. "If the debt limit remains unchanged, there is significant risk that at some point in the first two weeks of June, the government will no longer be able to pay all of its obligations," said the CBO report.

The law is viewed as a watershed for domestic solar manufacturing, which has struggled for years to compete with a flood of cheap imports from China. Since passage of the IRA, companies have announced more than $13 billion in U.S. factory investments, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). According to Treasury's proposed guidelines, the manufactured products in a typical solar energy facility would include modules, trackers and inverters. But solar cells account for about 30% of the costs of the products that make up a solar facility, making them a large piece of the puzzle. The top solar trade group, Solar Energy Industries Association, had proposed that panels assembled in the United States should qualify for the credit regardless of where the cells inside them are produced.

☆ U.S. government posts smaller $176 bln April surplus as revenues shrink
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( David Lawder | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Revenues for April totaled $639 billion, the second-highest level since the April 2022 record of $864 billion, but a decrease of 26%. A U.S. Treasury official said the bulk of the decline was due to lower non-withheld individual tax receipts, reflecting lower stock market capital gains in 2022. Individual withheld tax receipts for April grew 3% from a year earlier to $252 billion, while non-withheld taxes fell 34% to $358 billion. Corporate tax receipts also fell 11% to $85 billion and the Federal Reserve again had no earnings in April, after contributing $10 billion to April 2022 receipts. But the official declined to comment on the outlook for current and future revenues, including whether higher refund levels would continue.

☆ Crypto exchange Bittrex files for bankruptcy after SEC complaint
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Dietrich Knauth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 8 (Reuters) - Cryptocurrency exchange Bittrex Inc filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday, three weeks after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) accused it of operating an unregistered securities exchange. Seattle-based Bittrex ceased operations in the United States on April 30, and it said the bankruptcy filing would not impact Bittrex Global, which serves customers outside the United States. Bittrex said that it was still holding crypto assets of U.S. customers who did not withdraw funds before April 30. Bittrex has denied the SEC's allegations, saying the crypto assets on its platform were not securities or investment contracts. Bittrex's other largest creditors were mostly customers of the crypto exchange.

☆ Biden Signs Executive Order to Levy Sanctions Related to Sudan Crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Mengqi Sun | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Smoke rose above buildings in Khartoum, Sudan, after aerial bombardment on Monday. Photo: MOHAMED NURELDIN ABDALLAH/REUTERSPresident Biden signed an executive order enabling the U.S. to impose new sanctions on individuals and entities related to the conflict in Sudan. The order, published Thursday, expanded the scope of the U.S. sanctions regime against the East African nation to allow the U.S. Treasury Department and the State Department to blacklist people and entities involved in activities that threaten the peace, security and stability of Sudan.

☆ US Treasury's top international official heads to Europe, Asia for talks on economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, May 4 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department's top international official is heading to Europe and Asia this week for talks on current macroeconomic trends and events, and a G7 finance officials meeting, Treasury said in a statement on Thursday. Treasury Undersecretary for International Affairs Jay Shambaugh will attend meetings of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris on Friday, before traveling on to Singapore and Japan, Treasury said. The meeting takes place a month after the International Monetary Fund trimmed its 2023 global growth outlook slightly and warned that a severe flare-up of financial system turmoil could slash output to near recessionary levels. Shambaugh will join U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen at the G7 meeting in Niigata, Treasury said. Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Kirsten DonovanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Treasury: US banks have 'substantial' liquidity, deposit flows are stable
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, May 4 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday said it was continuing to monitor market developments amid sharp drops in the shares of regional lenders PacWest Bancorp <PACW.O and Western Alliance Bancorp (WAL.N), but deposit flows were stable. "We continue to closely monitor market developments," a Treasury official said. "The banking system has substantial liquidity and deposit flows are stable." Western Alliance's stock was down 58.2%, despite a statement from the bank saying it had no unusual deposit outflows and had adequate liquidity. First Republic was the third major casualty of the biggest crisis to hit the U.S. banking sector since 2008.

☆ Pressure grows for US regulatory intervention as bank rout deepens
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"Investors are clearly continuing to focus on remaining players that are deemed the weakest," wrote UBS banking analyst Erika Najarian on Thursday. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. did not respond to a request for comment. Critics say increasing deposit insurance could encourage risk-taking, and note regulators have fewer tools to rescue banks following the 2008 financial crisis. The latest crisis began in March when runs on Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank led to their abrupt closures, leading depositors to move their cash to bigger banks. To stem the contagion, regulators took emergency steps to reimburse all customers at the two banks, while the Fed offered lenders additional liquidity.

☆ Crypto Exchange Poloniex to Pay $7.6 Million to Settle Probe Into Sanctions Violations
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Mengqi Sun | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The settlement agreement alleged that Poloniex processed digital assets transactions worth a total of more than $15.3 million for customers in sanctioned regions between 2014 and 2019. Photo: Patrick Semansky/Associated PressCryptocurrency exchange Poloniex LLC has agreed to pay about $7.59 million to settle allegations it allowed users in sanctioned regions to trade digital assets on its platform, the U.S. Treasury Department said. The settlement agreement, which became public Monday, alleged that Poloniex processed digital assets transactions worth a total of more than $15.3 million for customers in sanctioned regions between 2014 and 2019, despite the platform having know-your-customer information and internet protocol address data that told them otherwise, according to the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, which enforces U.S. economic sanctions.

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