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☆ Factbox: FACTBOX Possible U.S. debt-ceiling workarounds to avoid default
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Historians say that aimed to ensure the federal government would not repudiate its debts, as some ex-Confederate states had done. Some experts have suggested that Biden could invoke this amendment to raise the debt ceiling on his own if Congress does not act. Analysts say this would leave Treasury on the hook for higher interest payments and unsettle the market for Treasury bonds, which serve as a bedrock for the global financial system. GET RID OF ITCongress could vote to abolish the debt ceiling entirely, which would eliminate the need to vote on the issue periodically but also erode Congress's authority on fiscal matters. Attempts to abolish the debt ceiling have gotten no traction in Congress in recent years.

Biden has said he intends to run for re-election but has not confirmed plans to do so. The hundreds of party faithful who gathered for the president's address shouted "four more years," as Biden took the stage. 'DON'T RUN JOE'At the DNC meeting, members are expected this weekend to overwhelmingly approve a reshaped 2024 primary calendar selected by Biden. The expected approval shows Biden's grip on the party and would make it even harder for a rival Democrat to mount a campaign to unseat Biden. Trump has already launched his 2024 campaign but is expected to face a primary challenge, including from his former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley.

PHILADELPHIA/WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Establishment Democrats gathered this weekend in Philadelphia have one message for U.S. President Joe Biden as he weighs running for a second term: Run, Joe, run. Biden has said he intends to run for re-election but has not confirmed plans to do so. At the DNC meeting, members are expected this weekend to overwhelmingly approve a reshaped 2024 primary calendar selected by Biden. "Joe Biden has repeatedly said he plans to seek renomination," RootsAction political director Sam Rosenthal said. Representative Debbie Dingell of Michigan, a competitive state Biden won in 2020, said that while there were "no divisive issues" in the party, Democrats needed to do a better job of talking to voters.

☆ Lula's latest attack on Brazil's central bank weighs on markets
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Marcela Ayres | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Lula resumed an offensive agains the central bank in a Thursday TV interview in which he suggested a review of the institution's formal autonomy by the time bank chief Roberto Campos Neto ends his term in December 2024. Those remarks came a day after the central bank signaled it could hold interest rates at a six-year high for longer than markets expect due to fiscal risks under Lula. Brazil's interest rate futures also rose more than 1% in both short and long maturities. Analysts said Lula's comments were weighing on asset prices, with no truce in sight since the leftist president reiterated that "the interest rate issue" is on the agenda. Vitoria acknowledged Brazil has the highest real interest rate in the world.

☆ Biden revamp of Democratic primary faces final vote at DNC convention
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Jarrett Renshaw | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The move, another clear sign Biden intends to run for re-election in 2024, would force any potential Democratic primary challenger to square off with Biden in a series of matchups largely of his choosing. Just a simple majority of the members need to approve it, but two states, Georgia and New Hampshire, are not playing along and have been given to June to comply. GRANITE STATEBiden's push to move New Hampshire down the primary calendar has struck a nerve with both Republicans and Democrats in the Granite State. New Hampshire Democratic Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan sat out the White House congressional ball in December amid anger over the potential changes. In Georgia, Democrats want to move up the calendar but need Republicans who control state government to agree.

☆ McCarthy says he will meet Biden again on U.S. debt ceiling
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

"We're going to meet again about the debt ceiling and ways that we can find ways for savings and put ourselves on a path to balance." The U.S. government neared its $31.4 trillion debt ceiling earlier this month, prompting the Treasury to warn that it may not be able to stave off default past early June. Biden and the White House had refused to negotiate with Republicans over the debt spending, saying it was the responsibility of Congress to address the issue. On Thursday, McCarthy stressed that a debt ceiling solution would need to include spending reforms. "You do not lift the debt ceiling without changing your behavior."

[1/5] Aerial view of the northern border state of Sonora where state electric utility CFE is building the largest solar plant in all of Latin America, in Puerto Penasco, Sonora state, Mexico February 2, 2023. REUTERS/Raquel Cunha/PoolCompanies Alchimie SA FollowPUERTO PENASCO, Mexico, Feb 2 (Reuters) - The first power from a giant solar energy park in the desert of northern Mexico will enter the country's electricity grid in April, officials said on Thursday, as the nation aims to burnish its green credentials with the flagship project. Mexican officials on Thursday, during a tour of the solar park with a group of over 60 foreign diplomats, sought to dampen concerns over Lopez Obrador's commitment to renewables and energy transition. Mexico is looking for partners to help fund the park and the country's broader transition to greener energy sources. Reporting by Stefanie Eschenbacher in Puerto Penasco, Mexico Editing by Stephen Eisenhammer and Alistair BellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Factbox: Possible U.S. debt-ceiling workarounds to avoid default
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Historians say that aimed to ensure the federal government would not repudiate its debts, as some ex-Confederate states had done. Some experts have suggested that Biden could invoke this amendment to raise the debt ceiling on his own if Congress does not act. That leaves only three possible dates for action in the first half of this year: March 27, May 22 and June 12. Analysts say this would leave Treasury on the hook for higher interest payments and unsettle the market for Treasury bonds, which serve as a bedrock for the global financial system. Attempts to abolish the debt ceiling have gotten no traction in Congress in recent years.

That is a shift from previous budget negotiations, when Republicans suggested raising the retirement age and partially privatizing Medicare. Social Security accounted for 17% of federal spending in the 2021 fiscal year, while Medicare accounted for 13%, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. That would leave another 11% of the federal budget off limits. That would force budget cuts if federal borrowing exceeded a set share of the economy, but he has not said what that limit should be. NO DEBT CEILING INCREASE AT ALLSome hardliners, such as Tim Burchett and Andy Biggs, have said they will vote against raising the debt ceiling, no matter what provisions are attached.

[1/2] U.S. President Joe Biden speaks to the media after his arrival to the White House in Washington, U.S., January 30, 2023. The White House says it will only discuss future spending cuts after the debt ceiling is raised. Biden will call on McCarthy to release a budget plan in the meeting and to commit to support the nation's debt obligations, according to a White House memo seen by Reuters. The White House has said it would release its budget proposal on March 9. House Republicans, meanwhile, will aim to produce their budget proposal in April, said House Republican Leader Steve Scalise.

"While others tried to shut this down, I made clear this is a national priority," Biden told a group of lawmakers and supporters gathered at a rail yard at the Hudson River tunnel, the nation's busiest rail corridor. On Tuesday, Biden announced that the administration has awarded nearly $1.2 billion from the law's new national infrastructure project assistance discretionary grant program for nine projects across the country, White House officials said. [1/4] U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks touting how Infrastructure Law funding will be used for the Hudson River Tunnel project, during an event at the West Side Rail Yard in New York City, U.S., January 31, 2023. "Americans see these projects popping up across the country and it sends an important message that we're gonna work together," Biden said. The Hudson River tunnel project, known as the Gateway Program, would repair an existing tunnel and build a new one for Amtrak and state commuter lines between New Jersey and Manhattan.

Biden noted that 2,200 trains ride through it daily, making it the busiest tunnel in the United States. "Folks talk about how badly the Baltimore tunnel needs an upgrade. Trains that travel through the tunnel now at 30 miles per hour will travel at 110 mph when renovations are through, Biden said. In Washington, Biden faces a colder reality as Republicans, now in control of the House of Representatives, threaten to block his economic agenda, bog down his programs in investigations and prevent the raising of the debt ceiling to force spending cuts. Biden plans a similar event on Tuesday in New York related to that city's Hudson Tunnel project.

☆ U.S. House Republican to pursue safeguards on classified documents
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( David Morgan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Jan 30 (Reuters) - The Republican head of a key U.S. House of Representatives committee said on Monday that he will pursue bipartisan legislation to better ensure the proper handling of classified documents at the White House when administrations leave office. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said it is essential to have legislation ensuring classified material is not transferred from the offices of the president and vice president to unsecured locations at the end of an administration. Classified documents have also turned up at the Indiana home of former Vice President Mike Pence. "Somebody needs to oversee all of the documents that are going into boxes to make sure they're not classified." The sessions follows a Comer demand for information from the National Archives concerning documents found in Biden's possession.

☆ Mike Pence says he takes responsibility for documents found at home
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 27 (Reuters) - Former Vice President Mike Pence said on Friday he had not been aware that classified documents were at his Indiana home and said he takes "full responsibility" for the security breach. Pence, speaking at Florida International University in Miami, said a review was conducted of his personal records after classified documents were found at President Joe Biden’s home in Delaware. "Let me be clear: those classified document should not have been in my personal residence," Pence said. Classified documents have also been found at the Florida home of Pence's former boss, former President Donald Trump. During a presidential transition period, the records from each administration are supposed to be turned over to the legal custody of the National Archives.

☆ Republicans reelect Trump-backed McDaniel as party chairperson
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Tim Reid | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair Ronna McDaniel reacts after being reelected at the winter meeting of the Republican National Committee in Dana Point, California, U.S., January 27, 2023. REUTERS/Mike BlakeDANA POINT, Calif., Jan 27 (Reuters) - The Republican National Committee reelected Ronna McDaniel to a fourth term as chairwoman, giving a mandate that would keep the Donald Trump-backed candidate in the top party post through the 2024 U.S. presidential elections. McDaniel beat challenger Harmeet Dhillon by 111 votes to 51 for another two-year term at an RNC members meeting in Dana Point, California, according to a party official. During her first three terms as Republican party chair, McDaniel has overseen Trump's 2020 presidential election defeat as well as a weaker-than-expected performance in the mid-term elections last November. Trump endorsed McDaniel for RNC chair in 2017 after she helped deliver her home state of Michigan in the 2016 presidential election in which he defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton.

☆ Former U.S. VP Pence says he takes responsibility for documents found at home
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The assailants had been monitoring the property and may have observed that she often shares flowers with her neighbors, she said. Omarov then sent those details to Mehdiyev, who lived in Yonkers, New York, prosecutors said. Amirov and Omarov then arranged for Mehdiyev to get $30,000 in cash, which he used to buy an assault rifle and ammunition, prosecutors said. Omarov, 38, was arrested in the Czech Republic earlier this month, and the United States is seeking his extradition. Iran accuses Western powers of fomenting the unrest, which security forces have met with deadly violence.

☆ Explainer: When is the State of the Union 2023? Date of Biden's address and what to expect
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Biden will deliver his 2nd State of the Union address on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, at about 9 p.m. Eastern time (0200 GMT Wednesday). An estimated 38.2 million people watched the speech on U.S. television last year, according to the data provider Nielsen. WHAT IS BIDEN EXPECTED TO SAY? Last year, Biden's speech came just days after Russia's invasion of Ukraine and focused heavily on explaining Washington's response. Republicans have not yet announced who will be picked to give the traditional opposition party response to Biden's remarks.

WASHINGTON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - The United States is poised to start using fast-track asylum screenings at the U.S.-Mexico border, part of U.S. President Joe Biden's recent efforts to address a record number of illegal crossings, five sources told Reuters. A group of Biden administration officials visited the U.S.-Mexico border this week in preparation for the new effort, said two of the sources, both U.S. officials. It was unclear when the fast-track screenings will begin. Under the plan, asylum seekers detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) would have remote interviews with a U.S. asylum officer within days, the sources said. Reuters first reported in December that the fast-track screenings were under consideration.

The decisions by Washington and Berlin come as the Western allies help Ukraine prepare for a possible spring counter-offensive to try to drive Russia out of territory it has seized. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said any Abrams shipments would be a waste of money as they "burn" like other tanks in Ukraine. The total cost of a single Abrams tanks can vary, and can be over $10 million per tanks when including training and sustainment. "I am certain that many experts understand the absurdity of this idea," the Kremlin's Peskov said about the Abrams tanks. "The United States was willing to make a significant commitment to assist them in making theirs," the source said.

☆ When were Pence classified documents found in his Indiana home?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Mike Pence found documents marked classified at his Indiana home this month which were taken by the FBI, a lawyer for the former Vice President said in letters to the National Archives. Here's how the situation unfolded, according to the letters:Jan. 16: After seeing reports that President Joe Biden had classified documents in his Delaware home, Pence engaged lawyers to review records in his Indiana home. They found "a small number of documentsthat could potentially contain sensitive or classified information," which were locked by Pence in a safe. Jan. 19: The Department of Justice requested "direct possession" of the documents, the Jan. 22 letter says. FBI agents arrived at his Indiana home at 9:30 p.m. to collect the documents, which were secured in his safe.

☆ Explainer: Shutdown? Default? Washington's risky new debt ceiling standoff
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Andy Sullivan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the 2018-2019 shutdown reduced economic activity by about $11 billion while it was underway, but much of that lost growth was recovered when government activity resumed. WHAT IS THE DEBT CEILING? This year could see a repeat of 2011, as Republicans who control the House of Representatives say they will not raise the debt ceiling unless Democratic President Joe Biden agrees to limit spending. WHAT HAPPENS IF THE DEBT CEILING IS NOT RAISED? Sources: Congressional Budget Office (CBO), Government Accountability Office, Congressional Research Service, Office of Management and Budget, Social Security AdministrationReporting by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Scott Malone and Alistair BellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Jan 24 (Reuters) - U.S. oilfield services firm Halliburton Co (HAL.N) on Tuesday topped Wall Street profit estimates for its fourth quarter and said its shale oil-well fracking equipment remains fully booked with oil prices driving increased drilling. The largest provider of hydraulic fracking services used to complete shale oil and gas wells maxed out on its North American fracking equipment and crews. The business last year was in a standoff with oil producers, not adding new equipment until customers agreed to pay higher fees. Halliburton executives said on Tuesday they expect North America customer spending to grow by at least 15% this year, but warned its oil-well completions equipment remains fully contracted. For the full-year 2022, international revenue grew by 20% and North America revenue grew 51% compared with last year.

☆ Classified documents found at former U.S. Vice President Pence's home
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Jeff Mason | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Jan 24 (Reuters) - Documents marked as classified were discovered at former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence's Indiana home last week, and he has turned those classified records over to the FBI, his representative said in letters seen by Reuters. Pence's representative sent a letter to the National Archives notifying them of the documents and in a separate letter said the FBI came to the former vice president's home to collect the documents. The discovery puts Pence in the company of his former boss, former President Donald Trump, and President Joe Biden after documents with classified markings were found at their residences. "Vice President Pence immediately secured those documents in a locked safe pending further direction on proper handling from the National Archives," he said. With agreement by the former vice president, FBI agents came to his Indiana home at 9:30 p.m. on Jan. 19 to collect the documents stored in the safe, Jacob said.

As Africa struggles with economic headwinds caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and, notably, Washington's own monetary policy, Africans are asking for proof the United States will stay the course this time. African countries have become collateral victims of this year's rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve, aimed at curbing inflation at home. African countries are also finding it harder to access capital markets to meet their fiscal needs and refinance maturing debt. The United States, meanwhile, has largely failed to offer viable alternatives to cheap Chinese credit, officials said. One senior U.S. Treasury official said the United States had long been engaged in Africa, funding anti-HIV work and working on other health issues.

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