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NEW YORK/LONDON, June 1 (Reuters) - A bill backed by debt justice campaigners and civil society groups advocating on behalf of economically distressed countries could alter past and future sovereign debt restructurings covered by New York state law - and Wall Street is watching. Senate Bill S4747, the NY Taxpayer and International Debt Crises Protection Act, "relates to New York state's support of international debt relief initiatives for certain developing countries." The initiative has so far failed to accelerate debt relief talks, while private creditors are not even formally included in this initiative. It would "bring badly needed improvements to the framework for resolving unsustainable sovereign debt burdens," according to Nobel Prize-winning U.S. economist Joseph Stiglitz. If this bill passes, "I would recommend issuers not go through New York law, (but) through London or any other jurisdiction," said Rodrigo Olivares-Caminal, professor of banking and finance law at Queen Mary University of London.

Persons: Bill S4747, Alexander Flood, Patricia Fahy, Kathy Hochul, Joseph Stiglitz, Rishikesh Ram Bhandary, THE BILL, Rodrigo Olivares, Caminal, Rodrigo Campos, Jorgelina, Karin Strohecker, Aurora Ellis Organizations: NY Taxpayer, Senate, Institute of International Finance, Paris Club, China, WHO, Economic, Initiative, Boston, Global, Policy, THE, Queen Mary University of London, Thomson Locations: New York, United States, Ukraine, Sri Lanka, Zambia, Rishikesh, London, Paris, Brazil, Argentina, Rosario

At the same time, he said the job market is showing an "unprecedented" break from past behavior with a steady drop in job openings without any rise in the unemployment rate. The big unknown is whether that continued job market health is consistent with inflation falling steadily from its current levels above 4% back to the Fed's 2% target. That could allow the job market to cool without as much of a rise in unemployment as might otherwise be the case. Economists and policymakers at this week's conference pointed to other factors adding to the case for a soft landing. But at this point the "uncertainty" about what's at work in the economy could, some officials feel, mask developments that are working in their favor.

☆ Analysis: Bank failures and looming debt default test American confidence in the economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Two converging crises are testing American confidence in their financial well-being. And there’s a debt crisis, which is becoming more urgent as the US approaches the “X-date” – when it would default – and on which opposing lawmakers aren’t currently talking to each other. First Republic Bank was taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation on Monday, and most of its assets were sold to JPMorgan Chase. Maintaining confidenceNone of that means this is a golden chapter for the American financial system. Now, the debt crisis and the X-dateIf only American lawmakers could take a cue from the First Republic saga and get into a room to solve the debt crisis.

☆ US pick to lead World Bank, Ajay Banga, wins more support
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, March 9 (Reuters) - Three Nobel laureates and dozens of civil society, climate change and philanthropic leaders on Thursday endorsed U.S. President Joe Biden's nominee to lead the World Bank, ex-Mastercard (MA.N) Chief Executive Officer Ajay Banga. "Ajay Banga possesses a rare combination of leadership; track record of building successful alliances across the public, private, and social sectors; and experience working in developing countries," they wrote. "He's the right person to lead the World Bank at this critical moment." "He understands that the World Bank must serve as a force multiplier by setting the right agenda and then catalyzing action across governments, the private sector, multilateral development banks, civil society, and philanthropies," they said. The World Bank has been headed by someone from the United States, the lender's dominant shareholder, since its founding at the end of World War Two.

☆ U.S. Commerce to ask companies seeking chips funding to provide childcare for employees
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. Commerce Department said on Monday it plans to ask companies seeking at least $150 million in funding from a $52 billion semiconductor law to submit a plan for how they will provide affordable childcare for their workers. Commerce cited data that a lack of affordable and accessible childcare "is one of the largest constraints keeping Americans - and especially women" - out of the labor workforce in making the case that companies getting chips funding should show how they will provide affordable childcare. The provision that companies receiving CHIPS money provide childcare for workers is an important component." On Tuesday, the Commerce Department will release the first funding opportunity. Commerce said last year chips companies awards will be "no larger than is necessary to ensure the project happens here in the United States" and will discourage "race-to-the-bottom subsidy competitions between states and localities."

☆ Explainer: The Fed says disinflation is welcome. What is that, exactly?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Ann Saphir | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

But what, exactly, is disinflation, and why is it welcome? Central banks globally tend to target 2% annual inflation (the Fed formally adopted a 2% target in 2012). DISINFLATION = SLOWING INFLATIONCurrently inflation by the Fed's preferred measure - the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index - is running at about 5%. Economists expect those softer new leases to start showing up in official measures in coming months - another part of the "good story" of disinflation, Powell said. Former Fed Chair Alan Greenspan famously warned in 2003 that with inflation low, at 1.8%, "substantial further disinflation would be an unwelcome development."

☆ First on CNN: Senate Democrat warns Fed it’s ‘foolish’ to keep lifting interest rates
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Matt Egan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

But the concern is the Fed is doing too much too soon,” Hickenlooper wrote in a letter on Thursday to Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. In a bid to get inflation under control, the Fed has raised interest rates more rapidly than at any point since the early 1980s under legendary Fed chairman Paul Volcker. “I write to urge the Federal Reserve to pause and seriously consider the negative consequences of again raising interest rates,” Hickenlooper wrote, adding that families have been stung by surging borrowing costs for homes and cars. “Will raising interest rates lead to more oil, lower prices of oil, more food, lower prices of food? Former President Donald Trump repeatedly slammed Powell — his handpicked Fed chairman — for raising interest rates and shrinking the Fed’s balance sheet.

The stakes are high as it potentially affects the future use and effectiveness of extraordinary monetary policies such as bond-buying 'quantitative easing' (QE) and questions the wider political independence of central bank policymaking. The European Central Bank, Bank of England and U.S. Federal Reserve are all - to differing degrees - now facing a backwash from years of policy-driven but lucrative balance sheet expansion. As they lift interest rates, that balance sheet burns a hole in their pockets - or more particularly the pockets of their governments long used to windfalls coming the other way. That will surely climb as the BoE is expected to at least double its policy rate, the rate paid on bank reserves, by May. G4 central bank balance sheetsThe easy-money era is overReuters Graphics Reuters GraphicsThe opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters.

☆ Prices are set to fall for homes, cars, and furniture. It's a sign the Fed may not need to risk a recession that punishes job seekers.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Some economists say that means the Federal Reserve doesn't need to squash jobs to cool inflation. Cooling prices might provide less reason for the Federal Reserve to continue its bold campaign to raise interest rates and slow the economy. It did just that on Wednesday, increasing interest rates by another 0.75% to make borrowing more expensive and squash demand. "Will raising interest rates lead to more oil, lower prices of oil, more food, lower prices of food?" "The real worry in my mind is," he added, "will they increase interest rates too high, too fast, too far?"

☆ Joseph Stiglitz: Moneda euro ar putea să dispară
▼ + stars: | 2016-08-24 | by ( ) subiectulzilei.md time to read: +1 min

Europa se îndreaptă către un „cataclism financiar” care ar putea duce la dispariţia monedei Euro şi la finalul Uniunii Europene, avertizează economistul Joseph Stiglitz, laureat al premiului Nobel. Joseph Stiglitz şi-a lansat cea mai recentă carte, „The Euro: How A Common Currency Threatens the Future of Europe” (Euro: Cum o monedă unică amenință viitorul Europei), în care susţine că euro ar putea să dispară în scurt timp, informează Business Insider. În interviul acordat publicaţiei Business Insider, Stiglitz a declarat că un eveniment politic „dezastruos” ar putea declanşa o astfel de prăbuşire. Ceea ce ar urma să se întâmple va duce la consensul bine definit că Europa nu mai funcţionează”, a spus economistul. Toate acestea ar putea duce la ieşirea Italiei din zona euro şi la prăbuşirea proiectului european aşa cum îl ştim.

Persons: Joseph Stiglitz, Stiglitz, Nobel Organizations: Uniunii Europene, Europene Locations: Europa, Europei, Italia, Italiei

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