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☆ Shares fall as US debt deal goes to a vote; China data rattles nerves
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Amanda Cooper | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Data showed China's manufacturing activity fell more than expected in May, while services growth -- which has been one of the few bright spots in its patchy recovery -- slackened to its slowest pace in four months. For any investors hoping for a sustained bounce in Chinese growth after the elimination of stringent COVID restrictions late last year, the figures offered more evidence that the economy is losing steam, further dimming the global outlook. The euro tumbled by as much as 0.7% on the day after data showed a rapid cooling in consumer price pressures in both France and Germany - the region's two largest economies. Meanwhile, Treasury yields fell after a deal to suspend the U.S. debt limit and avoid a default cleared a House of Representatives committee overnight. Two-year yields fell 5 bps to 4.428%.

Persons: they're, Michael Hewson, COVID, Matt Simpson, Treasuries, Brent, Tom Westbrook, Sam Holmes, Kim Coghill, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: Global, CMC, Burberry, Swatch Group, European Central Bank, Thomson Locations: China, Washington, Europe, France, Germany, Singapore

☆ Raging wildfire empties homes in eastern Canada, pollutes air in US
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Eric Martyn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The fire, which is about 30 kilometres (19 miles) west of downtown Halifax, has already forced 18,000 people to evacuate their homes. No fatalities have been reported but about 200 homes, structures have been damaged, the CBC reported, citing the Halifax Regional Municipality. Forest fires also led to evacuations of about 400 homes in the province of New Brunswick over the weekend, officials said. "The stories and the images we're seeing coming out of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are heartbreaking," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa, pledging federal support for the Atlantic provinces. The Halifax wildfire was expected to cause poor air quality hundreds of miles to the south in parts of the U.S. East Coast and Midwest as smoke drifts across the regions.

Persons: David Steeves, Justin Trudeau, what's, Brendan O'Brien, Ismail Shakil, Sriraj Kalluvila, Marguerita Choy, Deepa Babington Organizations: HALIFAX, U.S, Nova, Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources, CBC, CBC News, U.S ., National Weather Service, Thomson Locations: Nova Scotia, Halifax, Canadian, Halifax Regional Municipality, New Brunswick, Ottawa, Atlantic, Bedford , Nova Scotia, West Bedford, Alberta, U.S . East Coast, Midwest, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania , New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago

☆ Podcast: Is a debt ceiling deal possible?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Gridlock over the U.S. debt ceiling as Biden and McCarthy are set to meet - can a deal get done? Russia says Bakhmut captured after the bloodiest battle of the 15-month war - now what? Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement for information on our privacy and data protection practices. You may also visit megaphone.fm/adchoices to opt-out of targeted advertising. Further ReadingGreece set for new vote as winning conservatives short of majorityHow Wall Street is preparing for possible US debt defaultKyiv says Ukrainian troops advance around Bakhmut, Russia adding forcesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

On multiple occasions, White House officials told the mayor’s staff that they hoped to continue talking about the issues privately and emphasized the need to move forward as a partnership. Mr. Biden introduced legislation that would overhaul the immigration system, increasing funding for border security and providing citizenship to 11 million undocumented immigrants. While New York City has long prided itself on being a haven for migrants, more than 67,000 have traveled there in the past year. The Adams administration even asked an owner of the mostly vacant Flatiron Building if there was room there. Homeland Security officials in the Biden administration also privately expressed concerns last year about how cities would handle the influx of migrants from Texas and Florida.

☆ Why Is an M.V.P. Outfielder Playing Shortstop? Because He Can.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Scott Miller | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

LOS ANGELES — Mookie Betts was returning from paternity leave, his car was stuck in Chicago freeway gridlock for what seemed like an eternity and he arrived at Wrigley Field late for that night’s game. The Los Angeles Dodgers knew in advance that Betts would miss the first pitch against the Cubs. And Manager Dave Roberts had put Betts on notice that once he arrived he was going to be playing shortstop for the first time in his major league career — and for the first time at any level in 10 years. So which was more harrowing for Betts, an All-Star outfielder and Most Valuable Player Award winner: the anxiety of being caught in traffic while the game was starting, or playing shortstop in the majors for the first time? Roberts, in his ninth season as the Dodgers’ manager, is known for his superhuman-like communication with his players.

☆ Timing the market isn't easy during a debt-ceiling showdown. Investors should stick to this strategy instead.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( Phil Rosen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesMark Hamrick is senior economic analyst for Bankrate. Phil Rosen: How should investors be positioning themselves as the debt-ceiling fiasco drags on, and a potential default nears? If making a play around the debt ceiling is a no-go in your view, what should investors opt for instead? Homeowners are "quiet quitting" as low inventory and high mortgage rates keep a key market participant sidelined. That has a dual impact: each owner that postpones looking for a new house also marks one less seller on the market.

☆ Credit Suisse's chief US economist says home prices will likely fall another 5-10% — and that gridlock between buyers and sellers will prevent both appreciation and a larger crash
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( William Edwards | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Credit Suisse's Chief US Economist Ray Farris says home prices will see a 'long recession.' Rather, the market is likely to go through a sort of holding period, where activity stays low and prices neither boom nor bust. You can spread the housing market over many more locales in the US and that's what's happening." And the way I think of that, as a base case, it means that even as mortgage rates come down, the housing market doesn't recover rapidly. Morgan Stanley's Ellen Zentner is one economist that — like Farris — doesn't expect a recession, and only sees prices falling another 4% this year.

☆ Why missing one $2 expense could derail your whole national park trip
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

What this means: Travelers can't necessarily bank on showing up spontaneously to a national park and getting the experience they desire. Record park visitation spurred reservationsTourists crowd into the Midway Geyser Basin on July 14, 2021 at Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. One — Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas — saw record visitors last year. Overall visits to national parks jumped by 5% in 2022 versus the year prior, to 312 million recreation visits. These national parks require vehicle reservationsTraffic heading into Yosemite Village on Oct. 6, 2019, in Yosemite National Park, California.

☆ Debt ceiling: Denmark has one, too. It's never been a problem
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

President Joe Biden will host Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other congressional leaders at the White House on Tuesday for a critical meeting on raising the US debt ceiling. The closest analogue to the US debt ceiling is the set-up in Denmark. Lawmakers did not want the debt ceiling to become a proxy for difficult conversations about the government’s fiscal plans. That makes it less likely the debt ceiling could be turned into a political football. Even so, it’s clear that in Denmark, the debt limit has enabled the smooth functioning of government, Kirkegaard said.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will meet with congressional leaders Tuesday as Washington scrambles to lift the debt ceiling with less than a month before the federal government is set to run out of money. Lifting the debt ceiling is necessary for the government to cover spending commitments already approved by Congress and the president and prevent default. But House Republicans have said they will not lift the limit if Biden and lawmakers do not agree to future spending cuts. The White House has stressed that while it is open to discuss spending cuts, it will not negotiate with Republicans on the debt ceiling. If the meeting is indeed a negotiation, then the bill House Republicans passed last month effectively serves as the GOP's opening offer to the White House.

☆ $7.25 federal minimum wage is a 'national disgrace,' says Sen. Bernie Sanders, backing push for $17/hour
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Lorie Konish | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks on raising the federal minimum wage outside the U.S. Capitol on May 4, 2023. Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images News | Getty Images13 states have approved a $15 minimum wageToday, 13 states have approved a $15 minimum wage, Sanders said. Sen. Bernie Sanders Independent U.S. senator from VermontDemocrats had pursued raising the federal minimum wage in recent years, though those efforts stalled. When President Joe Biden took office, he promised to address the federal minimum wage in his first 100 days, Blalock recalled. 'A weak minimum wage is bad for the overall economy'Opponents to raising the minimum wage cite the higher costs those increases would put on businesses.

☆ Democrats have been plotting since January to deploy an obscure legal strategy that could bypass Kevin McCarthy and force a debt ceiling vote if Republicans send the country to the edge of default
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Democrats have prepared to use an obscure legal strategy to force a vote to raise the debt ceiling. Attempting the rarely-successful move, called a discharge petition, requires months of legal prep. All 213 Democratic members, plus five Republicans, need to sign the petition to bypass leadership. 218 petition signatures — meaning every single Democratic member of the House, as well as five Republicans willing to split with party leadership to force a vote on the stalled bill. He added: "Given Treasury Secretary Yellen's announcement yesterday that Congress may only have until June 1st to raise the debt limit to avoid a catastrophic default and Republicans' refusal to support a clean debt limit increase, Democrats are keeping all of our options open."

☆ Kuwait sets June 6 date for legislative elections, state news agency reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

KUWAIT, May 3 (Reuters) - Kuwait on Wednesday set June 6 as the date for its legislative elections, state news agency Kuna reported, two days after the Gulf state's parliament was dissolved by royal decree. The parliament was only reinstated in March based on a Constitutional Court ruling following a previous dissolution. The OPEC member has seen prolonged bickering between the government and the elected parliament that has hampered fiscal reforms. The June 6 date was agreed by the council of ministers on Wednesday and referred to Kuwait's Crown Prince, Kuna reported. Crown Prince Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad al-Sabah had said last month the legislature would be dissolved and new parliamentary elections would be held in the coming months.

☆ Futures slip ahead of Fed meet; U.S. debt ceiling jitters dent mood
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The U.S. central bank is expected to deliver a 25 basis-point interest rate increase on Wednesday and then hold rates steady for the rest of 2023, according to economists in a Reuters poll. However, with inflation running well over the central bank's 2% target and a still-strong labor market mean chances of rate cuts seem less likely. Denting sentiment, Australia's central bank raised its cash rate by 25 basis points when traders were expecting an extended pause, citing too high inflation and warning of even higher rates. ET, Dow e-minis were down 72 points, or 0.21%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 7 points, or 0.17%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 1 points, or 0.01%. Educational services company Chegg (CHGG.N) slumped 44.7% on a downbeat second-quarter revenue forecast on increasing competition from ChatGPT.

☆ House Democrats Move to Force a Debt-Limit Increase as Default Date Looms
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Carl Hulse | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

With the possibility of a default now projected as soon as June 1, Democrats on Tuesday began taking steps to deploy the secret weapon they have been holding in reserve. They started the process of trying to force a debt-limit increase bill to the floor through a so-called discharge petition that could bypass Republican leaders who have refused to raise the ceiling unless President Biden agrees to spending cuts and policy changes. “House Democrats are working to make sure we have all options at our disposal to avoid a default,” Representative Hakeem Jeffries, Democrat of New York and the minority leader, wrote in a letter he sent to colleagues on Tuesday. “The filing of a debt ceiling measure to be brought up on the discharge calendar preserves an important option. It is now time for MAGA Republicans to act in a bipartisan manner to pay America’s bills without extreme conditions.”

☆ Kuwait again dissolves reinstated parliament by decree
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

DUBAI, May 1 (Reuters) - Kuwait's parliament was dissolved by royal decree on Monday, state news agency KUNA said, having only been reinstated in March based on a Constitutional Court ruling after a previous dissolution. The Gulf Arab state, an OPEC member, has seen prolonged bickering between the government and the elected parliament that has hampered fiscal reforms. Sheikh Meshal, who signed Monday's Emiri decree, was handed most of the duties of the ruling emir, Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah, in late 2021. The cabinet had submitted the decree to Sheikh Meshal earlier in the day, according to a previous statement by KUNA. Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf al-Sabah, the emir's son, had in January submitted his government's resignation due to friction with the parliament elected in 2020.

☆ Home Buyers Are Eager but Sellers Are Scarce, Creating ‘Real Gridlock’
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Gregory Schmidt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The housing market typically comes to life in spring, when buyers emerge in the warmer weather. This year, the market appears stuck in a deep freeze, and the biggest culprit is a lack of sellers, housing experts say. The mismatch is caused in part by homeowners who are inclined to sell but are sitting on the sidelines, scared off by the steep prices and mortgage rates that they would face as buyers. More than three-quarters of sellers in a recent survey by Realtor.com said they felt “locked in” to their home by their own low mortgage rate, according to a recent survey by Realtor.com. More than half said they planned to wait until rates fell before putting their homes on the market.

☆ Opinion | Democrats: Pay Attention to What’s Happening in California
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( The Ezra Klein Show | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The state is home to staggering wealth, world-remaking tech companies, and some of the world’s boldest climate policy. The dysfunction of our national politics is often attributed to division and gridlock. And in many major cities — Los Angeles and San Francisco, for example — Republicans have little or no political power. If California has long been a bellwether for national liberal politics, Senator Scott Wiener has been something of a bellwether for California politics. Senator Wiener has represented San Francisco in the California Senate since 2016 and, before that, served on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

☆ Minnesota Votes to Legalize Marijuana as Democrats Press Liberal Policies
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Ernesto Londoño | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

“So we came ready to work on Day 1.”Legalizing marijuana for adults to use recreationally had long been an elusive goal for Democrats in Minnesota. The state joins 22 others that have legalized cannabis for recreational use in recent years, though Minnesota’s legislation has unique features. The bill Senate Democrats passed on Friday includes provisions that will expunge the criminal records of tens of thousands of people previously charged with marijuana misdemeanors. The bill also funds substance abuse and law enforcement programs. “It just does not do enough on substance abuse prevention,” she said.

☆ Enphase Energy second-quarter revenue forecast disappoints, shares fall
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Arshreet Singh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies Enphase Energy Inc FollowApril 25 (Reuters) - Enphase Energy Inc (ENPH.O) reported market-beating profit in the first quarter on strong sales in Europe, but forecast second-quarter revenue below Wall Street expectations, sending its shares down as much as 17% in extended trading on Tuesday. The company expects second-quarter revenue between $700 million and $750 million, below analysts' estimate of $773 million, according to Refinitiv data. Enphase in February had expected first-quarter revenue in the range of $700 million to $740 million. Raymond James' Molchanov sees revenue growing in the second half of the year with the second quarter remaining flat. The company in March said shipments of its microinverters from Romania are expected to begin in the second quarter of this year.

☆ Riding with the woman in charge of America’s last muscle car
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Peter Valdes-Dapena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

I could take a ride in what will soon be America’s last gasoline-powered muscle car with the woman who’s in charge of getting it into production and onto the street. Courtesy FordTransou and others at Ford will tell you there is an electric Mustang, the Mustang Mach-E SUV. As we took off, there was a burst of speed and throaty V8 engine noise as we blasted down Manhattan’s 10th Avenue. First, it’s the only actual car Ford currently sells in the United States. About 40% of V8 Mustang buyers get a manual transmission, she said, going for that truly classic driving experience.

REUTERS/Brendan McDermidNEW YORK, April 20 (Reuters) - A debt ceiling fight is looming in the U.S. yet again, giving investors another worry for markets this year. Here is a Q&A about the implications for markets:WHAT IS THE DEBT CEILING? The debt ceiling is the maximum amount the U.S. government can borrow to meet its financial obligations. Outstanding government debt, nominal gross domestic product and federal limit to borrowWHEN WILL THE U.S. HIT THE DEBT CEILING? Some Treasury bills (T-bills) are featuring a premium in their yields that may be tied to an elevated default risk, according to some analysts.

☆ Inside the Rise and Fall of Kittyhawk, Larry Page's Failed Flying Car Company
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Hugh Langley | Rob Price | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +22 min

Killing off projects had become something of a tradition at Kittyhawk, the secretive flying-car startup launched by the Google cofounder Larry Page. Larry Page has used his Google money to found a series of flying car companies with one common goal: "to free the world of traffic." "When Bloomberg did their original exposé, that's when urban air mobility became a thing," a former Kittyhawk employee recalled. Everyone thought: If Larry Page is in this space, there must be something here." Interpreting "Larry-isms" or "learning to speak Larry" were essential skills for any Kittyhawk employee who wanted to retain their sanity.

[1/5] A Palestinian Christian man Ehab Ayyad offers dates and water to Muslims held up in traffic or getting late for home to break their fast during Ramadan, in Gaza City April 12, 2023. For those unlucky enough to miss breaking the fast altogether as they stand in solid traffic, Ehab Ayyad is a welcome sight. The Christian man from Gaza offers dates and water to Muslims held up in traffic or late home to break their fast, in keeping with the Prophet's tradition. Five years ago, Ayyad began by offering neighbours dates and water, the first thing Muslims normally eat when they end their fast at sunset, and decided to make the offer general. "On our holidays, our Muslim neighbours come to visit and congratulate us, and we do the same on their holidays," Ayyad said.

☆ Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey announces re-election bid for fourth term
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Summer Concepcion | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., on Monday announced he will seek a fourth term in the battleground state next year as Democrats fight to keep their Senate majority. "I'm running for re-election because with so much on the line for Pennsylvania's working families, I want to keep delivering results for Pennsylvania," Casey said in a statement announcing his re-election campaign. No other candidates for the 2024 Pennsylvania Senate race have been officially announced. During his time in the Senate, Casey has joined Republicans and other Democrats to negotiate bipartisan bills. Casey, who has long held anti-abortion views, had a complicated stance on the government's role in abortion rights.

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