Aurelia Butler

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – The government of Argentine libertarian President Javier Milei was racing to secure votes in Congress for its key ‘omnibus’ reform bill that entered the lower of chamber on Wednesday, even as the left-leaning opposition pledged to oppose it.The bill, ranging from economic policy to privatization of state entities, is one the main planks in Milei’s reform push to tackle the South American country’s worst economic crisis in decades, with inflation over 200% and state coffers running dry.It marks his first major test since taking office in December after a shock election win for the economist who made his name as an acid-tongued TV pundit and campaigned with a chainsaw pledging to slash spending and the size of the state.Milei faces a major challenge to push the bill through with his coalition only having a minority in both chambers, which means he has to win over allies. His government yanked a divisive fiscal section from the bill last week to boost support.”Today, politicians have the chance to start reversing the damage they’ve caused the Argentine people,” Milei’s office said in a post on Wednesday, urging lawmakers to support the bill as an expected mammoth debate by legislators began.In a sign of the challenge ahead, however, the main Peronist opposition bloc Union por la Patria, which is the largest single grouping in Congress, said it would reject the bill, posting a picture with a slogan “No to the Omnibus bill” on X, formerly Twitter.”We reject the Omnibus bill because it puts fuel in Milei’s chainsaw to hurt the daily lives of Argentines,” wrote Peronist politician and former foreign minister Santiago Cafiero, a reference to his austerity plans to undo a deep fiscal deficit.If the law is approved in the lower chamber – a debate that will likely extend beyond Wednesday – it moves next week to the Senate. Investors are watching closely, with hopes that the pared back version will pass, which would bolster local markets.”The Omnibus bill now has a better chance of being approved in Congress,” said Fernando Sedano of Morgan Stanley.”We continue to consider that the approval of radical reforms is positive for the medium-term narrative, even with a watered down version of the original bill.” More

The fund said in a statement that even as key program targets were missed through the end of last year “due to severe policy setbacks,” it approved waivers of non-observance.”Program targets were modified, in line with the authorities’ initial actions and ambitious plans to bring the program back on track,” the fund said.The board also approved an extension of the program through Dec. 31, 2024, “along with some rephasing of planned disbursements within the existing envelope of the program.” The IMF did not supply more details on the changes.The government and IMF staff recently agreed on the seventh review of the program, which was delayed amid a change of government as President Javier Milei took office on Dec. 10.”The new administration is taking bold actions to restore macroeconomic stability and begin to address long-standing impediments to growth,” said IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva in the statement.She said that “inconsistent policies of the previous government” had left a “difficult inheritance.” Earlier this week the IMF slashed its forecast for Argentina’s 2024 GDP to a 2.8% contraction from a previous view of a 2.8% expansion, mostly due to the expected effects of the new government’s proposed reforms.Wednesday’s approval brings disbursements within the $44 billion program to $40.6 billion, the fund said.The fund said following a recent devaluation and “exchange rate realignment,” the new policies should “continue to secure reserve accumulation goals.”According to the latest data reported by the central bank, Argentina’s reserves rose to $27.6 billion on Wednesday from $25.1 billion at the close of Tuesday. More

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said the outlook for the year ahead was more upbeat, with its headline workloads measure climbing to 12% from 6%. It said that a net balance of 8% of survey respondents reported a fall in activity in the three months to December, less downbeat than the 10% reporting a decline in the three months before.”While the UK’s construction sector remained fairly subdued at the tail end of 2023, belief in a rate cut in 2024 appears to be supporting greater expectations for the future,” the report said.RICS said there was a “clear divergence” between sectors, with home-building contracting further while infrastructure activity continued to grow.Despite some optimism spurred by lower mortgage rates, Britain’s housing market has been slow to recover from the long run of interest rate increases by the BoE and the hit following the “mini-budget” crisis of late 2022.The BoE is expected to leave interest rates on hold at a 15-year high of 5.25% later on Thursday and possibly signal a change in its rate stance after 14 back-to-back increases between December 2021 and August 2023.Although pressures around skills shortages persisted in the fourth quarter, RICS said survey respondents were anticipating a rise in employment in the next 12 months.”Supported by the prospect of easing interest rates later this year, overall workloads are anticipated to rise, with respondents anticipating this pick-up will be accompanied by a rise in employment levels across the industry,” Tarrant Parsons (NYSE:PSN), senior economist at RICS said. The most recent official data showed construction output fell 0.2% in November. More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday prepared to vote on a $78 billion bipartisan package of tax breaks for businesses and low-income families that was put on a fast track even as Congress remains deadlocked over broader fiscal issues.The temporary tax measure, which would increase the Child Tax Credit and reinstate deductions on business research and development and capital investments through 2025, was given a green light by House Speaker Mike Johnson after negotiations with some of his fellow Republicans who objected to its lack of tax relief for state and local taxes (SALT).Johnson agreed to continue working with members and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith “to find a path forward for legislation related to SALT,” Johnson spokesperson Athina Lawson said in a statement.The tax breaks measure is being considered under a suspension of House rules, which requires a two-thirds majority vote — a difficult threshold to meet, especially with defectors expected among both Republicans and Democrats.A floor vote was expected after 8 p.m. EST (0100 GMT).FAMILY, CORPORATE WELFARE? Hardline conservative Republicans voiced objection to the package during debate because it would increase the amount of that Child Tax Credit claimants can receive as cash payments, to up to $2,100 per child by 2025 at total cost of $33.5 billion.”This is not a tax bill, it is a welfare bill in drag,” said Republican Representative Matt Gaetz, who added that it also provided “corporate welfare.”Representative Rosa DeLauro, a progressive Democrat, said the bill would heap more tax breaks on corporations while failing to adequately address poverty.”I cannot vote for a deal that lopsidedly benefits big corporations,” DeLauro said. “The deal is inequitable.””This corporate tax windfall bill, thinly disguised as help for children, offers even more tax advantages to corporations that are paying a mere 7.8% tax rate,” Doggett said. “A working mother of two earning the average wage pays a federal effective rate of 20%.”DEDUCTIONS RESTOREDThe chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Republican Representative Jason Smith, who brokered the deal that combines tax priorities of both parties, emphasized the business benefits of restoring immediate deductions passed under former President Donald Trump which expired in 2022.The bill also would eliminate double taxation of business and workers that operate both in the U.S. and Taiwan, including semiconductor manufacturers building U.S. factories. Smith said these provisions, estimated to cost $34.3 billion over 10 years, would encourage over $470 billion in new research and development and small business capital investment and create over 900,000 jobs.Despite opposition from the far right and far left, the measure advanced by a 40-3 vote in the House Ways and Means Committee, indicating bipartisan support.The bill also faced some opposition over its lack of relief for state and local taxes and mortgage interest.The Republican-passed tax-cut bill passed in 2017 capped the individual deductions for mortgage interest and state and local tax payments to help pay for business tax cuts.Some lawmakers in New York and California have sought to remove the caps, which led to higher overall tax bills for many taxpayers despite lower tax rates.Johnson in a statement praised the tax breaks package as “important bipartisan legislation to revive conservative pro-growth tax reform.” More

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States on Wednesday added more than a dozen Chinese companies to a list created by the Defense Department to highlight firms it says are allegedly working with Beijing’s military, as part of the broader effort to keep American technology from aiding China.New additions to the list, first reported by Reuters, were posted to the Department of Defense website and include memory chip maker YMTC, artificial intelligence company Megvii, lidar maker Hesai Technology and tech company NetPosa.Amid strained ties between the world’s two biggest economies, the updated list is one of numerous actions Washington has taken in recent years to highlight and restrict Chinese companies that is says may strengthen Beijing’s military.A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington said China opposed the move and called it an abuse of state power, adding that it ran counter to the U.S.’s “alleged commitment to market competition and international fair trade.”YMTC, Megvii and Hesai did not immediately respond to requests for comment. While being placed on the list doesn’t involve immediate bans, it can be a blow to designated companies’ reputations and represents a stark warning to U.S. entities and companies about the risks of conducting business with them. It could also add pressure on the Treasury Department to sanction the companies.In addition, the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act added some teeth to the “Section 1260H” list, prohibiting the Defense Department under Section 805 of the law in coming years from contracting with any of the designated companies.”The Defense Department’s updated 1260H list underscores China’s unwavering commitment to its military-civil fusion strategy,” said Craig Singleton, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.”Being listed on 1260H poses major reputational risks to Chinese companies,” he added, noting that some Chinese firms have tried to be removed from the list.Other firms added on Wednesday include China Three Gorges Corp, China Construction Technology Co and Yitu Network Technology, as well as publicly traded companies Chengdu JOUAV Automation Tech Co, Chengdu M&S Electronics Technology Co, Guizhou Aviation Technical Development Co, and ShenZhen Consys Science & Technology Co.They join previously listed aviation company AVIC, BGI Genomics Co, China Mobile (NYSE:CHL), energy company CNOOC (NYSE:CEO) and China Railway Construction Corp.Separately on Wednesday, senior U.S. officials, including FBI Director Christopher Wray, warned that hackers linked to China’s government are preparing to cause “real-world harm” by targeting critical U.S. infrastructure, such as water treatment plants, the electric grid, oil and natural gas pipelines, and transportation hubs. More

The insurance industry is typically considered ‘recession proof’ and enjoys steady demand irrespective of economic conditions as policies are often guaranteed by employers or mandated by the government.MetLife, however, reported a 63% drop in net income to $574 million in the quarter, primarily due to market risk benefit remeasurement losses of $431 million. Shares in MetLife were last down 2.9% in extended trading after the results. Premiums, fees and other revenues for the fourth quarter surged 26% to $13.69 billion.U.S. equity markets embarked on a strong rally in the last part of 2023, driven by the Federal Reserve’s indications of potential interest rate cuts in 2024. MetLife’s net investment income rose 20% to $5.37 billion in the quarter. On an adjusted basis, excluding total notable items, profit was $1.93 per share for the three months ended Dec. 31, compared with $1.59 a year earlier. More