Aurelia Butler

Politico, CNN and Punchbowl first reported that congressional leaders had agreed on what is called a “continuing resolution” or “CR,” that would fund the government – extending two deadlines through March 1 and March 8. A spokesperson for the Senate’s Democratic majority leader, Chuck Schumer, said a text of the spending deal is expected to be posted online on Sunday. A second source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the earlier reports were accurate.Funding expires on Jan. 19 for some federal agencies, including the Department of Transportation, while others like the Defense Department face a Feb. 2 deadline.The top Democrat and Republican in Congress reached a $1.59 trillion deal on Jan. 7 to fund the government through the current fiscal year, but if they fail to pass it by Jan. 19, parts of the federal government would begin to shut down.Some lawmakers have said a short-term funding bill was needed to allow bipartisan negotiators from the House and Senate time to agree on full-year fiscal 2024 spending bills and for Congress to enact the legislation.On Thursday, Schumer took the first procedural step to pass a stopgap funding bill through the Senate early next week to give lawmakers more time to pass the full-year bill.The U.S. came close to a partial government shutdown last autumn amid opposition by the hardline House Republicans who ousted former Speaker Kevin McCarthy over reaching a bipartisan stopgap spending deal with Schumer. More

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) – Canada is considering a cap on the number of international students allowed to live in Canada, Immigration Minister Marc Miller said according to a CTV report, as the government faces criticism for a housing affordability crisis.Canada depends on immigration to drive its economy and support an aging population and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been ramping up annual immigration. The housing crisis has been blamed on an increase in migrants and international students fueling demand for homes just as inflation has slowed construction.Miller said in a taped interview with CTV Question Period that the Liberal government is considering a cap on international students in the first and second quarters this year.”That volume is disconcerting,” Miller is quoted by CTV as saying, referring to the number of international students in Canada. “It’s really a system that has gotten out of control.”He did not say how much of a reduction in international students the government is considering.Miller’s spokesperson could not be immediately reached.Official data show there were more than 800,000 foreign students with active visas in 2022, up from 275,000 in 2012. The interview with Miller is scheduled to air on Sunday. Canada is a popular destination for international students since it is relatively easy to obtain a work permit.The Liberal government floated the idea of capping the number of foreign student visas in August, but Housing Minister Sean Fraser said then that the government had not yet made a decision of whether to pursue that option.Miller said he planned to discuss the problem with provincial counterparts.Trudeau’s Liberals have seen their popularity plummet after more than eight years in office, with polls placing them well behind the official opposition Conservatives led by Pierre Poilievre, who have criticized the government for not properly managing the housing issue. More

On Saturday, it was disclosed that domestic retail investors now hold over twelve percent of Paytm’s shares. Additionally, domestic institutional investors have raised their stakes to more than six percent. Mutual funds, including prominent names such as Mirae and Nippon India, have collectively grown their investment in Paytm to nearly five percent.The company’s founder, Vijay Shekhar Sharma, has also increased his ownership to over nine percent following a recent transaction with Antfin. This move signifies a growing confidence among Indian investors in the fintech firm’s prospects.Despite some international investors scaling back, the foreign institutional presence in Paytm remains substantial. Notably, Softbank (OTC:SFTBY) and Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKa) have reduced their holdings, with the latter selling off its entire stake in December.The bolstered investor interest coincides with Paytm’s announcement on Friday of a thirty-two percent increase in its second-quarter revenue compared to the same period last year. This robust performance highlights the company’s growing financial health and may underpin the recent investor enthusiasm.The shift in Paytm’s investor base, marked by a rise in domestic stakes, aligns with broader market trends where local investors are increasingly participating in the growth of Indian technology firms.This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C. More

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With inflation in the euro zone now seemingly under control, investors have been betting that the ECB will slash borrowing costs from record highs this year, starting possibly as soon as March.Lane openly entertained the thought of a “sequence of rate cuts” but he emphasised that crucial wage data would only become fully available by the ECB’s June 6 meeting — confirming the timeline exclusively reported by Reuters in December. “By our June meeting, we will have those important data,” the Irish economist told Italian daily Il Corriere della Sera. “But let me emphasise, we do have other data that we will be looking at every week.”Money markets currently price in at least 150 basis points worth of cuts this year, taking the interest rate that the ECB pays on banks’ deposits to 2.5%. The ECB’s rate rise in September was in part “an insurance” against inflation coming back, Lane said, adding this would be taken into account when the time comes to ease policy.But he also stressed that cutting rates too fast could fuel a new wave of inflation, forcing the ECB to then raise rates even more.”A false dawn, too rapid a recalibration, can be self-defeating,” he said. More