Aurelia Butler

Congress must greenlight the government’s budget by Oct. 20. The proposal includes spending 94.52 trillion pesos for servicing debt, and 97.75 trillion pesos for investment. “The 2024 budget is realistic,” the finance ministry said in a statement.Government ministers worked through Thursday night to finish the proposal, President Gustavo Petro said on Friday in a post on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. The proposed budget earmarks 70.5 trillion pesos for education, health, drinking water and other general purposes, and some 57.4 trillion pesos would fund the state pension system.Petro, Colombia’s first leftist president, has pledged a raft of social and economic reforms, including for sectors such as health and labor in a bid to fight poverty and inequality. The labor reform was initially rejected by Congress but the government plans to reintroduce the bill. The expert Autonomous Fiscal Rule Committee (CARF) has warned that if approved the reforms could impact the country’s finances by leading to more costs, risking compliance with the fiscal rule, a mechanism designed to stop deterioration of public finances. ($1 = 3,932.04 Colombian pesos) More

CHICAGO (Reuters) -Tens of millions of Americans were confronted with a one-two punch of brutally hot temperatures and oppressive humidity on Friday as an unrelenting heat wave settled over the Midwest and East Coast and was expected to persist into the weekend. More than 175 million people in the U.S. were under excessive heat warnings and advisories until at least Saturday afternoon as midday heat index readings in many spots rose well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 C), the National Weather Service (NWS) said. Some of the nation’s biggest cities, including Chicago, New York and Philadelphia, have opened cooling centers in public libraries and community centers for those who are unable to escape the hot temperatures. “Extreme heat can be dangerous to health, and even fatal,” the city of Boston said on its website after it declared a heat emergency, adding that its street outreach teams will provide water on their routes. U.S. city officials and forecasters are urging people to stay out of the hot weather as it has the potential to cause heat-related illnesses, especially for those working or participating in outdoor activities, people aged 65 and older, children and those with chronic illnesses.”Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors,” the NWS said. In Philadelphia, where the heat index could top out at 108 degrees F (42 C), officials extended public pool and spray grounds hours on Friday and Saturday. In New York City, where the heat index was to reach 103 degrees F (39 C), officials posted a public service announcement video on social media urging owners to keep their pets well hydrated. “It’s very hot outside. Extreme heat like this can be dangerous. We have to be very strategic in how we combat this,” said New York City Deputy Mayor Philip Banks during a public safety briefing on Friday, telling residents to check on neighbors and loved ones. Electric grid operators across the nation declared hot weather alerts this week and told energy companies to put off unnecessary maintenance. Despite the extreme heat, however, no U.S. grid operators had taken more extreme actions.The growing frequency and intensity of severe weather is symptomatic of global, human-driven climate change that is fueling extremes, experts in the field say, with heat waves in much of the world expected to persist through August.Last month was the hottest June on record in the United States, dating back to 1850. It also was the 47th consecutive June and the 532nd consecutive month with temperatures above the 20th-century average, according to the weather service.The hot weather through much of the U.S. is expected to dissipated by late Saturday, leaving behind chances of thunderstorms and mild temperatures into next week, the weather service said. More

BEIJING (Reuters) – A listing of Jack Ma-backed Ant Group is unlikely in the short term, state media reported on Saturday, citing people close to regulation.Earlier this month, Ant Group announced a surprise share buyback that valued the fintech giant at $78.54 billion, well below the $315 billion touted in the suspended IPO. More

Economists and analysts are increasingly hopeful that the Federal Reserve can avoid pushing the US into a recession, as inflation slows and strong growth persists despite 11 interest rate increases.The Fed this week raised rates by another quarter percentage point to the highest level in 22 years. But a flurry of upbeat data has increased the likelihood that the central bank can deliver a soft landing — lowering inflation through tighter monetary policy without crushing economic activity. Jan Hatzius, chief economist at Goldman Sachs, said the data added to his confidence that the US could avoid a recession. Goldman last week reduced the probability of a recession to 20 per cent, down 5 percentage points. “We believe the Fed is on track for a soft landing,” Hatzius said. “The data this week has been consistently good. It adds to my conviction.”The US Bureau of Economic Analysis on Friday reported that the Fed’s preferred gauge of inflation — the core measure of the personal consumption expenditures index — cooled in June to 4.1 per cent, the lowest level since October 2021, from 4.6 per cent in May.Separately, the employment cost index, which tracks wages and benefits and is closely watched by policymakers as an indicator of wage growth, rose by 1 per cent in the second quarter, down from 1.2 per cent in the first three months of the year.While wage growth has concerned economists because of its contribution to inflation, it also has helped keep the US consumer strong. Hatzius noted this week’s ECI data was good because it showed a slowdown in wages, which nevertheless have been cooling less quickly than prices. Both the ECI and the core PCE figures were lower than economists had forecast.“I am optimistic that we are getting a soft landing — that we are already seeing inflation moderate dramatically and we will continue to see inflation moderate and not see a big rise in unemployment,” said Heidi Shierholz, a former chief economist at the Department of Labor who is now director of policy at the Economic Policy Institute.“If we do have a recession, it will have been a policy failure. It will have been because the Fed raised rates too much,” she added.The evidence of slowing inflation comes alongside signs that growth remains resilient. The commerce department on Thursday reported the US economy grew 2.4 per cent on an annualised basis in the second quarter, well above the 1.8 per cent economists had forecast, and above the 2 per cent rate in the first quarter.Optimism about the US was shared by officials. Fed chair Jay Powell said on Wednesday that central bank staff had withdrawn their forecast for a US recession, while also acknowledging there was still work to be done to bring inflation down to target.While the Fed’s stated aim is to return to its 2 per cent inflation target, some analysts suggested a “softish” landing of close to 2 per cent may be sufficient.“We might not have a precise soft landing, but it will be softish,” said Ajay Rajadhyaksha, global chair of research at Barclays. “We may not get down to 2 per cent inflation, but it might not be the end of the world if US inflation lands closer to 2.6 or 2.7 per cent, without huge job losses.”The economic news boosted US markets, which had already become more optimistic about the economic outlook with riskier asset classes performing well in recent weeks.

The S&P 500 stock index is almost 20 per cent up in the year to date, bolstered by excitement about artificial intelligence and the implications for big tech stocks. The Nasdaq Composite, a home for many of the largest technology names, is up 37 per cent and rose 2 per cent in the past week — helped by strong quarterly earnings for Meta.Riskier companies are paying the smallest premium in 15 months to borrow in the bond market. The strength of the US economy, and market ebullience, could still force the Fed to keep interest rates higher for longer, some economists warned — which could ultimately crush the labour market and send the US into recession. Powell this week said that achieving disinflation without “any meaningful negative impact on the labour market” was a “good thing”. But he warned stronger growth could again spur inflation, potentially necessitating further tightening.Michael Gapen, chief US economist at Bank of America, said: “History tells you when we’ve gotten in this position before — high inflation, the need to disinflate, raising interest rates fast — far more often than not, you’ve had a recession.”However, he added, “I think we need to be careful in applying that history to the current context — because if nothing else, we know the Covid business cycle is different.” More

Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world, receiving close to $2 billion a year in official development assistance, according to the World Bank.It is also a key security partner of Western countries such as France and the United States, which use it as a base for their efforts to contain an Islamist insurgency in West and Central Africa’s Sahel region. Previously seen the most stable country among several unstable neighbours, Niger is the world’s seventh-biggest producer of uranium.Niger’s foreign allies so far have refused to recognize the new military government led by General Abdourahamane Tiani, previously head of the presidential guard, who officers declared head of state on Friday. Bazoum has not been heard from since early Thursday when he was confined within the presidential palace, although the European Union, France and others say they still recognize him as the legitimate president. “In addition to the immediate cessation of budget support, all cooperation actions in the domain of security are suspended indefinitely with immediate effect,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement.Niger is a key partner of the European Union in helping curb the flow of irregular migrants from sub-Saharan Africa. The EU also has a small number of troops in Niger for a military training mission. The EU allocated 503 million euros ($554 million) from its budget to improve governance, education and sustainable growth in Niger over 2021-2024, according to its website. The United States has two military bases in Niger with some 1,100 soldiers, and also provides hundreds of millions of dollars to the country in security and development aid.”The very significant assistance that we have in place for people in Niger is clearly in jeopardy,” said U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. U.S. support depends on the continuation of democratic governance, he said. The United Nations said the coup has not affected its deliveries of humanitarian aid.It is unclear how much support the military junta has among Niger’s population. Some crowds came out in support of Bazoum on Wednesday, but the following day coup supporters also took to the streets.The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will hold an emergency summit in Nigeria on Sunday to discuss the situation.After an emergency meeting on Friday, the African Union’s Peace and Security Council issued a statement demanding the military return to their barracks and restore constitutional order within 15 days. It did not say what would happen after that. More