Economy

China’s Vice Minister of Finance Liao Min also introduced about the basket of stimulus policies the world’s second largest economy rolled out recently during Friday’s meeting, the sixth of its kind, with U.S. Treasury Undersecretary Jay Shambaugh, the ministry said in a statement. Liao, in the U.S. capital for the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, also held a courtesy talk with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen after the Economic Working Group meeting. More

WASHINGTON/TAIPEI (Reuters) -The United States has approved a potential $2 billion arms sale package to Taiwan, the Pentagon said on Friday, including the delivery for the first time to the island of an advanced air defense missile system battle tested in Ukraine.The United States is bound by law to provide Chinese-claimed Taiwan with the means to defend itself despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties, to the constant anger of Beijing.China has been stepping up military pressure against Taiwan, including holding a new round of war games around the island last week, the second time it has done so since Lai Ching-te took office as Taiwan’s president in May.The Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said the new sale consisted of $1.16 billion in missile systems and radar systems worth an estimated $828 million. The principal contractor for the missile system will be RTX Corp, the Pentagon said.”This proposed sale serves U.S. national, economic, and security interests by supporting the recipient’s continuing efforts to modernize its armed forces and to maintain a credible defensive capability,” it said in a statement. “The proposed sale will help improve the security of the recipient and assist in maintaining political stability, military balance, and economic progress in the region.”The missile system sale is for three National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) medium-range air defense solutions that includes the advanced AMRAAM Extended Range surface to air missiles, it added.The NASAMS system has been battle tested in Ukraine and represents a significant increase in air defense capabilities that the United States is exporting to Taiwan as demand for the system surges.A U.S. government source told Reuters on condition of anonymity that NASAMS was a new weapon for Taiwan, with Australia and Indonesia the only others in the region currently operating it. Taiwan’s defense ministry welcomed the announcement, noting the “proven” use of NASAMS in Ukraine and saying it would help Taiwan’s air defense capabilities in the face of China’s frequent military maneuvers.Taiwan’s military is bolstering its armaments to be able to better face any attack from China, including building its own submarines to defend vital maritime supply lines.China detests Lai as a “separatist” and has rebuffed his repeated calls for talks. Lai rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims saying only Taiwan’s people can decide their future.China’s government on Saturday kept up its attacks on Lai, denouncing comments he made on Friday on a sensitive frontline island about how no “external force” can change Taiwan’s future.”There can be no future for ‘Taiwan independence’. The future of Taiwan lies in the complete reunification of the motherland,” China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said in a statement. More

Lula underwent fresh medical exams on Friday, which showed he is in “stable” condition after a fall that caused trauma to the back of his head, requiring stitches and resulting in a small brain hemorrhage.Lula’s office said on Friday morning he would not take part in the ongoing COP16, while later in the day it told Reuters his participation at COP29 next month was also canceled.Lula had already been forced to cancel a trip to Russia for a summit of the BRICS group of major emerging markets.According to a medical report, Lula is cleared to perform his duties in Brasilia and will undergo new tests within five days. The leftist leader was scheduled to travel on Monday to Colombia. More

ROME/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Leaders of the Group of Seven wealthy democracies on Friday reached consensus on delivery of some $50 billion in loans to Ukraine backed by the earnings from frozen Russian sovereign assets starting as early as December.”These loans will be serviced and repaid by future flows of extraordinary revenues stemming from the immobilization of Russian Sovereign Assets,” the G7 statement said. “Our aim is to begin disbursing the funds by the end of the year,” said the statement, which was released as global finance chiefs were meeting in Washington for the International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings.An accompanying statement from G7 finance ministers said that the loans would be disbursed through a series of bilateral loans, starting as soon as Dec. 1 and continuing through the end of 2027 “in installments that will reflect Ukraine’s urgent financing needs.”Each bilateral loan would enter into force no later than June 30, 2025, which provides some timing flexibility for G7 members to arrange details. The statement announcing the principles and some technical details did not provide specific amounts for the bilateral loans but said additional details will be issued in a term sheet to be distributed in coming days.ELECTION TIMINGThe U.S. on Wednesday announced it would give Ukraine a $20 billion loan during December, timing meant to shield the loan funds from a potential claw-back should Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump win the November U.S. election. Trump has vowed to “get out” of Ukraine’s war with Russia. The next U.S. president would not take office until January.Another $20 billion loan is expected to come from the EU, home to G7 members Germany, France and Italy, with the remaining $10 billion split between Canada, Britain and Japan.”We will stand by Ukraine for as long as it takes,” the finance ministers’ statement said.The loans will be disbursed through multiple channels, including a Macro-Financial Assistance Loan from the EU, the IMF’s Multi-Donor Administered Account for Ukraine and a newly created Financial Intermediary Fund for Ukraine at the World Bank, the statement said.G7 PLEDGE Friday’s announcement of the “extraordinary revenue acceleration loans” makes good on an easement reached in June by G7 leaders during their annual summit in southern Italy to harness earnings from frozen Russian assets to aid Ukraine, a deal that left many technical details to be hammered out.Some 260 billion euros ($280.62 billion) in Russian assets such as central bank reserves were frozen under sanctions imposed following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.The vast majority of those assets are held in Euroclear, a Belgium-based central securities depository, making the European Union a key player in any plan to make use of the assets.”The G7 remains steadfast in its solidarity to support Ukraine’s fight for freedom, and its recovery and reconstruction,” the G7 leaders’ statement said, adding that “time is not on (Russian) President Putin’s side.”($1 = 0.9265 euros) More

Speaking at an event hosted by Itau on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank annual meetings, Campos Neto said worries about the U.S. inflation outlook were heightened by growing market bets that Republican Donald Trump would beat Democrat Kamala Harris.He said both U.S. campaigns include fiscal expansion elements. Proposals for protectionism and shifts in immigration policy also could have inflationary implications, he added.Regarding Brazilian inflation, he said the latest figure was marginally worse, but called the government’s announcement on Friday of lower energy tariffs in November good news that led many economists to revise estimates. Consumer prices reached 4.47% in the 12 months to mid-October, compared to a 3% official target with 1.5 percentage points tolerance margin either side. He reiterated that the country needs positive and structural fiscal developments to reverse the recent increase in risk premiums, highlighting the prospect of such announcements following municipal elections at the end of this month.According to Campos Neto, much of the risk premium in the yield curve is currently tied to fiscal concerns, but Brazil’s public accounts situation is not worse than that of many other countries, with long-term interest rates showing prices inconsistent with fundamentals.Campos Neto said the central bank remained determined to pursue its inflation target.The bank’s upcoming policy meeting is scheduled for Nov. 5-6. Economists expect an accelerated rate hike of 50 basis points, following a 25 basis-point increase in September that raised the interest rate to 10.75%. More

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – French Finance Minister Antoine Armand on Friday, following a Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) credit rating warning on his country’s debt, said that France’s top fiscal priority is to reduce its public deficit to a targeted 5% of GDP by 2025.Moody’s late on Friday revised France’s outlook to “negative” from “stable,” citing mounting uncertainty that the country will be able to curb widening budget deficits.Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings in Washington, Armand said: “We noted the prospect of the negative outlook. We didn’t wait for the negative outlook to take the necessary measures” to control debt.Armand said that France needed to foster growth as part of its drive to rebalance deficits and finance investments needed for the country’s clean energy transition.”France’s top priority is to reduce its debt and its budget deficit, and the target would have a 5% target by 2025, referring to a budget plan unveiled earlier this month.”It is not just a financial target. It’s also a political target, because it’s the beginning of the public finance consolidation that we aim at in France,” he said.Armand declined to comment on the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election when asked about the potential for high U.S. tariffs on European goods if Republican candidate Donald Trump is elected president.But Armand said that France, the U.S. and other countries need to coordinate their policies opposing non-market trade policies such as those of China, adding that France shares U.S. concerns.”At the very least, we need to coordinate answers against non-market practices, because if we don’t coordinate the answers to the non-market practices at the end of the day, it will create more disorder and more imbalances,” he said. More

Moody’s decision not to cut its rating on French debt is a relief for policymakers, as a downgrade was widely seen as possible. However, the downward revision of the French outlook underlines growing international concerns about the country’s public finances, and comes as a belt-tightening 2025 budget bill is being discussed in parliament. In a statement after the decision, French Finance Minister Antoine Armand said the French government would act to restore its public finances. At a press conference on the sidelines of International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings in Washington, he said France’s top fiscal priority is to reduce its public deficit to 5% of GDP in 2025, from 6.1% currently.”We noted the prospect of the negative outlook. We didn’t wait for the negative outlook to take the necessary measures,” to control debt, he said. A spiraling fiscal deficit as spending exceeds tax revenues has put increasing pressure on Prime Minister Michel Barnier to act.This month, Barnier presented France’s 2025 budget, which includes 60 billion euros’ worth of spending cuts and tax hikes, mostly targeting big companies.”The fiscal deterioration that we have already seen is beyond our expectations and stands in contrast with governments in similarly rated countries,” Moody’s said.It also raised concerns over the country’s deteriorating debt affordability relative to its peers and added that the turbulent political situation raises risks about the institutions’ ability to deliver sustained deficit reductions.Still, it said its decision to maintain the Aa2 rating reflected France’s large and diversified economy. Moody’s added that France’s public institutions are competent and previous governments have shown willingness to reform the economy.Fitch cut France’s outlook to “negative” from “stable” in mid-October on fears of widening deficits and a complicated political backdrop hampering the government’s ability to shore up its finances. More