Europe
Biden targets smallest businesses with exclusive aid window
23rd February 2021Less than half of the PPP’s more than $284 billion in current funding has been used since it relaunched Jan. 11, with little concern that it would be exhausted. But the program has been dogged by worries since its creation last year that it was failing to reach the hardest-hit employers, particularly minority-owned businesses that […]
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Biden’s economic point man draws praise — and pushback
14th February 2021Few doubt Deese’s intelligence, and his close relationship with Biden is a potent source of his authority on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. But while supporters have praised his efforts to win support for a $1.9 trillion relief package, Deese also has drawn criticism from Democrats and Republicans alike, some of whom have bristled at […]
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Biden aims to isolate China on coal — but it could blow back on the U.S.
13th February 2021John Podesta, who led the Obama administration climate strategy and is close to Biden’s team, said the White House would need some “diplomatic choreography” if its plan is to work. The U.S. move “leaves China isolated. The pressure will build on China to stop its coal finance and to green the Belt and Road Initiative,” […]
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‘Clearly not healthy’: Markets are giddy about reopening — and that’s the problem
11th February 2021But if the dream scenario does arrive, another risk is lurking: A burst of new spending and economic growth coupled with the massive amount of fiscal stimulus in the system — possibly including nearly $2 trillion more under the White House’s latest plan — could lead to a sharp spike in inflation. That would send […]
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‘The Democratic version of John McCain’
7th February 2021Like McCain, the moonshine-swigging former quarterback isn’t afraid to let his colleagues know where he stands on a given day, either in the hallways of the Capitol or on cable news airwaves. Manchin often publicly discusses how he’s struggling with issues or tough votes. In a nod to his state, he lives on a boat […]
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U.S. backs Okonjo-Iweala, first woman and African, to head WTO
6th February 2021Crisis averted: Yoo’s withdrawal signals the end of months of uncertainty over who will lead the WTO for at least the next four years. Yoo and Okonjo-Iweala were the last candidates from an initial field of eight and the first women to be seriously considered for the role. Roberto Azevêdo of Brazil stepped down as […]
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Economy will return to pre-pandemic level this year, CBO predicts
2nd February 2021A passer-by walks past a business storefront with store closing signs, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2020, in Boston. | Steven Senne/AP Photo The economy will bounce back over the next several months, even without more stimulus aid from Congress, but employment levels are unlikely to fully recover until 2024, the Congressional Budget Office forecast Monday. Much […]
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Biden confronts the limits of his executive power
1st February 2021Biden wants $1.9 trillion. Republicans want a lot less. POLITICO’s Victoria Guida breaks down what would really save the Covid economy — and why we shouldn’t care too much about the price tag … for now. Biden “can’t press on the accelerator by himself,” Zandi said. “He desperately needs Congress to kick into gear here.” […]
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Fed’s Powell warns U.S. economy ‘long way from a full recovery’
28th January 2021Powell declined to comment directly on whether more relief was needed but emphatically rejected fears that more direct checks could lead to troubling price spikes — doubling down on the Fed’s pledge to keep interest rates low to allow as many people back into the labor force as possible. Inflation has remained muted for years, […]
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Wall Street shrugs at Washington’s debt pileup
26th January 2021“Without further action, we risk a longer, more painful recession now — and long-term scarring of the economy later,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told senators last week at her confirmation hearing. The U.S. government spent its way to a record-busting $3.1 trillion budget deficit in fiscal 2020 — and that was before Congress passed another […]
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