White House and Republican negotiators failed to make progress in raising the federal debt ceiling after a second meeting broke up late on Friday. US Treasury has warned that the federal government could be unable to pay all its debts from 1 June, potentially triggering a default which could cause financial chaos and spike interest rates. Republicans want sharp spending cuts in exchange for increasing the federal government's borrowing limit, while Democrats want to keep spending steady at this year's levels, with a wide swathe of government spending being cut by at least 8% next year.
Hedge funds have taken short positions against Greece’s government debt amid concerns about post-election political instability in the country, with the total value of bonds borrowed to bet on a fall in prices reaching its highest level since 2014 at over $500m. The yield between Greek and German 10-year debt yields has narrowed to 1.5 percentage points from over 2.8 last October. Most of Greece's €400bn debt is held by official bodies, rather than by investors.
The UK Government's £1bn Eco+ scheme, dubbed the Great British Insulation Scheme, will run until March 2026 and is aimed at retrofitting thousands of the least efficient homes in the lowest council tax bands. While the scheme will mainly focus on cheaper measures, such as loft and cavity wall insulation, some experts argue that more substantial solutions are necessary, in particular "enhanced incentives for people to swap their gas boilers for low-carbon heating systems, such as heat pumps”. Estimates suggest households could save approximately £310 per year. According to advisory unit Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, while the boiler upgrade scheme is set to run until 2028, the vouchers could run out of before then due to increased demand.
Quebec delays rollout of its expanded bottle deposit system yet again
CBC
23-05-20 12:46
The Quebec regional government has postponed the expansion of its deposit system for drink containers by two years due to the unpreparedness of the associated infrastructure, which includes sorting equipment in deposit sites. The refundable deposit will be CAD10 ($7) for all other beverages and CAD25 for wine and spirit bottles. The plan was initially expected to be launched in 2022, before being deferred to spring 2023. Quebec’s move seeks to ease some pressure on landfills in the region.
The attitude that UK citizens must all live their lives expressly to serve the National Health Service (NHS) is disturbing and sinister, according to an op-ed in The Telegraph. The article argues that citizens are increasingly evaluated in terms of whether they are convenient or costly for the NHS, rather than the health service being evaluated for wasting resources or courting inefficiency. This approach is backed up by policymaking, with the sugary drinks tax and proposed restrictions on junk food advertising both aimed at individuals rather than at radical changes to the NHS.
The UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) plans to relax regulations on pay for financial firms with assets of less than £4bn ($5.6bn), following fears that London is falling behind other financial hubs in the post-Brexit world. The FCA will also reduce costs for companies with assets between £4bn and £20bn on a proportional basis. Performance adjustment remuneration rules known as “malus and clawback” are designed to enforce risk management by reducing bonuses or asking employees to repay previous bonuses in the event of poor performance or misconduct.
The Japanese government is set to encourage companies listed on the top-tier Prime market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange to appoint at least one woman executive by 2025. A panel under the Cabinet Office will shortly draw up a proposal advocating that a numerical target should be included in TSE listing rules to address Japan's lack of gender equality in business, which has been severely criticised.
The author of this article argues against the trope of "market fundamentalists" and believes that most Brits do not have an accurate understanding of free-market ideology. Many people assume markets are cold and empty, and that those who promote them lack empathy. The author points out that no free-market supporter sees the market as an end in itself, but rather as a means to human fulfillment. In addition, the author argues that a planned economy might work better, but it has never done so in practice. Classical liberalism is not dogmatic, but rather a pragma. Despite this, the author notes that many commentators insist that the UK is being run by libertarian fanatics, despite a government engaging in price fixing, nationalisation, and retrospective taxation. Instead, the author argues for an alliance between classical liberals and conservatives, unifying patriotism with personal autonomy and promoting the national tradition of individualism.
Sinn Fein on course to be largest party in Northern Ireland local elections
The Toronto Star
23-05-20 16:47
Irish nationalist Sinn Fein is on course to be the largest party in Northern Ireland's local elections, mirroring last year's success in becoming the region's leading political group for the first time. With 128 seats from about 400 of 462 seats counted, the party's gains suggest voters support an end to political paralysis, said Michelle O'Neill, Sinn Fein’s Vice President. Failing to reach an agreement, the country's semi-autonomous Belfast government has been suspended for more than a year, since the Democratic Unionist Party walked out to protest a post-Brexit customs border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.
Opinion pieces about the UK's National Conservatism conference suggest some politicians are turning away from the hard work of searching for solutions that the country needs and instead are retreating to ideological comfort zones. In contrast, Labour Party leader Ed Miliband says his party has developed an industrial strategy to win the race for good jobs and cheaper energy and planning proposals to enable home ownership, while also making work pay through labour market reform. The party is now launching a national mission to reform the NHS, which ranges from moving care closer to home to putting prevention first across society.
Teaching children that climate change poses an existential threat is deeply irresponsible given the lack of agreement between scientists and economists on the pace of temperature rises, their impact, and the most effective response. The fear instilled by this alarmist approach can have a damaging impact on mental health, with some teenagers even forgoing parenthood because of predicted overpopulation. Transport and heating policies have also been set with unrealistic targets, adding expense and practical difficulties. While society needs to address and protect the environment, it can ill-afford to ignore the psychological consequences of crisis-mongering among the young.
UK business leaders and top Conservative MPs have called on chancellor Rishi Sunak to end the cabinet squabbles over immigration and formulate a coherent plan to control the number of people entering the country. Sunak faces demands for definitive government action ahead of this week’s official figures likely to report a rise in net migration to between 700,000 and 1 million, which some are warning will generate “ unbearable strain” for the party. Even moderate Tory MPs are calling for a visa number cap and to crackdown on students bringing family members and salary requirements. Chairman of the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) Professor Brian Bell pressured for a cutback graduate visas, which he fears provide a route to low-skilled, low-paying jobs.
The UK Government has launched a review of the noise impact of heat pumps, threatening Whitehall ambitions to install 600,000 of the systems every year until 2028. Positioned outside a home, the pumps emit a constant hum, which is less than annoying when on its own, but is a worry when there are many pumps near each other. Defra is currently mapping noise pollution from across the country. According to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, a review will consider whether the volume can be reduced and if the pumps should be positioned to minimise noise.
Plans to cut back on the right for foreign students to stay in the UK after they graduate have gained support from the government’s migration advisory committee chairman, Professor Brian Bell, amid concern that the scheme enables abuse. The government’s commitment to provide a two-year graduate visa did not specify work rights, which Prof Bell claimed have been “pretty much unrestricted”. The increase in graduates’ dependants was the most significant impact of the policy, contributing to a ten-fold increase in foreigners bringing dependants to the UK. The government, including the prime minister and chancellor, is said to be resisting calls to restrict the rights.
The Queensland government is considering offering free kindergarten services as part of next month's state budget. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says the new measure would benefit children and tackle cost-of-living pressures for families. Across the state, over 8,000 children do not have access to kindergarten, while existing childcare costs are a primary concern for families. If approved, a free-kindergarten program would form an addition to early education places already offered free of charge.
France and the US have admitted that their diplomats destroyed the passports of Sudanese citizens who had applied for visas, leaving them trapped in the war-torn country. The diplomats claim that they were following protocol to stop sensitive documents falling into the wrong hands. However, this has done nothing to assuage the anger of the stranded Sudanese citizens. The rush to evacuate embassies, because of the fighting erupted between the rival forces of Sudan’s top generals earlier this year, caused many documents to be left behind, including passports that had been submitted for visa applications.
The King Island brown thornbill is one of the most likely Australian species to become extinct in the near future, according to a 2018 paper predicting which birds and mammals are at imminent risk of such an event. At present, just approximately 200 of the birds are thought to exist, living in scattered remnant areas of wet eucalypt forests on the island of their namesake, just south of Tasmania. The extent of any genetic diversity in the current population is unknown. Although in 2019 the Australian government pledged to prevent extinctions as part of its Threatened Species Action Plan, the rate of global extinctions is currently 1,000 times the background rate. The Australian eastern quoll was declared extinct due to climate change in 2016, and a recent study from the Australian National University suggested that scientists’ focus on very endangered birds that are difficult to observe, and which often occur in wild and rugged terrain, means that many other Australian species are on the brink of extinction.
Brexit will allow UK consumers to have a greater range of cheaper wines following planned relaxation of EU regulations on costs and bureaucracy for the wine sector. The changes will enable Protected Designation of Origin wines to use a wider range of vines, and will allow imported wine to be blended, carbonated, sweetened and de-alcoholised. Labelling will also be simplified. The reforms will generate a £180m ($234m) boost to the industry, according to the government. A consultation on the proposed changes will take place shortly.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is considering extending voting rights to 5 million EU citizens and other non-nationals who permanently reside in the UK. Chancellor Rishi Sunak dismissed the idea, reiterating his belief that "voting is a privilege." He also rejected a Labour proposal to allow 16 and 17-year-olds to vote. Sunak defended the Conservative government's demand that would-be voters show ID in elections, despite accusations that the requirement has disenfranchised thousands of voters who didn't have or forgot their IDs.
Property investment may still be a profitable venture, and investors should certainly not overlook the asset class under current market conditions, according to one commentator. Property investors hoping to maximise their returns will, however, need to consider a number of requirements before buying a flat or a house for letting, with much of the decision-making process being determined by analysis of existing market conditions. In the UK, the Energy Performance Certificate of residential properties is helping to drive the green agenda to net zero carbon emissions by 2050, and pending legislation will require rental properties to achieve a minimum C rating by 2028. Investors should also weigh up historic price growth trends, as well as the potential yields that a given area can offer, and ensure that mortgage rates and outstanding repayments leave enough headroom for future costs and maintenance factors.
