US bankers faced scrutiny this week over their handling of a regional banking crisis stemming from the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. Executives from the banks, which went down in March and led to the collapse of First Republic last month, were accused of prioritising profits over safeguarding customers' deposits. The Federal Reserve's decision to raise interest rates was blamed for much of SVB's trouble, as it had invested a sudden surge of deposits from venture capital firms and tech firms in a securities portfolio. Signature Bank's demise came after it accepted deposits from cryptocurrency investors.
Russia claims to have destroyed a $1.1bn US air defence system during its rocket attack on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. The Kremlin said that a hypersonic Kinzhal missile destroyed the Patriot missile battery. Ukraine, however, stated that it had downed all six Kinzhal missiles. This comes as a top Russian official is in a coma in Russian-controlled eastern Ukraine following an attack in a barber shop when a grenade was thrown at him. In response, France has decided to send longer-range missiles to Ukraine just days after the UK sent its Storm Shadow munitions.
Former US President Donald Trump has described government officials involved in probing his 2016 presidential campaign and alleged Russian links as “scum” and “cockroaches” following the release of a report into the matter by John Durham, a Trump-appointed Special Counsel. Ahead of its publication, Trump had predicted that the Durham report would uncover the “crime of the century.” Meanwhile, former New York City mayor and one-time personal attorney to Trump, Rudy Giuliani, is being sued for sexual harassment by former aide Noelle Dunphy, who alleges that Giuliani told her he and Trump were willing to sell presidential pardons for $2m each. Giuliani’s spokesperson strongly denied the claims.
President Biden is to cut short his trip to Asia to focus on debt ceiling negotiations, with the US again facing the risk of default on its $31.4tn debt if talks fail. Biden, initially due to fly to the G7 meeting in Japan and then to Papua New Guinea and Australia, is expected to return after the summit and meet congressional leaders in Washington, according to CBS. Republican leaders are demanding budget cuts in exchange for supporting the raising of the debt ceiling. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has previously warned that the US could run out of cash by 1 June if the ceiling is not lifted.
President Joe Biden has cut his upcoming trip to the Indo-Pacific, including cancelling a historic stop in Papua New Guinea and a visit to Australia for a meeting of the Quad partnership. The decision has been made to enable the president to focus on debt limit talks in Washington. The cancellation is a setback for the administration's policy towards the region, which had prioritised putting a greater focus on the Pacific. The Quad partnership comprises the US, Australia, India and Japan, and is part of the administration's broader effort to put greater US focus on the Pacific region and counter China's increasing economic and military assertiveness there.
President Biden vetoed legislation on Tuesday that would have reinstated tariffs on solar panels from Chinese companies in Southeast Asia that had been found to be imported into the United States in violation of trade rules. The Senate narrowly passed the resolution this month, with several key Democrats supporting the measure, in a sharp rebuke to Mr. Biden. The administration, however, has argued that buying solar panels from China in the short term is necessary to make good on the president’s efforts to mitigate climate change.
US President Joe Biden has met with congressional leaders in an attempt to resolve the country’s $31.4tn debt ceiling crisis. The meeting, which was held behind closed doors, aimed to find a resolution to the months-long standoff over the federal government’s debt ceiling, as the US nears a possible default. The US Treasury Department has warned that the so-called “drop-dead date” for an urgent increase in the borrowing limit is 1 August, although it has also noted that there are “extreme scenarios” in which the deadline could come earlier. While both parties are seeking to avoid a crisis, Republican politicians are demanding that the Democrats agree to an alternative plan or make budget cuts. The last time the US debt limit was reached, in 2019, a deal was struck between the opposing parties; the country currently has the ability to continue spending until 30 June 2022.
The loss of Tucker Carlson by Fox News, America's top-rated cable news channel, has led to not only a drop in the network's viewers but also a rise in ratings for even more right-wing channels such as Newsmax. However, the exit of such a polarising figure could have a greater impact as research suggests the audience for Fox News is open to persuasion. Carlson's audience of 3m people in his final week dropped to 1.5m the following week after he was fired, casting doubt on pundits' beliefs that viewers would simply find a new preferred source of politically biased content.
US President Joe Biden has cancelled his trip to Australia and Papua New Guinea as his team attempts to reach an agreement on the debt ceiling crisis. Although the president will still travel to Japan for the G7 summit, he has shortened his visit in order to return to the US on Sunday. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has argued that a default on the country's debt would trigger a global economic downturn. The US government could run out of money as soon as June if no resolution is found.
Canada's Innovation Minister, François-Philippe Champagne, is urging the Ontario government to help end the subsidy stalemate that has halted construction of Canada's first electric-vehicle battery plant. Automaker Stellantis NV and battery maker LG Energy Solution have threatened to move their joint $5bn project to the US, unless the incentives provided by the Inflation Reduction Act are matched in Canada, following the example of a similar project built by Volkswagen. Champagne urged Ontario to contribute an unspecified "fair share" of the incentives, however, the province said it is up to the federal government to honour its commitments.
President Joe Biden cancelled his upcoming visit to Papua New Guinea and Australia to avert a potentially catastrophic debt default. Biden was due to visit the Quad leaders in Sydney on May 24, bringing together the United States, Australia, Japan, and India. The United States could begin defaulting on its debts "potentially as early as June 1," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Monday, while nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has forecast June 15.
Global share buybacks hit a record of $1.3tn last year, three times the level seen 10 years ago, according to Janus Henderson, with US firms the biggest buyers and the trend also spreading rapidly across Europe. Advocates say share buybacks can boost stock prices and benefit shareholders, with taxes on capital gains often lower than on dividends. But critics contend that companies underpay staff or cut back on R&D to fund buybacks, while US president Joe Biden has included a new tax on buybacks to fund his climate package.
Representative James Comer of Kentucky has been criticised by a first-term Democrat at a meeting of the House Oversight Committee for losing track of an informant connected to allegations of “criminal activities” by the Biden family. Comer had previously stated that he couldn't locate the informant, who had allegedly provided information about US President Joe Biden's actions whilst vice president. Criticism has been levelled at Comer for using his power as chair of the committee to investigate the family without sharing any further information or specifics of their purported activities.
President Biden has awarded eight public safety officers and firefighters with the Medal of Valor, the nation's highest honor for bravery by a public safety officer. Among the eight were three NYPD officers, including a rookie cop who took down a gunman who killed two other officers. During the ceremony at the White House, President Biden said, "Nobody wants to receive an award like this in the kind of tragedy these folks went through, but they acted and they acted heroically."
Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, has confirmed the Quad Summit, involving the leaders of Australia, India, Japan and the US, will not go ahead without President Joe Biden. The leaders will instead meet at the Group of Seven meeting this weekend in Japan, following Biden's decision to withdraw from the Sydney summit to focus on domestic politics. Albanese said the Quad is an important organisation and expressed his disappointment at the lack of summit. He suggested Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, should still visit Sydney next week because he would be a very welcome guest.
The New York Times Audio app is offering a new morning show called "The Headlines", which provides listeners with the top three stories of the day from Times reporters. Hosted by Annie Correal, the show aims to keep listeners informed, even if they have only a few minutes to spare. Guests featured on the show have included White House correspondent David Sanger and technology reporter Cecilia Kang.
European stocks fell on Wednesday, with investors spooked by policymakers in Washington failing to agree on a deal to increase the US’ spending limit. US futures were holding gains, with S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 contracts tracking up 0.2% and 0.1% respectively prior to the New York open. However, Jefferies’ Mohit Kumar warned that markets will start to price in debt ceiling concerns toward mid-June. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned the US could default on its debt as early as next month if lawmakers fail to reach a compromise. The dollar index was up 0.3% on Tuesday’s close and bond yields edged higher as uncertainty grew over the US situation.
US President Joe Biden has cancelled plans to visit Papua New Guinea (PNG), after announcing that he will focus on debt limit talks at home. Biden was expected to make a brief three-hour stopover as part of his tour of the region, making it the first visit by a US president to any Pacific Island nation. His planned trip coincided with a meeting of the Indian prime minister and Pacific Islands leaders to discuss economic cooperation, which will still take place. China has begun to exert influence in the Papua New Guinea region though providing infrastructure and services.
The United States is facing record levels of drug shortages, with the issue forcing the closure of some drug manufacturers, causing hospitals to scour pharmacy shelves on a never-ending quest to access life-saving cancer treatments, and increasingly narrowing the options of doctors. Dr. Amanda Fader from Johns Hopkins said, “This is in my opinion, a public health emergency because of the breadth of the individuals it affects and the number of chemotherapy agents that are in shortage right now.” The Biden administration has been working to find long-term solutions and has set up a team to determine a path forward for the pharmaceutical supply chain, which remains overly reliant on medicine from China and India. Measures that have been discussed include tax incentives for manufacturing in America, greater transparency around generic drug quality, and greater investment in potential alternatives to supply core pharmaceutical ingredients. The problem is leading to pressure from Congress and the White House to try to fix the situation urgently.
President Biden’s cancellation of his trip to Papua New Guinea in order to attend to domestic matters could damage Asia-Pacific relations. The intended visit, which would have been the first by a US president to a Pacific Island nation, has been postponed in order that Mr Biden can focus on debt ceiling negotiations. Analysts warn that the failure to keep the commitment could undermine recently established diplomatic efforts to counter the influence of China in the region. China was dominant when President Obama cancelled an appearance at the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation meeting in 2013 due to the Republican government shutdown: doubts about the US commitment have persisted ever since. Although the Biden administration has reopened embassies and counter-china policies have been implemented, the size of Beijing’s diplomatic corps worldwide has surpassed the US. In addition, China has the world’s largest navy, coast guard and state-owned construction and mining companies, which have ploughed money into construction and mining industries in many developing countries in the region, especially Papua New Guinea and Fiji.
