Types of News: Brief Archives

Ahead Of Honduras Critical Election, Political Violence Emerges

26Nov

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Corruption, Bribes, Illicit Finance & Money Laundering, Democracy, Domestic Politics, Types of News: Brief

Ahead Of Honduras Critical Election, Political Violence Emerges

U.S. And China Vie For Influence In Honduras As Taiwan Arises As An Issue November 26, 2021—Ahead of Sunday's election in Honduras, the people face a critical choice between a corrupt status quo and an alternative that may bring in a left-wing and perhaps "communist" agenda. The election has implications for Central America and beyond. The battle is between the conservative National Party, in power since a 2009 coup and run by a corrupt leader, versus the left-wing Libre Party. The Libre Party candidate Xiomara Castro is leading in the polls. If she wins, she's expected to usher in change. Story Update: Libre Party candidate Xiomara Castro, 62, won the election after running on an anti-corruption platform. She replaces President Juan Orlando Hernández as the country's top lea...

High Food Prices Fueling Humanitarian Crises Worldwide

21Nov

By Ramsha ZubairiNo Comments

Finance, Currency, Debt, National Budgets & Interest Rates, Foreign Aid, International Development, Types of News: Brief

High Food Prices Fueling Humanitarian Crises Worldwide

WFP Director David Beasley makes plea for funds.Photo: WFP As Inflation Impacts The World, Aid Organizations Are Struggling To Meet The Needs Of The Hungry November 21, 2021—Aid agencies like the UN World Food Programme are making a desperate plea for funds this year to feed the hungry amid rising fuel and food prices and drought-related shortages. Almost 283 million people face acute food shortages or are at high risk in 80 countries in 2021, according to the UN World Food Programme. The agency warned that 45 million people across 43 countries are at risk of famine. The number of people at risk increased from 42 million earlier this year and 27 million in 2019. “Tens of millions of people are staring into an abyss. We’ve got conflict, climate change and COVID-19 driving up th...

U.S. Industry Association Cheers Congress For Advancing Semiconductor Legislation

19Nov

By Steve BerlinNo Comments

Global Trade, Types of News: Brief

U.S. Industry Association Cheers Congress For Advancing Semiconductor Legislation

China May Have Head Start on Chip Making Due to Trade War November 19, 2021--This week, the U.S. Congress advanced legislation that would boost the U.S.-production of semiconductors. It comes amid concern that while Western industry feels the pinch of the global semiconductor shortage, the Chinese government may be better positioned than others to ramp up production. Last year, the Trump Administration blocked semiconductor sales by American companies and the companies with which they do business to China in the name of national security. Photo by Jonas Svidras on Unsplash China's Government Produces Chips Washington, D.C.-based data analysis firm Sayari Graph reports the Chinese government owns 13 percent of that nation’s semiconductor firms. There are more ...

Palestinian State-Building Faces ‘Considerable Obstacles,’ Norway FM Says

18Nov

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Diplomacy and International Law, Foreign Aid, International Development, Middle East, Types of News: Brief

Palestinian State-Building Faces ‘Considerable Obstacles,’ Norway FM Says

Meeting in Oslo, Norway of the AHLC on Nov. 17, 2021. Credit: MFA/Mathias Rongved Separately, U.S. Ambassador to UN Tours Middle East, Emphasizes U.S.-Israel Ties & Remarks on Refugees November 18, 2021--Following a ministerial meeting of donors and interested parties supporting Palestinian governance, Norway's Ministry of Foreign Affairs cited "significant challenges" facing the Palestinian Authority, including budgetary problems, widespread unemployment, occupation, and an "enormous need" for investment. "Comprehensive, far-reaching measures are needed to reverse the negative economic trend in Palestine and strengthen the Palestinian institutions that the donors have been helping to develop for nearly three decades," said Norway's Minister of Foreign Affairs Anniken Huitf...

Institutional Investors Increasingly Cite Climate Change As Portfolio Risk

15Nov

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Climate Action, ESG, Sustainable Finance, Types of News: Brief

Institutional Investors Increasingly Cite Climate Change As Portfolio Risk

Insurance Investors Also Say Low Interest-Rate Regime Drives Them Into Riskier Assets November 15, 2021--More than one in three insurers now consider environmental changes as "a serious threat" to their investment strategies, according to an annual survey by BlackRock, the largest investment firm in the world. BlackRock released the findings of its annual survey today. The asset management firm surveyed 362 insurance company executives located in 26 markets and representing $27 trillion in assets. Changes in institutional investment impact global markets, which affect the overall global economy as well as individual savings. Climate Change Exposure The firm reported that 95 percent of insurers surveyed said they are taking into account the risk of climate change while makin...

As Migrants Freeze on EU-Belarus Border, Political Tensions Heat Up

11Nov

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Eastern Europe, Globalization, Disintegration, Nationalism, Populism, Human rights, Immigration, Migration, Types of News: Brief, Types of News: Videos

As Migrants Freeze on EU-Belarus Border, Political Tensions Heat Up

Photo Source: Belarus Government November 11, 2021--Political tensions between the European Union and the dictatorship of Belarus are rising, and the lives of thousands of migrants are caught quite literally in the middle. President Alexander Lukashenko, whom many call the last dictator in Europe, has been systematically encouraging migrants into his country only to push them across the border into Europe. Now, as cold weather sets in, thousands of migrants are camped between the Poland and Belarus border, under siege. Belarus encourages visa-free travel through the Minsk airport from Turkey. Migrants are reportedly coming from war-torn countries of Iraq, Syria and Yemen. Yesterday, the Belarus border officials said they met with delegates from the UN High Commissioner for Refuge...

U.S. Deficit For FY2021 Reached $2.8 Trillion, CBO Says

10Nov

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Global Economics, Types of News: Brief, United States

U.S. Deficit For FY2021 Reached $2.8 Trillion, CBO Says

November 10, 2021--For the fiscal year that ended September 30, the U.S. government ran a $2.8 trillion budget deficit, the Congressional Budget Office reported on Monday. The figure was $360 billion less than the deficit in 2020 but three times the deficit from 2019. As a share of the GDP, the 2021 deficit was 12.4 percent the size of the economy. That's down from 15 percent at the peak of the pandemic in FY2020 but up from 3.2 percent in 2016. Federal spending increased above normal levels in 2020 and 2021 in response to the pandemic. They included the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA), and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA). Meanwhi...

10Nov

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Global Economics, Types of News: Brief

U.S. Inflation Rises To 6.2 Percent

November 10, 2021--The Consumer Price Index increased 0.9 percent in October and 6.2 percent for the year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. While the rise in prices was "broad-based," the cost of energy, shelter, food, and vehicles rose at higher levels, the BLS said. Meanwhile, prices of airline fares and alcoholic beverages declined. Excluding food and energy, inflation still rose 4.6 percent, which was the "largest 12-month increase" since 1991. Over the last 12 months, energy prices increased the highest at a rate of 30 percent with fuel prices climbing by 49 percent. In recent meetings, the central banks for Europe, Britain, and the United States predicted inflation would rise higher this year and into 2022. Yet all three monetary policy boards left interest rat...

UN Peacekeepers Under Investigation for Trafficking Diamonds And Gold

8Nov

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Corruption, Bribes, Illicit Finance & Money Laundering, Critical Minerals, Organizations, IMF, WTO, G7, UN Security Council, Types of News: Brief

UN Peacekeepers Under Investigation for Trafficking Diamonds And Gold

File photo: UN peacekeepers in the Central African Republic. Source: UN November 8, 2021--Over 300 Portuguese police and military officers are investigating reports that elite Portuguese troops taking part in a UN peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic may have engaged in the illegal trafficking of diamonds, gold, and drugs. Officers issued 10 arrest warrants and raided properties in Lisbon, Funchal, Bragança, Porto de Mós, Entroncamento, Setúbal, Beja and Faro, The Guardian and other news outlets reported on Monday. “What we are looking into now is the possibility that some soldiers taking part in the national detached force in CAR were used as couriers in the trafficking of diamonds, gold and drugs,” the army said in a statement. According to reporting by The G...

Bank of England Projects Inflation Rising To 5 Percent Inflation, Leaves Interest Rate At 0.1 Percent

5Nov

By Patti MohrNo Comments

Global Economics, Types of News: Brief

Bank of England Projects Inflation Rising To 5 Percent Inflation, Leaves Interest Rate At 0.1 Percent

The committee for the Bank of England met November 4, 2021 and decided to leave interest rates unchanged. November 5, 2021--In a move that surprised many observers in the financial sphere, the Bank of England voted 7-2 yesterday to maintain its federal Bank Rate at 0.1 percent and it voted 6-3 to continue purchasing U.K.-government bonds. That came as a surprise move to many financial observers, including Merryn Somerset Webb is editor-in-chief of MoneyWeek, who had expected a moderate rise in the interest rate to 0.25 percent. Writing an opinion piece for the Financial Times, Webb said the concern is about reputation and expectation. "The Bank has told us for ages that the inflation we feel all around us is transitory," she wrote. "But it is also now telling us that it is “materi...