America finance crisis

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Youth mental illness has reached crisis levels in America. The percentage of adolescents who have experienced at least one major depressive episode increased by 60 percent from 2007 to 2019. Rates of anxiety, self-harm, and attempted suicide were skyrocketing even before the Covid-19 pandemic, and since then matters have only gotten worse . Filmmaker Ken Burns has executive produced a powerful new two-part documentary film on this subject. Hiding in Plain Sight: Youth Mental Illness will air on June 27 and 28 at 9:00 pm ET on PBS and will be available for streaming on the PBS App. The film was directed and edited by Burns’ long-time colleagues Erik Ewers and Christopher Ewers. It shares the voices of 21 diverse youth across America who are living with mental health challenges, addressing issues of stigma, discrimination, awareness, and silence. Hiding in Plain Sight is part of a larger public media mental … [Read more...] about Ken Burns And Ewers Brothers Spotlight Youth Mental Illness In New Documentary

- A + A PUTRAJAYA (June 27): The government is willing to bear the projected huge subsidy totalling RM77.3 billion for this year towards stabilising the prices of goods and avoiding high inflation rates of up to 11.4%, says Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy) Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed. He said the government had a choice of removing subsidies and strengthening the country’s finances to a better level, but it chose to bear the subsidies instead for the welfare and well-being of the people. Mustapa said the announcement on June 24 by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob of no increase in the water and electricity tariffs, and the chicken price not being floated showed the government’s caring side and commitment to maintaining the subsidies. Referring to the projected consumer subsidy expenditure amounting to RM77.3 billion for 2022, he said RM51 billion of it made up the biggest component of fuel, cooking oil, electricity, water, chicken … [Read more...] about Govt continues giving subsidies to stabilise prices, avoid high inflation

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline Leaders of Group of Seven nations on Monday announced a support package for Ukraine, further sanctions against Russia and are reportedly nearing an agreement to set a price cap on Russian oil, a contentious issue as they debate ways to stave Putin’s war chest while mitigating spiraling inflation, soaring energy prices and an impending global food crisis. Key Facts Leaders of the G-7 —a group of the world’s seven largest economies which includes the U.S., the U.K., Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan— announced a suite of new measures against Moscow, including imposing higher tariffs on Russian goods, restricting Russian gold exports and imposing new sanctions on officials and organizations supporting the war effort. The group also unveiled a new support package for Ukraine, including the provision of military hardware, using the higher tariffs on Russian goods to help Ukraine and “financial, … [Read more...] about G-7 Leaders Nearing Price Cap On Russian Oil Funding Putin’s War Chest

- A + A MUMBAI/MANILA (June 27): Signs of distress flashing in bond markets suggest the world's poorest nations are set to see a wave of debt restructurings. But a growing cohort of investors say that is a buying opportunity. Panic selling in the aftermath of Sri Lanka's economic collapse has sent the average yield in junk-rated emerging economies to almost 900 basis points above US Treasuries, the highest risk premium in 13 years except for the Covid-19-related rout in 2020, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co data. Yet, initial fears about a widespread default Armageddon across emerging markets is easing, and money managers are looking beyond the handful of countries that may reschedule their debt. This shift in perception means at least some smaller developing nations, called frontier markets, have been unduly punished in the recent sell-off and now offer highly attractive yields. Even in the event of debt restructuring, their bonds will offer greater recovery … [Read more...] about Frontier-debt buyers look past default risk in hunger for yield

Jeong Jae-hong The author is an international affairs and security editor of the JoongAng Ilbo. Gustavo Petro was elected president of Colombia on June 19. According to an analysis in the Washington Post, Columbia, ruled by right-wing politicians over 200 years, elected a left-wing president because the middle-class collapsed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and voters wanted the government to ease economic inequality. Brazil is scheduled to have a presidential election on October 2, and leftist former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, commonly known as Lula, is getting over 50 percent of support. In addition to Mexico, Argentine, Chile, Peru and Columbia, another left-wing administration is about to launch in Brazil, too The left-wing wave in Latin America largely resulted from right-wing administrations’ failure to cope with the pandemic and the collapse of the middle class in the region. The middle class is the bastion of democracy. A country with a strong middle class … [Read more...] about A class above all others

This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on June 20, 2022 - June 26, 2022. - A + A LAST week, CTOS Digital Bhd made a bold move to raise its stake in RAM Holdings Bhd (RAM), in which it already owns a 19.225% stake. This is the third acquisition that CTOS has undertaken within a year. CTOS, which bought into RAM shortly after it was listed in July last year, launched a general offer last week to buy out the remaining shares that it does not own in the credit rating agency (CRA) soon after it got the green light from the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) to own more than 51%. CTOS has so far spent the bulk of the RM173.8 million raised from a private placement in March on mergers and acquisitions (M&A). RAM will be the first local CRA to have a controlling shareholder upon the completion of the takeover offer. Dollars and cents aside, the takeover bid has prompted some quarters to question whether the independence of RAM’s rating … [Read more...] about Making sense of CTOS’ venture into RAM