Triguboff pours cold water on build to rent tax break push

US President Joe Biden (File image: Reuters) As Americans deal with the highest inflation in decades, President Joe Biden has declared that combating rising costs is a priority for his administration. Lately, he has cited one policy in particular as an inflation-fighting tool: shrinking the nation’s budget deficit. “Bringing down the deficit is one way to ease inflationary pressures in an economy,” Biden said this month. “We reduce federal borrowing and we help combat inflation.” The federal budget deficit — the gap between what the government spends and the tax revenue it takes in — remains large. But Biden has pointed out that it shrank by $350 billion during his first year in office and is expected to fall more than $1 trillion by October, the end of this federal budget year. Rather than stemming from any recent budget measures by his administration or Congress, the deficit reduction largely reflects the rise in tax receipts from strong economic growth and the winding … [Read more...] about Biden’s curious talking point: Lower deficits offer inflation relief

United States President Joe Biden U.S. President Joe Biden and his new South Korean counterpart will search for ways on Saturday to break a diplomatic stalemate with North Korea, as they worry Kim Jong Un could lash out with new nuclear tests. Biden and Yoon Suk-yeol will meet in Seoul for their first diplomatic engagement since the South Korean president’s inauguration 11 days ago. The friendly encounter between allies is clouded by intelligence showing North Korean leader Kim is prepared to launch nuclear or missile tests. A senior Biden administration official told reporters on Saturday that the two leaders will discuss nuclear cooperation and that Washington remains ready for diplomacy with North Korea. "It is very much our desire that we find ways to have a diplomatic approach,” the official said. ”We have made very clear we’re prepared to talk to them, and with no preconditions, and we’re also prepared to take steps to address their domestic challenges, including … [Read more...] about North Korea nuclear threat tops agenda for Biden-Yoon meeting in South Korea

Representative image Oil prices continue to surge over fears of supply disruption as Russia faced collective sanctions from the US and allies following its invasions of Ukraine. On March 2, Brent crude futures rose by as much as $8 and touched $113.02 a barrel, the highest since June 2014, before easing to $111.75, news agency Reuters reported. Such elevated prices have wide ramifications for India, given that about 85 percent of the crude processed by domestic refiners is imported. High prices can put upward pressure on inflation, increase the cost of inputs for various industries, make transportation expensive, raise the import bill and lead to deterioration of the current account. The Economic Survey of 2021-22 had flagged the risk of imported inflation, arising from elevated global energy prices but the Budget for 2022-23 and the Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy committee have taken a relatively benign view on crude oil prices—they have estimated that it would … [Read more...] about Crude hovers around $110, India has a lot to worry about

REUTERS/Ajay Verma India's inflation based on the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) rose further to 15.08 percent in April from 14.55 percent in March, according to data released by the commerce ministry on May 17. The WPI inflation was 10.74 percent a year ago. Another 10 percent-plus print in April means WPI inflation has extended its stay in double-digit territory to 13 months in a row. The rise in wholesale inflation in April comes after data released on May 12 showed the more closely tracked headline retail inflation rate based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) jumped to 7.79 percent in April - the highest since May 2014, or 95 months. Expectations of a sharp increase in inflation in April forced the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee to meet more than a month in advance of their scheduled meeting in June and announce a 40-basis-point hike in the repo rate on May 4. At 15.08 percent, the inflation print for April is the highest in the current series, … [Read more...] about WPI inflation rises further to 15.08% in April from 14.55% a month back

Finance Minister NIrmala Sitharaman | Illustration: Moneycontrol India has already started buying oil from Russia, since it has come at a discount at a time when the country needs it, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said. "We have received quite a number of barrels. I would think about 3-4 days of (national) supply. I would put my country's national interest and energy security first," Sitharaman said at the 17th edition of the CNBC-TV18 India Business Leaders Awards. If fuel is available at a discount, why shouldn't India buy it, the finance minister stressed. Sitharaman's comments come on a day when Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is in New Delhi to discuss a range of issues, among which India's oil purchases from Russia, and a new proposed Rupee-Rouble trading mechanism, figure majorly. However, Sitharaman said the global economic climate has been impacted by the Ukraine crisis and that she was entering the new financial year with 'cautious optimism'. … [Read more...] about India buying Russian oil: I will put my country’s national interest, energy security first: FM Sitharaman

With his fluffy black dog in tow, Gilberto Rodriguez left Venezuela two months ago on a perilous eight-country journey, mostly on foot, with dreams of a better life in the United States. Leaving behind his wife and two children, aged six and eight, Rodriguez has slept rough, gone hungry, witnessed violence and paid bribes to police. But he smiles from ear-to-ear as he caresses his loyal canine companion of two years, whose name "Negro" means "Black" in Spanish. "He has also crossed everything just like us, he eats the same we eat, he's also a migrant," he told AFP in the town of Tecun Uman in eastern Guatemala, the sixth country stop on his north-bound route. Their journey so far has taken Rodriguez and Negro from Caracas to Colombia and through the perilous Darien jungle to Panama. Close There, they came across some of the criminal gangs that prey on migrants fleeing poverty and political upheaval in their home countries. "We were with some women and they … [Read more...] about Migrant’s perilous 8-country journey to US with pet dog