tyb
Avro Energy and Green both go into administration leaving 850,000 without a supplier
ENERGY firms Avro and Green have ceased trading, leaving 853,000 customers without a supplier.
Both companies confirmed this afternoon that they are closing, as they became the latest casualties of the UK energy crisis. Avro Energy supplies gas and electricity to around 580,000 domestic customers. Around 255,000 households use Green as their electricity and gas supplier, as well as some non-domestic customers. Those consumers will be contacted by Ofgem, the energy industry's regulator, which will switch them to a new supplier.
Justina Miltienyte, energy policy expert at Uswitch.com, said: “This is a double blow for the energy industry and will cause further worry for consumers. “Avro and Green’s simultaneous exits from the market come after People’s Energy and Utility Point ceased trading last week. "Nine energy suppliers have been forced out this year so far and it’s likely that more may follow.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/money/16200884/green-avro-energy-bust-supplier/
Taiwan submits bid to join CPTPP trade pact
Taiwan has formally applied to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, the official Central News Agency and other outlets reported Wednesday, in a move expected to trigger opposition from China.
Taiwanese authorities have already submitted the application to New Zealand, which acts as the depositary for the Pacific rim trade pact. An official announcement is expected on Thursday. The move comes less than a week after China last Thursday applied for membership in the CPTPP, which sets rules for tariff-free trade and investment and data flows.
In order to join the bloc, Taiwan will need approval from all 11 of its existing members, which include Japan and Australia. The island already has bilateral free trade deals with New Zealand and Singapore, another CPTPP member. Securing membership in the CPTPP has been a goal for Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, who has chosen not to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, a China-led regional trade pact that also includes Southeast Asia, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. Tsai is also eager to negotiate a free trade agreement with the U.S. The move to join the CPTPP could also face pushback at home. Taiwan has banned food imports from Japan's Fukushima Prefecture and four nearby regions since the nuclear disaster there in 2011. The Taiwanese public opposes restarting this trade, and Tsai for years has been reluctant to tackle the issue.
The CPTPP's other members are Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, and Vietnam. The U.K. has begun negotiations to join the framework as well.
https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/Trade/Taiwan-submits-bid-to-join-CPTPP-trade-pact
doggo
africa here
Biden holds first call with French President Macron since diplomatic crisis erupted
President Joe Biden spoke for the first time Wednesday with French President Emmanuel Macron after a major diplomatic crisis exploded between the two longtime allies over a deal to equip Australia with nuclear-powered submarines.
In the call, Biden appeared to acknowledge missteps in how the United States approached the talks. A joint statement between the United States and France afterward said Macron and Biden “agreed that the situation would have benefitted from open consultations among allies on matters of strategic interest to France and our European partners.” “President Biden conveyed his ongoing commitment in that regard,” the statement said.
The rare, if indirect, admission of error was a signal of how seriously both sides are taking the diplomatic dispute, which has led to the lowest point in relations between the United States and France since the “Freedom Fries” era at the start of the Iraq War. The talks were expected to be tense. Macron has mostly withheld comment publicly on the dispute, waiting to air his rage directly to Biden. But other officials in his government have spared nothing in describing France’s shock and fury at the submarine agreement, which deprived France of a major contract of its own and left Paris feeling excluded and diminished. Biden himself has ignored all questions on the France dispute since the crisis erupted at the end of last week, but officials said he was surprised by the outsized reaction from Paris and wanted to smooth things over with his counterpart, aiming to lower the temperature over the phone.
In their call, Biden and Macron agreed to meet at the end of next month in Europe. Biden had already planned to attend a Group of 20 summit in Rome at the end of October.
https://kyma.com/cnn-us-politics/2021/09/22/biden-set-to-hold-high-stakes-call-with-macron-amid-diplomatic-crisis/
Former treasury secretaries warn Congress debt limit default would be 'detrimental'
Failing to address debt ceiling could trigger 'serious economic harm,' former treasury secretaries say.
Former treasury secretaries urged congressional leaders to resolve an impasse over the nation's $28 trillion debt ceiling before October, warning there could be "detrimental" economic consequences if lawmakers fail to raise the nation's borrowing limit.
In a letter to the top Republican and Democrat from each chamber of Congress, six former treasury secretaries sounded the alarm about the ramifications of a debt default, including the risk of roiling market, a decline in economic confidence and forced funding cuts for federal programs, such as Social Security. "Failing to address the debt limit, and allowing an unprecedented default, could cause serious economic and national security harm. Even a short-lived default could threaten economic growth," the letter said. It was signed by Michael Blumenthal, Robert Rubin, Larry Summers, Henry Paulson, Timothy Geithner and Jack Lew. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has repeatedly warned that without congressional action, the U.S. could default on its debt sometime in October, potentially triggering an "economic catastrophe." But lawmakers are engaged in a game of brinkmanship over the debt: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., last week rejected an appeal from Yellen to suspend the cap on how much money the government can borrow.
"Let’s be clear: With a Democratic President, a Democratic House, and a Democratic Senate, Democrats have every tool they need to raise the debt limit. It is their sole responsibility," McConnell tweeted last week. "Republicans will not facilitate another reckless, partisan taxing and spending spree." House Democrats on Tuesday night passed a short-term spending bill to keep the government funded through early December, along with a measure raising the debt ceiling. But the bill is almost certainly doomed in the upper chamber, where all but four Republican senators have promised to vote against it. Democrats would need to secure the support of at least 10 GOP lawmakers to overcome a filibuster. "Short of actual default, even delaying resolution until default is imminent can be detrimental," the former treasury secretaries wrote. "This would be true in any circumstances, but it is particularly true now as the timing of borrowing needs are especially uncertain, given the impact of the pandemic and the policy actions enacted by Congress in response." The Treasury Department began implementing so-called extraordinary measures to keep the government running after the debt limit was reinstated in August around $22 trillion – about $6 trillion less than the actual level.
If the U.S. failed to raise or suspend the debt limit, it would eventually have to temporarily default on some of its obligations, which could have serious and negative economic implications. Interest rates would likely spike, and demand for Treasurys would drop; even the threat of default can cause borrowing costs to increase.
https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/treasury-secretaries-congress-debt-limit-default
>just started baking then
member well
got the notables back just after the q baby rally.
Dhen I slept for three days...almost.
Federal Reserve holds interest rates steady, says tapering of bond buying coming ‘soon...Dot-Plot Shows Rate-Hike In 2022’
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday held benchmark interest rates near zero, but indicated rate hikes could be coming a bit sooner than expected while significantly cutting their economic outlook for this year.
Along with those largely expected moves, officials on the policymaking Federal Open Market Committee indicated they will start pulling back on some of the stimulus the central bank has been providing during the financial crisis. There was no indication, though, as to when that might happen. “If progress continues broadly as expected, the Committee judges that a moderation in the pace of asset purchases may soon be warranted,” the FOMC’s post-meeting statement said. Respondents to a recent CNBC survey indicated they expect tapering of bond purchases to be announced in November and begun in December. In light of those expectations, the committee voted unanimously to keep short-term rates anchored near zero. However, a majority of members now see the first rate hike happening in 2022. In June, when members last released their economic projections, a slight majority put that increase into 2023. More information could be coming when Fed Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during his post-meeting news conference at 2:30 p.m. ET. There were some substantial changes in the Fed’s economic forecasts.
The committee now sees GDP rising just 5.9% this year, compared to a 7% forecast in June. However, 2023 growth is now set at 3.8%, compared to 3.3% previously, and 2.5% in 2023, up one-tenth of a percentage point. Projections also indicated FOMC members see inflation stronger than indicated in June. Core inflation is projected to increase 3.7% this year, compared to the 3% forecast the last time members indicated their expectations. Officials then see inflation at 2.3% in 2022, compared to the previous projection of 2.1%, and 2.2% in 2023, one-tenth of a percentage point higher than the June forecast. In another move, the Fed said it would double the level of repurchase its daily market operations to $160 billion from $80 billion.
Markets had been expecting little in the way of major decisions from the meeting, but have been on edge in part over when the Fed will begin reducing the pace of its monthly bond purchases. Powell indicated in August, during the Fed’s annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, that he and others were of the position that the central bank had met its inflation target and could start reducing the minimum $120 billion a month in buying of Treasurys and mortgage-backed securities. Investors also were looking to the meeting to see where Fed officials stand on the inflation outlook.
The Fed’s preferred inflation measure – the personal consumption expenditures index less food and energy prices – accelerated by 3.6% in July, the highest level in 30 years. However, Powell has said repeatedly that he expects price pressures to subside as supply chain factors, goods shortages and unusually high levels of demand return to pre-pandemic levels.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/22/federal-reserve-holds-interest-rates-steady-says-tapering-of-bond-buying-coming-soon.html
Federal Reserve issues FOMC statement
https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/monetary20210922a.htm