Eye wall of Hurricane Beryl just off SW Jamaica
Hurricane Beryl forecast and track: Storm slamming Jamaica
https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/hurricane-beryl-forecast-and-track-storm-slamming-jamaica/ar-BB1pfCPx
NOAA49 G5 SP ‘Gonzo’ circling Hurricane Beryl at 40k Ft from St. Croix depart
TEAL76 WC-130j Hurricane Hunter W from St. Croix
GTMO44 Super King Air rounding eastern Cuba from NAS Jax depart
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EXEC1F C32AFlauxtusdeparted Traverse City, MI and back at JBA on final
Democrats’ Anxiety on Display as Jill Biden Opens Michigan Campaign Office
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/03/us/jill-biden-michigan-campaign-office.html
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SAM000 G5 and SPAR280 Learjet 35 E from Hill AFB
Congo Completes First-Ever High-Level IMF Loan Program-releases $224.7m
The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Article IV consultation[1] and also completed the sixth and last review of The Extended Credit Facility (ECF) Arrangement for the Democratic Republic of the Congo.The completion of the sixth review allowed an immediate disbursement equivalent to 152.2 million SDR (about US$ 224.7 million) to support balance-of-payment needs, bringing the aggregate disbursement to date to 1,066 million SDR (about US$ 1,573.8 million).
(SDR= Special Drawing Rights see below.
The DRC’s macroeconomic environment remains challenging since the last Article IV consultation, as the security and humanitarian crisis in the East of the country has worsened. Against this backdrop, the authorities have maintained prudent macroeconomic policy and are making progress on domestic revenue mobilization, even though revenues remain highly sensitive to international commodity price fluctuations. The continued refraining from monetary financing—a key anchor for the program—has been a significant achievement, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is at a moderate risk of external and overall debt distress. However, public financial management reforms have been slower than anticipated, and further efforts are needed to rationalize the earmarking of revenue for special accounts in the budget and to enforce the expenditure chain and cash management procedures. Foreign exchange reserves build-up has been much higher than expected but more needs to be done to strengthen the monetary and exchange rate policy frameworks.
Real GDP growth is estimated at 8.4 percent for 2023, supported by the robust growth of the extractive sector. Inflation remained high, peaking at 23.8 percent at the end of 2023, before easing gradually to 21.2 percent at end-May 2024. With higher spending for elections and security, the 2023 domestic fiscal deficit exceeded projections and reached 1.3 percent of GDP, despite good revenue performance in the last quarter of 2023. International reserves continued to strengthen, reaching nearly US$5.5 billion or about two months of imports at the end of 2023.
https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2024/07/03/pr24253-drc-imf-exec-board-concludes-2024-art-iv-consult-completes-6th-rev-ecf-arr
Special Drawing Rights (SDRs): Definition and Requirements
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/sdr.asp
Exchange Stabilization Fund
The Exchange Stabilization Fund (ESF) consists of three types of assets: U.S. dollars, foreign currencies, and Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), which is an international reserve asset created by the International Monetary Fund.
https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/international/exchange-stabilization-fund