Turkish stocks climbed on Monday, while the lira hit a fresh record low after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was re-elected and embarked on his third decade in the top position. The results of a runoff poll, after no clear winner emerged in the May 14 election, showed Erdogan with 52% of the vote, while his…
Debt-ceiling talks are “up and down,” Republican Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, a key deputy for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, told reporters on Friday. “We are in the middle of a lot of different conversations and a lot of different paper coming back and forth, and as I said, the details are thornier, the…
“‘I would say 70% of the time being president is a hoot.’ ” Former President Barack Obama, speaking with trailblazing public-radio host Ira Glass during a LinkedIn event focused on finding purpose at work, says he loved being president about 70% of the time. The other 30% he didn’t enjoy quite so much. “This, I…
President Joe Biden’s team and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s deputies are nearing a deal that would raise the U.S. debt ceiling and avoid a market-shaking default, though getting it through Congress quickly could prove tricky. McCarthy has said he’ll follow a rule to post any bill for 72 hours before votes, so that could mean…
Kneel to your king Wall Street. After forecasting record revenue backed by a “killer AI app,” Nvidia helped deliver a powerful performance for the Nasdaq COMP, +1.71% on Thursday. Indeed, thanks to that chip maker and a few other generals — Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet, etc.— tech is seemingly unstoppable: Top contributors to S&P 500 year-to-date…
Congress and President Biden are currently pretending to debate whether or not to raise the so-called debt ceiling from its current legal level, which is $31.4 trillion. “Pretending?” Yep. To hear both sides talking, you’d think this was some kind of debate about whether to raise the U.S. national debt above…er…“$31.4 trillion.” Cue laughter. U.S….
The U.S. government could run out of cash as soon as June 2 if Congress doesn’t raise the federal borrowing limit, according to a new analysis released Tuesday by the Bipartisan Policy Center. The think tank said in a statement that it “estimates an elevated risk that the debt limit X date — when the United States…
The last full week of trading for May is set to kick off on a subdued note, as markets wait for progress on the debt ceiling and more Fed clarity on interest rate direction. But the S&P 500’s SPX, -0.14% surprising bust out of a range last week has opened up a debate on Wall…
During my lengthy career in finance, I picked up several market heuristics that have generally proven more useful than not. Every January, for example, I remember the “five-day rule,” which holds that if the S&P 500’s SPX, -0.14% accumulated performance is positive over the first five days of the new year, there is around an…
The United States needs detente with China to deescalate the danger of an armed conflict over Taiwan, losing control of maritime routes through the South China Sea and other potential Pacific region hotspots. This requires looking past China’s rhetoric about achieving broad technological dominance and recent provocations to focus on China’s economic concerns and desire to play a more assertive role in…
Americans’ discontent with the size of their federal income-tax bill is at a two-decade high, according to a new poll — even though Congress hasn’t passed any direct income-tax increases in recent years. One month after the 2023 tax season’s conclusion, 51% of respondents in a newly released Gallup poll said their income taxes were…
The radio came blaring on when I started my car, the voice of a politician hitting me in the face as I settled in. His message amounted to “Default is a bargaining point. We’re not going to get all the way there, but we need it on the table to force the other side to…
Debt-ceiling negotiations ran into trouble and spooked markets Friday, though analysts said setbacks should be expected in this process. “We’ve decided to press pause, because it’s just not productive,” said Republican Rep. Garret Graves of Louisiana, a deputy for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Graves also suggested the Biden White House’s representatives in the talks were…
I often think that if you took away cable news, social media and the politicians who care more about getting on TV than solving problems, the debt crisis the U.S. is in would have been solved a long time ago. Instead, polticians have let things drag out to the point where the possibility of an actual…
Drinks giant Pernod Ricard has ceased exports of its international brands to Russia but says it will take “some months” to end distribution of its products in the country. The French company was slammed last month over its resumption of exports of iconic brands Jameson whiskey and Beefeater gin to Russia, after having earlier ended…
““Sorry, how do you mean?”” — Rishi Sunak, U.K. Prime Minister, interviewed by Sky News That was the U.K.’s most powerful leader, and the richest ever, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, struggling to answer a simple question posed by Sky News, while attending the weekend Group of Seven leaders summit in Hiroshima, Japan. “Prime Minister, you’re…
“‘Increasing the debt limit the way Congress and presidents have repeatedly done, and most likely will do this time around, will mean there will be no meaningful limit on the debt. This will eventually lead to a disastrous financial collapse.‘ ” — Ray Dalio, founder, Bridgewater Associates That’s billionaire investor and Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio,…
Congress is taking debt-ceiling negotiations uncomfortably near a vague, but fast-approaching deadline that is closely monitored by markets. It’s not clear exactly when that deadline will arrive or exactly what will happen if it does. But from Wall Street to Washington there is fear that the fallout could be very bad. The debt ceiling is…
After a months-long review, the Internal Revenue Service will test a free federal tax-filing pilot program, IRS and Treasury Department officials said Tuesday. Though many details about the pilot program still need to be worked out, the upcoming test run could mark the start of a new, free alternative to paid preparers and tax software…
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will file paperwork next week to run for president in 2024, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday night. DeSantis’s entry into the race has long been expected. According to the Journal, DeSantis is expected to file formal paperwork with the Federal Election Commission on May 25, the same day he has…