Crude oil markets rallied in Asian trade on Monday amid relief at the announcement of an elusive US debt deal, according to analysts. New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in September, surged $1.18 to $96.88 per barrel in the afternoon. Brent North Sea crude gained $1.35 to $118.09.
US President Barack Obama announced a last minute deal between Republican and Democratic leaders to reduce the US deficit and avoid a default, but warned that measures might not be sufficient to prevent a credit rating downgrade.
According to a report by the BBC, Obama said the deal would cut $1 trillion of spending over the next 10 years, and a committee would be set up to report by November a proposal to further reduce the deficit.
Real estate mogul, and star of the reality television show ‘The Apprentice”, Donald Trump told the media on Friday that he was once again considering a bid to become the next president of the United States, after ruling himself out of the race just a couple of months ago.
In an interview with CNBC, Trump admitted that he was giving the decision “very, very serious thought”, especially since, “there are so many people wanting me to do it.”
Democratic officials are cautiously optimistic that the outlines of a potential compromise – a “Plan C” – are emerging that could bridge the differences between plans pushed by House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.
The officials said President Obama has spent the past couple of days quietly reaching out to leaders in both parties to try and start hammering out the details, though it’s clear this is still only in the discussion phase and they are not close to a deal yet.
With tax time out of the way – and the annoyance of having to pay far too much to the government, again, here’s to laughing about it;
According to the U.S. Treasury, by next Tuesday, August 2 the U.S. Congress must reach consensus and pass some kind of agreement to allow the U.S. Government to borrow beyond the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling, which was last raised on February 12, 2010. Failure to do so will leave the U.S. government with insufficient funds to continue its payments, including its upcoming debt obligations. This “default,” if it happens, would downgrade America’s credit rating, increase its borrowing costs, and create havoc as yet unknown on world markets.
The U.S. dipped to its record low against the Swiss franc as investors around the world continue to anticipate the outcome of talks aimed at averting a U.S. default.
With the talks between U.S. lawmakers on a plan to raise the government’s $14.3 trillion debt ceiling before an August 2 deadline stalled, the dollar slid to a three-month low versus a currency basket with more falls seen likely if no deal is reached.
Japan has embarked on an all-out public relations drive to reassure potential tourists that the country is now safe again to visit, after March’s devastating earthquake and tsunami caused severe damage to many of Japan’s social infrastructure – including a radiation leak at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
The Japanese National Tourism Organisation recently posted the radiation levels for downtown Tokyo on its website, which the organisation claimed to be lower than in other popular tourist destinations such as New York, Singapore and Hong Kong.
Simple corporate communications strategies can go a long way towards building successful external relationships, and efficient internal communities that companies crave today. But with so many different ways to communicate in the workplace, how are the most successful companies implementing strong communication strategies – all while keeping up with modern tools and technology?
George Soros is getting out the hedge fund business, though he will still continue to manage his family assets which are estimated to be worth billions.
Citing new rules that would have required it to submit to more federal oversight, Soros’s management firm said Tuesday that it plans to close its $25.5 billion funds to outside investors and become a family-only enterprise. The move raised eyebrows in financial circles because Soros was an outspoken advocate for reforming Wall Street in the wake of the financial crisis.
