Global Economy

Budget Battles

  • Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) arrives at Democratic Party caucus meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 19, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/ File Photo

    Factbox: What happens in a U.S. government shutdown?

    By Richard Cowan and Susan Cornwell and Amanda Becker and Richard Cowan and Susan Cornwell and Amanda Becker, Reuters

    In shutdowns, nonessential government employees are furloughed, or placed on temporary unpaid leave. Workers deemed essential, including those dealing with public safety and national security, keep...

  • FILE PHOTO: Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) speaks during a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., September 12, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

    No Talk of Ousting Speaker Ryan, Key Conservative Says

    By Reuters

    Many Republicans are unhappy with the deal President Donald Trump reached last week with Democratic leaders to raise the government's debt ceiling and allow it to continue financing federal spending...

  • Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro waves during a pro-government rally with workers of state-run oil company PDVSA, in Barcelona

    The Crisis in Venezuela Could Send Oil Prices Soaring

    By Nick Cunningham, Oilprice.com

    Venezuela’s deteriorating crisis is “going to be the biggest geopolitical story to watch in the oil markets," according to Helima Croft of RBC Capital Markets. The economic, political and security...

  • FILE PHOTO: Arellano, deputy of the Venezuelan coalition of opposition parties (MUD), clashes with national guards during a rally against Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro's government in Caracas

    The Risk That Could Drive Oil Prices Higher in a Hurry

    By Nick Cunningham, Oilprice.com

    The latest rally in oil prices ran up against a wall yet again, and the same fears about oversupply have not receded in the slightest. The expectation from most oil analysts is that there is very...

  • Emmanuel Macron, head of the political movement 'En Marche!', or 'Onwards!', and candidate for the 2017 presidential election, delivers a speech as he attends a meeting for Women's day in Paris, France

    France Just Made a Big Move Toward a Green Energy Future

    By Bate Felix and Simon Carraud, Reuters

    France aims to end the sale of gasoline and diesel vehicles by 2040 and become carbon neutral 10 years later, Ecology Minister Nicolas Hulot said on Thursday at a presentation of measures to keep up...

  • People are reflected in a board showing market indices in Tokyo July 28, 2015. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

    Dollar, bond yields gain after Fed minutes

    By Herbert Lash, Reuters

    NEW YORK (Reuters) - The dollar hit a seven-year high against the yen on Wednesday and U.S. Treasury yields rose after minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting showed policy-makers remained...

  • A labourer stands on an apartment building under construction in a Jewish settlement known to Israelis as Har Homa and to Palestinians as Jabal Abu Ghneim, in an area of the West Bank that Israel captured in a 1967 war and annexed to the city of Jerusalem

    Israel approves 78 new settler homes in East Jerusalem

    By Reuters

    Jerusalem's municipal planning committee authorised 50 new housing units in Har Homa and 28 in Ramot, a municipal spokeswoman said. Israel describes those two urban settlements as Jerusalem...

  • FILE PHOTO: A worker cycles near a factory at the Keihin industrial zone in Kawasaki, Japan, November 15, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo

    Dollar reaches seven-year highs against yen

    By Karen Brettell, Reuters

    NEW YORK (Reuters) - The dollar rose to seven-year highs against the Japanese yen on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve meeting released minutes contained no big surprises to make investors change...

  • FILE PHOTO: Congressman John Conyers (D-MI) speaks at an event celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in Washington July 30, 2015. Conyers, the oldest and longest serving member of Congress, voted on the 1965 VRA. REUTERS/Gary

    Secret Service chief says agency 'severely damaged' by lapses

    By Will Dunham, Reuters

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The acting head of the U.S. Secret Service said on Wednesday that the agency charged with protecting the president had been "severely damaged" by harmful lapses, including...

  • Iraqi security forces fire their weapons during clashes with Islamic State militants on the outskirts of Ramadi June 15, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer

    U.S.-led air strikes target Islamic State, Khorasan in Syria: officials

    By Reuters

    In Syria, the military said on Wednesday that five strikes by U.S. and partner forces hit near Kobani, the contested border city near Turkey that Islamic State militants are fighting to control...