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...

  • Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda attends a conference of central bankers hosted by the Bank of France in Paris November 7, 2014. REUTERS/Charles Platiau

    Central bankers speak at Bank of France symposium

    By Reuters

    IMF'S LAGARDE "If I was to describe to you the current (economic) situation, I would say fragile, brittle, fragmented." ON ECB STATEMENT "(It) is perfectly legitimate and appropriate given the...

  • An employee uses a machine to count Russian roubles at a private company's office in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, November 6, 2014. REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin/Files

    Ailing ruble gets boost as market looks to central bank lifeline

    By Alexander Winning and Vladimir Abramov, Reuters

    MOSCOW (Reuters) - The ruble recovered on Friday, paring heavy losses as investors anticipated possible action by the central bank to halt a slide that could destabilize Russia's financial system...

  • A displaced Iraqi child, who fled from Islamic State violence from Saqlawiyah, near Falluja, is seen in the town of Khalidiya, north of Baghdad, July 15, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer

    Islamic State shuts down schools in eastern Syria

    By Omer Berberoglu and Rasha Elass and Jonny Hogg and Rasha Elass, Reuters

    BEIRUT (Reuters) - Islamic State has shut all schools in areas it controls in eastern Syria pending a religious revision of the curriculum, residents and a monitoring group said on Friday. Islamic...

  • Russian President Vladimir Putin (front) visits the company United Engine Corporation - Ufa Engine Industrial Association in the city of Ufa, Russia January 24, 2018. Sputnik/Alexei Nikolsky/Kremlin via REUTERS

    NATO sees increase in Russian troops along Ukraine border

    By Natalia Zinets and Vladimir Soldatkin and David Mardiste, Reuters

    "We are aware of the reports of Russian troops and tanks crossing the border between Ukraine and Russia and are looking into these reports. We can confirm a recent increase in Russian troops and...

  • A displaced Iraqi child, who fled from Islamic State violence from Saqlawiyah, near Falluja, is seen in the town of Khalidiya, north of Baghdad, July 15, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer

    Peshmergas blunt, don't break, Islamic State siege of Syria's Kobani

    By Omer Berberoglu and Rasha Elass, Reuters

    MURSITPINAR Turkey/BEIRUT (Reuters) - Iraqi Kurdish forces have blunted but not broken the siege of the Syrian border town of Kobani, a week after arriving to great fanfare with heavy weapons and...