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...

  • The main federal excise tax is 18.3 cents a gallon. Proceeds, estimated to top $37 billion in fiscal 2011, go to the Highway Trust Fund, which mostly finances the interstate highway system. Less than 3 cents a gallon goes to finance mass transit projects.

    These Two Countries Benefit Most from Cheap Oil

    By Gaurav Agnihotri, Oilprice.com

    We are living in a world obsessed with oil and its price movements. Some time back, when all the trade pundits were predicting a stable 100$ benchmark, the prices fell… and how! The current fall in...

  • Supermodel Kate Upton poses at the launch party of the Sports Illustrated's 2013 Swimsuit issue in New York

    How Kate Upton’s Cleavage Could Destroy North Korea

    By James Pearson, Reuters

    A $50 portable media player is providing many North Koreans a window to the outside world despite the government's efforts to keep its people isolated - a symbol of change in one of the world's most...

  • Rescue workers make their way down the mountainside near debris of wreckage at the crash site of an Airbus A320, near Seyne-les-Alpes,

    28-Year-Old Co-Pilot Crashed Germanwings Plane

    By Tim Hepher and Jean-Francois Rosnoblet, Reuters

    The co-pilot of the Germanwings airliner that crashed in the French Alps killing all 150 people aboard appears to have brought the A320 Airbus down deliberately, the Marseille prosecutor said on...

  • Electrical power pylons of high-tension electricity power lines are seen near the cooling towers of the Electricite de France (EDF) nuclear power station in Dampierre-en-Burly, March 8, 2015. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann

    7 Countries Close to Joining the Nuclear Power Club

    By Andrew Topf, Oilprice.com

    The meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex in 2011 following the Japanese tsunami forced a major rethink of nuclear power as a safe form of electricity generation. As radiation from the...

  • Despite Reams of Evidence, Global Warming Ranks Low on Americans’ Worry List

    By Eric Pianin

    Despite mounting scientific and anecdotal evidence that global warming is contributing to drought, mega-storms, flooding and coastal erosion, Americans appear less worried about that than pollution...