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Squeezed by sanctions, pandemic, Cuba finally opens up economy
Havana (AFP) - Cuba is undergoing a paradigm shift: after decades of tight, centralized control, the communist government is opening up the bulk of its economy to the private sector. While economic decline and spiralling unemployment are the main drivers, analysts say the liberalization measures can also be seen as an overture to a new US president. "It is definitely a strong signal at a crucial moment when the US administration has said it is revising the policies of (Donald) Trump towards Cuba," said Ricardo Torres, an economist at the University of Habana. Six decades of US sanctions, tough...
AFP
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US National Rifle Association files for bankruptcy
Washington (AFP) - The National Rifle Association announced Friday it was filing for bankruptcy protection from creditors and moving to Texas, in an apparent bid to dodge a corruption probe in New York. The powerful gun lobby group and one of its subsidiaries filed petitions for so-called Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a Dallas court. The NRA said its decision to reincorporate its non-profit status in Texas will ensure that in the future it is "free from the toxic political environment in New York." The NRA was set up in New York in 1871. The state of New York announced in August of last ...
AFP
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How the new US $900 bn stimulus package breaks down
Washington (AFP) - The $900 billion stimulus package aimed at bolstering the US economy during the coronavirus pandemic was signed into law by President Donald Trump on Sunday, freeing up the funds after a week of doubts. Here are the main points: HouseholdsThe poorest households will receive a check of $600 per adult and per child, subject to income (up to $75,000 annually per person, or $150,000 for a married couple), up to a total amount of $166 billion. Unemployment benefits will be extended until March 14 (with four additional weeks for those who have not exhausted their allowance), and ...
AFP
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Canadian will join Moon mission for first time in 2023
Montreal (AFP) - A Canadian astronaut will take part in a lunar mission for the first time in 2023, as part of the NASA-led Artemis project, the minister for innovation, science and industry announced Wednesday. "I am proud to announce another first: Canada will join the US on the first crewed mission to the Moon since the Apollo mission," the minister, Navdeep Bains, told a press conference. "This will make Canada only the second country after the US to have an astronaut in deep space." The mission, Artemis II, will see a crewed test flight sent into orbit in 2023 but will not involve an actu...
AFP
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Wealth of US billionaires soars during pandemic
New York (AFP) - America's billionaires have seen their wealth rise by more than $1 trillion since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a study Wednesday, fueling a debate about higher taxes on the rich. The collective wealth of the 651 billionaires in the United States soared from $2.95 trillion on March 18 to $4.01 billion on Monday, said the Institute for Policy Studies and Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF). "Never before has America seen such an accumulation of wealth in so few hands," said Frank Clemente, ATF's executive director, noting that the gain exceeds a relief packag...
AFP
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In US, booming real estate market highlights rich-poor divide
Washington (AFP) - The US real estate market is booming even as the coronavirus crisis intensifies, and the seemingly insatiable appetite for new and older homes has sent prices soaring -- meaning more and more families with modest incomes are seeing their dreams of owning property shattered."It very much is a tale of haves and have nots," said Dana Scanlon, a property agent in the Washington area.In a bid to mitigate the economic crisis provoked by the pandemic, the US Federal Reserve slashed interest rates in March to near-zero.As Scanlon explains, "that gives a very big boost to buying powe...
AFP
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As Trump rails against election outcome, Wall Street shrugs
Washington (AFP) - US President Donald Trump is mounting an unprecedented, and thus far unsuccessful, challenge to last week's presidential election, but that hasn't shaken Wall Street's forward momentum.Some analysts say the president's multi-state legal challenge to Democratic candidate Joe Biden's victory in the November 3 election is about boosting Trump's image as he prepares to leave the White House, and unlikely to affect stock indices that have little tolerance for uncertainty."My guess is, Trump is building his brand for the next round of whatever publicity he's going to try to garner...
AFP
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However the US election goes, Wall Street marches on
Washington (AFP) - From the US presidential election to the state of the economy, on paper this week did not go well for Wall Street, and yet stock indices climbed ever higher.Wall Street's preferred candidate President Donald Trump has lost key states and may indeed lose the White House. The US economy is still suffering from the coronavirus pandemic, and Congress could remain split between Democrats and Republicans for the next two years, meaning much-needed stimulus spending may come haltingly or be undersized.The ingredients are all there for US stocks to plunge -- and yet the Dow Jones In...
AFP
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Trump's trade war does little good for US industry
Washington (AFP) - When President Donald Trump visited a Whirlpool factory in Ohio in August, he boasted that his trade policy had led to the creation of about 200 jobs for the appliance manufacturer at the plant.But in slapping tariffs on appliances and components imported from China in response to Whirlpool's pleas, the Republican incumbent ultimately hurt American consumers, as prices for washing machines and dryers soared.The example underscores the double-edged impact of the US leader's aggressive trade tactics, which have produced landmark deals like the USMCA pact with Canada and Mexico...
AFP
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Paris under curfew as Europe battles soaring virus caseload
Paris (AFP) - Millions of Europeans faced tough new coronavirus restrictions on Saturday as governments stepped up efforts to slow the surge in infections, after the World Health Organization reported a "very concerning" 44-percent rise in European cases over one week.From Saturday evening, Paris and several other French cities go under a nighttime curfew that will last at least a month. England is banning mixed household gatherings in the capital and other areas, and Italy's most populous region is limiting bar openings and suspending sports events.The need for action in France was underlined...
AFP
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