Author: chicagoinquirer

by Lisa Mascaro, Kevin Freking, Stephen Groves and Fornoush Amiri WASHINGTON  — Veering away from a default crisis, the House approved a debt ceiling and budget cuts package late Wednesday, as President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy assembled a bipartisan coalition of centrist Democrats and Republicans against fierce conservative blowback and progressive dissent. The hard-fought deal pleased few, but lawmakers assessed it was better than the alternative — a devastating economic upheaval if Congress failed to act. Tensions ran high throughout the day as hard-right Republicans refused the deal, while Democrats said “extremist” GOP views were risking a debt…

by Agency reports KHARTOUM  -Sudan’s army suspended talks with a rival paramilitary force on Wednesday over a ceasefire and aid access, raising fears the six-week-old conflict will push Africa’s third largest country deeper into a humanitarian crisis. The armed forces said in a statement it halted talks in the Saudi city of Jeddah, accusing the other side of a lack of commitment in implementing any terms of the agreement and a continuous violation of the ceasefire. The negotiations with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which began in early May, had produced a declaration of commitments to protect civilians and two…

by Libby George LONDON  –     The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) expects to receive $100 million to $200 million this year from the government and the removal of fuel subsidies would boost the amount of cash available, its chief investment officer told a panel in London on Wednesday. Newly inaugurated President Bola Tinubu pledged to remove fuel subsidies, a popular but costly benefit that has drained millions annually from government coffers. Kola Owodunni, NSIA’s chief investment officer, told a panel at the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute conference in London that the move would help bolster NSIA finances…

by Carien du Plessis JOHANNESBURG  –     South Africa is mulling its options over an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin should he accept an invitation to a BRICS summit in August, a government official said on Wednesday. A member of the ICC, South Africa would theoretically be required to arrest Putin under the warrant issued in March by the court, which accused him of the war crime of forcibly deporting children from Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine. Moscow denies the allegations. However, South Africa had on Jan. 25 already invited Putin to the Aug.…

by Lisa Mascaro, Kevin Freking and Stephen Groves WASHINGTON  — Hard-fought to the end, the debt ceiling and budget cuts package is heading toward a crucial U.S. House vote as President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy assemble a coalition of centrist Democrats and Republicans to push it to passage over fierce blowback from conservatives and some progressive dissent. Biden is sending top White House officials to meet early Wednesday at the Capitol to shore up support ahead of voting. McCarthy is working furiously to sell skeptical fellow Republicans, even fending off challenges to his leadership, in the rush to avert a potentially disastrous U.S.…

by Rachel Savage and Chijioke Ohuocha JOHANNESBURG/ABUJA  –     Nigeria’s sovereign dollar-denominated bonds rallied on Tuesday after new President Bola Tinubu said at his swearing-in that a costly fuel subsidy would be removed and the central bank should work towards a unified exchange rate. Rating agency Moody’s said Tinubu’s readiness to confront these issues was “credit positive” but warned they risked a transitional period of higher inflation, weaker economic activity and more social discontent. Eurobonds rose as much as 3 cents in the dollar, with the 2029 maturity at 87.25 cents by 1251 GMT. Its yield of 11.43% was…

by Felix Onuah and MacDonald Dzirutwe ABUJA  -Nigeria’s new President Bola Tinubu vowed at his swearing-in on Monday to expand the economy by at least 6% a year, lift barriers to investment, create jobs and unify the exchange rate, while also tackling rampant insecurity. Tinubu inherits a struggling economy with record debt, shortages of foreign exchange and fuel, a weak naira currency, nearly two-decades-high inflation, skeletal power supplies and falling oil production due to crude theft and underinvestment. Protectionist policies and foreign currency interventions under predecessor Muhammadu Buhari spooked investors. “On the economy, we target a higher GDP growth…

by Eddie Pells DENVER  — The Denver Nuggets don’t brawl with other teams or bicker among themselves. It’s been almost a decade since they fired a coach. Their most spectacular highlights often involve sublime skip passes across the court — or a backward, half-court shot from their mascot, Rocky, during a break in the action. Some might call them downright boring. The Nuggets call it beautiful. Their no-drama way of doing business, both on and off the court, doesn’t grab tons of headlines. But it has set the franchise up for success and brought it to its first NBA Finals…

by Jill Colvin and Steve Peoples NEW YORK — When Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina launched his campaign for the White House last week, the notoriously prickly former President Donald Trumpwelcomed his new competitor with open arms. There were no accusations of disloyalty or nasty nicknames from the GOP front-runner like the barrage he unleashed when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, considered his leading rival, joined the race two days later with a bungled Twitter announcement. “Good luck to Senator Tim Scott in entering the Republican Presidential Primary Race,” Trump said. “It is rapidly loading up with lots of people, and Tim is a big…

by Felix Onuah and MacDonald Dzirutwe ABUJA  –     Bola Tinubu was sworn in as Nigeria’s president on Monday, facing mounting calls to improve economic and security conditions which many complain worsened under his predecessor Muhammadu Buhari. Soon after the 71-year-old took his oath in an open-air ceremony in the capital’s Eagle’s Square, Buhari left for the airport on his way to his home village in Katsina state, where he says he will spend his retirement. Tinubu, the former Lagos state governor and a member of Buhari’s party, has promised to be a better steward of Africa’s biggest economy…