U.S. President Donald Trump's threat not to sign a $2.3 trillion spending package approved by Congress has already shuttered an emergency unemployment aid program and threatens a partial federal government shutdown at midnight on Monday.
By Reuters Staff
3 Min Read
LONDON, Jan 6 (Reuters) - A record increase in government debt globally will hit emerging markets disproportionately, with developing nations not benefiting from lower interest rates and debt service burdens providing a cause for concern, Fitch Ratings said on Wednesday.
Global sovereign debt soared by $10 trillion to $77.8 trillion, or 94% of world gross domestic product, as governments boosted spending on health and shored up their economies roiled by the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, Fitch calculated.
Both the increase and debt levels are at a record high, Fitch’s head of sovereign ratings, James McCormack, wrote in a report, adding that the last $10 trillion tranche took seven years to build.
Germany expects British drugmaker AstraZeneca Plc to deliver 3 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine in February despite the company's latest production problems, Health Minister Jens Spahn told Bild am Sonntag newspaper.
By Reuters Staff
2 Min Read
OTTAWA, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Canada on Thursday temporarily waived a C$844 million ($664 million) debt payment for the construction of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Muskrat Falls hydroelectric power plant, bailing out a troubled project in a province already laden with debt.
Since the announcement of the project in 2010, Canada has guaranteed a total of C$7.9 billion in debt for the project, which has faced major cost over-runs and now represents a large portion of the remote and sparsely-populated Atlantic province’s overall debt.
BMO Capital Markets estimates Newfoundland’s net debt as a share of gross domestic product will rise to 55.6% in 2020-21 from 42.1% in 2019-20, the highest among the ten provinces.
Wall Street bankers warned of toppy stock markets and a looming near-term retreat after exuberance from unprecedented economic stimulus has led to "frothy" asset prices.