Financial News

Financial News:

World shares mostly lower…No action yet on budget
TOKYO (AP) – Global shares are mostly lower despite that latest rally on Wall Street. European indexes fell in early trading and most Asian benchmarks also fell. But Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 finished higher, recovering from morning losses, as investors stepped to the sidelines to see the outcome of Japan’s parliamentary elections Sunday. Both the pace of economic growth and the state of the jobs market are on investors’ minds as they look ahead to the Federal Reserve’s meeting next week to see how it moves forward with plans to trim bond purchases and its position on interest rates.

WASHINGTON(AP) – President Joe Biden says he has reached a “historic” framework with Democrats in Congress on his sweeping, though scaled-back domestic policy plan. But Biden still must nail down votes from a few skeptical fellow Democrats. Biden announced the framework at the White House after he went early Thursday to Capitol Hill to pitch House Democrats. The proposal is now $1.75 trillion and without a paid family leave program and other priorities. But it’s still robust with new health care, free-prekindergarten and climate change programs. Biden wanted a deal before he left later Thursday for global summits in Europe. But votes are still a way off, as lawmakers push for more.

ROME (AP) – The global economy is giving leaders of the Group of 20 countries a lot to talk about at their summit this weekend in Rome. The presidents and prime ministers representing 80% of the global economy will confront a recovery hampered by an energy crunch that’s spurring higher fuel and utility prices, new COVID-19 outbreaks and logjams in supply chains. U.S. President Joe Biden has said he wants to press other leaders on high oil prices. One thing is set: leaders will sign off on a deal to enact a global minimum corporate tax that could help reap more money for governments that have increased spending on pandemic relief.

BRUSSELS (AP) – Official figures show that inflation across the 19 European Union countries that use the euro currency has spiked to its highest level in more than 13 years. The European Union’s statistics agency says that consumer prices across the bloc rose to 4.1% in the year through October. That’s up from September’s equivalent rate of 3.4% and represents the highest annual increase in inflation since July 2008. The spike is likely to stoke pressure on the European Central Bank to accelerate moves to end its stimulus measures as inflation is running at double its target of 2%. The statistics agency also says eurozone growth rose by 2.2% in the third quarter of the year, a tad higher from the previous quarter’s 2.1%.

BEIJING (AP) – A newspaper reports a troubled Chinese developer whose struggle to avoid a multibillion-dollar debt defaults rattled global financial markets made an overdue $45.2 million payment on a bond one day before it would have been declared in default. The South China Morning Post says Evergrande Group made the payment on a $951 million bond that matures in March 2024. The company had a 30-day grace period after missing a payment due Sept. 29. It was the second time the developer, which owes 2 trillion yuan ($310 billion), paid bondholders one day before it would be declared in default.