WASHINGTON // Republicans and Democrats yesterday began working on separate proposals to raise the US debt ceiling before the deadline expires on August 2.
Both sides agree that a default is unthinkable. Nevertheless, world markets fell yesterday and credit agencies continue to warn that a limited deal that avoids default but does not address more long-term issues may not be enough to save the US's AAA credit rating.
Little headway was made over the weekend when Barack Obama, the US president, summoned congressional leaders to the White House for emergency talks. His angry summons came after John Boehner, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, said negotiations had stalled.
Mr Boehner suggested instead that congressional leaders would negotiate among themselves to reach bipartisan agreement. But those talks reached an impasse on Sunday.
Yesterday, Mr Boehner and Harry Reid, the Democrat Senate majority leader, instead each planned to present separate plans to their own parties.
Mr Boehner wants to promote a short-term extension of the ceiling along with a package of spending cuts that could save as much as US $3.2 trillion (Dh11.75) over two years. Mr Reid was pursuing a longer-term extension accompanied by $2.7 trillion in cuts.
Neither side was pushing for an increase in revenue in order to avoid Republican resistance to tax increases. But Democrats want an immediate debt ceiling increase of $2.4 trillion to see the government through next year, rather than a staggered one, as suggested by Mr Boehner.
Both plans fall far short of what Mr Obama favours. He had hoped to pursue a package of spending cuts and revenue increases that would see more than $4 trillion cut from the deficit over the next decade.
Such a plan, officials say, was the only way to calm uncertainty in jittery markets, address structural economic problems and assure credit ratings agencies and investors. A short-term debt limit might not be enough, Dan Pfeiffer, the White House communications director, warned yesterday
"Despite warnings that a short-term extension could lead to a credit downgrade and higher interest rates resulting in a tax increase on every American, Republicans in Congress continue to push for a 'my way or the highway' solution that could put our credit rating at risk and leave the cloud of uncertainty over the American people," he said.
Prospects for a short-term extension, however, have not impressed investors. A short-term plan amounts to little more than a "Band-Aid" that does nothing to address America's structural problems and the damage will be "real and long-lasting", Mohamed El Erian, the chief executive of Pacific Investment Management Company, a global investment management company and one of the world's largest bond investors, wrote in the Huffington Post.
The dollar lost ground in Asian markets when trading opened yesterday despite efforts by Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, to allay international fears.
"The political wrangling in Washington is intense right now," Mrs Clinton told the US Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong. "But these kinds of debates have been a constant in our political life throughout the history of our republic. So I am confident that Congress will do the right thing and secure a deal on the debt ceiling."
The view from the UK was markedly less sanguine. Speaking to the BBC on Sunday, Vince Cable, the UK's business secretary, said "a few right-wing nutters" were the biggest threat to the world economy.
Mr Cable said: "The irony of the situation at the moment, with markets opening tomorrow morning, is that the biggest threat to the world financial system comes from a few right-wing nutters in the American Congress rather than the eurozone."
okarmi@thenational.ae
Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
MATCH INFO
Real Madrid 2
Vinicius Junior (71') Mariano (90 2')
Barcelona 0
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The years Ramadan fell in May
JAPAN SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Masaaki Higashiguchi, Shuichi Gonda, Daniel Schmidt
Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo, Tomoaki Makino, Maya Yoshida, Sho Sasaki, Hiroki Sakai, Sei Muroya, Genta Miura, Takehiro Tomiyasu
Midfielders: Toshihiro Aoyama, Genki Haraguchi, Gaku Shibasaki, Wataru Endo, Junya Ito, Shoya Nakajima, Takumi Minamino, Hidemasa Morita, Ritsu Doan
Forwards: Yuya Osako, Takuma Asano, Koya Kitagawa
Know your Camel lingo
The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home
Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless
Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers
Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s
Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival
8 traditional Jamaican dishes to try at Kingston 21
- Trench Town Rock: Jamaican-style curry goat served in a pastry basket with a carrot and potato garnish
- Rock Steady Jerk Chicken: chicken marinated for 24 hours and slow-cooked on the grill
- Mento Oxtail: flavoured oxtail stewed for five hours with herbs
- Ackee and salt fish: the national dish of Jamaica makes for a hearty breakfast
- Jamaican porridge: another breakfast favourite, can be made with peanut, cornmeal, banana and plantain
- Jamaican beef patty: a pastry with ground beef filling
- Hellshire Pon di Beach: Fresh fish with pickles
- Out of Many: traditional sweet potato pudding
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
If you go
The flights
Emirates (www.emirates.com) and Etihad (www.etihad.com) both fly direct to Bengaluru, with return fares from Dh 1240. From Bengaluru airport, Coorg is a five-hour drive by car.
The hotels
The Tamara (www.thetamara.com) is located inside a working coffee plantation and offers individual villas with sprawling views of the hills (tariff from Dh1,300, including taxes and breakfast).
When to go
Coorg is an all-year destination, with the peak season for travel extending from the cooler months between October and March.
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Sonchiriya
Director: Abhishek Chaubey
Producer: RSVP Movies, Azure Entertainment
Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput, Manoj Bajpayee, Ashutosh Rana, Bhumi Pednekar, Ranvir Shorey
Rating: 3/5
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The biog
Age: 30
Position: Senior lab superintendent at Emirates Global Aluminium
Education: Bachelor of science in chemical engineering, post graduate degree in light metal reduction technology
Favourite part of job: The challenge, because it is challenging
Favourite quote: “Be the change you wish to see in the world,” Gandi
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