Sunday, November 24

Author: Patti Mohr

Patti Mohr is a U.S.-based journalist. She writes about global diplomacy, economics, and infringements on individual freedom. Patti is the founder of the Global Economic Report. Her goal is to elevate journalistic principles and share the pursuit of truth in concert with others.
3Mar By Patti MohrNo Comments
Currency, Debt, National Budgets & Interest Rates, Global Economics, Types of News: Brief

U.S. Federal Reserve Says Economic Outlook Has ‘Changed Materially’ as Coronavirus Spreads

March 3, 2020--Over a week into turbulence in the financial markets from a global outbreak of the coronavirus, the U.S. Federal Reserve cut its policy rate by 50 basis points amid signs that the economic outlook has "changed materially." Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said he expects the COVID-19 virus to impact the global economy "for some time." It has already affected tourism and travel industries and threatens to disrupt global supply chains. "The magnitude and persistence of the overall effects on the economy, however, remain highly uncertain, and the situation remains a fluid one," Powell said on Tuesday. Globally, the COVID-19 virus has infected at least 90,893 people across 21 countries and killed 3,110, the World Health Organization reported today. Market Turbulence ...
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27Feb By Patti MohrNo Comments
Diplomacy, Sanctions

U.S. Provides Sanctions Waiver for Humanitarian Aid to Iran

Feb. 27, 2020--The U.S. Treasury Department published a license granting exceptions to its sanctions regime against Iran for shippers of humanitarian supplies, such as food, medicine and medical equipment. The Swiss government launched the new payment channel late last month as a pilot program in cooperation with the U.S. government. Today's action provides the legal framework for that channel Medical shortages started in Iran after the United States pulled out of the nuclear deal and started new sanctions against Iran. Although the sanctions had exempted medical supplies, trade was disrupted due to concern by traders about getting caught up in the sanctions. According to AFP News Agency, "This in turn has worsened the acute shortage of medicines and led to skyrocketing prices, agai...
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Instability in Key Trade Route ‘Jeopardizes Trade and Energy Supplies’
22Jan By Patti MohrNo Comments
Energy Policy, Oil & Gas, Global Trade, Types of News: Brief

Instability in Key Trade Route ‘Jeopardizes Trade and Energy Supplies’

January 22, 2020-In a sign of the escalating tensions between the West and Iran, more countries are expressing support for the international coalition protecting shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. South Korea is the latest to announce a plan to send a naval destroyer to the strait. On Tuesday, the government said it is sending an independent and temporary mission to "guarantee the safety of our people and the freedom of navigation of our vessels,” according to a news report in Stars and Stripes. Iran had previously warned South Korea against joining a US-led coalition. New European Naval Mission On Monday, the governments of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, and Portugal released a joint statement warning that rising instability in the ...
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Spain Says Climate is National Emergency
22Jan By Patti MohrNo Comments
Climate Action, ESG, Sustainable Finance, Types of News: Brief

Spain Says Climate is National Emergency

January 22, 2020-Spain's new socialist government declared that climate change is a national "emergency." The government plans to make it a cornerstone issue for all ministerial departments and government actions. That adds Spain to a list of more than two dozen countries that have declared climate change an emergency. The coalition government led by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who took office on 13 January, plans to bring legislation to the parliament to reduce greehouse gas emissions to a net zero by 2050, according to reporting by Euractiv and AFP. If parliament approves the bill, it would require "all urban areas with a population of more than 50,000 to create low-emission zones," Reuters reported.
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21Jan By Patti MohrNo Comments
Currency, Debt, National Budgets & Interest Rates, Types of News: Brief

Global Debt Rises to $188 Trillion

In case you missed it... (We did!) Jan. 21, 2020-Global debt rose by $3 trillion in 2018 to reach $188 trillion, according to data released late last month by the International Monetary Fund. The data suggests many countries will be "ill-prepared" for the next economic downtown, an IMF blog post asserted. Referencing the data in an interview today with CNBC, IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said the low interest rates fueled higher risk investments, such as stocks. She added that loose monetary policies are responsible for a significant amount of global growth.
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Iran Reacts with Defiance to New U.S. Deterrence Strategy
17Jan By Patti MohrNo Comments
Middle East, Sanctions, Types of News: Analysis

Iran Reacts with Defiance to New U.S. Deterrence Strategy

Jan. 17, 2020-Immediate tensions between the United States and Iran subsided since the two country's attacks and counter-attacks in Iraq earlier this month. While war between the two countries appears less imminent, the path forward points to either inevitable conflict or backdoor diplomacy. Today, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei conducted a rare Friday speech in which he condemned the United States and defended his country's missile attacks against U.S. military bases in Iraq. The strikes inadvertently downed a Ukrainian passenger plane. The United States, meanwhile, intensified its sanctions against Iran, adding Iranian military and political officials and companies trading in Iran's metals industry to its already-large list of sanctioned individuals and entities. ...
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As Impeachment Trial Begins, Government Agency Says Withholding of Foreign Aid Was Illegal
16Jan By Patti MohrNo Comments
Foreign Aid, International Development, Types of News: Brief

As Impeachment Trial Begins, Government Agency Says Withholding of Foreign Aid Was Illegal

Jan. 16, 2020-As the impeachment trial of U.S. President Donald Trump got underway with the swearing in of Chief Justice John Roberts and most of the 100 U.S. senators, a government agency issued a report today saying it was illegal for the Executive Branch to withold to Ukraine in 2019. "Faithful execution of the law does not permit the President to substitute his own policy priorities for those that Congress has enacted into law," the legal decision by the Government Accountability Office said. The specific law in question is the Impoundment Control Act. The timing of the GAO decision is relevant because it gets to the heart of the impeachment trial now underway in the U.S. Senate. According to the GAO, Congress had appropriated $250 million in U.S. funds for Ukraine. The i...
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16Jan By Patti MohrNo Comments
Global Trade, Types of News: Brief, United States

Congress Clears US-Mexico-Canada Trade Deal

January 16, 2020-It's a big week for trade. A day after the United States and China agreed to a phase one of a trade deal, the U.S. Senate approved a trade agreement that replaces NAFTA. Only nine senators voted against it while 89 voted for it. Since the House has previously passed it with a bipartisan 385-41 vote, the agreement is cleared for the White House. The deal, the USMCA, is a massive three-way agreement that covers goods worth about $1.3 trillion. Leaders of Mexico, Canada and the United States signed the deal in late 2018. Mexico's Senate voted for the agreement on June 20, 2019 and a revised treaty on Dec. 12, 2019. It's up to the Mexican president to ratify it. Canada is expected to consider implementing legislation when the new Parliament begins its session. For...
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8Jan By Patti MohrNo Comments
Global Trade

Senate Panel OKs North American Trade Deal

January 8, 2020-The Senate Finance Committee gave its mark of approval yesterday to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, which the three countries' leaders agreed to a year ago. If ratified by legislatures in all three countries, the USMCA would replace NAFTA. "USMCA will bring much needed certainty, and real benefits to America’s farmers, workers, and businesses," Senator Charles Grassley said. Senator Wyden praised the new enforcement mechanisms. Democrats worked with President Trump to include financial assistance through the Labor Department to help improve labor standards in Mexico and strengthen U.S. capacity to identify when Mexican factories violate labor standards. "So when you combine this all-in approach on enforcement with new commitments on labor rights and ...
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8Jan By Patti MohrNo Comments
Energy Policy, Oil & Gas, Sanctions, Types of News: Brief

‘We Do Not Need Middle East Oil,’ Trump Says

January 8, 2020-As he addressed the nation and the world at the height of an escalating crisis between Iran and the United States, President Donald Trump emphasized American strength in military capabilities, economic growth and natural resources in a sign he is not backing down from the possibility of war with archrival Iran. Trump called on signatories to the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran to abandon the agreement, asked the NATO alliance to take a stronger role in the Middle East, and announced new economic sanctions on Iran. Trump showed no sign of de-escalating the conflict with Iran. He said Iranians chanted "death to America" even as the United States signed onto the 2015 nuclear deal and fomented conflicts in Yemen, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. Furthermore, he reinforced his decisio...
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