State budget strategy agreement has gone out the window

State budget strategy agreement has gone out the window

20.12.2023. Tallinn. Press conference with Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna, Minister of the interior Lauri Läänemets and Finance Minister Mart Võrklaev. Finance Minister Mart Võrklaev's proposal to cancel unspecified tax hikes worth 400 million means that the Reform Party has walked back a part of an agreement between the partners, meaning that the government will need to go back to the drawing board with the next four years' fiscal strategy. Photo: Teele Toova, Postimees.

State budget strategy agreement has gone out the window

State budget strategy agreement has gone out the window

20.12.2023. Tallinn. Press conference with Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna, Minister of the interior Lauri Läänemets and Finance Minister Mart Võrklaev. Finance Minister Mart Võrklaev's proposal to cancel unspecified tax hikes worth 400 million means that the Reform Party has walked back a part of an agreement between the partners, meaning that the government will need to go back to the drawing board with the next four years' fiscal strategy. Photo: Teele Toova, Postimees.

State budget strategy agreement has gone out the window

State budget strategy agreement has gone out the window

20.12.2023. Tallinn. Press conference with Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna, Minister of the interior Lauri Läänemets and Finance Minister Mart Võrklaev. Finance Minister Mart Võrklaev's proposal to cancel unspecified tax hikes worth 400 million means that the Reform Party has walked back a part of an agreement between the partners, meaning that the government will need to go back to the drawing board with the next four years' fiscal strategy. Photo: Teele Toova, Postimees.

U.S. Fed hikes rates for first time in new year

STORY: U.S. Fed hikes rates for first time in new year DATELINE: Feb. 2, 2023 LENGTH: 00:01:10 LOCATION: Washington D.C. CATEGORY: ECONOMY SHOTLIST: 1. various of the press conference STORYLINE: The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday implemented its first rate hike in the new year. The central bank hiked rates by a quarter percentage point, marking the eighth time the Fed has raised rates since it began tightening in March last year. "Inflation has eased somewhat but remains elevated," the Fed said in a press release. The Fed is engaged in the most aggressive rate hike cycle in many years, in a bid to quell the worst inflation in four decades. Last year, the U.S. central bank implemented four rate increases of 75 basis points. Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Washington D.C. (XHTV)

U.S. Fed hikes interest rates to 15-year high

STORY: U.S. Fed hikes interest rates to 15-year high DATELINE: Dec. 15, 2022 LENGTH: 00:01:41 LOCATION: Washington D.C. CATEGORY: ECONOMY SHOTLIST: 1. various of Fed Chair Jerome Powell making opening remarks while attending a press conference on Dec. 14 2. various of exterior of the U.S. Federal Reserve STORYLINE: The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday hiked interest rates to their highest point in 15 years, signaling that the central bank's battle against inflation is far from finished. The Federal Open Market Committee voted to raise the overnight rate of borrowing by half a percentage point, continuing in the most aggressive rate raising cycle in 40 years. However, the half-point increase was smaller than the last four rate hikes, which were 0.75-point increases. That begs the question of whether the Fed will raise rates by smaller amounts going forward, if the central bank continues to follow the same course. The Dow Jones Industrial Average took a nosedive on the news, falling nearly 500 points ju

U.S. Fed chair at press conference

U.S. Fed chair at press conference

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell holds a press conference on Dec. 14, 2022, in Washington following the Fed's policy-setting meeting. The central bank decided to raise its benchmark interest rate by 0.5 percentage point, a smaller increase than the previous four hikes, but signaled more are to come as it continues to battle high inflation.

S. Korea raises policy rate by 25 bps to curb inflation

STORY: S. Korea raises policy rate by 25 bps to curb inflation DATELINE: Aug. 25, 2022 LENGTH: 0:01:33 LOCATION: Seoul CATEGORY: ECONOMY SHOTLIST: 1. Bank of Korea (files) 2. Bank of Korea (BOK) Governor Rhee Chang-yong (Yonhap TV) 3. a rate-setting meeting (Yonhap TV) 4. file footage of citizens shopping in mart (Yonhap TV) 5. file footage of U.S. dollar (Yonhap TV) STORYLINE: South Korea's central bank on Thursday raised its policy rate to curb inflation, delivering four back-to-back rate hikes for the first time. Bank of Korea (BOK) Governor Rhee Chang-yong and other monetary policymakers unanimously decided to lift the benchmark seven-day repurchase rate by 25 basis points to 2.50 percent. It marked the fourth consecutive rate increase for the first time, after hiking the rate by 50 basis points in July. The BOK set off its tightening monetary policy since August last year. The Thursday hike was in line with market expectations. According to a Korea Financial Investment Association poll of

Egyptians suffer from price hikes during Eid al-Adha

STORY: Egyptians suffer from price hikes during Eid al-Adha DATELINE: July 10, 2022 LENGTH: 00:01:26 LOCATION: Cairo CATEGORY: ECONOMY/CULTURE SHOTLIST: 1. various of Egyptians celebrating Eid al-Adha 2. SOUNDBITE (Arabic): MOHAMED GOMAA, Egyptian citizen 3. various of livestock market STORYLINE: The festival of Eid al-Adha this year is not a happy one for Muslims in Egypt due to the high prices of commodities. Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice, is one of the most anticipated celebrations in the Islamic world. By tradition, families should ritually slaughter an animal, usually sheep or cow, during the four-day festival as long as they can afford it. People also always buy new clothes for kids and prepare sweets to serve visiting relatives. During the festival, well-to-do families sacrifice animals and distribute the meat to low-income families, friends and relatives. SOUNDBITE (Arabic): MOHAMED GOMAA, Egyptian citizen "I didn't buy a sacrificial animal this year. I only bought a limited amount of

Fed rate hikes stir up vicious circle in developing countries: expert

STORY: Fed rate hikes stir up vicious circle in developing countries: expert DATELINE: May 5, 2022 LENGTH: 00:02:13 LOCATION: Nairobi CATEGORY: ECONOMY SHOTLIST: 1. various of the U.S. Federal Reserve 2. various of Fed Chair Jerome Powell speaking 3. SOUNDBITE (English): STEPHEN NDEGWA, International relations lecturer, United States International University (USIU-Africa) 4. various of the market STORYLINE: As the U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised its benchmark interest rate by a half percentage point, a Nairobi-based expert warns that "we're going to have a vicious cycle, where there's less money in the U.S. and definitely less money going to the developing world." The Fed's latest move marks the sharpest rate hike since 2000, as it takes more aggressive steps to rein in the highest inflation in four decades. SOUNDBITE (English): STEPHEN NDEGWA, International relations lecturer, United States International University (USIU-Africa) "The high-interest rates are supposed to stabilize the consumer pr

U.S.-CALIFORNIA-INFLATION-RISE

U.S.-CALIFORNIA-INFLATION-RISE

(220413) -- SAN FRANCISCO, April 13, 2022 (Xinhua) -- People shop at a supermarket in Foster City in California, the United States, April 12, 2022. Newly released data showed that U.S. inflation in March continued to rise at the fastest annual pace in four decades, warranting more aggressive interest rate hikes, as signaled by several Federal Reserve officials. (Photo by Li Jianguo/Xinhua)

U.S.-CALIFORNIA-INFLATION-RISE

U.S.-CALIFORNIA-INFLATION-RISE

(220413) -- SAN FRANCISCO, April 13, 2022 (Xinhua) -- People shop at a supermarket in Foster City in California, the United States, April 12, 2022. Newly released data showed that U.S. inflation in March continued to rise at the fastest annual pace in four decades, warranting more aggressive interest rate hikes, as signaled by several Federal Reserve officials. (Photo by Li Jianguo/Xinhua)

U.S.-CALIFORNIA-INFLATION-RISE

U.S.-CALIFORNIA-INFLATION-RISE

(220413) -- SAN FRANCISCO, April 13, 2022 (Xinhua) -- A man shops at a supermarket in Foster City in California, the United States, April 12, 2022. Newly released data showed that U.S. inflation in March continued to rise at the fastest annual pace in four decades, warranting more aggressive interest rate hikes, as signaled by several Federal Reserve officials. (Photo by Li Jianguo/Xinhua)

U.S. Fed kicks off rate-hiking cycle to combat inflation, adds to global debt concerns

STORY: U.S. Fed kicks off rate-hiking cycle to combat inflation, adds to global debt concerns DATELINE: March 17, 2022 LENGTH: 00:01:28 LOCATION: Washington D.C. CATEGORY: ECONOMY SHOTLIST: 1. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): JEROME POWELL, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman 2. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): JEROME POWELL, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman 3. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): JEROME POWELL, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman STORYLINE: The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday kicked off an interest-rate hiking cycle and signaled six more rate hikes later this year, as it seeks to tame the highest U.S. inflation in four decades. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): JEROME POWELL, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman "At the federal reserve, we are strongly committed to achieving the monetary policy goals that Congress has given us, maximum employment and price stability. Today in support of these goals, the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) raised its policy interest rate by one quarter percentage point." SOUNDBITE 2 (English): JEROME POWELL, U.S. Fed