Ata mārie and welcome to your Friday summary of international business and political news.
First today, US President Donald Trump signed a spending bill on day 43 of the country’s government shutdown after the House of Representatives voted 222-209 to approve it, the BBC reported.
Trump said “normal operations” would resume, after government services had been suspended since October, with about 1.4 million federal employees on unpaid leave or working without pay.
The bill agreed to this week only provides funding to keep the government open until January 30. Lawmakers will then need to find a way to fund the government, the BBC said.
Trump repeatedly blamed the shutdown on the Democrats. "They did it purely for political reasons," he said.
"When we come up to midterms and other things, don't forget what they've done to our country.”
Elsewhere, the US is sanctioning individuals and casinos with alleged financial links to Latin American drug cartels. The Treasury Department alleged cartel-related money laundering and other criminal activity in Mexico and Europe, Bloomberg reported.
“Our message to those supporting the cartels is clear: You will be held accountable. We thank the Government of Mexico for its strong partnership in this effort,” Treasury official John Hurley said.
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
UK recession fears have risen after new data shows weak economic growth and a rise in unemployment ahead of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ November 26th Budget.
The UK economy expanded only 0.1% in the September quarter, while unemployment climbed to 5%, the highest in four years.
Global financial advisory firm deVere Group chief executive Nigel Green said that sluggish growth rate reinforced the economy was barely moving forward. “When expansion slips to this level, confidence weakens, investment decisions slow, and earnings pressure increases across the board.”
“The rise in unemployment adds another layer of concern. A shift from 4.8% to 5% may sound small, but direction always matters more than magnitude at this stage of the cycle. Once households experience income strain, the slowdown feeds through spending, borrowing, and business expectations.”
In China, tax authorities ordered e-commerce giants including Amazon to hand over sales data for the first time to crackdown on tax evasion and under-reported sales, Bloomberg reported.
Sources said Amazon started sharing data last month, while Chinese firms also shared data recently. The online firms were not accused of any wrongdoing. The data gave regulators a more accurate picture of online exporters’ sales.
In business news, Disney posted mixed results, with revenue missing expectations after the entertainment business was weighed down by its television networks and films.
Advertising revenue for networks, which included the ABC and pay channels, suffered because of lower political advertising.
The company’s overall revenue for the fourth quarter was about US$22.5 billion, slightly down on the same quarter last year. However, Disney chief financial officer Hugh Johnston told CNBC the company was ending the year with some momentum.
Elsewhere, the US has ended the production of the penny (one US cent) after more than 200 years. The last time a coin was discontinued was in 1857 when the half-cent coin was retired.
Pennies will remain in circulation but will be phased out as businesses adjust prices. The US1c coin cost nearly US4c each to produce, the BBC noted.
Apple iPhones.
Finally, technology company Apple has announced a non-tech ‘sock’ product that has consumers talking about price. The iPhone Pocket is a knitted strap developed with fashion designer Issey Miyake, CNN reported.
Apple said the pocket could be worn over the shoulder, tied onto bags, or held by hand. Consumers thought it was overpriced, with the short pocket valued at US$149.95 and the long version US$229.95.
“$230 for a cut-up sock. Apple people will pay anything for anything as long as it’s Apple,” wrote one person on social media.
