People
Trump says Fed should cut by 100 bps and restart QE
White House officials are discussing further actions to spur the economy, including a cut in the payroll to help the middle class. The Obama administration briefly lowered the tax rate to 4.2 percent in 2011 to 2012 in an effort to boost consumer spending. [Full Article...]
Putin, Macron hold talks before G7
The pair both expressed optimism that the arrival of Volodymyr Zelensky as Ukraine's president had improved the chances of ending the half-decade conflict during their meeting which lasted four-and-a-half hours. "We will discuss this situation and, perhaps, prepare future meetings with (German) Chancellor (Angela) Merkel and president Zelensky in the Normandy format", he said. [Full Article...]
Russia Says It Won't Share Rocket Explosion Data as Suspicions Swirl
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday there was no risk of increased radiation levels after a blast at a military site in northern Russia on August 8 that killed at least five people. The authorities said the brief increase in radiation didn't pose any health dangers. Russia's state nuclear agency said five of its staff members were killed and three others injured in a blast involvin... [Full Article...]
Cops will probe preacher for 'stirring up racial feelings': Mahathir
Zakir, who is from India, is a permanent resident in Malaysia . Zakir had been barred by seven states - Melaka, Johor, Selangor, Penang, Kedah, Perlis and Sarawak - from speaking in public, after his recent racial remarks. "He is stirring up racial feelings. But he did. That is politics", Mahathir said. Because of that, Dr Mahathir said, the police will have to investigate whether Dr Zakir is... [Full Article...]
5,000 evacuated as Canary Islands wildfire rages
So fierce is the fire in what is part of a UNESCO biosphere reserve that in some areas, it "is beyond our extinction capacities", Federico Grillo, head of emergency services in Gran Canaria, said late Sunday. Ten planes and helicopters have been deployed to tackle the blaze, along with 700 firefighters, including 200 from the military. The fire broke out on Saturday afternoon, just days after an... [Full Article...]
Trump Will Drop out of 2020 Election: Former Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci
Scaramucci has not provided any names of former officials who are allegedly willing to speak out against President Trump at this time. This is not a "Never Trump" situation. Anthony Scaramucci answers reporters' questions during the daily White House press briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House July 21, 2017 in Washington, D.C. [Full Article...]
White House mulling tax cut to avoid recession
The payroll tax was cut during the Obama administration to 4.2 percent, to encourage consumer spending during the Great Recession , but went back up to 6.2 percent in 2013. Only two percent of the 226 respondents now see a recession this year, compared to 10 percent in February's survey, NABE said. The Fed cut rates last month for the first time in a decade and signaled it was open to doing mor... [Full Article...]
US Warns Against 'Facilitating' Freed Iranian Tanker
A State Department official said the USA has conveyed its "strong position" to the Greek government about the tanker, adding that any efforts to assist Adrian Darya could be considered as providing material support to a US-designated foreign terrorist organization, which has immigration and potential criminal consequences. [Full Article...]