“The U.S. budget deficit rose by 2% last month to $209 billion, another step in a journey back toward $1 trillion-a-year budget shortfalls.
“The Treasury Department reported Wednesday that the federal government took in $225 billion in tax and other revenue but spent a record $434 billion in November.
“November is the second month of the government’s 2020 budget year.
“In the 2019 budget year, the government ran up a deficit of $984 billion, the most in seven years.
“The Congressional Budget Office is forecasting that the deficit for 2020 will hit $1 trillion and will stay above $1 trillion for the next decade. The country last ran annual $1 trillion annual deficits from 2009 through 2012 during and after the financial crisis…
“So far this budget year, the government is running a deficit of $343 billion, up 12% from a year earlier.”
https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2019/12/11/business/ap-us-budget-deficit.html
“The Federal Reserve left borrowing costs unchanged at its last policy meeting of the year on Wednesday and signaled that policymakers saw no need to boost the economy further anytime soon…
“Policymakers lowered the benchmark interest rate three times this year, to a target range of 1.5% to 1.75%, which appeared to help stabilize an outlook that had become increasingly uncertain.”
“Home Depot… cut its sales forecast for 2020, signaling to investors that there could be weakness in the housing market ahead. Shares fell 2% in early trading Wednesday.
“The disappointing 2020 forecast comes amid reports that the US housing market is poised to slow in 2020.”
“Argentina will open talks with bondholders to delay the nation’s debt payments, Guzmán said in his first public comments as minister, adding that he’s already negotiating with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a new programme amid a recession.
“He believes investors understand Argentina can’t currently pay its debt.”
“Vaca Muerta, a huge sweep of western Patagonian wilderness, sits on the world’s second largest reserve of shale gas and its fourth largest oil reserves.
“A push to develop extraction amid Argentina’s crippling economic crisis has made the area a magnet for international oil companies. Crucially, Vaca Muerta is also home to indigenous Mapuche communities who say their rights are being denied.”
https://www.france24.com/en/20191212-fracking-leaves-heavy-footprint-in-argentina-s-patagonia
“The Venezuelan refugee crisis is the most underfunded in modern history, according to an analysis from the Brookings Institution published this week.
“About 4.7 million Venezuelans, 16 percent of the country’s population, have fled Venezuela since its economy suffered a 65 percent contraction in 2013, the largest outside of war in 45 years.”
“Lack of fuel is forcing Cubans to return to animal power for farming, transport and travel…
“Once the fields were ploughed by tractors, plus some animal help, but now beasts of burden are the only option, meaning the job of ploughman has made a comeback too in Cuba’s fields.”
“Algeria on Thursday held a presidential vote bitterly opposed by a protest movement that sees it as a regime ploy to cling on to power…
“Turnout was expected to be extremely low after demonstrators shouting “no vote” again pressed their demand for a boycott on the eve of the polls, facing off with truncheon-wielding riot police in Algiers.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/12/algeria-stages-presidential-vote-amid-fierce-protests
“Southern Africa’s third largest economy is a textbook example of the increasing debt facing a fast-growing continent…
“Resentment of China is growing, especially in the copperbelt region, which generates 70% of Zambia’s export earnings. The government is widely criticised over its social policies.”
“Zimbabwe is in the grip of its worst economic crisis in 10 years, with inflation soaring to 300 percent and the population suffering fuel shortages, power rationing and currency woes.
“Emmerson Mnangagwa, who succeeded Robert Mugabe after a military intervention forced the longtime president to resign, has struggled to revive the economy while the long-standing financial troubles have been worsened by extreme weather shocks.”
“Lebanon‘s 2019 budget deficit will be much bigger than expected after a sharp drop in state revenues, caretaker Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil said on Wednesday
“…as the country struggles with its worst financial crisis since the 1975-90 civil war.”
“Saudi Arabia may tap international debt markets as early as next month as it seeks funding to help bridge its widening budget deficit, reported Bloomberg.
“Fahad Al-Saif, the Head of the Finance Ministry’s Debt Management Office, said, “Most of the debt will be local and around 45 per cent will be raised overseas through Sukuk and conventional bonds.””
“Rents for residential property in Hong Kong will continue to decline over the next few months as a weakening economy raises concerns over employment, market observers said…
“Between August and November, rents fell by 5 per cent as the anti-government protests escalated and the city’s economy entered a technical recession, said Wong Leung-sing, senior research director at Centaline.”
“A major Chinese commodities trader became the biggest dollar bond defaulter among the nation’s state-owned companies in two decades, in a moment of reckoning for Beijing as it struggles to contain credit risk in a weakening economy.
“Tewoo Group Corp announced results of its unprecedented debt restructuring, which saw a majority of its investors accepting heavy losses.”
“Several mutual funds with exposure to Peking University Founder Group Co.’s bonds plunged after Founder defaulted last week on a 2 billion yuan ($285 million) bond.
“Meanwhile, as a deadline for repaying investors drew near, Founder’s largest shareholder made a move that could affect the company’s ability to resolve the crisis.”
“Japan saw another decline in machinery orders in October in a fresh sign business spending, one of the few points of strength in the world’s third-largest economy, is stalling as slumping exports bruise investment appetite…
“Core machinery orders fell 6.0% in October from the previous month, down for a fourth straight month…”
“Credit ratings agency Moody’s has downgraded its outlook for European banks to negative, predicting that weak economic growth will cause loan quality and profitability to suffer over the coming year.
“The agency has already downgraded its outlook for the UK, German and global banking systems, again citing weak growth and a highly uncertain 2020.”
https://www.cityam.com/moodys-downgrades-outlook-for-european-banks-amid-slowdown/
“The U.S. economy may be chugging along this holiday season, but according to a new survey of CFOs by the Duke University/CFO Global Business Outlook, 52% of CFOs of U.S. companies expect a recession next year.
“Another 24% predict that recession to hit by mid-2021.”
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