US is parasite on world economy: Putin

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/191894.html

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says the United States is feeding on the world economy like a “parasite” by building up an unsustainable debt that threatens the global financial system.

In an address to a group of pro-Kremlin youths attending a summer camp north of Moscow on Monday, Putin accused the US of acting like a “parasite” by accumulating tremendous debts that have jeopardized global markets, AFP reported.

“The country is living in debt. It is not living within its means, shifting the weight of responsibility on other countries and in a way acting as a parasite,” Putin said.

On Sunday, US President Barack Obama announced a last-minute agreement reached by members of Congress to raise the country's public debt limit, which will allow Washington to avoid its first default in history while enforcing a painful economic austerity plan on US citizens.

The Russian prime minister censured the United States' foreign exchange policy and stated that the world should begin using reserve currencies other than the dollar for trade and savings.

“If the US encounters a systemic malfunction, this affects everyone,” Putin noted, adding, “There should be other reserve currencies.”

Putin said that the debt deal announced by Obama “was not that great overall because it simply delayed the adoption of a more systemic solution.”

The agreement came after interminable wrangling on Capitol Hill on the period of time the country would need to lift the debt limit to avoid a default on its staggering $14.3 trillion debt.

The US officially hit its debt ceiling on May 16, with the prospect of a default threatening to increase interest rates, devalue the dollar, and jolt economies across the world.

Washington owes about 47 percent of the money to foreigners. The biggest creditors are China, Japan, and the United Kingdom.

US House approves bill raising debt limit

US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid talks about the debt limit negotiations.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/191909.html

The US House of Representatives has approved a bill to raise the federal debt ceiling and prevent a US debt default by a 269-161 vote as 95 Democrats joined 174 Republicans in voting in favor of the bill.

Before becoming a law, the new legislation must also be passed by the US Senate on Tuesday and approved by President Barack Obama to authorize at least $2.1 trillion in spending cuts over the next ten years, AFP reported.

Senate party leaders who negotiated the deal with the White House seem to have the votes to approve it.

The bill allows the $14.3 billion borrowing ceiling to rise by up to $2.4 trillion and also envisages $900 billion in savings. In addition, it calls for a bipartisan committee comprising six Republicans and six Democrats to identify $1.5 trillion in additional cuts before November 23. The cuts could come from defense spending or entitlement programs such as Social Security.

The bill also says that in case the Congress fails to act, Social Security and Medicaid, as well as veterans, civilian, and military pay, will be excluded from automatic cuts, though the slightly revised version of House Speaker John Boehner's plan has not exempted Medicare.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, the legislation will cut budget deficits by $917 billion between 2012 and 2021.

The US officially hit its debt ceiling on May 16.

Washington owes about 47 percent of the money to foreigners. The biggest creditors are China, Japan, and the United Kingdom.

Obama announces deal on debt limit

US President Barack Obama

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/191750.html

The US lawmakers reach an agreement on raising the ceiling on the country's public debt limit, which President Barack Obama says is not the deal of his choice.

On Sunday, the chief executive announced the accord, saying "First part of this agreement will cut about one trillion dollars in spending over the next 10 years…cuts that both parties had agreed to early on in this process."

"The result would be the lowest level of annual domestic spending since Dwight Eisenhower was president," he added, referring to the 34th US president's 1953-1961 tenure.

"Is this the deal I would have preferred? No," Obama said.

The president urged the lawmakers to approve the plan in the next few days to end, what he called, a crisis imposed by Washington over the rest of America.

The agreement came after interminable wrangling on the Capitol Hill on the period of time the country needs to lift the limit to avoid failing to repay its staggering USD 14.3 trillion debt.

There are just two days left to lift the cap with the prospect of a default threatening to increase interest rates, devaluate the dollar and rattle the economies across the world.

The US officially hit its debt ceiling on May 16.

Washington owes about 47 percent of the money to foreigners. The biggest creditors are respectively China, Japan and the United Kingdom

US House rejects Democrats' debt plan

The US House of Representatives

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/191576.html

The US House of Representatives has rejected Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's plan to avert a US default on its debt by a vote of 246-173.

The vote was held on Saturday, one day after the Democratic-controlled Senate rejected House Speaker John Boehner's plan, AFP reported.

Boehner's plan would impose $1.2 trillion in spending cuts, and establish a select congressional commission to propose an additional $1.8 trillion in savings by Thanksgiving, November 24, 2011. The plan aims for about $3 trillion in spending cuts over 10 years.

Reid's proposal, on the other hand, would cut $2.7 trillion in spending, using budgeting gimmicks that include about $1 trillion in savings from winding down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It would not increase taxes and the debt ceiling hike would be extended.

The US debt ceiling is currently capped at $14.3 trillion, up from $10.6 trillion when President Barack Obama took office in 2009, and the administration says that if it is not elevated by August 2, the government will default on its obligations.

Obama says that with Boehner's short-term plan, the country would face the same crisis after five to six months, but Reid's long-term plan can save the US from defaulting on its debt at least until 2013.

Obama told Republicans and Democrats to reach a compromise, saying that “failing to come to an agreement would be inexcusable.”

US Senate rejects Republican debt plan

The US Senate rejected the Republican's debt-ceiling plan on Friday.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/191416.html

The US Senate has rejected the Republican's debt-ceiling plan by a vote of 51-49, two hours after the House of Representatives approved the short-term bill.

On Friday, the Democratic-controlled Senate rejected House Speaker John Boehner's plan after the Republican-controlled House passed the bill by a vote of 218-210, AFP reported.

The two-step plan proposed by Boehner aims for about $3 trillion in spending cuts over 10 years and would raise the US debt ceiling and cut government spending.

US sees weakest post-recession growth

The US economy came close to flat-lining in the first quarter as consumer spending barely rose

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/191342.html

The US economy has grown 0.4 percent and 1.3 percent respectively in the first and second quarters of 2011 after the Commerce Department revised its previous estimate of first-quarter GDP growth of 1.9 percent.

The combined growth for the first six months of the year is the weakest since the recession ended, AP reported.

The surprisingly weak GDP growth readings on the world's largest economy coincided with a political deadlock in Washington over raising the country's debt ceiling just days before the Treasury says it could run out of money to pay its obligations.

As Congress has failed to reach an agreement, economists and markets are increasingly concerned that missing the August 2 debt deadline will cause the United States to lose its top triple-A credit rating.

Slowdown in growth is broad-based as business spending on equipment and software grew 5.7 percent in the second quarter, down from the first quarter's 8.7 percent and below the double-digit gains posted last year.

Americans are seeing little gain in their incomes. After-tax incomes, adjusted for inflation, rose only 0.7 percent, matching the previous quarter and the weakest since the recession ended.

Complicating an already-weak economy is the debt crisis in Washington. No matter what lawmakers do to resolve that crisis, their decision will likely slow growth in the short term.

Few economists expected growth to be strong enough to lower the unemployment rate and Friday's report, which was below the forecasts, will likely dampen expectations further.

1000s protest living conditions in Israel

Israelis march in Tel Aviv to protest against rising housing prices and social inequalities in Israel, July 23, 2011.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/190490.html

Tens of thousands of Israelis have staged a demonstration in Tel Aviv to protest the hiking housing prices and social inequalities in Israel.

In the largest anti-regime demonstration in years, thousands from all walks of life gathered in central Tel Aviv late Saturday for a rally against soaring living costs in the occupied lands, AFP reported.

The protesters also called for holding a similar demonstration in front of the Israeli parliament (Knesset) on Sunday and Monday.

“We want social justice, not charity” and “The people want social justice,” the protesters chanted during the rally.

Some of the marchers called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to resign. Over a dozen people were arrested following the Saturday clashes between police and protesters.

The new wave of protests and strikes hit Israel since two weeks ago when statistics centers announced a 32-percent hike in housing prices during a one-year period in Israel.

Last week, Israeli medical interns also staged a hunger strike at a hospital and left their workplace at other hospitals to protest their working conditions.

The hunger strike forced Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba -- Israel's seventh-largest hospital complex -- to shut down its emergency department.

Israeli doctors and medical staff in other hospitals resorted to complaining of “fatigue” to avoid working and protest their working conditions after a labor court banned them on Wednesday from going on strike.

The Israeli physicians have been protesting their unfavorable working circumstances and low pay for months.

Israel is facing shortage of funds in its social and labor sectors as the cabinet of Netanyahu allocated huge military budgets to intensify the regime's deadly attacks on Palestinians.

Obama tries to raise US debt ceiling

US President Barack Obama

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/186535.html

US President Barack Obama is making a last-ditch effort to get a bipartisan congressional consensus to raise the country's debt ceiling.

The White House said on Monday that the president is confident that both Democrats and Republicans could make compromises to lift the debt limit to avoid a default, Reuters reported.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said, "The president told me that everyone in the room believes a significant deal remains possible." He made the remarks after Obama held a discussion with Sen. Harry Reid, the leader of the Democrats in the Senate.

Later in the day, Obama held a meeting with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell but neither made any comments on the outcome.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have showed little willingness to compromise on the issue after the deficit reduction talks led by Vice President Joe Biden collapsed suddenly on Thursday.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has warned lawmakers that if the United States does not take the necessary steps by August 2, the country will be at risk of defaulting on its loans.

Earlier in the month, the Republican-controlled US House of Representatives turned down a draft bill intended to raise the country's borrowing limit, which currently stands at a whopping $14.3 trillion.

However, economists say that if the United States refuses to increase its debt limit, it could be devastating for the US and other economies around the world.

Although US lawmakers are engaged in heated arguments on whether to cut spending for public services, such as education and elderly healthcare, increase taxes, or raise the borrowing level, they continue to authorize the US government to spend tens of billions of dollars for military interventions in other countries.

US House rejects higher debt ceiling

US House of Representatives

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/182689.html

The Republican-controlled US House of Representatives has turned down a bill intended to raise the country's $14.3 trillion borrowing limit.

All Republicans flatly rejected the measure that would raise the US debt ceiling by $2.4 trillion, a move that Democrats described as political posturing, according to a UPI report.

US lawmakers voted 318-97 to defeat the measure, in yet another sign of growing division between Republicans and Democrats. All Republicans were opposed to the increase, as were most Democrats.

Following the voting, House Speaker John Boehner said that hiking the debt limit without implementing major spending cuts would prove detrimental to the US economy. “Today the House stood with the American people and said very clearly that this course of action is unacceptable,” he said.

However, last week, the Democratic-controlled Senate rejected the Republican budget proposal, which considered serious spending cuts and a major change in the country's healthcare program for the elderly.

The recent rejections of legislative proposals comes two months ahead of the crucial August 2 deadline for raising the debt ceiling, despite efforts by US Vice President Joe Biden to fill the gap by holding a series of meetings since early May.

Republicans have said they are ready to make concessions on their plans to cut healthcare costs to help reduce trillions of dollars from the US budget deficit. They previously offered cuts in benefits for the elderly as well as the Medicare and Medicaid healthcare funds. Medicare and Medicaid represent nearly a quarter of all US federal spending.

Democrats, however, have opposed Republican plans despite claiming that they too want to curb the budget deficit. They suggest that deficit reduction should be accomplished by raising taxes on the wealthy.

Experts say that failure to increase the debt limit could be devastating for the US and other economies around the world.