
Portugal Sees EU, US Reaching Trade Deal With ‘Very Low' Tariffs
'It's possible to have an agreement with very low tariffs, an agreement that could be perceived as beneficial to both parties and that could continue to allow us to trade and to increase value for our citizens,' Sarmento said in a Bloomberg Television interview in Brussels. 'We expect to have an update of what the Commission was able to negotiate with the US administration,' in the EU finance ministers' meetings to be held today and on Tuesday.
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Business Insider
2 hours ago
- Business Insider
Senegal targets $10 billion in revenue to escape debt crisis
Senegal will raise nearly $10 billion over the next three years through tax increases, renegotiations of energy contracts, and spending cuts as part of a comprehensive plan to stabilise public finances and restore investor confidence. Senegal aims to mobilize $10 billion over three years by increasing taxes, renegotiating energy contracts, and reducing spending. Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko emphasized prioritizing domestic resource mobilization to reduce dependency on external aid. The fiscal plan emerges as Senegal confronts debt challenges revealed by an audit indicating a debt-to-GDP ratio increase. Senegal will raise nearly $10 billion over the next three years through tax increases, renegotiations of energy contracts, and spending cuts as part of a comprehensive plan to stabilise public finances and restore investor confidence, Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko announced on Friday. Speaking in Dakar, Sonko stated that the government will prioritise domestic resource mobilisation to reduce its dependence on external aid. The measures follow the discovery of $7 billion in previously undisclosed borrowing by the former administration, which pushed Senegal toward a debt crisis, Bloomberg reported. Under President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, the government plans to fund 90% of its economic recovery plan through domestic revenue, including new taxes on goods, services, and mobile money transfers. The aim is to generate 5.7 trillion CFA francs ($9.9 billion) throughout the period. The fiscal misreporting prompted the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to suspend a $1.8 billion loan program last year, while S&P Global Ratings downgraded Senegal's credit rating further into junk status. The government's new fiscal strategy is designed to reassure investors and restore credibility. The IMF announced last week that it will begin discussions with Senegal in September toward a new financing arrangement, contingent on the country presenting a credible path back to fiscal sustainability. However, financial markets remain cautious. Senegalese Eurobonds due in 2033 fell 0.7% to 73.98 cents on the dollar by Friday afternoon in London trading. Rebasing GDP Senegal's statistics agency is also working on rebasing the nation's gross domestic product (GDP), a move that could improve the country's debt metrics. Following an audit, Senegal's debt-to-GDP ratio surged to 99.7% in 2023 from a previously reported 74.4%. Economy Minister Abdourahmane Sarr stated that the country's debt obligations stood at 119% of GDP last year. A new IMF program, aimed at financing the recovery plan and regaining investor confidence, will depend on Senegal's ability to demonstrate fiscal discipline. Sarr said the government's roadmap includes improving the efficiency of public spending, prioritising high-impact investments, and reducing the budget deficit to 3% by 2027. While the government is considering debt reprofiling, extending maturities to ease repayment pressures, it remains committed to avoiding a full debt restructuring.


New York Post
3 hours ago
- New York Post
Trump demurs on pardoning disgraced former Rep. George Santos: ‘He lied like hell'
President Trump demurred on whether he'll pardon disgraced former Long Island Rep. George Santos, who kicked off a seven-year prison sentence for fraud last week. Despite Santos' claims he had been privately lobbying for a pardon, Trump indicated the push to give the fabulist some sort of clemency was news to him. 'He lied like hell, I have to tell you. And I didn't know him, but he was 100% for Trump. I might have met him, maybe, maybe not, I don't know,' Trump told Newsmax host Rob Finnerty on Friday. 'Nobody has talked to me about it,' Trump said of a Santos pardon, before taking note of the former Congressman's prison sentence. 'It's a long time.' Advertisement Santos, 37, pleaded guilty in August 2024 to aggravated identity theft charges and wire fraud for swindling donors to bankroll his campaign for Congress. 3 George Santos is serving out a seven-year sentence for wire fraud and identity theft. Bloomberg via Getty Images 3 President Trump was amused by George Santos' lies but didn't rule out a pardon. Advertisement Prosecutors accused Santos of falsely claiming he had $250,000 in donations to qualify for the National Republican Congressional Committee's 'Young Guns' program. Santos also preyed upon elderly donors and charged credit cards without authorization for frivolous expenses, authorities said. Some of the charges billed to donors include Botox treatments, OnlyFans purchases, jaunts to Atlantic City casinos, French fashion attire, and more, prosecutors said. Santos denied some of the accusations made by prosecutors and blamed others on his former treasurer Nancy Marks, who cooperated with authorities. 'But he was a congressman and his vote was solid; it sounds like a lot. You know, you could blame the other side for not checking him out,' Trump added. Advertisement 'You could say the media misses. Everybody missed it. They found out about it after the election was won.' Trump was referencing the series of scandals against Santos after he was caught lying about vast swaths of his personal backstory, including falsely claiming he was a star volleyball player at New York University even though he never attended the school; that he worked for Citigroup and Goldman Sachs and that his Jewish grandparents fled prosecution in Europe. In reality, his grandparents were born in Brazil, and he has since described himself as 'Jew-ish.' Santos, who was ousted in a late 2023 bipartisan vote, was the sixth House lawmaker to be expelled from the lower chamber. Advertisement 3 George Santos had to report to prison after turning 37. Dennis A. Clark Since then, he's launched a podcast, titled 'Pants on Fire,' and revealed he had been pressing behind the scenes for some form of clemency from Trump, though in May, Santos said he dropped that pursuit. 'Even though I initially considered the prospect of petitioning the president with a pardon application I have seized that approach as I will not spend the last 61 days I have of life scrambling on how to get past a bunch of guard dogs,' he said. In his remaining weeks before reporting to prison, Santos made several media appearances including on the 'Tucker Carlson Show,' in which he admitted to being terrified of winding up behind bars. 'I'm not suicidal. I'm not depressed. I have no intentions of harming myself, and I will not willingly engage in any sexual activity while I'm in there,' Santos wrote on X earlier this month. Trump also acknowledged that Sean 'Diddy' Combs' allies have pushed for a pardon, but was noncommittal about pardoning him or Jeffrey Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.


Bloomberg
3 hours ago
- Bloomberg
The Fight Over Venezuela's Most Valuable Asset Is Heating Up
Welcome to The Brink. I'm Nicolle Yapur, a reporter in Bogota, where I'm following the auction for PDVSA's most valuable foreign asset. We also have news on the second-quarter's surge in defaults led by distressed private equity-backed firms bought with floating-rate loans before the Fed's hiking cycle began. Follow this link to subscribe. Send us feedback and tips at debtnews@ or DM. A legal fight over a unique bond issued by Venezuela 's state-owned oil company is heating up.