Latest news with #BENJAMINCREMEL
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bank of England set to cut rate amid Trump's tariffs
The Bank of England is widely expected to cut its key interest rate by a quarter point as US President Donald Trump's planned tariffs threaten to weaken economic growth (BENJAMIN CREMEL) The Bank of England is widely expected to cut its key interest rate by a quarter point Thursday as US President Donald Trump's planned tariffs threaten to weaken economic growth. It follows the Federal Reserve's decision Wednesday to freeze US borrowing costs and last month's move by the European Central Bank to cut eurozone interest rates. The Bank of England is set to trim its rate to 4.25 percent in a decision due at 11:02 GMT, two minutes later than usual as the nation stands silent to mark the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day. With the rate cut priced in by markets, investors will be looking for any shift in language by the BoE's Monetary Policy Committee that could hint at further reductions this year. "While the Bank of England is universally expected to cut (on Thursday)... the key to the reaction in the pound will be the bank's accompanying communications," noted Enrique Diaz-Alvarez, chief economist at global financial services firm Ebury. He added that the bank was likely "to revise lower both of its inflation and growth projections for 2025, with the committee likely to say that US tariffs will weigh on UK growth and dampen price pressures". With global trade tensions recently sending oil prices sharply lower, inflation is on course to retreat according to analysts. Britain is facing 10-percent tariffs on most of its goods exported to the United States, its second-largest trading partner after the European Union. Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has insisted that Trump's trade assault could hurt Britain's economy even if the country avoided the heaviest tariffs. London is in the midst of negotiations with Washington over a post-Brexit trade deal that could see levies reduced in return for relief over Britain's digital services tax paid by US tech giants, according to media reports. At its last rate-setting meeting in March, the Bank of England kept its main interest rate on hold at 4.5 percent. Prior to that it reduced borrowing costs three times in seven months with the UK economy already pressured by weak growth. bcp/rl/sco
Newsweek
06-05-2025
- Health
- Newsweek
New York Must Not Legalize Assisted Suicide
New York state's proposed Medical Aid in Dying Act (MAID) is gaining momentum. The state assembly passed the bill last week, sending it to the state senate for a vote. If signed into law, the bill will make the state of New York one of 12 U.S. jurisdictions to have legalized assisted suicide. Among other things, it permits doctors to give mentally competent, terminally ill people projected to die within six months, including teenagers (18 and 19 year olds), a lethal overdose of drugs to self-administer. Kind-hearted people do not want any human being to suffer, and many who support assisted suicide say they do so out of compassion and adherence to principles of autonomy. But at what cost? Modern medicine has stellar pain-management regimens to avoid pain for the sick and dying. And no person in the U.S has an unfettered right to do whatever they want, even to themselves, when it impacts others. In the name of compassion and self governance, MAID threatens to violate human rights, increase overall suicide rates, including non-assisted suicide rates, and jeopardize suicide prevention efforts. All of these consequences disproportionately affect women, the disabled, and low-income populations. Feminists like me decry MAID. Every major national disability organization that has taken a stance on assisted suicide laws stands in opposition to them. The American Medical Association also opposes MAID. Empirical evidence demonstrates that when assisted suicide is legalized, total suicide rates significantly increase, including non-assisted suicide rates in some cases. No study has found any reduction in non-assisted suicide rates where MAID is legal. Data outlined by the Centre for Economic Policy Research show that assisted suicide laws increase total suicide rates by 18 percent overall and by 40 percent for women, with non-assisted suicide rates rising by 6 percent overall and 13 percent for women. Campaigners against the assisted suicide bill react after the bill to legalise euthanasia in the UK is passed, outside The Palace of Westminster in central London, on November 29, 2024. Campaigners against the assisted suicide bill react after the bill to legalise euthanasia in the UK is passed, outside The Palace of Westminster in central London, on November 29, 2024. BENJAMIN CREMEL / AFP/Getty Images Suicide is sadly all too common, both in New York and across the country. According to a recent statistical analysis on suicide in the United States, U.S. suicide rates reached "record highs" in 2024, "levels not seen since 1941." The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report suicide deaths among 10-24 year olds increased by 62 percent from 2007 to 2021. Research released during the summer of 2024 by the Yale School of Medicine "found that suicide is rising dramatically in preteens as young as 8 years old," with an "8.2% annual increase from 2008 to 2022." The CDC also found that the suicide rate in New York has increased by "34.9% over the past 20 years." New York's Office of Mental Health states suicide is the "2nd leading cause of death for ages 25-34" and the "3rd leading cause of death for ages 10-24." As thinking, loving people, how can we do anything but work to decrease rates of suicide? How could we possibly enact laws that serve to increase lethal harm to our brothers and sisters? The Journal of Palliative Care reports that request rates for assisted suicide are greater for patients of lower socio-economic status than for those with higher incomes. The National Council on Disability (NCD) provides ample evidence indicating "that patients, including people with disabilities, are being denied treatment by insurers and offered assisted suicide instead," where it's legal. NCD claims that when assisted suicide is legalized "it immediately becomes the cheapest treatment," suggesting that assisted suicide laws increase the risk of coerced self-initiated deaths for not only the disabled, but for economically disadvantaged patients diagnosed with terminal ailments. If the state enacts MAID, it is reasonable to imagine that, someday, a person's disability or low economic status alone could be sufficient for New York to permit and fund assisted suicide. The slippery slope is real. Canada's MAID laws initially allowed assisted suicide only for physically terminally ill adults, but now permits it for individuals with physical illnesses that are not terminal. Several countries, including Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Switzerland already allow people with mental illnesses, but no terminal condition, to qualify for state-funded assisted suicide. On behalf of the weakest and most vulnerable among us, we should reject legalizing assisted suicide. Michele Sterlace-Accorsi is the Executive Director of Feminists Choosing Life of New York and an attorney for children. The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
Observer
26-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Observer
Muted London fashion week wraps up with Burberry show
London Fashion Week wraps up with Burberry sending its Autumn/Winter collection down the catwalk on Monday, capping off a relatively muted event in the rainy British capital. Brands are grappling with a reduced appetite for luxury products worldwide, while a slimmed-down schedule with several absentees have raised concerns about London Fashion Week's future. Still, there was room for spectacle -- from striking silhouettes in designer Harris Reed's opening show and hats made of glass by master milliner Stephen Jones. On the catwalks, the bubble skirt from the 1980s in several forms was one of the trends spotted. Meanwhile, Irish designer Sinead O'Dwyer set out to show all women can be sexy, no matter age and body type. Diversity was a common theme across many collections. A model presents a creation from Burberry 's Womenswear Fall-Winter 2025-2026 fashion show collection, during London Fashion Week, in London, on February 24, 2025. (Photo by BENJAMIN CREMEL / AFP) - Burberry - Hopeful fashionistas have been holding out for the biggest name of the week -- British megahouse Burberry -- which showcases its collection at 1900 GMT at the Tate Britain museum. The fashion giant famed for its trench coats and signature tartan print is going through a difficult period, and is the subject of rumours about the departure of its creative director. Daniel Lee arrived a little over two years ago and has tried to give the British mega-house a facelift. Lee could be replaced by English designer Kim Jones, who left Dior Men at the end of January after seven years, according to media reports. Burberry, which has been experiencing months of financial difficulty, began an "emergency" refocusing on its iconic products such as the famous trench coat late last year in a bid to stave off falling sales. Last month it announced a further decline in sales, hit by weak demand in China, but the troubled group was showing signs of recovery under new leadership and the decline was less severe than forecast. - Slipping behind - Despite the presence of renowned designers such as Simone Rocha and Richard Quinn, and promising stylists such as S.S. Daley and Harris Reed, several fashion experts said London Fashion Week was falling further behind Paris and New York every year. "There is a bit of a damp spirit, an empty feeling, to the London schedule at the moment," Daley told The Guardian newspaper before his show. A model presents a creation from Burberry 's Womenswear Fall-Winter 2025-2026 fashion show collection, during London Fashion Week, in London, on February 24, 2025. (Photo by BENJAMIN CREMEL / AFP) Caroline Rush, the director of the British Fashion Council which organises London Fashion Week, acknowledged it was "a particularly challenging time" for British brands. Brands have been dealt several blows following the pandemic, such as Brexit and last year's closure of the global luxury online platform Matches Fashion. This year's event is almost a day shorter than the previous Autumn-Winter 2024 fashion week, with several designers opting for a dinner or presentation instead of a pricier runway show. Buyers and influencers such as Beka Gvishiani of Style Not Com, an Instagram account that charts fashion news, did not make the trip, while Northern Irish designer Jonathan Anderson was also absent with his brand JW Anderson. Rush, who is organising her last London Fashion Week, said London Fashion Week remains "so relevant because ... we have so many small independent businesses, they need a platform to be able to show to reach global audiences." —AFP
