Latest news with #fiscal
Bloomberg
2 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
South Africa to Amend Budget Process After Political Wrangling
South Africa's National Treasury plans to revamp its 2026 budget-preparation process after political wrangling saw this year's proposal altered twice. 'South Africa's current budget process has not kept pace with the country's evolving fiscal, institutional, and political realities' the Treasury said in a statement on Wednesday. 'A comprehensive budget reform will be implemented for the 2026 budget that aims to clarify trade-offs, reduce waste, and prioritize high-impact programs.'
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Debt-addicted Britain needs a dose of shock therapy
Britain is increasingly living like a junkie, struggling just to cover the interest on his tick. Debt is our drug, and the dealers want paying. Figures released on Tuesday by the Office for National Statistics show we borrowed nearly £21bn in June alone. That's despite tax revenues rising by almost £6bn compared with the same month last year – thanks to fiscal drag boosting income tax by £1bn, and the Chancellor's National Insurance raid adding over £3bn more. The habit is proving impossible to kick. State spending has ballooned, and the cost of servicing our debt addiction has soared. In June, debt interest hit £16.4bn, nearly double what it was a year ago and the second-highest monthly bill on record. We now spend more feeding our debt in a single month than we do policing our borders in an entire year. Things are worse now because of how we've structured our debt, how we got hooked. One of our main suppliers of the debt drug was Andrew Bailey and his Bank of England who kept us dosed up on cheap borrowing long after it was clear that interest rates would have to rise. The hundreds of billions printed during the Bank's QE programme, along with interest rates held too low for too long, maxed the risks and emboldened the Treasury to binge. Rather than lock in long-term deals while rates were rock-bottom, we chased short-term fixes. And we wanted a bargain. To lure bond markets, we promised inflation-proof debt – index-linked gilts – in exchange for lower upfront costs. It only worked so long as inflation stayed low. It didn't.
Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Matthew Lau: There is no shortage of federal activities to cut
Canada's Liberal government says it wants to get spending under control, an unnamed previous government having let it get badly out of control. The finance minister has instructed his cabinet colleagues to review spending and find billions of dollars in savings. This is a welcome sign. But it needs to be taken in context. Prime Minister Mark Carney's most recent fiscal document was his campaign platform, which included more than $30 billion in annual 'new investments' on top of the fiscal plan he inherited from that previous government. Some of this was for a modest income tax cut and cancelling the planned capital gains tax hike, but most was for new spending. So something like $20 billion in annual spending must be removed from Carney's most recent fiscal projection just to get the federal government back to Justin Trudeau's spending plan, which was already a model of fiscal irresponsibility. As if things weren't bad enough, Carney's higher spending path was before his recent promises of big new defence spending. The C.D. Howe Institute estimates that, all told, the federal deficit may hit $92 billion this fiscal year, more than double the government's projection back in March. And Carney's often-used slogan of 'Spend Less, Invest More' suggests any 'savings' from a spending review may not actually translate into taxpayer relief. The government may simply spend the money on something else and call it an 'investment.' Finally, while reviewing spending, the government said it does not intend to touch its national child care and dental care programs, both boondoggles in terms of cost and quality of service. In sum, the Carney government does not seem at all serious about finding real efficiencies and savings. Which is a pity. There are many opportunities to save billions of dollars outside child care and dental care. Begin with the Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food. The 2025-26 estimates, which tell us the department was created in 1868 'because of the importance of agriculture to the economic, social and cultural development of Canada,' put its cost at $3.9 billion this fiscal year. But agriculture's being important to Canada's economic development, which it certainly was and is, does not require it to be centrally planned by a government agency. In fact, something being important is a good argument against centrally planning it. To save $3.9 billion annually, take the Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food budget down to $0. Separately, the Canadian Grain Commission and Canadian Dairy Commission would be good for another $33 million in annual savings. Scrap them, too. The Department of Industry, another large federal agency whose main purpose is unnecessary economic intervention, should also be eliminated (at a savings of $8.6 billion). Add to this the federal government's corporate welfare — or, as the government calls them, economic development — agencies. There are multiple regional agencies for: Atlantic Canada ($362 million), the North ($78 million), the Prairies ($279 million), Quebec ($331 million), Northern Ontario ($72 million), Southern Ontario ($268 million) and British Columbia ($140 million). Canada's taxpayers and economy would be better off without them. Axe these, too. According to the estimates, the Department of Finance will pay $3.5 billion to the Canada Infrastructure Bank this year, a crown corporation in the news recently for financing ferry purchases from China. Its establishment in 2017 was a poor idea to begin with. Again, the appropriate amount for this is $0. Three more pieces of low-hanging fruit are VIA Rail ($1.9 billion including its subsidiary VIA HFR-VIA Inc., whose mandate is to develop and implement high-frequency rail), the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation ($1.4 billion) and Canada Post Corporation ($1.1 billion). Many other government departments and organizations should also be abolished, including: the Department for Women and Gender Equality ($407 million), the Canada Council for the Arts ($360 million), Telefilm Canada ($163 million), the Canadian Tourism Commission ($125 million), the Canadian Human Rights Commission ($39 million), the Canadian Commercial Corporation ($14 million), and the Canadian Race Relations Foundation ($12 million). Still other government departments should probably not be wholly scrapped but instead drastically pared back. In the past decade, Ottawa's spending on Indigenous peoples approximately tripled in nominal dollars to over $32 billion, though with little effect on Indigenous standards of living. Not having done much good, this spending could be cut back significantly. The Ministry of Environment need not be abolished entirely, but large chunks of its spending, such as contributions to the Low Carbon Economy Fund ($247 million) and grants and contributions for Canada's International Climate Finance Program ($37 million), should be eliminated. Matthew Lau: Here's a tip on tipping. You don't have to Matthew Lau: CBC's very balanced reporting of just one point of view Whether the federal government will finally get serious about spending and finances remains to be seen. But if it really wants to cut spending, there is no shortage of places to find savings. 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Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Benchmark Electronics to Report Second Quarter Fiscal Year 2025 Results
TEMPE, Ariz., July 15, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE: BHE) will announce second quarter fiscal year 2025 results on Wednesday, July 30, 2025 after the market close. The Company will host a conference call to discuss these results on the same day at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. A live audio webcast of the call along with supporting materials will be available on the Benchmark Investor Relations website at or on the webcast link provided below. Following the call, a webcast replay will be available on the Company's website. Event: Benchmark Q2 Fiscal Year 2025 Earnings Call and Webcast Time: Wednesday, July 30, 2025 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time Toll Free Dial-In: 800-549-8228 Conf. ID: 97813 Live Webcast: Pre-registration recommended Webcast Replay: About Benchmark Electronics, Inc. Benchmark provides comprehensive solutions across the entire product lifecycle by leading through its innovative technology and engineering design services, leveraging its optimized global supply chain, and delivering world-class manufacturing services in the following industries: commercial aerospace, defense, advanced computing, next-generation communications, complex industrials, medical, and semiconductor capital equipment. Benchmark operates in eight countries and its common shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol BHE. View source version on Contacts For further information:Investors and Analysts, Paul Mansky, Investor Relations & Corporate Development, 623-300-7052 or Media and Press, Alec Robertson, 585-281-6399 or arobertson@
Bloomberg
14-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Japanese Bonds Pushed Lower by Fiscal Worries Before Election
Japanese long-term bonds extended their declines on Monday, pushing yields higher to within sight of a record. Concerns about fiscal spending are swirling ahead of the nation's upper house election, where polls suggest a struggle for the ruling coalition. The 30-year bond yield climbed 10.5 basis points to 3.145% nearing the record high of 3.185% last seen in May. Yields on both the 20-year and the 10-year bonds surged by as much as 7 basis points each and the 40-year bond yields jumped 9 basis points to 3.415%.
