Latest news with #publicdebt
The Verge
an hour ago
- Business
- The Verge
Want to pay down the national debt? The US government will take Venmo
US national debt currently exceeds $36 trillion, but if you want to toss a few extra dollars of your own money to try and help bring that down, you can now do so from a Venmo account, as spotted by NPR's Jack Corbett. You can see the Venmo payment option on the Treasury Department's 'Gifts to Reduce the Public Debt' website. There are also options to pay from a bank account, a PayPal account, or with a debit or credit card. Based on Wayback Machine archives, it appears that Venmo was added as a payment method sometime after February 22nd. (At that time, an Amazon account was a payment option, which isn't currently available on the site.) Donors have contributed more than $67 million to this program since September 1998, per Treasury Department data. But when the debt grows at 'just under $55,000 a second,' according to Axios, it might take more than Venmo donations to make a significant dent. And after the passage of Trump's Big Beautiful Bill, the debt is likely going to get even higher. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All by Jay Peters Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All News Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Tech
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Federal government posts $6.5 billion deficit in April, May
The federal government posted a $6.5 billion deficit in the first two months of the fiscal year. The result for the April-to-May period compared with a $3.8 billion deficit for the same stretch last year. Revenues increased $26 million, virtually unchanged from the prior year, as increases in customs import duties and pollution pricing proceeds to be returned to Canadians were largely offset by a decrease in revenues from corporate income and goods and services taxes. The Finance Department says program expenses excluding net actuarial losses rose $2.9 billion, or four per cent. Public debt charges increased $400 million, or 3.8 per cent, due to an increase in the stock of marketable bonds and higher consumer price index adjustments on real return bonds. Net actuarial losses fell $600 million, or 46.8 per cent. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 25, 2025. The Canadian Press
Zawya
3 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
Jordan: Public debt servicing in 2024 up by 14.4% — CBJ
AMMAN — The Central Bank of Jordan's (CBJ) annual report of the National Payments System revealed a 14.4 per cent increase in public debt servicing last year compared with 2023. According to the report, debt servicing reached JD4.8 billion in 2024, compared with JD4.2 billion in 2023, Al Mamlaka TV reported. The report indicated that debt servicing included the payment of interest on public debt issuances reached JD1.1 billion in 2024, compared with JD997 million during 2023, representing an increase of 19.4 per cent. The total value of public debt instruments issued in the market reached some JD5.5 billion in 2024 compared with JD5.2 billion in 2023, marking a 6 per cent increase. The issuances included bonds, sukuk, treasury bills, and other debt instruments, were the increase aimed at meeting government financing needs, according to the report. The Public Debt Management and Open Market Operations System (DEPO/X) is an integrated system under the CBJ for the registration and settlement of government securities. The system aims to enhance the efficiency of trading and settlement processes for government securities. It integrates seamlessly with the Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system, allowing banks to trade government securities securely and flexibly through buy-sell transactions. © Copyright The Jordan Times. All rights reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
France: Multi-year Budget Plan Supports Fiscal Outlook but Great Uncertainty Remains
The French government affirmed its commitment to stabilise the public debt trajectory by 2029 through savings and supply-side reforms, following two years of budgetary slippage that resulted in a budget deficit of 5.8% of GDP in 2024, the highest in the euro area. Under Prime Minister François Bayrou's EUR 44bn of measures for the 2026 Budget (equivalent to around 1.5% of GDP), the government plans to keep public spending unchanged relative to 2025 levels, excluding military expenditure and interest payments. According to the plan, this will be achieved primarily through a nominal freeze on social benefits (including pensions) and income tax bands, alongside local government savings. If fully implemented – which is unlikely in the view of Scope Ratings (Scope) – the government's plan would reduce the budget deficit from an expected 5.4% in 2025 to 4.6% in 2026 and 2.8% in 2029. Instead, Scope expects a much more constrained and gradual fiscal consolidation path with the budget deficit still at 5% of GDP in 2027 and 4% in 2030 (Figure 1). This is because the impact of the savings plan on the headline deficit will be partially offset by the steady increase in net interest payments, from less than 4% of government revenue in 2024 to more than 6% by 2030. So, while the primary deficit is expected to return to its pre-Covid level of less than 1% of GDP by 2030, the headline deficit will remain elevated around 4% of GDP. Figure 1. Large primary deficits, rising interest payments weigh on the fiscal outlook % of GDP Savings Challenged by Economic Slowdown, Parliamentary Fragmentation and Rising Defence Expenditure The prime minister's measures to support domestic production include the elimination of two bank holidays, the reduction of red tape for businesses and greater labour market flexibility through upcoming negotiations with social partners on the unemployment benefits system. However, the introduction of ambitious structural reforms to support GDP growth, estimated at around 1% annually, appears unlikely in the near term. Modest economic momentum will weigh on the social acceptability of economic and budgetary reforms. Scope projects real GDP growth of 0.8% on average in 2025-26, after 1.1% in 2024, amid external headwinds including the United States's trade policies. In addition, the lack of a parliamentary majority since the 2022 legislative elections, the fragmented political landscape and heightened political polarisation following the 2024 dissolution of the National Assembly raise further uncertainties about the government's ability to implement its saving plans for 2026. Parliamentary discussions are expected to be challenged by difficult budgetary trade-offs to compensate for higher defence expenditures, projected to reach EUR 64bn in 2027 or about 2% of GDP. Discussions around the 2023 pension reform following this year's negotiations with social partners could also complicate the parliamentary debate. The need to strike a political compromise on the proposed economic and budgetary reforms will likely lead the government to water down some of its measures to appease political opposition, at the risk of missing next year's deficit targets. Conversely, relying on Article 49.3 of the Constitution to pass the 2026 Budget without a parliamentary vote will raise the risk of renewed political instability, following the collapse of the former government in December 2024. A successful no-confidence vote against the prime minister and/or early elections would undermine near-term fiscal consolidation. Political Hurdles Compound Uncertainties Around the Government's Saving Plan Upcoming elections – municipal elections in March 2026 and presidential elections in April-May 2027 – raise further uncertainties about budgetary efforts over the medium term. Reducing the deficit to below 3% of GDP by 2029 would require a savings plan of more than EUR 100bn, according to the French Court of Auditors. This is unlikely, given the uncertainty surrounding the policy agenda after the 2027 presidential elections. Figure 2. Large budget deficits, uncertain consolidation plan weigh on France's debt trajectory % of GDP Balancing the government's savings plan and the uncertainties around its implementation over the coming years, Scope believes general government debt to GDP will increase from about 113% in 2024 to 122% in 2030 (Figure 2). This would be one of the largest public debt increases among highly indebted developed countries, including Belgium, the United Kingdom and the United States. For a look at all of today's economic events, check out our economic calendar. Thomas Gillet is a Director in Sovereign and Public Sector ratings at Scope Ratings. Brian Marly, Senior Analyst in sovereign ratings at Scope, contributed to drafting this article. This article was originally posted on FX Empire More From FXEMPIRE: Navigating China's Economic Challenges: A Q&A with Scope Ratings' Dennis Shen Buy Like Big Money: Carpenter Technology Soars Buy Like Big Money: Bentley Systems Lifting Off SoFi Shares See Huge Bullish Signal, Could Rise More Identify Superstar Stocks Like DoorDash Before the Crowd Identify Superstar Stocks Like American Superconductor Early
Telegraph
16-07-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
France is getting something right: let's scrap some Bank Holidays
If Rachel Reeves seriously wants to grow the British economy and tackle record levels of public debt, maybe she should be looking across the Channel for ideas. Francois Bayrou, the Prime Minister appointed by President Macron with the unenviable task of sorting out the French fiscal crisis, has proposed cancelling two Bank Holidays, in a bid to improve national productivity. To no-one's surprise, the idea has been met with indignation by both the populist Right and Left-wing opposition parties, who are generally united in their refusal to countenance any dilution of workers' rights or benefits. But surely M Bayrou has a point: are public holidays really necessary, when productivity is persistently low and public debt is at an all-time high? In fact the loss of two national holidays would still leave the French population with nine days of religious or secular commemoration. That would bring them in line with Scotland, which has nine Bank Holidays, one more than in England, which currently has eight. But perhaps it's time for the UK to reconsider all these national holidays. Our debt level is dangerously close to 100 per cent of GDP (in France it's 110 per cent) and we too have a serious productivity problem and every reason to worry about the sustainability of our public finances. Curtailing regular interruptions to the working week could be a useful boost to the economy; in any case, hasn't the original purpose of such holidays long since disappeared? As a Victorian invention, the Bank Holiday dates from an era when the working week included Saturdays and annual paid leave was minimal or non-existent. These mandatory days off have proliferated over the years as governments have courted popularity; when new ones are introduced no one has the courage to suggest an old one might be abolished. The Spring Bank Holiday at the end of May, once known as Whit Monday, was first introduced in the 1870s to mark the day after Pentecost, a key date in the Christian calendar, but has had no religious significance since it became detached from Whitsun in the 1970s. Nowadays it follows hard upon the May Day holiday, which has nothing to do with maypole dancing but was purely an invention of a weak Labour government flaunting its solidarity with the workers in 1978. This in turn is preceded by Easter Monday, so that when Easter falls late there can be three extended weekends in less than two months. Of course in a Christian country Christmas Day should be a day of celebration, and there's a case for Boxing Day and indeed Easter Monday, if only to give the clergy a breather, but it's questionable whether New Year's Day is anything other than an excuse for a hangover or a reason to stop work altogether for ten days starting on Christmas Eve. As for August Bank Holiday: why head for the beach or a local beauty spot when everyone else is doing the same? So Rachel, here's your chance to echo the Prime Minister's entente cordiale and support President Macron's beleaguered government in this bold new initiative by announcing that the UK will in fact be cutting out at least three of our superfluous Bank Holidays next year and thereafter. It will certainly play well with the OBR, and might even impress the bond markets. Why not give it a try?
