Latest news with #publicdebt
Zawya
12 hours 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
a day 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
6 days ago
- 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?
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Brazil's debt outlook worsens as Treasury projects sharp rise through Lula's term
By Marcela Ayres BRASILIA (Reuters) -The Brazil Treasury's outlook for the country's gross public debt has worsened, with a forecast rise by 10.6 percentage points during President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's current term, 0.6 point higher than its previous estimate in December. In its latest fiscal projections report released on Wednesday, the Treasury forecast the gross debt-to-GDP ratio - a key solvency indicator - to reach 82.3% by 2026, the final year of Lula's leftist administration, up from 71.7% when he took office. If confirmed, it would be the indicator's second-worst deterioration under a presidential term, according to available data from the central bank, behind only 2015-2018, after Brazil faced a historic recession, fiscal crisis and presidential impeachment. For this year, the debt ratio is expected to rise 2.5 points to 79.0% of GDP. According to the Treasury, gross debt is projected to peak at 84.3% of GDP in 2028, a significant increase from the projected peak of 81.8% in 2027 seen just seven months ago. The upward revision reflects the incorporation of higher assumptions for interest rates, exchange rate and inflation, the Treasury said. Latin America's largest economy already holds a high gross debt burden compared with its emerging market peers, with the debt burden growing as borrowing costs rise. Nearly half of Brazil's debt stock is directly linked to the benchmark interest rate, the Selic, whose increases immediately raise debt servicing costs. Since September, the central bank has hiked rates by 450 basis points to a near two-decade high of 15% in a bid to rein in inflation, which has persistently run above the 3% target, with markets remaining skeptical about inflation convergence amid surging public spending under Lula. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Globe and Mail
7 days ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Letters to the editor, July 16: ‘Do Canadian businesses need more tax incentives and even lower tax rates than they already enjoy?'
Re 'Canada must match the tax incentives in Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' ' (Report on Business, July 10): Say what? Do Canadian businesses need more tax incentives and even lower tax rates than they already enjoy? Canadian businesses owe tens of billions of dollars in unpaid, uncontested taxes each year, and this debt to the public is growing. Moreover, Canada is already the king of corporate welfare: Its spending is among the highest in the developed world relative to population and GDP, and it has grown much faster than in most other major economies. This stands in stark contrast to Canada's comparatively low investment in social programs, setting it apart from European peers who prioritize social spending over business subsidies. Notably, business subsidies in Canada have increased by 140 per cent at the federal level since 2014. Calls for further tax breaks ignore the already generous environment Canadian businesses enjoy and the mounting public cost. Timothy Kwiatkowski London, Ont. Re 'The small-bore view of oil-pipeline critics' (Editorial, July 11): Experts at garden hose use are well aware that having an extra bucket at the ready is indeed an essential strategy. At some stage, however, there should be a run to the tap to mitigate the flow. It is fine to suggest pipeline investors are the ones to shoulder the risk, but such risk extends well beyond their pockets and into the lives of future generations. Peter Tobin Ottawa It was the Alberta NDP and federal Liberals who permitted and built the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. It was the B.C. NDP and federal Liberals who permitted the Coastal GasLink pipeline and LNG Canada export plant. And it may very well be the federal Liberals who permit and possibly build another oil pipeline to the West Coast – this time to one of the safest locations for an oil terminal in Prince Rupert – and a pipeline to a liquefied natural gas plant in Quebec. The antagonism, especially in Alberta, against Ottawa, Liberals and 'leftist radicals' feels little more than a divisive ruse to mislead a gullible sector of the public by power-seeking right-wing groups. Let's not go down a Trump-like path. Mike Priaro Calgary Re 'Money to burn' (Letters, July 9): The letter sounding the climate change alarm, and expressing distress about the state of the world our grandchildren will inherit, resonated with me. Since Prime Minister Mark Carney stated in his victory speech, 'It is time for ambition,' and that Canadians 'need to think big and act bigger,' then is this not the time to go full bore on decarbonization? Climate change is upon us with a vengeance, adversely impacting our air quality, lifestyles as well as our mental and physical health. The time to push the green agenda, not more oil and gas infrastructure, is now: The alarm bells are clanging! Our descendants are depending on us to get it right. L.H. MacKenzie Vancouver Re 'More money for Canada's military should mean more transparency and accountability' (Opinion, July 11): I am no economist. However, it seems quite clear that boosting spending to 5 per cent of GDP by 2035 means that it has to happen over a possibly longer horizon than has been laid out, and we must aggressively grow the economy, hence revenues, or else taxes will have to be increased, the size of the civil service diminished, and program spending reduced. So let's get real and get to work as it's not possible to have your cake and eat it, too, and most importantly, Canadians know this. Desmond Pouyat Toronto I note many articles lately concerning Canada's proposed military budget. What about forming a firefighting army around military principles, which can be complete with a contingent of appropriate planes, helicopters and boots on the ground that can be rapidly deployed in numbers anywhere needed? Perhaps during our winters, they could be sent elsewhere to fight, and in doing so, will go some length to resurrect that Canadian reputation of providing willing, selfless assistance to those in need, even south of the border should fires break out there. Creative redeployment of our current firefighting expenditure in favour of this army would solve many problems. Evan MacDonald Markham, Ont. Re 'Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan CEO shakes up the fund's top leadership' (Report on Business, July 10): By my count, four women were promoted to new positions and one man was replaced. What's that sound I hear? Is that a glass ceiling exploding? Peter Shier Toronto Re 'Alberta to ban books deemed sexually explicit from school libraries' (July 11): Raise a hand if you think the books in school libraries are too 'sexually explicit.' That's what I thought. Teach students how sex works, then let them read the library books – all of them, before they are purged for whatever reasons that are embarrassing to Alberta school officials. Sex is normal and natural. That's how we all got here. Know about it. Do it. Get on with life. I really don't know why adult humans are so embarrassed by sex. Kathleen Moore EdD Toronto Re 'The very courageous six-year-old learning to ride a bike for the very first time' (July 10): When my six-year-old daughter told me she had ridden a friend's bicycle, I was skeptical. When my second daughter was the same age, I saw her get on a friend's bike and just ride it. No problem. Puzzle, solution: They'd both spent a lot of time riding scooters. They'd learned the body language of riding on two wheels. Riding a bicycle? No problem. Barbara Shaw Cambridge, Ont. I remember the bike stage for both our children very clearly. The best advice I can offer parents training their kids on first rides is this: Take the pedals off and put them on the shelf, then make sure the kids can touch the ground. It is also best to use a bike with handlebar brakes rather than pedal coaster brakes. (Forget training wheels: They only prop kids up and don't actually give them a sense of balance.) Push the kids slowly, in small increments; they very quickly learn balance. Soon they push off and go 50 metres coasting. My son and daughter were riding by the next day. Put the pedals back on and kids will combine their coasting with pedal motions. Brian Layfield Oakville, Ont. Letters to the Editor should be exclusive to The Globe and Mail. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. Keep letters to 150 words or fewer. Letters may be edited for length and clarity. To submit a letter by e-mail, click here: letters@
