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President Biden is expected to meet with Congressional leaders on Tuesday to discuss a potential debt ceiling deal. Biden said he is waiting to hear the details of a GOP plan to introduce work requirements for people who receive aid from some government programs, but indicated that Democrats would oppose work requirements for Medicaid. More: - Biden met with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell last week to discuss a potential agreement.
- Negotiators need to put together a draft agreement this week in order to pass it through Congress when the legislative session resumes on June 1.
- Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said that a potentially "catastrophic" default could happen "as early as June 1," giving negotiators little time to work out the details on what will likely be a complex bill.
- Lael Brainard, director of Biden's National Economic Council, said the White House would prefer a long-term debt ceiling limit increase instead of a short-term deal.
- The idea of a one-year debt ceiling deal was proposed by the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus at the end of April, but Senate Republicans shot the idea down.
Zoom Out: - The GOP debt ceiling bill that passed in the House would cut federal spending to fiscal year 2022 levels, which would entail $131B in spending cuts compared to current levels.
- The bill would cut nondefense discretionary spending by 17%.
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What the numbers say: The World Platinum Investment Council (WPIC) forecasts that global platinum demand will increase by 28% in 2023 compared to 2022, while the global platinum supply will shrink by 1% year-over-year. Relevance: The dense metal is increasingly being used in computer manufacturing, chemical production, automotive assembly, and other industrial processes. What's Next? The WPIC estimates that industrial demand for platinum, particularly from China, will reach a new record high this year. Investments in platinum bullion bars and coins surged by 71% in the first three months of 2023, compared to the same period a year earlier. The strong demand suggests that prices will continue increasing this year. | | | |
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Turkey will have a run-off election on May 28 between incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu. Preliminary results for Sunday's election show that Erdogan won 49.5% of the vote, compared to 44.9% for Kilicaroglu. A runoff election, the first ever for Turkey, will take place because neither candidate won more than 50% of the vote. More: - Sinan Ogan, leader of the far-right Nationalist Movement Party, placed in third with 5.7% of the vote. Ogan said he would back Kilicdaroglu if he agreed to offer no concessions to the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP).
- Kilicdaroglu is the candidate for a six-party opposition coalition, while Erdogan has led Turkey for 20 years as prime minister and president.
- Erdogan won the 2014 and 2018 presidential elections in the first round.
Zoom Out: - According to the Turkish election council, 88.9% of the 64 million eligible voters submitted ballots.
- Election turnout is typically high in Turkey, with every election since 1983 seeing a turnout of at least 74%.
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GOOD NEWS: Pasang Dawa Sherpa, a Nepali sherpa, became the second person to scale Mount Everest 26 times on Sunday. Dawa has climbed the mountain nearly every year since 1998, making the climb twice in 2022. More: - Kami Rita, who has also scaled Everest 26 times, is currently leading a U.S. team up the mountain and could set a new record in the next few days.
- This year, a record 467 climbers, excluding sherpas, have obtained permits to climb Everest from the southern side, in Nepal.
- Under a new rule, foreign climbers visiting Nepal must hire local sherpas as guides.
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Thailand's pro-democracy Move Forward party has agreed to form a coalition government after winning the most seats in Sunday's general election. The results mark a defeat for the military-aligned parties that have governed Thailand since a military coup in 2014. More: - Move Forward, which is led by 42-year-old Pita Limjaroenrat, won 151 of 500 seats in the lower house.
- It has formed a coalition with five other opposition parties that has more than 60% of the seats in Parliament.
- Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha took power following a coup in 2014. His governing coalition, which is composed of two parties, won just 15% of the seats.
- Thailand has a bicameral legislature, and the Prayuth-appointed members of the unelected 250-seat Senate will likely attempt to thwart the new government's reform agenda.
Zoom Out: - Move Forward is advocating for major changes to Thailand's government and economy, as well as for the Thai military to have a reduced role in the country's politics.
- Several Move Forward candidates were well-known leaders in nationwide student-led protests against the Thai government in 2020 and 2021.
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The South African government will investigate a gold-smuggling and money-laundering scheme that was uncovered by Al Jazeera reporters. The news site found that a criminal cartel bribed compliance officials at several South African banks, allowing gold smugglers to send laundered money overseas without alerting authorities. More: - The "Gold Mafia" reports focused on money launderer Mohamed Khan and his client, Zimbabwean tobacco tycoon Simon Rutland.
- The two men allegedly used their companies to launder hundreds of millions of dollars into foreign bank accounts in Dubai, Mauritius, Switzerland, and elsewhere.
- Khan reportedly bribed key officials at Standard, Absa, and Sasfin, three of South Africa's biggest banks.
- Al Jazeera reporters saw ledgers showing that bank employees received thousands of dollars in cash per month.
- South African President Cyril Ramaphosa told Parliament that the investigation was at an "inquiry stage."
Zoom Out: - The Al Jazeera reports implicated three British nationals: Uebert Angel, Rikki Doolan, and Kamlesh Pattni.
- A covert recording by Al Jazeera journalists shows Angel, a Zimbabwean diplomat, agreeing to smuggle $1.2B in dirty money into Zimbabwe using his diplomatic status.
- Last week, a member of the British House of Lords asked for a similar investigation into alleged Gold Mafia members by British authorities.
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Term of the Day Demand elasticity: Demand elasticity is calculated by measuring the percentage change in quantity demand for a good or service in response to a change in price. Question of the Week How do you approach networking, and what advice can you give others looking to build their professional connections? Join the conversation |
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 | Writer | | Dr. Daniel Smith is an Inside writer with a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Cambridge. Follow him on Twitter @DJS12321 or email him at Daniel@inside.com. | | This newsletter was edited by Eduardo Garcia | |
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