From the civil war to 9/11: A brief history of national emergencies in United States

Here are some notable examples of national emergency declarations in the United States.

International News:  If President Donald Trump declares a national emergency to build a wall on the southern border of the US it would be an extraordinary action sure to draw lawsuits and consternation on both sides of the aisle.

Yet it would be far from the first time a president has declared a national emergency in support of domestic objectives. Among the most famous was President Abraham Lincoln’s decision in 1861 to suspend habeas corpus, citing the demands of the Civil War.

Since then, emergencies have been declared during crises large (the Great Depression, the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terror attacks) and small (remember the 1970 postal strike?).

Trump, eager to bypass a Congress that has refused to appropriate funds for the wall -- precipitating a partial government shutdown that has stretched into its 18th day -- is considering invoking emergency powers that allow the Department of Defense to shift military construction funds during a crisis.

Read the full timeline here → National Emergencies in US

Donald Trump unlikely to accept PM Narendra Modi's Republic Day invitation

The sources said India has already shortlisted names of two-three heads of states for extending the invitation to be chief guest at the Republic Day parade.

Latest News: US President Donald Trump is unlikely to accept India's invitation to be the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations, sources said Sunday.

The US is understood to have conveyed to New Delhi that Trump may not be able to honour the invitation as he will have pressing engagements, including his State of The Union (SOTU) address, around the time India will celebrate its Republic Day.

This comes at a time when Indo-US ties have witnessed some strain after India went ahead and sealed a deal with Russia to procure a batch of S-400 air defence missile systems, notwithstanding US threat of punitive action under CAATSA (Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act).

The sources said India has already shortlisted names of two-three heads of states for extending invitation to be chief guest at the Republic Day parade.

Earlier this year, the US announced sanctions against Russia under CAATSA for its alleged meddling in the American presidential election in 2016.

Read full story → Trump Republic Day Invitation

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News Source: BS & Business Standard

US media dying to see me make mistake, follows me like never before: Donald Trump

His criticism came a day after the White House barred a CNN reporter from attending a presidential event.

International News → US President Donald Trump said the American media was "dying to see" him make mistake, as he continued his public criticism of the press a day after the White House barred a reporter from attending one of his events.

"Look at all those cameras. All those cameras, every stop I get all these cameras. This never happened to (former president Barack) Obama. This never happened to (George W.) Bush. This didn't happen," Trump told his supporters in Iowa yesterday, referring to the camera journalists present at the event.

"They just follow. They're dying to see us make a little bit of a mistake," he said.

His criticism came a day after the White House barred a CNN reporter from attending a presidential event, arguing that it expects "everyone to be respectful of the presidency."

The decision invited strong protests from journalists.

US, EU 'love each other': Trump

The White House Correspondents Association condemned the "misguided and inappropriate decision" to bar the reporter from attending a Rose Garden event after she shouted a question at Trump during an Oval Office media availability.

Today, Trump said the news media analyzes his every word. "They say, did he say that? Could it have been?" he said. The news media, he said, follows him "like never before".

Trump urged his supporters to spread the word about the good work he is doing. "The good news is: we can get the word out... And the word that I get out is what's happened to steel in this country over the last six months," he said, making a case for his steel and aluminum tariffs, that they are helping US workers.
"Even though we've been here for a little more than a year and a half, but we really hit it big over the last six months with what we've done," Trump said.

Trump's run-ins with the American media began soon after his presidency began in January last year. He has previously accused the media of spreading "fake news" and for closely scrutinising....continue reading

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News Source : BS

Kim-Trump Summit: United Nations to lift travel ban for North Korean officials

Trump earlier said the fate of the summit will be decided next week as his aides travelled to Singapore to prepare the meeting and push for certain conditions to be met.

International News : A UN Security Council committee has agreed to lift a travel ban on North Korean officials heading to Singapore for the planned summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un next month, diplomats said.

Singapore last week asked the sanctions committee to grant an exemption to the North Korean delegation attending the June 12 summit and taking part in preparatory meetings, according to the request seen by AFP.

“This summit will serve as an opportunity to advance the objective of a peaceful resolution of the DPRK nuclear issue and the establishment of peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and in the region,” wrote Singapore’s UN Ambassador Burhan Gafoor to the committee.

The letter did not specify the size of the delegation from Pyongyang. The UN sanctions blacklist for North Korea has 80 individuals and 75 entities which are subject to a global travel ban and an assets freeze. The request for the blanket exemption to the global travel plan was approved on Thursday after none of the council members raised objections.

Trump earlier said the fate of the summit will be decided next week as his aides travelled to Singapore to prepare the meeting and push for certain conditions to be met.

“There are certain conditions we want to happen. I think we’ll get those conditions. And if we don’t, we won’t have the meeting,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday. The Security Council has imposed tough sanctions on North Korea that ban trade in commodities and severely restrict deliveries of oil vital to Pyongyang’s missile and nuclear programme.

Read More on → Kim Trump Summit

Narendra Modi beats Donald Trump, Justin Trudeau to become the most liked world leader on Facebook

Interestingly, the five most liked pictures in 2017 were all posted by Modi with his photo at Odisha’s famous Lingaraj temple becoming the most popular.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the most liked world leader and far ahead of others, including US President Donald Trump, when it comes to popularity on Facebook, according to a study which said 43.2 million people follow the Indian premier on the social media platform.

Trump, who rules the other social media platform Twitter, is in second place with 23.1 million followers, according to the study “World Leaders on Facebook” released today by Burson Cohn & Wolfe.

The study analyses the activity of 650 Facebook pages of heads of state and government and foreign ministers from January 1, 2017 using aggregate data from Facebook’s Crowdtangle tool, it said in a statement.

Over the past 14 months, the Facebook page of Trump had by far the most interactions of any world leader on Facebook, with a total of 204.9 million interactions (defined as the total number of comments, likes and shares), almost twice as many as Modi with 113.6 million interactions, the study said.

Modi, 67, has always encouraged use of social media platforms to stay in touch with the public.

Interestingly, the five most liked pictures in 2017 were all posted by Modi with his photo at Odisha’s famous Lingaraj temple becoming the most popular. Along with the Lingaraj temple photo, Modi wrote- “Prayed at the Lingaraj Temple in Bhubaneswar. The magnificence of the Temple and Temple Complex leaves a lasting impression on the mind.”

Among videos, the third most popular Facebook live video was one shared by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from Modi’s visit to the Jewish state in July last.

Apart from Modi’s personal page, the official Facebook page of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) figures in the survey as it is fourth in overall list of most liked pages and 9th in the list of interaction rate as well as total number of interactions.

The survey said the PMO was also the fourth most checked-in destination, after the White House, the Ugandan Presidency and 10, Downing Street.

In the list of “Peer Connection of World Leaders”, which counts the pages of world leaders liked by their counterparts, Modi is 10th, the survey said.

Congress Leader Rahul Gandhi slams PM Narendra Modi over corruption, new US visa rules

Hitting out at PM Modi on the graft issue, Gandhi accused him of supporting mining baron Reddy brothers and changing CBI into “Central Bureau of Illegal Mining.”

Hitting back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for levelling corruption allegations against the Siddaramaiah government in Karnataka, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had given tickets to eight tainted candidates for the upcoming Karnataka Assembly election.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi, back in Karnataka for the seventh leg of his poll campaign, questioned the prime minister’s authority to speak on corruption while being surrounded by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders accused of financial wrongdoing.

“Modiji comes here and speaks about corruption. When (fugitive diamantaire) Nirav Modi, whom Narendra Modi knows very well…knows by the first name, runs away with Rs 300 billion, he does not utter a word.

“When he (Modi) stands on a stage, on his one side is Yeddyurappa, who has spent time in jail, on the other side there are four others, who have been to jail, and Modiji speaks about corruption,” he told a gathering during a road-show.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has often targeted the Siddaramaiah-led Congress regime in Karnataka over alleged corruption, calling it a “10 per cent commission government”.

Rahul Gandhi slams PM Narendra Modi government over new US visa rules:

Rahul Gandhi also attacked Modi government’s foreign policy and said “new US visa rules is a huge setback for India”.

“New US visa Rules, huge setback for India. There are some things a hug can buy. For visas, you’re on your own,” tweeted Gandhi, attaching a Times of India story with a headline “Startup visas, work permits for spouses of H-1B visa holders to go”.

“Foreign policy by Narendra Modi, foreword by Donald Trump,” he added.

Kim Jong-Un to visit South Korea: What to expect when the two leaders meet

Kim’s decision to meet on Moon’s side of the military demarcation line – making him the first North Korean leader to set foot in South Korea – reflects new confidence in his country’s bargaining power.

International News : When Kim Jong Un crosses the border dividing the two Koreas to shake hands with southern counterpart Moon Jae-in on Friday, his footsteps will be laden with symbolism.

Kim’s decision to meet on Moon’s side of the military demarcation line – making him the first North Korean leader to set foot in South Korea – reflects new confidence in his country’s bargaining power. He’s showing that he feels secure enough to leave his isolated capital after developing a nuclear arsenal capable of threatening Moon’s protectors in Washington, as well as Seoul.

“This is major,” said David Kang, director of the Korean Studies Institute at the University of Southern California. “He is losing all the optics that others accuse him of – wanting to pretend that he is at the center of the world and that whoever is visiting is a dignitary coming to kowtow.”

The venue – at the “Truce Village” of Panmunjom where the armistice was signed – is only one change from the previous inter-Korean summits in 2000 and 2007 that were held in Pyongyang. This meeting is intended to facilitate negotiations over Kim’s nuclear weapons program, rather than reward their results.

Kim Jong Un is expected to cross the border around 9:30 a.m., Seoul time, when he’ll be welcomed by Moon and an honor guard, Soutisorea said Thursday. The pair are expected to begin their summit around 10:30 a.m. and announce any agreements in the afternoon before jointly attending a banquet.

The event will set up a historic meeting between the North Korean leader and US President Donald Trump some time by early June. The unprecedented encounter, which observers say could either finally resolve the 68-year-old Korean War or create conditions for a new one, has infused every gesture and remark between Kim and Moon with gravity.

In recent weeks, Kim, whose government has often derided the South Koreans as US “vassals,’’ has emphasized reconciliation and flexibility. On Friday, he extended his freeze on nuclear weapons testing as part of a shift toward greater emphasis on the economy.

The moves have raised expectations that the two sides could announce some breakthrough, such as declaring an end to their enduring war. That could open the door for formal peace talks and a security guarantee from the US – a crucial step to convincing Kim to disarm.

Why Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is winning the US Senate hearings

The social-media giant’s economic model emerged unscathed despite hours of questions from senators.

International News : Mark Zuckerberg did just fine in his first turn in the Congressional hot seat. He was confident. He capably tackled many of the queries proposed last week by Bloomberg columnists. The 33-year-old billionaire appeared humble throughout much of the hearing, with only a few smug smiles.

The best news for Facebook Inc. the company was that Zuckerberg ably deflected any challenges to the beating heart of its economic model: its hungry data collection and the fine-tuned targeted advertising based on that data. Zuckerberg’s success is a win for anyone primarily concerned with the company’s market value. But it’s a loss for the rest of us.

Facebook will keep failing users’ trust as long as its business is based on unrestrained hoovering of as much user data as possible, and crafting ever-more innovative ways for advertisers to harness that information for commercial goals. It’s an arrangement to which Facebook’s users agree and can sidestep, technically, but it is hardly informed consent or a real option to avoid.

This inherent conflict was on display during two of Mark Zuckerberg‘s exchanges on Tuesday. The first was with Senator Roy Blunt, the Republican from Missouri. He asked Zuckerberg a series of questions about what information the company can collect on its 2 billion users and use for advertising, including whether the social network can pinpoint that a person who posts on Facebook from his work computer in the morning is the same person who uploads a photo to his Facebook smartphone app at night.

The answer, as Zuckerberg surely knows, is yes. Facebook brags to advertisers that it can provide “cross-device” targeting, as it is called. The company can also track people nearly everywhere they go online, and it can see what apps people have installed on their phones.

Facebook also collects information on “offline” activity, as Blunt also asked, which includes information on users’ location as they roam around the real world. Companies can also match their information on what your purchase in stores — that box of cereal at the supermarket, for example — and marry it with Facebook account information. Inexplicably, Zuckerberg tried to say he wasn’t completely sure about Facebook’s data collection policies, and one of his underlings could follow up later. The Facebook CEO knows what his company does, but perhaps he couldn’t acknowledge that his companies relies on assembling detailed dossiers on billions of people.

Read More on  → Cambridge Analytica Scandal

Facebook Scandal: It was my mistake and am sorry, Mark Zuckerberg tells US Senate

Zuckerberg traversed Capitol Hill on Monday surrounded by police and trailed by packs of reporters ahead of his scheduled appearance before three congressional committees.

International; News : Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg placed the blame for privacy and security lapses at the world’s largest social network squarely on himself as he girded on Monday (Apr 9) for appearances this week on Capitol Hill before angry lawmakers.

In prepared remarks released by a congressional panel, Zuckerberg admitted he was too idealistic and failed to grasp how the platform – used by 2 billion people – could be abused and manipulated.

The 33-year-old is to testify before senators on Tuesday and House lawmakers on Wednesday amid a firestorm over the hijacking of data on millions of Facebook users by the British firm Cambridge Analytica, which worked with Donald Trump’s campaign.

On Monday, Zuckerberg ditched his trademark T-shirt for a suit and tie as he made the rounds on Capitol Hill with his wife Priscilla for private meetings with lawmakers ahead of the hearings – a key test for the Facebook founder.

“We didn’t take a broad enough view of our responsibility, and that was a big mistake. It was my mistake, and I’m sorry,” Zuckerberg said in his written testimony released by the House commerce committee.

“I started Facebook, I run it, and I’m responsible for what happens here.”

In his written remarks, Mark Zuckerberg called Facebook “an idealistic and optimistic company” and said: “We focused on all the good that connecting people can bring.”

But he acknowledged that “it’s clear now that we didn’t do enough to prevent these tools from being used for harm as well. That goes for fake news, foreign interference in elections, and hate speech, as well as developers and data privacy.”

Zuckerberg said he has called for more investments in security that will “significantly impact our profitability going forward,” adding: “I want to be clear about what our priority is: protecting our community is more important than maximizing our profit.”

Kim Jong-un meets Xi, says he is committed to de-nuked Korean peninsula

Kim Jong-Un is understood to have reiterated his commitment to the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.

International News : China confirmed Wednesday that Kim Jong Un met with President Xi Jinping on a surprise visit to Beijing, and said the North Korean leader would be willing to give up his nuclear weapons and hold a summit with the US.

“The issue of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula can be resolved, if South Korea and the United States respond to our efforts with goodwill, create an atmosphere of peace and stability while taking progressive and synchronous measures for the realization of peace,” Kim said during the four-day visit, according to Xinhua. Xi said that China continues to push for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and made four proposals to improve relations with North Korea, including maintaining frequent contact with Kim. Xi said China will continue to share friendship with North Korea as a “strategic choice” that “will not change because of any single event at a particular time.”

“We speak highly of this visit,” Xi told Kim, according the Xinhua story that repeatedly referred to the two leaders as comrades.

“We are willing to work together with DPRK comrades, remain true to our original aspiration and jointly move forward, to promote long-term healthy and stable development of China-DPRK relations, benefit the two countries and two peoples, and make new contribution to regional peace, stability and development,” Xi said.

The visit comes amid a diplomatic flurry in Asia as leaders jockey for face time with Kim and seek to defuse tensions over North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.

Key Points:

• Xi hosted a grand banquet for Kim at the Great Hall of the People
• Kim reiterated his commitment to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula

Read More on → Kim Jong Un Xi Jinping Meeting ←

Trump’s idea of arming teachers with guns will not prevent school shootings

Similar day-to-day risks involving arming teachers could be that he/she unintentionally discharges the firearm or have their guns taken by an angry student while trying to break-up a fight.

Business Standard News : President Donald Trump’s proposal to arm teachers has sparked substantial public debate.

As researchers of consumer culture and lead authors of a recent study of how Americans use and view firearms for self-defense, we argue that while carrying a gun may reduce the risk of being powerless during an attack, it also introduces substantial and overlooked risks to the carrier and others.

Where bullets land

• One of the biggest risks involved with arming teachers would be missing the target – literally. Despite the fact that police must undergo extensive professional training, particularly for high-pressure situations, one study notes that police involved in gunfights shoot with an accuracy rate of just 18 percent.
• Assuming teachers can achieve the same level of accuracy as police, and that an armed teacher was able to get into position to fire, just one in five or six bullets would hit the shooter. The other four or five bullets would hit something or someone else. While an armed and trained teacher may be able to stop a shooter, the teacher may also shoot an innocent person.

Why might they miss the target?

• Our recent study about people who keep and use handguns for self-defence can help to explain why someone using a gun against an attacker has difficulty hitting their target.
• Over 24 months, the research team monitored 6,879 threads in four online discussion forums focused on armed self-defence. One author completed concealed handgun license training. Two contributing authors attended the annual NRA convention. The lead authors attended two gun shows and interviewed two police officers and nine civilians who keep and/or carry handguns for self-defence.
• Individuals in our study expressed concern about effectively using their training during an actual event. They spoke of the possibility of “freezing up” or clumsily drawing their weapons. Many, including police and military personnel, acknowledge that the fear and chaos caused by a threatening situation produce involuntary physical responses, such as a racing heart and loss of fine motor skills. They believe these responses could impede their ability to accurately fire and could expose themselves and bystanders to the risk of being shot. They engaged in regular rehearsals in an attempt to address these concerns.

Donald Trump wanted to be the most famous man in the world, not US President

The book “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House” written by Michael Wolff, claims that the ultimate goal of Trump was never to win

 

Donald Trump did not want to be the president of the US and the First Lady Melania was in tears not of joy on knowing about the surprising electoral victory last year, according to a new book by an American journalist.

The book “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House” written by Michael Wolff, claims that the ultimate goal of Trump was never to win.

“His ultimate goal, after all, had never been to win. I can be the most famous man in the world,” he had told his aide Sam Nunberg at the outset of the race.

“His longtime friend Roger Ailes, the former head of Fox News, liked to say that if you want a career in television, first run for president,” according to the excerpts of the book.

“Shortly after Trump’s inauguration, Wolff said, he was able to take up “something like a semi-permanent seat on a couch in the West Wing” an idea encouraged by the president himself. Because no one was in a position to either officially approve or formally deny such access, Wolff became “more a constant interloper than an invited guest.”

“There were no ground rules placed on his access, and he was required to make no promises about how he would report on what he witnessed,” the book said.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders has however denied this after excerpts from the book were published by New York Magazine with the title “Donald Trump Did Not Want to be President.”

“There was one brief conversation that had nothing to do, originally, with the book.It was, I think, around five to seven minutes in total since the President has taken office. And that’s the only interaction that he’s had,” she said.

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GES 2017: Make in India for the world, Modi tells entrepreneurs

He said women entrepreneurs received over three-fourths of the Rs 4.28 lakh crore loans under the MUDRA Scheme since 2015.

Business News : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday invited global entrepreneurs to invest and make in India.

“To my entrepreneur friends from across the globe, I would like to say, come, make in India, invest in India, for India and for the world. I invite each one of you to become a partner in India’s growth story. And once again assure you of our wholehearted support,” he said, inaugurating the Global Entrepreneur Summit  2017 here.

The keynote was given by Ivanka Trump, advisor to US President Donald Trump, who is leading a US delegation to the summit. The event, being hosted by the governments of India and the US, is focused on women entrepreneurship; more than half of the 1,500 participants from 150 countries are women.

Listing the several initiatives of his government such as Startup India, the goods and services tax (GST), actions on black money and on bankruptcy and insolvency, he said his government has taken several steps to improve the business environment, leading to a jump in the country’s World Bank’s ease of doing business ranking (to 100 from 130 earlier) and improvement in the country’s ratings by Moody’s.

He said the government was not satisfied and would strive to improve further to the fiftieth rank on the World Bank rating. “Our StartUp India programme is a comprehensive action plan to foster entrepreneurship and promote innovation. It aims to minimise the regulatory burden and provide support to start-ups. Over 1,200 redundant laws have been scrapped, 87 rules for FDI have been eased in 21 sectors, and several government processes have been taken online,” Modi claimed.

Click to Read → Ivanka on Women Empowerment

Ivanka opens GES 2017 today: For global majors, all roads lead to Telangana

NITI Aayog CEO said summit was meant to help create an enabling ecosystem where entrepreneurs can innovate, forge global partnerships and grow.

Business News : Hyderabad, the capital of Telangana, is all dressed up to welcome Ivanka Trump, who’s leading the US delegation for the eighth edition of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit. From Taj Falaknuma, venue for state dinner to be hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to Hitec City, where the summit is being organised for the next three days, Ivanka is the theme. But that’s not the only global attention that the city has been getting.

A senior official in the Telangana government pointed out that leading global brands such as Amazon, Walmart and IKEA are investing top dollars here. American retail major Walmart, which set up its first Hyderabad store a few years ago before Telangana happened, is gearing up to open two to three more cash and carry outlets in the city.

GES 2017: Ivanka Trump Reaches Hyderabad

“Hyderabad is a three-to-four-store market for Walmart,” a company executive told Business Standard. There’s no other city in India that Walmart has so far identified as a three-to-four-store market. Agra and Bhopal have two Walmart stores each and that’s the highest so far for any city.

Seattle-based e-commerce giant Amazon, too, has been upbeat on Telangana. The Jeff Bezos-led group set up India’s biggest fulfilment centre in Hyderabad some six months ago, spread over nearly 400,000 sq ft with close to 2.1 million cubic feet of storage space. Along with this, Amazon has five fulfilment centres in Telangana offering around 3.2 million cubic feet of storage. Also, its biggest campus, anywhere outside the US, will be ready at Gachibowli (Hyderabad) in 2019.

Click to Read → GES 2017

Modi holds first ‘quad’ meet with US, Japan, Australia

PM slated to meet Trump on Monday

 

 

Giving shape to their security cooperation under the proposed quadrilateral coalition, India, the US, Japan and Australia on Sunday held their first official talks Narendra Modi in manila with a focus on keeping the Indo-Pacific region “free and open”, seen as a move to counter China’s aggressive behaviour in the area.

Soon after the meeting, India, Australia and Japan issued separate statements listing the Indo-Pacific as the major area of the deliberations and resolved to expand cooperation to uphold a rules-based order and respect for international law in the strategically important region.

The meeting comes ahead of the Asean summit here on Tuesday which is also likely to discuss the security challenges facing the Indo-Pacific region and China's military expansion in the South China Sea. According to a press statement, officials of the four countries at the “quad” meeting agreed that a free, open, prosperous and inclusive Indo-Pacific region serves the long-term interests of all countries in the region and of the world at large.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in the Philippines on Sunday to attend the Asean-India and East Asia summits. Before arriving in Manila, US President Donald Trump said in Hanoi on Sunday that he would be willing to mediate between China and five of its neighbors to resolve their competing claims in the South China Sea.

The PM and other leaders attended the customary dinner on the eve of the summit. Modi is slated to have bilateral meetings with Trump and President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines on Monday.
On Sunday, Modi held separate pull-aside meetings with Trump and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on the sidelines of a gala dinner to mark the 50th anniversary of the Asean.

Click to Know → Asean 50th Anniversary

Donald Trump nominates Jerome Powell to lead US Federal Reserve

Powell will replace current Fed Chair Janet Yellen

Markets breathed a sigh of relief after President Donald Trump named Jerome Powell his pick to be the next chair of the Federal Reserve.

If confirmed, Powell – considered a “safe” choice – would take over from current Chair Janet Yellen in February, becoming one of the world’s most powerful people.

So what’s the big deal? Economist Greg Wright explains why who leads the U.S. central bank matters to us all.

Powell, who must be confirmed by the Senate, will replace current Fed Chair Janet Yellen when her term at the helm of the central bank expires in February.

Trump said Powell is "strong, committed and smart," and has the "wisdom and leadership to guide" the US economy.

Who is Jerome Powell?

Powell is a Republican and a wealthy former investment banker who currently serves on the Fed’s Board of Governors. He was first nominated by President Barack Obama in 2012. Perhaps the most notable feature of his biography is that he lacks a background in economics, expertise that the previous three Fed chairs brought to the table.

Given that Powell has consistently expressed moderate views regarding monetary policy, the choice is seen as a cautious one, signaling that the Trump administration’s primary goal is to keep the global economy on its current path of steady growth and low unemployment. In short, Powell is expected to continue Yellen’s relatively dovish policies.

Click to Read → Federal Reserve New Chief

Profitable companies, no taxes: Here's how they did it

Companies took advantage of array of tax loopholes and aggressive strategies

 

 

BREAKING NEWS - Complaining that the US has one of the world’s highest corporate tax levels, President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans have repeatedly vowed to shrink it. Yet if the level is so high, why have so many companies’ income tax bills added up to zero?

That’s what a new analysis of 258 profitable Fortune 500 companies that earned more than $3.8 trillion in profits showed. Tax reformers have long argued that the nominal 35 per cent federal rate on corporate profits more often than not functions like a strike-through price - an artificially inflated number that sounds high but rarely applies.

Thanks to a variety of loopholes and tax-dodging methods, those 258 corporations paid an average rate of 21.2 per cent, according to a report by Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

Here is a snapshot:

(READ MORE...)

Full text: Barack Obama's farewell speech

Democracy is the idea that we rise or fall as one, said Barack Obama

Latest News - It’s good to be home. My fellow Americans, Michelle and I have been so touched by all the well-wishes we’ve received over the past few weeks. But tonight it’s my turn to say thanks. Whether we’ve seen eye-to-eye or rarely agreed at all, my conversations with you, the American people – in living rooms and schools; at farms and on factory floors; at diners and on distant outposts – are what have kept me honest, kept me inspired, and kept me going. Every day, I learned from you. You made me a better President, and you made me a better man...........

......

....

..
I am asking you to believe. Not in my ability to bring about change – but in yours.

I am asking you to hold fast to that faith written into our founding documents; that idea whispered by slaves and abolitionists; that spirit sung by immigrants and homesteaders and those who marched for justice; that creed reaffirmed by those who planted flags from foreign battlefields to the surface of the moon; a creed at the core of every American whose story is not yet written:

Yes We Can.

Yes We Did.

Yes We Can.

Thank you. God bless you. And may God continue to bless the United States of America.

 

Read the Full: Barack Obama's farewell speech

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Brexit, note ban, Trump and more: 10 events that moved the markets in 2016

After a roller-coaster year, Indian indices set to end 2016 with little gains

 Breaking News - The year 2016, indeed, has been a year of many surprises. From Britain’s unexpected vote to exit the European Union to Republican candidate Donald Trump’s upset victory in the US Presidential election, from Raghuram Rajan’s decision of not seeking a second term as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor to India’s sudden surgical strike on Pakistan – the Indian stock market dealt with all these shocks through Markets 2016. The biggest of them all, however, was the government’s call towards the end of the year to demonetise Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes.

After 12 months of a roller-coaster ride, the market now seems poised to end the calendar year at almost the same level as at the start of 2016. As at close on Tuesday, the BSE benchmark Sensex was merely 96 points, or 0.4%, higher at 26,213.44, and the broader National Stock Exchange Nifty was up 86 points, or 1%, at 8,032.85.

1. January: The devaluation of the yuan

2. February: Union Budget 2016-17

3. June: The so-called Rexit

4. Brexit

5. July-September: Monsoon, GST Bill

6. September: Surgical strike

7. November: Donald trumps Hillary in US election

8. November: Demonetisation of high-value currency

9. December: Surge in oil prices

10. Another rate hike by the US Fed

What lies ahead?

Going into the calendar year 2017, the market will track the demonetisation impact on quarterly earnings. The Budget 2017 and any development on GST will also be in focus. Baliga believes the Union Budget could be tilted to balance the ill-effects of demonetisation. On the global front, Trump’s policies in the US and the impact of Brexit on the European economy will be keenly watched. 

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