La “loi spéciale” pour pallier l’absence de budget pour 2025 promulguée
La “loi spéciale”, palliatif budgétaire soumis en urgence après la censure du précédent gouvernement, a été promulguée vendredi par le président Emmanuel Macron dans l’attente d’un budget en bonne et due forme, selon le Journal officiel paru samedi.Cette loi spéciale a été adoptée en urgence en décembre par le Parlement afin d’autoriser l’exécutif à prélever l’impôt et à emprunter pour financer l’Etat et la Sécurité sociale, malgré l’absence de budget pour 2025.La loi a été promulguée depuis Mamoudzou, à Mayotte, où le chef de l’Etat s’est rendu ces derniers jours pour constater l’immensité des besoins du département français, dévasté par le cyclone Chido.Avec cette loi, “la continuité de l’État est maintenue et garantie, mais de façon temporaire”, a réagi le ministre du Budget démissionnaire Laurent Saint-Martin samedi matin sur X. “La nécessité de doter le pays d’un budget pour 2025 demeure, tout comme l’urgence de redresser nos comptes publics”, a-t-il ajouté.”Cette loi spéciale donne tout ce qu’il faut à l’État pour assurer ses fonctions essentielles au début de 2025, mais rien de plus. Elle devra être complétée le plus rapidement possible” par un budget, avait aussi souligné le 18 décembre le rapporteur général de la commission des Finances au Sénat, Jean-François Husson (Les Républicains).Le nouveau Premier ministre François Bayrou a dit jeudi soir sur France 2 espérer l’adoption d’un budget “à la mi-février”, en reconnaissant n’être “pas sûr d’y arriver”. Il a précisé qu’il repartirait de “la copie qui a été votée” au Parlement avant la censure du gouvernement de Michel Barnier.M. Bayrou, nommé le 13 décembre en remplacement de M. Barnier, a en outre dit souhaiter que son gouvernement soit présenté “dans le weekend”, ou “en tout cas, avant Noël”, avant “mardi soir”.
Sierra Leone student tackles toxic air pollutionSat, 21 Dec 2024 05:27:26 GMT
In his small Freetown workshop, engineering student James Samba tinkered with batteries and electrical parts he hoped could help clean up Sierra Leone’s polluting public transport system.Rush hour in the West African country’s major cities is a frenetic medley of minibuses, mopeds, shared taxis and three-wheeled vehicles known as “kekehs” –- each spluttering toxic emissions …
Sierra Leone student tackles toxic air pollutionSat, 21 Dec 2024 05:27:26 GMT Read More »
Official says Liberia to begin war crimes trials in next five yearsSat, 21 Dec 2024 05:11:50 GMT
The lawyer responsible for setting up Liberia’s long-awaited war crimes court told AFP that the first trials will take place in the next five years, more than two decades after the brutal civil wars that left around 250,000 people dead.Justice has so far proved elusive for the victims of the back-to-back conflicts that raged in …
Wall Street climbs as markets brace for possible govt shutdown
Wall Street stocks bounced higher Friday following a pullback in US Treasury yields as markets braced for a looming US government shutdown.Data showed the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index rose 2.4 percent in the 12 months to November, up from 2.3 percent in October, the Commerce Department said in a statement.But the reading came in lower than expected, prompting a pullback in US Treasury bond yields that had risen after Federal Reserve policy makers signaled earlier this week they expect fewer interest rate cuts in 2025.Stocks fell sharply on Wednesday after the Fed decision.But on Friday, the  broad-based S&P 500 finished at 5,930.85, up 1.1 percent for the day but down about two percent for the week.”We have seen a nice rebound from what was, in our view, an overreaction to the Fed’s outlook on Wednesday,” said Angelo Kourkafas of Edward Jones, pointing to Friday’s inflation data as a supportive factor for equities.Treasury yields pulled back following comments from Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee, who expressed confidence that the PCE data showed that inflation was returning to the Fed’s target of two percent.”Over the next 12 to 18 months, rates can still go down a fair amount,” Goolsbee told CNBC.Investors were also keeping watch on developments in Capitol Hill.US lawmakers raced to stave off a government shutdown set to bite within hours after Donald Trump and Elon Musk sabotaged a bipartisan agreement that would have averted a shutdown.If no deal is struck, the government will cease to be funded at midnight, and non-essential operations will start to grind to halt, with up to 875,000 workers furloughed and 1.4 million more required to work without pay.European stocks finished the day lower although they cut their losses as Wall Street rebounded, with data showing tepid retail sales in the UK in the runup to Christmas dampening sentiment.Among individual companies, Nike dipped 0.2 percent as it reported lower earnings while new CEO Elliott Hill outlined steps to get the slumping sports giant back on track. Analysts pointed to Nike’s near-term outlook, which suggests a turnaround will not be quick.Carnival jumped 6.4 percent following an upbeat 2025 forecast that included a 20 percent rise in profits to $2.3 billion.- Key figures around 2150 GMT -New York – Dow: UP 1.2 percent at 42,840.26 (close)New York – S&P 500: UP 1.1 percent at 5,930.85 (close)New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 1.0 percent at 19,572.60 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 percent at 8,084.61 (close)Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.3 percent at 7,274.48 (close) Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.4 percent at 19,884.75 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.3 percent at 38,701.90 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.2 percent at 19,720.70 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,368.07 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0431 from $1.0363 on ThursdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.2567 from $1.2502Dollar/yen: DOWN at 156.45 yen from 157.44 yen Euro/pound: DOWN at 82.98 pence from 82.28 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.1 percent at $69.46 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.1 percent at $72.94 per barrelburs-jmb/bgs