Police fire teargas as protesters defy bans in Cameroon ahead of election resultsSun, 26 Oct 2025 17:36:53 GMT
Police fired teargas to disperse hundreds of people in Cameroon who on Sunday defied protest bans to support opposition candidate Issa Tchiroma Bakary, who claims he won the recent presidential elections and who called on his supporters to march peacefully.The Constitutional Council is due to announce results of the October 12 vote on Monday, and …
US Fed will likely cut again despite economic murkiness from shutdown
The Federal Reserve is expected to announce its second rate cut of the year on Wednesday, despite a lack of clarity over the health of the US economy due to the ongoing government shutdown.The US central bank’s second-to-last rate meeting of the year is taking place against the backdrop of a weeks-long standoff between Republicans and Democrats over health care subsidies, resulting in a suspension of publication of almost all official data. Without these key insights into the US economy, Fed officials will be forced to set interest rates without the full spectrum of data they normally rely upon.Analysts and traders expect the bank will plow ahead with a quarter percentage-point cut, lowering its key lending rate to between 3.75 percent and 4.00 percent, without giving too much away about the final rate cut of the year in December.The lack of official information complicates the ongoing debate at the Fed over whether to cut rates swiftly in order to support the weakening labor market, or to stand firm in the face of inflation, which remains stuck stubbornly above the bank’s long-term target of two percent, fueled by Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on top trading partners.The US central bank has a dual mandate from Congress to act independently to tackle both inflation and unemployment, which it does by raising, holding, or cutting its benchmark lending rate. “They’ll have to decide how much (inflation) is still to come versus how much is just never going to come, and that’s the big question right now,” former Fed official Joseph Gagnon told AFP. Asked Sunday why consumer prices remain high, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent blamed the “affordability crisis” on the previous administration of Democrat Joe Biden and said he was confident that inflation would ease “in the coming months.” “We will see a drop in inflation back towards the Fed’s two percent target,” Bessent told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”- ‘Blunt tool’ -The only major data point to be published since the shutdown began on October 1 was the US consumer inflation data, which came in hot at 3.0 percent in the 12 months to September, according to delayed Labor Department data published on Friday. But the figure came in slightly below expectations, cheering the financial markets, which closed at fresh records on the news.The Fed uses a different measure to gauge inflation, but that guideline also remains stuck well above target, according to data published before the shutdown.On the other side of the mandate, employment has slowed sharply in recent months, with just 22,000 jobs created in August, even as the unemployment rate hugged close to historic lows at 4.3 percent. “The goal is to get it just right, and that’s a hard thing to do with such a blunt tool,” KPMG chief economist Diane Swonk told AFP, referring to the Fed’s key interest rate. Swonk expects the Fed to cut twice more this year, and to announce an end to its program of shrinking its balance sheet next week — known as quantitative tightening — in the face of rising liquidity risks. – Fed under political pressure -The Fed has been rocked this year by relentless attacks on personnel directed from the White House, with Trump often taking to his Truth Social network to criticize Fed chair Jerome Powell, who steps down next year. The Trump administration has also gone after Fed governor Lisa Cook, attempting to remove her from her post on accusations of mortgage fraud. Cook fought back against the legal challenge to remove her, with the case going all the way up to the US Supreme Court, which has said it will hear the arguments against her in January next year.The timing of that decision means the Supreme Court is unlikely to rule on whether Cook can remain in her post before the end of February, the deadline for when the US central bank’s board must decide whether to reappoint regional Fed presidents — a process that only happens once every five years. “It seems like the odds that he could do this maneuver are greatly diminished,” said Gagnon from PIIE.
US Fed will likely cut again despite economic murkiness from shutdown
The Federal Reserve is expected to announce its second rate cut of the year on Wednesday, despite a lack of clarity over the health of the US economy due to the ongoing government shutdown.The US central bank’s second-to-last rate meeting of the year is taking place against the backdrop of a weeks-long standoff between Republicans and Democrats over health care subsidies, resulting in a suspension of publication of almost all official data. Without these key insights into the US economy, Fed officials will be forced to set interest rates without the full spectrum of data they normally rely upon.Analysts and traders expect the bank will plow ahead with a quarter percentage-point cut, lowering its key lending rate to between 3.75 percent and 4.00 percent, without giving too much away about the final rate cut of the year in December.The lack of official information complicates the ongoing debate at the Fed over whether to cut rates swiftly in order to support the weakening labor market, or to stand firm in the face of inflation, which remains stuck stubbornly above the bank’s long-term target of two percent, fueled by Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on top trading partners.The US central bank has a dual mandate from Congress to act independently to tackle both inflation and unemployment, which it does by raising, holding, or cutting its benchmark lending rate. “They’ll have to decide how much (inflation) is still to come versus how much is just never going to come, and that’s the big question right now,” former Fed official Joseph Gagnon told AFP. Asked Sunday why consumer prices remain high, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent blamed the “affordability crisis” on the previous administration of Democrat Joe Biden and said he was confident that inflation would ease “in the coming months.” “We will see a drop in inflation back towards the Fed’s two percent target,” Bessent told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”- ‘Blunt tool’ -The only major data point to be published since the shutdown began on October 1 was the US consumer inflation data, which came in hot at 3.0 percent in the 12 months to September, according to delayed Labor Department data published on Friday. But the figure came in slightly below expectations, cheering the financial markets, which closed at fresh records on the news.The Fed uses a different measure to gauge inflation, but that guideline also remains stuck well above target, according to data published before the shutdown.On the other side of the mandate, employment has slowed sharply in recent months, with just 22,000 jobs created in August, even as the unemployment rate hugged close to historic lows at 4.3 percent. “The goal is to get it just right, and that’s a hard thing to do with such a blunt tool,” KPMG chief economist Diane Swonk told AFP, referring to the Fed’s key interest rate. Swonk expects the Fed to cut twice more this year, and to announce an end to its program of shrinking its balance sheet next week — known as quantitative tightening — in the face of rising liquidity risks. – Fed under political pressure -The Fed has been rocked this year by relentless attacks on personnel directed from the White House, with Trump often taking to his Truth Social network to criticize Fed chair Jerome Powell, who steps down next year. The Trump administration has also gone after Fed governor Lisa Cook, attempting to remove her from her post on accusations of mortgage fraud. Cook fought back against the legal challenge to remove her, with the case going all the way up to the US Supreme Court, which has said it will hear the arguments against her in January next year.The timing of that decision means the Supreme Court is unlikely to rule on whether Cook can remain in her post before the end of February, the deadline for when the US central bank’s board must decide whether to reappoint regional Fed presidents — a process that only happens once every five years. “It seems like the odds that he could do this maneuver are greatly diminished,” said Gagnon from PIIE.
Nigeria refinery aims to be world’s biggest with expansionSun, 26 Oct 2025 16:16:22 GMT
Nigeria’s Dangote oil refinery, already the largest in Africa, aims to become the biggest in the world in three years’ time with an expansion doubling its capacity, its owner said on Sunday.”We are more than doubling the barrels (per day)… to 1.4 million from 650,000,” said Aliko Dangote, a Nigerian businessman who is Africa’s richest …
Nigeria refinery aims to be world’s biggest with expansionSun, 26 Oct 2025 16:16:22 GMT Read More »
Une semaine après le vol de bijoux au Louvre, deux suspects en garde à vue
Une semaine après le vol spectaculaire de huit joyaux de la couronne de France en quelques minutes au musée du Louvre, deux hommes, soupçonnés d’avoir fait partie du commando, ont été placés en garde à vue, mais les bijoux restent introuvables.Les deux suspects sont âgés d’une trentaine d’années et sont originaires de Seine-Saint-Denis, a indiqué une source proche du dossier. Ils sont connus des service de police pour des vols, a-t-elle ajouté.Selon cette même source, l’un des deux hommes a été interpellé samedi soir à l’aéroport de Roissy alors qu’il s’apprêtait à partir pour l’Algérie. Il a été placé en garde à vue, tout comme un autre suspect, pour vol en bande organisée et association de malfaiteurs criminelle. Ces gardes à vue peuvent durer jusqu’à 96 heures. Les interpellations des deux suspects avaient été révélées par Le Parisien et partiellement par Paris-Match, et confirmées à l’AFP par deux sources proches du dossier. Dans un communiqué, la procureure de Paris, Laure Beccuau, a confirmé dimanche “que les enquêteurs de la BRB (Brigade de répression du banditisme) (avaient) procédé à des interpellations dans la soirée (de) samedi”.La révélation des interpellations “ne peut que nuire aux efforts d’investigation de la centaine d’enquêteurs mobilisés, dans la recherche tant des bijoux volés que de l’ensemble des malfaiteurs”, a-t-elle déploré.Le ministre de l’Intérieur, Laurent Nuñez, a adressé sur X ses “plus vives félicitations aux enquêteurs qui ont travaillé sans relâche comme je le leur ai demandé et qui ont toujours eu toute ma confiance”.Selon l’une des sources proches du dossier, les interpellations ont été réalisées par la BRB avec le soutien de la Brigade de recherche et d’intervention (BRI).Les deux suspects sont soupçonnés d’avoir fait partie du commando de quatre hommes qui a dérobé huit joyaux de la couronne de France, estimés à 88 millions d’euros, dimanche dernier.Vers 9H30 ce 19 octobre, ils avaient installé un camion-élévateur au pied du musée, sur le quai François-Mitterrand, et deux d’entre eux, visages masqués, se sont hissés avec une nacelle jusqu’à la galerie Apollon.Après avoir brisé une fenêtre et les vitrines contenant les bijoux à l’aide de disqueuses, les voleurs sont repartis à bord de deux puissants scooters conduits par leurs complices.Le cambriolage, qui a fait le tour de la planète, a duré en tout sept à huit minutes.- ADN et vidéosurveillance -Les investigations, confiées à la BRB et à l’Office central de lutte contre le trafic de biens culturels (OCBC), mobilisent une centaine d’enquêteurs.Plus “de 150 prélèvements de traces ADN, papillaires et autres ont été réalisés” sur les lieux du cambriolage, avait annoncé jeudi Laure Beccuau.Dans leur fuite, les malfaiteurs ont abandonné entre autres des gants, un casque, deux disqueuses, un chalumeau, un gilet jaune et un talkie-walkie sur lesquels des prélèvements ont été effectués. Ils ont également laissé tomber la couronne de l’impératrice Eugénie, qui a été abîmée et qui doit être restaurée.Les voleurs n’ont pas eu le temps d’incendier le camion-élévateur, qui a aussi été examiné par les enquêteurs.La procureure avait également expliqué que la vidéosurveillance avait “permis de suivre” le parcours des malfaiteurs à Paris et dans des départements limitrophes, évoquant aussi des “images disponibles grâce aux caméras publiques ou privées (autoroutes, banques, entreprises…)” à exploiter.Pour l’instant, les bijoux n’ont pas été retrouvés. Le risque est que les diamants et pierres précieuses qui ornent les parures soient dessertis et que les bijoux soient fondus. “Les voleurs, on finit toujours par les retrouver. Ça semble être du grand banditisme, on verra”, a considéré Laurent Nuñez, se disant “inquiet pour les bijoux”, dans un entretien publié dans la Tribune Dimanche. Le cambriolage, qui semble avoir été minutieusement préparé, a soulevé la question de la sécurité du plus célèbre musée du monde.Une enquête administrative confiée à l’Inspection générale des affaires culturelles (IGAC) est par ailleurs en cours. La ministre de la Culture Rachida Dati a dit vendredi sur X avoir demandé une remise de ses conclusions “dès le début de la semaine prochaine afin d’annoncer des mesures concrètes pour sécuriser le musée du Louvre et ses abords”. En attendant, le président de la commission des Affaires culturelles de l’Assemblée Alexandre Portier (LR) a proposé dimanche un amendement au budget actuellement en discussion, pour créer “un fonds d’urgence pour sécuriser le patrimoine national” doté de 50 millions d’euros.bur-sm-mk-fbe/asl/vk