Any kind of protectionism is going to be harmful for the world economy, a top official of Honeywell International, a Fortune 100 Global diversified technology and manufacturing firm, said on Thursday.
"Any kind of protectionism in India or China or elsewhere is very harmful or worrisome for the global economy", said David Cote, Honeywell's Chairman and CEO, reacting to US President Barack Obama's
announcement about end of tax incentives to companies which create jobs overseas in places like Bangalore.
" I am not against creating jobs anywhere. I do know that anything that stops globalisation activity, any protectionism will be very harmful", he told reporters here.
"A great number of businesses would be seeing protectionism as negative, as bad. And I do hope that people in the Congress (US Congress) realise that you can't love jobs and hate people who create them", he said.
He said Honeywell's new "green diesel" has already been used in test flights in New Zealand.
"The green diesel, which is a drop-in diesel, which can be made from plants like algae has already flown test flights in New Zealand", he said to a query on the firm's speciality materials business.
"We have also come up with a new fertiliser called Ammonium Sulphate Nitrate", he said.
Agencies
Showing posts with label congress. Show all posts
Showing posts with label congress. Show all posts
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
US Financial bailout may top $1 trillion
The Obama administration said Tuesday its new plan for rescuing America's crippled banking and financial sectors could top $1 trillion in a complex formula of cash infusions from government and the private sector.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner revealed the massive rescue effort just hours after President Barack Obama said at his first White House news conference that Congress risked turning ``a crisis into a catastrophe'' if it fails to approve a separate $800-plus billion economic stimulus program. The plan has faced stiff opposition from Republican lawmakers.
The new financial bailout plan brought forward by Geithner grows out of a $700 billion rescue program put in place in October, under the Bush administration, as the depth of the country's critical financial sector troubles surfaced with a collapse of the housing market.
``Right now critical parts of our financial system are damaged,'' Geithner said in unveiling the new plan. ``Instead of catalyzing recovery, the financial system is working against recovery and that's the dangerous dynamic we need to change.''
Half of the bailout money was allocated by former President George W. Bush's administration, but that spending has come under heavy criticism for a lack of transparency and the failure of banks to put the money into the frozen credit market.
The second half of the $700 billion is now in the hands of the Obama administration, which plans to greatly expand the effort to unclog credit markets that provide loans to consumers and businesses. Funding for this effort would see a huge increase from $20 billion up to $100 billion, according to administration officials.
If a total of $100 billion from the bailout fund was used, it would be enough to support an additional $1 trillion in lending support through a Federal Reserve program that was announced in November but has yet to begin operations.
The administration also announced that the program would be expanded beyond consumer and small business loans to provide aid to the troubled commercial real estate sector.
The administration also announced a program to create a partnership between the government and the private sector to get private investors to buy bad assets that are currently weighing down the balance sheets of banks. Congressional aides who were briefed on this plan said that Treasury officials said it could involve between $250 billion and $500 billion in government support.
As Geithner put forward the new bailout package, the Senate, despite nearly unanimous Republican opposition, was expected to approve a $838 billion stimulus bill later Tuesday. Senate approval would set the stage for possibly contentious negotiations with the House on a final compromise on legislation. Congressional leaders hope to get the bill to Obama's desk in a few days.
Obama defended the stimulus plan in his press conference Monday night, saying the federal government ``is the only entity left with the resources to jolt our economy back to life.''
``The plan is not perfect,'' the president said. ``No plan is. I can't tell you for sure that everything in this plan will work exactly as we hope, but I can tell you with complete confidence that a failure to act will only deepen this crisis as well as the pain felt by millions of Americans.''
Obama goes to Fort Myers, Florida, a metropolitan area among the hardest-hit by mortgage foreclosures, for another town-hall meeting Tuesday like the one he held Monday in Elkhart, Indiana, to promote his economic plan.
Just three weeks after his inauguration was celebrated jubilantly around the world, Obama has run into the jarring difficulties of governing. He failed to win over the Republicans he courted for his economic plan. Some of his supporters have wondered if he has yielded too much ground in the pursuit of bipartisanship.
Yet Obama's approval ratings remain high — 67 per cent according to a Gallup Organization poll released Monday. He is trying to tap into that popularity to win public and congressional support for his economic recovery plan as the country faces its worst economic crisis in 80 years.
``This is not your ordinary, run-of-the-mill recession,'' Obama said in his address Monday night, issuing a dire warning of the consequences if Congress fails to agree on a stimulus package. He cited Japan's failure to take bold actions in time to reverse a recession that turned the 1990s into a ``lost decade'' with no economic growth.
Despite painting a dire picture of the American economy, Obama said the US could well be in better shape by next year, as measured by increased hiring, lending, home values and other factors.
``If we get things right, then, starting next year, we can start seeing significant improvement,'' Obama said.
Agencies
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner revealed the massive rescue effort just hours after President Barack Obama said at his first White House news conference that Congress risked turning ``a crisis into a catastrophe'' if it fails to approve a separate $800-plus billion economic stimulus program. The plan has faced stiff opposition from Republican lawmakers.
The new financial bailout plan brought forward by Geithner grows out of a $700 billion rescue program put in place in October, under the Bush administration, as the depth of the country's critical financial sector troubles surfaced with a collapse of the housing market.
``Right now critical parts of our financial system are damaged,'' Geithner said in unveiling the new plan. ``Instead of catalyzing recovery, the financial system is working against recovery and that's the dangerous dynamic we need to change.''
Half of the bailout money was allocated by former President George W. Bush's administration, but that spending has come under heavy criticism for a lack of transparency and the failure of banks to put the money into the frozen credit market.
The second half of the $700 billion is now in the hands of the Obama administration, which plans to greatly expand the effort to unclog credit markets that provide loans to consumers and businesses. Funding for this effort would see a huge increase from $20 billion up to $100 billion, according to administration officials.
If a total of $100 billion from the bailout fund was used, it would be enough to support an additional $1 trillion in lending support through a Federal Reserve program that was announced in November but has yet to begin operations.
The administration also announced that the program would be expanded beyond consumer and small business loans to provide aid to the troubled commercial real estate sector.
The administration also announced a program to create a partnership between the government and the private sector to get private investors to buy bad assets that are currently weighing down the balance sheets of banks. Congressional aides who were briefed on this plan said that Treasury officials said it could involve between $250 billion and $500 billion in government support.
As Geithner put forward the new bailout package, the Senate, despite nearly unanimous Republican opposition, was expected to approve a $838 billion stimulus bill later Tuesday. Senate approval would set the stage for possibly contentious negotiations with the House on a final compromise on legislation. Congressional leaders hope to get the bill to Obama's desk in a few days.
Obama defended the stimulus plan in his press conference Monday night, saying the federal government ``is the only entity left with the resources to jolt our economy back to life.''
``The plan is not perfect,'' the president said. ``No plan is. I can't tell you for sure that everything in this plan will work exactly as we hope, but I can tell you with complete confidence that a failure to act will only deepen this crisis as well as the pain felt by millions of Americans.''
Obama goes to Fort Myers, Florida, a metropolitan area among the hardest-hit by mortgage foreclosures, for another town-hall meeting Tuesday like the one he held Monday in Elkhart, Indiana, to promote his economic plan.
Just three weeks after his inauguration was celebrated jubilantly around the world, Obama has run into the jarring difficulties of governing. He failed to win over the Republicans he courted for his economic plan. Some of his supporters have wondered if he has yielded too much ground in the pursuit of bipartisanship.
Yet Obama's approval ratings remain high — 67 per cent according to a Gallup Organization poll released Monday. He is trying to tap into that popularity to win public and congressional support for his economic recovery plan as the country faces its worst economic crisis in 80 years.
``This is not your ordinary, run-of-the-mill recession,'' Obama said in his address Monday night, issuing a dire warning of the consequences if Congress fails to agree on a stimulus package. He cited Japan's failure to take bold actions in time to reverse a recession that turned the 1990s into a ``lost decade'' with no economic growth.
Despite painting a dire picture of the American economy, Obama said the US could well be in better shape by next year, as measured by increased hiring, lending, home values and other factors.
``If we get things right, then, starting next year, we can start seeing significant improvement,'' Obama said.
Agencies
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Has US economy sunk deeper into recession?
Bleak housing data showed the United States and Britain were sinking deeper into recession and authorities from Washington to Tokyo worked hard to spend their way out of the worst downturn in decades.
Japan's government on Wednesday approved its biggest-ever budget to revive its economy while US President-elect Barack Obama sought to clinch a deal with congressional lawmakers on a massive stimulus package even before the Christmas Day.
"Japan cannot avoid the tsunami of the world recession, but it can try to find a way out," Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso said announcing the budget.
"The world economy is in a once-in-a-hundred years recession. We need extraordinary measures to deal with an extraordinary situation," he said.
A record drop in U.S. existing home sales and prices last month reported on Tuesday showed the world's biggest economy was on track for what one Federal Reserve official said could be the longest downturn since the World War Two. Housing is at the root of the U.S. slump and the global malaise and economists expect the economy to decline much more in the current quarter after a 0.5 percent contraction in the third quarter. Britain, the world's fifth-largest economy, is in an equally dire shape.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said house prices were set to fall by 10 percent next year, confirming the bleak outlook after Tuesday's data showed the economy shrinking by 0.6 percent in the third quarter.
The relentless flow of bad news overshadowed rescue efforts and prompted a warning from European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet that investors could be overlooking the importance of steps already taken by policymakers.
Japan had its share of gloom this week, reporting a record drop in exports -- the mainstay of an economy dogged by weak consumer spending -- and a similarly sharp collapse in business sentiment.
RECORD BUDGET FOR JAPAN
Grim data and warnings from the central bank that the worst may not be over fanned expectations that it will cut its key rate to zero from 0.1 percent and revive a policy of flooding banks with interest free cash it abandoned just two years ago.
Doing its part, Japan's cabinet approved a record 88.5 trillion yen ($980.6 billion) budget for the next fiscal year starting in April. The plan boosts overall spending, excluding debt servicing costs, by 9 percent compared to this year's initial budget and aims to accommodate part of 12 trillion yen in extra spending on government stimulus packages.
Source: Agencies
Japan's government on Wednesday approved its biggest-ever budget to revive its economy while US President-elect Barack Obama sought to clinch a deal with congressional lawmakers on a massive stimulus package even before the Christmas Day.
"Japan cannot avoid the tsunami of the world recession, but it can try to find a way out," Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso said announcing the budget.
"The world economy is in a once-in-a-hundred years recession. We need extraordinary measures to deal with an extraordinary situation," he said.
A record drop in U.S. existing home sales and prices last month reported on Tuesday showed the world's biggest economy was on track for what one Federal Reserve official said could be the longest downturn since the World War Two. Housing is at the root of the U.S. slump and the global malaise and economists expect the economy to decline much more in the current quarter after a 0.5 percent contraction in the third quarter. Britain, the world's fifth-largest economy, is in an equally dire shape.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said house prices were set to fall by 10 percent next year, confirming the bleak outlook after Tuesday's data showed the economy shrinking by 0.6 percent in the third quarter.
The relentless flow of bad news overshadowed rescue efforts and prompted a warning from European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet that investors could be overlooking the importance of steps already taken by policymakers.
Japan had its share of gloom this week, reporting a record drop in exports -- the mainstay of an economy dogged by weak consumer spending -- and a similarly sharp collapse in business sentiment.
RECORD BUDGET FOR JAPAN
Grim data and warnings from the central bank that the worst may not be over fanned expectations that it will cut its key rate to zero from 0.1 percent and revive a policy of flooding banks with interest free cash it abandoned just two years ago.
Doing its part, Japan's cabinet approved a record 88.5 trillion yen ($980.6 billion) budget for the next fiscal year starting in April. The plan boosts overall spending, excluding debt servicing costs, by 9 percent compared to this year's initial budget and aims to accommodate part of 12 trillion yen in extra spending on government stimulus packages.
Source: Agencies
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