Skimm for October 10th Quote of the day: “The various considerations made the decision to maintain an unchanged pace of asset purchases at this meeting a relatively close call.” — A riveting look at the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s September meeting. The central bank’s officials are still debating whether or not to cut back on its bond-buying program. The Fed is redefining what it means to be prude and will continue to wait until it’s convinced things are looking up. Is there light? THE STORY: There’s still a shutdown. There’s still a threat of default. There’s still no deal, but there’s some talking that’s making people semi-hopeful. In the meantime, there is free Starbucks. Kind of. GIVE IT TO ME STRAIGHT. President Obama and Congress are doing lots of talking to figure out a spending bill to end this shutdown and break a standoff over raising the nation’s borrowing limit. The president is not interested in negotiating on anything until these two things are solved, or at least not with “a gun to [his] head”; House Republicans are not interested in his lack of negotiating. Obama hugged it out with House Democrats yesterday and invited all House Republicans over to his house later today. But only a small number are expected to attend, per leader House Speaker Boehner’s (R-OH) marching orders. Burn. Boehner said he was sending over the small group to find a solution. WHERE’S THAT HOPE? Obama and Republicans are talking. That’s a sign. And there’s a new plan circulating in the House. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), yes that Paul Ryan, sketched out an idea that would end both stalemates, at least temporarily and make some reforms to things like Medicare and Social Security. No mention of Obamacare. Unclear if that’s a sign House Republicans may be shifting away from a key part of their argument. IS OCT. 17th THE NEW RAPTURE? Not totally. The Treasury estimates that Oct. 17th is the deadline to raise the country’s borrowing limit in order to pay the bills it has already racked up. At that point, it will still have about $30 billion on hand, which is sometimes less than the government spends in a day and the government has some big bills due in November. You do the math. The Treasury can’t pay it all and may have to start missing payments. Missing interest payments? B-F-D. And could mean global market meltdown. IS EVERYONE STRESSING?? Not some Republicans, who say that the president, who has called the potential situation catastrophic, should stop scaring the markets. Some are arguing that the key here is priorities — the Treasury can choose to make some payments over others. Critics say that prioritizing is a logistical and legal nightmare; others say there’s a reason why the debt limit has always been raised. theSKIMM: Apparently there’s hope, but there’s no change. But if there was a gold medal in talking, DC would be all over it. REPEAT AFTER ME… What is terrifying… The prime minister of Libya, Ali Zeidan, was kidnapped early Thursday from his home in Tripoli by gunmen, and freed a few hours later. Libya is on the hot seat for last weekend’s US raid to capture a senior al Qaeda militant who was involved in the 1998 US embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. The US says Libya approved the raid, which didn’t go over well with some powerful militant groups. Zeidan’s abduction could have been in retaliation for this, as some say he was taken by former rebels, although another group claiming responsibility says he was ‘arrested’ for harming state security and corruption. What to say when you’ve been on your couch for too long… House arrest is not for me. Pakistan’s former military ruler, Pervez Musharraf, has been on his couch for about six months, since becoming the country’s first former army chief to be arrested. Musharraf returned to Pakistan in March after four years of self-imposed exile just in time for the general election — which it turns out he couldn’t run in because of pending legal issues. Yesterday, Musharraf was granted bail in a case involving the killing of a separatist leader, bringing him one step closer to walking out of the house. The former president also faces charges relating to the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. After the legalese is completed, his lawyers say he is off to Dubai. What to say when your sister asks you to cover her dinner… Only singles until you learn how to govern yourself. The Obama administration is set to suspend a good amount of its military aid to Egypt. This comes after the July ousting of Egypt’s first freely elected leader, Mohamad Morsi, by the military, which led to continuing protests and violence. The US had been giving Egypt around $1.5 billion a year, a large chunk of which goes to the military. The suspension’s goal is to halt deliveries of anything the Egyptian military might use against protesters, but is not meant to disrupt aid targeted at stopping terrorism or defending its neighbor Israel. The plan, which hasn’t been officially announced yet, probably won’t make Egypt happy but really does not make Israel happy. What to say while deciding on dinner… I feel like being a vegetarian tonight. The US Department of Agriculture has threatened to shut down three Foster Farms chicken plants in California, according to NBC News, that are believed to be linked to the salmonella outbreak that began this past March. So far, the outbreak has infected nearly 300 people across 17 states. What goes great with a little salmonella? A government shutdown. The CDC has deemed that 30 of its furloughed employees are, in fact, essential enough to help stop the outbreak. In the meantime, Foster Farms has not recalled any of its products, but has told its consumers to be extra careful when handling their chicken. We’ll keep that in mind.
Posted on: Thu, 10 Oct 2013 10:54:56 +0000