Tag: Billion

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Business

Chinese language electrical automotive start-up Xpeng will get $2 billion in credit score

Chinese electric car start-up Xpeng gets $2 billion in credit

He Xiaopeng, CEO of Xpeng, stands next to the company’s P7 electric sedan speaking to the media at the 2020 Beijing Auto Show.

Evelyn Cheng | CNBC

In July 2020, local branches of four of the “Big Five” banks granted Nio 10.4 billion yuan in loans for the startup’s China activities in Hefei near Shanghai. Participants in this deal included China Construction Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of China and Agricultural Bank of China, according to an announcement by Nio.

In China’s state-dominated system, banks prefer to lend to state-owned companies. This makes it difficult for private companies to obtain funding unless they can convince state banks of their ability to repay loans.

Xpeng’s credit line announcement comes after the company raised more than $ 4 billion last year from its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange in August and a follow-up offering in December.

Shares have risen more than 195% since going public.

Where is the money going?

The start-up did not reveal details of the loan terms on Tuesday. The agreement will help the Guangzhou-based company expand its manufacturing, sales, service and other activities, according to a press release.

Xpeng said it started building a second factory in November. The company opened 116 retail stores and 50 service centers as of September 30. Xpeng announced in September that it was investing in the development of flying vehicles.

Deliveries totaled 27,041 last year, with more than half coming from a new P7 sedan that began mass deliveries in late June. The company added that it shipped 100 units of its G3 SUV to customers in Norway in December.

Although total deliveries have more than doubled compared to the previous year, Xpeng’s numbers fell short of Nio’s more than 43,700 deliveries. Nio’s vehicles have hit the high end of the market while Xpeng’s price range has been lower.

In the past two weeks, both companies have announced plans for new sedans. Nio’s is expected to arrive in the first quarter of next year. Xpeng claims its sedan will be delivered later this year.

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Business

Boeing to pay greater than $2.5 billion to settle prison conspiracy prices over 737 Max

Boeing to pay more than $2.5 billion to settle criminal conspiracy charges over 737 Max

An employee works near a Boeing 737 Max aircraft at the Boeing 737 Max manufacturing facility in Renton, Washington, the United States, on December 16, 2019.

Lindsey Wasson | Reuters

Boeing agreed to pay more than $ 2.5 billion to settle criminal complaints with the U.S. Department of Justice that the company accused of hiding information about its 737 Max plane, which was involved in two crashes the Federal Prosecutor announced on Thursday that 346 people were killed.

Prosecutors said Boeing had “knowingly and intentionally” conspired to defraud the United States by undermining the Federal Aviation Administration’s ability to assess the aircraft’s safety.

Boeing admitted that two 737 aeronautical pilots “fooled” the FAA about the capabilities of a flight control system on the aircraft, software that was later implicated in the two crashes, the Justice Department said. The deferred law enforcement arrangement closes the DOJ’s roughly two-year investigation and drops all charges after three years if there are no additional violations.

The $ 2.51 billion fine consists of a $ 243.6 million fine, a $ 500 million fund for family members of accident victims and $ 1.77 billion for Airline customers. The company said it had incurred a large portion of these costs in previous quarters and expects fourth quarter 2020 earnings to be charged at $ 743.6 million to cover the remainder.

“The tragic crashes of Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 exposed fraudulent and misleading behavior by employees of one of the world’s leading manufacturers of commercial aircraft,” wrote Assistant Attorney General David P. Burns of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division in a release. “Boeing employees chose the win over openness path by hiding essential information about the operation of their 737 Max aircraft from the FAA and trying to cover up their deception.”

The crashes plunged Boeing into its worst crisis ever, sparked the creation of its best-selling aircraft worldwide, conducted numerous investigations and damaged the reputation of one of the largest aircraft manufacturers in the world.

Last month, the FAA approved software and other security changes Boeing had made to the planes and gave airlines permission to fly them again.

The company admitted the wrongdoing and waived a trial under its contract with the DOJ to settle the charges. The agreement also did not include top executives, as the misconduct was neither pervasive nor senior executives.

“This is an essential solution to a very serious matter, and I firmly believe that it is the right thing for us to enter into this resolution – a move that properly recognizes that we have failed to live up to our values ​​and expectations”, said CEO Dave Calhoun in a note to Boeing employees.

Boeing shares fell about 1% after close of trading.

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Business

Nigeria’s $82 billion health-care hole: Buyers stand by

Nigeria's $82 billion health-care gap: Investors stand by

A security guard administers disinfectant to a visitor to a government hospital in Lagos on February 28, 2020.

PIUS UTOMI EKPEI | AFP via Getty Images

The coronavirus pandemic has sharpened the lens of a significant health spending gap in Africa’s largest economy, and international investors are trying to fill the gap.

When it comes to health care, Nigeria lags behind its comparable African neighbors in terms of spending and access.

For example, Nigeria’s public health spending amounts to just 3.89% of GDP (gross domestic product) of $ 495 billion, compared to 8.25% in South Africa and 5.17% in Kenya, according to the latest available figures from the World Bank.

According to a recent report by real estate consultancy Knight Frank, Nigeria, it would take 386,000 additional beds and $ 82 billion of investment in healthcare real estate to hit the global average of 2.7 beds per thousand people.

According to the United Nations, Nigeria’s 206 million population is expected to nearly double by 2050, which would make Nigeria the third most populous country in the world.

All of this – especially in connection with the coronavirus pandemic – has sparked interest in this sector among foreign investors.

A Knight Frank poll of 140 global investors in June found that 80% are considering investing in African healthcare infrastructure in the face of the coronavirus crisis. This interest has mainly focused on hospital-related real estate and operations businesses in collaboration with domestic experts.

As in much of the African continent, Nigeria has managed to keep the number of coronavirus cases relatively low given the size of the population. According to data from Johns Hopkins University, 90,080 cases and 1,311 deaths were recorded on Monday morning.

International interest is growing

Even before the pandemic, African health goods had aroused broader interest. The International Finance Corporation, part of the World Bank, partnered with the Health in Africa-II Investment Fund (IFHA-II) in November 2019 for a US $ 115 million acquisition vehicle for health care companies in the eastern and southern US to form continent.

European development finance organizations such as Swedfund, the Swedish development finance institution, have supported IFHA, along with Pfizer and the Stichting Social Investor Foundation for Africa, whose supporters include Aegon, Heineken, Shell and Unilever.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the Nigerian government has spent 100 billion naira ($ 254.6 million) on government credit facilities for healthcare, from pharmaceutical companies and product manufacturers to service providers, which it seems has piqued the interest of private investors. The Bank of Industry, a Nigerian development finance institution, is providing an additional 50 billion naira.

“There is a very compelling opportunity for the development of world-class healthcare facilities across Africa, particularly in Nigeria,” said Hafeez Giwa, managing partner at HC Capital Properties, which has begun investing in healthcare facilities in Nigeria.

Hafeez Giwa, managing partner at HC Capital Properties, has started investing in Nigeria’s healthcare infrastructure.

New markets media & intelligence

“Most of the public hospitals here were built over 40 years ago and only a handful of investments have been made since then,” Giwa said in a report released Monday by frontier market consultancy New Markets Media & Intelligence.

Tosin Runsewe, CEO of health investment firm AfyACare Nigeria, highlighted another possibility: Compulsory health insurance for federal employees would reduce insurance costs and the percentage of health costs covered could increase to 20% to 30% by 2030.

Currently, around 72% of household health care spending is out of pocket, compared to the sub-Saharan average of 35%, the Knight Frank report points out, and only 5% of health care is insured.

“If we could reach a critical mass of 40 to 60 million Nigerians with health insurance, the cost of this treatment could be covered by health insurance premiums of only about 20,000 naira ($ 50) a year, half the current average cost,” Runsewe said.

“There are a number of opportunities for investors to invest in private primary health clinics that can provide services at affordable costs.”

Commuters wearing a protective face mask walk on the streets of Lagos on March 26, 2020 to take preventive action against the spread of the new coronavirus COVIC-19 in Lagos.

Photo only

According to Giwa, HC Capital Properties invested in Nigeria because of both “extreme needs” and government initiatives that have made it easier to develop high quality assets that provide affordable care. He suggested that two types of investors are currently exploring these options.

“On the one hand, there are local institutional investors and local pension funds who, in the case of Nigeria, are naira investors and have no currency risk concerns,” said Giwa.

“On the flip side, there are developmental investors and institutions that are excited about the prospect of providing quality health care to low- and middle-income Nigerians.”

He believes the pandemic has resulted in a “permanent change in thinking” that places greater emphasis on the quality of home health care.

Currently, Nigeria is losing up to $ 1 billion a year to outbound health tourism among wealthier Nigerians due to inadequate access to the interior, according to a recently released PwC report.

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World News

Home set to vote on overriding Trump veto of $740 billion protection invoice

House set to vote on overriding Trump veto of $740 billion defense bill

The U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, the United States, on Friday, December 18, 2020.

Sarah Silbiger | Bloomberg | Getty Images

WASHINGTON – The House was due to vote Monday on whether to overturn President Donald Trump’s veto of an annual defense spending bill.

An override would be seen as a bipartisan reprimand against the Republican president in the final days of his administration.

The house, led by Spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Will meet at 2 p.m. (CET). The vote to overturn Trump’s rejection of the massive defense law, which authorizes a $ 740 billion spending cap and outlines Pentagon policy, is expected around 5 p.m. If it is passed, the override measure will then go to the Senate.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said his house would vote on lifting the veto on Tuesday.

The bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act of 2021, was passed on December 8 with the support of more than three-quarters of the chamber. A large majority of the GOP-controlled Senate also passed the bill, giving both houses a higher percentage of yes-votes than the two-thirds required to defeat a presidential veto.

The comprehensive defense law is usually passed with strong support from both parties and veto-proof majorities, as it funds America’s national security portfolio. It was legally signed for nearly six consecutive decades.

The passage of the law will at least secure pay increases for soldiers and keep important defense modernization programs going.

Trump offered a number of reasons to oppose this year’s 4,517-page NDAA, questioning the bill as to both what it contains and what is missing.

The president has called for the bill to protect social media companies from the protection of language under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects them from being held liable for what users say on their platforms. Trump, who used Twitter extensively during his presidency, has long accused media companies of bias.

In his veto message to Congress, Trump wrote that the NDAA “has made no significant changes to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.” He called on Congress to lift the measure.

The president previously said the move posed a serious threat to US national security as well as electoral integrity, but gave no further explanation.

Trump’s ally Sen. Lindsey Graham, RS.C., wrote on Twitter that he would not vote to overturn the president’s veto. Graham didn’t vote for the bill for the first time.

Graham, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, passed a law on December 15 that would end Section 230 protection by January 1, 2023.

Categories
Health

Trump’s risk to veto $900 billion Covid reduction invoice places main local weather laws in danger

Trump's threat to veto $900 billion Covid relief bill puts major climate legislation at risk

Patrick Pleul / Image Alliance via Getty Images

President Donald Trump’s opposition to a $ 900 billion coronavirus bailout package, largely passed by U.S. lawmakers late Monday, jeopardizes the first major climate change piece of legislation to have received Congress approval in about a decade.

Trump has threatened a veto of the stimulus package, which includes $ 600 direct checks for individuals and $ 35 billion to fund clean energy projects, and plans to reduce the use of chemicals to warm the planet.

The climate regulations included in the deal come after the Trump administration slashed more than 80 key environmental regulations in four years and just before President-elect Joe Biden took office.

Biden plans to rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement and use executive orders to expose many of Trump’s environmental setbacks. He’s also pushing for a $ 2 trillion plan, which needs Congressional approval, to move the country from fossil fuels to clean energy and green jobs. Trump officially withdrew the country from the Paris Agreement in November.

Although Biden’s legislation is likely to face immense hurdles if the GOP controls the Senate, which will be decided with two crucial runoff elections in Georgia in January, policy experts and environmental groups say the bipartite-backed climate action in the stimulus package signals that Biden can achieve this could make significant strides in combating global warming. It is also a sign that the US will join a wider global effort to reduce fossil fuel emissions to warm the planet.

“The spending bill just passed by Congress, with support from both Democrats and Republicans, points the way ahead,” said Michael Mann, climatologist and professor of atmospheric science at Penn State University. “It’s a positive sign that 2020 could be the year we turned around the corner on climate action in the US.”

The stimulus plan will cut the production and consumption of fluorocarbons (HFCs), which warm the planet, by 85% in the US over a 15 year period.

The ozone-depleting chemicals are often found in air conditioners and refrigerators. While they make up a smaller percentage of greenhouse gas emissions, fluorocarbons pack 1000 times the heat storage capacity of carbon dioxide.

More from CNBC Environment:
Rethinking Stimulus: How Covid’s Economic Recovery Can Combat Climate Change
Biden will rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement. Here’s what happens next

HFCs are used by nations around the world in a targeted manner to curb global warming. In October 2016 in Kigali, Rwanda, a landmark agreement was reached by delegates from 197 nations around the world to phase out HFCs.

So far 72 countries have ratified the Kigali Agreement. Despite the support of US manufacturers and chemical companies, the Trump administration did not accept the pact and instead proposed to reset the Obama-era standards to reduce the use of HFCs.

The stimulus package also includes bipartisan renewable energy legislation, which will provide approximately $ 35 billion in government funding for clean energy projects.

“This bill is the most important step we have taken to improve the climate of this Congress, and its passage is strong evidence that both parties support cooperation in creating climate solutions and investing in advanced energy technologies, while at the same time the our country’s most vulnerable citizens are cared for, “Senator Chris Coons, D-Del. said in a statement earlier this week.

The legislation includes tax credits for solar and wind power that would fuel Biden’s plan to have a carbon-free electricity sector by 2035. The broader bill also includes investments for more sustainable transport and re-approves a program that provides funding for low-income homeowners to upgrade equipment, heat pumps and other household items to clean energy products.

The stimulus package also includes measures to capture and store carbon from production and power plants, reduce diesel emissions from some vehicles, and finance oil exploration projects.

“Congress has made an unprecedented downside to tackling climate change in this legislation by agreeing to phase out effective HFCs, invest in renewables and extend much-needed tax incentives for wind and solar,” said Grant Carlisle, senior Policy Advisor at Natural Resource Defense Council.

“But that’s just a start,” said Carlisle. “In order to cope with the climate crisis, the federal government must accelerate its efforts to convert our economy to clean energy and away from dirty fossil fuels.”

Categories
Politics

Trump vetoes $740 billion NDAA protection invoice

Trump vetoes $740 billion NDAA defense bill

President Donald Trump listens during a White House video conference call with military personnel on November 26, 2020.

Erin Schaff | The New York Times | Bloomberg | Getty Images

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump on Wednesday vetoed the comprehensive defense bill, which authorizes a $ 740 billion ceiling on spending and outlines Pentagon policy.

“Unfortunately, the law lacks critical national security measures, contains provisions that our veterans and our military history disregard, and contradicts my administration’s efforts to put America first in our national security and foreign policies,” Trump wrote in a long statement to Congress.

“It is a ‘gift’ to China and Russia,” added the president, without giving any specific details.

Earlier this month, the National Defense Authorization Act passed both Houses of Congress with veto-proof margins, meaning any veto by Trump would likely be overridden.

Congress must now vote again to override Trump. The house is expected to return from a vacation break on Monday, and Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell said his chamber would vote on lifting the veto on Tuesday.

This year’s 4,517-page defense law, which is usually passed with strong support from both parties and veto-proof majorities, finances America’s national security portfolio. It was legally signed for nearly six consecutive decades.

The passage of the law will at least secure pay increases for soldiers and keep important defense modernization programs going.

“Donald Trump has just vetoed a raise for our troops so he can defend dead Confederate traitors,” Senator Chuck Schumer wrote on Twitter, highlighting one of Trump’s problems with the must-pass defense law.

“The Democrats will vote for it,” added Schumer.

“Worryingly, Trump is using his final hours in office to sow chaos, including denying our service members a long overdue raise and risk levy; our families paid family vacations, childcare, shelter and health and our veterans the benefits they need and deserve.” House spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi wrote in a statement.

“Next week, on December 28th, the House, with the support of both parties, will override the veto,” she wrote.

Other senior democratic lawmakers also criticized Trump.

“The Kremlin is actively attacking our cyber networks. Instead of advocating our national security, the president is playing down Russia’s involvement – which contradicts the US secret service – and has now only vetoed laws that contain actionable points we can hold Putin accountable for this kind of belligerent behavior, “Senator Jeanne Shaheen, DN.H., a senior member of the Senate Armed Forces Committee, wrote in a statement.

“This is not about politics, this is about the security of the United States and the safety of our men and women in uniform,” added Shaheen.

Senator Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Wrote in a statement that he was speechless following Trump’s decision to withhold signature on the NDAA.

“Immediately after what is possibly the most massive cyber attack in our country’s history, the President will remove the new instruments and authorities that we need for our country’s cyber defense,” wrote Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Armed Forces Committee.

“I urge Republican colleagues not just to speak up, but to stand up and look forward to a strong, bipartisan vote,” he added.

Trump’s ally Sen. Lindsey Graham, RS.C., wrote on Twitter that he would not vote to overturn the president’s veto. Graham didn’t vote for the bill for the first time.

Graham, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, passed a law on December 15 that would end the protection of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act by January 1, 2023. Section 230 protects technology giants like Facebook and Twitter from being legally liable for what is published on their platforms.

Trump threatened to veto the mammoth defense law earlier this month if lawmakers failed to take action to remove Section 230.

He has repeatedly accused Twitter, his favorite social media platform, of unfairly censoring him.

Trump renewed the threat on Thursday.

In his message to Congress, Trump wrote that the NDAA “made no significant changes to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.” He called on Congress to lift the measure.

The president previously said the move posed a serious threat to US national security as well as electoral integrity, but gave no further explanation. Trump has also claimed that the bill is in favor of China.

The President’s problem with Section 230 came to light this summer after Twitter added warnings to several of its tweets that alleged mail-in polls were fraudulent. Trump has still not granted election as President-elect Joe Biden.

The NDAA in its current form does not include any Section 230 action.

Legislators on both sides of the aisle have pushed back Trump’s 11th hour demand, stating that the repeal of Section 230 is irrelevant to the passage of the Pentagon’s top bill.

“”[Section] 230 has nothing to do with the military, “James Inhofe, chairman of the Senate Armed Forces Committee, R-Okla., Told reporters on December 2nd.” I agree with his views that we should get rid of 230 – but you can’t do it on this bill, “added Inhofe, an ally of Trump.

On the same day, John Thune, RS.D., the Senate majority whip said, “I don’t think the Defense Act is the place to sue the fight against Section 230,” according to The Hill.

Trump has also insisted that the Defense Spending Act include language that prevents military bases from being renamed to commemorate numbers from the Confederate era.

The Republican-led Senate Armed Forces Committee approved a ruling by Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. That summer urging the Pentagon to rename military assets named after symbols of the Confederation, the group of states made up of the United States separated and fought the union in civil war.

Trump rejected the idea in a multi-part Twitter post in June, claiming that the Confederate names of the bases have become part of the nation’s great “legacy”.

“It has been suggested that up to 10 of our legendary military bases be renamed, such as Fort Bragg in North Carolina, Fort Hood in Texas, Fort Benning in Georgia, etc. These monumental and very powerful bases are part of a great American heritage and a history of winning, victory and freedom, “wrote Trump on Twitter.

“The United States of America trained and deployed our HEROES in these sacred fields and won two world wars. Therefore, my administration will not even consider renaming these great and fabulous military facilities,” the president wrote.

– CNBC’s Kevin Breuninger contributed to this report.

Categories
Entertainment

Stimulus Provides $15 Billion in Reduction for Struggling Arts Venues

Stimulus Offers $15 Billion in Relief for Struggling Arts Venues

For music venue owners, theater producers and cultural institutions who have suffered without a business from the pandemic, the coronavirus aid package agreed by Congress leaders this week finally offers the prospect of help: it includes $ 15 billion to help them cope helping a crisis that has shut theaters and silenced halls.

The money, part of a $ 900 billion coronavirus aid package, is set to help the cultural sector – from pub rock clubs to Broadway theaters and museums – survive. Many small business owners cited it as their last hope of staying in business after nearly a year of drought.

“This is what our industry needs to get through,” said Dayna Frank, owner of First Avenue, a famous Minneapolis music club. She is also the chairman of the board of the National Independent Venue Association, which was formed in April and which has aggressively engaged Congress to facilitate its more than 3,000 members.

When the news of the deal broke on Sunday night, a collective sigh of relief rebounded through group text messages and social media posts. “Last night was the first time I smiled in nine months,” said Ms. Frank.

Broadway theaters, which have been closed since March, welcomed the aid package.

“We are grateful for this bipartisan agreement, which is immediate relief and a lifeline for our industry for the future,” said Charlotte St. Martin, president of the Broadway League, the trade organization for producers and theater owners, in a statement.

Nataki Garrett, the artistic director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, said helping nonprofit theaters is vital. “Our situation was critical and dire,” she said.

However, those in charge of some large nonprofit cultural organizations feared that the way the bill is structured, giving precedence to organizations that have lost a very high percentage of their revenue before considering the rest, are pushing them to the background for scholarships As this is usually the case, you could receive a significant portion of the income through donations.

With the bill scheduled for approval by both houses of Congress on Monday evening, art groups across the country cautiously celebrated while studying the fine print to see what kind of help they might qualify for. Most doubt that the entertainment industry will not be able to get back into action until well into next year at the earliest.

The bill allows independent entertainment companies such as music venues and cinemas, as well as other cultural institutions, to apply for grants from the Small Business Administration to support six-month payments to employees, as well as costs such as rent, supplies, and maintenance. Applicants must have lost at least 25 percent of their sales to qualify, and those who have lost more than 90 percent can apply first within the first two weeks of the law going into effect.

Updated

Apr. 21, 2020, 4:40 pm ET

The grants are capped at $ 10 million.

The core of these provisions was proposed in the Senate in July by Amy Klobuchar, Democrat of Minnesota and John Cornyn, Republican of Texas. As the relief efforts in Washington wore off for months, venues and institutions began to lose. According to the independent venue association, at least 300 music spots have been closed since the beginning of the pandemic.

Senator Klobuchar certified that the event groups were tirelessly campaigning to convince members of the Congress of their economic and cultural value to local communities.

“It was the basic efforts of musicians, theaters and fans across the country,” said Ms. Klobuchar in an interview on Monday. “And it was the fact that the coalition stuck together. You didn’t fight. “

The pandemic forced small music venues and nonprofit theaters – usually strangers to Washington – to learn the art of lobbying. The owners talked about the elbow grease they put into building their business, the added value to local communities through tourism and hospitality, and the historical role arts organizations have played in revitalizing the tainted corridors of urban America.

The idea that cultural groups are suffering in every corner of the country helped this part of the overall relief package gain broad support from both parties.

In addition to theaters and museums, talent agents and managers can also apply for relief under the law. The bill would restrict listed companies and other large companies.

“I wanted to make sure that the ticketmasters of the world didn’t benefit from it,” said Ms. Klobuchar.

Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader in the Senate, was an aggressive advocate of cultural relief – he wore a mask that read “Save Our Stages” during the last Capitol Hill negotiations last week – with a special focus on groups in New, of course York, including Broadway theaters.

“It wasn’t just Broadway,” said Mr Schumer in an interview. “Rather, it was the independent venues that were the lifeblood of New York. Young people come to New York, and that’s one of the reasons they come – to cities in general, not just New York. “

“The non-profit and artistic world is very important to the economy of cities,” he added. “People forget that.”

For some of the help-out mom and pop operators, the process has been a do-or-die necessity, albeit a confusing one.

“We used to call managers and agents to book talent,” said Chris Bauman of Zenith Music Group, which operates a handful of Chicago venues. “Now we’ve been thrown into this crazy world of politics. Eighty hours a week of zooms with mayors, senators, and congressmen. “

“It shows that there is a way to do this,” added Bauman, fighting back tears. “Not to be left behind.”

Sarah Bahr contributed to the reporting.

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Business

Congress Strikes Lengthy-Sought Stimulus Deal to Present $900 Billion in Support

Congress Strikes Long-Sought Stimulus Deal to Provide $900 Billion in Aid

WASHINGTON – Congressional leaders reached an agreement on Sunday on a $ 900 billion stimulus package that will provide direct payments and unemployment aid to struggling Americans, as well as much-needed funding for small businesses, hospitals, schools and vaccine distribution The pandemic-ravaged economy is overcoming the months-long stalemate in a strengthening measure.

Kentucky Republican Senator and majority leader Senator Mitch McConnell announced the deal on Sunday night in the Senate, stating, “We can finally report what our nation has heard for a long time: More aid is on the way. ”

The deal, which came after a renewed spate of talks broke a partisan backlog that had lasted since the summer, came hours before the federal government ran out of funds. According to the draft, it should be merged with a major global spending measure that will fund the government for the remainder of the fiscal year, creating a $ 2.3 trillion giant that will be the final big act of Congress before passing for the year is adjourned.

Even so, Congress was at the height of its dysfunction despite preparing to pass a follow-up, given so little time to complete it that lawmakers were exposed to a series of biases to get them across the finish line . Given the additional time it took to turn their agreement into law, both chambers were expected to approve a one-day emergency spending bill later on Sunday – their third temporary extension in the past 10 days – to allow the government to shut down during the close of the Avoid contract.

The House was able to vote on the final package of spending on Monday, and the Senate should follow shortly afterwards.

While the text was not immediately available, the agreement was supposed to provide for $ 600 stimulus payments to American adults and children, and revive the federal additional $ 300 per week unemployment benefit – half of the aid provided by the US $ 2.2 trillion economic stimulus bill passed in March The devastating health and economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic was just coming into focus.

It would renew two federal unemployment programs that add to the regular benefits and would have expired next week without action from Congress. The deal will most likely provide rental and food aid, billions of dollars for schools and small businesses, and revitalize the Paycheck Protection Program, a federal loan program that expired earlier this year.

Updated

Apr. 20, 2020, 5:07 pm ET

In particular, the final compromise lacked the two most difficult political obstacles that had stood in the way for months. To get a deal just before Christmas and allow Congress to adjourn, Republicans agreed to drop comprehensive coronavirus liability coverage and Democrats agreed to ditch a direct stream of aid to state and local governments.

While the deal represented a triumphant moment in talks that had long stalled, it was far tighter than the one the Democrats had long insisted on and almost twice as large as any Republicans ever had in the days leading up to the deal had accepted the November election. Democrats had refused for months to scale back their demands for a multitrillion dollar package, citing the devastating number of the virus, and Republicans cracked down on another large infusion of federal aid, indicating the growing deficit.

Alluding to conservative concerns about the overall price of a package, legislation is expected to recycle more than $ 500 billion previously allocated under previous stimulus packages, McConnell said.

But in the end, the key breakthrough came just before midnight on Saturday when Republicans abandoned efforts to ban the Federal Reserve from setting up certain emergency loan programs to stabilize the economy in the future.

Pennsylvania Republican Senator Patrick J. Toomey made a last-minute push to prevent the Fed and the Treasury Department from setting up a loan program similar to the one launched earlier this year that helped boost lending to community, corporate and medium-sized companies continue to flow to business borrowers in times of crisis. After a series of talks between him and New York Senator Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader, the agreed alternative would only ban programs that were more or less exact imitators of those that were newly hired in 2020.

At nearly $ 1 trillion, the package was one of the largest federal relief efforts in American history. The resulting compromise, however, fell far short of what most economists believed necessary to shake the shuddering economy and would give President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr., who pushed for the compromise, the task of unifying Another important industry to look for aid package when he takes office in January.

The relief plan is combined with a total spending bill of $ 1.4 trillion. Includes the 12 annual budget bills to fund all federal ministry and Social Security Network programs, plus a number of legislators that are annexed to lawmakers to ensure their priorities can be set before Congress adjourns the year.

Mr McConnell said the two parties were still finalizing the text for dinner in Washington, and he did not say when they would officially introduce or put any bill to the vote.

“I’m confident we can do this as soon as possible,” said McConnell.

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Business

COVAX international Covid vaccine program secures almost 2 billion doses for UNICEF distribution

COVAX global Covid vaccine program secures nearly 2 billion doses for UNICEF distribution

A pharmacist prepares a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine on Wednesday, December 16, 2020 at the UCI Medical Center in Orange, California, United States.

Bing Guan | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The global alliance, which aims to provide coronavirus vaccines to poor nations, announced Friday that it has supply agreements to provide nearly 2 billion doses and could ship them in the first quarter of its approval.

There are 190 countries and territories participating in COVAX, which is jointly managed by the World Health Organization Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation. The facility said it could secure the cans through additional supply agreements with AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson.

COVAX plans to begin first shipments in the first quarter of 2021, when the drugs are approved. Enough doses should be given in the first half of next year to protect health and social workers in participating economies, the Alliance said. COVAX plans to ship at least 1.3 billion doses to 92 low and middle-income countries that will participate in the facility sometime next year.

“The arrival of vaccines gives us all a glimpse into the light at the end of the tunnel,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, in a statement. “But we will only really end the pandemic if we end it everywhere at the same time. That means that it is important to vaccinate some people in all countries, rather than all people in some countries.”

UNICEF announced on Friday that up to 850 tons of Covid-19 vaccines per month could be shipped to middle- to low-income countries over the next year. Commercial airlines will be able to deliver the vaccines to almost all of the 92 countries participating in COVAX, a UNICEF statement said.

The United Nations Children’s Fund is a United Nations agency that provides humanitarian aid to children around the world. UNICEF will work with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to coordinate vaccine procurement and support dispensing of the doses, said Gavi.

The humanitarian organization said the shots will likely be shipped primarily via existing passenger and cargo flights, although some charter flights or alternative modes of transportation will be required for hard-to-reach countries.

However, the world’s poorest countries are still facing a budget gap of $ 133 million for the distribution and storage of the cans, UNICEF said. According to the organization, which assesses global air cargo capacity and routes, the airline’s deliveries would cost the airline up to an estimated $ 70 million.

Countries will face additional challenges once the cans arrive, UNICEF said.

The temperature requirements for the vaccines being developed are range and require cold chain supply lines, trained medical staff and stronger contact efforts, said Henrietta Fore, executive director at UNICEF, in a statement released Friday.

“This is a mammoth and historic endeavor,” Fore said in a statement. “The scale of the task is huge and the stakes have never been higher, but we are ready to take on this.”

UNICEF said it would take $ 410 million to help countries deliver the vaccines and purchase therapeutic drugs and diagnostic tools over the next year. Funding has been a problem for the COVAX facility, which according to a Reuters report on Wednesday, citing internal documents, faces a “very high” risk of default due to lack of funds, delivery risks and complex contractual arrangements.

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Congressional Leaders Work to finalize a $900 Billion Stimulus Deal

Congressional Leaders Work to finalize a $900 Billion Stimulus Deal

The Senators broke a dead end late Saturday night in efforts by Republicans to curtail the powers of the Federal Reserve and cleared the final hurdle to a $ 900 billion economic compromise deal when lawmakers against a Sunday night deadline inaugurated Avoid a government shutdown.

Pennsylvania Republican Senator Patrick J. Toomey agreed to narrow his efforts to contain the central bank, according to three advisors familiar with the discussion. All three helpers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, found that the exact language was still to be determined.

The deal marked a critical breakthrough for lawmakers struggling to complete the contingency plan to expedite direct payments, unemployment benefits, and food and rental benefits to millions of Americans struggling financially during the coronavirus pandemic, as well as businesses and funding for vaccines to relieve distribution. While the negotiators fought over a number of minor issues, the language of the Federal Reserve had emerged as the greatest obstacle to a final settlement.

“If things continue on this path and nothing stands in the way, we can vote tomorrow,” Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and minority leader, told reporters as he left the Capitol shortly before midnight. “House and Senate.”

The breakthrough came when a CDC panel approved a second vaccine from Moderna and the country was again presented with a vivid reminder of the urgent need for vaccines: the record number of over 251,000 new coronavirus cases on Friday, nearly double the 128,000 People who had been vaccinated in the US as of Friday, according to a New York Times database that tracks vaccinations. Officials warn that hospitals, which now have almost 114,000 Covid 19 patients, could soon be overwhelmed.

Mr Toomey had tried to prevent the Fed and Finance departments from setting up a loan program similar to the one launched earlier this year that has helped maintain the flow of credit to corporate, community and medium-sized business borrowers during the pandemic recession.

The agreed alternative, which is offered by Mr. Schumer and will be worked out on Saturday around midnight, would, according to the employees familiar with the process, only exclude programs that were more or less exact imitators of the programs newly discontinued in 2020.

“We are within reach,” said spokeswoman Nancy Pelosi on Saturday in a conference call privately to the House Democrats. But she said Mr. Toomey’s late calls to contain the Fed slowed the process.

President Trump, who has been largely absent from the economic talks in recent weeks, punished Congress shortly after midnight on Sunday.

“Why isn’t Congress giving our people an incentive?” Mr Trump said on Twitter. “Get it done and give them more money on direct payments.”

The nascent deal would send direct payments of $ 600 to many Americans and allow improved payments for the unemployed of $ 300 per week by spring. It would also allocate hundreds of billions of dollars to shore up small businesses, schools and other institutions struggling amid the pandemic.

Legislators and advisers from both parties admitted that the Fed’s ruling was the biggest hurdle to a final settlement, although negotiators were still haggling over a number of salient technical details, including the provision of food aid and the level of unemployment benefits.

As the state funds expire on Sunday and both chambers are hoping to combine the stimulus package with an overall measure to cover all federal spending for the rest of the financial year, the time for a solution has become shorter and shorter.

Without action by Congress, two programs to expand and improve unemployment benefits will expire in the coming days, leaving approximately 12 million Americans with no federal support. A number of other benefits expire at the end of the year.