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President Obama proposal to cut the deficit by $3 trillion
President Obama unveiled his plan Monday morning to cut the federal deficit by more than $3 trillion. He wants is proposing to use entitlement cuts, tax increases and war savings to reduce the federal deficit by more than $3 trillion over the next 10 years.
The plan, which President Obama discussed Monday, is the administration's opening move in sweeping negotiations on deficit reduction to be taken up by a joint House-Senate committee over the next two months. If a deal is not enacted by Dec. 23, cuts could take effect automatically across government agencies.
The plan call for $1.5 trillion in tax increases, primarily on the wealthy, through a combination of letting the Bush-era tax cuts expire, closing loopholes and limiting the amount that high earners can deduct. The proposal also includes $580 billion in adjustments to health and entitlement programs, including $248 billion to Medicare and $72 billion to Medicaid. Administration officials said that the Medicare cuts would not come from an increase in the Medicare eligibility age.
Senior administration said that the plan also counts a savings of $1.1 trillion from the ending of the American combat mission in Iraq and the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan. New York Times
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Home sales, construction at a crawl pace this summer
Purchases of previously owned U.S. homes in August probably held close to the weakest level this year and construction dropped to a three-month low as the industry showed few signs of emerging from its slump, economists said before reports due this week.
Existing-home sales rose 1.7% to a 4.75-million annual rate from an eight-month low in July, according to the median projection of 59 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News before a National Association of Realtors report on Wednesday. Housing starts dropped 2.3%, economists forecast Commerce Department data will show a day earlier.
Limited employment, declining property values and mounting foreclosures remain hurdles for builders like Hovnanian Enterprises, thwarting a sustained rebound in residential real estate. Federal Reserve officials meet this week to discuss whether additional measures are needed to help revive the recovery and a languishing job market. Free Press
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Citigroup cancels $170bn project in UAE
Citigroup has revealed in a report that the UAE cancelled and delayed construction projects worth $170bn in August, Reuters has reported. The report has shown that the UAE makes up 56% of the Middle East's total cancelled and delayed projects. The cancellations are an increase of 13% since July.
Saudi Electric to sign $2.85bn power plant deal
State-controlled Saudi Electricity Co (SEC) will sign a SR10.7 billion ($2.85 billion) power deal with a consortium that includes South Korea's Samsung for construction of the Qurayyah plant, it said on Monday.
Al-Qurayyah, south of the eastern city of Khobar, would have a power generation capacity of around 3900 megawatts (MW), SEC said, adding it plans to sign the deal on Wednesday.
The plant is the third of the six planned Independent Power Projects (PPP, which involves the private sector and that would add around 11,000 megawatts of capacity in the kingdom.
Saudi Electricity will buy all the power produced by the plant from the winning consortium, which will run it on a build-own-operate basis.
The consortium also includes Acwa Power Projects Ltd and Mena Fund. The plant is expected to start production before the summer of 2014, SEC said. - Reuters
Hunting for rebuilding projects in Arab States
AMMAN - The Architects/Engineers Business Council launched on Sunday a market intelligence unit (MIU) to look for project opportunities in Arab states that require rebuilding.
The local firms will need detailed information on regional and world markets to recognize opportunities and risks.
The MIU provides information and analyses on current and future markets to advise businesses on risks and opportunities and provide them with cost-effective data, according to the unit's coordinator Alaa Al Fahom.
The unit will provide reports, fact sheets and research on export markets.
The MIU, which is supported by the European Union, the United States Agency for International Development and JEDCO, will also provide services through its website.
Founded in 2004 by seven architectural and engineering consulting firms, the Architects/Engineers Business Council is a private, non-governmental and not-for-profit professional association that currently includes 31 consultancy firms.
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