National budgets

A man walks past a banner showing Saudi King Salman, right, and his Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, outside a mall in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, Saturday, March 7, 2020. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
March 19, 2020 - 3:57 am

Saudi Arabia to slash spending by 5% as oil prices fall

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia said the government will cut spending by 5%, or about $13.3 billion, to offset the impact of plunging oil prices and the effects of the new coronavirus on its economic outlook and deficit. In a statement carried by the state-run Saudi Press Agency...
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Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, centre, stands outside No 11 Downing Street and holds up the traditional red box that contains the budget speech for the media, he will then leave to make budget speech to House of Commons, in London, Wednesday, March 11, 2020. Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak will announce the first budget since Britain left the European Union. Sunak is flanked by his team of treasury ministers . (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
March 11, 2020 - 11:03 am

UK interest rates cut, funds freed up to ease virus impact

LONDON (AP) — Britain took dramatic steps on Wednesday to cushion the economic shock of the coronavirus outbreak, as the government announced a 30 billion-pound ($39 billion) package of measures to keep individuals and businesses afloat and the Bank of England slashed its key interest rate to a...
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European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde talks to German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz during a meeting of European Union Finance Ministers in Eurogroup format at the Justus Lipsius building in Brussels, Monday, Feb. 17, 2020. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
March 11, 2020 - 1:00 am

Facing recession, Europe grasps for ways to limit damage

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Suddenly staring recession in the face, European leaders are lining up an array of tax breaks, financial support for companies and likely central bank measures in the hope of preventing the coronavirus outbreak from dealing long-term damage to the economy. Expectations...
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FILE - In this Feb. 13, 2020 file photo, Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. Democrats controlling the House wrote HHS Secretary Alex Azar earlier this month to request funds to help speed development of a coronavirus vaccine, expand laboratory capacity, and beef up screening efforts at U.S. entry points. Azar is slated to testify before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday, and the U.S. response to the outbreak is sure to be a major topic. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
AP Newsroom
February 24, 2020 - 9:53 pm

White House readying coronavirus response request

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House on Monday sent lawmakers an urgent $2.5 billion plan to address the deadly coronavirus outbreak, whose rapid spread and threat to the global economy rocked financial markets. The White House budget office said the funds are for vaccines, treatment and protective...
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FILE - In this Nov. 5, 2018, file photo, supporters of President Donald Trump wait for him to arrive to speak at a rally at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, in Fort Wayne, Ind. Vice President Mike Pence has a favorite line when he introduces President Donald Trump at rallies. He says "it's been three years of promises made and promises kept” under Trump. Is it true? The Associated Press reviewed what's happened with Trump's key campaign promises. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
February 23, 2020 - 7:44 am

'Promises kept' mantra doesn't always match Trump's reality

WASHINGTON (AP) — “It's been three years of promises made and promises kept, but we’re just getting started, (insert state here)." That line from Vice President Mike Pence is a hallmark of how he introduces President Donald Trump to campaign rally audiences. Last week, he delivered versions at...
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French President Emmanuel Macron arrives for an EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Friday, Feb. 21, 2020. In a second day of meetings EU leaders will continue to discuss the bloc's budget to work out Europe's spending plans for the next seven years. (Ludovic Marin, Pool Photo via AP)
February 21, 2020 - 1:36 pm

EU nations end summit without agreement on budget

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union nations broke up a marathon summit without a deal Friday and will have to reconvene for another budget meeting in the coming weeks. After 28 hours of talks the leaders could not find a compromise, with a half dozen wealthy member states insisting they would not stump...
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European Union leaders engage in discussion during a round table meeting at an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, Feb. 20, 2020. After almost two years of sparring, the EU will be discussing the bloc's budget to work out Europe's spending plans for the next seven years. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys)
February 20, 2020 - 12:53 pm

Conflict of interest fears cast shadow over EU budget talks

BRUSSELS (AP) — As European Union leaders deliberated over their 1 trillion-euro ($1.1 trillion) budget Thursday, lawmakers were deeply concerned about potential conflicts of interest that could see hundreds of millions of euros in funds granted to companies linked to some of the very people...
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel walkes on the red carpet prior to a meeting with Sanna Marin, Prime Minister of Finland, at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)
February 20, 2020 - 5:55 am

The 1 trillion-euro fight: EU leaders wrangle over spending

BRUSSELS (AP) — Everything is set for the EU's bruising trillion-euro summit. Leaders from the European Union's 27 countries are flying in to Brussels on Thursday to discuss the bloc's spending plan for the next seven years now that Britain has left. Diplomats and number crunchers have been working...
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FILE - In this Jan. 8, 2020, file photo, Defense Secretary Mark Esper arrives to brief members of the Senate on the details of the threat that prompted the U.S. to kill Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in Iraq on Capitol Hill in Washington. When President Donald Trump laments the “craziness” of spending billions of dollars to modernize America's nuclear weapons, he is referring in part to plans for replacing the B-52 bombers and silo-based missiles that stand ready near Minot, N.D. Esper visited Minot on Wednesday, Feb. 19, for a firsthand look. (AP Photo/ Jacquelyn Martin, File)
February 20, 2020 - 12:05 am

Pentagon chief visits nuke base to highlight weapon spending

MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. (AP) — Defense Secretary Mark Esper used his first-ever visit to a nuclear missile field in frigid North Dakota to tout the Trump administration's multibillion-dollar plan for a top-to-bottom modernization of the nuclear arsenal. The costly project is necessary, he said,...
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Eurogroup President and Portugal's Finance Minister Mario Centeno, second left, meets with European Council President Charles Michel, second right, at the Europa building in Brussels, Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, Pool)
February 19, 2020 - 10:54 am

'Voodoo statistics' floated as EU budget battle looms

BRUSSELS (AP) — After almost two years of sparring, the European Union was girding itself Wednesday for perhaps the final round of the bloc’s traditional budget slug-fest, a potentially long and fiery summit to thrash out Europe’s spending plans for the next seven years. Leaders from the 27 nations...
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