One of the most significant ambitions of the Biden administration during the 2021 year was to pass the “Build Back Better” bill, which was to cost as much as $3 trillion at one point, but now has been whittled down to the $1.75 trillion level. The massive stimulus package faces plenty of detractors. Of course, this has bogged it down in the Senate, where the Congressional Budget Office has scored it as adding $3.7 trillion to the national deficit.
The revised version floating around in the Senate will have to be passed back to the House of Representatives for confirmation. The revisions made in the Senate have drastically altered the bill, leaving many detractors wondering where the spending is going to be focused. The stock market, of course, looks for more stimulus spending, as it has been the playbook for the last 13 years. The fact that several key issues block the passage of the bill after all of these months shows just how difficult this has been.
As Congress heads home for the holidays, the possibility of the bill being passed in the next few weeks has gone to 0%. In fact, the bill is likely to change several times going forward, leaving investors still wondering exactly what parts of infrastructure will be potentially boosted.
Turkish central bank intervenes
The Turkish lira has absolutely collapsed over the last several months, falling to as low as 17.14 to the US dollar. The currency has lost 55% of its value since the start of the year, prompting the central bank in Ankara to cut interest rates while other central banks worldwide have begun tightening. The stock exchange in Turkey has been shut down due to the massive selloff, as it was down 8% on Friday almost immediately.
The weakened Turkish lira has been driving prices higher in that country, making imports, fuel, and everyday goods much more expensive. Struggling to buy food and provide for other basic needs has been the reality for most Turks. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been the main culprit for Turkeys decline and has shown no signs of giving out.
South Africa to provide humanitarian aid via vaccines
One of the largest sticking points for the global pandemic recovery has been that the vaccine distribution network has underserved Africa. On Friday, South Africa announced that it would donate just over 2 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to other African countries to boost the continents Covid 19 vaccine drive. According to the government statement, the doses are worth approximately $18 million and will be produced and distributed the various African countries over the next year.
Ironically, it is South Africa where most people have been focusing on when it comes to the omicron variant, which seems to have been under control for the last week. The rest of Africa has some of the lowest vaccination rates globally, as wealthier countries have been courting stockpiles.
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