NIIGATA, Japan-Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said it was "legally questionable" whether the Biden administration could rely on the 14th Amendment to effectively ignore the debt limit, pouring cold water on a method favored by some Democrats to avoid a default.
The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states that American debt authorized by law "shall not be questioned." President Biden said this week he was considering invoking the amendment as a way to keep paying the nation's bills if Congress doesn't raise the debt limit. But he added the issue would be subject to litigation and may not be a solution in the current standoff.
Chinese Consumer Inflation Slows to Lowest Level in Two Years
HONG KONG-Consumer prices in China rose at their slowest pace in more than two years, reflecting uncertainties in the economy that threaten to limit a consumption-led recovery from three years of strict Covid-19 measures.
Consumer prices in the world's second-largest economy rose 0.1% in April from a year earlier, easing further from March's 0.7% year-over-year increase, according to data released Thursday by China's National Bureau of Statistics.
Biden, Republicans Dig In on Debt Ceiling
WASHINGTON-President Biden and Republicans continued to stare each other down over the debt ceiling with just weeks to go until the U.S. potentially defaults on paying its bills, while some Democratic lawmakers floated ways to make progress toward raising the borrowing limit.
House Republicans have demanded spending cuts in exchange for raising the debt ceiling. Mr. Biden and Democrats in Congress maintain that the federal borrowing limit should be raised without preconditions and have called the GOP stance irresponsible.
Pro Take: Can Nickel, Cobalt and Other Battery Metals Be Sourced Sustainably?
As companies and countries withdraw their support for seabed mining, the about-face is raising broader questions about how metals used in battery production are sourced and the scale of the associated environmental costs. The sourcing of nickel particularly has been in the spotlight.Last week, A.P. Moller-Maersk became the latest company to drop its investment in The Metals Company, a prospective seabed miner based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Lockheed Martin and Norway's Storebrand also have recently sold their interests in deep-sea mining companies. Others including German luxury carmaker BMW have said that, given environmental concerns, they won't use battery metals sourced from the deep sea. More than a dozen countries are concerned about the environmental impact of the practice and are calling for a moratorium on seabed mining.
Chinese Banks' New Yuan Loan Issuance Declined in April
New yuan loans issued by Chinese banks in April came in lower than market expectations, which could provide less support to the world's second-largest economy as its postpandemic recovery starts losing steam.
Chinese banks extended 718.8 billion yuan ($103.67 billion) of new loans in April, down significantly from the CNY3.89 trillion issued in March, according to data released Thursday by the People's Bank of China.
Republicans Seek New Momentum for Biden Family Investigations
House Republicans released a pair of reports Wednesday related to President Biden's family as they sought new momentum in investigations involving his son, Hunter Biden.
In a memo from a House Judiciary subcommittee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, GOP committee staff alleged that an employee of the Central Intelligence Agency inappropriately sought at least one signatory for a letter aimed at helping both Bidens on the eve of the 2020 presidential election.
Trump Mocks Sexual Abuse Case, Repeats False 2020 Election Claims at CNN Town Hall
Donald Trump, appearing in a live CNN town hall a day after a federal jury in New York found him liable for sexual abuse and defamation, blasted the decision, repeated his false claims about the 2020 election and defended his behavior during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot by his supporters.
"They're doing this for election interference," Mr. Trump said, nodding to his claims of a vast conspiracy to stop his political career. "This woman, I don't know her, I never met her," he said of columnist E. Jean Carroll on Wednesday night from St. Anselm College in New Hampshire, where the nation's first Republican primary will be held early next year.
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This article is a text version of a Wall Street Journal newsletter published earlier today.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
05-11-23 0550ET
