Trump’s proposed $4.8 trillion budget will seek cuts to Medicare, Medicaid

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is expected to release a $4.8 trillion budget Monday that charts a path for the start of a potential second term, proposing steep cuts to social-safety-net programs and foreign aid and higher outlays for defense and veterans.

The plan would increase military spending 0.3%, to $740.5 billion for fiscal year 2021, which begins Oct. 1, according to a senior administration official. The proposal would cut nondefense spending by 5%, to $590 billion, below the level Congress and the president agreed to in a two-year budget deal last summer.

A White House budget reflects an administration’s priorities and represents the opening bid in spending negotiations for the next fiscal year. The new budget is unlikely to become law, however, as Democrats control the House and spending bills in the GOP-led Senate need bipartisan support.

The White House proposes to cut spending by $4.4 trillion over a decade. Of that, it targets $2 trillion in savings from mandatory spending programs, including $130 billion from changes to Medicare prescription-drug pricing, $292 billion from safety-net cuts — such as work requirements for Medicaid and food stamps — and $70 billion from tightening eligibility access to federal disability benefits.

An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com:

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Azeri ruling party says it believes it has won election

BAKU (Reuters) – Azeri President Ilham Aliyev’s ruling Yeni Azerbaijan (New Azerbaijan) party said it believed it had won a snap parliamentary election on Sunday.

“Exit poll results make us think that Yeni Azerbaijan got a majority of votes,” the party said a statement on its website.

Chaplin, Sask., man arrested on child pornography charges

A Chaplin, Sask., man is facing two counts of child pornography charges following a two-month investigation by Morse RCMP, say officials.

On Nov. 29, 2019, officers executed a search warrant at a residence in Chaplin, police say. Officers seized several computers and digital storage devices which were analyzed by the Regina and Saskatoon police.

Robert Scott Ackert, 56, has been charged with possession of child pornography and accessing child pornography.

Ackert will appear in Swift Current provincial court on Monday.

This week on ‘Focus Montreal’: Feb. 9, 2020

This week on Focus Montreal, Global takes a look at the Black Theatre Workshop’s 34th edition of their Vision Gala celebration, a new MUHC training initiative focused on training hospital staff with reality simulators and what Montrealers can expect from the next big climate strike in March.

China Jan PPI +0.1% y/y, CPI +5.4%

BEIJING, Feb 10 (Reuters) – China’s producer prices in January rose 0.1% year-on-year, official data showed on Monday, marking the first pickup since May 2019.

Analysts had expected factory-gate prices to rise 0.1% from a year earlier, compared with a 0.5% drop in December.

Consumer prices rose 5.4% year-on-year compared with a 4.9% rise tipped by a Reuters poll of analysts and a 4.5% rise in December. The pace is the fastest since October 2011. (Reporting by Se Young Lee; Editing by Sam Holmes)

Northeast Calgary home damaged in fire

The Calgary Fire Department is investigating a blaze in the northeast end of the city on Sunday.

Investigators said a fire sparked in a bedroom of a home on Taradale Drive around 1:30 p.m.

Fire crews arrive don scene to find thick black smoke exiting the home. Firefighters were able to confine the flames to the bedroom, officials said.

Five people were in the home when the fire started but managed to evacuate safely.

China Jan. PPI +0.1% year-on-year, CPI +5.4%

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s producer prices in January rose 0.1% year-on-year, official data showed on Monday, marking the first pickup since May 2019.

Analysts had expected factory-gate prices to rise 0.1% from a year earlier, compared with a 0.5% drop in December.

Consumer prices rose 5.4% year-on-year compared with a 4.9% rise tipped by a Reuters poll of analysts and a 4.5% rise in December. The pace is the fastest since October 2011.

Sanders’ Campaign to Request Partial Recanvass of Iowa Caucuses

Bernie Sanders’ campaign will request a partial recanvass of the Iowa caucuses, according to senior adviser Jeff Weaver.

The recanvass request comes after the Iowa Democratic Party allocated delegates Sunday, giving South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg 14 delegates and the Vermont senator 12. Buttigieg received 0.1% more state delegate equivalents than Sanders. Buttigieg had 26.2% to Sanders’ 26.1%.

The IDP extended the deadline from Friday to 1 pm on Monday to request a recanvass of the results. Weaver said a full list of precincts the campaign is requesting a recanvass would be available by Monday.

(Disclaimer: Michael Bloomberg is also seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. He is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.)

Rupee rises 8 paise to 71.32 against US dollar in early trade

Forex traders said while weak dollar and easing crude oil prices supported the rupee, heavy selling in domestic equities weighed on the local unit and restricted the upmove.

The Indian rupee appreciated by 8 paise to 71.32 against the US dollar in early trade on Monday amid easing crude oil prices and weakening of the American dollar in the overseas market.

Forex traders said while weak dollar and easing crude oil prices supported the rupee, heavy selling in domestic equities weighed on the local unit and restricted the upmove.

At the interbank foreign exchange the rupee opened at 71.36, than gained further ground and touched a high of 71.32 against the US dollar, registering a rise of 8 paise over its previous close.

On Friday, rupee had settled for the day at 71.40 against the US dollar.

Domestic bourses opened on a negative note on Monday with benchmark indices Sensex trading 226.26 points down at 40,915.59 and Nifty down 71.85 points at 12,026.50.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net buyers in the capital market, as they purchased shares worth ₹ 161.93 crore on Friday, according to provisional exchange data.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.20 % to trade at $54.36 per barrel.

The dollar index, which gauges the greenback’s strength against a basket of six currencies, fell by 0.04 per cent to 98.64.

The 10-year government bond yield was at 6.43 % in morning trade.