Latest news with #economic benefits
South China Morning Post
4 days ago
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong expected to gain HK$428 million economic boost from football festival
Hong Kong could reap as much as HK$428 million (US$54.5 million) in economic benefits from the city's eight-day football festival, experts have said, bringing about a windfall for sectors such as retail, hospitality and transport. Advertisement One hotel sector representative said his firm expected a 12 per cent increase in room rates over the event period compared with the same time last year, exceeding their original forecast of an 8 per cent rise. The Hong Kong Football Festival, which kicked off on Thursday, involves four major European clubs – Liverpool, AC Milan, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur – at Kai Tak Stadium. Organiser TEG Sport told the Post that more than 35,000 fans attended the open training sessions for Liverpool and AC Milan on Thursday and Friday. It said Saturday's match between the two clubs drew 49,704 people, the largest crowd for a live football match in Hong Kong. Advertisement 'We have seen incredible demand from Hong Kong football fans and those in mainland China and around the world,' TEG Sport managing director Rachael Carroll said.
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Pakistan's Finance Minister in US to Push for Trade Deal
(Bloomberg) -- Pakistan's Finance Minister held meetings with US officials on Friday to negotiate Washington's demands as part of trade talks ahead of an August deadline. Why the Federal Reserve's Building Renovation Costs $2.5 Billion The Dutch Intersection Is Coming to Save Your Life Milan Corruption Probe Casts Shadow Over Property Boom Mumbai Facelift Is Inspired by 200-Year-Old New York Blueprint How San Jose's Mayor Is Working to Build an AI Capital A delegation led by Muhammad Aurangzeb held a 'productive meeting' with US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Washington, according to a statement by Pakistan's government, confirming a visit that was earlier reported by Bloomberg News. 'Both parties expressed optimism that ongoing trade talks would yield positive outcomes, benefiting the economies of both countries,' the statement said. Pakistan had earlier expected to wrap up a trade deal with the US by early July, but the talks are taking longer than expected. Relations between Islamabad and Washington are showing signs of improvement in recent months after a prolonged diplomatic chill. Last month, US President Donald Trump welcomed Pakistan's army chief, Asim Munir, for rare talks at the White House that was followed by Pakistan recommending Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize. Pakistan, which is warming up to the crypto industry, also signed a letter of intent with Trump family's World Liberty Financial in April to accelerate blockchain adoption in the country. Since Munir's visit, trade negotiations have made 'encouraging headway,' the finance ministry said in a statement earlier this week. Pakistan has a relatively small trade deficit of $3 billion with the US compared with many other nations. Pakistan is trying to appease the US to seek reprieve from the 29% reciprocal tariffs initially imposed by Trump. The South Asian nation, already the second-largest buyer of US cotton by value after China, has offered to boost imports of American cotton and soybeans. The US is the largest export market for Pakistan. (Updates with statement from the Government of Pakistan.) A Rebel Army Is Building a Rare-Earth Empire on China's Border Thailand's Changing Cannabis Rules Leave Farmers in a Tough Spot How Starbucks' CEO Plans to Tame the Rush-Hour Free-for-All What the Tough Job Market for New College Grads Says About the Economy Godzilla Conquered Japan. Now Its Owner Plots a Global Takeover ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
CNN
20-07-2025
- Business
- CNN
Talk about no taxes on tips, less about Medicaid cuts: How GOP is trying to sell Trump's landmark law
The White House just spent six months jamming a massive legislative package through Congress with almost no margin for error. Now comes the real challenge. Donald Trump's aides and allies are embarking on a concerted bid to sell the president's 'big, beautiful bill' to voters who are mostly unfamiliar with its specifics and skeptical of what little they have heard about the administration's central domestic accomplishment. The yearlong mission — relying in part on dispatching top Trump officials across the country to highlight the bill's economic benefits — is seen as critical to preserving GOP control of Congress in next November's elections, according to interviews with more than half a dozen White House aides, allies and Republican lawmakers. And for a White House that's cast Trump's agenda as a financial boon for Americans, the midterms represent a high-stakes referendum that could determine the course of his final years in office. 'It comes down to whether people feel like they're doing better and have more money in their pockets,' said one Trump political adviser. 'And if they don't think the economy's going well, then we've got a problem.' Republicans will have several months to make headway with voters before the midterm season heats up, after lawmakers passed nearly the entirety of Trump's domestic agenda in a single multitrillion-dollar package just ahead of the White House's self-imposed July 4 deadline. But the urgency behind an extended campaign for the bill underscores how little time the GOP had to explain what was actually in the package before passing it — and signals a recognition of the steep uphill battle the party now faces in selling it after the fact. What Americans did learn about the bill amid the rushed process was largely negative, polling has shown. Perhaps most alarming for Trump and Republicans, party operatives said, is that many voters remain concerned that rather than juicing the economy as the president promised, a package that includes deep cuts to Medicaid and food assistance might end up leaving them worse off overall. 'I'm not sure anybody completely understands what's in it, including most of the people who voted for it,' said Whit Ayres, a Republican pollster. 'But there are a lot of provisions in it that will be challenging to sell to many of the Trump voters who live in small-town and rural areas, a great many of whom are on Medicaid.' White House officials and their allies have coalesced behind a plan to bolster enthusiasm for the sprawling bill by focusing mainly on the narrow slice of policies that have proved most popular — such as provisions eliminating taxes on tips and on overtime pay, according to GOP lawmakers and campaign officials. Republican leadership has also encouraged lawmakers to tailor their messaging on Trump's agenda to their specific constituencies' priorities. 'Energy states are going to talk about the things that are going to really help us build our energy dominance; border states, probably more about border security,' said Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota. 'You've got all those general concepts that are important, and then how you present it is going to be a function of what you work on as a member and what's really important in your state.' That strategy is aimed primarily at reframing voters' view of what Republican lawmakers privately acknowledge is an unwieldy and vaguely named bill, while also allowing them to paper over more unpopular elements such as the hundreds of billions of projected cuts to health care spending needed to help pay for the array of tax breaks. Democrats have seized on those Medicaid cuts, betting that the backlash will propel them back into power next year. Within GOP circles, strategists plotting out the next several months are operating under the theory that if they can simply contain the damage done to the party on health care issues, they'll be able to press advantages elsewhere. 'As long as we level the playing field on the Medicaid aspect, we can talk about tax cuts and border security all day,' said one Republican campaign official. 'It's something we think about every day: What is the narrative of this cycle?' In eastern Pennsylvania on Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance offered an early look at how Trump officials will try to execute on the strategy in forthcoming trips to key districts, touting the bill's tax breaks and energy policies in a state where the coal and gas industry plays a major role. He made no mention of Medicaid and the broader health provisions expected to eliminate coverage for nearly 12 million people over a decade, instead urging attendees to talk up the bill's benefits in their own communities. 'Go and talk to your neighbors, go and talk to your friends about what this bill does for American citizens,' Vance said. The White House is still finalizing which Cabinet officials to send where to promote the bill over the next several months. In a statement, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson called the bill 'an encapsulation of the campaign promises that the American people elected President Trump to enact.' 'The Trump administration plans to communicate the massive achievements in the One Big Beautiful Bill at every opportunity,' she said. Still, there are lingering doubts across the GOP about how quickly the White House and Republican lawmakers can turn around public opinion — and whether enough voters will feel enough of the benefits in time to salvage their congressional majorities. The bill's passage further widened an advantage Democrats hold over Republicans over which party's base is more energized to vote, CNN polling released last week shows. The GOP has so far made little progress toward countering Democratic attacks over Medicaid cuts as well, even as Republicans point to data showing the specific policies in the bill imposing work requirements and restricting eligibility have majority support. And while Republicans believe they will eventually find their footing, much of their fate may depend on whether Trump and his GOP allies can stay focused on promoting the bill for more than a year. In the weeks since July 4, Trump's heightened attacks on the Federal Reserve chair and his administration's botched handling of promised Jeffrey Epstein disclosures have created days of news cycles that distracted from the administration's core agenda. 'The sales job is important, and when the administration then gets in its own way with things that are going to garner a lot of media attention — let's say, Jeffrey Epstein, for instance — that impacts that,' said Doug Heye, a longtime Republican strategist. The White House in the coming weeks is likely to face another decision point that could alter Republicans' trajectory ahead of the midterms: Whether to push Congress to pass new legislation enacting even more spending cuts, and potentially even pursue a second major policy bill at some point next year. The prospect has animated budget hawks in the White House and on Capitol Hill eager to further shrink federal spending. But others are wary of the political fallout of slashing more from popular programs after congressional Republicans just passed a $9 billion cuts package taking aim at PBS and NPR. And with little GOP consensus on what policies the party should pursue next, some Republicans say focusing on how to sell their one 'big, beautiful bill' is challenge enough for the coming year. 'Given the fact this bill is enormous,' Ayres said, 'I don't know that you really need much of anything else to try to explain.'
BBC News
11-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Neighbouring Norwich churches set to become music venues
Two neighbouring churches will be turned into live music venues, despite objections from local City Council has approved the applications to transform the United Reformed Church (URC) in Princes Street and St Michael at Plea in Redwell Street.A meeting of the planning committee heard some people living in the area feared increased noise and traffic in the surrounding cobbled streets, but a petition supporting the plans was signed by more than 700 applicants succeeded in persuading councillors the cultural and economic benefits of the proposals outweighed any harm. The plans for the URC sought permission to turn it into an arts centre and events space, hosting concerts, classical music performances, art exhibitions and fitness venue, which has been closed since 2020, will host up to 300 people, and some objectors feared it would become a raised at a meeting discussing the plans included fears about noise, anti-social behaviour and traffic, the Local Democracy Reporting Service Cousens said: "This is a quiet, peaceful haven in the city centre.""Princes Street and nearby Elm Hill are narrow, cobbled roads and noise will be funnelled into homes like a megaphone."Heidi Bloemen added: "Hundreds of people have signed a petition, but they are not here today."We are, and the reality is that this will destroy our neighbourhood."The applicant, Leticia Thope, sought to reassure locals and was supported by Ben Street, an events Street said: "A space like this is vital to support the creative community – there are not enough performing arts venues in Norwich."The fears that this will be a nightclub could not be further from the truth."Five councillors voted in support of the application, and five against, with the deciding vote in favour of the development cast by the committee chairman. While slightly less contentious, similar concerns were raised about the plans for St Michael at Plea church, which will be turned into a piano bar hosting up to 130 John Taylor said: "I am absolutely confident that it is possible to keep sound at an acceptable level."I want this to have a lounge piano bar vibe, with a relaxing atmosphere."Last month approval was given for it to have an alcohol said they recognised the importance of protecting the building and did not want to see it remain been reassured that use of the outdoor spaces would be limited, with noise levels controlled, they voted unanimously in support of the said the combined noise from both the URC and St Michael at Plea had been considered, but due to different operating hours, target audiences and uses, it was agreed the accumulative impact on neighbours would be "manageable". Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
