The AMERICAN government reached the federal-debt ceiling of $14.3 trillion. For the government to issue bonds beyond this point will require approval by Congress, where a request for a raising of the ceiling is bogged down in arguments about spending and taxes. But because of various funds that can be raided, there is no danger of the government defaulting on any of its obligations--at least not for a couple of months.
The field for the America’s REPUBLICAN NOMINATION narrowed, as both Donald Trump and Mike Huckabee ruled themselves out of contention. Newt Gingrich got himself into a row with the fiscal conservative brigade by pouring cold water on the party's plans for deep cuts to Medicare, the government health insurance scheme for the elderly, while Mitt Romney announced impressive fund-raising figures. Jon Huntsman, who has yet to declare formally, set off to tour New Hampshire.
Michel Martelly, a singer-turned-politician, was inaugurated as HAITI'S new president. It was the first peaceful transfer of power from one democratically elected president to another from a different party in the country's history.
The CUBAN government announced it would allow all small private businesses to hire employees. It had previously restricted that privilege to specific occupations.
DOMINIQUE STRAUSS-KHAN stepped down as head of the IMF, following his arrest for an alleged sexual assault on a New York chambermaid. Lobbying began over who should succeed him at the helm of the fund. EU finance ministers restated their belief that any new managing director of the IMF should be a European, as tradition dictates. Mr Strauss-Kahn had been expected to quit the fund in June and return to France to compete for the Socialist nomination for the French presidency; polls had suggested that, if nominated, he would beat Nicolas Sarkozy in next year's election.
The fund was also busy dealing with GREECE'S FINANCIAL PROBLEMS. Greece is unlikely to meet the terms of its bail-out, which requires it to cut its budget deficit to 7.6% of GDP this year. EU ministers must decide whether to approve a "soft restructuring" of its debt, by allowing it to reschedule some repayments.
YAHOO! and ALIBABA, a Chinese e-commerce firm, tried to patch up their differences after a nasty public spat. Yahoo! had complained that Alibaba, in which it has a 43% stake, had secretly transferred ownership of its online payment portal to another company controlled by Alibaba's chairman, Jack Ma. Yahoo! claimed it had found out about the deal only in March, seven months after the event. Alibaba responded that the matter had been passed by its board, which includes a Yahoo! representative. It added that some compensation had been paid and there would be further discussions.
SONY began to restore its PlayStation Network after hackers breached its security, compromising the personal information of 100m users last month. Howard Stringer, Sony's president, who has been criticised for a lethargic response to the issue, predicted that cybercrime would become an increasing problem, and said he couldn't yet say how much the episode would cost the firm.
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