A Republican-led effort to ram a contentious intervention programme through a key procedural vote in the Senate failed when Democrats seeking stronger protections for vulnerable Americans blocked what would be the largest such deal in US history. With negotiators failing to strike a deal before the markets opened today President Trump blamed Democrats for the hold-up. “The only reason a deal couldn’t get done is pure politics,” he said. Its size, including loans from federal government is likely to exceed 10 per cent of GDP, roughly $2 trillion. In the short term it will confront a national

Source: The Times March 23, 2020 00:04 UTC