The Big Beautiful Bill scrapes through
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Tune in and subscribe to Threat Vector wherever you get your podcasts. Washington's giant bill passes with big cuts, but what's the cost? Hello, this is the Marketplace Morning Report and we're live from the BBC World Service. I'm Leanna Byrne. Good morning. The so-called Big Beautiful Bill, nearly a thousand pages long, has squeaked through Congress by just four votes. It boosts military and border spending, extends Trump-era tax cuts, boosts

but makes deep cuts to health care and food aid. So what does that mean for the U.S. economy? Here's the BBC's Erin Delmore. This bill contains one unambiguous piece of good news for the markets. That's because it has a provision that increases America's infamous debt ceiling, the law which places a limit on how much money the government can borrow.

It had been the case that the Treasury was due to crash through the debt ceiling in August or September. Now, that's been pushed back by a couple of years. And any threat of an imminent default, however unlikely, has gone away. But it's estimated that it will cause America's long-term debt to grow by $3.4 trillion over the next decade. That is bad news for the U.S. bond market. Yields rose on Thursday after the bill's passage, and when yields rise, prices drop.

U.S. treasuries have seen demand decline as fiscal concerns rise. Tax revenue in the U.S. is estimated to fall by $4.5 trillion over the next decade, while corporate earnings and stocks are projected to boom. Stocks rose on Thursday, and the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hit new record highs, buoyed also by strong new jobs data.

Erin Delmore there. Meanwhile, President Trump signed an order to charge foreign visitors more to enter U.S. national parks. The move aims to raise funds for crumbling infrastructure and new attractions. About a third of park visitors are from overseas.

To the UK now. Saturday marks a year in office for the government, but it comes at the end of a week that they'd probably rather forget. After struggling to pass a key welfare reform bill and after the UK's finance minister made an emotional appearance in Parliament, markets wobbled and borrowing costs surged on Wednesday. Chris Beesham is Chief Market Analyst at IG and says it all points to jittery sentiment.

Financial markets are beginning to ask if the government is not able to pursue welfare reform in a serious way, as we was tempted to do this week.

then the alternatives remain either tax rises or indeed increases in spending. And certainly there's concerns that the UK economy and certainly the government can't really endure higher spending and that obviously higher taxes will cause a hit to growth. Things are not great for the UK economy at the moment and certainly for the government's position as well, the debt situation.

could deteriorate very, very quickly if it's not managed. I think we saw a flash of that this week in financial markets. That was Chris Beesham from IG. Now, let's do the numbers. European stocks are in the red and gold prices have inched up as traders look for a safe haven after President Trump warned that he's sending letters to trading partners to specify what tariffs they might face. He said countries could face duties of up to 70% starting August 1st.

That's actually higher than the rates first voted back in April. Now, it's 10 years since Ireland became the first country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage by popular vote. A decade later, same-sex couples are contributing significantly to the wedding industry in Ireland at a time when overall marriage numbers are falling. A few weeks back, I went to Dublin to speak to couples and vendors about how the wedding industry has changed. So I brought some samples.

When you first get engaged, you're riding high, telling friends, celebrating, showing off your engagement ring. But inevitably, reality hits and you have to start planning the wedding. That's exactly where Alan Hatton and Darren Lawler find themselves now, at their Redbrick home in Dublin's trendy Stoney Batter neighbourhood, discussing invitations with designer Anna O'Byrne. The highlight that we have is the colours.

Alan and Darren say since they've waited so long to get married, they're happy to spend money on the things that matter to them. It's about very much trying to keep it local, trying to, you know, local community, local people. When you're only doing this once, when you're only doing this once, these sort of things matter. Just 10 years ago, Alan and Darren couldn't have legally planned this wedding in Ireland. In 2015, Ireland became the first country in the world to pass same-sex marriage by popular vote.

It was a seismic vote, with 62% voting in favour. Ten years later, same-sex couples are contributing significantly to the wedding industry in Ireland, which as a whole is estimated to be worth between $800 million to $2.6 billion to the Irish economy. According to figures from Ireland's Central Statistics Office, same-sex marriages accounted for 3.3% of total marriages annually since 2016. I'm good, how are you?

From a business point of view, it's a category that's in growth. That's Jessica O'Sullivan, head of content at One Fab Day, Ireland's biggest wedding planning website. The opposite sex marriage category has dipped below 20,000 for the first time in a very long time since the height of COVID-19.

But one category that is actually increasing is same-sex marriage. So, you know, a lot of suppliers, venues and even us as a wedding website are targeting that category specifically. She says that the average budget is now around $40,000 and many same-sex couples are willing to spend even more. Now,

One type of wedding venue that is always popular in Ireland is a castle. While these buildings might be steeped in tradition, it doesn't mean they're conservative. Stephanie Hayes from Clontarf Castle remembers the referendum well. There was a very lovely couple and they had booked the wedding for literally a week after the referendum took place.

Taking a little bit of a punt in that, yes, this is going to go through with a yes. Wedding packages at Clontarf Castle range between $100 and $135 per person. These days, at least 10 to 15% of the venue's clients are same-sex couples from both Ireland and overseas.

Ten years on from Ireland's marriage equality referendum, the impact is being felt far beyond the ballot box. The wedding industry has shifted, becoming more inclusive, more diverse and, for some businesses, more lucrative too.

And finally, Legoland Shanghai opens tomorrow featuring a mini replica of the city's iconic waterfront, skyscrapers and all, built entirely from colourful Lego bricks. And that's it from the Marketplace Morning Report from the BBC World Service. I'm Leanna Byrne. Have a great day and thanks so much for listening.

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