Early Bird Headlines 02 June 2015
Econintersect: Here are some of the headlines we found to help you start your day. For more headlines see our afternoon feature for GEI members, What We Read Today, which has many more headlines and a number of article discussions to keep you abreast of what we have found interesting.
Global
- Study: Global warming risks changes to ocean life unprecedented in the last 3 million years (The Washington Post) Continued warming of the Earth’s oceans over the next century could trigger disruptions to marine life on a scale not seen in the last 3 million years, scientists warn in a study released Monday. The changes could include extinctions of some of the ocean’s keystone species as well as a widespread influx of “invasive” animals and plants that migrate to new territory because of changing environmental conditions.
- Anti-IS coalition to discuss strategy at Paris meeting (BBC News) Ministers from 20 countries are to meet in Paris to discuss strategy against Islamic State (IS) militants.
- $150bn needed to save world from climate change, warn scientists (Financial Times) Sir David King, UK Foreign Office climate envoy, and six other prominent British scientists, businessmen and civil servants want large countries to spend an average of 0.02 per cent of gross domestic product a year for the next decade to encourage the technical breakthroughs needed to make renewable electricity cheaper than coal by 2025.
U.S.
- Religion Scores Another Win at the Supreme Court (National Journal) Court sides with a Muslim woman denied a job at an Abercrombie & Fitch store because her head scarf violated the company’s “look policy”.
- US dealmaking hits $243bn monthly record (Financial Times) US dealmaking hit an all-time monthly record in May, surpassing the previous highs seen during the peak of the dotcom bubble and the zenith of the debt boom that led to the 2008 financial crisis. Econintersect: The 2007 record was exceeded by 7.5% and the 2000 record by 14%. This is not record you like to see unless you are collecting the M&A fees or are short the market.
- Barney Frank: Obama Is Making ‘A Big Mistake’ On TPP (Huffington Post) Frank says the president should be using the TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership) as a negotiation for concessions from corporations to address income inequality.
- The myth that America doesn’t like football (BBC News) True, football, or soccer as it is known here, is not as central to American as it is to European, African or South and Central American life. Nowhere near. But America is the number one country in the world for youth participation in football. More than three million youngsters were registered to play in 2014. And Major League Soccer matches now have a higher average attendance – 19,148 in 2014 – than basketball and ice hockey. The game ranks third after American football and baseball.
- Ron Paul: Ex-Im Bank is welfare for the One Percent (Personal Liberty) This month Congress will consider whether to renew the charter of the Export-Import Bank (Ex-Im Bank). Ex-Im Bank is a New Deal-era federal program that uses taxpayer funds to subsidize the exports of American businesses. Foreign businesses, including state-owned corporations, also benefit from Ex-Im Bank. One country that has benefited from $1.5 billion of Ex-Im Bank loans is Russia. Venezuela, Pakistan and China have also benefited from Ex-Im Bank loans.
- The Elephant In The Room: Senators Finally Credit Edward Snowden For Role In Patriot Act Reforms (Huffington Post) When several key provisions of the broad, post-9/11 surveillance law known as the Patriot Act were up for renewal five years ago, the Senate debated for just 20 seconds before reauthorizing the sweeping powers by a voice vote. The following day, the House followed the upper chamber’s lead, voting 315-97 to extend the act’s most controversial elements. Five years later, the political landscape around government surveillance has shifted.
EU
- Merkel calls in Draghi and Lagarde for Greek debt talks (The Guardian) European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund chiefs join German and French leaders to find joint position on negotiations over Greek bailout. Merkel’s staff let it be known that the chancellor wanted the mini-summit in Berlin to deliver a “final offer” to Athens.
China
- Chinese ship capsizes on Yangtze with hundreds missing (BBC News) Hundreds of people are missing after a cruise ship carrying more than 450 people capsized in a storm on the Yangtze River in China’s southern Hubei province, says state media. The passengers and crew are believed to all be Chinese.
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