Early Bird Headlines 18 May 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
- Outlook brighter, but not enough yet for higher rates (Reuters) Prospects for a step-change in global economic growth are better than they have been in many years, but much depends on solid evidence that an awful first quarter for the United States is far in the rear-view mirror. But it will take more than is apparent now for interest rates to start to move.
- World’s central bankers braced for big divergence (Financial Times) Central banks have slashed interest rates to record lows and embarked upon unprecedented programs of asset purchases in an attempt to raise inflation and restart economic growth. The common path on which monetary policy makers have strolled, however, is expected to diverge this year. The timing of the partition and the way in which its side effects are managed hold big implications for financial stability and the global recovery. The U.S. Fed and the Bank of England have ceased QE and are eying a first rise in interest rates in nearly 10 years.The European Central Bank, conversely, is in full loosening mode, having launched a €1.1tn scheme of asset purchases. In Asia, the Bank of Japan is busy with its own bond-buying programme, while the People’s Bank of China has just cut interest rates three times in six months. The entire world fears a premature interest rate tightening by the U.S. could throw the entire world back into recession. and that would not be a good way to resolve the divergence.
U.S.
- U.S. regulators order Amtrak to take actions to improve safety (Reuters) U.S. regulators have ordered passenger railroad Amtrak to immediately take actions to improve the safety of its heavily traveled Northeast Corridor route following Tuesday’s derailment in Philadelphia that killed eight people.
- Rock Hurling Is Old Nemesis of Train Crews (The New York Times) Federal and railway officials say being struck by rocks, bricks and even bullets is a longstanding problem for trains in the country’s rail systems. While not speculating on the cause of last week’s accident, a retired Amtrak engineer and a former transportation safety official with the federal government each said that a projectile striking a train would be a dangerous distraction for an engineer.
Georgia
- Georgia hopes over Europe turn to disappointment (Financial Times) While the former Soviet republic did sign a groundbreaking EU association agreement and free trade deal in July last year, ordinary Georgians have felt little benefit so far. Visa-free travel would be tangible to all. Lack of progress with the West is raising the prospect that the small republic could turn back toward Russia.
Iraq
- Iran-backed militias ‘head for Iraq’s IS-held Ramadi’ (BBC News) The Iraqi government is reported to be sending Iran-backed militias to Ramadi to recapture the city seized by Islamic State (IS) militants on Sunday.
India
- India confident of overtaking China’s growth rate (Financial Times) India is on track to overtake China’s growth with annual expansion of more than 8 per cent, says the country’s finance minister. The Delhi government is starting its second year in power by accelerating plans for economic reform and pledging to resolve tax disputes with investors.
- CII welcomes business outcomes of PM Narendra Modi’s visit to China (Economic Times) The Indian industry body CII is very pleased with the outcomes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit tio China last week. $22 billion of cooperative efforts between companies in the two countries were agreed.
China
- China new home prices fall in April (China Spectator) The average price of new homes in 70 Chinese cities fell for the eighth consecutive month in April, down 6.1%. This followed an identical decline for March.
- Deng Xiaoping anhd the KKK plot exposed . . . 30-plus years later (Financial Times) An attack on China’s iconic leader in Dallas by a Klu Klux Klan member in 1979 has been revealed to the Chinese people for the first time in a newly released documentary.
Thailand
- Stranded Rohingya migrants say: ‘We’re dying on board’ (Al Jazeera) Migrants adrift off the coast of Thailand say they have been abandoned without food or potable water.
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