Written by John Lounsbury
Early Bird Headlines 24 September 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
- Asia subdued amid lingering global growth woes, euro steady (Reuters) Shanghai shares gained 0.7% Thursday after losing more than 2% on Wednesday, while South Korea’s Kospi nudged up 0.4%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, however, shed 0.6%. Japan’s Nikkei average, opening for the first time since Friday after a string of national holidays, tumbled 2.3%, edging near its seven-month low touched earlier this year.
- Why Shippers Are Turning to LNG-Powered Vessels (Reuters) Enviromental and financial concerns are combining to push a changeover which may increase the use of liquid natural gas for power on the high seas by as much as 15x in the next five years.
U.S.
- Ignore Pope on climate, says Republican Marsha Blackburn (BBC News) One of the most influential US energy politicians says she will reject the Pope’s plea to tackle climate change. Republican Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn, the second-highest ranking member on the House energy committee, says the jury is out on global warming. Blackburn also rejects the theory of evolution. On global warming, she said that the earth had cooled by 1 degree Fahrenheit over the past 13 years:
“The jury is still out saying man is the cause for global warming, after the earth started to cool 13 years ago.”
- Scientists: Drought stressing California’s Giant Sequoias (Associated Press) Some living more than 3,000 years, Giant Sequoias grow to nearly 300 feet tall. There are other trees that live longer and some that grow taller, but researchers say the Giant Sequoias are unique for their size and longevity. Scientists are finding unusual amounts of dead foliage in the trees. They are working to determine what actions can minimze the impact of the current drought.
EU
- Euro Area Seen on Track for Steady Growth as Orders Accelerate (Bloomberg) Things are looking up for the Eurozone even though the Purchasing Managers’ Index for manufacturing and services slipped to 53.9 in September from 54.3 in August. The third-quarter average stood at the highest level in more than four years, according to a report published on Wednesday. New orders grew at the fastest rate in five months and a gauge for the amount of raw materials bought by manufacturers stood at a 19-month high, signaling increasing production in the coming months.
- The Euro project has been a complete failure for Greece and Italy. (Worth Wray, Twitter) Econintersect: Should we call the 21st century the lost century for Greece and Italy?
The #Euro project has been a complete failure for #Greece & #Italy. pic.twitter.com/zj2FoqFUFN
– Worth W. Wray (@WorthWray) September 24, 2015
Germany
- How Smog Cops Busted Volkswagen and Brought Down Its CEO (Bloomberg) It was work halfway around the world from Germany that brought the VW emissions cheating to light. California air-quality engineers spent months investigating and finally forced the company to admit its subterfuge.
Russia
- Russia exhumes bones of murdered Tsar Nicholas and wife (BBC News) Almost a century after the fact Russian investigators have exhumed the remains of the last tsar and his wife, as they re-examine their 1918 murders.
China
- China Is Sitting on an Ocean of Diesel Fuel (Bloomberg) Add diesel fuel to the surplus production being dumped overseas by China. The Middle Kingdom exported a record volume of the fuel last month after already shipping unprecedented amounts of steel and aluminum overseas. The weakest economic growth since 1990 is sapping domestic demand for commodities, while refineries, mills and smelters grapple with excess capacity after years of expansion.
Canada
- Canada’s Sudden Surge in Exports (Investing Daily) Canada’s trade deficit narrowed dramatically in June and July thanks to a sudden surge in exports. Making this recovery all the more remarkable, the trade deficit had hit a record high of CAD3.4 billion as recently as March and stayed within shouting distance of that level through the end of May. But the rebound in exports over the past two months has confounded economists, who had expected only minimal to moderate improvement in the trade balance. This has happened as the lower value of the Canadian dollar has boosted the country’s exports in sectors other than the fading oil and gas areas that have supported a healthier balance of trade in the past. Consumer goods has been the leading sector in the recent surge.
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