Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 12 January 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 stocks hover at four-year lows on China worries; oil slides (Reuters) Asian stocks held near four-year lows and crude oil prices approached a 20% drop in less than two weeks, as investors remained wary of China’s volatile financial markets. European markets are set to open flat to slightly higher, with Britain’s FTSE 100 .FTSE to open 0.5%t up, Germany’s DAX .GDAXI to gain 0.8%, and France’s CAC 40 .FCHI to rise 0.7%, according to IG. (But see next article.) MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS gave up early gains to trade 0.2% lower, just shy of its lowest level in four years. It is down more than 8% since the start of 2016. It fell 12% last year.
Europe opens lower as oil heads to $30 per barrel (CNBC) European markets opened lower on Tuesday amid continued wariness in Asian markets regarding China and as the oil price traded just above $30 per barrel.
After Ebola, 2 Other Tropical Diseases Pose New Threats (Scientific American) A little-known bacterial disease may be killing as many people worldwide as measles, scientists said on Monday, while a mosquito-borne virus known as Zika is also raising global alarm. The spread of Ebola in West Africa last year shows how poorly-understood diseases can emerge and grow rapidly while researchers race to design and conduct the scientific studies needed to combat them. Researchers in the journal Nature Microbiology called for a bacterial infection called meliodosis, which is resistant to a wide range of antibiotics, to be given a higher priority by international health organizations and policy makers. At the same time, scientists at Britain’s Oxford University warned that a virus known as Zika, which is carried by mosquitoes and has caused a major outbreak in Brazil, has “the potential of rapid spread to new areas“.
8 Animals that May Not Survive 2016 (Buzzfeed, YouTube)
15 Extinct Animals That May Still Be Alive (Planet Dolan, YouTube)
U.S.
Alabama outlasts Clemson to win NCAA football title (CNN) No. 2 Alabama won its fourth college football national title in seven seasons, defeating No. 1 Clemson 45-40 at Glendale, Arizona.
The Nasdaq Is on its Worst Losing Streak Since January 2008: Chart (Bloomberg) After flirting with a gain in the final 30 minutes of trading, the Nasdaq Composite Index ended up extending its losing streak to eight days, the longest skid since January 2008. The Nasdaq Composite has lost 9.2% over the period, during which 87% of stocks in the gauge declined.
Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders Even in Early Races, Poll Finds (The Wall Street Journal) Democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are deadlocked in both Iowa and New Hampshire three weeks before voting begins in the 2016 presidential race, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News/Marist poll finds. The Republican primary contest also remains tight in Iowa, with Ted Cruz and Donald Trump close. But in New Hampshire Trump has a lead greater than the error of measurement.
Oklahoma Earthquakes Raise Calls for Restrictions on Energy Firms (Scientific American) One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded in the states seems to result from oil and gas industry activity. Beginning in 2009, the frequency of earthquakes in the U.S. State of Oklahoma has rapidly increased. Scientists have tied a sharp increase in the intensity and frequency of quakes in Oklahoma to the disposal of saltwater, a byproduct of oil and gas extraction, into deep wells. Oil fields have boomed in Oklahoma over the past decade thanks to advances in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling.
Switzerland
Swiss canton tells taxpayers to delay settling bills (Financial Times) There is another side to negative interest rates. (See chart of Swiss 10-year bond interest below – from Bloomberg – showing negative interest for about 2/3 of the past year and almost all of the last 6 months.) Zug, the small but affluent canton outside Zürich, has announced it is ending discounts for early payment of tax bills. The reason? The longer it has cash on its books, the more likely it will incur costs as a result of negative interest rates charged by Swiss banks. The canton calculates that the move will save SFr2.5 million ($2.5 million) a year. Econintersect: That’s right – negative interest rates mean that banks charge “storage fees” for deposits.
Syria
Russia Bombs Offices of American NGO in Syria, Says Group (Foreign Policy) The Russian military is coming under fresh criticism that it bombed a humanitarian field office Saturday in the rebel-held Syrian province of Idlib. The claim, by an American advocacy organization, follows previous reports that Russia’s bombing campaign continues to hit territory controlled by Syrian rebel groups not linked to the Islamic State – the ostensible target of Moscow’s months-long military intervention.
Iraq
First on CNN: U.S. bombs ‘millions’ in ISIS currency holdings (CNN) )In an extremely unusual airstrike, the U.S. dropped bombs Sunday in central Mosul, Iraq, destroying a building containing huge amounts of cash ISIS was using to pay its troops and for ongoing operations, two U.S. defense officials told CNN. The officials could not say exactly how much money was there or in what currency, but one described it as “millions.” Two 2,000-pound bombs destroyed the site quickly. But the longstanding impact may be even more significant. The officials said the U.S. plans to strike more financial targets like this one to take away ISIS’s ability to function as a state-like entity.
India
China Rout Threatens to Spawn India Crisis, Top Banker Says (Bloomberg) A deepening slowdown in China threatens to derail India’s economic growth, triggering financial market upheaval and a falling currency, Vishal Kampani, the nation’s top investment banker, said. Further yuan devaluation will hit the Indian economy very hard as the rupee will also weaken. This would be damaging because many companies in India have dollar denominated loans.
China
Exclusive: Chinese regulator asks banks to cut wealth management yields – sources (Reuters) China’s banking regulator and main bond clearinghouse have asked commercial banks to reduce rates they offer on high-yielding wealth management products (WMPs), five sources told Reuters, an apparent back-pedalling on commitments to let markets price credit. The move to suppress returns on WMPs would reduce the cost of capital for cash-strapped firms relying on the industry for costly credit to stay afloat, and reduce the appeal of such products to retail investors, which could boost alternative investments such as Chinese stocks, which have had a dreadful start to 2016.
Shipyards Vanish as China Loses Appetite for Consuming Iron Ore (Bloomberg) The weakening yuan and China’s waning appetite for raw materials have come around to bite the country’s shipbuilders, raising the odds that more shipyards will soon be shuttered. About 140 yards in the world’s second-biggest shipbuilding nation have gone out of business since 2010, and more are expected to close in the next two years after only 69 won orders for vessels last year
