Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 14 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
Asian shares skid as Brent crude plumbs 12-year lows (Reuters) Asian shares fell on Thursday in the wake of steep losses on Wall Street, as Brent crude oil skidded to 12-year lows amid a commodities rout that heightened fears about the global economy. European markets were expected to open sharply lower. Financial spreadbetters predicted Britain’s FTSE 100 .FTSE and Germany’s DAX .GDAXI to each open down by as much as 1.7%, and France’s CAC 40 .FCHI to open as much as 1.8% lower. Details on Japanese and Chinese markets later, below.
Solar and Wind Just Did the Unthinkable (Bloomberg) Even as fossil fuel prices continued crashing in 2015, renewables finished another record-breaking year, with more money invested ($329 billion) and more capacity added (121 gigawatts) than ever before, according to new data released Thursday by Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
For Real Oil Prices, the Crash Is Even Bigger as China Fizzles (Bloomberg) The widely quoted Brent and WTI crude prices are higher than oil from many other sources. With those prices just dipping below $30, Saudi oil, for example, is selling for $26.
U.S.
Powerball Has 3 Big Winners, and There May Be More (The New York Times) At least three winning tickets were sold in Wednesday night’s record $1.568 billion Powerball jackpot. So far winning ticket sales in California, Florida and Tennessee have been announced. Results from other states are still pending.
Income inequality will become more pronounced as US ages (Al Jazeera) The wide economic disparity between minorities and white people and between men and women is likely to broaden as the nation’s increasingly diverse population ages. Among Americans 65 or older, black people and Latinos are much more likely than white people to rely solely on Social Security for income. And older women are more likely to live alone than men and twice as likely to be poor. The number of seniors in the U.S. will more than double, from 46 million today to more than 98 million by 2060, when they will make up almost a quarter of the U.S. population.
UK
Expect EU referendum in June or July this year – here’s why … (The Conversation) The prospect of a summer referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union is drawing closer. This author discusses why PM David Cameron has a better chance of passage (staying in the EU) if the referendum is held sooner rather than later.
Poland
Explainer: why everyone is giving Poland a hard time (The Conversation) Since coming into power at the end of October 2015, Poland’s new, right-wing government has caused a stir at home and drawn international criticism. Hardly a day passes at the moment without EU officials or European leaders questioning decisions made by the government. In its analysis, Der Spiegel warns against Poland’s “creeping autocracy”. Some observers have even compared the situation in Poland to Putin’s Russia. While such comparisons are exaggerated, there are serious questions to ask about the Polish government’s commitment to the principles of liberal democracy.
Indonesia
Blasts and gunfire rock Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital (Al Jazeera) At least three explosions rocked downtown Jakarta Thursday midmorning followed by more than two hours of gun battles, leaving seven people dead, including four attackers, in what the president called “terror acts.”
India
Rupee weakens to 28-month low of 67.15 per US dollar (Live Mint) The Indian rupee on Thursday weakened to over a 28-month low against the US dollar, tracking losses in the local equity markets and Asian currencies. The local currency hit a low of 67.15 per US dollar – a level last seen on 4 September 2013 – after opening the session at 67.05 a dollar. The rupee has fallen 6.8% during this fiscal year.
Japan
Japanese shares plunge following Wall Street sell-off (BBC News) Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell more than 4% before closing down 2.7% at 17,240.95. Earlier, the index had fallen below the key resistance level of 17,000 for the first time since September.
China
China’s Stocks Fall Below Lowest Levels in Last Year’s Rout (Bloomberg) Chinese stocks rebounded in volatile trading after dropping below the lowest levels in last year’s market selloff and briefly entering a bear market. Gains were led by small-company shares. The Shanghai Composite Index gained 1.4% to 2,990.80 at 2:36 p.m., reversing a loss of as much as 2.8%. The ChiNext small-caps index surged 5.5%.
Mexico
Hollywood’s Sean Penn lied about ‘Chapo’ trafficking claim: lawyer (Reuters) Sean Penn published an article in Rolling Stone magazine on Saturday in which he quotes Juaquin “El Chapo” Guzman boasting about his drug shipments and laundering money through major Mexican and foreign companies. One of Guzman’s lawyers said Wednesday that was not true and Penn should be called to testify.
