Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 13 March 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.
U.S.
Unusually widespread flooding across Louisiana, Mississippi (Associated Press) Creeks and rivers continued to rise after torrential rains pounded the Deep South. Nine shelters have been opened in Mississippi and 24 in Louisiana. Downpours – part of a system affecting Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee and Alabama – submerged roads and cars, washed out bridges and forced residents to flee homes.
Rubio wins D.C. Republican primary; edges out Kasich (The Washington Post) Announced results gave Rubio 37.3% of the 2,839 votes cast. Kasich was close behind with 35.5%, a difference of less than two percentage points. That suggested that each might get nearly the same number of delegates, probably 8 and 7 of the 19 at stake. Donald Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz (Tex.) trailed by substantial margins. Trump got 13.8 percent of the votes and Cruz 12.4 percent. All other candidates got less than 1%.
Clinton Seeks Rust Belt Rebound, Targets Automaker ‘Rules of Origin’ (Bloomberg) Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton proposed Saturday to make it harder for foreign automakers to claim that their cars are made in the U.S., as she tries to recruit Rust Belt voters following a surprise defeat in Michigan.
Trump rally sparks extraordinary stretch in Republican race (Associated Press) In a Republican presidential primary filled with extraordinary moments, a 24-hour stretch that began Friday night stands above them all. Opponents of Donald Trump were so committed to keeping him from speaking in Chicago that they aggressively clashed with supporters, forcing the GOP front-runner to abruptly cancel his rally before it even began. The next morning, two of the candidates still fighting to defeat Trump, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, said they were so disgusted by the chaos that they may not support the billionaire businessman if he clinches their party’s nomination. And when Trump appeared at another rally Saturday morning in Ohio, he was suddenly pulled midspeech into a protective ring of U.S. Secret Service agents charged with guarding his life after a man rushed the stage. See next article.
Trump ends wild day on campaign trail by calling for protesters’ arrests (CNN) Donald Trump on Saturday called for protesters who disrupt his rallies to be arrested, one day after altercations and protests forced him to cancel a campaign rally in Chicago. The comments capped a tumultuous day on the campaign trail in which a demonstrator rushed a stage where Trump was speaking. Trump also accused Bernie Sanders’ supporters of sowing unrest at his events and the GOP front-runner refused to back down from his rhetoric that some have cited as the cause of heightened tension at his rallies.
The Incredible Rise and Final Hours of Fracking King Aubrey McClendon (Bloomberg) Chesapeake Energy’s co-founder and CEO was a visionary who had trouble following the rules – including driving on the right side of the road before he crashed his SUV at very high speed into concrete bridge abutment less than two hours before he was scheduled to turn himself in to authorities after having been indicted for price fixing the day before. See next article.
Police: McClendon crashed traveling at ‘high rate of speed’ (CNBC)
Germany
Merkel faces test as Germany votes in regional elections (BBC News) Germans are set to vote in three regional elections seen as a test of support for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s policy towards refugees. The anti-immigration Alternative for Germany party (AfD) is expected to make gains amid unease over Mrs Merkel’s so-called “open door” policy. More than a million migrants and refugees entered Germany in 2015. Asked on Saturday how she was preparing for Sunday’s elections, Mrs Merkel said: “I’m crossing my fingers.” Polls suggest that her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) will remain the biggest party in Saxony-Anhalt in the east of the country. It faces defeat to the Greens in Baden-Wuerttemberg in the west, where it is currently the largest party. And in Rhineland-Palatinate, where the CDU came a close second last time, the race is on a knife edge.
Sweden
Paid agent of Swedish security services implicated in second disinformation campaign against Assange (The Indicter) In this article they analyzed whether Swedish government security agents, or ‘former agents’, have been further involved in a disinformation campaign against the founder of WikiLeaks and its whistleblower publishing. An important source here is the activity of Researchgruppen, the journalist-collective organization led by Martin Fredriksson, a former paid agent of the Swedish Security Police – or, as it’s better known by its Swedish acronym, SÄPO.
Israel
Israel calls on powers to punish Iran for its missile tests (Reuters) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday called for world powers to take “immediate punitive steps” against Iran, following its ballistic missile tests last week. A series of tests conducted by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards caused international concern, with the United States, France and other countries saying that, if confirmed, the launch of nuclear-capable ballistic missiles would violate U.N. Security Council resolution 2231. Netanyahu has been vehemently opposed to the international deal with Iran which led to the lifting of economic sanctions in January, and his position has put him at odds with U.S. President Barack Obama.
Philippines
Money Laundering Case on Philippine Bank (Bull Market Board) Hat tip to Ellen Cusack. This is by far the biggest money-laundering case ever recorded in Philippine history. A Philippine bank and 3 casinos have been linked to a $100 million bank heist in Manhattan, New York. The Bangladesh Central Bank owns the stolen amount. Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) – which is partly owned by the influential family Yuchengco, Cathay Life (the biggest Taiwan life insurance company), and IFC (the World Bank’s investment arm) – has stated that $81 million has been deposited in its Jupiter Branch in Makati City. The bank is now investigating the transaction while assuring their clients that the bank is cognizant of its obligations on bank secrecy. A local newspaper has reported that top officials of the bank knew about the transaction but the bank’s president and CEO Lorenzo Tan denies the allegations. Here is a longer article with more details and interviews with parties involved.
