Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 18 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.
Global
Asia markets mostly up as oil climbs; Nikkei down 1.3%, Shanghai up 1.7% (CNBC) Asian markets traded mostly higher Friday, after U.S. indexes ended higher and oil prices hit their highest levels for this year. But a stronger yen continued to weigh on Japan’s shares.
The U.S. Economy May Not Support World Growth (Chief Executive) The World Bank estimates that the U.S. accounted for nearly 23% of global growth last year, its highest contribution since 2003. In 2016, the Bank predicted, the U.S. is expected to contribute a “still-strong” 21% of such growth. U.S. consumer spending adjusted for inflation increased by 3.1% last year, the fastest annual increase since 2005, and a recovering job market, coupled with low energy prices, is bolstering consumers’ spending power, the Journal said. Sputtering global growth, fueled by the collapse of commodity prices, China’s economic slowdown, and other factors, has many nations hoping to piggyback on the U.S. economy to bolster their own. However, the U.S. may not have sufficient strength to get the job done.
Copper is Having Its Seasonal Breakout (Micky Fulp, Twitter) It’s been happening every spring recently.
U.S.
JPMorgan, Citi shareholders to vote on potential breakup plans (Reuters) Shareholders of JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) and Citigroup Inc (C.N) will get to vote on whether their banks should consider breaking into smaller pieces. Citigroup included the question in a proxy statement it filed on Wednesday for its annual meeting next month, and the shareholder sponsoring that proposal said he has a similar one slated for the upcoming ballot for JPMorgan’s annual meeting. The shareholder, Bart Naylor, said he hopes the proposals get more votes than the 4 percent he got for a measure last year that called for Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) to break up. The Citigroup and JPMorgan proposals “are more deferential to the boards in asking them to study the vicissitudes of a breakup“, Naylor said in an interview. He hopes proxy advisory firms, which often sway one-third of votes with their recommendations to institutional investors, will back studies by directors even if they won’t tell directors to break up the banks.
Donald Trump can still be stopped – if Republican elites remember they’re conservatives (City A.M.) But, says this writer, the Republican elite really don’t want to back the obvious alternative, Ted Cruz, because he would try to upset some of their not so conservative favorite policies.
EU
Turkey Presses for EU Concessions as Price for Refugee Halt (Bloomberg) Turkey wants three things in return for stopping the transit of refugees from the Middle East to the European Union: money, a quicker path toward joining the EU, and the no-questions-asked right of Turks to travel to Europe. The first is no problem, the second a bit trickier. The hardest to deliver, for a 28-nation bloc beset by fears of terrorism and anti-foreigner demagoguery, is visa-free entry for 78 million Turks as of July. EU leaders meet Thursday to hash out an offer.
UK
Libor scandal: Former UBS and Citigroup trader Tom Hayes lost the best part of £1m on trading as he tried to raise funds to pay for his legal fees (City A.M.) Hayes, who was found guilty on eight counts of conspiracy to defraud last August for his role in manipulating Libor, has been attending a hearing at the Old Bailey since Monday to determine whether any of his assets should be confiscated under the Proceeds of Crime Act. The items that the former UBS and Citigroup trader could be asked to part with are worth over £2 million and include a house in Surrey valued at £1.7 million, his wedding ring and his wife Sarah Tighe’s wedding and engagement rings. Hayes says he lost most of his liquid assets (nearly £1 million) trying to trade to raise money for legal fees.
Budget 2016: Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) director Paul Johnson says chancellor George Osborne “really is running out wriggle room” (City A.M.) Chancellor George Osborne will likely need to hike taxes or cut spending if he is to meet his self-imposed target of balancing the budget by the end of the decade, the director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has warned. Paul Johnson, who runs the influential think tank, said today that the chancellor has little flexibility if he is going to satisfy his so-called fiscal rule.
Japan
Under the Hood of Japan Trade Data Are Weak Exports to U.S. (Bloomberg) Exports to the U.S., which for most of last year were a bright spot amid slowing demand from China, were almost flat in value terms over the past several months as the yen strengthened against the dollar. Overall, the outlook for Japanese exports is getting more gloomy.
China
Here comes the modern Chinese consumer (McKinsey) Despite concerns about economic growth, the country’s consumers keep spending. Yet McKinsey’s latest survey reveals changes in what they’re buying and how they’re buying it.
North Korea
North Korea fires ballistic missile into sea (BBC News) North Korea has fired a ballistic missile into the sea, South Korean and US officials say. They say the missile, launched off the east coast, flew about 800km (500 miles) and fell into the water. North Korea has not commented on the report. A US defence spokesperson later said a second missile was launched. US President Barack Obama earlier imposed new sanctions on Pyongyang, after its recent “illicit” nuclear test and satellite launch.
