Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 31 August 2016
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
Japanese shares advance amid a mixed Asian trading session (CNBC) Markets in Asia traded mixed on Wednesday, with Japanese shares gaining on the back of a weaker yen, while traders awaited the key August U.S. nonfarm payroll data due Friday.
U.S.
Hillary Clinton Has 30 Days to Answer 25 Queries on E-Mails (Bloomberg) Hillary Clinton has 30 days to provide written answers to 25 questions stemming from her use of a private e-mail server during her four years as U.S. secretary of state. Among the questions, drawn up by the watchdog group Judicial Watch with the permission of a federal judge, the Democratic presidential nominee is asked to explain under oath why and how that private e-mail system was created, when she decided to use it for official business, if she understood such messages would be subject to disclosure under the federal Freedom of Information Act and whether anyone warned her about the risks of hacking. Clinton has until Sept. 29 to answer the questions, according to Judicial Watch, which has filed several lawsuits seeking work-related e-mails and other documents from Clinton and her aides at the State Department. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan gave the group permission to question Clinton in an Aug. 19 court order denying its bid to sit her down for face-to-face questioning as her race for the White House against Republican nominee Donald Trump enters its post-Labor Day home stretch.
Trump to Mexico Wednesday for private meeting with president (The Hill) A Twitter exchange appears to confirm that Donald Trump will have a Mexico City meeting today with Mexican President Nieto.
Sen. John McCain wins primary contest in Arizona (Los Angeles Times) On Tuesday, McCain defeated his main challenger in the Republican primary, Kelli Ward, a former state lawmaker and staunch Trump supporter. Based on initial returns, McCain outpaced Ward by double digits, enough for the Associated Press to call the race. Throughout the primary, Ward consistently assailed McCain for his “tepid” support of Trump, seeking to exacerbate rifts that have developed over the years between the Arizona senator and the party’s base, who for the most part are in lockstep with Trump. The tactic by Ward forced McCain to repeatedly field questions about his views on Trump, leaving little discourse about issues that pertained specifically to Arizona.
Wasserman Schultz wins primary against Sanders-backed challenger (The Hill) Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), the embattled former Democratic National Committee chairwoman, defeated a primary challenger who was hoping for a boost from the presidential campaign and support of Bernie Sanders. Wasserman Schultz dispatched a challenge from law professor Tim Canova who sought to capitalize on the controversies surrounding her tenure at the DNC and ride on the popularity of Sanders. With 81% of the vote counted, Wasserman Schultz had 57% to Canova’s 42%, the Associated Press reported.
US Health Care Costs Surge to 17 Percent of GDP (The Fiscal Times) While total U.S. spending on health care increased 5.3 percent last year – topping $3 trillion overall – health care funded by the federal government rose by 11.7 percent, to nearly $844 billion in 2014, compared to a 3.5 percent increase in 2013, according to an annual report on health care costs released Wednesday by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers on Medicare and Medicaid Services. Econintersect: This article infers that healthcare costs are rising because of Obamacare. That is false. Healthcare expenditures are rising because of Obamacare. Costs have actually been falling – see next article.
Healthcare Inflation (Sober Look, Talk Markets) Healthcare expense in the PCE (personal consumption expenditures) inflation index has been deflating for almost the entire time since late 2008. See Health Care Services Depress Recent PCE Inflation Readings (Dallas Fed). But why, then do we see headlines like the preceding article? Because millions more people are receiving healthcare and that costs more money. The cause of rising aggregate health care expenditures is more people, not rising costs for services.
Green Bond Market will Continue to Grow (The Gold and Oil Guy) Green bonds are issued to use debt capital markets to fund climate solutions, projects that have positive environmental and/or climate benefits. The majority of the green bonds issued are green “use of proceeds” or asset-linked bonds. In this new financial era, how can one ensure that the necessary investments are still coming? In addition, how can investors ensure that they are still receiving financial returns? Green bonds may very well be the solution. According to HSBC, the green bonds market is rapidly increasing; around $80 billion worth of green bonds could be issued by the end of the year. This would represent almost a 100% year-on-year growth.
EU
The euro zone crisis: what would John Maynard do? (Dirk Ehnts, Institute for International Political Economy Berlin) DE is a frequent contributor to GEI. A conclusion of this paper is that the economic stagnation in Europe can be remedied by temporarily ignoring the rules imposed by the Stability and Growth Pact. Dr. Ehnts argues that the resolution is available via fiscal means. See also New Book: Modern Monetary Theory And European Macroeconomics.
UK
Brexit Britain could be new sweetheart after EU-US relations soured by Apple tax ruling (City A.M.) Britain could be the big winner from the tax feud between Europe and the US after the EU competition commission ruled Apple should pay a record €13bn in back taxes. It could position itself as a more attractive destination in the region than Ireland, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, where the majority of the biggest US tech companies are headquartered, away from the growing stranglehold of state aid laws and EU Commission, which Ireland accused of trying to influence tax policy.
Theresa May has ruled out a new referendum on EU membership, or an early general election (City A.M.) Earlier this week, Downing Street ruled out a parliamentary vote on the terms of the UK’s departure from the EU, and the government has today ruled out seeking a new public mandate. A spokeswoman for May said that MPs would be given “a say” over the future terms of Britain’s relationship with the EU, but stressed no vote would be held.
India
Act against terror, Kerry tells Pakistan (The Hindu) Speaking during his current visit to India, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry echoed India’s concerns and said the United States sought action from Pakistan on 26/11 attacks and the attack on the Pathankot airbase, while announcing that the U.S. will hold trilateral talks with Afghanistan and India during next month’s U.N. session to fine-tune counter-terror measures.
South Korea
Hanjin Shipping to file for receivership; rival eyes assets (Reuters) South Korea’s Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd (117930.KS) said it would file for court receivership after losing the support of its banks, and the country’s financial regulator said a rival operator will look to buy Hanjin’s “good” assets. Banks withdrew support for the world’s seventh-largest container carrier on Tuesday, saying a funding plan by its parent group was inadequate to tackle the firm’s 5.6 trillion won ($5 billion) in debt. Hanjin Shipping also said one of its vessels, the Hanjin Rome, was seized in Singapore by a creditor on Tuesday, while another vessel, the Hanjin Sooho, was denied entry to a port in Shanghai.
China
China faces 20 pct chance of a hard landing, says Swiss Re (CNBC) Not everyone is convinced that China may come out of its economic rebalancing transition unscathed. Swiss Reinsurance is putting the risk of a hard landing in the world’s second-largest economy at 20%. At the heart of its concerns is the high level of indebtedness in the economy, much of which can be attributed to state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and companies, Swiss Re’s chief economist Kurt Karl told CNBC’s “The Rundown“. The share of debt to gross domestic product (GDP) has risen to around 250%, Karl said. It was 120% around five years ago.
Australia
Australian banks dodge bullet as parliament rejects sweeping probe (Reuters) Australia announced a limited inquiry into bank misconduct on Wednesday although a motion for a more sweeping investigation into the scandal-ridden financial system was narrowly defeated by the government in parliament. The latest inquiry targeting mistreatment of small business customers is the government’s fourth measure this year to alleviate public concerns about the power of the big banks, following a series of revelations about misconduct. But the conservative Liberal-led coalition used its one-seat majority in parliament to defeat an opposition motion for a far more powerful Royal Commission into the sector, which could have seen bank executives forced to testify.