Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 13 October 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
Asian markets were mixed, as Chinese markets shrug off weak China trade data (CNBC) Headline needs updating. Asian markets were down on Thursday after see-sawing following soft Chinese trade data. Mainland Chinese markets shrugged off figures showing steeper-than-expected declines in China’s dollar-denominated exports in September and an unexpected drop in imports. The Shanghai composite was up 0.09%, while the Shenzhen composite gained 0.241%, after briefly slipping into negative territory. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index remained under pressure, and was down 1.27%.
Cutting food waste by a quarter would mean enough for everyone, says UN (The Guardian) With the global population rising, wastage of products including 45% of all fruit and vegetables and 20% of meat is one of the greatest challenges to achieving food security. If the amount of food wasted around the world were reduced by just 25% there would be enough food to feed all the people who are malnourished, according to the UN.
Fossil Fuel Production Emits More Methane Than Previously Thought, NOAA Says (Inside Climate News) An exhaustive global study found emissions from oil, gas and coal sites are between 20 and 60% higher than many earlier estimates. The study also found that biological sources – including flatulent cows and rotting landfills – are to blame for the ongoing massive methane spike first detected by NOAA in 2007. See Upward revision of global fossil fuel methane emissions based on isotope database (Nature).
U.S.
Trump Slows GOP Defections as Lawmakers Led by Thune Retreat (Bloomberg) Donald Trump may have stanched the bleeding of Republican support for his embattled campaign, with several Republicans who had called on him to step down now saying they plan to vote for him. The reversals suggest that Trump may be on his way to containing the damage, at least within his party, caused by release of a 2005 tape in which he bragged about groping women. The most prominent about-face came from the No. 3 Senate Republican, John Thune of South Dakota, who over the weekend tweeted that Trump should step aside so his running mate, Mike Pence, could become the nominee. Thune said Tuesday night that he plans to vote for Trump anyway.
New wave of sexual harassment allegations threatens to sink Trump campaign (The Guardian) A series of women have come forward with claims about the Republican, while footage emerges of inappropriate remarks about a 10-year-old girl. Econintersect: We hesitate to put this on our reading list; it seems unlikely that all the allegations can be true. If you go to this article there are many more ugly headlines to click on. If you go there, don’t say we didn’t warn you.
HSBC: There’s Now a Very High Chance of a ‘Severe Fall’ In U.S. Stocks (Bloomberg) Tuesday’s big stocks drop may have just been the beginning. Or so says HSBC Holdings Plc technical analyst Murray Gunn. In a new note, Gunn says he is now on alert for a big dip in U.S. equities.
Who will win the presidency? (FiveThirtyEight) Donald Trump is approaching the low probability point that he experienced
EU
Bank of England warns: EU cannot replace the City (City A.M.) London’s financial services firms would rather head across the Atlantic to New York than relocate across the Channel if forced to leave London, a Bank of England deputy governor said yesterday, as diplomatic figures suggest that Europe would shoot itself in the foot if it drives a hard bargain with the City over Brexit. Jon Cunliffe, the Bank of England’s deputy governor with responsibility for financial stability, said that firms might start looking to New York as a better place to do business post-Brexit. He believes European hubs such as Frankfurt, Paris and Amsterdam do not pose serious competition to London’s leading financial status.
Libya
Libya’s Oil Production Set to Reach Three-Year High by December (Bloomberg) Libya’s oil production is set to reach a three-year high by December as fields restart and ports reopen after five years of armed conflict crippled sales. Output is now 540,000 barrels a day and will reach 900,000 barrels by the end of the year, Libya’s National Oil Corp. Chairman Mustafa Sanalla said Wednesday in Istanbul. That would be the highest production since June 2013, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Yemen
US enters Yemen war, bombing Houthis who launched missiles at navy ship (The Guardian) Pentagon says radar sites were attacked after the destroyer USS Mason came under attack and notes ‘we will respond to any further threat’. The sites were described as being involved in two missile attacks over the past four days on the destroyer USS Mason, operating out of the Bab al-Mandeb waterway between Yemen and east Africa. There was no immediate word on any casualties from the US attack on the radar sites, which the Pentagon noted came with the direct authorization of President Barack Obama.
India
Toyota’s Passage to India (Bloomberg) Toyota has a problem with India. The world’s biggest carmaker is a bit player in a country that’s forecast to become the third-biggest auto market by 2020. Honda, Hyundai, and Mahindra & Mahindra each take a share of unit sales bigger than Toyota’s 4.6%. In the compact car segment that dominates the local market, its position is even worse: The real Indian elephant in this room is Maruti Suzuki, which has almost half the country’s auto market to itself and is now worth about 60% more than its Japanese controlling shareholder, Suzuki Motor. That dynamic helps explain why Toyota and Suzuki are burying a history of rivalry to start working together more closely. Maruti Suzuki’s position in the Indian market looks formidable, but there are sooty clouds on the horizon. They need to clean up dirty emissions but do not have the capital to finance the change. That’s where Toyota’s huge investment in India comes to the rescue.
China
China Exports Fall Most in Seven Months, Adding to Yuan Pressure (Bloomberg) China’s exports dropped the most since February as global demand remained tepid, adding to pressure to the yuan, which is near a six-year low.
Exports fell 10 percent from a year earlier in September, the customs administration said Thursday
Imports declined 1.9 percent
In yuan terms, shipments declined 5.6 percent, imports rose 2.2 percent
Trade surplus fell to $42 billion
Bermuda
Category Four hurricane Nicole heading towards Bermuda (Reuters) Extremely dangerous Category Four hurricane Nicole was heading for Bermuda, the National Hurricane Center said late Wednesday. Nicole was located about 180 miles (290 kilometers) south-southwest of Bermuda and was packing maximum sustained winds of 130 miles per hour (215 km/h), the NHC said. The core of Nicole will pass over or near Bermuda on Thursday, the NHC added. GEI weather and climate blogger Sig Silber who is tracking this storm thinks it will be a high category 2 or low 3 when it makes landfall later today.
