Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 04 November 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
Asia markets mixed; Japan, Australian markets in sharp sell-off (CNBC) Asia markets traded mixed, with Japanese shares leading losses and the Australian benchmark index slipping to a four-month low, as investors flocked to safe-haven assets amid worries about the U.S. election.
U.S.
FBI examining fake documents targeting Clinton campaign: sources (Reuters) The FBI and U.S. intelligence agencies are examining faked documents aimed at discrediting the Hillary Clinton campaign as part of a broader investigation into what U.S. officials believe has been an attempt by Russia to disrupt the presidential election, people with knowledge of the matter said. U.S. Senator Tom Carper, a Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, has referred one of the documents to the FBI for investigation on the grounds that his name and stationery were forged to appear authentic, some of the sources who had knowledge of that discussion said. In the letter identified as fake, Carper is quoted as writing to Clinton, “We will not let you lose this election,” a person who saw the document told Reuters. The fake Carper letter, which was described to Reuters, is one of several documents presented to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Justice for review in recent weeks, the sources said.
State releases 350 Clinton emails unearthed by FBI (The Hill) The State Department on Thursday released 357 of the 15,000 Hillary Clinton emails uncovered by the FBI during its investigation into the former secretary of State’s personal email server. Many of the documents – comprising about 1,250 pages – are “near duplicates” of documents Clinton provided to the State Department in 2014 and have already been made public, according to the agency. A “near duplicate,” according to the agency, would include emails identical to previously released chains that were forwarded from Clinton to aides with the note, “Please print,” for example. The newly released documents are records of emails sent or received by Clinton directly in her official capacity as secretary of State. A federal judge last month ordered the State Department to review approximately 1,000 documents before Nov. 8, releasing in batches those that are subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request that is driving their release. Thursday’s is the third batch. The Department made public 75 emails, or around 270 pages, on Oct. 7 and about 112 emails or 240 pages on Oct. 21 – many of which were also “near duplicates” and contained little new information. State officials are scheduled to review 350 more emails from the FBI files and publish what they are able to Friday. Thereafter, the agency will review 500 pages a month, producing as many relevant documents as exist in each batch.
Fed Rate Increase Odds Approach 80% as Job Growth Seen Rising (Bloomberg) Bond traders are becoming more certain the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next month as economists say a U.S. jobs report Friday will show enough improvement to justify such a move. The odds of a rate increase at the Fed’s December meeting rose to 78%, the highest level since March, from 69% at the end of last week, futures contracts indicate. The report will show employers added 173,000 workers in October, versus 156,000 in September, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists.
Mark Zuckerberg’s Fortune Tumbles by $3 Billion as Facebook Growth Set to Slow: Chart (Bloomberg) Mark Zuckerberg lost $3 billion on Thursday, more than anyone else on Earth, after executives suggested Facebook Inc. probably won’t be able to keep up with its explosive pace of growth much longer. The sobering comments came on a Wednesday evening earnings call even as the Menlo Park, California-based company reported third-quarter sales increased 56% to $7.01 billion. Zuckerberg is the world’s fifth richest person with a $52 billion fortune, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
EU
EU Has Wide Variation of Carbon Footprints (Twitter) Sweden is the cleanest per capita and Luxemburg the dirtiest.
UK
A Chinese Company Will Build London’s Tallest Tower, Brexit or No (Bloomberg) China’s third largest developer will build the £800 million ($997 billion), 67-story tower, which, when completed, would be the tallest residential tower in Western Europe as well as the tallest building in London. The location is a former warehouse site in the far east end of London next to Canary Wharf.
Germany
Fitch puts Deutsche Bank rating on negative watch (CNBC) Fitch Ratings placed the debt ratings of struggling Deutsche Bank on negative watch Thursday given likely challenges for the German lender to implement its restructuring plan. This past July, S&P Global Ratings lowered its outlook on the bank to negative, citing challenges to that turnaround plan, while affirming a “BBB+/A-2” credit rating. This is just two levels above “junk”. Deutsche Bank stock (NYSE:DB) is down 87% from its 2006 high.
Afghanistan
Dozens of Afghan civilians, two U.S. service members killed in clashes in north (Reuters) Dozens of Afghan civilians were killed on Thursday in air strikes called in when U.S. and local troops came under heavy fire during an operation in the north of the country in which two American service members also died. Afghan officials said there was heavy fighting overnight in the village of Buz Kandahari, about 5 km (3 miles) from the center of the city of Kunduz, which Afghan Taliban fighters succeeded in entering as recently as last month. Air strikes called in to protect U.S. and Afghan special forces conducting the operation caused heavy casualties. According to Asadullah Amarkhil, the governor of Kunduz, who added that dozens had been wounded:
“Unfortunately more than 30 civilians, including women and children, were killed during the fighting. This was a horrible incident.”
China
Is China Making the Same Mistakes That Crushed Japan’s Economy? (Bloomberg) China and Japan may seem to inhabit alternative economic universes. After more than two decades of stagnation, Japan is a fading global power that can’t seem to revive its fortunes no matter what unorthodox gimmicks it tries. By contrast, China’s ascent to superpower status appears relentless as it gains wealth, technology, and ambition. Yet these Asian neighbors have a lot in common, and that doesn’t bode well for China’s economic future. The sad case of Japan should serve as a cautionary tale for China’s policymakers. Beijing pursued almost identical economic policies to Tokyo’s to generate its rapid development. Now China’s leaders are repeating the missteps the Japanese made that tanked Japan’s economy and thwarted its revival.
Mexico
Mexico’s Government Is Working on a Trump Contingency Plan (Bloomberg) Financial leaders in Mexico anticipating the prospect of volatility in their markets or a slump in trade following the result of the U.S. presidential election are weighing the idea of a wall of their own — call it a firewall. Central Bank Governor Agustin Carstens, who has called Republican nominee Donald Trump a “hurricane” for Mexico’s economy, told Milenio TV that Mexico risks turbulence no matter who wins the vote on Nov. 8. The central bank is working on a contingency plan with Finance Minister Jose Antonio Meade, who told Televisa Wednesday there’s not much point in intervening in the peso for now.
