Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 10 January 2017
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 fall as yen strength weighs (CNBC) Asian markets were under pressure on Tuesday, as investor sentiment soured after the Dow retreated further from the 20,000 mark and oil prices plunged as much as 4% overnight. During Asian hours, U.S. crude was up 0.29% at $52.11 a barrel, while Brent was down 0.36% at $55.14.
U.S.
Clemson Defeats Alabama 35-31 to Win Its First College Football Title Since 1981 (Bloomberg) College football’s first national championship rematch was even better than the original, with an incredible twist at the end. Deshaun Watson and Clemson dethroned the champs and became the first team to beat Nick Saban’s Alabama dynasty in a national title game, taking down the top-ranked Crimson Tide 35-31 Monday night in the College Football Playoff. After three quarters Alabama led 24-14. Then Clemson took over to outscore the Tide 21-7 in the final quarter, including the winning touchdown with just 12 seconds remaining in the game.
Wisconsin tribe votes against renewing Enbridge pipeline agreements (Reuters) A Native American tribe in Wisconsin has voted against renewing agreements allowing Enbridge Inc to use their land for a major crude oil pipeline, the latest sign of increasing opposition to North American energy infrastructure.
Breakaway Senate Republicans Push to Delay Obamacare Repeal (Bloomberg) A breakaway group of five moderate Senate Republicans pushed Monday to delay a bill repealing Obamacare until March — potentially enough pressure to force the party’s leadership to comply. The step is the latest sign of some Republicans’ growing uneasiness about their leadership’s plan to repeal the law with no consensus on a replacement as part of an effort to deliver swiftly on one of President-elect Donald Trump’s top campaign promises. Senators Bob Corker of Tennessee, Rob Portman of Ohio, Susan Collins of Maine, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska offered an amendment Monday to the budget resolution that would extend the target date for the committees to write an Obamacare repeal bill to March 3 from Jan. 27.
Trump’s son-in-law Kushner to become senior White House adviser (Reuters) U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, will become a senior White House adviser working on trade and the Middle East, transition officials said on Monday, in a rare case of a close presidential family member taking a major job. Kushner, 35, who is married to Trump’s daughter Ivanka, is taking the post after receiving legal counsel that doing so would not violate U.S. anti-nepotism law, transition officials said. The position, unlike Cabinet posts, does not require U.S. Senate confirmation, and Kushner will not be paid.
Thousands in California and Nevada told to evacuate due to flooding (Reuters) Heavy rains and flooding along rivers forced the evacuation of thousands of people in a California wine making region and an area of Nevada east of Lake Tahoe on Monday, officials said, with more storms on the way. Regions of California and Nevada, two states which have suffered from drought for years, were walloped by storms over the past week from a weather system called the “Pineapple Express” that sent moisture streaming from Hawaii. For more on weather and climate issues see the just published Sig Silber post: January 9, 2017 Weather and Climate Report – Pineapple Express.
UK
Brexit worries weigh on pound as FTSE 100 hits another record high – business live (The Guardian) The pound continues to add to Monday’s losses, trading at $1.2137 Tuesday morning.
Switzerland
Switzerland Just Had the Worst Month for Skiing in 100 Years (Bloomberg) The ski season is a month shorter than it was four decades ago because of changing snowfall patterns. December produced the least snow in Switzerland since record-keeping began more than 100 years ago. The Jungfrau ski region, around the resort villages of Wengen and Grindelwald, suffered a 25% drop in visits from the start of the season through Jan. 2, according to co-owner Jungfraubahnen Holding AG. Further east and south in Europe have had snow but the western Alps in France and western Switzerland are dry as a bone. And, because of the drought, there is not even enough water to run snowmakers.
Turkey
Turkey’s currency rout begins to undermine creditworthiness (Twitter) The lira is down over 25% against the U.S. dollar since September.
Iran
U.S. Navy ship fired warning shots at Iranian vessels (Reuters) A U.S. Navy destroyer fired three warning shots at four Iranian fast-attack vessels near the Strait of Hormuz after they closed in at high speed and disregarded repeated requests to slow down, U.S. officials said on Monday.
India
The ‘Davos of the East’ Is Losing Its Sheen (Bloomberg) It has been touted as ‘Davos of the East’, but the biannual investors meet created by Narendra Modi in his home state of Gujarat has been losing sheen since he left to take charge as prime minister of India. Gujarat’s new chief minister is barely five months into the job after his predecessor quit following prolonged violent protests by young people in search of jobs. Questions are mounting over how many of the state’s record investment pledges are actually implemented, and it has lost its top spot in the World Bank’s ease of doing business rankings.
Philippines
Undersea earthquake of 7.3 magnitude hits southeast of Philippines: USGS (Reuters) A major undersea earthquake with a magnitude of 7.3 struck southeast of the Philippines on Tuesday, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said. The quake was measured at a depth of 617 km (380 miles), the USGS said.
North Korea
Stopping a N. Korean Missile No Sure Thing, U.S. Tester Says (Bloomberg) The U.S.’s $36 billion system of ground-based interceptors can’t yet be counted on to shoot down a nuclear-armed missile aimed at the West Coast by the likes of North Korea or Iran, the Pentagon’s weapons testing office says. The network of radar and communications combined with missiles based in California and Alaska has demonstrated only a “limited capability to defend the U.S. homeland from small numbers of simple” intercontinental ballistic missiles, the testing office said in its latest annual report.
Taiwan
Taiwan courts Central America after U.S. visit angers China (Reuters) Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen praised Honduras for its loyalty on Monday at the start of a trip to four Central American nations aimed at strengthening ties, days after she met U.S. lawmakers in Texas on a visit that angered China. Her trip has come under scrutiny since U.S. President-elect Donald Trump sparked protests from Beijing by accepting a congratulatory telephone call from Tsai on his U.S. election win, and by questioning U.S. commitment to China’s stance that Taiwan is part of one China. Tsai emphasized Taiwan’s economic cooperation with Honduras, one of the world’s poorest countries, and said President Juan Orlando Hernandez, whom she met in Tegucigalpa, had been the first to congratulate her on her 2016 election victory.
