Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 30 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
Asian shares lower; Toshiba drop on reports of lawsuit (CNBC) Asian shares were lower on Monday as investors eye the international backlash against U.S. President Donald Trump’s immigration policy, which has added pressure on the dollar. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a currency basket, was at 100.18 versus levels above 100.50 seen late last week. Spot gold, viewed as a safe haven asset, was up 0.13% at $1,192.80 an ounce. See also Oil extends decline as rising US output weighs.
OPEC Convinces Investors That Its Oil Output Cuts Are Real (Bloomberg) Money managers are the most optimistic on West Texas Intermediate oil prices in at least a decade as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers reduce crude output. Saudi Arabia has said more than 80% of the targeted reduction of 1.8 million barrels has been implemented. Oil shipments from OPEC are plunging this month, according to tanker-tracker Petro-Logistics SA.
U.S.
U.S. Says It Is Helping to Restore Order to Global Air Industry (Bloomberg) The U.S. government said it was taking steps to restore order to the global air transport industry after a weekend of chaos following President Donald Trump’s travel ban on seven predominantly Muslim countries. Permanent U.S. residents from nations covered by Trump’s order should no longer be detained at American airports and no one covered by the ban should be getting on planes overseas, the Department of Homeland Security said. The agency’s statements late Sunday were attempts to rectify a weekend of confusion in which everyone from travelers to airline gate crews to immigration officers were left to contend with conflicting edicts. On one side was Trump’s order suspending travel from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen and Libya. On the other: three U.S. court orders blocking parts of the ban. For an example of the problems, see Hours After Landing In U.S., Cleveland Clinic Doctor Forced To Leave By Trump’s Order.
When even men who risk their lives for the US are denied entry, the dream of America is dead (The Telegraph) A Iraqi who worked for the American government and contractors for most of the years the U.S. was in his country has spent years running from assassins and trying to protect his family. When he finally got the five visas needed for him family he left Erbil in Kurdistan and flew to New York through Istanbul, arriving in New York just in time to be rejected by the Trump ban. It was 19 hours before he and his family were released.
Trump says U.S. will resume issuing visas to all countries over next 90 days (Bloomberg) President Donald Trump, trying to quell a backlash over his “extreme vetting” order, said the United States would resume issuing visas to all countries once secure policies are put in place over the next 90 days. Under an order he signed on Friday, immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries were barred from entering the United States. The decision has drawn large protests at many U.S. airports, where some travelers from those countries have been stranded.
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz: We will hire 10,000 refugees (CNBC) In the wake of President Donald Trump’s executive order barring immigrants from seven predominately Muslim countries, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz vowed to hire 10,000 refugees globally. Schultz said in a message to employees posted on the company’s website on Sunday:
“We will neither stand by, nor stand silent, as the uncertainty around the new administration’s actions grows with each passing day. There are more than 65 million citizens of the world recognized as refugees by the United Nations, and we are developing plans to hire 10,000 of them over five years in the 75 countries around the world where Starbucks does business.”
Trump’s heartland voters shrug off global uproar over immigration ban (Reuters) Many of President Donald Trump’s core political supporters had a simple message on Sunday for the fiercest opponents of his immigration ban: Calm down. The relaxed reaction among the kind of voters who drove Trump’s historic upset victory – working- and middle-class residents of Midwest and the South – provided a striking contrast to the uproar that has gripped major coastal cities, where thousands of protesters flocked to airports where immigrants had been detained. In the St. Louis suburb of Manchester, Missouri, 72-year-old Jo Ann Tieken characterized the president as bringing reason into an overheated debate. She said:
“Somebody has to stand up, be the grown up and see what we can do better to check on people coming in. I’m all for everybody to stop and take a breath … Just give it a chance.”
UK
Theresa May’s visit to Turkey is more evidence of her desperate search for trading partners to replace the EU at any cost (Independent) Hat tip to Naked Capitalism. As the international political order fragments, Theresa May flew from seeing Donald Trump, who speaks approvingly of the use of torture, to a meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who is presiding over the reintroduction of torture in Turkey. The talks with Erdogan will be seen as endorsing the destruction of Turkish democracy; he is replacing it with a presidential system as dictatorial and repressive as anything seen in Latin America in the 1960s and 1970s. This article refers to May’s “opportunism and hypocrisy“.
Trade deals are difficult to negotiate and Britain lacks the skills for the job (The Conversation) The author, an internatiuonal business professor, says that what Theresa May is doing hopping arpund the globe falls far short of what is needed for negotiating trade agreements.
Trump’s team fears climate change differences with Prince Charles could flare up in state visit (The Telegraph) While the president will probably meet with Prince Charles on his visit to Britain, there may be no contact in public where questions about climate change might arise.
Philippines
Philippines to suspend drug war to clean up ‘corrupt’ police (BBC News) Police Chief Ronald dela Rosa said on Monday that anti-drug units would be dissolved. It comes after the murder of a South Korean businessman inside police headquarters. He had been kidnapped and killed by anti-drug police. More than 7,000 people have been killed since the crackdown on drugs began. The death toll and President Rodrigo Duterte’s hardline stance against drugs have attracted intense criticism from human rights groups and Western countries, although the president continues to enjoy a high level of support among Filipinos. Speaking on Monday, Mr Dela Rosa said Mr Duterte “told us to clean the organisation first“.
“We will cleanse our ranks… then maybe after that, we can resume our war on drugs.”
China
Trump May Be Pushing China Into Clash That Won’t Benefit Anyone (The Wire) China could take on the US’s attack to try and emerge as a “full fledged super power”.
Australia
Trump gives Turnbull refugee deal green light but government provides no detail (The Conversation) US President Donald Trump has told Malcolm Turnbull he will honour the deal the Australian government did with the Obama administration to take refugees who are being held offshore. But although government sources indicated the assurance had been given in Sunday’s 25-minute telephone conversation between the two leaders, no further details were being provided about what was said on the matter – for example whether there had been any mention about timing. See also next article.
Trump Pledges To Honour Obama’s Australian Refugee Deal, Source Says (BuzzFeed) Trump reassured Turnbull during a phone call on Sunday the landmark deal made last year under president Obama would be honoured. It will see hundreds of refugees, mostly Iranians and Iraqis, currently living in Australia’s controversial offshore detention network on Manus Island and Nauru resettled in the United States.
A housing affordability crisis in regional Australia? Yes, and here’s why (The Conversation) The newly released annual Demographia report on housing affordability has found – once again – that Australia has some of the least affordable housing markets in the world. Sydney was ranked as the second-least-affordable housing market behind Hong Kong. Australia had the dubious distinction of having four of the ten least-affordable housing markets covered by the survey. Melbourne was ranked the tenth-most-unaffordable housing market. Wingecarribee and Tweed Heads came in at seventh and eighth respectively. The report covers major world centres and includes London and New York.
Canada
Canada: Five Killed in Shooting at Quebec City Mosque (The Wire) Five people were killed after gunmen opened fire in a Quebec City mosque during evening prayers, the mosque’s president told reporters on Sunday, in what Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called a “terrorist attack on Muslims“. “We condemn this terrorist attack on Muslims in a centre of worship and refuge,” Trudeau said in a statement. A witness told Reuters that up to three gunmen fired on about 40 people inside the Quebec City Islamic Cultural Centre. Ironically, the attack came the same day as Trudeau issued invitations to refugees turned away by the U.S. For an update see Quebec City mosque shooting: Six killed, eight wounded (BBC News)
Canada PM Says Mosque Attack That Killed Six Is Terrorism (Bloomberg) Authorities reported two arrests in what Canada’s prime minister called an act of terrorism. One suspect was arrested at the scene and another nearby in d’Orleans, Quebec. Police did not release their names. Econintersect: Will they be called ‘radical Christian terrorists’?
