Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 22 April 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.
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Global
Global Equities Gain for the Week (Twitter)
Gigantic Wind Turbines Signal Era of Subsidy-Free Green Power (Bloomberg) Offshore wind turbines are about to become higher than the Eiffel Tower, allowing the industry to supply subsidy-free clean power to the grid on a massive scale for the first time. Manufacturers led by Siemens AG are working to almost double the capacity of the current range of turbines, which already have wing spans that surpass those of the largest jumbo jets. The expectation those machines will be on the market by 2025 was at the heart of contracts won by German and Danish developers last week to supply electricity from offshore wind farms at market prices by 2025.
Just three years ago, offshore wind was a fringe technology more expensive than nuclear reactors and sometimes twice the cost of turbines planted on land. The fact that developers such as Energie Baden-Wuerttemberg AG and Dong Energy A/S are offering to plant giant turbines in stormy seas without government support show the economics of the energy business are shifting quicker than anyone thought possible — and adding competitive pressure on the dominant power generation fuels coal and natural gas.
U.S.
Trump Makes Paperwork, Not Jobs, in ‘Economic Nationalism’ Push (Bloomberg) President Donald Trump spent the week talking tough about trade and foreign workers, but his actions will do more this year to create paperwork at federal agencies than jobs for Americans.
In what’s been dubbed “economic nationalism week” inside the White House, Trump has posed for photos while signing executive actions on trade, foreign hiring and U.S. manufacturing. He said at Snap-On Inc. in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Tuesday that he is sending “a powerful signal to the world: We’re going to defend our workers, protect our jobs and finally put America first.”
The executive order and a memorandum Trump signed, however, simply direct federal agencies to spend months studying issues and making recommendations. Whether any policy changes result that eventually create jobs is unclear. While studies can be valuable, they shouldn’t be confused with actions that affect the economy or unemployment, analysts and economists said.
Nurse Replaces Surgeon General After Obama Appointee Resigns (The New York Times) Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy, an Obama administration holdover, was asked to resign by the Trump administration on Friday. He was replaced by his deputy, Rear Adm. Sylvia Trent-Adams, one of the first nurses to serve as surgeon general. Admiral Trent-Adams will for now be in an acting role.
Portland Executive Covertly Donates $1 Million to Inauguttion after being Shamed over Trump Support (The Intercept) This article claims large numbers of fictitious fronts made donations to the inauguration:
The list of donors to the 58th Presidential Inaugural Committee is rife with apparently fictitious names and other attempts to conceal the identity of the donor. As we reported on Thursday, the committee’s filing listed a $25,000 donation falsely identified as a gift from Katherine Johnson, the famed NASA mathematician and physicist who was portrayed in the film “Hidden Figures.”
Click to view readable image of entire data file.
Treasury Snapshot: The Recent Breakout in Yields Appears to Be in Reversal (Advisor Perspectives) Let’s take a closer look at recent activity in US Treasuries. The yield on the 10-year note ended the day at 2.21% and the 30-year bond closed at 2.92%, well off their interim highs. What recently appeared to be a breakout to higher yields may be about to wash out.
UK
Russia
U.S. will not give Exxon permission to drill in Russia (Reuters) The United States will not make an exception for American companies, including oil major Exxon Mobil Corp, seeking to drill in areas prohibited by U.S. sanctions on Russia, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Friday. The unusually direct statement served to clarify that the United States would maintain a tough stance on sanctions against Moscow.
India
India visit ‘very productive’ despite controversy, says Sajjan (BBC News) Canada’s Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan says his official visit to India has been “very productive” despite political tensions. Mr Sajjan says he has been able to bolster ties between India and Canada. Punjab’s top elected official had accused him of sympathising with a Sikh independence movement, which he denies. Mr Sajjan also distanced himself from a recent motion passed by a Canadian provincial legislature describing 1984 anti-Sikh riots as “genocide“. The Canadian minister’s six-day trip is meant as an opportunity to strengthen security and defence relations between the two nations, and he has met with his Indian counterparts and business executives. But it hit turbulence when Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh alleged on a television program that Mr Sajjan was “a Khalistani sympathiser“. The Khalistan movement seeks to create a separate independent Sikh homeland in the Sikh-dominated northern state of Punjab. Harjit Sajjan is pictured below during his visit to India.
Afghanistan
Death toll in Afghan base attack rises to 140, officials say (Reuters) As many 140 Afghan soldiers were killed on Friday by Taliban attackers apparently disguised in military uniforms in what would be the deadliest attack ever on an Afghan military base, officials said. One official in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif, where the attack occurred, said on Saturday at least 140 soldiers were killed and many others wounded. Other officials said the toll was likely to be even higher.
China
China Should Open Service Sector to Boost Trade Flows, IMF Says (Bloomberg) China should open up its services sector to ease trade tensions with the U.S. and bolster global trade, according to a senior official from the International Monetary Fund. The medical, health, legal and financial services sectors are among areas that could be liberalized, Changyong Rhee, the Asia-Pacific director at the IMF, said in an interview at a gathering of finance and economy ministers in Washington. “China can gain a lot by opening its services sector” and having more trade with the U.S., said Rhee.
Australia
US to honour ‘dumb’ Australia migrant deal (BBC News) The United States has confirmed it will be going through with a migrant resettlement plan made with Australia. US President Donald Trump once called the deal, which was agreed under his predecessor, “dumb“. The agreement allows for up to 1,250 asylum seekers to Australia to resettle in the US. In return, Mr Turnbull’s administration has agreed to resettle people from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador who have sought asylum in the US.
