Written by Econintersect
​Early Bird Headlines 03 May 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
Asia markets mixed after Wall Street gains, oil rebounds, as Fed eyed (CNBC) Asian markets were mixed on Wednesday, as gains on Wall Street overnight were offset by disappointment with Apple earnings, with traders looking ahead to the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting results. In Asian trade, oil prices rebounded with U.S. light crude up 0.90% at $48.09 a barrel at 8:48 a.m. HK/SIN, after dropping 2.4% overnight, and Brent rose 1.05% at $50.99, after falling 2.3% overnight. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, fell to 98.909 by 9:30 a.m. HK/SIN, after touching levels above 99 overnight. Spot gold was down $0.80 at $1,256 per ounce, as of 0327 GMT. Bullion on Tuesday hit $1,251.37 per ounce, its lowest since April 10. U.S. gold futures were little changed at $1,257.30 an ounce.
U.S.
Trump struggles to win over moderate Republicans on healthcare overhaul (Reuters) Time was running short for President Donald Trump to attract enough votes to pass a new bill to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system this week as Republican party moderates held out, fearing a backlash from voters worried about losing insurance benefits. A senior House of Representatives Republican aide said on Tuesday night no decision had been made on bringing legislation to the floor this week before the House is due to start a week-long break late on Thursday. A bill would need to be filed by late Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning to hold the vote before the break.
Trump raises stakes for next shutdown fight (The Hill) Less than 48 hours after Congress reached a bipartisan deal on 2017 spending, President Trump warned the next round might not be so easy.
The president on Tuesday roiled the debate over a 2018 spending package – five months before Congress’s deadline to pass it – by promoting the notion that a “good shutdown” in September would go a long way toward fixing the “mess” in Washington.
Arriving by tweet just after 9 a.m., the comment – unprecedented for a sitting president – was seen as no threat to the 2017 omnibus funding package, which Congress is expected to send to Trump this week to prevent a shutdown on Saturday.
Russian election hacking ‘wildly successful’ in creating discord: former U.S. lawmaker (Reuters) Russia succeeded in its goals of sowing discord in U.S. politics by meddling in the 2016 presidential election, which will likely inspire similar future efforts, two top former U.S. voices on intelligence said on Tuesday.
Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and former House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers agreed at a panel at Harvard University that Russia likely believed it had achieved its goals and could attempt to repeat its performance in elections in other countries.
Fed is expected to ignore the fact that the economy barely grew in the first quarter (CNBC) The Federal Reserve is expected to signal that it sees the paltry economic growth in the first quarter as a temporary phenomenon that will not get in the way of its plans to raise interest rates. The Fed has forecast two more interest rates hikes for this year, and the market thinks odds are greater than 5% that the next hike will come in June. Following its two day meeting Wednesday (that’s today), the Fed’s Federal Open Market Committee is expected to hold its Fed funds target rate range steady but issue a statement at 2 p.m. ET. See also next article.
Is the Fed Repeating the 2003-2004 Mistake? (Twitter) See also preceding article.
Germany
Why a smooth Brexit is in the interests of Germany as much as the UK (John Weeks, The Conversation) JW has contributed to GEI. The author recounts his experiences during a visit to the Bundestag which revealed just how varied German attitudes to Brexit are.
India
How Pakistani and Indian women confront marital economic abuse (The Conversation) Many women are suffering from economic abuse in silence, although they do not accept it as a natural or cultural phenomenon. Some are fighting back in their own way, but their battles are limited by the socio-economic and legal resources available to them.
Afghanistan
Suicide attack on NATO convoy in Kabul kills eight civilians (Reuters) A suicide bombing in the Afghan capital Kabul on Wednesday killed eight people and wounded at least 28, officials said, in an attack on a convoy of armored personnel carriers used by the NATO-led Resolute Support mission.
The blast hit the NATO coalition convoy during the morning rush hour in one of the busiest areas of Kabul. Public health officials in the capital said eight civilians were killed and at least 25 wounded, with a number of civilian vehicles that were near the convoy destroyed or badly damaged.
A Resolute Support Spokesman, U.S. Navy Captain Bill Salvin, said three U.S. service members were wounded in the attack. The armored personnel carriers, which are designed to withstand large blasts, were able to return to a coalition base under their own power, he said.
