Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 11 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
Asian markets mostly in the green following mixed US close, higher oil prices (CNBC) Most Asian indexes gained in Thursday trade, following a mixed close stateside as investors monitored potential fallout on President Donald Trump’s policies after FBI Director James Comey was fired. The dollar was softer against a basket of rivals, with the dollar index trading at 99.613 after four straight sessions of gains. U.S. West Texas International crude was up by 0.4% to trade at $47.52 a barrel while while Brent crude gained 0.38% to trade at $50.41. Spot gold was up 0.2% at $1,220.56 per ounce by 0316 GMT. It hit an eight-week low of $1,213.81 on Tuesday. U.S. gold futures also gained 0.2%, to $1,220.70 an ounce.
U.S.
Two Republican Senators Oppose Trump’s Trade Pick, Cite Nafta Concerns (Bloomberg) Republican senators John McCain (Arizona) and Ben Sasse (Nebraska) said they plan to vote against President Donald Trump’s pick for trade secretary, citing concerns about the nominee’s protectionist rhetoric and the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Opposition from just one more Republican senator and all Democrats would be enough to block the confirmation of Robert Lighthizer as the top trade negotiator for the U.S., even if Vice President Mike Pence casts a vote in his favor. McCain and Sasse said in a letter they aren’t convinced the 69-year-old veteran lawyer understands the “positive economic benefits” of NAFTA.
Trump angry Comey would not back wiretap claims about Obama: report (The Hill) President Trump was angered former FBI Director James Comey would not back his claims that former President Barack Obama wiretapped him, according to a new report. Comey’s lack of support partially led Trump to fire him, The Washington Post reported Wednesday. The Post said that Trump was also angry Comey publicly revealed the breadth of counterintelligence into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential race. Trump also disliked Comey paying more attention to the FBI’s probe of Russian election interference than leaks from administration officials to journalists.
Comey infuriated Trump with refusal to preview Senate testimony: aides (Reuters) The anger behind Donald Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday had been building for months, but a turning point came when Comey refused to preview for top Trump aides his planned testimony to a Senate panel, White House officials said. Trump, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had wanted a heads-up from Comey about what he would say at a May 3 hearing about his handling of an investigation into former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server. When Comey refused, Trump and his aides considered that an act of insubordination and it was one of the catalysts to Trump’s decision this week to fire the FBI director, the officials said.
Comey had pushed for more resources for Russia probe before being fired by Trump: source (Reuters) FBI Director James Comey, days before President Donald Trump fired him, told lawmakers he sought more resources for his agency’s probe into possible collusion between Trump’s presidential campaign and Russia to sway the 2016 U.S. election, a congressional source said on Wednesday. With the Republican president facing a storm of criticism from many Democratic lawmakers and some in his own party, the Trump administration accused Comey of “atrocities” on the job and denied his firing was related to the FBI’s Russia investigation.
How the ‘Trump Effect’ Is Driving Foreign Students Away From U.S. B-Schools (Bloomberg) The Graduate Management Admission Council, which administers business school entrance exams, says about two-fifths of 547 foreign applicants it surveyed in March were less likely to pursue a graduate management degree in America as a result of the 2016 election. And two-thirds of 86 U.S. MBA programs queried this spring have received fewer international applications this year than last, the GMAC says. A “less inclusive and less diverse” America is a turnoff for international students seeking MBAs.
Comey’s sudden ouster has Republicans divided (The Hill) President Trump’s shocking decision to fire FBI Director James Comey is splitting the Republican Party. Leaders on Capitol Hill are defending the move and attacking Democrats for hypocrisy while vulnerable rank-and-file Republicans and GOP mavericks are breaking with the White House. See also Chaffetz asks Justice Dept to investigate Comey firing.
What Happens to Trump-Russia Probe After Comey: QuickTake Q&A (Bloomberg) At the moment, the criminal probe into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election has all the stability of the Steinbrenner-era Yankees. With the U.S. attorney general self-sidelined, and the FBI director freshly fired, a makeshift lineup of law-enforcement officials now oversees an inquiry that has implications for American foreign policy, American politics and the Trump presidency. Calls for an outside prosecutor are getting louder.
Trump is losing some support from key parts of his base, poll says (CNBC) President Donald Trump’s approval with American voters has slipped in recent weeks, including among key groups that helped to fuel his electoral win last year, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday.
Only 36 percent of voters approved of how Trump is handling the presidency, while 58 percent disapproved. That compares to 40 percent approval and 56 percent disapproval in an April 19 survey.
The poll was conducted from Thursday to Tuesday, meaning most, if not all, of the voters responded before Trump fired FBI Director James Comey.
The Trump Investigators That Trump Has Fired (Bloomberg) Trump’s dismissal of FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday was the third time he’s fired someone involved in an investigation of him or his associates. The FBI has been investigating Russian involvement in the U.S. election and possible involvement of Trump associates since the summer. In each of these cases, the justifications for dismissal were inconsistent with prior actions, or immediately followed events related to investigations. Below is a timeline of the Comey “case”.
Turkey
Turkey warns U.S. of blowback from decision to arm Kurdish fighters in Syria (Reuters) Turkey warned the United States on Wednesday that a decision to arm Kurdish forces fighting Islamic State in Syria could end up hurting Washington, and accused its NATO ally of siding with terrorists.
The rebuke came a week before President Tayyip Erdogan is due in Washington for his first meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, who approved the arms supply to support a campaign to retake the Syrian city of Raqqa from Islamic State.
Turkey views the YPG as the Syrian extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has fought an insurgency in southeast Turkey since 1984 and is considered a terrorist group by the United States, Turkey and Europe.
Russia
Putin Is Taking Lessons From Trump on How to Win at the Polls (Bloomberg) The Kremlin thinks it knows the secret to Donald Trump’s election victory — and it’s not the kind of hacking you might think. The man Putin hired to deliver the crushing re-election win he’s seeking next March, Sergei Kiriyenko, wants to emulate Trump’s use of microtargeting — the mix of data mining and psychological profiling to deliver finely tuned ads — against Hillary Clinton, four people familiar with the matter said.
India
Scale Offsets Risk for Canada on Record India Shopping Spree (Bloomberg) Canada’s biggest asset managers, never afraid to push the investing envelope, have been loading up on Indian assets — big time. And it has been paying off – Indian stocks have far outperformed those in Canada.
South Korea
South Korea’s Moon Jae-in offers olive branch at inauguration (Financial Times) South Korea’s new president Moon Jae-in has used his inauguration to ease geopolitical tensions on the Korean peninsula, saying he is prepared to visit North Korea and to hold discussions with Washington and Beijing.
China
China Inflation (Twitter) Econintersect: China’s PPI inflation surge was at least partly due to oil prices doubling. The surge may subside dramatically now that oil seems to be pulling back.
