Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 17 June 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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U.S.
Trump owes lenders at least $315 million, disclosure shows (Reuters) President Donald Trump had personal liabilities of at least $315.6 million to German, U.S. and other lenders as of mid-2017, according to a federal financial disclosure form released late on Friday by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics. He had roughly $20 million in income from his new marquee Washington hotel, which opened just down the street from the White House last September. Revenues also increased at Mar-a-Lago, the Florida resort known as the “Winter White House“. Trump reported income of at least $594 million for 2016 and early 2017 and assets worth at least $1.4 billion.
The 98-page disclosure document posted on the ethics office’s website showed liabilities for Trump of at least $130 million to Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas [DBKGK.UL], a unit of German-based Deutsche Bank AG (DE:DBKGn).
President Trump’s Income From Mar-a-Lago Is Way Up (Fortune) Income for Trump from Mar-a-Lago has more than doubled since he declared his candidacy for president.
Donald Trump’s income from his Mar-a-Lago resort is up this year, according to personal financial disclosures filed on Friday.
Mar-a-Lago, which Trump has referred to as the “Winter White House,” made $37.2 million from Jan. 2016 through this spring, an increase from the previous year, when the resort earned $29.8 million. Trump’s 2015 filing showed that the resort earned $15.6 million.
Trump reports assets of at least $1.4 billion in financial disclosure (Politico) Is Donald Trump a billionaire? Maybe. From this article:
Trump reported assets of at least $1.4 billion and income of at least $596.3 million in the 2016 calendar year and the early months of 2017. He reported owing at least $310 million to various financial institutions, including at least $130 million to Deutsche Bank.
3 Republican governors sign on to letter rejecting ‘Trumpcare’ (Business Insider) Three Republican governors, John Kasich of Ohio, Brian Sandoval of Nevada, and Charlie Baker of Massachusetts, signed onto a letter sent to congressional leaders Friday rejecting the current iteration of the GOP healthcare bill. In the letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, three Republican governors and four Democratic governors called for bipartisan efforts to reform the healthcare system. The four Democrats are Steve Bullock of Montana, John W. Hickenlooper, Governor of Colorado, Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania, and John Bel Edwards of Louisiana.
Rasmussen Poll says Trump has 50% approval rating, president celebrates (USA Today) Per one poll, President Trump’s approval rating hit 50% on Friday, resulting in a celebration from the president. The Rasmussen Reports daily tracking poll found that 50% of likely U.S. voters approve of the president, while 50% disapprove. The poll releases its results at 9:30 a.m. Monday through Friday. See also next article. Trump proclaimed it “great news” within a couple hours:
Daily Presidential Tracking Poll (Rasmussen Reports) Daily tracking results are collected via telephone surveys of 500 likely voters per night and reported on a three-day rolling average basis. To reach those who have abandoned traditional landline telephones, Rasmussen Reports uses an online survey tool to interview randomly selected participants from a demographically diverse panel. The margin of sampling error for the full sample of 1,500 Likely Voters is +/- 2.5 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Econintersect: Rasmussen often differs by more than 2.5% from most other major polls.
The Latest from the President (Twitter) Well it’s not quite the latest, but from Friday. Econintersect: Is it time to plead for an intervention? To prevent an intweetment? (See comment to tweet.)
UK
Cladding ‘fitted on Grenfell Tower’ is BANNED in US and Germany as material is ruled unsafe for tall buildings (Mirror) Hundreds of aluminium panels are thought to have been fitted to the outside of the tower by Harley Facades, a small family firm subcontracted as part of that refurbishment. US-based Reynobond makes three types of panel: one with a flammable plastic core and two with fire-resistant cores. Last night investigators were probing whether the cheaper and more combustible, versions were used by the contractors.
Reynobond’s fire-resistant panel sells for £24 per square metre – £2 more expensive than the standard version. Estimates suggest that the cost of using the more expensive version would have cost about £5000.
Bank of England to Probe Banks’ Exposure to Climate Change (Financial Times, Twitter)
France
Why Emmanuel Macron Isn’t Talking to the Press (Bloomberg) Donald Trump tweets five times a day and regularly gives extended interviews. Since Emmanuel Macron became president of France last month, voters have barely heard from him. Macron has had one short conversation with a newspaper, left tweeting to his communications team and avoided direct contact with the traditional media. The glimpses the French public has had of its 39-year-old leader have largely been confined to set-piece events with foreign dignitaries, tightly controlled speeches and made-for-Facebook video clips, such as his snub to the U.S. president at a NATO summit in Brussels.
Pollsters say the approach is set to give him an historic majority in the National Assembly on Sunday. The question is whether it will keep voters onside once he gets down to running the country.
Greece
Nothing has Changed (Yanis Varoufakis, Twitter) YV has contributed to GEI. Econintersect: From Michael Hudson: “Debts that can’t be paid, won’t be.”
Japan
7 Navy crew missing, skipper hurt after collision off Japan (Associated Press) Seven Navy sailors were missing and the captain and at least two others were injured after a U.S. destroyer and a container ship collided off the coast of Japan before dawn Saturday, the U.S. Navy and Japanese coast guard reported. Rescuers were searching for the seven sailors who were thought to have been thrown into the sea or possibly trapped inside damaged sections of the destroyer, said Japanese coast guard spokesman Yoshihito Nakamura. None of the crew of the container ship was reported injured. The Japan coast guard said it received an emergency call from a Philippine-registered container ship ACX Crystal around 2:20 a.m. (1720 GMT Friday) that it had collided with the Fitzgerald southwest of Yokusuka, Japan.
Cuba
Cubans say crestfallen that Trump rolling back detente (Reuters) Cubans said they were crestfallen to be returning to an era of frostier relations with the United States as the news spread that U.S. President Donald Trump was set to revert parts of the historic detente with Cuba.