Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 25 July 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.
Please share this article – Go to very top of page, right hand side for social media buttons.
Global
- Asian markets mixed as dollar searches for direction; FOMC meeting ahead (CNBC) Asian indexes were mixed on Tuesday as markets awaited the upcoming Federal Market Open Committee (FOMC) meeting and kept an eye on the dollar amid greater uncertainty over the White House’s ability to pass key policy proposals. The dollar index gave up some of the gains made in the previous session to trade down at 93.937, but remained above a 13-month low that it hit earlier in the week. Brent crude rose 0.53% to trade at $48.86 per barrel and U.S. crude gained 0.56% to trade at $46.60. Spot gold was nearly unchanged at $1,255.32 per ounce, as of 0403 GMT. In the previous session, it touched $1,258.79 an ounce, its highest since June 23.
U.S.
- Cruz denies he is being considered for attorney general (The Hill) Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) denied Monday night that the Trump administration is considering him as a possibility for attorney general, saying he is focused on his position in the Senate. Cruz said in a statement, as reported by NBC News:
“Jeff Sessions is a friend and a strong conservative. I was proud to vote to confirm Jeff and to vigorously defend his confirmation, and I’m deeply gratified that we have a principled conservative like Jeff Sessions serving as Attorney General.”
- President Trump Says Obamacare Has ‘Wreaked Havoc’ on Americans (Time) One day before the Senate votes whether to begin debate on repealing the Affordable Care Act, President Trump called the 2010 law “death” and a “nightmare” that has wreaked havoc on the lives of Americans. Speaking from the Blue Room in the White House Monday, Trump argued that Republicans who fail to support the motion to proceed on repealing the health care law will be supporting the existing law in essence.
EU
- Tech Shares Rise as Dollar Stabilizes, Oil Gains: Markets Wrap (Bloomberg) The strong euro rally has taken a toll on European stocks.
France
- French President Emmanuel Macron’s Popularity Is Plummeting (Time) French President Emmanuel Macron’s approval rating fell 10% in July, just three months after he swept into power on a tide of antipathy towards mainstream parties. An IFOP poll, published on Sunday in the Journal du Dimanche newspaper, found 54% of people in France were satisfied with Macron in July, compared to 64% in June. The last time a French president had lost that much ground in three months was in 1995, when Jacques Chirac’s approval rating fell by 20%, Journal du Dimanche reports.
India
- Nifty Conquers 10,000-Mark For The First Time (Bloomberg) India’s NSE Nifty index hit the 10,000-mark for the first time on Tuesday, further cementing its position as one of Asia’s best performing stock market gauges. The NSE Nifty 50 Index rose 0.45% to 10,011.30 at 9:16 a.m., led by cement makers and select bank stocks. The S&P BSE Sensex also hit an intraday record high of 32,374.
South Korea
- South Korea is looking to increase its ballistic missile firepower to a one-ton conventional warhead, but even that is below the amount the North is known to have in its arsenal.
- Top U.S. general says the North Koreans today are capable of “a limited missile attack” but he’s confident the American military can defend against it.
- However, a national security expert estimates the North has around 1,000 ballistic missiles and insists some of the firepower from North Korea could still get through despite defenses, particularly if the hermit regime were to conduct “large salvos” of rockets.
China
- China is said to have increased its military defenses along its border with North Korea.
- This comes as President Donald Trump considers a military response to Pyongyang’s provocations.
- Both U.S. and Chinese officials continue to push for a diplomatic solution, rather than a military one.
- Pooh, Porn and Politics Have No Place on China’s Internet (Bloomberg) China’s government moved this month to stop individuals from using virtual private networks (VPNs), one of the most popular ways for expats and locals to access banned websites like Twitter and Google. It’s disrupted the WhatsApp messaging service, which had provided a secure forum for sensitive communication. Even the Waldorf Astoria Beijing, which used to help foreign guests bypass censorship controls as a courtesy like many top-tier hotels, started notifying visitors that such services would not be extended, according to people familiar with the matter.
