Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 11 December 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, published Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 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 nudge higher; bitcoin futures make their big debut (CNBC) Asian markets edged higher in Monday trade as investors focused their attention on the launch of bitcoin futures, and an upcoming Federal Reserve meeting that’s slated for later in the week. The dollar was a touch softer against a basket of rivals at 93.821 at 11:45 a.m. HK/SIN. Brent crude futures shed 0.49% to trade at $63.09 per barrel and U.S. crude edged down 0.5% to $57.06. Spot gold was nearly unchanged at $1,247.80 an ounce by 0045 GMT, after hitting its lowest since July 26 at $1,243.71 on Dec. 7.
- Bitcoin futures rocket past $18,000; Asian shares buoyant (Reuters) The craze for cryptocurrencies entered a new chapter on Monday as bitcoin futures rocketed by one-fifth of their value at a hotly anticipated launch, while Asian shares climbed amid optimism about global growth.
The most-traded contract on the Chicago-based CBOE Global Markets exchange XBTc1 opened at $15,460 in New York on Sunday evening, before leaping to a high of $18,700 – a gain of 21 percent. They were last quoted at $18,100 a premium of more than$1,700 to the price on Gemini Exchange.
U.S.
- What does Flynn’s indictment mean for Vice President Pence? (USA Today) Does the Vice President have a price to pay for associating with Michael Flinn?
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has a theory on why he was replaced by Mike Pence as head of Donald Trump’s presidential transition.
Christie told reporters Wednesday he thinks his opposition to naming retired Army general Michael Flynn as Trump’s national security adviser was a “significant reason” for his ouster.
Putting Flynn in that sensitive position was a “big mistake,” Christie says, one that the country is paying dearly for.
- The Trump Administration Is Scuttling a Rule That Would Save People From Dying of Carbon Monoxide Poisoning (ProPublica) It took 16 years and more than 1,000 deaths for the Consumer Products Safety Commission to crack down on deadly portable generators. Trump’s appointees could undo that in a matter of months.
- GOP Laying Groundwork To Cut Future Social Security, Medicare, Welfare Outlays (Financial Advisor Magazine) Cuts to entitlement programs including Social Security, Medicare and welfare may be on the chopping block “very soon, very shortly,” according to President Trump, in a sentiment being echoed with increasing frequency by other senior Republicans in the past two weeks. The cuts to entitlement and welfare programs are necessary not only to pay for tax reform and reduce the deficit, but to rev the economy, GOP leaders argue. Econintersect: This thinking is illogical on many levels.
- Trump seizes on media errors in attacks on ‘fake news’ (The Hill) President Trump has seized on recent mistakes by two top news networks as evidence to support his “fake news” claims. Recent errors by CNN and ABC News offered a major blow to media outlets that have come under criticism for inaccurate reports about the president and his campaign. Trump and his allies were quick to seize on media errors this week, in particular an inaccurate CNN report that tied the Trump campaign to a WikiLeaks hack and an erroneous ABC report that said Trump directed collusion with Russia before he was elected.
- The Party of Lincoln Has Devolved Into the Party of Trump (Real Clear Politics) Eugene Robinson says:
once corruption has become established, it takes Herculean effort to root it out; once respect for the rule of law is lost, it takes generations to restore.
- Senate bill may make retirement plans less attractive for some employers (Employee Benefit Advisor) The decision by the Senate to increase the deduction for qualified business income of pass-through entities from 17.4% to 23% may produce an unintended consequence. Doug Fisher, director of retirement policy at the American Retirement Association, explains in analysis on NAPA.net. that
“the tax incentives S Corporation owners [receive] to sponsor a retirement plan become much less attractive in a lower-tax-rate environment,”
- Top 10 Safest Cities In The U.S. (Financial Advisor Magazine) Here is the list (click on title to read the reasons why):
- Nashua, NH
- South Burlington, Vt.
- Warwick, RI
- Columbia, MD
- Gilbert, AZ
- Fargo, ND
- Lewiston, ME
- Plano, TX
- Portland, ME
- Brownsville, Tx
UK
- Brexit deal breaks deadlock – experts react (The Conversation) EU negotiators announced on December 8 that enough progress has been achieved in Brexit negotiations for talks to move on to a second phase – the nature of the future relationship between the UK and the EU. A deal on the Irish border, a major sticking point in the talks, was given the go-ahead by both the EU and UK. In this article academic experts explain aspects of the agreement.
Syria
- Syrian army and Iranian-backed militias push towards Idlib province (Reuters) The Syrian army and Iranian-backed militias backed by Russian air power stepped up a military campaign against rebels in eastern Hama province in a push towards the rebel stronghold of Idlib province in northwestern Syria, rebels and witnesses said. The Russian and Syrian army advance towards Idlib is also piling pressure on Turkey which had since October begun a major military deployment in the province it considers within its sphere of influence.
The Russian and Syrian army advance towards Idlib is also piling pressure on Turkey which had since October begun a major military deployment in the province it considers within its sphere of influence.
China
- China exchanges hike fees to snuff out speculators in commodities (Reuters) China’s commodity exchanges have hiked transaction fees and margin requirements for a range of futures this year in their latest effort to curb speculative trading that Beijing says has spurred recent price surges in markets from sugar to ferro-silicon.
- Chinese passenger drone maker says it will turn a profit within two years (CNBC) A Chinese Uber-drone company?
- Chinese drone maker EHang will be profitable within the next two years, according to its co-founder and CEO
- Derrick Xiong said the company is investing heavily into testing a passenger drone
