Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 06 March 2018
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
Asian shares rally as trade fears ease; Nikkei jumps more than 2% (CNBC) Asian stocks rallied as concerns over a potential trade war faded on Tuesday, with gains in the region led by Japan’s benchmark Nikkei. The dollar index slipped to trade at 89.950 at 12:37 p.m. HK/SIN. U.S. West Texas Intermediate edged up 0.16% to trade at $62.67 after settling 2.2% higher on Monday. Brent crude futuresclimbed 0.15% to trade at $65.64. Spot gold was trading up 0.2% at $1,322.88 per ounce at 0117 GMT.
U.S.
What Is Sam Nunberg Doing? (The Atlantic) The former Trump aide’s decision to announce that he was defying a subpoena from Robert Mueller is more likely to pique the special counsel’s interest than dispel it. See also Former Trump aide Sam Nunberg changes course, says he would ‘end up cooperating’ in Russia probe (CNBC)
- Winter Takes Another Swipe at New York, Northeast This Week (Bloomberg) For the second time in a week, a storm promises to barrel along the East Coast, bringing snow to New York and pounding coastal areas still cleaning up from last week’s nor’easter.
As much as 6 to 9 inches (15 to 23 centimeters) of snow could fall starting late Tuesday in New York’s five boroughs, northern New Jersey and southern Connecticut, the National Weather Service said. Some areas could get as much as a foot. There are a few wrinkles in the forecast, though, that could mean more rain in some areas.
EU
Tit-for-tat tariffs of 25% to hit $3.5 billion of U.S. goods
Retaliatory list includes jeans, cosmetics, bourbon, boats
Italy
- Italy’s election result showed a seismic shift in the country’s political identity that could affect its ties to Europe.
- Traditional parties like Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia and the ruling Democratic Party (PD) fell short of expectations.
- Both M5S and Lega, winners in the election vote, are ambivalent towards Europe.
- Italy’s Stock Market Had Been Outperforming (The Daily Shot) After years of underperformance, Italy’s stock market had outperformed going into the election.
Syria
- Russia offers rebels safe passage out of Syria’s Eastern Ghouta (Reuters) Russia’s military has offered to guarantee safe passage out of Syria’s Eastern Ghouta for rebel fighters and their families. The Russian statement said rebel fighters leaving with their families could take personal weapons with them.
- Turkey, Russia and Iran to hold summit on Syria in April -spokesman (Reuters) Turkey, Russia and Iran will hold a summit in April to discuss Syria and potential steps in the region, the spokesman for the Turkish foreign ministry said on Tuesday.
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hami Aksoy also told a news conference Ankara would tell U.S. authorities during meetings on March 8-9 that it expected Washington to take concrete steps on retrieving weapons provided to the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia.
North Korea
- North Korea makes ‘agreement’ with South Korea after historic meeting – KCNA (Reuters) North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met senior South Korean government officials for the first time and said it is his “firm will to vigorously advance” inter-Korean ties and pursue reunification, the North’s official news agency said on Tuesday.
China
- Stronger China military gives the world ‘more and more security,’ Communist Party newspaper says (CNBC)
- China is a “builder of world peace” with its overseas operations, Communist Party-owned People’s Daily said.
- The Chinese blockbuster movie “Operation Red Sea” has attracted “worldwide attention on China’s sense of responsibility to safeguard world peace,” the paper said.
- China’s Staggering Demand for Commodities (Visual Capitalist) China consumes a disproportionate precentage of global commodities. Half or more of all steel, copper, coal, and cement is used in China.
