Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 07 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 slide on trade fears after Cohn resignation (CNBC) Asian markets traded mostly lower in choppy Wednesday trade following news that a top Trump economic advisor had resigned. The dollar index lost 0.67% against a group of currencies to 89.480, the lowest in two weeks. U.S. crude futures lost 0.72% to trade at $62.15 per barrel and Brent crude futures were down 0.73% at $65.31. Spot gold rose 0.1% to $1,335.02 per ounce by 0314 GMT, having hit $1,340.42 an ounce earlier in the session, its highest since Feb. 26.
U.S.
- Cohn resigns from White House (The Hill) President Donald Trump demanded economic adviser Gary Cohn’s cooperation on tariffs in a meeting in the Oval Office Tuesday — asking Cohn directly if he would support his decision to move forward with the plan. Cohn would not offer his support, according to two people familiar with the episode — and just hours later, the White House announced Cohn’s resignation.
- Trump Confronted Cohn on Trade Hours Before Resignation, Sources Say (Bloomberg) President Donald Trump demanded economic adviser Gary Cohn’s cooperation on tariffs in a meeting in the Oval Office Tuesday — asking Cohn directly if he would support his decision to move forward with the plan. Cohn would not offer his support, according to two people familiar with the episode — and just hours later, the White House announced Cohn’s resignation.
- With Cohn gone, Peter Navarro is unleashed at White House (CNBC) Peter Navarro suffered any number of humiliations in his first year in the White House, where the trade advisor was out of favor with President Donald Trump and his superiors for months. But nothing was more degrading than an order handed down by White House Chief of Staff John Kelly: Navarro had to copy his boss, Gary Cohn, on every single email he sent at the White House. Now Cohn is gone and Navarro is unleshed.
- Flood of legislative candidates points to enthusiasm in both parties (The Hill) Political excitement among both Republicans and Democrats has led to an explosion of candidates running for office across the country, giving voters a choice between the two parties even in areas where one side has virtually conceded recent elections.
An analysis of the 12 states where filing deadlines have come and gone shows an unprecedented number of candidates seeking public office this year – and a relative lack of uncontested races, where a general election features only one candidate on the ballot.
- Trump Lawyer Michael Cohen Received Inside Info From Russia Probe (Daily Beast) Closed-door testimony before the House Russia probe is supposed to stay behind closed doors. Somehow, it got into the hands of another witness – and key Trump confidante – instead.
- Stormy Daniels sues Trump, says agreement invalid because he never signed (NBC News) Adult film star Stormy Daniels sued Donald Trump Tuesday, alleging that he never signed the nondisclosure agreement that his lawyer had arranged with her. The civil suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court and obtained by NBC News, alleges that her agreement not to disclose her “intimate” relationship with Trump is not valid because while both Daniels and Trump’s attorney Michael Cohen signed it, Trump never did. Stephanie Clifford, known professionally as Stormy Daniels, signed both the agreement and a side letter agreement using her professional name on October 28, 2016, just days before the 2016 presidential election. Cohen signed the document the same day. Both agreements are appended to the lawsuit as Exhibit 1 and Exhibit 2. Click here to read the “Hush Agreement” and the side letter agreement
- Cruz, O’Rourke coast to victory in Texas primaries (The Hill) Sen. Ted Cruz (R) and his Democratic challenger, Beto O’Rourke, coasted to primary victories in Texas on Tuesday, setting the pair up for a November showdown. The Associated Press called each of the U.S. Senate primary races for Cruz and O’Rourke less than an hour after the polls closed. As of 10 p.m. Eastern time, and with less than 10% of votes tallied, O’Rourke led his nearest challenger by roughly 40 percentage points. Cruz had an even wider margin, leading his nearest challenger by nearly 80 percentage points. See also Ted Cruz Warns Republicans: ‘We Could Lose Both Houses of Congress’ (Daily Beast)
EU
- EU Raises Stakes for Trump by Aiming Levies at GOP Heartland (Bloomberg) Hat tip to Sanjeev Kulkarni. The European Union is preparing punitive tariffs on iconic U.S. brands produced in key Republican constituencies, raising political pressure on President Donald Trump to ditch his plan for taxing steel imports. Targeting 2.8 billion euros ($3.5 billion) of American goods, the EU aims to apply a 25 percent tit-for-tat levy on a range of consumer, agricultural and steel products imported from the U.S. if Trump follows through on his tariff threat, according to a list drawn up by the European Commission and obtained by Bloomberg News. The list of targeted U.S. goods — including motorcycles, jeans and bourbon whiskey — sends a political message to Washington about the potential domestic economic costs of making good on the president’s threat.
UK
- Chancellor Philip Hammond insists financial services must be part of free trade agreement with Europe (City A.M.) Philip Hammond will today make a major speech in central London, dismissing the argument that the City cannot feature in a trade deal with the EU. In a clear swipe at EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier, who has said the UK cannot expect a bespoke deal, Hammond will say “every trade deal that the EU has ever done has been unique“.
- Hit the Chevy with a Levy… (Twitter) Clever headline from City A.M. in London:
Italy
- Italy’s Election Map Overlays Income Map (The Daily Shot) Italy’s election map shows a tremendous regional polarization, which is not entirely surprising if one looks at the income per capita map.
Saudi Arabia
- City watchdog seeks to reassure big investors on Saudi Aramco float ahead of crown prince’s UK visit (City A.M.) The City watchdog is seeking to mollify institutional investors who have expressed serious concerns over plans to make it easier for the oil major Saudi Aramco to list in the UK ahead of a visit to the capital by Middle East nation’s powerful crown prince. A lobby group, which represents the managers of trillions of pounds of assets such as Blackrock and Legal and General, has previously objected to the plans to create a new “premium listing” category which would allow Aramco to list with lower transparency requirements.
China
- China’s Depends Less on Exports (The Daily Shot) China’s reliance on exports declined last year.
Mexico
- Senior advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump, Jared Kushner, will meet President Enrique Pena Nieto, the Mexican foreign ministry said.
- Kushner will also meet Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray, who has often visited him in the White House – most recently to try to broker a Trump-Pena Nieto meeting.
- A senior U.S. administration official confirmed Kushner’s visit, adding that meetings will focus on security, immigration and trade issues.
