Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 08 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
- Stocks in Asia rise after news of potential US tariff exemptions; China exports top forecasts (CNBC) Markets in Asia closed higher on Thursday, with stocks clawing back gains after sliding in the last session on trade-related fears. Gains in the region came after U.S. stocks closed above session lows on fresh developments related to planned metals tariffs. The dollar index was trading steady at 89.585 at 2:48 p.m. HK/SIN. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude advanced 0.16% to trade at $61.25 per barrel after settling 2.3% lower on Wednesday. Brent crude futures were up 0.16%at $64.44. Spot gold rose 0.2% to $1,327.48 per ounce by 0309 GMT. It hit a one-week high on Wednesday at $1,340.42, before closing at $1,325.49 an ounce. U.S. gold futures were mostly unchanged at $1,32.20.
- Eleven nations – but not U.S. – to sign Trans-Pacific trade deal (Reuters) Eleven countries are expected to sign a landmark Asia-Pacific trade agreement in Santiago on Thursday, as an antidote to the increasingly protectionist bent of the United States, which last year pulled out of the pact. Even without the United States, the deal will span a market of nearly 500 million people, making it one of the globe’s three largest trade agreements, according to Chilean and Canadian trade statistics.
U.S.
- 107 Republicans called on President Trump not to impose broad tariffs on steel and aluminum.
- If Trump must impose tariffs, Republicans called on him to focus on “China’s unfair practices” instead.
- Democrats Mobilized by Anger at Trump Surge in Texas Primary (Bloomberg) Texas Democrats surged to voting booths in the first primary of the 2018 election campaign, providing a clear demonstration of a fired-up party on pace to send a significant number of women to face Republican congressional candidates in November. The Democratic turnout Tuesday was particularly strong in affluent suburban areas that are models for the kind of congressional districts the party is targeting in its quest to win control of the U.S. House in midterm elections that will be the first national referendum on Donald Trump’s presidency. With 99% of precincts counted, the 1,036,942 votes tabulated in the Democratic Senate primary was more than double the 2014 total of 510,009. The energy displayed by Democrats in a state that traditionally leans Republican may bode well for the minority party in Washington. However, Republicans still outnumbered them statewide, with 1.5 million votes tallied in the Republican Senate primary.
- Florida school shooting victim files legal notice to sue local government (Reuters) A lawyer for a student wounded in February’s mass shooting at a Florida high school on Monday filed a legal notice of intent to sue the county sheriff’s office and the school district for failing to protect the students.
- Trump Spoke to Witnesses About Matters They Discussed With Special Counsel (The New York Times) The special counsel in the Russia investigation has learned of two conversations in recent months in which President Trump asked key witnesses about matters they discussed with investigators, according to three people familiar with the encounters.
In one episode, the president told an aide that the White House counsel, Donald F. McGahn II, should issue a statement denying a New York Times article in January. The article said Mr. McGahn told investigators that the president once asked him to fire the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III. Mr. McGahn never released a statement and later had to remind the president that he had indeed asked Mr. McGahn to see that Mr. Mueller was dismissed, the people said.
In the other episode, Mr. Trump asked his former chief of staff, Reince Priebus, how his interview had gone with the special counsel’s investigators and whether they had been “nice,” according to two people familiar with the discussion.
- Trump’s approval rating hasn’t budged, polls find (CNN) President Donald Trump’s approval rating is still below 40%, according to a pair of polls released Wednesday. Trump’s approval sits at 38% with large gender and racial gaps, according to a Quinnipiac poll. Fifty-six percent of American voters disapprove of the President’s job performance. A Monmouth poll found that 39% of Americans approve of Trump’s job performance, with 54% disapproving. The President still has strong approval from Republican voters, at 82%.
- How the U.S. Squandered Its Steel Superiority (Bloomberg) President Trump correct about one thing: The U.S. steel problem has been many decades in the making. But it’s a problem rooted in disastrous decisions made by the steel companies themselves when Trump was still in elementary school. At the end of World War II, American steel had no real challengers. It produced nearly three quarters of the world’s steel, and the factories of its biggest competition — Japan and Germany — lay in ruins. Giants like U.S. Steel looked poised to dominate the world for the foreseeable future.
Instead, the industry was lapped by foreign producers — and unfair trade practices were simply not a factor. Instead, the blame lies with U.S. manufacturers who held onto the so-called “open hearth” method of steel production decades after its expiration date.
- Interior secretary gets strong GOP resistance to drilling plan, starts backing off (Tribune News Service) Facing mounting pressure from fellow Republicans who see little constituent support for drilling off the Atlantic Coast, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke could be backpedaling on the Trump administration’s initial plans to expand the program, GOP lawmakers told McClatchy.
- America Is Giving Away the $30 Billion Medical Marijuana Industry (Bloomberg Businessweek) The U.S. federal government is simply indifferent at best and hostile at worst to the many states’ medical marijuana laws. As a result there is no effort tocoordinate a national medical pot industry and other countries such as Canada and Israel are filling the void and grabbing market share.
Germany​
- Germany Internet Charges are Out of Line (Twitter)
Japan
- Japan opposition turns up heat on Abe over cronyism scandal (Reuters) Japanese opposition parties turned up the heat on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday over a cronyism scandal that threatens to erode his influence, after documents released by a ministry failed to banish suspicion that some had been doctored.
Allegations that a school operator with ties to Abe’s wife, Akie, got a sweetheart deal on land for a school in the city of Osaka dented the premier’s popularity last year.
The former head of the school operator and his wife were arrested in July on suspicion of illegally receiving subsidies.
China
- China’s exports surged at the fastest pace in 3 years (Reuters, CNBC)
- China’s February exports rose 44.5 percent from a year earlier, compared with analysts’ median forecast for a 13.6 percent increase, official data showed on Thursday.
- Imports grew 6.3 percent, the General Administration of Customs said, missing analysts’ forecast for 9.7 percent growth.
- China warns of ‘necessary response’ in event of trade war with U.S. (Reuters) China will respond as necessary in the event of a trade war with the United States, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday, while warning that such a war would only harm all sides.
- This Is the Year China’s Economy Passes the Eurozone (Bloomberg Businessweek) China’s gross domestic product is forecast to be about $13.2 trillion this year, putting it ahead of the Eurozone.
Mexico
- Mexico says progress needed before president meets Trump (Reuters) White House advisor Jared Kushner left Mexico City on Wednesday with prospects no nearer for a summit between his father-in-law President Donald Trump and Mexico’s President Enrique Pena Nieto, as both sides said progress on joint policy concerns was needed first.
