Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 20 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 stocks take cues from Wall Street slump (CNBC) Asian markets were weaker on Tuesday, as investors stayed cautious following the overnight pullback on Wall Street and ahead of a two-day Federal Reserve policy meeting. The dollar index was flat at 89.912 by 12:34 p.m. HK/SIN. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $62.31 a barrel at 0128 GMT, up $0.25 (0.4%). Brent crude futures were at $66.26 per barrel, up $0.21, or 0.3%. Spot gold had fallen 0.1% to $1,315.86 per ounce at 0108 GMT.
U.S.
- Trump adds to legal team after attacks on Mueller (The Hill) President Trump is adding prominent white-collar attorney Joseph diGenova to his personal legal team, the latest sign of an increasingly aggressive stance toward special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.
The White House insists that there are no plans to fire Mueller. But Trump’s own tweets and his decision to hire diGenova – a former U.S. attorney who has attacked the FBI and Department of Justice (DOJ) in conservative media outlets – are the latest signs that the president is moving to discredit Mueller’s probe.
- House Russia Probe to Close Despite Revelations About Data Firm (Bloomberg) The Republican leading the House investigation into Russian election meddling said revelations that a data firm working with Donald Trump’s presidential campaign may have improperly harvested data on millions of Facebook users doesn’t change his plans to shut down the probe this week.
- Grassley promises hearings into McCabe’s firing once IG report is public (The Washington Post) The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee pledged Monday to hold hearings on what led to the firing of former deputy director of the FBI Andrew McCabe – but only after the inspector general’s report on him is publicly released. But Grassley did not commit to bringing in Attorney General Jeff Sessions for questioning – as some Republican panel members, including Sens. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) and John Cornyn (R-Tex.), have said he should do. A spokesman for Grassley said Monday that the panel would have to review the inspector general’s report before determining a witness list.
- Facebook security chief is reportedly leaving the company in wake of Russian disinformation scandal (CNBC)
- Facebook Chief Information Security Officer Alex Stamos is reportedly leaving after disagreements over how the social media network should handle the spread of disinformation.
- Stamos has been a vocal advocate for investigating and disclosing Russian activity on Facebook and for increasing corporate responsibility in the tech world.
- Stamos tweeted several times on Saturday, in the wake of the New York Times report that Cambridge Analytica harvested user data without permission.
- Mueller interview over Russia election meddling would be ‘fraught with peril’, Trump ex-adviser warns (The Independent) A former senior adviser to Donald Trump’s election campaign has said any interview between the President and special prosecutor Robert Mueller would be “fraught with peril“. Michael Caputo said on CNN:
“I wouldn’t advise it. I hope he doesn’t, but I think he looks like he wants to, and that’s going to be a situation fraught with peril. I think anybody sitting in front of a special prosecutor stands a chance of a process crime like unintentionally lying.”
- The Stormy Daniels saga could turn into a big deal for Mueller’s Trump probe, experts say (CNBC) Porn star Stormy Daniels’ alleged affair with President Donald Trump could yet become a sticking point for special counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing probe of the Trump campaign and White House, experts say.
The special counsel is specifically tasked with investigating potential collusion between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign, as well as “any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation.” Yet several white-collar crime experts told CNBC that Daniels’ lawsuit, filed against Trump on March 6 over a deal barring her from discussing an alleged affair, raises questions and opportunities for the Mueller probe.
That’s because of the special circumstances surrounding a payment made to Daniels as part of the deal – and Trump’s relationship to the person who made that payment, his longtime personal lawyer Michael Cohen.
- Supreme Court denies GOP request to block new Pa. congressional map (The Hill) The Supreme Court on Monday refused an emergency appeal by Pennsylvania Republicans to block the implementation of a new court-ordered congressional map, a decision that all but assures that new district lines that make several races more competitive for Democrats will be in place for this year’s midterm elections. The new boundaries are a boon for Democrats, who now have a stronger shot in as many as seven Pennsylvania congressional seats as they look to net 24 seats nationwide to win back the House. Econintersect: In 2016 Republicans won 72% of the U.S. House seats for the state despite being outvoted by Democrats.
- Californians fed up with housing costs and taxes are fleeing state in big numbers (CNBC) California may still love the beautiful weather and beaches, but more and more they are fed up with the high housing costs and taxes and deciding to flee to lower-cost states such as Nevada, Arizona and Texas. Internal Revenue Service data would appear to show that the middle-class and middle-age residents are the ones leaving, according to Joel Kotkin, a presidential fellow in Urban Futures at Chapman University in Orange, California.
EU
- Mapping Media Freedom 2017 (Index on Censorship) Violations of European press freedom for 2017 are reviewed, with case studies reported for the most egregiuos cases.
Saudi Arabia
- Saudi Arabia is walking back plans for a massive public share offering for state oil giant Aramco, the world’s biggest oil company, on a big international stock exchange.
- Aramco is now expected to move forward with a listing on the Saudi stock exchange, with plans for an international listing at least temporarily shelved.
- Aramco said a range of international listing options were still under consideration.
South Korea
- The United States and South Korea have agreed to resume joint military drills early next month, the Pentagon said.
- The exercises are expected to begin on April 1, and will be on a “scale similar to that of the previous years,” the U.S. military said in a statement.
- The two joint drills, which include computer simulations and field exercises, would involve about 23,700 U.S. troops and 300,000 South Korea forces
China
- China’s Xi Begins Second Term With Stark Warning to Taiwan (Bloomberg) Chinese President Xi Jinping warned that efforts to widen divisions with Taiwan would be “punished by history” in a nationalistic speech to mark the start of his second term. In an address to China’s almost 3,000-member national parliament, Xi said China had the capabilities to stop any attempt to formalize the democratically ruled island’s independence. The remarks came just days after U.S. President Donald Trump signed a law allowing high-level official visits to Taiwan, a move which would elevate its diplomatic status.
- China’s Central Bank Is Massive (Bloomberg Businessweek) Incoming People’s Bank of China governor Yi Gang has an enormous job on his hands, merely in terms of the number of people he will now manage. China’s central bank employs about 127,000 people, more than twice as many as the next largest monetary authority, the Central Bank of Russia. The PBOC has more staff than the next nine biggest central banks combined or, to put it another way, more staff than Apple Inc. or Microsoft Corp.
