Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 07 May 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
- Asia markets close subdued as investors watch US-China talks (CNBC) Asian markets mostly edged higher on Monday as investors digested last week’s trade talks and U.S. jobs numbers, while U.S. crude topped the $70 mark for the first time since 2014 during late morning trade. The dollar index traded down at 92.467 at 11:57 a.m. HK/SIN. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.02% to $70.43 per barrel, trading above the $70 level for the first time since November 2014. Brent crude futures advanced 1.15% to $75.73. Spot gold had risen 0.3% to $1,318.46 per ounce by 0332 GMT.
U.S.
- Israeli intelligence coup could help Trump “fix” the Iran deal (Brookings) The revelation of the archived documents does not tell us anything fundamentally new about Iranian behavior and does not provide legal grounds for charging Iran with a violation and terminating the JCPOA, it does provide a stronger basis for addressing the issues that President Trump regards as the deal’s key deficiencies.
the Israeli intelligence coup did not change our fundamental understanding of Iran’s past nuclear weapons efforts or its determination to keep its future options open. But the sheer volume, specificity, and apparent authenticity of the archived documents obtained by the Israelis will substantially reinforce that understanding – confirming the judgment that Iran once actively pursued nuclear weapons and showing it later went to great lengths to safeguard and preserve its nuclear weapons-related documents for possible future use.
- Teacher of the Year shares speech she says Trump wouldn’t let her read during award ceremony (The Hill) Mandy Manning, this year’s National Teacher of the Year, read a speech on CNN Saturday that she said President Trump wouldn’t let her give during her award ceremony at the White House. In an interview with CNN‘s Van Jones, Manning read from her speech, which referenced the immigrant and refugee students she teaches, as well as her support for LGBT and other marginalized students.
- Connecticut passes bill giving electoral votes to presidential candidate who wins popular vote (The Hill) The Connecticut state Senate on Saturday voted in favor of a measure to give the state’s electoral votes to the presidential candidate who wins the national popular vote. The move puts the state in a position to become the 11th, in addition to Washington, D.C., to join an interstate compact to pool their electoral college votes for the candidate who wins the popular vote. With the addition of Connecticut’s seven electoral votes, the compact would have 172 in total. For the compact to go into effect nationally, it would need 270 electoral votes – the number needed for a candidate to win the presidency. So if this law is enacted by additional states with 98 or more total electoral votes the Electoral College will no longer be able to elect a president who has not won the national popular vote.
- How Michael Cohen, Trump’s Fixer, Built a Shadowy Business Empire (The New York Times) Mr. Cohen’s businesses are private entities, making it difficult to get a full picture of their finances and operations. But a New York Times review of thousands of pages of public records, and interviews with bankers, lawyers and businessmen who have interacted with Mr. Cohen, reveal the degree to which he has often operated in the backwaters of the financial and legal worlds.
While he has not been charged with a crime, many of his associates have faced either criminal charges or stiff regulatory penalties. That includes partners in the taxi business, doctors for whom he helped establish medical clinics and lawyers with whom he worked.
- Covering West Virginia’s Long History of Broken Promises (ProPublica) In the face of a major decline in the coal industry, families and entire communities that depended on it are hurting. Now that natural gas is booming, this report published in the Charleston Gazette-Mail reports on whether West Virginia has learned anything from the past. See also The Coal Industry Extracted A Steep Price From West Virginia. Now Natural Gas Is Leading The State Down The Same Path.
- Top Republican Plans to Use Fossil Fuels to Make Puerto Rico “The Energy Hub of the Entire Caribbean” (The Intercept) Rob Bishop (R, UT), the chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, said in a press conference held in San Juan on Friday that he had been consulting with oil and gas companies in Washington about how to bring more natural gas to the island.
- Roaming Charges: All the President’s Lawyers (CounterPunch) The editor of CounterPunch really cuts loose in this piece. It would really be an outstanding piece of humor if you could just forget its about reality. Below are a few “punch” lines followed by a couple of graphics:
Given Giuliani’s deranged performance on Hannity, the grand strategy now seems obvious. Trump is setting up an “ineffectiveness of counsel” defense
Even people who believe in Trump don’t believe Trump
Mueller should just offer Trump immunity for his testimony. Trump will lie, because he can’t help himself, then indict him for perjury.
Meanwhile, back in Afghanistan the US has dropped 1,186 munitions in the first three months of 2018, a total that’s near the height of the war.
- Hawaii residents on Big Island under threat of lava, earthquakes and ‘lethal’ gas (CNN) Hawaii officials are evacuating areas of the Big Island following a series of earthquakes and volcanic activity that have put thousands of lives in danger and are damaging homes and infrastructure. Although 1,700 residents have been ordered (and 10,000 have been asked) to leave, some are choosing to stay behind — a grave mistake, officials say, as volcanic activity shows little sign of slowing down. Among the many threats they face are lava, sulfur dioxide poisoning and earthquake damage. Two images from the 33 image slide show shown below. See also Volcanic activity settles for now, officials say, but it’s not over (Hawaii News Now). From CNN:
The most obvious threat of volcanic activity is magma bursting through the earth’s surface and lava flowing toward residential neighborhoods. It’s spurting out of volcanic vents that have opened in Kilauea’s rift zone, an area of fissures miles away from the volcano’s summit.
Syria
- Russia Brings Syrians to The Hague to Make Underwhelming Case Chemical Attack Was Fake (Thee Intercept) Over the protests of chemical weapons inspectors, who are still at work in Syria trying to determine if gas was used to kill dozens of civilians in the former rebel stronghold of Douma on April 7, Russia flew 17 Syrians from the war zone to The Hague, Netherlands, on Thursday, where they all testified that they had seen no sign of a chemical attack.
Iran
- Giuliani: Trump is ‘committed to’ regime change in Iran (Politico) Rudy Giuliani pushed for regime change in Iran on Saturday, saying President Donald Trump is “as committed to regime change as we are.” Giuliani, Trump’s newest attorney in the ongoing Russia probe and a former mayor of New York City, spoke to reporters after giving a speech to the Iran Freedom Convention for Democracy and Human Rights in Washington.
- Oil prices are indicating a worst-case scenario on Iran nuclear deal, economist says (CNBC) U.S. sanctions on Iran could slash global oil supplies by 800,000 barrels per day, according to a report by Emirates NBD. Iran is one of the world’s biggest crude producers – when it’s allowed to sell it.
- U.S. President Donald Trump has referred to the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement as the “worst deal ever” and has to decide by May 12 whether to slap sanctions back on the country.
- Oil prices have climbed in anticipation of that decision, which showed that investors are expecting the worst.
India
- As Push for Global E-Commerce Rules Gain Pace, India Starts Taking a Stand (The Wire) Push for WTO negotiations on e-commerce is gaining traction with members, but India has maintained its resistance on the hope that it would be able to stop or stall the multilateral trade body from formulating rules on e-commerce. Unfortunately, it appears as if this strategy may not be working out, giving rise to the fear that India could isolate itself. If that happens, it could be a failure of Modi government’s trade diplomacy.
North Korea
- North Korea said on Sunday its intention to denuclearize, unveiled at a historic inter-Korean summit, was not the result of U.S.-led sanctions and pressure.
- It warned the United States not to mislead public opinion.
- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in vowed “complete denuclearize.”
China
- U.S. seeks $200 bln cut in China trade imbalance (MarketWatch) The U.S. handed China a lengthy list of demands on trade, ranging from immediately cutting a trade imbalance by $100 billion a year to halting all Chinese government support for advanced technologies, according to a document sent to Beijing before talks this week.
The U.S.-China trade relationship is “significantly imbalanced,” said the document, which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. It noted that U.S. investment and sales of services into China remain “severely constrained” and added that China’s industrial policies “pose significant economic and security concerns” to the U.S.
Chinese officials believed the proposal was “unfair,” according to people with knowledge of the negotiations Thursday and Friday. U.S. officials declined to comment on the document.