Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 06 June 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 higher even as trade developments linger in background (CNBC) Asian stocks closed higher on Wednesday, with major markets in the region gaining ground even as trade anxieties lingered in the background. The dollar index last traded down at 93.885. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 0.23% to trade at $65.67 per barrel and Brent crude futures were up 0.69% at $75.90. Spot gold was up 0.2% at $1,297.64 per ounce by 0106 GMT.
U.S.
- Six takeaways from 2018’s Super Tuesday (The Hill) Voters in seven states cast their ballots Tuesday in what amounts to the most significant primary election of the 2018 season, a Super Tuesday for partisans battling for control of Congress. In critical races across the country, Democrats had a good night. But so too did Republicans, who avoided a disaster that could have cost them several seats in the House. Six takeaways:
- Dems got (almost) everything they wanted out of California
- Republicans avoided disaster
- The gas tax could hurt Democrats
- Liberals disappoint
- Another good night for women
- A protest vote against Menendez
- DeVos Says There’s One Thing Her School-Safety Commission Won’t Be Studying: Guns (The Atlantic) DeVos dismissed the question of gun violence in schools as outside the school-safety commission’s charge. It’s up to Congress to debate gun control, she indicated; she and the commissioners are instead focusing their research on other potential sources of violence.
- Scott Pruitt enlisted an EPA aide to help his wife find a job – with Chick-fil-A (The Washington Post) Three months after Scott Pruitt was sworn in as head of the Environmental Protection Agency, his scheduler emailed Dan Cathy, chief executive of the fast-food company Chick-fil-A, with an unusual request: Would Cathy meet with Pruitt to discuss “a potential business opportunity“?
A call was arranged, then canceled, and Pruitt eventually spoke with someone from the company’s legal department. Only then did he reveal that the “opportunity” on his mind was a job for his wife, Marlyn.
- Judge Rules Trump Must Sit for Deposition in Ex-Apprentice Star’s Defamation Case (AlterNet) The deposition will occur as part of a defamation brought last year by former “The Apprentice” contestant Summer Zervos, who accused Trump of groping her in 2016. Trump later called the allegation “fiction.”
As Politico reports, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Jennifer Schecter imposed a timeline for both parties to issue demands for documents (July 13) and provide responses (Sept. 13). The case will go to trial after June 7, 2019.
- Former Fox News reporter says Russians colluded with Trump campaign through Roger Stone (Think Progress) In a series of exclusive interviews, former Fox News Channel chief political correspondent Carl Cameron explained to ThinkProgress how the Russians coordinated their cyber attack on the 2016 election with the Trump campaign:
“Trump confidant Roger Stone’s success was having the connections and creating the opportunities for [Russian intelligence officer] Guccifer2.0 and other Russian groups to really start taking advantage of social media and pounding these negative memes that Hillary’s a crook, et cetera.”
- A Second Civil War? Robert Reich Explains What Happens When a President Claims our System is No Longer Trustworthy (Alternet) The United States is premised on an agreement about how to deal with our disagreements. It’s called the Constitution. See also The Second American Revolution under Way? From Alternet:
Imagine that an impeachment resolution against Trump passes the House. Trump claims it’s the work of the “deep state.” Fox News’s Sean Hannity demands every honest patriot take to the streets. Rightwing social media call for war. As insurrection spreads, Trump commands the armed forces to side with the “patriots.”
- Medicare’s Trust Fund Is Set to Run Out in 8 Years. Social Security, 16. (The New York Times). Hat tip to Roger Erickson. The financial outlook for Medicare’s Hospital Insurance Trust Fund deteriorated in the last year, and Social Security still faces serious long-term financial problems, the Trump administration said on Tuesday.
The projections are the first from the administration since President Trump signed a $1.5 trillion tax cut into law in December. They show no sign that a burst of economic growth will significantly improve the finances of the government’s largest entitlement programs.
The Medicare trust fund will be depleted in 2026, the administration said. By contrast, the government said last year that the trust fund would be exhausted in 2029.
- There are more jobs than people out of work, something the American economy has never experienced before (CNBC) (Econintersect: What is missing from this analysis is that there are 95 million Americans of working age not in the labor force – i.e. not working and not looking for work.) From CNBC:
- There are 6.7 million job openings and just 6.4 million available workers to fill them, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- April marked the second month in a row that there were more vacancies than available hires, a phenomenon that had not happened before 2018.
- Despite the mismatch, sizeable wage gains remain elusive, with average hourly earnings up just 2.7 percent over the past year.
EU
- Europe’s Curse Of Wealth (Social Europe) Curses itemized are excessive migration plus income and wealth inequality.
The wealth of the countries whose annual income increases over several decades does not rise only in proportion to income but by even more. This is simply due to savings and the accumulation of wealth. Switzerland is not only richer than India in terms of annual production of goods and services (the ratio between the two countries’ GDP per capita at market exchange rates is about 50 to 1) but Switzerland is even “richer” in terms of wealth per adult (the ratio is almost 100 to 1).
UK
- Labour reveals scheme to maintain access to EU single market (The Guardian) Labour is proposing an “internal market” that would deliver a new and close relationship with the European Union but falls short of membership of the single market while maintaining many of its advantages. The proposal was heralded by some as the party’s most significant move so far towards a soft Brexit.
But the move stops just short of calling for the full single market membership sought by a vocal group of Labour MPs, after the Lords backed a Norway-style membership of the European Economic Area (EEA).
- The poorest regions in the UK are the poorest in Northern Europe (Inequality Briefing) Seven of the ten poorest reagins in Northern Europe are in England, and 9 of the 10 are in the UK. See also Brexit Britain: The Poor Man of Western Europe. (Centre for Euroean Reform)
Italy
- Italy’s PM takes aim at migrants and austerity in maiden speech (The Guardian) Italy’s incoming prime minister used his maiden policy speech to demand a review of sanctions against Russia, in a departure from the stance of his European allies. Giuseppe Conte also called for an “obligatory” redistribution of asylum seekers around the EU and for a rejection of economic austerity.
Russia
- Americans think of Russia as a serious problem, but not an adversary (Pew Research Center) Overall public views are about the same as there were in January 2017, shortly before Donald Trump took office. As was the case then, about twice as many Republicans (33%) as Democrats (17%) say Russia is “not much of a problem.” However, somewhat fewer Democrats view Russia as an adversary than did so in January 2017 (30% now, 38% then), though the share describing it as either a serious problem or an adversary is little changed. Republicans’ views of Russia have changed little over this period.
India
- India will abolish all single-use plastic by 2022, vows Narendra Modi (The Guardian) India will eliminate all single-use plastic in the country by 2022, prime minister Narendra Modi has announced. The pledge is the most ambitious yet of the global actions to combat plastic pollution that are taking place in 60 nations around the world. Modi’s move aims to drastically stem the flow of plastic from the 1.3 billion people living in the fastest growing economy in the world.
North Korea
- Public Supports U.S. Talks With North Korea; Many Doubt Whether Its Leaders Are ‘Serious’ (Pew Research Center)
China
- ‘Pragmatic’ Beijing is what’s stopping US and China from a ‘blow up,’ former central banker says (CNBC)
- China looks like it knows how to handle President Donald Trump’s administration to avoid worsening conflict, said former Indian central bank head Raghuram Rajan.
- The U.S. and China have clashed on both trade and political issues, and it’s Beijing’s pragmatism that’s preventing conflict between the countries from blowing up, Rajan said.
Canada
- All eyes on Canada as first G7 nation prepares to make marijuana legal (The Guardian) From crime to health to business, Canada’s decision to legalize marijuana is a grand progressive experiment that promises to answer a host of questions.
