Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 08 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
- Markets in Asia decline as investors turn cautious; China leads losses (CNBC) Asian stocks closed lower on Friday, with major markets in the region recording declines as investors sentiment turned cautious after recent gains seen earlier in the week. The dollar index was little changed at 93.444 after declining 0.3% overnight. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 0.58% to trade at $65.57 per barrel and Brent crude futures dropped 0.7% to trade at $76.80 after settling almost $2 higher on Thursday. Spot gold was steady at $1,296.60 per ounce at 0052 GMT.
U.S.
- Ryan remarks on Trump ‘spygate’ leave conservatives fuming (The Hill) A vocal bloc of House conservatives are fuming at Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) behind the scenes, after the lame-duck speaker publicly sided with Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) in the debate over the FBI’s tactics in its investigation into the Trump campaign. Gowdy shot down allegations last week that the FBI improperly used a confidential informant to “spy” on the campaign, saying that the bureau “did exactly what my fellow citizens would want them to do.” Ryan on Wednesday called Gowdy’s assessment “accurate,” dealing another blow to the claims dubbed “spygate” by President Trump.
But Trump allies on Capitol Hill say Gowdy, a former prosecutor, defended the FBI before reviewing key underlying documents – and they are furious that Ryan has backed him.
- Senate Investigators May Have Found a Missing Piece in the Russia Probe (The Atlantic) An ex-congressman has attracted scrutiny from the Senate Judiciary Committee, as it continues to investigate whether President Donald Trump’s campaign conspired with Moscow to sway the 2016 presidential election.
Curt Weldon, a Republican and former Pennsylvania congressman, lost his re-election campaign more than a decade ago following an FBI probe into his ties to two Russian companies. He has “connections to both Russia and the Trump campaign” that are raising suspicions among senators, a spokeswoman for Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein said. Feinstein is the committee’s ranking member, and wants to interview Weldon, the spokeswoman said.
- Trump to skip climate portion of G7 after Twitter spat with Macron and Trudeau (CNN) See also next article and The Isolation Of America. President Donald Trump plans to depart from this weekend’s Group of 7 summit in Canada several hours early, the White House announced Thursday, punctuating an explosion of acrimony between Trump and his foreign counterparts on the eve of the talks. The White House said Trump would depart mid-morning on Saturday, skipping sessions on climate change and the environment. An aide will take his place, the White House said.
The announcement came as Trump engaged in a bitter back-and-forth with French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over Twitter, both of whom he’ll meet face-to-face on Friday.
- On Friday, Trump is scheduled to attend the annual summit and meet with leaders from the U.K., Canada, Japan, Italy, Germany and France.
- In a tweet, Trump accused Canada and France of levying “massive tariffs” and creating “non-monetary barriers.”
- He has repeatedly lashed out at Canada’s Trudeau on Twitter. Last week, Trump said Canada’s trade policies have treated American farmers “very poorly for a long period of time.”
- With Mueller Closing In, Manafort’s Allies Abandon Him (The New York Times) The special counsel’s accusation this week that Paul Manafort, President Trump’s former campaign chairman, tried to tamper with potential witnesses originated with two veteran journalists who turned on Mr. Manafort after working closely with him to prop up the former Russia-aligned president of Ukraine, interviews and documents show.
The two journalists, who helped lead a project to which prosecutors say Mr. Manafort funneled more than $2 million from overseas accounts, are the latest in a series of onetime Manafort business partners who have provided damaging evidence to Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Their cooperation with the government has increasingly isolated Mr. Manafort as he awaits trial on charges of violating financial, tax and federal lobbying disclosure laws.
- Yellowstone chief says he is ousted after dispute with Trump administration (Reuters) The superintendent of Yellowstone National Park said on Thursday he was being forced from his post after disagreeing with the Trump administration over management of the park’s famed bison herd. Dan Wenk, who has led one of the nation’s most popular national parks since 2011, said in an interview broadcast by public radio that he and his boss, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, had been at odds over bison but that he believed they had settled their differences. Conflicts have raged for years over how many bison the park can sustain and methods used to keep the population contained.
The park’s practice of capturing and shipping to slaughter a certain number of bison that wander from Yellowstone in winter in search of food in Montana, Zinke’s home state, is driven in part by ranchers there who are concerned about competition for rangelands and about the spread of brucellosis, a disease carried by some bison that can cause cows to miscarry.
During Wenk’s tenure, the park has argued Yellowstone can withstand many more bison than the target of 3,000 that is supported by the Montana Department of Livestock and the ranchers it represents.
- Two Pruitt aides resign amid ethics questions (CNN) Environmental Protection Agency administrator Scott Pruitt faces 13 ethical investigations, after he enlisted the help of an aide to inquire about the possibility of a business opportunity with the fast food chain Chick-fil-A, according to emails obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request from the Sierra Club. CNN‘s Drew Griffin reports.
- Fox News poll gives Dems 9-point edge on generic ballot (The Hill) Democrats hold a nine-point lead over Republicans on the generic House ballot, according to a Fox News poll released Thursday. (See next article.) According to the survey, 48% of voters preferred the Democratic candidate in their House district, compared to 39% who preferred the Republican candidate.
That nine-point lead is up from the five-point lead Democrats held in March, the last time Fox News surveyed voters on the matter.
- Democrats gain in congressional vote test: Fox News Poll (Fox News) Some poll results announced Thursday:
EU
- European Manufacturing is Losing Ground (The Daily Shot) The divergence between the Eurozone and the US manufacturing PMI doesn’t bode well for the euro.
Turkey
- Turkey’s Inverted Yield Curve (Twitter) Ecconintersect note: An inverted yield curve has not been a reliable indicator of coming recession in countries other than the U.S.
Japan
U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed in April to set up the new framework focusing on bilateral trade and led by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Economy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi.
At their latest summit in Washington on Thursday, the leaders agreed to make preparations to hold the first Lighthizer-Motegi meeting in July, Japan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
China
- China Current Acount in Long-Term Downtrend (The Daily Shot) Here is the breakdown of China’s current account surplus, showing the trade deficit in services which has been growing since 2009.
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