Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 02 Aug 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.
Please share this article – Go to very top of page, right hand side for social media buttons.
​Global
- Asia markets lower amid renewed US-China trade concerns (CNBC) Asia markets fell on Thursday, following an overnight mixed session in the U.S. as renewed trade concerns offset strong gains in tech. The U.S. dollar index traded up at 94.789 at 2:38 p.m. HK/SIN. U.S. crude futures traded up 0.33% at $67.88 a barrel while global benchmark Brent added 0.61% to $72.83 at 2:40 p.m. HK/SIN. Spot gold was up 0.2% at $1,218.22 an ounce at 0052 GMT, after losing 0.65% in the previous session.
- Last year was warmest ever that didn’t feature an El Niño, report finds (The Guardian) Overall, 2017 was third warmest year on record, NOAA said, behind 2016 and 2015. Countries including Spain, Bulgaria, Mexico and Argentina all broke their annual high temperature records. But the two higher temeprature years featured a warmer El Nino pattern which was absent in 2017.
- Electric Vehicle Manufacturing (The Daily Shot) China is headed for EV manufacturing domination.
U.S.
- Shadowy Facebook account led to real-life Trump protests (The Hill) At least three of the events co-organized on Facebook by a group the company now thinks was part of a coordinated disinformation network appear to have been held, and to have been attended by hundreds of people. The events, in New York City and Springfield, Mo., were all co-hosted on Facebook by a group called the Resisters. All three events were critical of President Trump.
Archived versions of the event pages showed that 674 people responded on Facebook to say that they would attend the “We Stand with DREAMers! Support DACA!” event in New York on Sept. 9 last year. Another 3,000 said they were interested in attending.
The New York Post reported that “thousands” of people gathered in Midtown on Sept. 9 to protest Trump’s decision to unwind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which allowed children brought to the U.S. illegally to live and work in the United States.
It appears to be the same event co-hosted by Resisters on Facebook, as it took place on the same date and at the same location as the group’s “We Stand with DREAMers! Support DACA!” event.
- Tesla shares surge as upbeat Musk sees profitable second half (CNBC) With a pledge of future profitability and an apology for past bad manners, Tesla CEO Elon Musk was upbeat in his conversation with analysts during a second-quarter conference call Wednesday. Tesla shares soared as much as 11% in after-hours trading. The stock has been under pressure for some time as investors have worried about the cash the company was burning and whether it would be able to sustain its profitability.
- Trump escalates attacks on Mueller probe (The Hill) President Trump on Wednesday called on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to immediately stop the Russia investigation, a significant escalation of Trump’s attacks against the long-running probe that has dogged his presidency. The remark was Trump’s most direct public appeal yet to end special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, which he has blasted for months. It also raised questions from legal experts about whether the president was attempting to obstruct justice. In a series of morning tweets, Trump called the investigation a “terrible situation” that must be stopped “before it continues to stain our country any further“. See also Trump calls on Sessions to end Russia probe ‘right now’ and Trump tweet storm came after learning Mueller wants to ask about obstruction: report.
- Is “Trumponomics” Working? Here Are the Pros and Cons (Foundation For Economic Education) Good policies in some areas are being offset by bad policies in other areas, so it’s not easy assigning an overall grade.
- Trump Tariffs Push Manufacturers to Consider Production Outside U.S. (Bloomberg) President Trump’s trade policy is having the opposite of the desired effect. The Institute for Supply Management’s July survey is flashing a disturbing signal: While manufacturers are experiencing healthy demand in the U.S., they’re considering expanding outside the country to avoid tariffs in a widening trade war.
- Jim Acosta: Hannity is ‘injecting poison into the nation’s political bloodstream’ (The Hill) CNN‘s Jim Acosta hit back at Fox News host Sean Hannity on Wednesday for saying that attendees at President Trump’s rally were right for heckling the CNN correspondent.
- Trump Job Approval (Gallup) Gallup tracks daily the percentage of Americans who approve or disapprove of the job Donald Trump is doing as president. Weekly results are based on telephone interviews with approximately 1,500 national adults, with a margin of error is ±3 percentage points. This week 40% approve and 55% disapprove. His approval rating is highest in West Virginia (61%) and lowest in Vermont (26%). Approval is only 6% in Washington, DC.
- Donald Trump has a Problem with Women (Gallup) President Trump’s gender gap is approximately double that of other recent presidents.
UK
- German sources deny Brexit deal offer amid panic in Remain campaign (The Guardian) Reports that Germany is willing to offer Theresa May a vague Brexit deal so as to prevent the UK crashing out of the EU with no deal have set alarm bells ringing in the Remain campaign in the UK and prompted denials from German sources.
The Remain campaign, now called People’s Vote, is focused on calling for a second referendum on leaving the EU. It warned against what it described as a “blind Brexit”, and in a rare criticism of the European commission said the EU should not offer May a face-saving deal in which many of the major issues were deferred for negotiation during the transition after the UK has legally left the bloc.
Greece
- The Greatest Depression (Francis Coppala, Forbes) FC has contributed to GEI. The magnitude of Greece’s collapse over the last decade is extraordinary. Right at the start of the IMF’s review (see below) is this chart, which compares the fall in Greek output over the last 10 years with other major historical contractions, including the U.S.’s Great Depression. See Greece: 2018 Article IV Consultation and Proposal for Post-Program Monitoring-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Greece (IMF)
Sweden
- Sweden’s highest point set to lose title as glacier melts (The Guardian) Sweden’s highest point depends on a thick glacier on the summit of South Kebnekaise mountain. But the highest point will change within days as the snow and ice are meltng at a furious pace in this summer’s heat. The new highest point will North Kebnekaise mountain with an elevation of 2096.8 meters (6,815 feet). The southern peak used to be 4 meters (13 feet) higher than the northern summit.
Pakistan
- Imran Khan’s Shine Won’t Last as Pakistan’s Prime Minister (Foreign Policy) As an athlete, Imran Khan, the leader of the only Pakistani team to ever win Cricket’s World Cup, was universally loved in Pakistan. But as a politician, his combination of deeply held and fiercely defended beliefs, his mercurial nature, his inconsistent and in many cases controversial policy positions, and his own dramatic personal transformation make him a deeply polarizing figure. Consider, for example, that Khan is extraordinarily dedicated and determined, and stubbornly committed to taking up singular causes – from combating corruption to opposing U.S. drone strikes.
China
- China still focused on reducing debt, creating jobs despite trade row with United States (South China Morning Post) The Chinese government will deepen ‘structural supply side reforms’ in second half of year and ‘firmly’ continue deleveraging. This statement, made on state television, came after a meeting of the Politburo, which also declared that growth was still on track. China reported 6.8% growth for the first half of 2018, but pressure on the world’s second-largest economy is growing due to its heavy debt burden and rising trade hostilities with the United States. See also next article.
- China to speed up US$199 billion of domestic spending to protect growth during US trade war (South China Morning Post) Cutting debt remains an overriding priority but some fine-tuning allows Beijing to address a deceleration of investment in infrastructure.
- China’s Official PMI Declines (The Daily Shot) China’s Manufacturing PMI unexpectedly declined, but still remained above 50, indicating expansion continues. Here are the components of the official PMI measure:
Mexico
- Aeroméxico crash: How everyone aboard jet survived (NBC News) Passengers who walked away from the fiery Aeroméxico crash are thankful to be alive but a safety expert on Wednesday said it was “no accident” that everyone aboard the jet survived. The aircraft attempted to take off in heavy rain during a storm Tuesday afternoon in Durango, Mexico, but smashed down into the grass near the runway and skidded to a stop before catching fire. None of the 103 people on board – 99 passengers, two pilots and two flight attendants – was killed. Authorities said 49 people were hospitalized. Among them was a group from the Chicago area, including a priest. David Gleave, a U.K.-based crash investigator and air safety consultant, said the absence of fatalities reflected the relatively low speed of the impact, as well as decades of work in improving aircraft design:
“It’s not a miracle. This is a design-based accident that should be survivable. We’ve worked long and the industry to ensure that an event like this is something that people can walk away from. The safety of passengers is no accident.”
