Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 28 Sep 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 broadly positive as Nikkei touches highest intraday level since November 1991 (CNBC) Asia markets were largely positive on Friday, amid gains in Japan’s Nikkei 225 which led the index to its highest intraday level in almost 27 years. The U.S. dollar index was higher once again at 95.042 as of 3:03 p.m. HK/SIN. Brent crude futures contract, for December, had risen $0.18, or 0.22%, to $81.56 per barrel by 0126 GMT. That was close to a four-year high of $82.55 struck on Tuesday. U.S futures were up $0.21 cents (0.29) at $72.33 per barrel, on track for a weekly gain. Spot gold was up 0.2% to $1,184.91 as of 0405 GMT. On Thursday, the metal fell about 1% and touched its lowest since Aug. 17 at $1,181.61 an ounce. Spot gold is down about 1.2% for the week, on track for its fourth weekly decline in five.
U.S.
- Brett Kavanaugh hearing: anger and clashes ahead of Senate committee vote (The Guardian) Republicans have said the Senate judiciary committee will vote on the supreme court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh, after a full day of extraordinary testimony on Capitol Hill that saw his accuser share her emotional story of sexual assault while he angrily denied the allegation. The vote will take place on Friday as scheduled, Republican senators said as they left a closed-door meeting just hours after the high-stakes hearing on Thursday. It was still unclear how a handful of key senators would vote. See also Christine Blasey Ford’s opening statement in full and Kavanaugh’s credibility has not survived. Pictures below from News Daily: Supreme Court showdown and loyalty ‘penalty’ (BBC News).
- Moderate Republicans remain undecided on Kavanaugh after hearing (The Hill) Three of the undecided Republican votes are Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Jeff Flake (Ariz.).
- American Bar Association: Delay Kavanaugh until FBI investigates assault allegations (CNN) The American Bar Association is calling on the Senate Judiciary Committee to halt the consideration of President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh until an FBI investigation is completed into the sexual assault allegations that have roiled his nomination.
- Four Republican governors want Senate to delay vote on Kavanaugh (CNN) Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland, Gov. Phil Scott of Vermont, and Ohio Governor John Kasich, all Republicans, have called for an independent investigation into the allegations made against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and said the Senate should hold off on a vote.
- Regulators accuse Tesla’s Elon Musk of securities fraud (BBC News) The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a lawsuit accusing Tesla boss Elon Musk of securities fraud. The US financial regulator says Mr Musk’s claims that he had secured funding to take the electric carmaker private were “false and misleading“. It is seeking to bar Mr Musk from acting as an officer or director of a publicly traded company. Mr Musk called the action “unjustified” saying he acted in the “best interests of truth, transparency and investors“.
- Ignore Consumer Confidence Right Now. Its Record Highs Are Misleading. (Sure Money) Consumer confidence peaks before recesiions and bear marketss. Lee Adler writes:
The Consumer Confidence Index – or as I like to call it, the Con Con Index – has historically followed stock prices.
Consumers watch the nightly news for cues about what to expect. When stock prices are at all-time highs, so is consumer confidence. When consumer confidence plunges to record lows, it is because the stock market has plunged to a bear market low.
- “A Never-Ending Commitment”: The High Cost of Preserving Vulnerable Beaches (ProPublica) In the wake of hurricanes like Florence, the U.S. government pays to dump truckloads of sand onto eroding beaches, in a cycle that is said to harm ecosystems and disproportionately benefit the rich.
- Nearly a Third of US 18-34 Year Olds Live with Parents (Twitter) Many European countries have much higher numbers.
UK
- Boris Johnson demands UK PM May scrap her Brexit proposals (Reuters) Brexit campaigner Boris Johnson called on Prime Minister Theresa May to rip up her proposal for Britain’s exit from the European Union, ratcheting up the pressure on May as she prepares to face her divided party at its annual conference next week.
Italy
- Italian bonds suffer sell-off after Rome agrees higher deficit (Financial Times) Italian debt came under renewed pressure on Friday, with the yield on the 10-year bond shooting through the 3% mark, after the country’s populist government agreed to a more fiscally aggressive budget than investors anticipated. The coalition government will target a budget deficit for 2019 of 2.4% of gross domestic product, a significant increase from this year and an indication that Italy’s new leaders intend to stick to the election promises that took them to power. See also Italy’s populists agree budget to ‘abolish poverty’ (BBC News).
- Italian Bank Stocks Plummet (Twitter) Italian bank stocks are now down 25% from April highs (but up 8% from August lows). Click on tweet for large image.
Poland
- In Warsaw’s local election, Europe’s identity crisis plays out (Reuters) For would-be Warsaw mayor Patryk Jaki, allowing Muslims into Poland poses a threat akin to the Nazi invasion of 1939. His opponent, Rafal Trzaskowski, agrees the country faces an existential threat, but says it comes from Jaki and his allies.
Iran
- Netanyahu, in U.N. speech, claims secret Iranian nuclear site (Reuters) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday described what he said was a secret atomic warehouse in Tehran and accused Europe of appeasing Iran as he sought to rally support for U.S. sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
India
- Adultery no longer a criminal offence in India (BBC News) India’s top court has ruled adultery is no longer a crime, striking down a 158-year-old colonial-era law which it said treated women as male property. Previously any man who had sex with a married woman, without the permission of her husband, had committed a crime. A petitioner had challenged the law saying it was arbitrary and discriminated against men and women.
Japan
- My Kuroda! Bank Of Japan’s Yield Curve Management Killing Japan’s Pension Fund (Confounded Interest) The Japanese Sovereign curve has gone from all-positive when Haruhiko Kuroda assumed the duties as BOJ Governor in March 2013 to having negative yields for tenors less than seven years. Hardly a great investment for Japan’s pension fund. (First chart below.) Recently the BoJ has allowed yields to rise on the 10-year government bond but more is likely needed.
North Korea
- US runs into opposition from Russia, China on North Korea sanctions (CNN) Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s effort to marshal unified international pressure on North Korea, already under strain, showed cracks Thursday as Russia and China registered their opposition to further punishing Pyongyang. Pompeo expressed frustration at a United Nations meeting Thursday that some countries were not strictly abiding by sanctions on Pyongyang, a major part of the US strategy to get North Korea to dismantle its nuclear and missile programs, along with President Donald Trump’s efforts at personal diplomacy.
China
- China #MeToo: Why one woman is being sued by the TV star she accused (BBC News) Just a few months ago, China was hit by a string of #MeToo accusations that emerged from arenas as diverse as temples, universities and television talk shows. Now, one case is set to go before China’s civil courts but it is the accuser, not the accused, who is having to defend herself.
In July, China’s entertainment world was faced with the allegation that one of the country’s biggest and most beloved TV stars had forcibly groped and kissed an intern after she took a basket of fruit to his room.
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