Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 19 Oct 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
- China markets rebound strongly after turbulent morning; GDP numbers miss forecasts (CNBC) Stocks in Asia were mixed on Friday after China’s GDP growth for the third quarter of 2018 came in below expectations. The U.S. dollar index was higher at 96.070. The global benchmark Brent crude futures contract rose by 0.37% to $79.58 per barrel, while the U.S. crude futures contract saw gains of 0.23% to $68.81 per barrel. Spot gold was up 0.2% at $1,227.41 per ounce as of 0441 GMT, and about 0.8% higher for the week.
U.S.
- Conservatives mount a whisper campaign smearing Khashoggi in defense of Trump (The Washington Post) Hard-line Republicans and conservative commentators are mounting a whispering campaign against Jamal Khashoggi that is designed to protect President Trump from criticism of his handling of the dissident journalist’s alleged murder by operatives of Saudi Arabia – and support Trump’s continued aversion to a forceful response to the oil-rich desert kingdom.
In recent days, a cadre of conservative House Republicans allied with Trump has been privately exchanging articles from right-wing outlets that fuel suspicion of Khashoggi, highlighting his association with the Muslim Brotherhood in his youth and raising conspiratorial questions about his work decades ago as an embedded reporter covering Osama bin Laden.
- Mueller assembles team of cooperators in Russian probe (The Hill) Special counsel Robert Mueller has assembled a list of figures cooperating with his Russia investigation that could provide him with substantial insight into the workings of the Trump campaign. Mueller’s ability to turn associates of President Trump into cooperators has been a key facet of his investigation, lending strength to a probe that has pressed on for nearly a year and a half amid withering public scrutiny.
Legal analysts expect former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and other recruits to bring the special counsel closer to getting to the bottom of whether there was collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow, though doing so may hinge on Mueller striking deals with even more figures.
- Manafort has reportedly visited Mueller’s office 9 times over the last month, for hours at a time (Business Insider)
- Paul Manafort has reportedly visited the special counsel Robert Mueller’s office at least nine times over the last month.
- Once there, he and his lawyers are said to have spent at least six hours at a time with prosecutors.
- Manafort is Mueller’s most significant cooperating witness to date, and his frequent trips to Mueller’s office indicate the Russia investigation is not slowing down any time soon.
- Jimmy Carter: Kavanaugh is ‘unfit’ to be a Supreme Court justice (The Hill) Former President Jimmy Carter harshly criticized newly appointed Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, calling him “unfit” to serve on the court. Speaking to a class at Emory University in Atlanta on Wednesday, Carter said that Kavanaugh’s behavior during his confirmation hearings demonstrated that his appointment was “a very serious mistake,” according to Emory’s independent, student-run newspaper, The Emory Wheel.
- Democratic victory in November would put Trump under microscope (Reuters) If Democrats win control of the U.S. House of Representatives or Senate next month, nearly every aspect of Donald Trump’s presidency could face swift examination – from his long-elusive tax returns to possible business ties with Russia and conflicts of interest, congressional sources say.
- At Montana rally, Trump praises congressman for assaulting reporter (The Washington Post) President Donald Trump on Thursday openly praised Rep. Greg Gianforte (R, MT) for assaulting a reporter in his bid for Congress last year, as the United States faced an unfolding crisis over missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who is believed to have been killed by Saudi Arabian agents. The remarks from Trump at a campaign rally – staged at an airport hangar here with a mountainous backdrop – drew boisterous cheers from the conservative crowd, who applauded as Trump noted of Gianforte:
“By the way, never wrestle him. Any guy that can do a body slam, he’s my kind of – he’s my guy.”
- Rents are falling the fastest in these 11 cities (Business Insider) Here are the top five declines year-over-year as of September:
- Portland, OR (-2.7%)
- Seattle, WA (-2.2%)
- New York, NY (-1.9%)
- Chicago, IL (-1.9%)
- Philadelphia, PA (-1.7%)
EU
- EU’s Barnier says Brexit deal 90 percent done, but Ireland issue could derail it (Reuters) European Union negotiator Michel Barnier said on Friday a Brexit deal with the United Kingdom was 90 percent done, although there was still a chance no accord would be reached due to ongoing stumbling blocks over the Irish border.
UK
- UK posts smaller-than-expected budget deficit in boost for Hammond (Reuters) The deficit in September stood at £4.123 billion ($5.36 billion), compared with £4.958 billion ($6.45 billion) a year ago, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. A Reuters poll of economists had pointed to a reading of 4.5 billion pounds.
So far this financial year, the deficit totals £19.9 billion ($25.9 billion), down 35 percent from April-September 2017 and the smallest total at this stage of the year since 2002.
- Theresa May’s Brexit shambles: Desperate denials, broken promises – and without trust, you cannot lead (The Telegraph) The 21-month period initially agreed was – as any trade expert in the land has been saying from the very outset – never, ever going to be sufficient to negotiate something as complex as a new trading relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union.
- Theresa May leaves Brussels with little Brexit progress and her own MPs threatening mutiny (Business Insider)
- Theresa May leaves Brussels with no significant progress in Brexit talks.
- The UK prime minister is under pressure to break key Brexit promises in order to get a deal.
- Conservative MPs on all sides of the party are losing patience with her leadership.
- One MP, Johnny Mercer, described his party as a “shitshow” and said he wouldn’t vote for it if he wasn’t an MP.
Germany​
- Mehr als die Hälfte der Deutschen würde gern auswandern (Welt) 55% of respondents to a YouGov survey would like to live abroad – even part of them forever. Most older (over 55) said they would like to move away “forever”. See also More Than Half Of Germans Want To Leave The Country For A “More Stable Political Situation” (Zero Hedge).
- German House Prices (Twitter)
Italy
- Italian Bond Yields Keep Rising (Twitter)
Turkey
- Trump says Saudi journalist likely dead; Turkey searches for remains (Reuters) President Donald Trump said on Thursday he presumes missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi is dead and that the U.S. response to Saudi Arabia will likely be “very severe” but that he still wanted to get to the bottom of what exactly happened.
Afghanistan
- Afghanistan in shock after death of powerful police commander (Reuters) Afghan election commissioners recommended suspending Saturday’s parliamentary vote in the southern province of Kandahar after the assassination of one of the country’s most powerful security chiefs dealt a stunning blow to the Western-backed government.
China
- China GDP Growth Slows (Twitter) See also China’s GDP disappoints, but stocks surge anyway as officials pledge to support markets. By market close, the Shanghai composite and Shenzhen composite had surged 2.58%, while the Nasdaq-style Chinext index went up 3.18%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.51%.
- Faced with pressure from the U.S. trade war, China is stepping away from a battle to pare massive debt levels as it seeks ways to bolster its faltering economy.
- A Citi report says the pause in the so-called deleveraging campaign will see China’s debt-to-GDP ratio increase to 274.5 percent by the end of the year.
- China has been cutting reserve requirement ratios for banks, freeing them up to lend out more money.
- U.S. Soy Bean Exports to China Crater (Twitter)
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