Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 04 December 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
- Asian stocks mostly decline as ‘warm fuzzy feeling’ of US-China trade agreement fades (CNBC) Stocks in Asia mostly slipped on Tuesday amid uncertainty about the future of U.S.-China trade relations. The U.S. dollar index was down at 96.668 after touching a high of 96.961 earlier. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $53.33 per barrel at 0604 GMT, up $0.48 (0.7%) from their last close. Brent crude oil futures were up $0.51, or 0.8%, at $62.20 per barrel. Spot gold climbed 0.4% to $1,235.78 per ounce at 0400 GMT.
.
.
- Global Impact of Trade Wars (The Daily Shot) Manufacturing export orders have been moderating.
U.S.
- Navy warned it might miss recruiting goals due to holds on green card applicants: report (The Hill) The Navy has reportedly warned that it could miss its recruiting goals because of the amount of time green-card holders have been waiting in order to be screened for background checks before joining the military. Navy officials called the issue regarding the backlog of potential recruits “untenable,” according to a document reviewed by The Washington Post. Officials added that the situation brings “increasing risk of mission failure.”
- Flying Trump To Midterm Rallies To Stump For Republicans Cost Taxpayers Millions (Governemnt Executive) President Donald Trump flew to more than 40 political rallies in the months leading up to the 2018 mid-term elections, to coax his loyal fans to come out to the polls for Republican candidates. A Quartz analysis of Trump’s travel schedule and the latest Department of Defense operating figures for Air Force One aircraft suggests the tab for the air travel alone was $17 million. The costs so far have been borne almost completely by U.S. taxpayers. How much of the estimated $17 million bill taxpayers will ultimately eat is still unclear. When presidents use Air Force One for campaign purposes, their political party or reelection campaign is supposed to cover a portion of the astronomical operating costs, according to Federal Election Commission rules. The Trump campaign reimbursed the Treasury roughly $112,000 for air travel in March and April. There has been no paperwork filed for any similar reimbursements since then.
- Trump claims spending money on border wall will save U.S. ‘billions’ (Politico) President Donald Trump claimed Monday that the United States would “save Billions of Dollars if the Democrats would give us the votes to build the Wall,” without explaining how his elusive border wall would create a savings bonanza. Trump has suggested he won’t sign a spending bill that includes less than $5 billion tabbed for building a wall along the southern border, significantly more than the $1.6 billion agreed to in a bipartisan Senate proposal.
- Trump’s praise for Roger Stone could amount to witness tampering – experts (The Guardian) Donald Trump heaped public praise on a potential witness in the Russia investigation on Monday in a manner that legal experts said could amount to criminal witness tampering. Trump tweeted in praise of Roger Stone, his longtime political adviser, who allegedly made contacts with the WikiLeaks organization through an intermediary in an effort to help the 2016 Trump campaign. Stone has denied all wrongdoing but has said he expects to be indicted.
- American’s Inflation Expectations (The Daily Shot) Americans expect higher inflation in the future, but not as high as expected in the past.
EU
- EU finance ministers strike eurozone reform deal (Financial Times) EU finance ministers have agreed on steps to bolster the eurozone against future financial crises, striking a deal after negotiations that went through the night and pitted French-led reform ambitions against the reluctance of northern European capitals to share more financial risk.
Finance ministers hailed the breakthrough on Tuesday as an agreement to equip the eurozone’s banking union with more financial muscle and to give its sovereign bailout fund – the European Stability Mechanism – extra flexibility in how it can help countries to weather market turmoil. Ministers also agreed to keep discussions alive about a future eurozone budget – a key demand for France’s Emmanuel Macron.
- EZ Leading Economic Indicator Points Down (The Daily Shot) The OECD leading economic indicator for the Eurozone is looking especially weak.
UK
- UK can stop article 50 without EU approval, top ECJ adviser says (The Guardian) See also Britain can revoke Brexit unilaterally, EU court adviser says (Rueters) The UK can unilaterally abandon the article 50 process, a senior adviser to the European court of justice (ECJ) has said, in a significant boost to anti-Brexit campaigners. Campos Sflnchez-Bordona said he believed EU law allowed the UK to revoke article 50 without requiring the formal agreement of the European commission or other EU member states.
In his formal opinion, Sflnchez-Bordona said it was essential MPs knew they could stop the Brexit process, dismissing the UK government’s claims the issue was hypothetical.
France
- French government ‘to suspend fuel tax increase’ (The Guardian) The French government will announce it is suspending plans to introduce an eco-fuel tax after three weeks of increasingly violent protests, according to reports in French media.
The prime minister, Edouard Philippe, was due to meet cabinet ministers on Tuesday morning to agree a response to a weekend of rioting, looting and destruction in Paris by an extreme fringe of the gilets jaunes (yellow vests) movement.
Iran
- U.S. will not stop Iran exporting oil, Iranian president says (Reuters) The United States will not be able to stop Iran exporting its oil and any move to prevent Iranian crude shipments passing through the Gulf would lead to all oil exports through the waterway being blocked, Iran’s president said on Tuesday.
Russia
- Kremlin says it regrets that U.S.-Russia dialogue is not working out (Reuters) The Kremlin said on Tuesday that it regretted that dialogue between Russia and the United States was not working out despite what it said was a series of important strategic issues that needed to be discussed.
China
- US and China reach 90-day trade tariff ceasefire after China agrees to buy ‘very substantial’ amount of American goods (South China Morning Post) Presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump agreed to a 90-day trade truce to allow for further talks to address US concerns after China committed to buying a “very substantial” amount of American exports, the White House said in a statement late on Saturday. Chinese officials said that the country would buy more US products in an effort to narrow the wide bilateral trade gap. At the same time, Trump agreed to postpone a scheduled increase in tariffs next month on US$200 billion in Chinese imports while talks to address American concerns about China’s trade practices took place.
- Beijing’s economic ‘red lines’ may clash with Trump’s 90-day plan, analysts say (CNBC)
- Washington has accused China of forcing technology transfers, and tacitly supporting intellectual property violations and cyber-crime.
- But Chinese President Xi Jinping is likely to continue lending state support to targeted industries, particularly in technology under the “Made in China 2025” program, according to TS Lombard’s Eleanor Olcott.
- Tariffs are Impacting China’s Exports (The Daily Shot) U.S. imports of Chinese goods that are subject to 25% tariffs are collapsing. That’s why a delay in the current 10% tariffs becoming 25% is a big deal. But can it be averted altogether?
Mexico
- Expectations Skyhigh for Mexico’s Newly Inaugurated President Lopez Obrador (The Real News Network) Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Mexico’s new center-left president was inaugurated and outlined policies that were more ambitious than what he campaigned on, says Laura Carlsen, of the Americas Program of the Center for International Policy in Mexico City.
.
