Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 19 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.
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​Global
- Asian markets close mixed ahead of Federal Reserve policy decision (CNBC) Asian stocks were mixed on Wednesday ahead of a policy decision by the U.S. Federal Reserve. the U.S. dollar index slipped to 96.871 from the precious close at 97.104. West Texas Intermediate futures (WTI) climbed $0.04 (0.09%) to $46.28 per barrel by 0443 GMT, after plunging 7.3% the day before in a session when it touched its lowest since August 2017. Global benchmark Brent crude futures rose 0.4% ($0.23) to $56.49 per barrel. It had dropped 5.6% on Tuesday, at one point hitting a 14-month low. Spot gold was up 0.1% to $1,250.20 per ounce, as of 0405 GMT.
- Bad Year for Global Stocks (The Daily Shot) If the year ended now 2018 would be the worst year for global stocks since 2008.
U.S.
- Trump retreats on shutdown (The Hill) In a swift reversal, the White House on Tuesday dropped its demand that a government funding measure include $5 billion for President Trump’s wall on the Mexican border. Trump’s concession paves the way for lawmakers to reach a compromise and end the Congress without a partial government shutdown. It also raises questions over whether Trump will ever get full funding for his wall now that Democrats are poised to take control of the House in a few weeks.
- Federal judge restricts travel of ex-Trump official Michael Flynn after lashing him at hearing (CNBC)
- Judge Emmet Sullivan issued travel restrictions on Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump’s former national security advisor.
- That came hours after the federal judge told Flynn “arguably you sold your country out” – and suggested the retired Army lieutenant general could face prison if a sentencing proceeded as scheduled on Tuesday afternoon.
- The judge also ordered Flynn to surrender his passport, and to check with the court if he wants to travel more than 50 miles from Washington, D.C.
- Senate passes criminal justice overhaul, handing Trump a win (The Hill) The Senate passed a bipartisan criminal justice reform bill on Tuesday night, handing a significant victory to President Trump and senators who lobbied to advance the legislation before the end of the year. Senators voted 87-12 on the legislation, which merges a House-passed prison reform bill aimed at reducing recidivism with a handful of changes to sentencing laws and mandatory minimum prison sentences.
- Does Comey want to be seen as partisan, incompetent or untruthful? (Kimberly Strassel, Twitter) KS is a Wall Street Journal columnist.
- FBI releases documents showing payments to Trump dossier author Steele (NBC News) The FBI has released 71 pages of what it describes as correspondence between the bureau and Christopher Steele, the former British spy who authored a dossier at the paid request of FusionGPS alleging collusion between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia. See also Washington Free Beacon funded original Fusion GPS anti-Trump opposition effort (Washington Examiner) and The making of the Steele dossier (The Washington Post). The most significant points in the timeline:
- Washington Free Beacon, a conservative publication hired Fusion GPS to collect intelligence on “multiple candidates” including Donald Trump October 2015.
- WFB ended its arrangement with Fusion GPS May 2016 when Trump clinched the nomination (May 26).
- Almost immediately the DNC and the Clinton campaign hire Fusion GPS to continue the contract terminated by WFB.
- About the same time Fusion GPS hired Christopher Steele specifically to research Trump.
- Details of timeline continue in graphic below from The Washington Post.
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- There’s More than Oil in Texas (Twitter) Texas also leads the nation in wind energy.
EU
- Hacked diplomatic cables reveal Europe’s anxiety about Trump, Russia, Iran: NYT (Reuters) Hackers have accessed the European Union’s diplomatic communications network for years, downloading cables that reveal concerns about the Trump administration, struggles to deal with Russia and China and the risk of Iran reviving its nuclear program, The New York Times reported late on Tuesday.
UK
- 100 days to Brexit, businesses warn UK of no-deal abyss (Reuters) With just 100 days until Brexit, the United Kingdom is on the brink of leaving the European Union without a divorce deal, the nightmare scenario for many businesses which are now planning for an economic shock.
Germany​
- A German Retail Apocalypse (Twitter)
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- Is Germany facing a recession? (The Daily Shot)
Turkey
- Turkey says won first WTO appeal against U.S. tariffs on steel: minister in Hurriyet (Reuters) Turkey has won its first appeal at the World Trade Organization (WTO) against additional U.S. tariffs imposed on steel imports, Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan was quoted as saying by the Hurriyet daily on Wednesday. Turkey had initiated a dispute complaint with the WTO in August against the additional tariffs imposed by the United States on Turkish steel and aluminum imports.
Russia
- Trump signed letter of intent for Moscow Trump Tower talks, contradicting Giuliani (The Hill) President Trump signed a letter of intent that preceded negotiations for a Trump property in Moscow, according to CNN, despite his attorney claiming over the weekend that “no one signed” such a document. CNN‘s Chris Cuomo obtained a copy of the signed letter of intent dated Oct. 28, 2015, which bears Trump’s signature. The letter pertains to negotiations to build a Trump Tower in Moscow, a project that has come under renewed scrutiny after the president’s longtime associate, Michael Cohen, admitted he lied to Congress about talks surrounding the project.
India
- India to overtake UK in IMF global economic rankings (Financial Times) India is set to overtake the UK in 2019 in the rankings of the world’s largest economies, with Britain’s economic weight set to decline as emerging markets grow to command an increasing share of global output. The UK was the fifth-largest economy in the world in 2018, according to the IMF’s estimates of gross domestic product, measured in dollar terms at market exchange rates. Next year, the IMF’s projections show it slipping to seventh place in the global rankings, outstripped by India and also France.
North Korea
- U.S. seeks to expedite aid for North Korea amid stalled nuclear talks (Reuters) U.S. officials will try to expedite humanitarian aid to North Korea, a U.S. envoy said on Wednesday, as Washington and Pyongyang struggle to find a breakthrough in stalled talks aimed at ending the North’s nuclear program.
China
- Defaults are Soaring in China (Twitter)
Mexico
- Money is Tight in Mexico (The Daily Shot) Mexico’s monetary policy is the tightest in a decade.
Canada
- Third Canadian detained in China, Canadian media says, citing ministry (Reuters) A third Canadian citizen has been detained in China, Canada’s National Post newspaper reported on Wednesday, citing the Canadian foreign ministry. China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, told a daily news briefing in Beijing that she was unaware of the report.
Canada’s Global Affairs office told the National Post that they were aware of a detention but did not provide details and did not suggest a connection to Meng’s detention.
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