Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 07 January 2019
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 shares mixed as investors sift through fresh Brexit uncertainties; pound holds at $1.28 (CNBC) Asia Pacific markets traded mixed on Wednesday despite an overnight rally on Wall Street as investors sifted through fresh uncertainties surrounding the U.K.’s withdrawal from the European Union. The dollar index traded higher at 95.982 as of 2:51 p.m. HK/SIN. Brent crude oil futures were at $60.70 per barrel at 0940 GMT, up $0.06 (0.1%). West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down $0.07, or 0.13%, at $52.04 a barrel. Spot gold was unchanged at $1,289.01 per ounce at 1101 GMT, while U.S. gold futures were also little changed at $1,288.80 per ounce.
- Global Risk Report is Gloomier Than Ever (Twitter) See Global Risks Report 2019 (World Economic Forum).
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U.S.
- Democrats turn down White House invitation for shutdown talks (The Hill) No Democrats attended a lunch on Tuesday with President Trump designed to reach an agreement to end the government shutdown and fund a border wall, as the president’s attempt to force leaders back to the negotiating table fell flat. Trump invited several moderate House Democrats to the White House in an effort to undermine Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D, CA), who has refused to grant Trump his demand for $5.7 billion in wall funding. But the group turned down the invitation.
- Here are 10 disturbing moments from Trump’s attorney general nominee hearings (AlterNet) President Donald Trump’s efforts to exert control over the Justice Department – one of the few bodies left that can assert a real check on his power and corruption – have been an ongoing crisis and scandal during his time in office. In that context, his nomination of former Attorney General William Barr to retake the top position at the head of the department warrants extreme scrutiny.
- McConnell blocks House bill to reopen government for second time (The Hill) See also Leaders nix recess with no shutdown deal in sight. Senate Republicans blocked a House-passed package to reopen the federal government for a second time in as many weeks on Tuesday. Democratic Sens. Chris Van Hollen (Md.) and Ben Cardin (Md.) asked for consent to take up a package of bills that would reopen the federal government. (Econintersect: Headline should better read “For second time McConnell blocks House bill to reopen government”.)
- Trump shares article blasting federal workers, calling for long shutdown (The Hill) President Trump on Monday shared an op-ed from a writer claiming to be an anonymous senior member of his administration who harshly criticizes federal workers as disloyal to the White House and worthy of losing their jobs. The writer of the op-ed, published by conservative news site The Daily Caller, argues the partial government shutdown is an opportunity for Trump to greatly reduce the size of government.
- Mortgage applications surge 13.5% as borrowers rush to take advantage of lower rates (CNBC)
- Total mortgage application volume rose 13.5% last week, compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index.
- That is its highest level since February 2018 and came after a 23% jump the previous week. Volume was just 0.5% lower compared with the same week one year ago.
- Refinance demand drove the gains, with those applications rising 19% for the week to the highest level since last March.
- Federal judge rules against Trump administration’s plan to add 2020 census citizenship question (The Hill) A federal judge in Manhattan ruled Tuesday that the Trump administration’s decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census was unlawful. In his ruling, Judge Jesse Furman, of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, said Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross’s decision to add the question to the census was “arbitrary and capricious” and enjoined the administration from including it on the questionnaire.
Furman, an Obama appointee, said Ross violated a statute that requires him to collect data through the acquisition and use of “administrative records” instead of through “direct inquiries” on a survey such as the census.
Ross announced in March that he was granting a request from the Justice Department to reinstate the citizenship question on the decennial population count to help the agency better enforce the Voting Rights Act.
- Fox News legal analyst: William Barr may turn on Trump once he sees what Mueller has (AlterNet) Libertarian Judge Andrew Napolitano, during a January 15 appearance on Fox News’ “Outnumbered,” asserted that based on Barr’s comments before the Senate, he believes Barr will keep an open mind about Mueller’s evidence.
EU
- Brexit: Will the EU help after Theresa May’s defeat? (BBC News) Those in the UK who expect the EU to ‘rush to the rescue’ with proposed changes to the Brexit agreement are in for a let-down. Europe’s leaders have no agreed Plan B up their sleeve and see no advantage in scrambling to find one. They believe the debate in the UK still needs to play out.
- Debt in the Eurozone Since 2000 (The Daily Shot) Here are the Eurozone’s debt dynamics since 2000.
UK
- U.K. leader Theresa May has seen her Brexit withdrawal deal with Europe rejected by the U.K. Parliament, 432 votes to 202.
- The 230 vote defeat is thought to be the largest in U.K. political history.
- Sterling initially fell before rising following May’s stunning defeat.
- May faces confidence vote as Brexit goes down to the line (Reuters) Prime Minister Theresa May’s government faced a no confidence vote on Wednesday after the crushing defeat of her Brexit divorce deal by parliament left Britain’s exit from the European Union in disarray just 10 weeks before it is due to leave.
- Labour calls for a Brexit compromise to get deal passed (Reuters) Britain’s opposition Labour Party’s finance policy chief John McDonnell said that Prime Minister Theresa May could eventually get a deal through parliament if she negotiated a compromise with his party.
- Inflation falls to lowest level in nearly two years (BBC News) The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) figure was the lowest in nearly two years, pushed down by petrol price falls. The inflation reading was in line with analysts’ expectations. The figure is close to the Bank of England’s target of 2% and may mean the Bank is less likely now to consider any rate rises in the near future.
Russia
- Russia ready to work with U.S. to save INF arms treaty: Lavrov (Reuters) Russia is ready to work to save the landmark Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) despite numerous problems and hopes Washington will take a responsible approach to arms control treaties, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday.
China
- China brushes off international concern over death sentence for Canadian (Reuters) China said on Wednesday that it was “not worried in the slightest” by mounting international concern over the death sentence handed to a Canadian for drug smuggling.
Mexico
- El Chapo ‘paid $100m bribe to former Mexican president Peña Nieto’ (BBC News) Former Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto accepted a $100 million (£77 million) bribe from drug cartel kingpin Joaqu’n “El Chapo” Guzmfln, a witness has testified. Alex Cifuentes, who says he was a close associate of Guzmfln for years, told a New York City courtroom that he had told authorities of the bribe in 2016. Guzmfln is accused of being behind the Sinaloa drug cartel, which prosecutors say was the largest US drug supplier. Mr Peña Nieto served as the president of Mexico from 2012 to 2018.
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