Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 22 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
- Asian stocks slip amid concerns about the global economic outlook (CNBC) Stocks in Asia declined on Tuesday as investor sentiment dipped on concerns about the global outlook, after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) slashed its world economic growth forecast on Monday. The U.S. dollar index was at higher 96.430 after touching an earlier low of 96.305. International Brent crude oil futures were down $0.10 (0.2%) at $62.64 by 0106 GMT. They closed down 0.1% on Monday. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $53.70 per barrel, down 0.1%, or $0.04. Spot gold was down 0.2% at $1,277.24 per ounce by 0313 GMT.
- Here are 7 things you might not know about Davos (CNBC) Here are 76 peices of trivia about Davos, Switzerland where the World Economic Forum meeting starts this week.
U.S.
- Debate builds over making Mueller report public (The Hill) Anticipation is building for special counsel Robert Mueller’s report, bringing to boil a debate over whether it will also be made public. The report took center stage at attorney general nominee William Barr’s confirmation hearing last week, where Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee pressed him to commit to releasing it publicly.
- Giuliani tries to clean up comments about Trump Tower Moscow (CNN) President Donald Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani said Monday that the President had no recollection of whether discussions about a proposed Trump Tower Moscow project went through the 2016 election, distancing himself from a claim he made Sunday. Giuliani’s remarks were an attempt at damage control after comments he made a day prior when he said the talks about the Moscow project continued through the campaign, even possibly as late as October or November 2016. Adjusting his previous timeline, Giuliani told CNN on Monday that there was no way of determining exactly when the discussions ended because they had no record of it.
- The Economy Won’t Rescue Trump (The New York Times) Paul Krugman weighs in on the prospects for an economy that disappoints the president over the next two years. He compares the hopes that the Reagan landslide in 1984 could be the template for Trump in 2020 with the reality that the economy will likely be slowing significantly for Trump while it was starting to pick up for Reagan.
- New video sheds more light on students’ confrontation with Native American (The Guardian) The incident at the Lincoln Memeorial initially reported as high school students confronting a native American appears to be much more complex than initailly portrayed.
- Twitter suspends account that helped ignite controversy over viral encounter (CNN) Twitter suspended an account on Monday afternoon that helped spread a controversial encounter between a Native American elder and a group of high school students wearing Make America Great Again hats. The account claimed to belong to a California schoolteacher. Its profile photo was not of a schoolteacher, but of a blogger based in Brazil, CNN Business found. Twitter suspended the account soon after CNN Business asked about it.
- No Deal Brexit Remains UK Law Unless MPs Reverse Their Previous Votes (Talk Markets) The EU Withdrawal Act (2018) became law on 26 June last year. It set 29 March 2019 as Brexit Day. It allowed for a Transition Agreement if a Withdrawal Agreement was agreed. Without a Withdrawal Agreement, the UK simply leaves with No Deal. The law is the law, and the Act is primary legislation, which means it has since been incorporated in a whole range of laws and regulations as part of the UK’s exit preparations. It cannot, therefore, be overturned by statements that claim “There is no majority for No Deal”. In fact, during the Committee stage, the House of Commons voted 320-114 in Committee Stage against staying in the Customs Union. It also voted 319-23 against a second referendum. And last week, MPs voted against the proposed Withdrawal Agreement. So if MPs say “No Deal can’t happen”, they are wrong. They have already voted for ‘No Deal’.
- Labour leader Corbyn curves towards new EU referendum option (Reuters) British opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn moved a step closer to paving the way for another referendum on European Union membership by trying to use parliament to grab control of Brexit from Prime Minister Theresa May.
- Brexit: MPs put forward rival plans to May’s deal (BBC News) MPs are putting forward plans to change the outcome of Brexit ahead of a vote next week on the PM’s amended deal.
- May claims EU second referendum would threaten ‘social cohesion’ (The Guardian) Theresa May reiterated her opposition to a second Brexit referendum on Monday night, claiming it would threaten Britain’s “social cohesion” and insisting the centrepiece of her strategy remained negotiating changes to the Irish backstop. With just 67 days to go until Britain is due by law to leave the European Union, May exasperated MPs and business groups by offering scant evidence that she was willing to change course. Giving a statement in the House of Commons, the prime minister outlined three changes she claimed had emerged from discussions with colleagues in the six days since her Brexit deal was rejected by MPs with a crushing margin of 230:
A more consultative approach to the next phase of negotiations, with MPs, business groups and unions more involved.
Stronger reassurances on workers’ rights and environmental standards, “with a guarantee that not only will we not erode protections for workers’ rights and the environment but we will ensure this country leads the way”.
Another attempt to address the concerns of Tory and Democratic Unionist party MPs about the Irish backstop – which she could then discuss with Brussels.
Turkey
- Turkey planning international investigation into Khashoggi case: minister (Reuters) Turkey is planning to launch an international investigation into the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and will take further steps in coming days, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was quoted as saying by state-owned media.
Russia
- Russia Becomes World’s Fifth Largest Gold Holder (GoldBroker) Russia has overtaken China to become the world’s fifth largest official sector holder of gold as Western sanctions drove buying by its central bank to record highs in 2018, its data showed on Friday. With support from President Vladimir Putin, the central bank has been betting heavily on bullion, often seen as a safe haven or a natural hedge against the dollar, with active purchases in the last 10 years.
In 2018, Russia’s buying jumped further as holdings of U.S. Treasury securities were reduced after Washington imposed sanctions on Russian entities in April, the toughest since Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.
Banagladesh
- Exclusive: Some in Bangladesh election observer group say they now regret involvement (Reuters) A top official at an observer group that monitored Bangladesh’s election, as well as one of its foreign volunteers, have said they regret participating in the process, casting doubt on the credibility of a vote won overwhelmingly by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s ruling alliance.
China
- Why China’s slowdown should worry us all (BBCNews) Slower growth in China means slower growth for the rest of the world. It accounts for one-third of global growth. Jobs, exports, commodity producing nations – we all depend on China to buy stuff from us. Slower growth in China also means it is harder for China to address its mountain of debt, even with the Communist Party’s undoubted ability to be able to support the economy.
Mexico
- New migrant caravan waits to cross into Mexico with hopes of reaching U.S. (CBSNews) A new caravan of around 1,800 Central Americans is making its way toward the U.S. The group started crossing into Mexico last weekend, and the long line to enter stretches back to a bridge on the border. Thousands of migrants left Honduras a week ago after word about a new caravan spread on Facebook. The orderly lines are a stark contrast to October’s caravan, when an influx of migrants overwhelmed the Mexican government and created a bottleneck on the same bridge. See next article.
- Mexico sets up new process for Central American migrants headed toward U.S. (CBSNews) In a new process that started a week ago in preparation for the caravan (see preceding article), the Mexican government gives people wrist bands to register them, their identities are verified, and five days later they get humanitarian visas allowing them stay in Mexico for a year to work and to live.
Canada
- Canada should ban Huawei from 5G networks, says former spy chief (Reuters) Canada should ban China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd from supplying equipment to Canadian 5G networks because the security risk is too great, a former spy chief said in an article published on Monday.
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