Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 28 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.
Please share this article – Go to very top of page, right hand side for social media buttons.
​Global
- Asia stocks mostly slip in turbulent session ahead of US-China trade talks (CNBC) Major Asian stock markets closed lower on Monday following a turbulent trading session as investors waited for a new round of high-level U.S.-China trade talks, which is set to begin later in the week. The U.S. dollar index was lower at 95.769 after seeing highs above 96.6 last week. Brent crude oil futures were at $60.74 a barrel at 0804 GMT, down $0.90 (1.46%). U.S. crude oil futures were at $52.84 per barrel, down $0.85 cents, or 1.58%. Spot gold was slightly lower at $1,301.81 per ounce as of 0757 GMT, while U.S. gold futures climbed 0.2% to $1,300 per ounce.
U.S.
- Former Starbucks Chairman and CEO Howard Schultz, who is launching a book tour this week, said he’s “seriously thinking of running for president” as a centrist who is positioned outside the two-party system.
- The billionaire denounced both President Donald Trump and the “revenge politics” that’s resulted in a polarized electorate.
- Trump boosts fight against surprise medical bills (The Hill) Momentum is building for action to prevent patients from receiving massive unexpected medical bills, aided by President Trump, who is vowing to take on the issue. Calls for action against so-called “surprise” medical bills have been growing, spurred by viral stories like one involving a teacher in Texas last year who received a $108,000 bill from the hospital after his heart attack. Even though the teacher had insurance, the hospital was not in his insurance network.
- Trump rips into Fox News over shutdown, border wall coverage (The Hill) President Trump on Sunday blasted a pair of Fox News reporters over their coverage of the border wall negotiations, claiming that they have “less understanding” than journalists at “fake news CNN & NBC.”
- Trump ally Roger Stone hedges bets on cooperation with Robert Mueller (The Guardian) Longtime Donald Trump adviser Roger Stone said on Sunday he would have to consult with his attorneys about potentially cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating links between the Trump campaign and Russian operatives.
- Trump tells WSJ another government shutdown is ‘certainly an option’ (CNBC)
- U.S. President Donald Trump said another government shutdown is “certainly an option” as he expressed skepticism that Congress would reach a deal to fund the border wall he requested, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.
- Trump also said he doubted he would accept less than $5.7 billion for the border wall, nor would he agree to grant citizenship for “Dreamers” in exchange for wall funding, according to the Journal report.
- 58,000 Non-U.S. Citizens Voted in Texas State Elections, Attorney General Paxton Says (NBC Texas News) The Texas Department of Public Safety has identified 58,000 non-U.S. citizens who voted in one or more Texas elections, dating to 1996, according to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office. Further, the DPS said there were about 95,000 non-citizens they identified as having a voter registration record in the state. (Econintersect: This is simply not credible. See next article.)
- Trump Amplifies Misleading Allegations Of Voter Fraud In Texas (Huffington Post) Last year, Paxton created a unit in his office focused on targeting election crimes. So far, the unit has prosecuted 33 people. (Econintersect: The claim in the preceding article that there are 58,000 cases of non-citizens voting in Texas is simply not credible if only 33 have been prosecuted. Either the 58,000 clin has no validity or the Texas Attorney generl is incompetent.)
- $1.5 trillion U.S. tax cut has no major impact on business capex plans: survey (Reuters) The Trump administration’s $1.5 trillion cut tax package appeared to have no major impact on businesses’ capital investment or hiring plans, according to a survey released a year after the biggest overhaul of the U.S. tax code in more than 30 years. The White House had predicted that the massive fiscal stimulus package, marked by the reduction in the corporate tax rate to 21% from 35%, would boost business spending and job growth. The tax cuts came into effect in January 2018. By the end of the year 84% of businesses said they had not increased capex spending or hiring.
- They’re Waiting Longer, but U.S. Women Today More Likely to Have Children Than a Decade Ago (Pew Research Center) The share of U.S. women at the end of their childbearing years who have ever given birth was higher in 2016 than it had been 10 years earlier. Some 86% of women ages 40 to 44 are mothers, compared with 80% in 2006. The share of women in this age group who are mothers is similar to what it was in the early 1990s. Most of this increase is due to never married mothers.
EU
UK
- Deprived northern regions worst hit by UK austerity, study finds (The Guardian) Austerity cuts have fallen hardest on deprived communities in the north of England, which are enduring the highest poverty rates and weakest economies, according to a study. The Centre for Cities think tank study shows that the poorest areas have borne the brunt of council spending cuts. Local authority spending has fallen nationally by half since 2010, with areas such as Liverpool, Blackburn and Barnsley facing average cuts twice that of their counterparts in the more affluent south, according to the think tank.
Germany​
Russia
- U.S. lifts sanctions on Rusal, other firms linked to Russia’s Deripaska (Reuters) U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration on Sunday lifted sanctions on aluminum giant Rusal and other Russian firms linked to oligarch Oleg Deripaska, defying a Democratic-led push in the U.S. Congress to maintain the restrictions. Deripaska himself remains subject to U.S. sanctions.
India
- India’s Modi seen appeasing voters, putting reforms aside in pre-election budget (Reuters) Desperate for five more years in power, India’s Hindu nationalist government will woo rural and urban middle-class voters with farm relief measures and tax cuts, said officials privy to plans for the final budget before a general election. Stung by opposition parties victories in three state polls last month, and needing to call a national election by May, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is facing growing discontent over depressed farm incomes and doubts over whether his policies are creating enough jobs.
The electoral compulsions mean that major economic reforms, such as tax cuts for bigger companies and plans to bring down the budget deficit, could be put on hold at least until after the election, the sources said.
China
- China can no longer rely on real estate for growth. It’s now turning to railways and more debt (CNBC)
- In the past, the Chinese government looked to real estate to stimulate growth.
- But now, Beijing is trying to stop the risks of high housing prices from spilling over into the rest of the economy.
- That leaves authorities with the option of infrastructure spending, which will add even more debt to an already leveraged system
Brazil
- Death toll rises to 58 as hope dims after Brazil dam collapse (Reuters) Brazilian rescuers searched into the night on Sunday for hundreds of people missing after a burst mining dam triggered a deadly mudslide, as the death toll rose to 58 and was expected to keep climbing more than two days after the disaster. The collapsed dam at Vale SA’s Corrego do Feijao mine buried mining facilities and nearby homes in the town of Brumadinho, killing dozens and leaving the community in shock.
.
