Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 29 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 markets mostly decline amid renewed US-China tensions (CNBC) Stocks in Asia were mostly lower on Tuesday as fresh concerns over a slowing Chinese economy and renewed trade tensions weighed on investor sentiment. The U.S. dollar index was up sharply at 95.706 just below an earlier session high of 95.796. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $52.12 per barrel at 0351 GMT, up $0.13 (0.3%) from their last settlement. International Brent crude oil futures were at $60.05 per barrel, up $0.12, or 0.2%. Spot gold rose to its highest since June 14, 2018 at $1,304.53 in morning trade and was firm at $1,303.62 per ounce by 0319 GMT.
U.S.
- The Memo: Divisions linger in Trump World over ‘emergency’ gambit (The Hill) The idea of President Trump declaring a national emergency in order to build his southern border wall is back on the table at the White House – but it is a divisive suggestion, even among his own advisers. Hard-liners, including senior adviser Stephen Miller and, reportedly, trade adviser Peter Navarro, are among those advocating for such a declaration. But others, including the president’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, are much more ambivalent. See also Post-shutdown negotiations look brutal for Trump.
- Poll: Biden leads among Dems in 2020 primary field (The Hill) Former Vice President Joe Biden leads the field of potential Democratic presidential contenders, according to a new poll. Biden is supported by 26% of Democrats surveyed in a Morning Consult/Politico poll. He’s followed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (Ind, VT), who took 16%, and Sen. Kamala Harris (D, CA.) at 9%.
- Kamala Harris endorses Ocasio-Cortez’s ‘Green New Deal’ (The Hill) Sen. Kamala Harris (D, CA) on Monday endorsed the “Green New Deal,” a proposal that sets a goal of getting 100 percent of U.S. electricity from renewable energy. She made the commitment during a CNN town hall in Iowa. Video below is for entire Town Hall.
- What John Stossel Doesn’t Understand About Border Patrol Checkpoints (YouTube) According to this video we are living in a police state.
- 75% of the US population will suffer below-freezing temps this week (CNN) Absurdly cold weather is about to grip much of the US, trapping millions of Americans in sub-zero temperatures and bringing “dangerous to impossible travel conditions.” Some states could suffer the coldest air in a generation, the National Weather Service said. About 220 million people — or 75% of the continental US population — will endure below-freezing temperatures this week. Track weather hazards as they are announced at Live: Severe Weather Events 28 January Through 4 February 2019. Review the weather and climate report for this week and month at January 28, 2019 – Intermediate-Term Weather Report – Definitely Winter. Graphic from CNN:
- Not Everyone is Unhappy with the Severe Winter Weather in the East (Jay Peak Snow Report) Jay Peak Resort in northern Vermont has just passed 20 feet of snowfall total for the season. Jay enjoys a very snowy microclimate because of direct exposure up the St Lawrence Valley to the Great Lakes. Other northeastern mountains just slightly to the south experience shadowing effects from elevations to the west collecting precipitation moving from west to east. For example, Mt.Mansfield at Stowe, approximately 45 miles to the south has received 193 inches, 78% of the snowfall at Jay. Burke Mountain, about 30 miles east-southeast of Jay (in the “precipiation shadow” of Jay Peak) has received a total of 122 inches, less than half its taller neighbor. As we move further south from Stowe to Killington, another 4,000 foot summit ski area, the season total snowfall is 135 inches, 55% of Jay Peak. Note: Resorts further south than Stowe receive greater snowfall totals from coastal northeasters a few times a winter than does Jay Peak. But the persistent vapor flow off the Great Lakes repeatedly dumping smaller amounts of snow on a regular basis all winter have resulted in Jay having the greatest snowfall totals of any eastern U.S. ski resort consistently for decades.
EU
- Exports Weaken for the EZ (The Daily Shot) Turkey’s currency collapse contributed to the weakness in the Eurozone’s exports last year.
Germany​
- German minister sees chances rising for second Brexit referendum (Reuters) A second referendum on Brexit looks increasingly likely, German Justice Minister Katarina Barley told German broadcaster SWR on Tuesday, hours before British lawmakers debate and vote on the next steps for Brexit after previously rejecting the Prime Minister’s plan.
Iran
- Iran rejects talks on missiles, but says it will not increase range (Reuters) Iran on Tuesday dismissed calls from the United States and Europe for curbs on its ballistic missiles, but said it had no plans to increase their range.
China
- U.S. charges China’s Huawei for sanctions violations, technology theft (Reuters) The United States on Monday announced criminal charges against China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, escalating a fight with the world’s biggest telecommunications equipment maker which denies wrongdoing, and coming days before trade talks with Beijing. The Justice Department charged Huawei and its chief financial officer with conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions on Iran by doing business through a subsidiary it tried to hide and that was reported on by Reuters in 2012 Exclusive: Huawei partner offered embargoed HP gear to Iran and 2013 Exclusive: Huawei CFO linked to firm that offered HP gear to Iran. In a separate case, the Justice Department said Huawei stole robotic technology from T-Mobile US Inc. Huawei has said the companies settled their dispute in 2017. See also China says US indictment against Huawei is ‘unfair’ and ‘immoral’ (CNBC).
- Apple, Nvidia and Caterpillar may be pointing to widespread pain from China’s slowdown (CNBC)
- Caterpillar and Nvidia are seen as industry bellwethers, and their outlooks often point to wider trends in global growth, said Rodrigo Catril, a senior currency strategist at the National Australia Bank.
- Both of those companies said this week they were hit by the economic slowdown in China.
- Slowing growth in China – likely made worse by the ongoing trade war between the world’s two largest economies – is hitting American companies hard, experts say.
- Commercial Banking Activity Cools in China (The Daily Shot) Commercial bank asset growth has slowed in recent years.
Venezuela
- U.S. sanctions threaten Venezuela’s economy as Maduro eyes next move (Reuters) Venezuelans braced for the deepening of a brutal economic crisis on Tuesday after the United States imposed sanctions sharply curbing the country’s vital oil exports, while the socialist government responded by refusing to load crude cargoes without payment.
- New US sanctions on Venezuela will mean cheap oil for China and India (CNBC)
- The Trump administration has announced sanctions against Venezuela’s state-owned energy company Petroleos de Venezuela, better known as PDVSA.
- PDVSA will have to deeply discount its barrels and countries like India and China will stand to benefit from it, analysts say.
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