Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 04 February 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 markets rise; Sony shares plunge more than 8 percent (CNBC) Shares in Hong Kong, Japan and Australia saw gains on Monday. The U.S. dollar index was higher at 95.711 after seeing lows below 95.4 last week. Brent crude oil futures, the global benchmark, hit $63.63 a barrel, the highest since December 7, and was up $0.66 at $63.41. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures hit a 2019 high of $55.75 and was later up $0.33 cents at $55.59. Spot gold was down 0.4% to $1,312.56 per ounce as of 0455 GMT, having hit their highest since April 26 at $1,326.30 on Thursday. U.S. gold futures fell 0.4 percent to $1,317 per ounce.
- Oil hit a two-month high close to $64 a barrel on Monday as OPEC-led supply cuts and U.S. sanctions against Venezuela’s petroleum industry offset forecasts of weaker demand and an economic slowdown.
- Brent crude oil futures, the global benchmark, hit $63.63 a barrel, the highest since December 7.
- U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures hit a 2019 high of $55.75 and was later up 33 cents at $55.59.
U.S.
- Trump: People saying ‘something very special’ happening with race in US (The Hill) President Trump in an interview broadcast Sunday ducked questions about his handling of race relations in the country, pointing instead to economic gains for minority groups. “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan initially cited a recent CBS poll that found 63% of respondents disapprove of Trump’s handling of race relations. Trump lauded the decreasing unemployment numbers for Hispanics, African-Americans and women, statistics the president often cites when describing his relationship with minority groups. Trump said:
“What has happened is very interesting. The economy is so good right now.”
- Scoop: Inside Leaks Trump’s “Executive Time”-Filled Schedule (Axios) A White House source has leaked nearly every day of President Trump’s private schedule for the past three months. Why it matters: This unusually voluminous leak gives us unprecedented visibility into how this president spends his days. The schedules, which cover nearly every working day since the midterms, show that Trump has spent around 60% of his scheduled time over the past 3 months in unstructured “Executive Time.”
- Earnings Are Faltering (The Daily Shot)
EU
- Major European nations recognize Guaido as Venezuela president (Reuters) Eight European nations joined the United States in recognizing opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuela’s interim president on Monday, heightening the global showdown over Nicolas Maduro’s socialist rule.
- Brexit is a revolt against a German-run European super-state (CNBC)
- Led by an appallingly incompetent German management, the European Union will most probably come out terminally fractured after next May’s parliamentary elections.
- The political forces already at work in a number of countries will go back to nation states and a free-trading area, abandoning the pipe dream of a European statehood and sovereignty.
- That may not scuttle the euro because such a free-trading area needs a common currency to be a genuine customs union and a homogeneous single market.
UK
- With creativity, we can find Northern Ireland solution, Merkel says (Reuters) There may be still be ways of agreeing a future relationship between Britain and the European Union that preserves the integrity of the EU’s single market while avoiding border controls between Ireland and Northern Ireland, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said.
Italy
- Italy’s Underperformance Has Worsened (The Daily Shot)
Iraq
- Iraqi president says Trump did not ask permission to ‘watch Iran’ (Reuters) Iraqi President Barham Salih said on Monday that President Donald Trump did not ask Iraq’s permission for U.S. troops stationed there to “watch Iran.” Speaking at a forum in Baghdad, Salih was responding to a question about Trump’s comments to CBS about how he would ask troops stationed in Iraq to “watch” Iran.
U.S. troops in Iraq are there as part of an agreement between the two countries with a specific mission of combating terrorism, Salih said, and that they should stick to that.
China
- The future could see Chinese and American apps and services dominate half of the internet each, leading to a split internet, according to Kaifu Lee, CEO of Sinovation Ventures.
- Commentators have dubbed this the “splinternet.”
- Lee also said that China could be ahead of the U.S. in artificial intelligence in five years.
- Green China ( The Daily Shot) China is expected to keep growing its renewables capacity.
Canada
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