Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 18 Apr 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 Pacific shares slip; Aussie dollar spikes after jobs data (CNBC) Major Asia-Pacific markets closed lower on Thursday, with Indonesia’s benchmark index bucking the overall trend as stocks jumped on election hopes. Meanwhile, investors looked to signs of progress in U.S.-China trade talks. The U.S. dollar index was higher at 96.994 down slightly from an intra-session high of 97.054. Brent crude futures contract shed 0.32% to $71.39 per barrel and U.S. crude futures declined 0.22% to $63.62 per barrel. Spot gold fell 0.1% to $1,271.97 per ounce by 0345 GMT.
U.S.
- Washington in frenzy over release of Mueller report (The Hill) Attorney General William Barr isn’t delivering the report to Congress until 11 a.m. – after he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein hold a 9:30 a.m. press conference to discuss the findings.
The move drew howls of protest from Democrats on Wednesday night, especially after The New York Times reported that White House lawyers and Department of Justice officials have already discussed details of Mueller’s conclusions.
Democrats say Barr has acted as an agent of President Trump in his role overseeing the release of the report, which will mark the culmination of one of the most-watched probes in recent political history.
- Why William Barr should resign (The Hill) This is an Op Ed by Elizabeth Holtzman who served four terms in Congress as a representative from New York. She was on the House Judiciary Committee during Watergate.
- Ten post-Mueller questions that could turn the tables on Russia collusion investigators (The Hill) A very important second phase of this drama is about to begin, as Attorney General William Barr, Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General Michael Horowitz and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R, SC) put the Russia collusion investigators under investigation. Their work will be, and must be, far more than just a political boomerang.
It must answer, in balanced terms, whether the FBI was warranted in using the most awesome powers in the U.S. intelligence arsenal to spy on Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s campaign at the end of the 2016 election.
- Health Insurers Losing Ground (Bloomberg, Twitter) See also Bernie Sanders, 1; Health Insurers, -$30 Billion (Bloomberg).
EU
- Several analysts have raised concerns over earnings this quarter due to external risks such as low economic growth, uncertainty over U.S.-China trade deal, Brexit and a U-turn on major central bank policy towards more easing.
- European banks are suffering from years of weak profits, massive fines, ultra-low monetary policy and uncertainty surrounding the U.K.’s exit from the European Union.
- CNBC takes a look at the big European banks that are set to report over the next two weeks and what drives their strategy
Sweden
Turkey
- Turks look to Trump for way around ‘S-400 or F-35’ ultimatum (Al-Monitor) With Congress threatening sanctions if Turkey acquires the Russian S-400 air defense system, and the Pentagon and State Department warning that Turkey could lock itself out of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft program and will not receive the fighter jets if it doesn’t scrap the S-400 deal, Turkey is taking its case directly to President Donald Trump.
- Turkey’s Erdogan says West Bank belongs to Palestinians (Reuters) Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said the West Bank belongs to Palestinians, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would annex Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank if he wins Tuesday’s election.
Libya
- US pulls troops out of Libya amid rise in violence (The Hill) The U.S. pulled a contingent of troops from Libya over the weekend amid rising violence in the capital city of Tripoli, America’s top commander for Africa said. Marine Corps Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, commander of U.S. Africa Command, said in a statement:
“The security realities on the ground in Libya are growing increasingly complex and unpredictable. Even with an adjustment of the force, we will continue to remain agile in support of existing U.S. strategy.”
Iraq
- Iraqi PM Abdul Mahdi met Saudi crown prince in Riyadh (Reuters) Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi met with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, his office said on Thursday, a day after his first official visit to the kingdom which has been wooing Baghdad to stem the influence of Tehran.
Iran
- Dispute flares among U.S. officials over Trump administration Iran arms control report (Reuters) A new Trump administration report on international compliance with arms control accords provoked a dispute with U.S. intelligence agencies and some State Department officials concerned that the document politicizes and slants assessments about Iran, five sources with knowledge of the matter said.
Ukraine
- Comedian Zelenskiy keeps Ukraine presidential poll lead (Reuters) Comic actor Volodymyr Zelenskiy, a political novice who plays a fictional president in a popular TV series, has kept his lead in Ukraine’s presidential election race, according to an opinion poll published on Thursday.
- Ukrainian to US prosecutors: Why don’t you want our evidence on Democrats? (The Hill) Ukrainian law enforcement officials believe they have evidence of wrongdoing by American Democrats and their allies in Kiev, ranging from 2016 election interference to obstructing criminal probes. But, they say, they’ve been thwarted in trying to get the Trump Justice Department to act. Kostiantyn Kulyk, deputy head of the Prosecutor General’s International Legal Cooperation Department, told me he and other senior law enforcement officials tried unsuccessfully since last year to get visas from the U.S. embassy in Kiev to deliver their evidence to Washington.
India
- Pre-poll survey: State-wise popularity trends point to a close election (The Hindu) A total of 59% of the respondents in the CSDS-Lokniti-The Hindu-Tiranga TV-Dainik Bhaskar Pre-Poll Survey reported being satisfied with the Central government’s performance, with 35% registering dissatisfaction. This 24 percentage point net satisfaction with the government marked a definite increase from its popularity numbers last year when the net satisfaction had dropped to zero (46% satisfied, 47% dissatisfied).
After having dipped in 2018, satisfaction with the NDA government is now almost back to post-demonetization high
- India’s ruling party pledges to scrap special status for Jammu & Kashmir (Reuters) India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party will scrap a decades-old law providing special rights to the residents of Jammu and Kashmir state, according to the party’s election manifesto released on Monday. See also next article.
- A Sampling of Public Opinion in India (Pew Research Center) Pew has 12 opinion poll takeaways for India. Here are 3 of them:
Singapore
- Singapore Electronics Exports Collapse (Twitter)
North Korea
- North Korea rejects Pompeo from nuclear dialogue: KCNA (Reuters) North Korea no longer wants U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo involved in nuclear talks, calling for someone who “is more careful and mature in communicating“, state media said on Thursday.
Australia
- Australia’s opposition Labor on track to win election: polls (Reuters) Australia’s opposition Labor is the favorite to win a national election expected in May, two polls showed on Monday, but its lead has narrowed over the conservative coalition government which announced income tax cuts in its budget last week. A closely watched Newspoll done for The Australian newspaper showed Labor ahead of the Coalition 52-48 on a two-party preferred basis, but that was down from 54-46 in the last poll in March.
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