Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 24 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 stocks mixed; Australia hits more than 10-year highs (CNBC) Stocks in Asia were mixed on Wednesday after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed at record-high territory overnight on Wall Street, while Australia’s ASX 200 had its highest close in more than a decade. The U.S. dollar index was higher at 97.668 after touching an earlier low of 97.588. Brent crude futures contract slipped 0.6% to $74.06 per barrel. U.S. crude futures also fell 0.68% to $65.85 per barrel. Spot gold was down 0.3% at $1,268.84 per ounce by 0328 GMT, having hit its lowest since the end of last year at $1,265.90 in the last session.
- Global and U.S. Economies Remian Highly Correlated (The Daily Shot) The correlation between the US and global leading indicators declined recently but remains highly elevated.
U.S.
- Iowa’s longest-serving GOP lawmaker joins the Democrats because of Trump (CNN) The Iowa Legislature’s longest-serving Republican announced Tuesday that because of President Donald Trump, he will be joining the Democratic Party, calling Trump “a poor example for the nation and particularly for our children.” State Rep. Andy McKean, who has served in both Iowa’s Senate and House chambers, identified with the Republican Party for 35 years before Tuesday’s announcement and is the longest-serving Republican in the state’s Legislature today, according to the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee. McKean said at a news conference:
“With the 2020 president election looming on the horizon, I feel as a Republican that I need to be able to support the standard bearer of our party. Unfortunately, that is not something I am able to do.”
- Trump showdown with House Democrats ignites into all-out war (Politico) The showdown between the Trump White House and House Democrats reached a new level of hostility this week, as several investigative disputes veered toward federal court amid scathing rhetoric on both sides.
Three dramatic clashes between White House lawyers and congressional Democrats over the past 36 hours have created an atmosphere of total war between the two sides, suggesting that even modest compromise may be impossible and that protracted court fights are likely inevitable.
- Trump says aides need not testify to Congress amid growing power struggle (The Guardian) Donald Trump has said he is opposed to current and former White House aides testifying to congressional committees about special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian election interference, The Washington Post reported. In an interview with the newspaper, the US president claimed his administration cooperated with Mueller’s investigation and did not need to comply with congressional committees examining possible obstruction of justice on his part. (See also next article.)
Congressman Elijah Cummings, chairman of the committee, said the administration has adopted the “untenable” position that it can ignore requests from Democrats, who assumed the majority in January.
- Trump administration orders official who oversaw White House security clearance scandal to ignore House subpoena (Alternet) The Trump administration has ordered a former White House official who was charged with overseeing its security clearance operation to ignore a House subpoena ordering him to appear for a deposition Tuesday.
Carl Kline, who now works for the Dept. of Defense, was told to not appear for the interview, thrusting him into potential personal liability. House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-MD) has said he will hold Kline in contempt should he disregard the subpoena.
- The Good Old Days (Twitter) The president believes he deserves no criticism.
- Why Prisoners Deserve the Right to Vote (Politico) A political science professor thinks fellons still in prison should have the right to vote:
our constitutional ideals support the right of prisoners to vote, and denying it violates the concept of self-government that the founders cherished. Granting this right also makes sense for the country in terms of politics and policy. As prisons have grappled with the explosion in their populations in the past 20 years, allegations of prisoner maltreatment multiply, and criminal justice reform moves to the fore of our political debate, we should consider that one of the best ways to solve these intractable and expensive problems would be to listen to those currently incarcerated – and to allow them to represent themselves in our national political conversation.
- If You Paid TurboTax but Make Under $34,000, You Could Get a Refund. Here’s How. (ProPublica) If you are one of the millions of Americans who made under $34,000 last year, you should have been able to use a free version of TurboTax. If TurboTax directed you to a paid version, it’s worth giving the company a call. See Here’s How TurboTax Just Tricked You Into Paying To File Your Taxes.
UK
- MPs campaign to have Donald Trump’s UK state visit cancelled (The Guardian) Theresa May has been criticised for allowing Donald Trump to make a state visit in June for D-day commemorations, with MPs orchestrating a campaign to stop the US president addressing parliament.
Labour said it “beggars belief” that the government is offering the red-carpet treatment to Trump given his attacks on British and American values. Backbenchers began gathering signatures for a petition aiming to force the cancellation of the trip.
France
- The Day that Notre Dame Caught Fire. A Recapitulation. (The Greanville Post) A complete timeline of the fire and the aftermath. Includes two early fire videos. See also How ‘The Hunchback Of Notre Dame’ Inspired The Cathedral’s 19th-century Revival.
Germany
- Germany’s Housing Market Continues to Rise (The Daily Shot) After more than 3 decades of decline Germany’s housing market is booming again. The chart below shows housing valuations based on rents, income, and consumer prices.
Iran
- Here’s why China and India will remain defiant amid threat of US sanctions for Iranian oil imports (CNBC)
- President Donald Trump’s administration announced Monday that buyers of Iranian oil must stop purchases by May 1 or face sanctions.
- The move, which took many market participants by surprise, ends six months of waivers which had allowed Iran’s eight biggest buyers of crude to continue to import limited volumes.
- Alongside India and six others, China was one of the eight global buyers of Iranian crude that won exemptions from the U.S. last November.
- China and India are both unlikely to completely cut off Iranian crude imports, energy analysts have said, despite the imminent threat of U.S. sanctions.
Sri Lanka
- Sri Lanka attacker studied in UK, says minister, amid warning more bombers on loose (The Guardian) Defence minister Ruwan Wijewardene says bombings may have been funded and ideologically inspired by Isis. One of the Sri Lanka bombers studied in the UK and Australia before carrying out the bombings.
North Korea
- North Korea’s Kim enters Russia for summit with Putin (Reuters) North Korean leader Kim Jong Un crossed the border into Russia on Wednesday by train for his first trip there, aimed at galvanizing support from President Vladimir Putin while nuclear talks with Washington are in limbo.
China
- Special Report: How China is replacing America as Asia’s military titan (Reuters) In a series of stories, Reuters is exploring how the rapid and disruptive advance of Chinese hard power on Xi Jinping’s watch has ended the era of unquestioned U.S. supremacy in Asia. In just over two decades, China has built a force of conventional missiles that rival or outperform those in the U.S. armory. China’s shipyards have spawned the world’s biggest navy, which now rules the waves in East Asia. Beijing can now launch nuclear-armed missiles from an operational fleet of ballistic missile submarines, giving it a powerful second-strike capability. And the PLA (People’s Liberation Army) is fortifying posts across vast expanses of the South China Sea, while stepping up preparations to recover Taiwan, by force if necessary.
- US accuses pair of stealing GE secrets and passing them to China (CNN) The US government has alleged that a GE engineer and Chinese businessman stole tech secrets with the intention of passing them onto Beijing.
The Justice Department in a release Tuesday night said it had charged former GE (GE) employee Zheng Xiaoqing and Chinese businessman Zhang Zhaoxi with economic espionage. The department said the pair had conspired to steal GE trade secrets related to turbine technologies for the benefit of the Chinese government.
- Four Hong Kong ‘Occupy’ leaders jailed for 2014 democracy protests (Reuters) A Hong Kong court jailed four leaders of 2014 pro-democracy protests on Wednesday amid heightened concerns over the decline of freedoms in the China-ruled city nearly five years after activists took to the streets in mass protests.
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