Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 25 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
- Mainland Chinese stocks tumble amid stimulus concerns; South Korean economy unexpectedly contracts (CNBC) Stocks in China tumbled on Thursday amid worries that Beijing could pull back on stimulus measures following recent better-than-expected economic data. Stocks on most other markets also fell, Japan the big notable exception. The U.S. dollar index surged to 98.039 after seeing lows around the 97.6 handle yesterday. Brent crude futures rose 0.38% to $74.85 per barrel, while U.S. crude futures declined marginally to $65.87 per barrel. Spot gold rose 0.2% to $1,277.72 per ounce at 0815 GMT. U.S. gold futures were steady at $1,279.60 an ounce.
- Where Is Inflation Hiding? In Asset Prices! (Zero Hedge) Overly rigid reliance on conventional inflation indicators has made the mainstream economics community completely blind to the elephant in the room, which is the fact that inflation has been concentrated in asset prices rather than consumer prices. As the chart below shows (recreated from a chart made by Goldman Sachs a couple years ago), assets such as global stocks and bonds have risen at a much higher rate than global real economy prices since the current bull market began in March 2009.
- Emerging Market Currencies Turn Down (Twitter) Oh, oh!
U.S.
- Trump effort to stonewall faces thorny legal challenge (The Hill) President Trump’s attempt to stonewall investigations by House Democrats by preventing former aides such as White House counsel Don McGahn from testifying is an uphill legal battle. The White House has signaled that it will assert executive privilege to block McGahn and others from testifying.
But Trump allowed McGahn to speak to special counsel Robert Mueller and permitted the release of the special counsel’s redacted report without asserting executive privilege, a decision that could make it hard to justify the new argument in court.
- Hillary Clinton cautions against rushing to impeach Trump (The Hill) Hillary Clinton cautioned House Democrats on Wednesday against rushing to impeach President Trump following the release of special counsel Robert Mueller‘s report. Clinton, who ran against Trump in 2016, wrote in an op-ed published in The Washington Post:
“Congress should hold substantive hearings that build on the Mueller report and fill in its gaps, not jump straight to an up-or-down vote on impeachment. In 1998, the Republican-led House rushed to judgment. That was a mistake then and would be a mistake now.”
UK
- Goldman, Bank of England and stock exchange targeted by climate activists in London (Reuters) Environmental activists glued themselves to the London Stock Exchange, blocked roads near the Bank of England and protested outside banks such as Goldman Sachs on Thursday to try to force Britain to help avert what they cast as a climate cataclysm.
- Five Eyes spies play down split as ‘Huawei leak’ roils UK government (South China Morning Post) This action will really “frost” Washington which isseeking sanctions against Huawei.
- UK PM urged to investigate who leaked decision about Huawei’s role in Britain’s 5G network from confidential meeting of her National Security Council
- Britain appears set to allow Huawei a restricted role in building parts of the network, as Chinese tech giant ‘welcomes report’
Germany
- Rumors about a merger had been rife for months, heightening under the tenure of German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, who has spoken out in favor of strong banks for the European nation.
- But there’s been criticism too since it may lead to job losses.
- The banks cited the need for extra capital, restructuring costs and execution risks as the reasons why the merger would not be in their best interests.
Ukraine
- Ukraine passes language law championed by outgoing president (Reuters) Ukraine’s parliament approved a law on Thursday that grants special status to the Ukrainian language and makes it mandatory for public sector workers, despite opposition from the country’s large Russian-speaking minority who feel it is discriminatory.
Sri Lanka
- Muslims flee, Christians grieve in Sri Lankan town torn by violence (Reuters) As mourners buried the remains of Christian worshippers killed by the Easter Sunday suicide bomb attacks in Sri Lanka, hundreds of Muslim refugees fled Negombo on the country’s west coast where communal tensions have flared in recent days.
- Sri Lanka suicide bomber was previously arrested and then released, government says (CNN) One of the Sri Lanka suicide bombers was previously arrested by police and then released. Ilham Ahmed Ibrahim — one of two sons of a spice tycoon who blew themselves up in Sunday’s attacks — detonated a device at the Cinnamon Grand hotel in Colombo, Sudarshana Gunawardana said. [See also What explains rich-kid terrorists.]
Police have confirmed to CNN that they are holding the brothers’ father, Mohamed Yusuf Ibrahim, a wealthy spice trader, on suspicion of aiding and abetting his sons.
Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera said the elder Ibrahim was is in custody, as are all other members of the Ibrahim family police are aware of in the country.
North Korea
- Spurned by U.S., North Korea’s Kim holds talks with Putin (Reuters) Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Thursday at a summit intended to show that the United States is not the only power with enough clout to engage with the reclusive communist state on its nuclear program. See also North Korea wants to denuclearize but needs security guarantees, Putin says after Kim talks (CNBC)
South Korea
- South Korea GDP Weakens (Twitter)
China
- Trade war reflects US fear of China’s state-led economic model, says member of Beijing’s political elite (South China Morning Post) Kong Dan, the former chairman of the state-owned Citic Group and Everbright Bank, urges Beijing to stick to its development path over adopting a western model. Dan’s speech at Moganshan Research Institute comes at a time when US and Chinese negotiators are said to be near an agreement to end their 10-month trade war. See also Trade war with US could lead to economic ‘cold war’ for China, Beijing researchers say.
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