Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 12 June 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
- Chinese markets slip as consumer prices rise to 15-month high (CNBC) session on Wall Street that saw the end of the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s winning streak. The U.S. dollar index was lower at 96.637 after trading as high as 96.9 yesterday. Brent crude futures contract slipped 1.64% to $61.27 per barrel and U.S. crude futures fell 1.73% to $52.35 per barrel. Spot gold rose 0.5% to $1,333.06 by 0328 GMT, after falling to its lowest since June 3 at $1,319.35 in the previous session. U.S. government debt prices were higher Wednesday morning. At around 02:25 a.m. ET, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to price, was lower at around 2.1326%, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was also lower at around 2.6097%. Spot gold rose 0.5% to $1,333.06 by 0328 GMT, after falling to its lowest since June 3 at $1,319.35 in the previous session.
- Global Shadow Banking (The Daily Shot) Here is shadow banking activity by country. The U.S. and China are dominant, the U.S. especially so.
U.S.
- Joe Biden leads field of candidates among likely Democratic Iowa caucus participants (Des Moines Register) Of the 23 named candidates running in Iowa only 5 outpolled the two “unamed candidates”- ‘none of these’ and ‘not sure’ – who tied with 6% each.
- As Biden and Trump battle in the trenches, Buttigieg attacks from higher ground (NBC News) As President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden prepared for the equivalent of high-profile trench warfare on the political battlefield of Iowa on Tuesday, a third 2020 candidate found the high-ground vantage point he needed to strike both of them at the same time. [See also Biden leads Trump by ‘landslide proportions’ in new national poll (The Hill).]
South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan who hopes to defeat Biden and almost two dozen other Democrats for his party’s nomination and then oust Trump from the Oval Office, delivered a wide-ranging foreign policy and national security speech with a simple point: the United States would be hopelessly stuck in the past with either the president or the former vice president at the helm.
- Bernie Sanders turns the tables on Trump over ‘democratic socialism’ (NBC News) Bernie Sanders will outline his vision of “democratic socialism” on Wednesday, explaining his view that all Americans are guaranteed certain rights, including housing, a job, a secure retirement and more, according to excerpts of the speech released by his campaign. Trump has repeatedly criticized Sanders for his views, labeling him as “Crazy Bernie” and inaccurately comparing his vision to the version of socialism that was put in place in trouble-plagued Venezuela. Sanders replies that the president and his “fellow oligarchs” actually “love corporate socialism“.
- Jon Stewart excoriates lawmakers for skipping hearing on 9/11 victim fund (The Hill) Jon Stewart on Tuesday torched lawmakers in emotional testimony for failing to attend a September 11th Victim Compensation Fund hearing, calling it “shameful” and “a stain on this institution“.
EU
- Hedge funds are betting against the euro (The Daily Short)
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- Europe, 1086 AD (voxcalantisindeserto.blogspot.com) Here is an artist’s rendition of what the European map looked like 20 years after the Norman conquest of England.
​UK
- It’s not NHS leaders who are to blame for lengthening queues – that’s the government’s fault (Richard Murphy, Tax Research UK) RM has contibuted to GEI. The author says the NHS problems are exogenous, arising from:
- The internal market, which creates massive costs and enormous inefficiencies
- A lack of funding
- Brexit, which has harmed recruitment
- Ancient invaders transformed Britain, but not its DNA (New Scientist) They came, they saw, they conquered. But while the Romans, Vikings and Normans ruled Britain for many years, none left their genetic calling cards behind in the DNA of today’s mainland Caucasian population. That’s the message from the most comprehensive analysis yet of the genetic make-up of the white British population. The only invaders that left a lasting legacy are the Anglo-Saxons. As well as giving us the English language, the Anglo-Saxons, whose influx began around AD 450, account for 10% to 40% of the DNA in half of modern-day Britons. Another surprise: There was no single Celtic population outside the Anglo-Saxon dominated areas, but instead a large number of genetically distinct populations.
Germany
- Deutsche Bank Death Spiral Hits Historic Low. European Banks Get Re-Hammered (Wolf Street) The amazing thing with Deutsche Bank shares is this: Since 2007, so for 12 years, bottom fishers have been routinely taken out the back and shot, every time, with relentless regularity – as have big institutional investors, from Chinese conglomerates to state-owned wealth funds, that thought they were picking the bottom. A similar concept applies to European banks in general. May 2007 was the high point. And it has been brutal ever since – 12 years of misery.
- Eastern Germany on the brink of demographic collapse (Financial Times) Demographics are the key problem in Germany. Policymakers question whether to pour funds into areas with declining working-age population. And the solution, immigration, has been rejected by the German people.
Saudi Arabia
- Under Trump arms deal, high-tech U.S. bombs to be built in Saudi Arabia (NBC News) The production arrangement is part of a larger $8.1 billion arms package for Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan announced two weeks ago. The Trump administration pressed ahead with the sale without congressional approval, declaring an “emergency” based on what it said was a heightened threat from Iran. Democrats in Congress say the administration should not hand the Saudis valuable weapons tech given the kingdom’s conduct in Yemen and its human rights record.
Iran
- Iran to ask Japan’s Abe to mediate over U.S. oil sanctions: officials (Reuters) Iran will ask Japan to mediate between Tehran and Washington to ease oil sanctions imposed by the United States, Iranian officials said ahead of a visit by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
China
- China Has Fewer Exports to the U.S. (The Daily Shot) The chart shows the breakdown of China’s exports by US tariff ‘tranche.’
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- China consumer inflation in May rises to 15-month high; food prices spike 7.7% as cost of pork rose (CNBC)
- China’s consumer price index (CPI) in May rose 2.7% from a year ago, the highest since February 2018.
- China’s producer price inflation (PPI) rose 0.6% in May from a year ago, in line with economists’ expectations.
- Food prices rose 7.7% in May from a year ago, while non-food prices rose 1.7% on-year.
- Expectations low for Trump-Xi talks, preparations limited (Reuters) With under three weeks to go before proposed talks between the Chinese and U.S. leaders, expectations for progress toward ending the trade war are low and sources say there has been little preparation for a meeting even as the health of the world economy is at stake.
- China’s Rare Earth Monopoly Is Diminishing (Zero Hedge) Some while ago, precious rare earths important in the production of microchips, electronics and electric motors were almost exclusively sourced in China. However, as Statista’s Katharina Buchholz points out, in recent years, several nations have picked up production again while new players entered the market, diversifying it at least to some degree.
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- Hong Kong police fire rubber bullets as protests turn to violent chaos (Reuters) Hong Kong police fired rubber bullets and tear gas at demonstrators who threw plastic bottles on Wednesday as protests against an extradition bill that would allow people to be sent to mainland China for trial turned to violent chaos.
Canada
Canada Joins The Global Movement Against Single-Use Plastics, Planning A Ban For 2021 (Forbes) Bans of single-use plastics, such as straws, shopping bags and cutlery, are spreading quickly around the world. Now, Canada, where environmental concerns are front of mind, is joining global drives to limit or ban single-use plastic items.
On Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that the country will ban certain types as early as 2021.
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