Early Headlines: Asia Stocks Mixed, Dollar And Oil Flat, Gold Up, Yields Down, Hurricane Forecast Upped, Italy Gov Crisis, UK Economy Shrank, Japan Economy Grew - Total Of 28 Articles And 7 Graphics

Early Bird Headlines 09 August 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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Notice: We have changed the form of content coverage for Early Bird. We will provide discussion only for Asia Markets news and a small number (often 1 or 2) other articles. The remainder of the content will be headlines (with links) only.

Key Articles

â€‹Global

Asia shares mixed as Chinese food inflation soars, Japan GDP beats expectations (CNBC) Stocks in Asia Pacific traded mixed on Friday, as Chinese data showed food inflation soared in July while Japan’s economy grew at a greater pace than expected. The U.S. dollar index was flat at 97.566 after touching lows below 97.5 yesterday. Brent crude futures was just below the flatline at $57.37 per barrel while U.S. crude futures were flat at $52.54 per barrel. Spot gold was up 0.2% at $1,502.57 per ounce at 0847 GMT. Treasury yields were lower.

U.S.

Bad hurricane news in revised forecast (Tribune News Service) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration increased its forecast for hurricane season to five to nine hurricanes, up from its forecast of four to eight issued at the beginning of the season, the agency announced in a Thursday phone call with reporters. The main reason for the increase was the news of the end of the Pacific Ocean phenomenon called El Niño. Follow all Severe Weather live with Sig Silber’s daily posts, full chronological list of all weather posts here.

Italy

Italy’s Matteo Salvini calls for fresh elections as coalition fractures (The Guardian) Matteo Salvini, Italy’s deputy prime minister and the leader of the far-right League party, has called for a snap election, urging the prime minister to reconvene parliament to confirm that the coalition government is no longer viable. The dramatic move on Thursday came after months of fighting between the League and its coalition partner, the anti-establishement leftist Five Star Movement (M5S). A new election could produce an all-right coalition government.
Bonds, Gold Bid As Italian Political Crisis Re-Emerges: Salvini Demands Fresh Elections (Zero Hedge) The Italian government appears about to collapse which could result in elections as soon as this fall. Markets are in turmoil:

Japan

Japan’s economy grows faster-than-expected 1.8% in April-June (Nikkei Asian Review) Japan’s economy expanded for a third straight quarter, though at a slower pace, in the three months through June amid escalating trade tensions and uncertainty over the global economy. Gross domestic product for the quarter expanded 0.4%, or at an annualized rate of 1.8%, according to preliminary figures released by the Cabinet Office on Friday. First quarter growth was revised to 2.8%, up from 2.2%.