Early Headlines: Asia Stocks Mostly Down, Dollar And Gold Up, Oil Down, Yields Down, Quid Pro Quo, Brexit Delay Possible, UK Election Possible, Turkey - Russia Syria Deal, Canada Election Results, Plus More - 21 Articles, 11 Graphics

Early Bird Headlines 23 October 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

Global

Major Asia Pacific shares fall as Brexit looks set for a delay again (CNBC) Major Asia Pacific markets mostly fell by the close on Wednesday afternoon, as developments on Brexit overnight meant the deadline for the U.K. to leave the EU would likely be delayed again. The U.S. dollar index inched higher to 97.54, but was lower than an earlier high of 97.599. In the afternoon during Asia hours, some previous session gains in oil were trimmed, with Brent crude falling 0.49% to $59.41, while U.S. crude was down 0.70% to $54.10. Spot gold was up 0.1% at $1,489.31 per ounce as of 0622 GMT. U.S. treasury yields were lower.

U.S.

Ukraine Envoy Testifies Trump Linked Military Aid to Investigations (Associated Press) The top American diplomat in Ukraine on Tuesday gave impeachment investigators a vivid and impassioned account of how multiple senior administration officials told him that President Trump blocked security aid to Ukraine and refused to meet the country’s leader until he agreed to publicly pledge to investigate Mr. Trump’s political rivals. In testimony to impeachment investigators delivered in defiance of State Department orders, the diplomat, William B. Taylor Jr. (pictured below), sketched out in remarkable detail a quid pro quo pressure campaign on Ukraine that Mr. Trump and his allies have long denied. See also Ukraine Envoy Testifies Trump Linked Military Aid to Investigations (The New York Times).

Boris Johnson wins key Brexit bill vote but faces another (Associated Press) The PM got approval general voted on his plan’s direction but was denied fast track votes needed to meet the 31 October deadline. See also next article.
Brexit: PM to push for election if EU offers longer delay (BBC News) The PM will push for a general election if the EU agrees to delay Brexit until January, No 10 has indicated. Boris Johnson “paused” his Brexit bill on Tuesday after MPs rejected his plan to get it signed off in three days.

Now EU leaders will consider whether to grant a delay to the 31 October Brexit deadline and what length it should be.
A letter Mr Johnson was forced by law to send to the bloc after failing to secure backing for his deal on Saturday calls for a three-month extension.

Syria

Turkey Syria offensive: Erdogan and Putin strike deal over Kurds (BBC News) The deal comes during a pause in Turkey’s offensive to drive Kurdish forces out, creating a “safe zone” in the area. Under the deal, Syrian and Russian forces will immediately oversee a withdrawal of Kurdish forces. There is no word from the Kurdish fighters, whom Turkey regards as terrorists. The deal sets out plans for joint Turkish-Russian patrols along the border next week. See also Russia warns Syrian Kurdish YPG must pull back or face Turkish army (Reuters).

Canada

Trudeau faces rough road as Canada’s minority parties lay out their conditions (The Guardian) After eking out a win in the first major test of his popularity since sweeping to power in 2015, Justin Trudeau was given his first taste of minority government on Tuesday, as rival party leaders begin laying out their conditions for the Liberal leader to remain as Canada’s prime minister. One likely coalition member, the New Democrats, led by Jagmeet Singh, could, with their 24 seats, be the only coalition party Trudeau would need to to exceed the 170 votes needed to form a government. See next article.

Canada election 2019: full results (The Guardian) Prime minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal party lost 20 seats, while its main opposition rivals the Conservatives gained 26. But the Liberals retained enough seats to form a minority government. Meanwhile, the Bloc Québécois gained 22 seats and the leftwing New Democratic party lost 15. Turnout overall was down, at 62%, from 68% in 2015.

The Liberals’ narrow victory came despite their losing the popular vote. The Conservative vote was heavily concentrated in Saskatchewan and Alberta, and elsewhere did not convert into seats. The Liberals were heavily reliant for seats on Ontario, the populous province that includes Toronto and several other cities.