Early Headlines: Asia Stocks Mixed, Dollar Down, Oil And Gold Up, Yields Down, Solar Growth, Public Impeachment, Endless Wars, Barr Recusal, Plus More - 28 Articles, 7 Graphics

Early Bird Headlines 24 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

Asia Pacific shares mostly rise as growth in South Korea continues to slow (CNBC) Asia Pacific shares mostly rose in the afternoon, as latest figures showed that South Korea’s economy continued to slow. Investors, meanwhile, look ahead to the European Central Bank meeting on Thursday. China markets were flat to down. The U.S. dollar index was last lower at 97.401, sliding from an earlier high of 97.486. Oil prices rose in afternoon trade during Asian hours: Global benchmark Brent was at $61.05 per barrel with U.S. crude at $55.77. Spot gold was up 0.32% at $1,492.42 per ounce. U.S. gold futures rose 0.55% to $1,495.7 per ounce.

Distributed solar to drive global renewable growth 50% by 2024: IEA (Utility Dive)

Renewable energy’s share of global power generation will rise from 26% today to 30% in 2024, according to new data from the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Solar generation will make up almost 60% of renewables growth, with onshore wind representing 25%. Offshore wind remains nascent and is projected to contribute 4%, but its capacity is forecast to triple by 2024.
Total solar capacity is expected to grow 250% over IEA’s forecast period, reaching almost 1.2 TW in 2024 with distributed solar projected to make up almost half of that growth. Despite the anticipated increase, the agency said renewables projections remain “well below what is needed to meet global sustainable energy targets.”

U.S.

Impeachment inquiry might be public by mid-November: report (The Hill) House Democrats might make their impeachment inquiry public as early as mid-November, according to The Washington Post. The committees conducting the inquiry have largely held the hearings in private thus far to prevent witnesses from coordinating testimony, but some Democrats are now pushing to make the hearings public after Republicans – many of them not on the committees – stormed the hearing room Wednesday and delayed the proceedings for several hours.

During the public portion of the inquiry, Democrats hope to question William Taylor, the head of the U.S. Embassy in Kiev, and former Ukraine ambassador Marie Yovanovitch. They have already questioned both in private.

Despite Vow to End ‘Endless Wars,’ Here’s Where About 200,000 Troops Remain (New York Times) Under President Trump, there are now more troops in the Middle East than when he took office, and he has continued the mission for tens of thousands of others far from the wars of 9/11. Here is the list (globally):

Afghanistan: 12,000 to 13,000
Syria: About 200
Iraq: About 6,000
Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf nations: 45,000 to 65,000
Africa: 6,000 to 7,000
Japan and South Korea: About 78,000
NATO nations: More than 35,000
Elsewhere: More than 2,000

Why Trump’s Impeachment Might Be Different Than Clinton’s (FiveThirtyEight) Public opinion is much different now regarding a Trump impeachment that it ever was for Bill Clinton.

Jim Mattis statement blasts aide’s tell-all memoir (Politico) Former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis’ office slammed a memoir by one of his former Pentagon aides today, issuing a statement saying that he doesn’t plan on reading the book and attacking its author for writing it. But the statement didn’t deny any of the book’s claims. The book by retired Navy Cmdr. Guy Snodgrass, “Holding the Line: Inside Trump’s Pentagon with Secretary Mattis.” The book portrays Mattis fending off capricious demands from Trump and voicing private fears that the president was weakening U.S. national security. Gen. Mattis is pictured below. The statement from Mattis’ assistant, Candace Currier, says:

“Mr. Snodgrass was a junior staffer who took notes in some meetings but played no role in decision making. His choice to write a book reveals an absence of character. [S]urreptitiously taking notes without authorization for a self-promoting personal project is a clear violation of that trust. [Snodgrass] may receive a few brief moments of attention for this book. But those moments will be greatly outweighed by the fact that to get them, he surrendered his honor.”

William Barr must recuse himself from Ukraine probe, New York City Bar Association says (Fox News) The New York City Bar Association is demanding that U.S. Attorney General William Barr recuse himself from the Department of Justice probe into the Trump-Ukraine phone call that is central to the impeachment inquiry against the president, citing potential conflicts of interest. The bar also suggested that Barr be forced to resign, face sanctions, or be removed from Congress if he doesn’t recuse himself from the probe.

Syria

Poll: Little backing for Trump’s Syria withdrawal (Politico) Econintersect: The use of the word “little” is questionable: Only 37 percent of voters support Trump’s decision regarding Syria, the poll shows, less than the 43 percent who oppose it. But a sizable number, 20 percent, say they don’t have an opinion about Trump’s decision.

China