Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 05 November 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
- Japan’s Nikkei touches 2019 highs following Wall Street record performance (CNBC) Stocks in Asia rose on Tuesday following record closes overnight on Wall Street, led by new highs in Japan. The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of its peers, was higher at 97.547. Oil prices declined in the afternoon of Asian trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures fractionally lower at $62.09 per barrel. U.S. crude futures were 0.23% lower at $56.41 per barrel. Spot gold was down 0.3% at $1,505.27 per ounce by 0318 GMT. U.S. treasury yields rose.
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- In its closely-watched annual World Oil Outlook (WOO), the Middle East-dominated producer group said Tuesday that the last 12 months had been “challenging” for energy markets once again.
- OPEC has lowered its outlook numbers for global oil demand growth, to 104.8 million barrels per day (b/d) by 2024, and 110.6 million b/d by 2040.
- “At the global level, growth is forecast to slow from a level of 1.4 million b/d in 2018 to around 0.5 million b/d towards the end of the next decade,” OPEC said in the report.
U.S.
- The Justice Department is fishing for details about the anonymous ‘resistance’ op-ed writer (The Washington Post) The Justice Department is looking for identifying details about the anonymous Trump administration official who excoriated the president’s “amorality” in an unsigned New York Times opinion column last year, according to a letter the agency sent Monday.
The author of the column, whose identity has remained a secret for more than a year, has also written a tell-all book that will publish this month – and Assistant Attorney General Joseph H. Hunt wants proof that the writer is not bound by a government nondisclosure agreement.
- Transcripts show Republicans’ scattershot strategy in early days of impeachment inquiry (The Washington Post) Republicans have complained for weeks about the secret House impeachment inquiry, accusing Democrats of rigging the process and interviewing witnesses behind closed doors – at one point storming the hearing room and chanting, “Let us in!” But inside the secure room in the Capitol basement where the proceedings are taking place, Republicans have used their time to complain that testimony has become public, going after their colleagues who were quoted in media reports commenting on witness appearances, and quizzing witnesses themselves on how their statements had been released.
The efforts by GOP lawmakers to shape the Democrats’ inquiry emerged in full view for the first time Monday with the release of hundreds of pages of transcripts from two early witnesses: Marie Yovanovitch, former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, and Michael McKinley, a former senior adviser to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
At one point, GOP lawmakers held up the questioning of McKinley to complain about a fellow lawmaker, Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.), who had made a public comment about witness testimony the day before.
- Pompeo Faces Political Peril and Diplomats’ Revolt in Impeachment Inquiry (The New York Times) As President Trump’s first C.I.A. director, Mike Pompeo was briefed by agency officials on the extensive evidence – including American intercepts of conversations between participants – showing that Russian hackers working for the government of Vladimir V. Putin had interfered in the 2016 American presidential campaign. In May 2017, Mr. Pompeo testified in a Senate hearing that he stood by that conclusion.
Two and a half years later, Mr. Pompeo seems to have changed his mind. As Mr. Trump’s second secretary of state, he now supports an investigation into a discredited, partisan theory that Ukraine, not Russia, attacked the Democratic National Committee, which Mr. Trump wants to use to make the case that he was elected without Moscow’s help.
- Impeachment bombshells highlight Trump’s power grabs (CNN) President Donald Trump seems to sense a chance to leverage expansive, uncheckable power everywhere he looks. A common thread is emerging from the impeachment bombshells, court fights and multiple scandals all coming to head this week inside the one-year mark to the next general election. It’s a picture of a President and his men who subscribe to a staggeringly broad interpretation of executive power and have no reservations about using it often for domestic political ends.
The trend, which threatens to recast the conception of the presidency shared by America’s founders, shone through the first witness testimony released from the impeachment inquiry Monday.
Chile
- Conquistadors tumble as indigenous Chileans tear down statues (The Guardian) As peaceful protesters and rioters alike have thronged the streets of the Chilean capital of Santiago to protest against inequality and state repression, a string of no-less symbolic blows has also been struck some 650km (400 miles) to the south. Below, The head of Diego Portales hangs from a statue of the indigenous Mapuche chieftain Caupolicfln after protesters decapitated a statue of the Spanish conquistador in Concepción. Photograph: Paulo Quintana/Araucania Online
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Other important articles
Global
U.S.
- Trump Refuses To Guarantee No Shutdown Over Impeachment: ‘We’ll See’ (Huffington Post)
- Experts on Trump’s conduct: ‘Plainly an abuse of power, plainly impeachable’ (The Guardian)
- First transcripts reveal deep concern over Giuliani pressure campaign (The Hill)
- Republicans look to expand impeachment strategy amid release of transcripts (The Hill)
- Rulings against Trump on his tax returns may be tough to reverse (CNN)
- Trump administration begins Paris climate pact exit (Reuters)
- Government Officials Are Living in Fear of Trump’s Tweets (The Atlantic)
- These Trade Claims Made by Trump? They’re All Wrong (The New York Times) Hat tip to John O’Donnell, Online Trading Academy.
- Wildfires, power outages, now flooding? California has a dam problem – and desert communities might be in danger (USA Today)
UK
Ukraine
Iran
- Iran says it will inject gas into centrifuges at Fordow on Wednesday (Reuters)
- Iran Finds Itself in Crosshairs of Arab Protesters (The Wall Street Journal)
India
North Korea
China
- China presses Trump to remove more tariffs in ‘phase one’ trade deal (CNBC)
- US will probably keep ramping up pressure on Chinese tech firms – even if a trade deal is reached (CNBC)
Australia
Mexico
- At least nine members of a Mormon family, including six children, were killed in northern Mexico in an ambush, relatives said (The New York Times)
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