Early Headlines: Asia Stocks Mostly Up, Dollar Up, Oil Up, Gold Down, Yields Up, GOP Buys In, Nunes Controversy, Sondland, Hong Kong Election Landslide, Mike Bloomberg, Ukraine Intrigue, Plus More- 26 Articles, 8 Graphics

Early Bird Headlines 25 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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Key Articles

Global

Hong Kong markets jump as pro-democracy candidates surge to ‘stunning’ election victory (CNBC) Shares in Asia were mostly higher on Monday, as investors reacted to Hong Kong’s district council elections amid months of civil unrest in the city. Mainland Chinese stocks were mixed on the day. The U.S. dollar index was higher at 98.179 after rising from levels below 98.0 on Friday. Having slipped for the previous three sessions, spot gold was down 0.2% at $1,459.28 per ounce at 1027 GMT, after earlier touching its lowest since Nov. 18 at $1,455.90. U.S. gold futures were 0.3% lower at $1,459.30. Oil prices rose in the afternoon of Asian trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures adding 0.55% to $63.74 per barrel. U.S. crude futures also gained 0.48% to $58.05 per barrel. Spot gold was down 0.1% to $1,461.24 per ounce by 0335 GMT. U.S. treasury yields again moved higher.

U.S.

Republicans buy into Trump conspiracies to blunt impact of impeachment hearings (CNN) Two weeks of dramatic and incriminating public impeachment testimony did little to sever the strong bond between President Donald Trump, his Republican supporters and conservative media propagandists. In fact, the more damning the suggestions of an abuse of power become, the deeper it forces Trump’s defenders into his wild brew of conspiracy theories, disinformation and distortion. Trump is facing accusations that he withheld nearly $400 million in military aid and other recognition for Ukraine to try to force it to investigate a domestic opponent — Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden — and 2016 Democrats.

But despite an impeachment case that solidified in two weeks of public testimony, there are increasing signs that the President’s aggressive approach and mastery over the Republican Party in Washington is preventing any slippage of support from allies

Top Dem says ethics investigation into Devin Nunes likely (Politico) The top Democrat on the House armed services committee said Saturday that Republican Rep. Devin Nunes is likely to face an ethics investigation over allegations he met with an ex-Ukrainian prosecutor at the center of the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump. CNN reported late Friday that an associate of Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal lawyer, has information on meetings Nunes allegedly had with former Ukrainian prosecutor general Victor Shokin.

The CNN report says that Lev Parnas, according to his attorney, put Nunes in touch with Shokin to help him gather damaging information on former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter’s dealings with Ukraine.
Nunes called the CNN report “demonstrably false” in an interview with Breitbart.

Giuliani Says Biden Documents to Be Released ‘If I Disappear’ (Bloomberg) Rudy Giuliani, a focus of the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump’s foreign policy dealings in Ukraine, suggested on Twitter that he has dirt on the Biden family that would be released were he to get into trouble.

Time and again, envoy’s Ukraine tale differs from others (Associated Press) The witnesses who have testified publicly and privately in the House impeachment inquiry so far have generally told a consistent tale. Gordon Sondland is different:

The U.S. ambassador to the European Union has said he cannot recall many of the episodes involving him that other witnesses have recounted in vivid and colorful detail. And the conversations he has said he does recall, he sometimes remembers in materially different ways. Those discrepancies matter because they concern some of the most pivotal meetings and conversations in the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump’s dealings with Ukraine.

China

Fresh headache for China after Hong Kong democrats rout pro-Beijing candidates (Reuters) After months of sometimes-violent unrest in Hong Kong, an election with record turnout handed a landslide victory to pro-democracy local district council candidates, posing a new conundrum for Beijing and adding pressure on the city’s leader.

Other important articles

U.S.