Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 18 December 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
Major Asia markets fall as risks of no-deal Brexit resurface (CNBC) Markets in Asia mostly fell by the close on Wednesday afternoon, as risks of a no-deal Brexit ramped up again overnight. The U.S. dollar index was last higher at 97.311 after touching lows below 97.0 earlier this week. U.S. crude tumbled 0.77% to $60.46 during the morning Asian trading hours, after rising earlier this week – boosted by trade hopes and supply cuts. Brent crude declined 0.57% to $65.72 per barrel. Spot gold was trading litle changed at $1,475.55 per ounce by 0118 GMT. U.S. gold futures were flat at $1,480.20. U.S. treasury yields were slightly lower.
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U.S.
- Secret FISA court issues highly unusual public rebuke of FBI for mistakes (NBC News) Hat tip to Sig Sliber. See also Court Orders F.B.I. to Fix National Security Wiretaps After Damning Report (The New York Times). The secret federal court that approves orders for conducting surveillance on suspected foreign terrorists or spies issued a strong and highly unusual public rebuke to the FBI on Tuesday, ordering the agency to say how it intends to correct the errors revealed last week by a Justice Department report on one aspect of the FBI’s investigation of Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign. Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz said the FBI made serious and repeated mistakes in seeking under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, to conduct surveillance of Carter Page, a former Trump campaign adviser.
Rosemary Collyer, presiding judge on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, said in the unusual public order that the report “calls into question whether information contained in other FBI applications is reliable.” She ordered the FBI to explain in writing by Jan. 10 how it intends to remedy those problems.
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- Trump letter to House Dems protests impeachment in ‘strongest’ terms (CNN) Click image below to read the six-page letter.
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- A grave day in history: Trump faces impeachment (CNN) The House of Representatives is set to impeach an elected President accused of violating the nation’s trust and his oath to preserve, protect and defend bedrock constitutional values. Donald Trump will be only the third president in 240 years to be impeached — the ultimate trauma for the system of checks and balances, which will unleash fury that will boil for years. The 45th President will be charged by the House Democratic majority with two articles of impeachment, namely abusing his power and obstructing Congress in a scheme to lure Ukraine into interfering in the 2020 election.
In Trump’s tumultuous presidency, the extreme has become routine, and hyper-partisanship has blurred the senses. But when the House votes to impeach Trump, a fateful step expected at some point Wednesday, it may become clear that this is also a somber moment of national political tragedy. After all, the House Democrats, who won a majority in the midterm elections on a mandate of curtailing Trump, will be making a rare statement that a President elected just three years ago should be forced from office.
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Japan
- Japan’s exports slipped for a 12th straight month in November, as declining shipments to the United States and China hit the trade-reliant economy, raising the risk of a fourth-quarter contraction.
- Official data released on Wednesday showed Japan’s exports fell 7.9% year-on-year in November, a smaller decline than the 8.6% decline expected by economists in a Reuters poll.
- The gloomy reading, driven by fewer shipments of cars and construction machinery to the United States and chemical products to China, marked the longest run of declines in exports since a 14-month stretch to November 2016.
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Other important articles
U.S.
- U.S. House panel clears the way for Wednesday Trump impeachment vote (Reuters)
- ‘It’s really sick’: Pelosi rips Trump’s impeachment letter (Washington Examiner)
- Splintered US moves to subject Trump to ‘profound disgrace’ (Associated Press)
- ‘I’m not worried!’: Trump dismisses impeachment in late-night Twitter barrage before House vote (The Washington Post)
- House Democrats appealing court decision in Trump state tax return case (Politico)
- Rules Committee agrees to six hours of debate before Trump impeachment vote (NBC News)
- ‘Very concerned’: DOJ inspector general confirms investigation into FBI leaks to Giuliani (Washington Examiner)
UK
- Boris Johnson is making good on his Brexit plans (Vox)
- Is This Prince Andrew’s Death Rattle? U.S. Epstein Document Cache Could Sink Beleaguered Prince (The Daily Beast)
Russia
India
- Has India’s Narendra Modi gone too far with controversial new citizenship law? (CNN)
- Indian court refuses to stop implementation of citizenship law (Reuters)
North Korea
- A Janitor Allegedly Used a Botanical Code to Broker Weapons Deals for North Korea (The Wall Street Journal)
South Korea
China
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