Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 20 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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Notice: There will be no Early Bird posts Christmas week, 23-27 December 2019.
Key Articles
Global
- Asia stocks decline; Japan’s autos fall after US House passes new North American trade deal (CNBC) Major Asia stocks declined by the close on Friday, after U.S. markets broke a new record, with positive news on the trade front further boosting sentiment. Mainland Chinese stocks were little changed in the afternoon. The U.S. dollar index was last down at 97.421, retreating from a high of 97.486 earlier. Oil prices didn’t budge much during the morning of Asian trading hours. U.S. crude fell marginally 0.10% to $61.13 , while Brent crude rose 0.11% to $66.61 per barrel. Spot gold fell 0.1% to $1,477.28 per ounce as of 1036 GMT. U.S. gold futures were down 0.2% to $1,481.10 per ounce. U.S. treasury yiloeds were lower. At 4:20 a.m. ET, the benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield, which moves inversely to price, was higher at around 1.9452%, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was also higher at around 2.3757%.
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U.S.
- Christianity Today editor calls for Trump to be removed from office (The Hill) Christianity Today, the flagship Evangelical magazine, called for President Trump to be removed from office in a new editorial. The piece, attributed to Christianity Today Editor in Chief Mark Galli, notes that the magazine’s “typical approach” is to “stay above the fray,” allowing readers to “make their arguments in the public square, to encourage all to pursue justice according to their convictions and treat their political opposition as charitably as possible.” Galli noted that the president has, in his opinion, lowered the standard for presidential decorum, openly admitted to unsavory interactions with women and has worked with a “number of people who are now convicted criminals.” The editorial criticized Trump, saying
“[T]he facts in this instance are unambiguous: The president of the United States attempted to use his political power to coerce a foreign leader to harass and discredit one of the president’s political opponents. That is not only a violation of the Constitution; more importantly, it is profoundly immoral.”
- Five takeaways from the Democratic debate (The Hill) The final Democratic debate of 2019 took place in Los Angeles on Thursday, with less than two months to go before the Iowa caucuses, and the debate field down to 7 candidates. Five takeaways:
- Buttigieg vs. Warren was the big moment
- Biden brings a new sharpness
- Klobuchar shines
- Smaller stage makes for better debate
- A gaffe-free zone
- Former White House officials say they feared Putin influenced the president’s views on Ukraine and 2016 campaign (The Washington Post) Almost from the moment he took office, President Trump seized on a theory that troubled his senior aides: Ukraine, he told them on many occasions, had tried to stop him from winning the White House.
The president’s intense resistance to the assessment of U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia systematically interfered in the 2016 campaign – and the blame he cast instead on a rival country – led many of his advisers to think that Putin himself helped spur the idea of Ukraine’s culpability, said the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions.
One former senior White House official said Trump even stated so explicitly at one point, saying he knew Ukraine was the real culprit because “Putin told me.”
Allegations about Ukraine’s role in the 2016 race have been promoted by an array of figures, including right-wing journalists whose work the president avidly consumes, as well as Rudolph W. Giuliani, his personal lawyer. But U.S. intelligence officials told lawmakers and their staff members this past fall that Russian security services played a major role in spreading false claims of Ukrainian complicity, said people familiar with the assessments.
- Soaking storm eyes Southeast with up to half a foot of rain late Saturday to late Monday (The Washington Post) Any remaining vestiges of the spotty drought conditions in the Southeast should be erased this weekend. Follow LIVE ALL WEEK: Weather 16 December Through 22 December 2019 to keep up to date on details.
A preholiday storm is set to drench the Southeast and Gulf Coast this weekend, bringing days of damp weather and up to half a foot of rain in spots. The system looks to be a slow mover, lumbering over the northeast Gulf and potentially slowing pre-Christmas and Hanukkah travel as its heavy rains drench the Interstate 10 corridor.
Rainfall totals may vary substantially over short distances, making the forecast a challenging one before more tranquil weather builds in for Christmas.
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India
- Backgrounder – Section 144, a vestige of colonial rule (The Hindu) India’s criminal justice architecture continues to reflect its colonial heritage, both on paper and in practice. This is perhaps reflected best in the vibrant and unfettered invocation of Section 144 in the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 [“Cr.P.C.”], which confers upon executive officers such as executive magistrates or sub-divisional magistrates, unimaginable powers for passing orders to tackle any urgent cases of “nuisance” or “apprehended danger” that may arise in their territorial jurisdiction, where such orders will “prevent or are likely to prevent” any adverse impact upon human life, health, safety, or prevent “a disturbance of the public tranquillity.”
Section 144 is a useful tool to help deal with emergencies. However, absence of any narrow tailoring of wide executive powers with specific objectives, coupled with very limited judicial oversight over the executive branch, makes it ripe for abuse and misuse.
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Other important articles
U.S.
- Senate leaders punt impeachment trial deal until after holidays (The Hill)
- Trump Impeachment Trial in Doubt as Democrats Weigh Withholding Articles (The New York Times) See also next article.
- McConnell to Pelosi: You can keep your impeachment articles (Washington Examiner)
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UK
- Andrew Bailey wins race to become Bank of England governor (Financial Times) See also Andrew Bailey selected to replace Mark Carney as governor of the Bank of England (CNBC).
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- Queen’s speech: PM points to harder Brexit and 10-year rule (The Guardian)
- Boris Johnson has cleared an election hurdle. Now he faces a US-China balancing act (CNN)
Russia
Iran
India
- India shuts down mobile networks as protests spread (Financial Times)
- India extends controls on protests after day of deadly violence (CNN)
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North Korea
- ‘Before it is too late’: Diplomats race to defuse tensions ahead of North Korea’s deadline (Reuters).
China
Brazil
- Brazil: homes of Bolsonaro associates raided in sweeping anti-corruption operation (The Guardian) Investigators examining Bolsonaro’s senator son Flflvio, suspected of overseeing corruption racket during tenure as Rio congressman. Shown below: Jair Bolsonaro with his son Flflvio. Documents and mobile phones were reportedly seized as 24 warrants were executed in the cities of Rio and Resende. Photograph: Evaristo Sa/AFP/Getty Images
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Chile
- ‘Social Tsunami’ Slams a Top Latin American Economy (The Wall Street Journal)
Canada
- Exclusive: Canada police prepared to shoot Indigenous activists, documents show (The Guardian) Notes from strategy session for raid on Wet’suwet’en nation’s ancestral lands show commanders argued for ‘lethal overwatch’.
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