Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 31 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 post New Year’s day 01 January 2020.
Key Articles
Global
- Chinese stocks higher in last trading day of the year; Shanghai soars more than 20% for 2019 (CNBC) Chinese stocks were higher on the final trading day of 2019, with other major markets in Asia either on holiday or seeing an early close with mixed results. The U.S. dollar index was higher at 96.697 but off an earlier high of 96.733. Oil prices declined in the afternoon of Asian trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures 0.21% lower at $66.53 per barrel. U.S. crude futures also shed 0.29% to $61.50 per barrel. Spot gold rose 0.3% to $1,515.42 per ounce. In the previous week, marking their best week since early August. U.S. gold futures were unchanged at $1,518.40 per ounce. U.S. treasury yields rose – the 10-year to 1.9034% and the 30-year to 2.3574%.
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U.S.
- What’s Mitch McConnell’s end game in shaping the Senate impeachment trial to benefit Trump? (The Washington Post) Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R, KY) has said he will run the Senate impeachment trial “in total coordination” with the White House, which means he’ll likely frame it way that benefits President Trump. When asked why, he says the answer is obvious: Because everyone knows Trump’s going to be acquitted anyway by the Republican-controlled Senate, so why bother? How can he accomplish this acquittal smothly? Here are some theories from this article:
- No new witnesses (avoid any embarassments for the president)
- Nothing else.
- Schumer seizes on new reporting in calls for trial witnesses (Politico) Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer renewed his call Monday for White House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and former national security adviser John Bolton to testify in the Senate impeachment trial after The New York Times published new details about the effort to withhold aid to Ukraine.
The Times’ investigation shed new light on the extent to which President Donald Trump sought to freeze military assistance to Ukraine, despite pleas from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Bolton. The Times also offered new details of the role Mulvaney played in executing Trump’s request.
- Susan Collins says she’s ‘open’ to calling witnesses in Senate impeachment trial (The Hill) Sen. Susan Collins (R, ME) said on Monday that she is “open” to calling witnesses as part of the Senate impeachment trial of President Trump but stressed that it is still too early to decide who, if anyone, should be called. Collins – in separate interviews with Maine Public Radio and WCSH, a Maine TV station – said a decision on potential witnesses should wait until after opening arguments from both House impeachment managers and Trump’s team. (Econintersect: Three more GOP senators would have to join Collins to get enough votes for the calling of witnesses to be approved by a floor vote in the Senate.)
- Judge dismisses case involving former Bolton deputy over impeachment testimony (ABC News) A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit Monday brought by a former top deputy to former national security adviser John Bolton regarding testimony in the impeachment probe led by House Democrats. John Bolton is pictured below. Charles Kupperman, who previously served as deputy national security adviser, had brought his lawsuit earlier this fall after Democrats subpoenaed him for testimony in the House impeachment probe into President Donald Trump. The central question to Kupperman’s case was whether he should comply with the congressional subpoena to testify or the White House’s direction not to comply with the investigation.
In his finding, the judge agreed with the House of Representatives and attorneys from the Department of Justice, representing Trump in this matter, that Kupperman no longer faces the “irreconcilable commands of two coordinate branches of government” since the House Intelligence committee withdrew it’s subpoena in November.
The judge also dismissed two of Kupperman’s concerns — the possibility of the subpoena being reissued or being punished for failure to comply in the first place — but left the door open for future legal actions should the situation call for it. Judge Richard J. Leon wrote:
“Should the winds of political fortune shift, he will undoubtedly be right back before this Court seeking a solution to a Constitutional dilemma that has long-standing political consequences.”
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China
- China’s official Purchasing Managers’ Index for manufacturing came in at 50.2 for the month of December, the country’s statistics bureau said on Tuesday.
- Economists polled by Reuters had expected the official December manufacturing PMI to come in at 50.1.
- PMI readings above 50 indicate expansion of the manufacturing sector, while readings below that level signal contraction.
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Other important articles
Global
U.S.
- Trump and Obama tie in most admired man poll (CNN)
- Hanukkah attack highlights disturbing rise of anti-Semitic violence (The Hill)
- Ohio doctor charged with killing 25 patients by overprescribing pain medication sues hospital for defamation (CNN)
- To recognize Black History Month, GOP lawmaker proposes a list of mostly white people (The Washington Post)
- Opinion: Here’s the formula for paying no federal income taxes on $100,000 a year (MarketWatch)
- Anguish and Anger From the Navy SEALS Who Turned In Edward Gallagher (The New York Times) “The guy is freaking evil”
Germany
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Ukraine
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Russia
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Iraq
- Angry Iraq protesters attack US embassy over strikes (AFP) Several thousand Iraqi protesters attacked the US embassy in Baghdad on Tuesday, breaching its outer wall and chanting “Death to America!”
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India
Japan
- Carlos Ghosn, Fallen Nissan Boss, Flees Japan to Escape ‘Political Persecution’ (The New York Times)
North Korea
- Threat Grows from North Korea During Nuclear Deadlock (The Wall Street Journal)
- North Korea’s Kim to unveil ‘new path’ in New Year speech after U.S. misses deadline (Reuters)
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China
- Huawei’s 4 big issues in 2020 – from the blacklist to the decision over its operating system’s future (CNBC)
- China says confident of Central Asia support before Pompeo visit (Reuters) Attempts to sow discord over Chinese policies in its Xinjiang region will fail, China’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday, ahead of a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to neighboring central Asia.
Australia
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