Early Headlines: Asia Stocks Mostly Up, Dollar Up, Oil Up, Gold Mixed, Yields Mixed, Campaign Coffers, Senators To Watch, China Mfg, Tumbleweeds, Starmer, Jakarta Floods, Oz Fires, Plus More - 16 Articles And 12 Graphics

Early Bird Headlines 02 January 2020

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

China markets surge as private survey shows manufacturing activity rising in December (CNBC) Shares in China led gains among major markets in the region as they surged on Thursday, after a private survey showed manufacturing activity in country rising in December. Stocks across Asia Pacific region overall were mostly higher. The U.S. dollar index was higher at 96.578 after seeing an earlier low of 96.425. Oil prices rose in the afternoon of Asian trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude futures gaining 0.38% to $66.25 per barrel. U.S. crude futures also added 0.26% to $61.22 per barrel. Spot gold rose 0.2% to $1,519.76 per ounce as of 1039 GMT, having touched the highest level since Sept. 25 at $1,525.20 on Tuesday. U.S. gold futures were down 0.1% at $1,522.30. U.S.treasury bond prices were mixed.

U.S.

Ten senators to watch on Trump impeachment trial (The Hill) As the impeachment spotlight shifts to the Senate, several senators are emerging as early pivotal players as Washington gears up for President Trump’s trial. The rules, where a simple majority can make-or-break decisions, could throw a curveball into the looming procedural fights that will determine what the trial looks like. Democrats will need four GOP senators to successfully call a witness or request documents, and only three GOP senators to block a Republican motion. But there are 3 Democrats who could side with the Republicans, so there is a lot going on at the margins, which is where the nature of this trial will be decided.

Expect geopolitical tensions to ‘intensify’ and play into the US election, experts say (CNBC)

Experts believe that geopolitical turbulence is only going to get worse this year, particularly in the run up to the U.S. election.
U.S. society is more polarized than ever, experts warn.
2019 was characterized by geopolitical upheavals around the world.

China

China’s manufacturing activity expanded in December, a private survey shows (CNBC)

The Markit/Caixin Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for China’s manufacturing activity came in at 51.5, compared to 51.8 in November.
Analysts polled by Reuters had expected the private manufacturing PMI to come in at 51.7 for December.
PMI readings above 50 indicate expansion, while those below that level signal contraction.
On Tuesday, China released official manufacturing PMI for December that was slightly above expectations at 50.2.
The official PMI survey typically polls a large proportion of big businesses and state-owned enterprises. The Markit/Caixin survey features a bigger mix of small- and medium-sized firms.

Other important articles

Global

A decade on earth captured from space (Reuters) U.S. satellite imagery company Maxar Technologies has released satellite images from some of the biggest news events of the past decade, from natural disasters to war, including the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. There is a great 19-slide presentation – 2 pictured below:

The Camp Fire burning in Paradise Pines, California, November 9, 2018
The site of the Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California, August 1, 2018.