Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 03 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
- Major Asia markets subdued and oil prices surge as Middle East tensions ramp up (CNBC) Major markets in Asia were subdued on Friday as investors weighed the impact of an escalation in Middle East tensions. The U.S. dollar index was last higher at 96.796 after rising from levels below 96.5 yesterday. International benchmark Brent crude futures soared 2.84% to $68.13 per barrel. U.S. crude futures added 2.71% to $62.84 per barrel. Both were up 4% earlier. Spot gold was up 1.2% at $1,547.19 per ounce as of 1012 GMT, having touched it highest since early September, when bullion scaled a multi-year peak of $1,557. U.S. gold futures rose 1.4% to $1,549.70. U.S. treasury yields plummetted sharply. The 10-year yield dropped by 3.9%.
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U.S.
- Unredacted Docs Show Pentagon’s Legal Panic Over Withholding of Ukraine Aid (The Daily Beast) Unredacted emails show Pentagon officials descending into a panic about President Trump’s decision to withhold military aid to Ukraine and the potential legal consequences of the move. The documents, reviewed by national-security forum Just Security, show that Defense Department officials became increasingly concerned that the decision to hold aid would violate the Impoundment Control Act, which requires the Executive Branch to spend money as agreed by Congress. The emails also reportedly show that no reason was given for why the decision to hold was made, or why it was later lifted. In the texts, Defense officials can be seen looking for legal guidance as they grew concerned that they could be blamed should the hold stay in place for too long.
- Trump campaign credits impeachment for massive $46 million fundraising haul (Politico) President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign announced Thursday that it raised $46 million during the final three months of 2019 and had nearly $103 million on hand – a massive total at the start of the election year.
The quarterly total, which the campaign described as its largest yet, underscores how Trump has financially capitalized on impeachment. The reelection team has sent out scores of fundraising appeals and launched a merchandising effort aimed at stoking the grievances of Trump’s small donor base and presenting the president as a victim of congressional Democrats out to destroy him.
- Bill Taylor departs post as top US diplomat in Ukraine (CNN) Bill Taylor, who led the US embassy in Ukraine and served as a key witness in the House impeachment inquiry, has departed his post.
In his six months as charges d’affaires in Kiev, Taylor twice testified as part of the House probe into President Donald Trump, providing damning testimony about an alleged quid pro quo with Ukraine. He also remained a vocal advocate of maintaining US support for the country, especially amid ongoing Russian aggression.
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UK
- Renewable energy milestone reached in 2019 (Financial Times) The UK reached a clean energy milestone in 2019, generating more of its energy from zero carbon sources than fossil fuels for the first time since the industrial revolution. Wind, solar, nuclear and hydro energy accounted for 48.5% of the UK’s power generation, while fossil fuels made up 43%. The remaining 8.5% of electricity generated last year came from biomass and waste. Fossil fuels generated 75.5% of the UK’s energy just 30 years ago. The peak for coal was only 6 years ago (2013). By next year the UK will have shut down all but 3 of its coal fired generation plants. See also How Britain ended its coal addiction.
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Iraq
- Trump ordered killing of Iranian General at Baghdad airport (The Hindu) See also next article. Pentagon has confirmed the news in a statement, claiming it was a U.S. defensive maneuvre:
“The U.S. military has killed Qassem Soleimani, head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, at direction of President Trump. This strike was aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans.”
General Qassim Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force.
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Iran
- Iran’s top military leader killed in US air strike (Financial Times) The press office of the Iraq prime minister released the photo below of the remains of a burning vehicle at Baghdad International Airport following a surgical airstrike that killed Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ overseas forces. Also killed were senior Iraqi militia leaders, including Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a senior commander in Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Units.
A US Pentagon statement accused Soleimani of “actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq” and said that US forces had “at the direction of the president” taken “decisive defensive action”.
The death of the general – who controlled Tehran’s extensive influence across the Middle East from Lebanon to Iraq, Syria and Yemen through the Revolutionary Guards’ al Quds forces – represents a dramatic escalation in the conflict between the US and Iran under the Trump administration.
Other important articles
Global
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- Oil prices surge 4% after Iran military leader killed in US strike (CNN) Graphic from Bloomberg via Twitter.
U.S.
- Dow futures drop 300 points after US air strike kills Iran’s top military leader (CNBC)
- Analysis: Democrats’ 2020 split risks handing Trump a big advantage (NBC News)
- More Than 200 Members of Congress Ask to Overturn Roe v. Wade (The Daily Beast)
- A deceptively edited video of Joe Biden signals what’s coming (The Washington Post)
- Here’s why Congress wants to look inside the bank that fronted Donald Trump $2 billion (AlterNet)
- Trump Throws Fresh Fuel on Dangerous QAnon Conspiracy Theory (The Daily Beast) QAnon believers are convinced that Trump is secretly at war with pedophile-cannibals in the Democratic Party.
Turkey
Iraq
- U.S. Ready to Deploy More Force in Iraq Against Militia Attacks (Bloomberg)
- US Embassy urges Americans to flee Iraq ‘immediately’ following Soleimani killing (CNBC)
- Photos reveal extensive damage to US Embassy in Baghdad as American soldiers rush to region (USA Today) Three of six images shown below.
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Iran
- Iran vows ‘harsh retaliation’ after US airstrike kills Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani (Fox News).
- Iran names deputy commander of Quds force to replace Soleimani after killing (Reuters)
India
- In 2019, 95 tiger deaths in India, 22 incidents of poaching (The Hindu) For the first time in the past three years, the number of tiger deaths in a year in the country has been less than 100.
Japan
Australia
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