Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 06 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
- Japan leads losses across Asia amid US-Iran tensions; oil prices jump more than 2% (CNBC) Asia markets mostly fell on Monday following heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. The dollar index was nearly unchanged around 96.869, dipping from an earlier high of 96.897. U.S. crude futures were up 1.97% at $64.29 per barrel and global benchmark Brent added 2.33% to $70.20. Spot gold rose 1.4% to $1,573.14 per ounce by 0124 GMT. It rallied as much as 1.8% and touched its highest since April 10, 2013 at $1,579.55 earlier in the session. U.S. gold futures gained 1.6% to $1,577.80. Palladium hit an all-time peak of $2,011.48 an ounce and was last up 1% at $2,006.32. At 2:00 a.m. ET, the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to price, was lower at around 1.7846%, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was also lower at around 2.2459%. Later data in table below.
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U.S.
- Flouting War Powers Act, Trump claims his tweets are sufficient notice to Congress that U.S. may strike Iran (The Washington Post) President Trump claimed Sunday that his tweets are sufficient notice to Congress of any possible U.S. military strike on Iran, in an apparent dismissal of his obligations under the War Powers Act of 1973.
Trump’s declaration, which comes two days after his administration launched a drone strike that killed top Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani, was met with disbelief and ridicule from congressional Democrats, who called on the president to respect the role of the legislative branch in authorizing new military action abroad.
- House Foreign Affairs panel fires back at Trump in tweet: ‘You’re not a dictator’ (The Hill) The House Foreign Affairs Committee slammed President Trump on Sunday after Trump appeared to write that his tweets served as sufficient notification to Congress in the event of a potential military strike against Iran. The Democratic-led panel, in a tweet mirroring the language Trump himself used in his message, warned the president that he was not a “dictator” and that Congress has the power to authorize acts of war.
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- U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said the House will introduce and vote on a war powers resolution this week to limit President Donald Trump’s military actions regarding Iran.
- In a letter to colleagues Sunday, Pelosi said that this week, the House “will introduce and vote on a War Powers Resolution to limit the President’s military actions regarding Iran.”
- While the resolution could win approval in the Democrat-controlled House, its passage in the majority Republican Senate is uncertain.
Iraq
- White House defiant as Iraq threatens to expel US troops over Soleimani strike (Al-Monitor) Iraq’s caretaker Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi coneved an emergency session of parliament Sunday to discuss the US assassination of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the Tehran-backed deputy leader of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units. The emergency session could lead to a longtime goal of Iran’s proxies in Iraq: the expulsion of US forces from Iraq, potentially jeopardizing the campaign against the remnants of the Islamic State.
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Other important articles
Global
- BRIC Manufacturing PMIs 4Q 2019 (Constantin Gurdgiev, Trur Economics) CG contributes to GEI.
As global manufacturing sector activity barely stayed above the recession line in 4Q 2019, BRICs manufacturing PMIs indicated a cautious upswing in activity, with exception for Russia and India.
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- U.S.-Led Coalition Halts ISIS Fight as It Steels for Iranian Attacks (The New York Times) American forces in Iraq and Syria will now focus on protecting themselves.
In both Syria and Iraq, the United States has maintained an archipelago of outposts, bases and airfields, all connected by ground and air transport routes, where small contingents of American troops are either training local forces or working alongside them to carry out counterterrorism operations against the Islamic State.
The cessation of those missions, to instead focus on security, is likely to allow what remains of the terrorist group to reconstitute itself in the ungoverned spaces where it flourishes, much as it did when Turkey invaded northern Syria in October. Worsening the situation, Iran-backed militias that were also fighting the Islamic State have turned their attention toward the United States.
U.S.
- Top Republican suggests changing Senate rules to begin Trump impeachment trial within days (The Washington Post)
- Trump Rule Would Exclude Climate Change in Infrastructure Planning (The New York Times)
- Will There Be a Draft? Young People Worry After Military Strike (The New York Times)
- Boeing has uncovered another potential design flaw with the 737 Max (CNN)
Turkey
- Erdogan says Turkey already sending soldiers to Libya (Associsted Press)
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Iraq
Iran
- Ex-CIA director says Soleimani killing ‘bigger than Bin Laden’ (Associated Press) Former CIA director and retired U.S. Army General David Petraeus on Sunday (January 5) said “it was impossible to overstate the significance” of the American airstrike that killed Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani.
- Iran Challenges Trump, Announcing End of Nuclear Restrictions (The New York Times)
- Uproar and consequences mount for Trump after Soleimani killing (CNN)
- Trump Threatens Iranian Cultural Sites, and Warns of Sanctions on Iraq (The New York Times)
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Egypt
- Comic Book Heroes Battle Eqyptian Corruption (Al-Monitor, YouTube)
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Afghanistan
- After 18 Years of US Occupation, Poll Finds Zero Percent of Afghans Thriving, 85 Percent “Suffering” (Mint Press News)
Japan
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