Written by Econintersect
Early Bird Headlines 20 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 Asian markets mostly rise as China keeps its loan prime rate unchanged (CNBC) Stocks in major Asian markets were mostly higher on Monday, with the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) keeping the loan prime rate (LPR) unchanged. .Mainland Chinese stocks saw gains on the day. The U.S. dollar index was higher at 97.58. Brent crude futures were up 1.05% to $65.53 per barrel. U.S. crude futures also advanced 0.94% to $59.09 per barrel. Spot gold ticked up 0.1% to $1,558.46 per ounce by 0359 GMT, after a near 0.4% drop last week. U.S. gold futures were down 0.1% to $1,558.40.
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U.S.
- Trump’s Senate trial defense: Abuse of power is not impeachable (CNN) President Donald Trump’s legal team will go into his Senate trial on Tuesday arguing that he should never have been impeached because his conduct over Ukraine does not amount to a criminal offense. First details of the President’s counter-argument are emerging from a document the White House sent to Capitol Hill on Saturday night and in television interviews of one of his new legal advisers. Senate Republicans, who will serve as jurors, are quickly buying into his new defense.
- Dershowitz distances himself from White House response to Democrats’ impeachment charges (The Washington Post) Alan Dershowitz, the Harvard Law emeritus professor who recently joined President Trump’s legal team, distanced himself Sunday from a response by two White House lawyers to House Democrats’ impeachment case against the president, noting that he did not sign onto the document. Dershowitz said in an interview on ABC News’ “This Week”:
“I didn’t sign that brief. I didn’t even see the brief until after it was filed. That’s not part of my mandate. My mandate is to determine what is a constitutionally authorized criteria for impeachment.”
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- How Joe Biden’s brother leveraged his famous name for business gain (ABC News) In 2009, the year Joe Biden took office as vice president, a local business executive met the politician’s younger brother, Frank (pictured below), at a Starbucks in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and later asked him to become the president and front man for a fledgling charter school venture.
Since opening their doors, schools operated by Mavericks in Education have been mired in controversy, struggled with performance, and, in lawsuits and state audits, faced allegations of fraudulent activity.
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China
- China’s birthrate hits lowest level since country was founded in 1949 (CNN) China’s birthrate in 2019 hit its lowest level since the founding of the People’s Republic in 1949, according to official statistics released by Beijing Friday. (See also China’s Looming Crisis: A Shrinking Population – The New York Times.) Chinese mothers gave birth to 14.65 million children last year, a birth rate of 10.48 babies per 1,000 people, according to figures from the National Bureau of Statistics.
China’s demographic issues could pose serious issues for the world’s second-largest economy when the current working-age population reaches retirement. Experts worry if the trend continues, or the population begins shrinking, China may get old before it gets rich.
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Other important articles
U.S.
- A look back at Trump’s history of high-profile legal wranglings (CNN)
- Parnas claims ex-Trump attorney visited him in jail, asked him to sacrifice himself for president (The Hill)
- White House’s top Russia official put on leave pending investigation (VBC News)
- Cohen says Trump directed him to pay for poll rigging (CNN)
- Mitch McConnell may win the impeachment and lose the Senate (The Hill)
UK
Yemen
- More than 100 killed in Yemen missile, drone attack (AFP) More than 100 people were killed and dozens wounded in a missile and drone attack blamed on Huthi rebels in central Yemen. The Huthis attacked a mosque in a military camp during evening prayers.
Iraq
China
Canada
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