Written by Gary
Global markets are up – and the US markets look to open higher. Trade wars are escalating and investors seem to be shrugging off any potential affect. And there is a two-fold increase in the rate at which older Americans (age 65 and over) file for bankruptcy.
Here is the current market situation from CNN Money | |
 | European markets are higher today with shares in Germany leading the region. The DAX is up 0.88% while France’s CAC 40 is up 0.72% and London’s FTSE 100 is up 0.68%. |
What Is Moving the Markets
| Here are the headlines moving the markets. | |
 | China bounce pushes world shares toward six-month highWorld shares edged toward a six-month high on Tuesday, as the biggest jump in Chinese stocks for over two years and an upbeat start for Europe followed Wall Street’s best close since January. |
| Tesla starts hiring for new $2 billion Shanghai plantTesla Inc has started hiring for its new Shanghai factory, according to job postings on its website, just a month after the U.S. electric vehicle (EV) maker signed agreements with local authorities for the $2 billion project. |
| Baidu ready to beat Google if U.S. firm returns to China: CEOBaidu Inc is prepared to win against Alphabet Inc’s Google in China, its chief executive officer said on social media, amid rumblings the U.S. search engine giant was planning to re-enter a market it left eight years ago. |
| Consultation prize: U.S.-China trade war fires bonanza for advisory firmsAs U.S. and Chinese firms rush for outside expertise on how to handle fallout from the escalating trade war between the two nations, consultants on everything from management to logistics say they have seen soaring demand for their services. |
| GlaxoSmithKline appoints HSBC’s Iain Mackay as new CFOGlaxoSmithKline has named Iain Mackay from global bank HSBC as its new chief financial officer, marking another key appointment by Chief Executive Emma Walmsley as she reshapes the top team at Britain’s biggest drugmaker. |
| Daimler abandons Iran expansion plans as sanctions biteGerman car and truck manufacturer Daimler on Tuesday said it has dropped plans to expand its Iran business in reaction to renewed U.S. sanctions, which come into effect on Tuesday. |
| Exclusive: Alibaba merging China food delivery units to counter Tencent-backed Meituan – sourcesAlibaba Group plans to merge its food delivery units and raise funds for the combined business, intensifying a battle with Tencent-backed Meituan Dianping for dominance of China’s booming on-demand services market, four people told Reuters. |
| Chinese newspaper mocks Trump’s claim of winning trade war as ‘wishful thinking’Chinese state media kept up their criticism of U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade policies, with a newspaper on Tuesday describing as “wishful thinking” Trump’s belief that a fall in Chinese stocks was a sign of his winning the trade war. |
| U.S. seeks suspension of court action on 1MDB luxury yacht EquanimityThe U.S. Justice Department wants to suspend its legal efforts to take possession of the superyacht Equanimity, impounded as part of a hunt for assets linked to the multi-billion dollar 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal. |
| Trump Blasts “Anyone Trading With Iran Will Not Be Trading With The U.S.”At one minute after midnight, the first round of renewed U.S. sanctions on Iran took effect, and in one of his earliest tweets since the presidential campaign blasted out at 5:30am EDT, a sleepless Trump defined the official US position on countries that ignore US sanctions: “The Iran sanctions have officially been cast. These are the most biting sanctions ever imposed, and in November they ratchet up to yet another level” Trump tweeted. And in a warning to China, India, Turkey and many other nations which have said they will defy Trump’s Iran sanctions and continue to import Iran oil, Trump warned that “Anyone doing business with Iran will NOT be doing business with the United States.” Then, pulling a page out of a John Lennon album, Trump blasted “I am asking for WORLD PEACE, nothing less!”
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| “Their Wealth Has Vanished”: Baby Boomers File For Bankruptcy In DrovesAn alarming number of older Americans are being forced into bankruptcy, as the rate of people 65 and older who have filed has never been higher – at three times what it was in 1991, while the rate of bankruptcies among Americans age 65 and older has more than doubled, according to a new study by the The Bankruptcy Project.
The median senior filing bankruptcy enters the system $17,390 in debt, vs. an average net worth of $250,000 for their non-bankrupt peers. According to the study, a three-decade shift of financial risk from government and employers to individuals is at fault, as aging Americans are dealing with longer waits for full Social Security benefits, 401(k) plans replacing employer-provided pensions and more out-of-pocket spending on items such as health care. |
| NATO To Set Up Its First Air Base In Western BalkansAuthored by Peter Korzun via The Strategic Culture Foundation, NATO believes that the Western Balkans is a region of strategic importance. The summit that was held July 11-12 specifically expressed support for the Euro-Atlantic aspirations of the Balkan countries. Macedonia was officially invited to join the alliance.
On the eve of the summit, Deputy Secretary General of NATO Rose Gottemoeller stressed that NATO supported the process of reform in Kosovo, including the creation of its own regular armed forces. That idea has strong support in Washington, although by establishing its own military, Kosovo would be in gross violat |
| German Spy Chief Warns, Islamist Children “Pose Real Threat” To NationIn a shockingly frank and non-politically-correct report, Germany’s domestic intelligence chief has warned that children growing up in Islamist families in Germany may pose a risk to society.
As Germany’s Deutsche Welle reports, Hans-Georg Maassen – the head of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), Germany’s domestic intelligence service – said Monday that children from Islamist households in Germany represent a “not insignificant potential threat.” |
| AT&T Not Out of the Legal Woods YetThe Justice Department’s appeal of a judge’s decision to allow AT&T’s purchase of Time Warner is highly unusual, but the odds of it achieving at least a partial victory aren’t trivial. That may only affect future deals, but there is a possibility of blowback for AT&T as well. |
| The Spread Of Ideas And Innovationfrom the International Monetary Fund Globalization has accelerated the spread of knowledge and technology across borders. This has helped to increase productivity and potential growth in many countries and at the global level.
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| Early Headlines: Asia Stocks Up, Dollar Down, Oil And Gold Up, Climate Change News, Calif. Fire Largest Ever, Iran Shuns Trump, Trump Sanctions Iran, India Stocks New High, Japan Wages Surge, And MoreWritten by Econintersect Early Bird Headlines 07 Aug 2018 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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| Asia Markets: Asian markets advance as stocks in China bounce backAsian stock markets were largely higher Tuesday following fresh gains to begin the week on Wall Street. |
| The Wall Street Journal: Death by drones? U.S. officials weigh security threatDrone industry and law-enforcement officials are struggling to find common ground over expanding flights and protecting public safety, a debate thrust into the public spotlight by a reported assassination attempt on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. |
| Have you heard of ‘Silico Evangelism’ and ‘Techo Shabbat’? This is the new front line in combatting smartphone addictionJulia Hobsbawn, author of ‘Fully Connected: Social Health in an Age of Overload,’ discusses the importance of disconnecting. |
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