Donald Trump insists he has ‘absolute right’ to use emergency powers over wall January 11, 2019 Donald Trump has threatened to "declare a national emergency" and use emergency powers in order get funding for a border wall as the impasse between Democrats and the US president continued for a third week. The president has insisted he has the "absolute right" to force the proposal through as a deal to reopen government [...]
Trump has gone to war with the US model of government January 11, 2019 There’s an ancient Greek fable about some frogs who ask Zeus for a king. The god gives them a log to be their ruler, which proceeds to do exactly what you’d expect: nothing. Disappointed, the frogs complain that their king isn’t getting anything done, and ask for a more active one. Zeus gives them a hydra, [...]
People’s Vote campaigners are playing dirty with the facts January 10, 2019 As Monday's Channel 4 drama Brexit: The Uncivil War reminded us, the Remain campaign likes to take comfort in the fact that it tried to win us over with facts and figures, never stooping to the kind of outright lies about the economic benefits of leaving the EU or the threats of immigration indulged in by members [...]
Rod Rosenstein, key figure in Trump probe, set to leave US justice department: reports January 9, 2019 US deputy attorney-general Rod Rosenstein, a key figure in the probe into Russia’s role in the 2016 US presidential election, is set to leave the Department of Justice in the coming weeks, according to multiple reports. Rosenstein is likely to leave after the appointment of William Barr, President Donald Trump’s pick to replace Jeff Sessions [...]
Markets lift as US-China trade talks reach conclusion January 9, 2019 Trade talks in Beijing between China and the US have concluded, with the results of the negotiations expected to be announced shortly. Asian markets lifted this morning on hopes that a deal had been secured. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed up more than two per cent and the Shanghai Composite was up almost one [...]
A Brexit negotiated by Trump would have been a wild ride January 8, 2019 How would Donald Trump have approached negotiating Brexit? A few months ago, several commentators mused over this exact question. The current game of chicken between the President and Democrats in Congress, resulting in a partial US government shutdown, is perhaps the best insight we’ll get. And it shows the wild ride that a Prime Minister [...]
Financial markets 2018: the year in review January 7, 2019 | City Talk After two years of steady growth in asset prices, 2018 proved more of a challenge for investors, particularly in the last three months of the year. US president Donald Trump’s tax cuts had provided an added boost for investors heading into 2018, and US GDP growth accelerated to 4.2 per cent on an annualised quarterly basis [...]
Forex 2019: Dollar rally to fade? January 7, 2019 | City Talk The course of 2018 saw a firming in the US dollar against just about every other currency. But the factors that contributed to this steady rise may be starting to diminish. The big question facing the FX markets this year is whether the dollar can continue to push higher or whether the softening in December [...]
Asian markets boosted as US officials land in China for first round of fresh trade talks January 7, 2019 US officials have arrived in China for the first round of talks between the two countries since a 90-day truce was called on their ongoing trade war at the start of December. Asian markets were optimistic the two could make a breakthrough on Monday, with the Nikkei jumping more than three per cent and smaller [...]
Trump strikes upbeat tone on talks with China ahead of crucial trade summit January 6, 2019 President Donald Trump reiterated his confidence in striking a trade deal with China this evening after insisting that weaknesses in Beijing’s economy gave the country incentives to work with the US. Ahead of crunch talks between US and Chinese trade representatives in Beijing later this week, Trump said: “I think China wants to get it resolved. [...]