Antony Blinken and the tragedy of America’s foreign policy establishment November 30, 2020 I was recently speaking to an DC-insider friend of mine about the appointment of Antony Blinken as America’s next secretary of state. My old colleague — a veteran of my seminal struggles with the neo-conservatives around the time of the Iraq War, a passionate Republican Never-Trumper and card-carrying member of the Washington establishment — summed [...]
Before the bell: Calm day expected as US celebrates Thanksgiving November 26, 2020 Equity markets were relatively quiet yesterday as some dealers banked their profits from the ground that was gained earlier in the week. “The mood in the markets was assisted by the growing feeling that there will be a smooth had over of power from President Trump to President-elect, Joe Biden,” David Madden, market analyst at [...]
Before the bell: Quiet start for Europe as all eyes are on US data November 25, 2020 It was another bullish day for global stock markets yesterday as sentiment was lifted by the vaccine hopes as well as the prospect of President Trump departing from his role in January in a calm and measured manner. The update on Monday from AstraZeneca-Oxford University that its potential Covid-19 vaccine has made great progress in [...]
Investor sentiment in City upbeat as Trump hints at orderly transfer of power November 24, 2020 Despite the lacklustre start to this week’s trading, investor sentiment in the City and beyond is certainly becoming much less pessimistic. This renewed push appears to have come about as a result of overnight events in the US, where Joe Biden is starting the transition process to a new US administration next year. “President Trump [...]
Trumped: President gives green light for peaceful transition of power to Joe Biden November 24, 2020 After weeks of pushback, President Donald Trump’s administration last night cleared the ground for President-elect Joe Biden to enter the White House. The Repuplican has repeatedly claimed widespread voter fraud since the 3 November presidential election, but failed to muster up any evidence. His administration has instead filed legal challenges to vote counts across the [...]
Twitter to hand over @Potus account to Joe Biden on 20 January November 21, 2020 Twitter will hand over the official account of the US president to the Joe Biden administration on 20 January, the company said today. The @Potus account is the president’s official account, and is separate from the personal account used to tweet by Donald Trump to tweet. “Twitter is actively preparing to support the transition of [...]
Biden the bullet: US President-elect unveils $7 trillion coronavirus recovery package November 16, 2020 US President-elect Joe Biden has unveiled details of his $7 trillion coronavirus recovery package, as the Democrat lays the groundwork for America to “Build Back Better” from the worst Covid death toll in the world. Biden today announced his administration would invest $300bn in “the most critical competitive new industries and technology” to help the [...]
In tearing up America’s democratic norms, Donald Trump leaves behind a poisonous legacy November 15, 2020 As I write this, with the states of Nevada, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona, and North Carolina circling around him, the first term of Donald J. Trump as President of the United States is about to come to a shattering end. Notice that I said first term. For there is little doubt that the Republican Party remains [...]
Trump acknowledges Biden won US election, even though it was ‘rigged’ November 15, 2020 President Donald Trump appeared to acknowledge publicly for the first time today that Democrat Joe Biden won the US presidential election, even though he asserted that it was “rigged”, reiterating his false claims of widespread voting fraud. Trump acknowledged Biden’s victory in a Twitter post in which he listed unsubstantiated allegations of fraud. Biden defeated [...]
Putin ‘has noted’ Trump’s legal challenges to US presidential election November 9, 2020 Russian President Vladimir Putin will “wait” for an official result for the US presidential election, the Kremlin announced today, as incumbent Donald Trump lays down legal challenges to Joe Biden’s victory. While most world leaders rushed to shore up relations with Joe Biden over the weekend, Putin has remained silent on the Democrat’s election to [...]