US jobs: Employment falls by 123,000 in December January 6, 2021 Newly released US jobs figures reveal a fall of 123,000 private sector jobs from November to December. The stats paint a grim picture of the US economy at the end of a pandemic-affected year, with the fall reversing months of gentle growth in non-farm employment. Most of the job losses came in large firms, with [...]
Democrat wins US senate race in Georgia in major coup for Joe Biden January 6, 2021 Democrat Raphael Warnock has won the Senate runoff election in Georgia, handing US President-elect Joe Biden’s party the chance to seize control of the Senate ahead of his entry to the White House later this month. Warnock, a former pastor from Atlanta, has defeated Republican incumbent Kelly Loeffler to become the first Black senator in [...]
Trump phone call: Democrats ask FBI to open criminal investigation January 5, 2021 Two Democrats have asked the FBI to open a criminal investigation into US President Donald Trump over a phone call in which he pressurised a top Georgian official to overturn his election defeat. In the call this weekend, Trump told Georgia secretary of state Brad Raffensperger to “find” enough votes to reverse Joe Biden’s victory [...]
Defying Trump, McConnell puts off vote on $2,000 checks, urges override of defense bill veto December 30, 2020 By David Morgan and Susan Cornwell WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday put off a vote on increasing COVID-19 relief checks from $600 to $2,000 and urged senators to override President Donald Trump’s veto of a defense bill, in a rare challenge to his fellow Republican three weeks before Trump leaves [...]
The tragedy of America’s foreign policy establishment December 25, 2020 Anthony Blinken was a cut above the rest personally. Well-educated, good-looking, quietly ironical (and quite funny), absorbed in the work at hand, and keenly intelligent, Tony seemed to be in it for the Republic, rather than himself — a rarity in a town built on often unearned self-promotion. Read more: Joe Biden could favour Ireland [...]
Congress in race against time to finalise $900bn US stimulus deal late tonight December 21, 2020 A stimulus deal for the US economy, including direct cheques of $600 to many Americans, is set to be voted on tonight in Washington. Bipartisan agreement was finally found over the weekend on the deal, which has been the subject of tortuous negotiation and delay over recent weeks. The deal must be signed by midnight [...]
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: 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 [...]