Good morning. Here’s our morning roundup of all the media news you need to know. Want to get this briefing in your inbox every morning? Subscribe here. Major Garrett of CBS News is rising to the defense of the extravaganza that is the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner — and he is nearly convincing. Garrett is a very good, no B.S. reporter who adeptly made the print-to-TV […]
|By Matein Khalid| The US Dollar Index has now fallen 3.5% since it peaked on January 3. Donald Trump and his White House aides broke the 20 year taboo against speaking out against the “strong dollar” policy platitudes. The Federal Reserve did not raise interest rates and signaled no rate hike is imminent at the March FOMC. It is significant that the US dollar has fallen against […]
La La Land was the big winner at the 70th British Academy of Film and Television Arts (Bafta) film awards on Sunday night, the last big awards ceremony before the Oscars on February 26. The main Bafta nominations closely followed the Oscars’ list, with La La Land leading the pack with 11 nods (compared with 14 at the Oscars). Arrival had nine nods and Manchester by the […]
Photo The Jewish settlement Ma’ale Adumim, in the West Bank. Credit Dan Balilty for The New York Times WASHINGTON — President Trump, who presented himself as a staunch supporter of Israel during last year’s campaign, took a harder line on settlements in an interview published on Friday and indicated that he was rethinking his promise to move the United States Embassy to Jerusalem. Mr. Trump told an […]
Japan’s yen softened further in early Asian trade on Monday after the country reported slower than expected fourth-quarter growth. The yen slipped 0.8 per cent to ¥114 per dollar, its weakest since January 30, following the release of data showing gross domestic product for the three months to December grew 0.2 per cent quarter on quarter, coming in below estimates of 0.3 per cent growth. The currency […]
GENEVA A U.N. report on establishing a database of companies with business ties to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank has been delayed, the U.N. Human Rights Council said on Monday. Reuters reported on Friday that the politically sensitive report, due this month from the office of U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, was not ready. The council’s president, El Salvadoran ambassador Joaquin […]
US President Donald Trump’s two sons Eric and Donald Jr are set to attend the launch of The Trump International Golf Club in Dubai this month as guests of honour, it has emerged. It has yet to be confirmed whether the sons will formally launch the facility, a spokesperson for the club told Arabian Business. However, a spokesperson for Damac Properties, the developer behind the $6 billion […]
By Jamie McGeever | LONDON LONDON World stocks and bond yields rose on Monday, lifted by a re-emergence of so-called “Trump trades” as investors bet that the U.S. president’s tax reform plans will boost economic growth and corporate profits. Following on from Friday’s record high closes on Wall Street, Asian stocks rallied to 1-1/2-year peaks and European stocks rose for the fifth consecutive session on Monday, their […]
Many of Prince’s most popular songs returned to digital streaming platforms as the music industry paid tribute to the late musician in a politically charged Grammy Awards ceremony on Sunday night. Singer Adele, whose music is distributed by Sony Music, swept the biggest awards of the night, winning album, song and record of the year for 25, the best-selling album last year. She beat Beyoncé, who is […]
Qatar Airways is willing to “open” its financial books for scrutiny, according to CEO Akbar Al Baker, who said President Donald Trump could set up a special committee to examine them. “We are publishing our accounts and we are not running our airlines that we are perceived to run as,” airline CEO Akbar Al Baker told CNNMoney. “We have open book and President Trump is most welcome […]
Submitted by Nick Kaman of Letters from Norway Introduction: Norwegians are just now starting to grapple with the effects of their “single cylinder” economy, mostly dependent on oil and gas (ca. 60% of exports). Despite optimism about $50-$70/barrel oil, American crude output is surging, on track to be the highest ever, since 1970, while cracks start to form in OPEC’s latest agreement. In addition to the oil […]
SEOUL North Korea said on Monday it had successfully test-fired a new type of medium- to long-range ballistic missile a day earlier, claiming further advancement in a weapons programme it is pursuing in violation of United Nations resolutions. North Korea fired the ballistic missile on a high arc into the sea early on Sunday, the first test of U.S. President Donald Trump’s vow to get tough on […]
By Tetsushi Kajimoto and Stanley White | TOKYO TOKYO Japan’s economy grew for a fourth straight quarter in the final three months of last year as a weaker yen supported exports, but tepid private consumption and the risks of rising U.S. protectionism cast doubts over a sustainable recovery. Data on Monday showed the world’s third-largest economy grew an annualized 1.0 percent in October-December, roughly in line with […]
By Steve Holland | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, Michael Flynn, is struggling to get past a controversy over his contacts with Russian officials before Trump took office, conversations that officials said have raised concerns within the White House. Top White House officials have been reviewing over the weekend Flynn’s contacts with the Russians and whether he discussed the possibility of lifting U.S. sanctions […]
By David Alire Garcia | MEXICO CITY MEXICO CITY Thousands of protesters in more than a dozen Mexican cities took to the streets on Sunday to express their fierce opposition to U.S. President Donald Trump, portraying the new leader as a menace to both America and Mexico. Waving Mexicans flags and hoisting anti-Trump signs in both Spanish and English, some vulgar, many protesters also heaped scorn on […]
Top White House aide and policy adviser, Stephen Miller, sidestepped repeated chances during Sunday news shows to publicly defend embattled National Security Adviser Michael Flynn following reports that he engaged in conversations with Russian diplomat(s) about U.S. sanctions before Trump’s inauguration. The uncertainty came as Trump was dealing with North Korea’s apparent first missile launch of the year and his presidency, along with visits this week from […]
Bleak about the future of journalism? Here are some encouraging statistics: In 2015, ProPublica ended the year with $450,000 in small donations (contributions less than $10,000 that weren’t individually solicited). In 2016, that amount was $2.9 million. So far this year, that number is already more than $600,000. ProPublica received $4,500 from monthly recurring donations in the month of October. By January, that number had increased to […]
Japan’s economy grew at an annualised pace of 1 per cent in the final quarter of 2016 as yen weakness spurred a pick-up in exports and business investment. The figure, which was broadly in line with analysts’ expectations for a 1.1 per cent rise, confirms Japan’s economy is back on track after a wobble last summer. Robust growth will reinforce the political popularity of Prime Minister Shinzo […]
US President Donald Trump has warned US airlines that foreign rivals “bring big investments” while pledging to support them amid tough competition, in the latest indication of his stance in the ongoing dispute between Gulf and US carriers. The new president told a White House meeting with the country’s largest airlines, air freight companies and airports on Thursday that he would support the US aviation industry in […]
It was a weekend that included an intimate golf outing of more than four hours; a lavish Saturday night dinner; and an unexpected joint statement on North Korea’s missile launch. Yet even more notable was what the two-day summit between Donald Trump and Japan’s Shinzo Abe did not include — controversy. Three weeks into his presidency, Mr Trump appears to be adopting a more traditional US foreign […]
Photo Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said on Sunday that he and President Trump “have known each other for years.” Credit Pool photo by Gali Tibbon JERUSALEM — As President Trump appeared to shift closer to the political center on several contentious policies on Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested on Sunday that it was unrealistic to expect their two countries to agree completely on all […]
By David Shepardson | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON The chief executives of 18 major automakers and their U.S. units urged President Donald Trump to revisit a decision by the Obama administration to lock in vehicle fuel efficiency rules through 2025. In a letter sent late Friday and viewed by Reuters, the chief executives of General Motors Co (GM.N), Ford Motor Co, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, along with the top […]
newslide Richard Gere has used the press conference for the Berlin Film Festival as a platform to speak out against President Donald Trump’s immigration policy and travel ban. Speaking at the conference, just before the world premiere of his new film The Dinner, the actor and activist said that he found it discouraging to see term ‘refugee’ go through such a dispiriting change of meaning in the […]
Here are the big questions facing investors ahead of a new trading week. How long does a reprieve for French bonds last? After a burst of selling early last week, French debt was granted a reprieve with the 10-year benchmark yield easing back below 1.10 per cent. In turn, the divergence over 10-year Bund yields also pulled back from a four-year plus high. Traders remain nervous after […]
