TOKYO (Reuters) – There is still time to find a solution to the impasse on Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union, due on March 29, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in Japan on Tuesday.
“From a political point of view, there is still time. That should be used, used by all sides. But for this it would be very important to know what exactly the British side envisages in terms of its relationship with the EU,” Merkel said in Tokyo.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Negotiating new World Trade Organization rules to try to rein in China’s “mercantilist” trade practices would be largely a futile exercise, the Trump administration’s trade office said on Monday, vowing to pursue its unilateral approach to protect U.S. workers, farmers and businesses.
The U.S. Trade Representative’s office used its annual report to Congress on China’s WTO compliance in part to justify its actions in a six-month trade war with Beijing aimed at forcing changes in China’s economic model.
The report also reflects the United States’ continued frustration with the WTO’s inability to curb what it sees as China’s trade-distorting non-market economic policies, and offered little hope that situation could change soon.
“It is unrealistic to expect success in any negotiation of new WTO rules that would restrict China’s current approach to the economy and trade in a meaningful way,” the USTR said in the report.
Some U.S. allies, including Canada, the European Union and Japan, which are also frustrated with pressures created by China’s economic policies, have begun talks on the first potential changes and modernization of WTO rules since it was founded in 1995.
But any WTO rule changes must be agreed by all 164 member nations, and past efforts have stalled. It was “highly unlikely” China would agree to new disciplines targeting changes to its trade practices and economic system, the USTR said.
LONDON (Reuters) – European shares were mixed on Monday morning as optimism fueled by a buoyant U.S. labor market and manufacturing faded, while a flurry of corporate news triggered sharp individual moves.
The pan-European STOXX 600 was down 0.02 percent at 0933 GMT and regional indexes got off to a choppy start.
Oil prices were at their highest so far this year as OPEC-led supply cuts and U.S. sanctions against Venezuela’s petroleum industry tightened markets.
“The commodity price appreciation was bad news for fuel-hungry airlines”, commented Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
Corporate news is set to intensify throughout the week with trading updates on Wednesday and Thursday, notably from BNP Paribas and ING among banks and Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline for pharmaceuticals.
Feb 4 (Reuters) – Gold prices slipped on Monday as risk-aversion waned amid some signs of progress in U.S.-China trade talks and as the dollar firmed.
Spot gold fell about 0.4 percent to $1,313.38 per ounce by 0720 GMT, having hit $1,326.30 on Thursday – its highest level since April 26.
U.S. gold futures fell 0.4 percent to $1,316.8 per ounce.
“The plunge (from Thursday’s peak) came along with fading enthusiasm for safe havens, as U.S. and China are moving to close a deal and many uncertainties surrounding the U.S. government shutdown, Brexit, Fed policy were cleared last week,” said Margaret Yang, a market analyst with CMC Markets.
The U.S.-China trade talks had a “good vibe” with much work remaining, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said on Friday, fanning hopes of an end to the long-drawn trade tiff between the world’s two largest economies.
OTTAWA (Reuters) – A major bloc of Latin American nations and Canada will discuss on Monday how to maintain pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to hold new elections as he faces widespread calls to resign after last year’s disputed presidential vote.
Sources briefed on the matter said that the 14-nation Lima Group looked set, though, to hold off imposing further sanctions on the Maduro government when it meets in Ottawa.
Most group members say Maduro should quit in favor of opposition leader Juan Guaido – who declared himself interim president last month – and are calling for a new presidential election in the troubled OPEC nation.
The United States, which is not a member of the group, also wants Maduro gone.
Maduro, who has overseen an economic collapse and the exodus of millions of Venezuelans, said in an interview that aired on Spanish television channel Antena 3 on Sunday: “We don’t accept ultimatums from anyone,” adding: “I refuse to call for elections now – there will be elections in 2024.”
Maduro, who has maintained the critical support of the military, has said Guaido is staging a U.S.-directed coup against him.
Monday’s meeting in Ottawa will also discuss how to aid the people of Venezuela, including through immediate humanitarian assistance, said the office of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said it was important to keep a U.S. military presence in Iraq so that Washington can keep a close eye on Iran “because Iran is a real problem,” according to a CBS interview to be broadcast on Sunday.
The Republican president lamented “endless wars” in Syria and Afghanistan in an interview with CBS’ “Face the Nation” and made clear he wants to reduce the costly U.S. military presence in those countries despite warnings against such moves from his military advisers and spy chiefs.
The United States could rely heavily on intelligence work in Afghanistan, he said, and respond to developments in Syria from U.S. bases in neighboring Iraq.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – In a rebuke of President Donald Trump, the Republican-led U.S. Senate advanced largely symbolic legislation on Thursday opposing plans for any abrupt withdrawal of troops from Syria and Afghanistan.
The Senate voted 68-23 in favor of a non-binding amendment, drafted by Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell saying it was the sense of the Senate that Islamic militant groups in both countries continue to pose a “serious threat” to the United States.
The procedural vote to cut off debate meant that the amendment would be added to a broader Middle East security bill likely to come up for a final Senate vote next week.
The amendment acknowledges progress against Islamic State and al Qaeda in Syria and Afghanistan but warns that “a precipitous withdrawal” without effective efforts to secure gains could destabilize the region and create a vacuum that could be filled by Iran or Russia.
CARACAS (Reuters) – Global jostling intensified on Thursday between countries that want Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in power and those trying to force him to resign, as opposition leader Juan Guaido made overtures to his rival’s allies Russia and China.
Guaido told Reuters he had sent communications to both powers, which are Venezuela’s top foreign creditors and support Maduro in the U.N. Security Council despite worries about the cash-strapped country’s ability to pay.
The 35-year-old leader argued that Russia and China’s interests would be best served by switching the side they back in Venezuela, an OPEC member which has the world’s largest oil reserves but is in dire financial straits.
“What most suits Russia and China is the country’s stability and a change of government,” Guaido said. “Maduro does not protect Venezuela, he doesn’t protect anyone’s investments, and he is not a good deal for those countries.”
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Federal Reserve’s policy twist on Wednesday might seem just what the White House ordered, with a hold put on what President Donald Trump termed “loco” interest rate hikes, and an openness to ending the monthly runoff of up to $50 billion from the U.S. central bank’s balance sheet.
But the story the Fed is telling about the economy should give the Trump administration pause.
It isn’t the narrative of rebounding investment, higher productivity, and surging growth that administration officials offer, but one of shaky confidence, an economic recovery that may not be as sturdy as it seems, and risks that partly stem from Trump’s own actions.
Just as the Fed’s four rate increases last year were a product of better-than-expected growth nudged higher by some of Trump’s policies – a sign of economic strength even if the president called it otherwise – the policy shift this week was a sign the best days of Trumponomics may be over.
The move “was not driven by a major change in the baseline,” Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said in a press conference on Wednesday, but the fact that intensifying “cross-currents suggest the risk of a less favorable outcome.”
With U.S. growth expected to slow to perhaps 2 percent and risks accumulating, “we are not in a great position to take a shock,” said Omair Sharif, senior U.S. economist at Societe Generale.
Signaling a pause in rate increases “was a pretty good way to take out insurance,” in effect a decision to keep a looser-than-anticipated monetary policy in place in hopes of skirting some of those risks, Sharif said.
The next few months will prove crucial. The Fed and many economists outside the administration have long felt Trump’s tax and spending policies would provide the economy a short-term boost, or a “sugar rush,” that would wane.
That may now happen just as other economic dangers intensify, with an early March deadline looming over U.S.-China trade talks, negotiations over Britain’s departure from the European Union on a rocky track, and U.S. elected officials unable to agree on a budget.