Thursday, 27 December 2018

Thursday Morning Briefing: White House considers new year executive order to bar Huawei and ZTE purchases

U.S.-China Relations

President Donald Trump is considering an executive order in the new year to declare a national emergency that would bar U.S. companies from using telecommunications equipment made by China’s Huawei and ZTE, three sources familiar with the situation told Reuters.

China and the United States have made plans for face-to-face consultations over trade in January, the Chinese commerce ministry said, as the world’s two biggest economies advanced efforts to resolve a months-long trade war.

China has proposed a ban on forced technology transfer and illegal government “interference” in foreign business operations, practices that have come under the spotlight in a trade dispute with the United States.

Highlights

Special Report: As one of the top private landlords on U.S. Army bases, real estate magnate John Picerne has secured iron-clad assurances of profit. His company stands to earn $1 billion in fees, Reuters found, while some of his warrior-tenants clamor for repairs in unsafe base housing. Read the investigation.

A partial U.S. government shutdown was widely expected to continue after Congress reconvenes, with lawmakers split over President Donald Trump’s demand for $5 billion in taxpayer funding for a proposed Mexican border wall. Here is a look at how the partial shutdown of U.S. government could play out.

World stocks bounced off a near two-year low, lifted by a dramatic Wall Street surge, though a fall in Chinese industrial profits and renewed Italian banking worries offered a sobering reminder of the problems weighing on the world economy.

Commentary: Will impeachment lead to Donald Trump’s removal from office in 2019? There will be plenty of talk about it, writes political scientist Lincoln Mitchell, but given how unlikely it is that the Republican-controlled Senate will approve, expect Trump to make it through another year as president – and the Democrats to be prevented from passing any meaningful legislation.

World

Indonesia raised the alert level for the erupting Anak Krakatau volcano to the second-highest, and ordered all flights to steer clear, days after it triggered a tsunami that killed at least 430 people.

Britain's government and security officials must “up their game” to tackle the illegal use of drones at airports which brought chaos to London’s Gatwick airport in the run-up to Christmas, the UK’s most senior police officer said.

China’s Defence Ministry criticized outgoing U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis for his “false accusations” against China, but also offered praise for his efforts to promote Sino-U.S. military ties.

 

Two @Reuters journalists have been imprisoned in Myanmar for 381 days. See full coverage: reut.rs/2CBeSzC

5:22 AM - 27 Dec 2018

Business

Oil slips back toward 18-month lows on oversupply

Oil prices fell after rebounding 8 percent in the previous session, as worries over a glut in crude supply and concerns over a faltering global economy pressured prices even as a stock market rally offered support.

3 min read

Exclusive: Foxconn to begin assembling top-end Apple iPhones in India in 2019 - source

Apple will begin assembling its top-end iPhones in India through the local unit of Foxconn as early as 2019, the first time the Taiwanese contract manufacturer will have made the product in the country, according to a source familiar with the matter.

3 min read

Venezuela cocoa growers fear new pest: the government

Venezuela cocoa trader Freddy Galindo has battled highway robberies, kidnappings of family members and declining quality in his 19 years exporting the nation’s legendary beans. This year’s harvest brought a new worry: meddling by the socialist government.

6 Min Read

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