With the partial U.S. government shutdown now in its 26th day,House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has urged President Donald Trump to reschedule his State of the Union address - a move that could deny him the opportunity to use the pageantry of the speech to attack Democrats in their own chamber over the impasse. With Trump’s address set for Jan. 29, Pelosi wrote him a letter citing security concerns because the Secret Service has not received funding during the dispute.
Riven by crisis, UK searches for Brexit emergency 'plan B'.Prime Minister Theresa May will try on Thursday to break the impasse in Britain’s political elite over how to leave the European Union by searching for an emergency exit deal, though there is so far little sign of compromise. Opposition parties wrote to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to demand he now back a second referendum, which Labour has agreed should be considered if it cannot force a general election. If a referendum is held, a YouGov poll has found that the UK would vote to stay in the EU by a 12 percentage point margin.
“The caliphate has crumbled and ISIS has been defeated,”U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said hours after Americans were killed in a northern Syria bomb attack claimed by the militant group. President Trump made a surprise announcement on Dec. 19 that he would withdraw 2,000 U.S. troops from Syria after concluding that Islamic State had been defeated there. His decision led to the resignation of U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who cited policy differences with the president for his departure.
Commentary: Putin can't afford to ditch the dollar.The charges that former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort gave private polling data to an alleged Russian spy has increased pressure on Russia's President Vladimir Putin - and shown why he can't afford to ditch the U.S. dollar. "The possibility of further revelations of complicity between Russian intelligence and Trump associates augurs badly for any sanctions relief from Washington,” writes Steven E. Halliwell, former corporate finance head of Central and Eastern Europe for Citibank N.A. The question now is whether Putin will recognize that his political survival depends on accepting that Russia is part of global financial markets.
Concern over China’s economic outlook and possible U.S. tariffs on European cars dragged stocks lower on Thursday, while an anti-climactic end to the latest chapter in the Brexit saga offered sterling a moment’s peace.
Venture capital investments in cybersecurity firms hit a record high last year amid a surge in cyber crime over the last few years, according to a report released on Thursday by U.S.-based Strategic Cyber Ventures. Total venture capital funding in the space was up 20 percent from 2017.
China’s economy is expected to cool further this year as domestic demand weakens and exports are hit by U.S. tariffs, a Reuters poll showed on Thursday, reinforcing views Beijing will need to roll out more stimulus measures.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said in a monthly report its oil output fell by 751,000 barrels per day in December to 31.58 million bpd, the biggest month-on-month drop in almost two years. The reduction in December means that should OPEC fully implement the new Jan. 1 cut, it will avoid a surplus that could weaken prices.
