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highlights
North Korea has sent a letter to Australia’s parliament, warning it is a nuclear power and will not be cowed by US President Donald Trump’s threats to destroy it, according to a copy of the letter published in an Australian newspaper on Friday. “If Trump thinks that he would bring the DPRK, a nuclear power, to its knees through nuclear war threat, it will be a big miscalculation and an expression of ignorance,” said a facsimile of the letter, published by the Sydney Morning Herald and verified by Australia’s foreign ministry. “Trump threatened to totally destroy the DPRK ... it is an extreme act of threatening to totally destroy the whole world.” A spokeswoman for Australia’s Foreign Minister told Reuters the Herald report was accurate and the paper’s copy of the letter, dated September 28, was genuine. (Picture courtesy: CNBC)
Pyongyang's ongoing nuclear aggression may potentially result in South Korea and Japan hosting nuclear weapons on their own turf, a scenario that would have wide-ranging negative consequences, Singapore's leader has warned. "What's different this time is that North Korea has more nuclear weapons ... so the risks are higher," Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in an interview with CNBC. The current North Korea tensions carry long-term consequences for the region, he warned, adding that if South Korea and Japan acquire nuclear weapons as protection against a potential attack, Asia's security balance will change.
The US Senate voted on Thursday to approve a budget blueprint for the 2018 fiscal year that will pave the way for Republicans to pursue a tax-cut package without Democratic support. By a 51-to-49 vote, the Republican-controlled Senate approved the budget measure, which would add up to $1.5 trillion to the federal deficit over the next decade in order to pay for proposed tax cuts.
US President Donald Trump risks driving Iran towards nuclear proliferation and worsening a standoff with North Korea if Washington ends a nuclear deal with Iran, former Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday. Kerry, who negotiated the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, was speaking a week after Trump refused to certify that Tehran was in compliance, amid growing tensions with Pyongyang over its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, reports Reuters. “If you want to negotiate with (North Korean leader) Kim Jong Un, and your goal is to avoid war and try to be able to have a diplomatic resolution, the worst thing you can do is first threaten to destroy his country in the United Nations,” Kerry said.
North Korea has sent a letter to Australia’s parliament, warning it is a nuclear power and will not be cowed by US President Donald Trump’s threats to destroy it, according to a copy of the letter published in an Australian newspaper on Friday. “If Trump thinks that he would bring the DPRK, a nuclear power, to its knees through nuclear war threat, it will be a big miscalculation and an expression of ignorance,” said a facsimile of the letter, published by the Sydney Morning Herald and verified by Australia’s foreign ministry. “Trump threatened to totally destroy the DPRK ... it is an extreme act of threatening to totally destroy the whole world.” A spokeswoman for Australia’s Foreign Minister told Reuters the Herald report was accurate and the paper’s copy of the letter, dated September 28, was genuine. (Picture courtesy: CNBC)
European markets on Thursday finished lower with shares in Germany leading the region. The DAX is down 0.41% while France's CAC 40 is off 0.29% and London's FTSE 100 is lower by 0.26%.
Pyongyang's ongoing nuclear aggression may potentially result in South Korea and Japan hosting nuclear weapons on their own turf, a scenario that would have wide-ranging negative consequences, Singapore's leader has warned. "What's different this time is that North Korea has more nuclear weapons ... so the risks are higher," Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in an interview with CNBC. The current North Korea tensions carry long-term consequences for the region, he warned, adding that if South Korea and Japan acquire nuclear weapons as protection against a potential attack, Asia's security balance will change.
Gold prices on Friday held onto most of their gains from the previous session as the dollar sagged after a report that US President Donald Trump was leaning toward a less hawkish candidate as the next chair of the Federal Reserve. Demand for gold jumped in India this week on account of Dhanteras and Diwali, but high prices took some sheen off the yellow metal’s lure during the key festival period this year.
Oil markets edged up on Friday, recovering some of the previous day’s losses, as analysts pointed to signs of a tightening market.
The US Senate voted on Thursday to approve a budget blueprint for the 2018 fiscal year that will pave the way for Republicans to pursue a tax-cut package without Democratic support. By a 51-to-49 vote, the Republican-controlled Senate approved the budget measure, which would add up to $1.5 trillion to the federal deficit over the next decade in order to pay for proposed tax cuts.
The Trump administration is considering tightening the vetting process for women and children seeking to enter the United States as refugees, a proposal that if adopted would bring security checks closer to those for adult men, reports Reuters. The plan could slow down refugee admissions even after the end of a 120-day ban on most refugees instituted by the Trump administration while it reviews vetting procedures. The vetting review is set to end on October 24.
US President Donald Trump risks driving Iran towards nuclear proliferation and worsening a standoff with North Korea if Washington ends a nuclear deal with Iran, former Secretary of State John Kerry said on Thursday. Kerry, who negotiated the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, was speaking a week after Trump refused to certify that Tehran was in compliance, amid growing tensions with Pyongyang over its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, reports Reuters. “If you want to negotiate with (North Korean leader) Kim Jong Un, and your goal is to avoid war and try to be able to have a diplomatic resolution, the worst thing you can do is first threaten to destroy his country in the United Nations,” Kerry said.
A senior White House aide said on Thursday that US President Donald Trump would demand steps toward repealing Obamacare in any healthcare legislation, comments that cast doubt on the prospects for a short-term bill to shore up insurance markets. Marc Short, the White House’s top liaison to Congress, told CNN that Obamacare’s mandates and taxes would have to be rolled back and consumers be allowed to more heavily invest in health-savings accounts for Trump to sign off on any congressional deal. “We’re willing to work on this but we need to make sure that we’re getting something that will actually reduce healthcare costs,” Short said.
President Donald Trump’s drive to overhaul the US tax code headed for a pivotal moment on Thursday, with Senate Republicans poised to approve a budget measure that would help them pass tax legislation without Democratic support, reports Reuters. The Senate and the House of Representatives must agree on a fiscal year 2018 budget resolution for Republicans to meet their goal of enacting a tax bill and sending it to Trump for his signature by the end of this year.
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits dropped to its lowest level in more than 44-1/2 years last week, pointing to a rebound in job growth after a hurricane-related decline in employment in September. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 22,000 to a seasonally adjusted 222,000 for the week ended October 14, the lowest level since March 1973, the Labour Department said. But the decrease in claims, which was the largest since April, was probably exaggerated by the Columbus Day holiday on Monday. Claims are declining as the impact of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma washes out of the data.
US President Donald Trump has concluded interviews with the five candidates he is considering to chair the Federal Reserve and could announce a decision as early as next week, reports Reuters. Trump met with current Fed chair Janet Yellen on Thursday. That meeting “went well,” a source said, adding that Trump had not made up his mind one way or the other about his list. Other contenders to lead the US central bank are top Trump economic adviser Gary Cohn, Fed Board Governor Jerome Powell, former Fed governor Kevin Warsh and Stanford University economics professor John Taylor. (Also see: Short profiles of the candidates)
The Dow and S&P 500 eked out record closing highs on Thursday, turning higher at the last minute after a Politico report that Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell is the leading candidate for the nominee for Fed chair. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 5.44 points, or 0.02%, to end at 23,163.04, the S&P 500 gained 0.84 point, or 0.03%, to 2,562.1 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 19.15 points, or 0.29%, to 6,605.07.
Asian shares inched slightly higher on Friday, but grappled for firmer leads as speculation about who the next US central bank chief will be kept global investors wary. Japan's Nikkei slipped 0.3%, still on track for a robust weekly gain of 1.1%. The Nikkei logged its 13th winning session on Thursday, its longest such streak since 1988.