Month: January 2021

Stock futures held steady in early morning trade on Wednesday as investors waited for President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, CNBC informed. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were just 3 points higher. S&P 500 futures […]

Yellen-Backed Policies Set to Aid Risk Assets, Raise Longer-Term Worries

Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen’s unequivocal support for a pandemic rescue plan cuts both ways for investors, fueling optimism that the rally in risk assets will continue while bolstering concerns over a massive runup in […]

Biden Leads Observance of America’s 400,000 COVID-19 Dead on Eve of Inauguration

President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday led a national memorial observance on the eve of his inauguration to honor the 400,000 Americans who have perished from COVID-19 during the 11 months since the novel coronavirus claimed […]

Trump Pardons Ex-Aide Bannon but Not Himself or Family

President Donald Trump granted clemency to former White House aide Steve Bannon as part of a wave of pardons and commutations issued in his final hours in office, but did not pardon himself, members of […]

Biden’s Global Leadership Ambitions Complicated by U.S. Capitol Riot

When followers of President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol two weeks ago, countries with questionable democratic track records seemed to relish the chance to denounce the United States, Reuters informed. “Yesterday’s events showed that […]

Joe Biden's social spending bill approved by House Dems

Biden to Assume U.S. Presidency Amid Deep Division and Raging Pandemic

Democrat Joe Biden will be sworn in as the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday, assuming the helm of a country beset by deep political divides and battered by a raging coronavirus pandemic, […]

Iran’s Rouhani Says “Ball in U.S. Court” Over Nuclear Dispute

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani urged the incoming U.S. administration on Wednesday to return to a 2015 nuclear agreement and lift sanctions on Tehran, while welcoming the end of “tyrant” President Donald Trump’s era, Reuters informed. […]

Biden Administration Teases Small Taste of Immigration Plan

Vice President-elect Kamala Harris gave a tease of the incoming Biden administration’s sweeping immigration plan during an interview with Univision’s Ilia Calderón, Fox News informed. Harris said the administration plans to create “greater efficiencies” to streamline the […]

Clinton Suggests Putin May Have Known about Riot in Capitol

Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state, spoke with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on her podcast about the riot at the U.S. Capitol earlier this month and hinted that Russian President Vladimir Putin may have been […]

Barr ‘Not Surprised’ to See Violence at Capitol, Says it Cannot Be Tolerated

William Barr, the former U.S. attorney general, said in an interview that aired Monday that he was not surprised to see “the kind of violence” that occurred at the Capitol earlier this month, and said questions […]

Pelosi Urges Pentagon to Block ‘Trump Loyalist’ from National Security Role before Biden’s Inauguration

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is calling on the acting defense secretary to “immediately cease” plans to install so-called “Trump loyalist” Michael Ellis as the new general counsel for the National Security Agency (NSA) just days […]

Biden Picks Transgender Woman as Assistant Health Secretary

President-elect Joe Biden has tapped Pennsylvania Health Secretary Rachel Levine to be his assistant secretary of health, leaving her poised to become the first openly transgender federal official to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate, […]

Kamala Harris Could Preside over Trump Impeachment Trial If John Roberts Doesn’t

One of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’ first tasks in her new job could be to preside over an impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, Fox News informed. Politico reported on Tuesday that Chief Justice John Roberts […]

Wyoming Republicans Censure Cheney over Trump Impeachment Vote

Wyoming’s Carbon County Republican Party voted unanimously to censure Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., for voting with nine other House Republicans to impeach President Donald Trump on charges of “incitement of an insurrection,” Fox News informed. That censure resolution has been submitted to […]

Democrats Who Opposed Waiver Letting Mattis Serve as Defense Secretary Now Want One for Biden Pick

President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee for secretary of defense, retired Gen. Lloyd Austin, will sit for his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, but he will have to clear one more hurdle […]

Saudi Arabia Says It Executed 27 People in 2020, the Lowest Number in Years, Rights Groups Say

Saudi Arabia said Monday that 27 people were executed in the kingdom last year, the lowest number since at least 2013, according to two human rights organizations that track the use of the death penalty […]

Saudi Arabia Launches $270mn Company to Develop the Holy Sites

A $270 million company to develop Saudi Arabia’s holy sites has been launched, Arab News reported. Kidana will be headquartered in Mina and is the first closed joint-stock company owned by the Royal Commission for […]

Oil Companies, Aid Groups Plan to Press Biden to Allow Venezuela Fuel Swaps

Representatives of fuel suppliers to Venezuela, importers of Venezuelan oil and advocacy groups said this month they plan to press the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden to reverse a ban on crude-for-diesel swaps, […]

Global Stocks Waver as COVID-19 Fears Trump Recovery Hopes

Global stock markets wavered on Monday as soaring COVID-19 cases offset investor hopes of a quick economic recovery, even after data showing that the Chinese economy rebounded faster-than-expected in the fourth quarter of 2020, Reuters […]

January 18, 2021 John Ganjei

LUNCHTIME POLITICS: Remove Trump? – Trump on the Issues – Election Legitimacy

Your Daily Polling Update for Monday, January 18, 2021 TRUMP JOB APPROVAL: AVERAGE 38%Down 1 from Friday RON’S COMMENT: Over the weekend, the Pew poll showing Trump with a 29% approval rating has received a lot of […]

China Economy Grows in 2020 as Rebound From Virus Gains

China eked out 2.3% economic growth in 2020, likely becoming the only major economy to expand as shops and factories reopened relatively early from a shutdown to fight the coronavirus while the United States, Japan […]

Biden CDC Pick Confident There’s Enough COVID Vaccine to Meet Target Amid Confusion Over Stockpile

President-elect Joe Biden’s top health officials are confident the United States will have enough coronavirus vaccine doses to meet the incoming administration’s goal of inoculating 100 million people in 100 days despite a slower-than-expected rollout […]

Biden Heads Into Inauguration With a Stock Market Tailwind

President-elect Joe Biden moves into the White House in the coming week with the biggest stock market tailwind since a presidential Election Day going back to at least 1952, CNBC informed. According to CFRA data […]

US and China will meet for the first time at a high level since Russia's attack on Ukraine as Biden tries to get Beijing's help with the war.

China to Sanction U.S. Officials for ‘Nasty Behaviour’ Over Taiwan

U.S. officials who have engaged in “nasty behaviour” over Chinese-claimed Taiwan will face sanctions, China’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday, after Washington lifted curbs on exchanges between U.S. and Taiwanese officials, Reuters reported. Sino-U.S. ties […]

West Tells Russia to Free Kremlin Critic Alexei Navalny, Moscow Pushes Back

Western nations told Russia to immediately free detained Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny on Monday, a day after he was detained at a Moscow airport after flying home for the first time since he was poisoned […]

Pro-Trump Protests Quiet Amid Massive Police Presence Across U.S.

Law enforcement officers far outnumbered protesters at state capitol grounds on Sunday, as few Trump supporters who believe the president’s false claim that he won the 2020 election turned out for what authorities feared could […]

Trump Admin Slams China’s Huawei, Halting Shipments From Intel, Others

The Trump administration notified Huawei suppliers, including chipmaker Intel, that it is revoking certain licenses to sell to the Chinese company and intends to reject dozens of other applications to supply the telecommunications firm, people […]

Biden May Cancel Keystone XL Pipeline Permit as Soon as His First Day in Office

U.S. President-elect Joe Biden is planning to cancel the permit for the $9 billion Keystone XL pipeline project as one of his first acts in office, and perhaps as soon as his first day, according […]

January 17, 2021 Focus Washington

Democratic Governors Accuse Trump Administration of Misleading Them About Vaccine Stockpile

Several Democratic governors are criticizing the Trump administration for apparently misleading public health officials about holding a stockpile of Covid-19 vaccines in reserve, CNBC reported. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said on Tuesday […]

January 17, 2021 Focus Washington

Facebook to Ban Ads Promoting Weapon Accessories, Protective Gear in U.s.

Facebook Inc said on Saturday it will ban advertisements for weapon accessories and protective equipment in the United States with immediate effect until at least two days after U.S. President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Jan. […]