Politics

A new season for politics and politicians – Financial Times

Published

2 years ago

September 5, 2022

Hello and welcome to the working week,

First, thank you to Georgina for holding the Week Ahead fort while I took a break with my family on the North Norfolk coast — great for holidays, bad for house-hunters.

The long hot summer is drawing to a close. And while resolutions to the current economic and political strife appear a long way from resolution — the UK’s summer of discontent, for instance, is turning into an autumn of industrial unrest — we will enter a new season of leadership in the next seven days.

The UK’s Conservative party leadership election will (at last) be completed on Monday. Unless polling to data has been wildly inaccurate, Liz Truss will claim the prize and name a new cabinet. The FT will be providing full analysis of these events.

Sweden’s Magdalena Andersson is hoping to be reappointed as premier as her country goes to the polls on Sunday. Like both the outgoing and incoming British prime minister, Andersson rose to power in chaotic circumstances after her party had already governed the country for several years. Unlike the British PM, Andersson is more popular than her party and her rivals. This election, however, is much closer to call than that of the UK’s Conservative party vote.

US president Joe Biden will be out on the stump with November’s midterm elections very much on his mind. The week will end with reflection for the US as it passes the 21st anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

Another Conservative party leadership election will also finish this Saturday, in Canada. The contest — kick-started in February with the resignation of Conservative party leader Erin O’Toole — makes the British Tory leadership contest look a bit rushed. But Canada’s Conservatives have the luxury of taking their time because whoever wins will not be immediately running the country.

Thanks for your continued feedback and comments about items on The Week Ahead. Email me at jonathan.moules@ft.com or hit reply to The Week Ahead email — you can sign up for that here.

Looking slightly further ahead, there is still time to sign up for the FT’s Future of News digital conference on September 14. Register for your pass and join The New York Times, Forbes, DMGT, NBC News, BBC News and FT journalists for debate on the most effective means to survive and prosper in an increasingly competitive market.

Economic data

The week will begin with an Opec+ meeting. Saudi Arabia last month warned it could push for a cut in oil production if prices keep falling.

The European Central Bank’s monetary policy committee meets on Thursday. Last week’s drop in eurozone unemployment has fuelled speculation that the central bank will accelerate its tightening cycle to curb eurozone inflation with a 0.75 percentage point rise.

There are also inflation and trade figures from China, industrial production data from Germany, jobs figures from Canada and international service sector comparisons with the latest round of purchasing managers’ index data. The holiday season is officially over.

It is Labor Day on Monday which means the US markets will be closed.

Companies

Apple unveils its new iPhone range.

Among those expected to deliver some fairly positive news is Ashtead, the equipment hire group. Supply chain constraints and economic uncertainty have pushed companies to rent equipment from Ashtead rather than buy it, chief executive Brendan Horgan said in June.

This will be further enhanced by a pipeline of infrastructure projects about to take shape, according to Steve Woolf at investment bank Numis. “The medium-term outlook is supported by infrastructure spending, with a significant volume of large-scale projects due to break ground over the next 12 to 18 months,” he wrote.

Key economic and company reports

Monday

Austria, Opec+ meeting takes place in Vienna
China, eurozone, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK: Caixin/S&P Global/IHS Markit/Cips services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) data
EU, July retail sales figures
Switzerland, Q2 GDP figures
UK, Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders August vehicle registration figures.
Bank of England policymaker Catherine Mann gives a speech at the Money, Macro and Finance Society conference at the University of Kent.

Tuesday

Australia, monetary policy committee meeting
Chile, monetary policy committee meeting
France, Germany, UK, US: S&P Global construction PMI data
UK, Q2 mergers and acquisitions involving UK companies
Results: Ashtead Group Q1, Berkeley Group trading update, Cairn Energy H1, Salvatore Ferragamo H1

Wednesday

Apple launches the new iPhone range
Canada, interest rate announcement
China, monthly and quarterly trade figures
Germany, July industrial production figures
Italy, retail sales data
Poland, monetary policy council meeting
UK, Halifax monthly house price index
US, Federal Reserve’s latest Beige Book published plus consumer credit figures. Also, Federal Reserve vice-chair Michael Barr will discuss how to make the financial system safer and fairer at the Brookings Institution, his first public comments since taking the role.
Results: Barratt Developments FY, Halfords trading update, Tod’s H1, WHSmith trading update

Thursday

EU, the European Central Bank’s monetary policy meeting
France, July trade figures
Japan, Q2 GDP figures
OECD employment outlook
UK, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors monthly residential market survey plus Recruitment and Employment Confederation & KPMG monthly jobs report
US, monthly motor vehicle sales
Results: Darktrace FY, Funding Circle H1, Melrose Industries H1, The Restaurant Group H1

Friday

Canada, monthly unemployment figures
China, August consumer price index and producer price index figures
UK, Bank of England inflation attitudes survey
US, quarterly financial accounts
Results: Computacenter H1

World events

Monday

Italy, energy industry conference Gastech begins in Milan
Lebanon, vote by the parliament to decide the country’s next president for a term of six years
Russia, the country’s annual Eastern Economic Forum begins in Vladivostok
UK, new prime minister to be announced
UK, Criminal barristers in England and Wales begin indefinite strike action over fee levels for legal aid work
UK, a legal challenge to the government’s policy of sending migrants to Rwanda will be heard in the High Court. The hearing is expected to last five days.
UK, NHS staff in England will this week begin vaccinating care home residents and people who are housebound using the first Omicron-specific Covid booster
US, Labor Day national holiday

Tuesday

Belgium, the Annual Meetings event by the Bruegel institution begins with speakers including IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva
UK, Booker Prize shortlist announced
Swaziland, National Day commemorating independence from Britain

Wednesday

Netherlands, a Dutch government adviser publishes report on the prospects for building two new nuclear reactors as part of the country’s energy transition

Thursday

UK, Royal Mail workers begin two days of strikes in a dispute over pay
US, National Football League 103rd season begins

Friday

Tajikistan, Independence Day national holiday
US, President Joe Biden campaigns in Ohio ahead of November’s midterm elections

Saturday

China, the Mid-Autumn (or Moon) Festival public holiday
Monaco, the Les Rendez-Vous de Septembre conference, one of the insurance industry’s biggest gatherings, begins in Monte Carlo
Taiwan, Mid-Autumn (or Moon) Festival
UK, last night of the BBC Henry Wood Promenade Concerts aka The Proms
US, women’s singles final of the US Open Tennis Championship in New York

Sunday

Russia, regional and local elections
Spain, National Day celebrations in Catalonia, expected to coincide with pro-independence demonstrations
Sweden, general election for the Riksdag’s 349 MPs
US, 21st anniversary of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. Also, men’s singles final of the US Open Tennis Championship

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Politics

RFK Jr. says Trump would push to remove fluoride from drinking water. ‘It’s possible,’ Trump says

Published

20 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Anne Joseph

PHOENIX (AP) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent proponent of debunked public health claims whom Donald Trump has promised to put in charge of health initiatives, said Saturday that Trump would push to remove fluoride from drinking water on his first day in office if elected president.

Fluoride strengthens teeth and reduces cavities by replacing minerals lost during normal wear and tear, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The addition of low levels of fluoride to drinking water has long been considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the last century.

Kennedy made the declaration Saturday on the social media platform X alongside a variety of claims about the heath effects of fluoride.

“On January 20, the Trump White House will advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water,” Kennedy wrote. Trump and his wife, Melania Trump, “want to Make America Healthy Again,” he added, repeating a phrase Trump often uses and links to Kennedy.

Trump told NBC News on Sunday that he had not spoken to Kennedy about fluoride yet, “but it sounds OK to me. You know it’s possible.”

The former president declined to say whether he would seek a Cabinet role for Kennedy, a job that would require Senate confirmation, but added, “He’s going to have a big role in the administration.”

Asked whether banning certain vaccines would be on the table, Trump said he would talk to Kennedy and others about that. Trump described Kennedy as “a very talented guy and has strong views.”

The sudden and unexpected weekend social media post evoked the chaotic policymaking that defined Trump’s White House tenure, when he would issue policy declarations on Twitter at virtually all hours. It also underscored the concerns many experts have about Kennedy, who has long promoted debunked theories about vaccine safety, having influence over U.S. public health.

In 1950, federal officials endorsed water fluoridation to prevent tooth decay, and continued to promote it even after fluoride toothpaste brands hit the market several years later. Though fluoride can come from a number of sources, drinking water is the main source for Americans, researchers say.

Officials lowered their recommendation for drinking water fluoride levels in 2015 to address a tooth condition called fluorosis, that can cause splotches on teeth and was becoming more common in U.S. kids.

In August, a federal agency determined “with moderate confidence” that there is a link between higher levels of fluoride exposure and lower IQ in kids. The National Toxicology Program based its conclusion on studies involving fluoride levels at about twice the recommended limit for drinking water.

A federal judge later cited that study in ordering the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to further regulate fluoride in drinking water. U.S. District Judge Edward Chen cautioned that it’s not certain that the amount of fluoride typically added to water is causing lower IQ in kids, but he concluded that mounting research points to an unreasonable risk that it could be. He ordered the EPA to take steps to lower that risk, but didn’t say what those measures should be.

In his X post Saturday, Kennedy tagged Michael Connett, the lead attorney representing the plaintiff in that lawsuit, the environmental advocacy group Food & Water Watch.

Kennedy’s anti-vaccine organization has a lawsuit pending against news organizations including The Associated Press, accusing them of violating antitrust laws by taking action to identify misinformation, including about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines. Kennedy is on leave from the group but is listed as one of its attorneys in the lawsuit.

What role Kennedy might hold if Trump wins on Tuesday remains unclear. Kennedy recently told NewsNation that Trump asked him to “reorganize” agencies including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration and some agencies under the Department of Agriculture.

But for now, the former independent presidential candidate has become one of Trump’s top surrogates. Trump frequently mentions having the support of Kennedy, a scion of a Democratic dynasty and the son of former Attorney General Robert Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy.

Kennedy traveled with Trump Friday and spoke at his rallies in Michigan and Wisconsin.

Trump said Saturday that he told Kennedy: “You can work on food, you can work on anything you want” except oil policy.

“He wants health, he wants women’s health, he wants men’s health, he wants kids, he wants everything,” Trump added.

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Politics

Danielle Smith receives overwhelming support at United Conservative Party convention

Published

20 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Anne Joseph

Danielle Smith receives overwhelming support at United Conservative Party convention

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Politics

America’s Election: What it Means to Canadians

Published

3 days ago

November 2, 2024

Steven Kaszab

Americans and Canadians are cousins that is true. Allies today but long ago people were at loggerheads mostly because of the British Empire and American ambitions.

Canadians appreciate our cousins down south enough to visit them many millions of times over the year. America is Canada’s largest and most important trading partner. As a manufacturer, I can attest to this personally. My American clients have allowed our firm to grow and prosper over the past few decades. There is a problem we have been seeing, a problem where nationalism, both political and economic has been creating a roadblock to our trade relationship.

Both Democrats and Republicans have shown a willingness to play the “buy only American Made product” card, a sounding board for all things isolationist, nationalistic and small-mindedness. We all live on this small planet, and purchase items made from all over the world. Preferences as to what to buy and where it is made are personal choices, never should they become a platform of national pride and thuggery. This has brought fear into the hearts of many Canadians who manufacture for and service the American Economy in some way. This fear will be apparent when the election is over next week.

Canadians are not enemies of America, but allies and friends with a long tradition of supporting our cousins back when bad sh*t happens. We have had enough of the American claim that they want free trade, only to realize that they do so long as it is to their benefit. Tariffs, and undue regulations applied to exporters into America are applied, yet American industry complains when other nations do the very same to them. Seriously! Democrats have said they would place a preference upon doing business with American firms before foreign ones, and Republicans wish to tariff many foreign nations into oblivion. Rhetoric perhaps, but we need to take these threats seriously. As to you the repercussions that will come should America close its doors to us.

Tit for tat neighbors. Tariff for tariff, true selfish competition with no fear of the American Giant. Do you want to build homes in America? Over 33% of all wood comes from Canada. Tit for tat. Canada’s mineral wealth can be sold to others and place preference upon the highest bidder always. You know who will win there don’t you America, the deep-pocketed Chinese.

Reshaping our alliances with others. If America responds as has been threatened, Canadians will find ways to entertain themselves elsewhere. Imagine no Canadian dollars flowing into the Northern States, Florida or California? The Big Apple without its friendly Maple Syrup dip. Canadians will realize just how significant their spending is to America and use it to our benefit, not theirs.

Clearly we will know if you prefer Canadian friendship to Donald Trumps Bravado.

China, Saudi Arabia & Russia are not your friends in America. Canada, Japan, Taiwan the EU and many other nations most definitely are. Stop playing politics, and carry out business in an unethical fashion. Treat allies as they should be treated.

Steven Kaszab
Bradford, Ontario
skaszab@yahoo.ca