Moments ago, all three main US FX pairs, the yen, euro and yuan snapped higher, following a CNBC report according to which the Trump administration is studying ways to penalize countries whose currencies it believes are undervalued. CNBC cited two unidentified people with direct knowledge of the review who work within the administration.
It appears negotiations between the Trump/Ryan camps and the conservative Freedom Caucus over Obamacare repeal have not only gone nowhere but are back to square one, or perhaps zero, because moments ago Donald Trump, who had taken a modest sabbatical from his favorite social network, lashed out on Twitter against the conservative group that scuttled last Friday's repeal vote, saying "The Freedom Caucus will hurt the entire Republican agenda if they don't get on the team, & fast. We must fight them, & Dems, in 2018!"
Confirming recurring rumors from the past month, overnight both China's Foreign Ministry and the White House confirmed that China's president Xi Jinping will meet with President Trump at Mar-a-Lago in Florida on April 6-7. It will be Xi's first meeting with Trump, a little over a month after Trump used the same venue to meet with Japan's PM Abe, and comes at a time when the two sides face pressing issues, ranging from North Korea and the South China Sea to trade disputes.
With House Republicans said to make another push to pass Obamacare, perhaps as soon as next week according to a Bloomberg report, some have speculated whether Trump will engage democrats this time to assure at least a few votes from across the aisle. Overnight, however, House Speaker Paul Ryan poured cold water on the idea, saying he does not want President Donald Trump to work with Democrats on overhauling Obamacare.
Authored by Peter Korzun via The Strategic Culture Foundation,
The significance of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s visit to Russia on March 27-28 goes far beyond the bilateral relationship. Iran is one of the main actors in Syria and Iraq. It has an importance place in the geopolitical plans of US President Donald Trump. Its relationship with Russia is an important factor of international politics. The future of the entire Middle East depends to a great extent on what Russia and Iran do and how effectively they coordinate their activities.