European shares fell modestly, Asian equities declined for the first day in three, and US equity futures were unchanged before the December U.S. nonfarm payrolls report. China’s offshore yuan fell the most in a year to pare a record weekly rally, while Mexico’s peso climbed after the central bank sold dollars. Oil was trading lower in early trading.
In the immediate aftermath of the failed Turkish "coup" of July 2016, the immediate concern to the US was not the fate of the Erdogan regime, but whether the US would maintain access to Incirlik Air Base, a strategic output for the US airforce, allowing it fast and easy access to most of the Middle East and part of Russia even in the immediate absence of an aircraft carrier.
Having warned U.S. President-elect Donald Trump yesterday, through Chinese state media, that he’ll be met with "big sticks" if he tries to ignite a trade war or further strain ties, China’s central government has reportedly "compiled possible countermeasures" against "well-known U.S. companies or ones that have large Chinese operations."
Unbeknownst to most Americans, the Central Valley of California is an agricultural powerhouse producing nearly 50% of all fruits and vegetables grown in the United States, including over 90% of popular items like almonds, carrots and table grapes. But producing all those fruits and vegetables is extremely labor intensive requiring up to nearly 500,000 laborers each year. The problem is that those jobs are extremely seasonal (see chart below) and extremely difficult requiring hours of back-breaking work in the 100-degree California sun.
John McCain is pushing real fake news as he once again accuses Russia of waging a war against the United States. The hawkish Republican Senator said that Russia’s alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential election amounted to an “act of war.” Press TV reports: “If you try to destroy the fundamentals of democracy, then you have destroyed a nation,” said McCain, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “I’m not saying it’s an atomic attack. I’m just saying that when you attack a nation’s fundamental structure, which they are doing, then it’s an act of war,” he continued.