Thursday Morning Briefing: Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students confront lawmakers
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February 22, 2018
Reuters News Now
Highlights
“Nikolas Cruz was able to purchase an assault rifle before he was able to buy a beer,”said Stoneman Douglas student Laurenzo Prado, referring to a Florida law that allows people as young as 18 to buy assault weapons. Students galvanized by the deadly mass shooting at the Florida high school confronted lawmakers with demands to restrict sales of assault rifles, while President Donald Trump suggested arming teachers as a way to stop more U.S. rampages.
Commentary:North Korea’s participation in the 2018 Winter Olympics has created an opening for renewed dialogue with the United States and South Korea, writes Peter Apps. “By taking part so visibly alongside South Korea, Pyongyang has been able to present itself as a credible global and regional power in a way that has eluded North Korean leaders since the war that divided the peninsula. The real strategic winner, however, is the South Korean government, which has shrewdly used the games to reshape the diplomatic landscape.”
Last March, executives at General Electric's power-plant business gave Wall Street a surprisingly bullish forecast for the year. Despite flat demand for new natural gas power plants, they said, GE Power’s revenue and profit would rise. But GE’s forecast turned out to be a mirage.
Mexican buyers imported ten times more corn from Brazil last year amid concern that NAFTA renegotiations could disrupt their U.S. supplies, according to government data and top grains merchants.
Warren Buffett may use part of his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, due on Saturday, to renew his optimism about America, at a time economic growth is on the upswing and U.S. stocks sit near record highs despite rising interest rates.
World stocks tumbled to one-week lows after the U.S. Fed confirmed it was on track to raise interest rates several times this year, sending bond yields to new multi-year highs.
