Monday Morning Briefing: Trump's top choice for chief of staff not taking job

Highlights

Nick Ayers, Donald Trump’s top choice to be his next chief of staff, is no longer in the running and the U.S. president is now considering at least two other candidates, sources familiar with the matter, the latest sign of a chaotic White House staff shake-up.

President Trump could face impeachment and jail time if hush money payments reported by his former lawyer are proven to be campaign finance violations, Democratic lawmakers said.

About 250,000 people in the U.S. southeast were without power and hundreds of flights were canceled after a storm dumped 20 inches of snow and left one motorist dead.

Tokyo prosecutors indicted ousted Nissan Motor chairman Carlos Ghosn for under-reporting his income and also officially charged the automaker, making the firm culpable for the financial misconduct scandal that has shocked the industry.

 

Trump backs $750 billion defense budget request to Congress: official https://reut.rs/2QkVwqK

12:35 AM - Dec 10, 2018

Brexit

British Prime Minister Theresa May is due to make a decision on whether to delay a parliamentary vote on her Brexit deal set for Tuesday, British political correspondents said.

“We have an agreement on the table,” a spokeswoman for the European Commission told reporters, recalling a position expressed by President Jean-Claude Juncker. The European Union’s executive said it would not renegotiate its Brexit agreement sealed with British Prime Minister Theresa May. While the European Union's top court ruled that the British government may unilaterally reverse its decision to leave the bloc, without consulting the other member states.

Commentary: Columnist John Lloyd writes, If Britain’s “Remainers” succeed in their plan for a second referendum on Brexit, “the outcome could be a fast track to a phenomenon the UK has so far avoided – the creation of a large, angry populist party, probably of the right.” Paul Wallace, a former European economics editor and author of "The Euro Experiment." writes that Theresa May has been stomping the length and breadth of the United Kingdom to make the case that her Brexit deal with the European Union is the only way to bring a divided country together. But the prime minister’s claim ignores the real grievance of Leavers.

World

French President Emmanuel Macron will address the country as he seeks to placate “yellow vest” anti-government protesters who wreaked havoc in Paris this weekend.

Presidential elections in Democratic Republic of Congo this month could lead to conflict if they are not free, fair and peaceful and indications show that they will not be, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Denis Mukwege said.

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has come under fire for tweets about his meditation retreat in Myanmar and encouraging people to visit the country without mentioning what the United Nations has described as “ethnic cleansing” of the Rohingya Muslim minority. Two Reuters journalists have been imprisoned in Myanmar. See full coverage.

Business

The next worry for U.S. stocks: shrinking profit forecasts

The growing ranks of stock market Eeyores now have another reason to stay glum: Next year’s profit picture is darkening fast. Corporate earnings forecasts are eroding as the tailwind from the tax cut fades and as investors worry the U.S.-China trade dispute could upend global commerce more than it already has.

6 min read

Onset of recession may take longer than expected after yield curve inverts

The onset of a U.S. recession could take longer than usually thought after key points of the Treasury yield curve invert, as a surge in U.S. short-dated debt issuance has altered the dynamics of the Treasury market and other indicators show an economic downturn is farther off.

5 min read

Huawei CFO bail hearing to resume in Canada as Beijing piles pressure

The CFO of Chinese telecom giant Huawei Technologies is set to be back in a Canadian courtroom, fighting for her freedom with the help of pressure from Beijing, while prosecutors argue she cannot be trusted.

3 Min Read

SoftBank's record IPO reaches $23.5 billion after extra share sale

SoftBank Group is set to raise 2.65 trillion yen ($23.5 billion) in Japan’s biggest-ever IPO - a share sale widely regarded as finalizing the group’s transition from domestic telco to a monolithic global tech investor.

4 min read

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