Thursday Morning Briefing: Lawmakers to quiz eavesdropping U.S. embassy official in Trump impeachment inquirySubject line

Top Stories

Lawmakers will question an official from the U.S. embassy in Ukraine on Thursday as they seek to learn more about a phone call in which he says he overheard President Donald Trump ask about the status of an “investigation” into a political rival. On Wednesday U.S. Ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland, said “everyone was in the loop” about pushing Ukraine to carry out two probes that could aid Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign.

Democratic White House contenders united in supporting the impeachment inquiry against Republican President Donald Trump at a debate on Wednesday that featured differences on policy details but few of the bitter attacks on one another that marked earlier encounters.

China will strive to reach an initial trade agreement with the United States as both sides keep communication channels open, the Chinese commerce ministry said on Thursday, in an attempt to allay fears talks might be unraveling.

The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed two bills to back protesters in Hong Kong and send a warning to China about human rights, with President Donald Trump expected to sign them into law, despite delicate trade talks with Beijing.

World

Fewer than 100 protesters remained holed up in a Hong Kong university on Thursday as riot police encircled the campus, with some activists desperately searching for ways to escape while others hid.

Israel moved closer toward holding a third election in less than a year, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s main challenger failed to form a government. Meanwhile at the United Nations the U.S. faced strong opposition to its shift on Israeli settlements.

'Radical and ambitious': Britain's Labour to unveil election platform. Jeremy Corbyn will unveil his opposition party’s election manifesto on Thursday, setting out how in government he wants to transform Britain with “the most radical and ambitious plan” in decades.

The Pentagon on Thursday denied a South Korean news report saying that the United States was considering a significant cut to its troop numbers in South Korea if Seoul does not contribute more to the costs of the deployment.

Business

Alibaba, Aramco share sale bonanza fails to produce fee windfall for banks

A late-year rush of giant global share sales led by Alibaba’s $13 billion Hong Kong listing and Aramco’s $26 billion initial public offering is failing to deliver an equivalent payday for equities bankers.

5 min read

GM lawsuit won't torpedo Fiat Chrysler merger with Peugeot

Fiat Chrysler’s planned $50 billion merger with Peugeot owner PSA Group will not be blown off course by a shock lawsuit against FCA from General Motors, a source close to FCA said on Thursday.

3 min read

BMW orders more than 10 billion euros' worth of battery cells

German carmaker BMW on Thursday said it had ordered more than $11.07 billion worth of battery cells from Chinese battery cell maker Contemporary Amperex Technology and Samsung SDI. BMW plans to have 25 electrified models in its offering by 2023, with more than half of them fully electric.

2 min read

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