Aurelia Butler

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Democratic chair of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee and a prominent Democratic congressman asked the U.S. attorney general on Thursday to appoint a special counsel to investigate whether Jared Kushner, former President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, was functioning as an unregistered foreign agent for Saudi Arabia, according to a letter from the lawmakers. The letter from U.S. Senator Ron Wyden and U.S. Representative Jamie Raskin cited an Oct. 4 Reuters report that revealed that Kushner on multiple occasions had discussed U.S.-Saudi diplomacy concerning Israel with Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, since leaving government.”This revelation is deeply disturbing, as Mr. Kushner appears to be influencing U.S. foreign policy by acting as a political consultant to the Saudi government while also accepting their money,” Wyden and Raskin wrote in the eight-page letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland. The letter has not been previously reported.”Mr. Kushner’s proximity to President Trump and the potential for political interference warrants the appointment of a Special Counsel,” the letter added.Saudi Arabia has invested $2 billion into a private equity fund, Affinity Partners, that Kushner, who was a top adviser on the Middle East during Trump’s administration, founded in 2021 after leaving government, according to congressional investigators.In a statement, Kushner said, “There is no conflict of interest.” He dismissed the letter as “silly political stunts” and said it was “beneath the level of seriousness that both of their chambers deserve.”Chad Mizelle, Chief Legal Officer at Affinity Partners, called the request for a Special Counsel “a disgraceful attempt by Wyden and Raskin to turn an already weaponized DOJ into a fully political operation with accusations that have no merit or evidence.”The Department of Justice acknowledged receipt of the letter but declined further comment. The Saudi Arabian embassy did not immediately respond to requests for comment.Saudi Arabia’s investments in Kushner’s fund have been criticized by ethics experts, Democrats in Congress and some Republicans, who have expressed concern that Saudi Arabia’s stake can look like a payoff since Kushner worked on Saudi issues before leaving Trump’s White House.”There is substantial reason to believe,” the letter wrote, “that the Saudi government’s decision to engage Affinity for investment advice is a fig leaf for funneling money directly to Mr. Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump.” Affinity and Kushner have previously denied that Saudi Arabia’s investments are a payoff or a conflict of interest. Affinity has said Wyden and his Senate staff do not understand the realities of private equity.The letter comes less than two weeks before the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election between Trump, a Republican, and Democrat Kamala Harris. Special counsel investigations have more political independence than prosecutions run by Justice Department attorneys, though special counsels can be fired by the Attorney General.During his time as Trump’s special advisor, Kushner engineered the Abraham Accords, a series of agreements in which Islamic nations established diplomatic ties with Israel in exchange for concessions by the United States. Saudi Arabia never signed on but the Biden Administration has tried to encourage the kingdom to normalize relations with Israel, an effort that appeared to stall amid the Gaza conflict.The Oct. 4 Reuters report, quoting a source familiar with the discussions, said Kushner’s talks with Saudi Arabia’s crown prince included the process of normalizing relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. The source did not identify when the talks took place and whether they occurred before or after the start of the Gaza conflict.The U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act, or FARA, requires agents of foreign interests who engage in political activity to register with the Department of Justice.Wyden is the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and has been investigating investments by Saudi Arabia and other countries in Kushner’s funds since June. Raskin is the ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability.(Alexandra Ulmer reported from San Francisco. Editing by Jason Szep) More

“Equities, as a real asset, are the most effective hedge against inflation and thus from an asset allocation point of view an essential overweight for those fearing inflation risks during a second Trump presidency,” JPMorgan analysts said in a note.The odds of a total sweep by Republicans in the Nov. 5 election have moved closer to 50% in the Polymarket prediction market.History shows that during periods of macro certainty and stability, the return on equities remain stable and show low sensitivity to even “large swings in interest rates,” the analysts said.”Since 1996, the equity yield of the S&P500 has been hovering between 6% and 8% even as bond and cash yields trended lower for more than two decades approaching zero by March 2020,” they added.In contrast, during the period of high macro or policy uncertainty seen between 1967 and 1981, “the equity yield of the S&P500 exhibited high sensitivity to interest rates.”The note comes as recent polls show Trump narrowing the gap with Harris in key battleground states, increasing the possibility of a Republican victory in both the White House and Congress, a so-called Republican sweep.But the rising prospect of a Trump win is at the same time “raising fears among investors that inflation will reemerge as a problem at some point in late 2025 or 2026 amid a combination of looser fiscal policy and potential for supply chain disruptions,” the analysts said.Looking at the red-hot inflationary period from mid-2020 to mid-2023, which was aided by huge fiscal stimulus and supply disruptions, may provide some clues on how investors could position for a similar scenario. Mostly equities, energy as well as industrial metals among commodities managed “to beat inflation,” the analysts said, while “bonds in general underperformed inflation and that was also true with gold.” More

(Reuters) – A look at the day ahead in Asian markets. A day of general calm across world markets on Thursday that saw the dollar and U.S. bond yields soften and stocks consolidate bodes well for markets in Asia on Friday as attention focuses on political and economic events in Japan. Voters go to the polls in Sunday’s general election, and several recent polls suggest the ruling coalition could lose its parliamentary majority. From a market perspective, this could deprive the Bank of Japan the political stability needed to steer a smooth liftoff from near-zero interest rates. Tokyo consumer inflation, a leading indicator of nationwide price trends and the main highlight of Asia’s economic calendar on Friday, could also give the BOJ food for thought ahead of its policy meeting next week.Inflation in Tokyo likely undershot the central bank’s price target for the first time in five months, according to a Reuters poll, coming in at an annual rate of 1.7%. That would follow a 2.0% rise in September and mark the first time the data misses the BOJ’s 2% target since May.A senior International Monetary Fund official on Thursday said any further rate hikes in Japan should be conducted at a “gradual pace,” noting that BOJ moves could impact financial markets of other countries where Japanese investors hold large positions.Krishna Srinivasan, the director of the IMF’s Asia and Pacific Department, also said that most Asian central banks have room to cut rates, as the start of the U.S. easing cycle reduces fears of an unwelcome weakening of their currencies.What’s more, risks to Asia’s economic outlook are tilted to the downside, he added.The Japanese yen recovered some ground on Thursday, clocking its biggest rise in a month and pushing the dollar down to 151.50 yen from Wednesday’s three-month high above 153.00. The yen’s recent weakness, however, has lured overseas investors into Japanese markets. Figures on Thursday showed that foreigners bought Japanese stocks for a fourth straight week through Oct. 19, although caution ahead of Sunday’s election and upcoming corporate earnings releases tempered the inflows.Despite the modest reversal on Thursday, the spike in the dollar and U.S. bond yields recently to three-month highs has helped put Asian stocks on course for a third consecutive weekly loss. Nor have the yen’s recent weakness and foreign investor inflow prevented Japanese stocks from losing ground, and the Nikkei goes into Friday’s session down more than 2% so far this week.Elsewhere, industrial production figures from Singapore are expected to show a sharp slowdown in September from unusually strong activity in August. Economists expect year-on-year growth of 3.5%, down from 21%, which was fastest since 2021 and one of the strongest of the past 15 years.Here are key developments that could provide more direction to markets on Friday:- Tokyo CPI inflation (October)- Japan services PPI inflation (September)- Singapore industrial production (September) More

TORONTO (Reuters) -Canada’s immigration cuts, meant to ease strained housing and social services, could hurt the country’s labor pool, some industry groups said on Thursday.While Canada has long prided itself as a place that welcomes new immigrants, public opinion in the country has recently soured on immigration, which has been blamed for reducing housing affordability.Canada is set to bring in 395,000 new permanent residents in 2025, 380,000 in 2026 and 365,000 in 2027, down from 485,000 in 2024, in the first multi-year reduction since Ottawa started laying out multi-year immigration levels in 2018. Canada had planned to bring in 500,000 next year and the same amount in 2027.Diana Palmerin-Velasco, senior director of the Future of Work with Canada’s Chamber of Commerce, expressed concern about the changes.”I think we were able to officially avoid a recession because of immigration,” she said.”There’s concern in the business community about the message that we are sending. You know, if we want more foreign investment, we need to have the people.”Canada is also reducing the number of temporary residents by hundreds of thousands a year. The government hopes that more than 1 million people whose visas are set to expire in the coming years will leave of their own accord.Small business owners’ heads are “spinning” from the change, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business said in a statement.”CFIB is already receiving panicked calls from small business owners, including many who are heartbroken to have to say goodbye to their foreign workers who are already in Canada and whose visas are soon to expire.”Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed the cuts earlier in the day, saying his government had gone too far in seeking to address post-pandemic labor shortages.”We are acting today because in the tumultuous times as we emerged from the pandemic, between addressing labor needs and maintaining population growth, we didn’t get the balance quite right,” Trudeau told reporters. Opinion polls show a growing number of Canadians think Canada is bringing in too many immigrants. The federal Liberal government, trailing in polls ahead of an election that must be held by October 2025, has sought to clamp down on immigration. The measures are expected to result in a population decline of 0.2% in both 2025 and 2026 before returning to growth in 2027, the government said.Cam Dahl, general manager of the Manitoba Pork Council, said he hopes there is room for regional variation.”What’s good policy for Vancouver and Toronto is not going to be good policy for Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes or Brandon or Neepawa,” he said, referring to three Manitoba communities.On hog farms, in trucking, in slaughter and processing plants, Dahl said, “new Canadians are absolutely essential.”The immigration cuts are expected to reduce Canada’s housing supply gap by about 670,000 units by the end of 2027, according to the government.In a note on Thursday, analysts at BMO bank said the move “will take stress off the economy and infrastructure that has become almost debilitating in recent years.”The cuts to permanent residents make sense, said Mike Moffat, senior director of the Smart Prosperity Institute, a research network based at the University of Ottawa.There may be an impact on the labor market, likely in the realm of entry-level jobs, he said. But there is also a danger cutting immigration could hit such key workforces as healthcare.”The government will have to make sure that there’s still robust pathways, particularly in the healthcare sector, because we could see shortages there otherwise,” Moffatt said. More

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