Newsletter Jan 10, 2024

Quick Six

Senior Chinese official calls for greater cooperation with US
A senior Chinese official said Tuesday that Beijing did not seek to reshape the global order and sought greater US cooperation, in the latest departure from hawkish rhetoric. At an event to mark 45 years since Washington and Beijing established relations, Liu Jianchao quoted President Xi Jinping as saying China "will not fight a Cold War, or a hot war, with anyone." Relations between the world's two largest economies had deteriorated in recent years, with prominent Chinese diplomats being dubbed "wolf warriors" for their confrontational public stances against the US.
SEE WHAT THE CHANGE IN TONE MEANS FOR US POLICY

US trade deficit narrows as a result of higher interest rates
The US trade gap narrowed in November as imports and exports both fell while higher interest rates bite, the government reported. Although analysts expected the trade deficit to widen, the gap was smaller than expected at $63.2 billion, down from a revised figure of $64.5 billion. Resilient consumption has supported US trade, but analysts have expected the effect of higher interest rates, as it weighs on demand, to add pressure on imports. Exports could take a hit from slower growth in major US trading partners as well.
THE IMPACT OF NARROWER TRADE GAP ON US ECONOMY

Meta toughens Facebook, Instagram content rules for teens
Meta on Tuesday said it was tightening up content restrictions for teenagers on Instagram and Facebook as it faces increased scrutiny that its platforms are harmful for young people. The privacy changes come months after dozens of US states accused Meta of damaging the mental health of children and teens, and misleading users about the safety of its platforms.
SEE IF META'S CHANGES WILL PROTECT YOUNG USERS

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* As of market close

Biden left in the dark about Austin's health

President Joe Biden was kept in the dark over his defense secretary's cancer diagnosis and subsequent hospitalizations for about a month, the White House admitted Tuesday, as details of Lloyd Austin's unusual disappearance raised questions about leadership of the world's top military. The 70-year-old's failure to disclose his hospitalization for prostate cancer has prompted an extraordinary row in Washington and could be embarrassing for Biden, who faces multiple foreign crises in his reelection campaign year, including in Israel and Ukraine.

FIND OUT WHY AUSTIN'S HEALTH ISSUES WERE KEPT SECRET

Attal becomes France's youngest PM at 34

Gabriel Attal, named France's youngest ever prime minister Tuesday at the age of 34, has had a meteoric rise that has invoked comparisons with that of his mentor President Emmanuel Macron. He is also the country's first openly gay French premier whose most pressing task will be to ensure that Macron's centrist forces overcome the far-right -- first in European elections in June and then in presidential polls in 2027.

SEE THE CHALLENGES AHEAD MACRON, ATTAL ARE FACING

South Korea passes bill banning dog meat

South Korea's parliament on Tuesday passed a bill banning breeding, slaughtering and selling dogs for their meat, a traditional practice that activists have called an embarrassment for the country. Dog meat has long been a part of South Korean cuisine, and at one point up to a million dogs were killed for the trade every year. But consumption has sharply declined recently as Koreans embrace pet ownership in droves.

HOW YOUNG SOUTH KOREANS HAVE LED THE LEGAL CHANGE

Extra point

What nation leads the world in farming and consumption of dog meat?

Tuesday's answer: The ad campaign for Timex watches used the slogan "It takes a licking and keeps on ticking" to highlight their durability.

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