Bloomberg Daybreak Asia: APAC Markets Gain as Geopolitical Risks Loom
Benchmarks in Australia, South Korea and Japan all climbed in early trading Wednesday, pushing a gauge of Asian shares 0.4% higher. Geopolitical tensions may add headwinds to the markets, which had calmed recently after a month of turmoil from the tariff blitz unleashed by US President Donald Trump. We look at how the tariff story is resonating through the Asia-Pacific with Helen Zhu, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer at NF Trinity. Plus - oil rose after CNN reported that US intelligence had suggested Israel is making preparations for a possible strike on Iranian nuclear facilities. Stocks in Asia advanced on Wednesday. West Texas Intermediate gained 1.5% to $62.96 a barrel. It's not clear that Israeli leaders had made a final decision to carry out the strikes, CNN said, citing unnamed officials. Contracts for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 were down 0.1%, paring most of their losses earlier in the day. We get reaction to the day's macro headlines from Brian Vendig, President and Chief Investment Officer at MJP Wealth Advisors.
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Fox News
an hour ago
- Fox News
Liberal media downplays LA riots, dismiss violence as isolated while touting 'peaceful' anti-ICE protests
There has been a widespread effort by the mainstream media to downplay the rioting that has erupted in Los Angeles over the past several days in response to ICE raids targeting illegal immigrants. ABC7 Los Angeles anchor Jory Rand went viral for cautioning law enforcement from escalating tensions by interfering in rioter vandalism. "It could turn very volatile if you move law enforcement in there in the wrong way, and turn what is just a bunch of people having fun watching cars burn into a massive confrontation and altercation between officers and demonstrators," Rand said. CNN media analyst Brian Stelter has been vocal in minimizing the rioting that has taken place. "The unrest is isolated. It has not overtaken the entire city of LA. LA is home to millions of people, most of whom are having a normal day here on Sunday," Stelter said as CNN aired a breaking news banner reading "AS L.A. RIOTS EXPAND, SO DOES MISINFORMATION." On Monday, Stelter urged CNN viewers to "be careful" about what they see on social media. "A lot of these algorithms are surfacing hours-old or even days-old content!" Stelter exclaimed. "So you might be looking at a video of something wondering what's happening in LA- it's actually from two days ago!… It only matters because it can give people a false impression of what's actually happening at a moment of unrest." Stelter offered a similar sentiment on X. "Offline, in real-world Los Angeles, most Angelenos are having a perfectly normal day. But online, the fires and riots are still raging. Seeking clicks, clout and chaos, unvetted social media accounts are preying on fears about where last weekend's clashes will lead," Stelter wrote Tuesday. "The powerful algorithms that fuel social media platforms are feeding users days-old and sometimes completely fake content about the recent unrest in L.A., contributing to a sense of nonstop crisis." NBC News correspondent Jacob Soboroff acknowledged that there had been "civil unrest" and "reports of looting overnight," but stressed that isn't happening "on a wide scale" across the city. "And I think it's important to emphasize that this is also not what was happening before the National Guard came to Los Angeles. That's the point that Governor Newsom is making," Soboroff said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." Soboroff also shrugged off news coverage of the "gnarly" depiction of the protests by sharing a video of himself attending an "interfaith vigil" blocks away. On Wednesday's installment of "Today," his NBC colleague Liz Kreutz told Savannah Guthrie that LA is "not on fire." "You could be in Santa Monica or another part of LA and not even feel the impact of these protests," Kreutz said Wednesday. "They are very much concentrated, Savannah, to a very small pocket of downtown LA, around the federal building, around City Hall. That is where these protests are taking place right now. That is why local law enforcement believe they can handle this situation. Of course, the president is painting a different picture." "And we should say there are some agitators and people that have been really instigating things with police. But for the most part, especially during the day, many of the protesters gathering have been peaceful," the NBC News correspondent added. The New Yorker published a political cartoon Tuesday depicting the National Guard gathered outside LA's iconic Cinerama Dome with one saying to another, "The protesters seem to be doing some sort of joyful synchronized dance. Is it time to call in the Marines?" On Sunday, The New York Times published a story with the headline, "Not far from tense clashes, life goes on in L.A.," touting how the Los Angeles Pride parade "went forward without delay" among other things going on in the city. "As the first National Guard troops rumbled into Los Angeles on Sunday, summoned by the Trump administration to quell protests against an immigration crackdown, Los Angeles remained its eternal self — bigger than any one disruption. Los Angeles County, all 4,000 square miles of it, has a way of insulating and isolating mayhem, man-made or otherwise," the Times wrote. "As clashes have broken out between protesters, federal agents and police officers, life — that uniquely sunlit and serene Southern California version of it — mostly unfolded peaceably. It's not that those elsewhere were oblivious to what was happening. It's just that there was space for the one to not interrupt the other." The ladies of ABC News' "The View" also peddled the narrative. "It's been peaceful for days, and then suddenly these guys showed up and flipped everybody out. And so that's what my family is saying," Whoopi Goldberg said Tuesday. "I spoke to five people that live in LA, that work in LA, and they said the protests were very, very orderly, they weren't violent, and they occurred in about a four-block radius, and we all know how large LA is," Sunny Hostin followed. "And so, in my view, there is no crisis in Los Angeles that ICE did not cause. That is the fact of the matter, right?" On Tuesday, ABC's LA-based late-night host Jimmy Kimmel declared "there's no riot outside" and suggested the media is hyping the unrest while blasting President Donald Trump for sending in the National Guard. "Someone sets a fire in a garbage can, 12 camera crews go running toward it," Kimmel asserted. "Trump wants it to seem like anarchy, so he goes around our governor and calls in 4,000 troops from the National Guard and 700 active-duty Marines. When we had the wildfires that devastated big chunks of our city, he did absolutely nothing. Now that we're in the middle of a non-emergency, send in the National Guard!"
CNN
an hour ago
- CNN
Trump isn't happy with Amy Coney Barrett. Hear how she questioned the White House's top lawyer
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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Alberta premier faces raucous, angry town hall on province's coal policy
FORT MACLEOD — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and three of her ministers got an earful on Wednesday night from southern Alberta locals at a rowdy, hours-long town hall to discuss the province's coal policy. About 500 people, dressed in cowboy hats, belt buckles, and jeans, packed a community hall in Fort Macleod, Alta., for an event marked by heckling, competing applause and placards. "If we are not prepared to look and find middle-ground solutions to allow for industries to proceed while reducing our environmental footprint, you're going to find that different industries become the next on the hit list," Smith said through a chorus of protesting voices and verbal jabs. "Banning industries is just not something we are going to do." The premier and her ministers of energy, environment and agriculture took questions and were shouted down on several occasions by attendees as they defended changes to the province's coal policy. Many in the crowd held small placards reading "lie" and "false," raising them each time they disagreed with a statement. There was a notable group that came in support of the province's coal policy, frequently applauding the ministers and shooting back at other crowd members. Many attendees carried notebooks and pens, keenly taking notes throughout. The town hall came weeks after the Alberta Energy Regulator, or AER, granted an Australia-based coal company permission to start a controversial coal exploration on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. Northback Holding Corp.'s project at Grassy Mountain was initially rejected in 2021 when a panel ruled that the likely environmental effects on fish and water quality outweighed the potential economic benefits. Late last year, the project was exempted from the Alberta government's decision to ban open-pit coal mines because Northback's application was considered an "advanced" proposal. The issue has been polarizing in southern Alberta, where the debate has primarily revolved around the economic implications of development against environmental effects. A non-binding referendum in Crowsnest Pass saw 70 per cent of voters saying they'd support the nearby coal project. Despite frequent pushback over the two-and-a-half-hour event, Smith rarely chose to get into back-and-forth discussions with attendees. She defended the province's approach to coal developments, pitching responsible development that prioritizes environmental standards. Smith also frequently cited a lawsuit by five coal companies that say they're owed $15 billion by the province in lost revenues and sunk costs. She argued again on Wednesday that she had taxpayers in mind when the province lifted its moratorium on coal mining and development on the eastern slopes. "If we do nothing, then we are told we'll likely lose those cases and have to pay ($15 billion)." An energetic Brian Jean, the province's energy minister, frequently challenged the boisterous crowd and at times trotted offstage to hand his business card to those asking questions. "I live in the oilsands. You can't tell me what I'm concerned about and what I'm not concerned about. I'm very concerned about our earth and our planet," he said. Several questions returned to a new study by Alberta government scientists, yet to be peer reviewed, which recently said old coal mines on the eastern slopes are poisoning fish and any further coal mining there would result in 'population collapse' of fish species in a nearby lake. Asked about the report, Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz said the province is looking into the issue and is waiting for it to be confirmed by the peer-review process. She said further studies to be released later this year are being conducted. "We want to understand what is happening there so that we can prevent that from happening in the future." The premier also jousted with protesters while speaking to reporters before the town hall. When a group gathered behind her and started yelling, she turned around and asked them to let her finish the interview. "I'm looking for a little bit of courtesy," she said. The event was scheduled to last two hours, but Smith asked to take questions for an extra 30 minutes after the clock had run out. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 11, 2025. Matthew Scace, The Canadian Press Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
