Morning Brief: Goldman Sachs faces criminal charges in Malaysia

Monday, December 17, 2018

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WHAT TO WATCH TODAY

The spotlight is on U.S. policymakers this week. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee meets to decide the direction of monetary policy. Most economists expect the committee to hike interest rates, while scaling back its outlook for rate hikes for 2019. Meanwhile, U.S. legislators have until Friday to agree on spending policy so that the government can avoid a shutdown.

Monday also comes with the latest reading of homebuilder sentiment from the National Association of Homebuilders. This will be closely watched amid the recent slowdown in the U.S. housing market.

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TOP NEWS

The logo of the Investment Bank Goldman Sachs is seen on a screen in front of an American flag. It is listed in the Dow Jones as it is one of the major US companies on the stock market. (Photo by Alexander Pohl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The logo of the Investment Bank Goldman Sachs is seen on a screen in front of an American flag. It is listed in the Dow Jones as it is one of the major US companies on the stock market. (Photo by Alexander Pohl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Goldman Sachs is facing criminal charges in Malaysia: Malaysia’s attorney general has filed criminal charges against Goldman Sachs (GS) related to the theft of billions of dollars from the country’s development fund. Charges were bought on Monday against Goldman Sachs investment bank and five former employees. Two former employees of Malaysia’s sovereign fund 1MDB, were also charged. [Yahoo Finance UK]

The latest GOP assault on Obamacare might boost its popularity: Republicans think they’ve won a huge victory, now that a Texas judge has ruled the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional. But the opposite might be true: They might be paving the way for an even bigger federal role in the health care system and doing long-term harm to their party in the process.[Yahoo Finance]

Government edges closer to partial shutdown: The White House on Sunday pushed the federal government closer to the brink of a partial shutdown later this week, digging in on its demand for $5 billion to build a border wall as congressional Democrats stood firm against it. [Associated Press]

Nissan board aims to boost governance post-Ghosn: Nissan Motor's board is expected to meet on Monday, its first since firing chairman Carlos Ghosn last month, to decide on ways to improve governance at the automaker amid rising tensions with alliance partner Renault. [Reuters]

Homelessness edges higher after 7 years of declines: Homelessness nudged higher in 2018 for the second consecutive year, as cities struggled to get people off the streets even as many ramped up building and poured millions of dollars into potential solutions. The increase was slight—just 0.3%, according to an annual report to Congress by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to be released Monday. [The Wall Street Journal]

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