Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido called for a military uprising to oust the Socialist president, Nicolas Maduro.
Clashes erupt
Clashes erupted outside a Caracas air base on Tuesday. Guaido called on Venezuelans to take to the streets on Wednesday in the “largest march” in the country’s history. While Guaido is backed by US and most Western countries, the armed forces have stood by Maduro, who retains the support of Russia, China and Cuba.
The US President Trump threatened to impose a “full and complete embargo” and further sanctions on Cuba if it does not end its military support for Venezuela’s president Maduro.
Trump’s Fed obsession
In a yet another unorthodox call, Trump called the US Federal Reserve to sharply cut the interest rate and renew “quantitative easing” to pump trillions of dollars into the economy. Trump’s call came despite the recent strong data in economic growth. The Fed is likely to ignore it and hold the rates steady in its FOMC rate decision and policy statement later today.
Mnuchin’s Beijing dinner
China and the US started their latest talks in Beijing on Wednesday after US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he had a “nice” working dinner the night before with China Vice Premier Liu He. “Much positive progress” in talks has been achieved so far, a Chinese State Councillor Wang Yi said. US negotiators said an enforcement mechanism for a deal and timelines for lifting tariffs are major sticking points.
Brexit talks
Several British journalists reported the UK government is seeking to make a deal with opposition by the middle of next week. UK PM May’s government has made progress in Brexit talks with the opposition Labour Party, The Times cited Labour source.
Eurozone GDP
The Eurozone economy grew more than expected in the first quarter, while unemployment fell to its lowest in more than a decade. GDP rose 0.4 percent quarter-on-quarter beating the expectations of 0.3 percent. 1.2 percent annual expansion more than the 1.1 percent forecast. The unemployment fell to 7.7 percent, lowest since September 2008.
