Morning Briefing: July 20, 2024

ANKARA

Here’s a rundown of all the news you need to start Saturday, including former US President Donald Trump’s growing chances to win the US presidential race fueling "trade war" concerns; services worldwide facing disruptions due to technical glitches, and the EU condemning Israeli parliament's resolution against the establishment of a Palestinian state.

TOP STORIES

• Trump’s growing chance to win US presidential race fuels ‘trade war’ concerns

Former US President Donald Trump’s growing chances to win the presidential race in November after an assassination attempt against him have fueled concerns about a trade war in global markets.

As the Nov. 5 election day nears, statements by the presidential candidates have significantly affected the markets.

Trump followed protectionist trade policies during his first term, and his recent statements signal that those policies may become more severe if he wins reelection.

• Services worldwide facing disruptions due to series of technical glitches

Services worldwide, from airlines to banks, are facing disruptions due to technical glitches following an outage reported by Microsoft.

A significant chain of failures spread from the US to Asia following Microsoft's announcement of an outage affecting its online services.

Major companies like McDonald’s, United Airlines and the LSE Group experienced communication issues with customer service, highlighting a broader trend affecting corporations across Japan, India and the US.

• EU condemns Israeli parliament's resolution against establishment of Palestinian state

The EU condemned an Israeli parliament's recent resolution opposing the establishment of a Palestinian state, emphasizing that a two-state solution remains the only viable path to peace and security in the Middle East.

“There is a strong consensus in the international community that the only sustainable solution that will bring peace and security to the Middle East is the two-state solution,” the bloc said in a statement.

The EU reaffirms its commitment to achieving lasting peace through a two-state solution as outlined by UN Security Council Resolutions 2735, 2728, 2720 and 2712, ensuring Palestinians and Israelis can live in safety and dignity, it noted.

NEWS IN BRIEF

• The Israeli defense chief warned the Yemeni Houthi group and Iran of consequences following a bomb-laden drone attack on Tel Aviv at dawn, which killed one person and injured 10.
• At least eight Palestinians, including children, were killed and several others injured in overnight Israeli attacks on the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza.
• A court in Russia sentenced American journalist Evan Gershkovich, who had been charged with espionage, to 16 years in prison.
• White House National Security Council Adviser Jake Sullivan on Friday said President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will discuss ways to reach a deal on cease-fire in Gaza and return of hostages during their meeting on Monday.
• The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that the occupied Palestinian territories constitute a "single territorial unity," which will be protected and respected.
• Spain welcomed the advisory opinion by the ICJ that termed Israel's occupation of Palestine as "unlawful."
• The ICJ has legally confirmed that Israel is implementing policies of occupation and oppression against Palestinians, according to the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
• US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US is driving toward the "goal line" of getting a cease-fire agreement in Gaza.
• Despite growing calls from Democrats to withdraw from the US presidential race, Joe Biden said he is looking forward to getting back on the election campaign trail next week.
• Russian foreign minister's special envoy to the Middle East urged restraint amid growing tension between the Israeli army and the Lebanese resistance and political group, Hezbollah.
• Bangladesh's government imposed a curfew and deployed the military as the death toll from violent student protests climbed to 75.
• A major global IT outage has affected "some IT services" of the Paris 2024 Olympics, a week before the opening ceremony.
• Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Friday that he will send a letter to former President and Republican candidate Donald Trump explaining the need for open borders and that migrants are not responsible for drug trafficking in the US.

SPORTS

• Spanish forward Alvaro Morata joins AC Milan

Spain skipper Alvaro Morata has joined Italian Serie A side AC Milan from LaLiga club Atletico Madrid, the Italian club said in a statement.

“Alvaro Morata is Rossonero,” the club said on X. “Adding a touch of 𝑅𝑜𝑗𝑜 to our #DNACMilan.”

The 31-year-old will stay with the Rossoneri until June 30, 2028, with an option to extend for an additional year.

• Formula 1 fever to continue in Hungary this weekend

Hungary this weekend is set to host the 13th round of the 2023 Formula 1 World Championship.

The 13th leg of the championship will be held in 70 laps of the 4.381-kilometer (2.72-mile) Hungaroring in Mogyorod.

The qualifying laps of the Hungarian Grand Prix will begin Saturday at 1400GMT as the race will be held at 1300GMT on Sunday.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

• Moody's upgrades Türkiye's ratings to B1 from B3, maintains positive outlook

Moody's announced Friday it upgraded Türkiye's long-term foreign- and domestic-currency issuer and foreign-currency senior unsecured ratings to B1 from B3.

The global rating agency said the outlook remains positive.

"Concurrently, the foreign-currency backed senior unsecured rating of Hazine Mustesarligi Varlik Kiralama A.S. has also been upgraded to B1 from B3," with a stable outlook, it said in a statement.

The reasons for the upgrade were listed as improvements in governance, more specifically the decisive and increasingly well-established return to orthodox monetary policies, which are yielding the first visible results in terms of reducing the country's major macroeconomic imbalances, it said.

• Worldwide tech outage spurs selling pressure in global market

Selling pressure in global markets increased after US-based cybersecurity firm, CrowdStrike, which provides services to Microsoft, suffered a communication outage, resulting in disruptions worldwide.

Global markets saw a negative course following the CrowdStrike-induced communication disruptions at companies, banks, the London Stock Exchange (LSEG) and US-based airlines.

The LSEG faced a global technical issue during the Asian trading session, preventing news from being published on the platform.