GOP Lawmaker Urges Senate Republicans To Convict Trump In Powerful Op-Ed

Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) is calling on his Senate counterparts to convict former President Donald Trump as the impeachment trial begins. 

“Convicting Donald Trump is necessary to save America from going further down a sad, dangerous road,” Kinzinger, one of 10 Republicans who crossed party lines to vote in favor of impeachment during the House proceedings, wrote in The Washington Post on Monday. 

Kinzinger slammed the former president for “four-plus years of anger, outrage and outright lies,” but said the most dangerous lie was his constant claim that the election was stolen. 

“Of course it wasn’t,” Kinzinger wrote, “but a huge number of Republican leaders encouraged the belief that it was. Every time that lie was repeated, the riots of Jan. 6 became more likely.” 

Kinzinger also said impeachment was “a chance to say enough is enough,” and warned that not convicting Trump could have repercussions in the years ahead: 

“After all, the situation could get much, much worse — with more violence and more division that cannot be overcome. The further down this road we go, the closer we come to the end of America as we know it.” 

Read his full piece here. 

Eurozone Economy Shrinks In Q4

Due to the restrictions related to Covid-19, the euro area economy contracted in the fourth quarter after bouncing back in the preceding three months, preliminary flash estimate published by Eurostat showed on Tuesday.

Gross domestic product fell 0.7 percent sequentially, in contrast to a sharp growth of 12.4 percent logged in the third quarter. However, the pace of contraction was less than the economists’ forecast of -1 percent.

On a yearly basis, the economy shrank 5.1 percent, bigger than the 4.3 percent decline seen in the third quarter and economists’ forecast of -5.4 percent.

In the whole year of 2020, the euro area GDP was down 6.8 percent, data showed.

With strict containment measures still necessary to control the virus, and vaccination programmes progressing slowly, activity across the region will remain very subdued for some time, Jack Allen-Reynolds, an economist at Capital Economics, said.

Last month, the International Monetary Fund downgraded Eurozone’s growth forecast for this year to 4.2 percent from 5.2 percent. The single currency economy is forecast to expand 3.6 percent in 2022.

The EU27 GDP dropped 0.5 percent sequentially in the fourth quarter and shrank 4.8 percent from the same period last year.

Among the member states, for which data are available for the fourth quarter, Austria reported the biggest decline of 4.3 percent, followed by a 2 percent fall in Italy and a 1.3 percent drop in France.

Meanwhile, Germany managed to grow 0.1 percent and Spain expanded 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter.

Fidelity National Information Services Q4 adjusted earnings Beat Estimates

Below are the earnings highlights for Fidelity National Information Services (FIS):

-Earnings: $103 million in Q4 vs. -$158 million in the same period last year.
-EPS: $0.16 in Q4 vs. -$0.26 in the same period last year.
-Excluding items, Fidelity National Information Services reported adjusted earnings of $1.02 billion or $1.62 per share for the period.
-Analysts projected $1.56 per share
-Revenue: $3.32 billion in Q4 vs. $3.34 billion in the same period last year.

-Guidance:
Next quarter EPS guidance: $1.20 – $1.25
Next quarter revenue guidance: $3,130 – $3,160 Mln

GOP’s Shameless Attempts To Discredit Trump Impeachment Trial Exposed By Mehdi Hasan

NBC’s Mehdi Hasan on Monday debunked the “bad and bad-faith arguments” that Republicans are using to rail against the second Senate impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump.

Trump’s trial for inciting the violent mob of his supporters that overran the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 is set to begin Tuesday.

“Republicans are desperate to discredit the whole thing,” noted Hasan. “They say it sets a dangerous precedent; that Donald Trump is now a private citizen; and that the whole thing is illegitimate and unconstitutional.”

The host of “The Mehdi Hasan Show” on NBC’s Peacock streaming service then tackled each of those bad-faith arguments.

“I would say shame on them, but they have none,” he concluded. 

Watch the video here:

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Gold Holds Near One-week High

Gold prices hit a one-week high on Tuesday and the dollar struggled at a one-week low after analysts said massive fiscal spending coupled with continued ultra-easy Federal Reserve monetary policy will be a dollar headwind.

Spot gold climbed 0.9 percent to $1,846.27 per ounce, while U.S. gold futures were up 0.7 percent at $1,847.15.

The dollar weakened broadly against its peers amid growing optimism over the passage of a $1.9 trillion stimulus package by the U.S. government.

House Democrats released a draft of stimulus plan on Monday evening, which includes $1,400 stimulus checks, $400 federal unemployment benefits, funding to state and local governments and vaccine distribution among other provisions.

Democrats are rushing to put the stimulus plan for a floor vote by the end of the month. Thereafter, the bill would go to the Senate for approval.

Uncertainty over U.S. economic recovery and the prevalent risk-on environment on the back of vaccine rollouts also undermined the dollar’s relative safe-haven status.

Masco Corp. Q4 adjusted earnings Beat Estimates

Masco Corp. (MAS) released a profit for fourth quarter that decreased from the same period last year.

The company’s bottom line came in at $195 million, or $0.74 per share. This compares with $453 million, or $1.59 per share, in last year’s fourth quarter.

Excluding items, Masco Corp. reported adjusted earnings of $195 million or $0.75 per share for the period.

Analysts had expected the company to earn $0.74 per share, according to figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts’ estimates typically exclude special items.

The company’s revenue for the quarter rose 13.4% to $1.86 billion from $1.64 billion last year.

Masco Corp. earnings at a glance:

-Earnings (Q4): $195 Mln. vs. $154 Mln. last year.
-EPS (Q4): $0.75 vs. $0.55 last year.
-Analysts Estimate: $0.74
-Revenue (Q4): $1.86 Bln vs. $1.64 Bln last year.