PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — A transitionary council created to reestablish democratic order in Haiti signed a decree Sunday firing interim Prime Minister Garry Conille and replacing him with Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, a businessman who was previously considered for the job.
The decree, set to be published on Monday, was provided to The Associated Press by a government source. It marks even more turmoil in an already rocky democratic transition process for Haiti, which hasn’t held democratic elections in years in a large part due to the soaring levels of gang violence plaguing the Caribbean nation.
Fils-Aimé is the former president of Haiti’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry and in 2015 ran an unsuccessful campaign for Senate. The businessman studied at Boston University and was previously considered for the position as a private sector candidate for the post before Conille took the seat.
Conille, a longtime civil servant who has worked with the United Nations, served as prime minister for only six months.
The AP on Sunday couldn’t reach Conille or a spokesperson for him.
The transitional presidential council was established in April, tasked with choosing Haiti’s next prime minister and Cabinet with the hope that it would help quell turmoil Haiti. But the council has been plagued with politics and infighting, and has long been at odds with Conille. Organizations like the Organization of American States tried and failed last week to mediate disagreements in an attempt to save the fragile transition, according to The Miami Herald.
The process suffered another blow in October when three members on the council faced corruption accusations, from anti-corruption investigators alleging that they demanded $750,000 in bribes from a government bank director to secure his job.
The report was a significant blow to the nine-member council and is expected to further erode people’s trust in it.
Those same members accused of bribery, Smith Augustin, Emmanuel Vertilaire and Louis Gérald Gilles, were among those to sign the decree. Only one member, Edgard Leblanc Fils, did not sign the order.
The move by the transitional council came under fire by some in Haiti like former Justice Minister Bernard Gousse, who told local media that Conille's dismissal was “illegal” because the council was over-extending its powers and because of the corruption allegations levered against them.
Associated Press reporter Megan Janetsky contributed to this report from Mexico City.
FILE - Haiti Prime Minister Garry Conille speaks during a joint press conference with Kenya's President William Ruto at the State House in Nairobi, Kenya, Oct. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga, File)
HONG KONG (AP) — Asian stocks on Wednesday followed Wall Street lower as momentum cooled for the torrid “Trump trade” that swept U.S. markets following Donald Trump’s presidential victory.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 1.7% to 38,719.60, as wholesale inflation reached its highest level since July of last year. The corporate goods price index, which measures the price changes of goods traded in the corporate sector, rose 3.4% in October year-over-year, according to Bank of Japan data. The increase was partly attributed to the decline of the Japanese yen against the U.S. dollar.
South Korea’s Kospi lost 2.6% to 2,417.16. Samsung Electronics shares fell by 4.5% in Wednesday trading, reaching their lowest level in over four years.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped for a fourth day, declining 0.6% to 19,721.10. The Shanghai Composite gained 0.3% to 3,431.82.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.8% to 8,193.40.
U.S. futures dropped while oil prices were higher.
On Tuesday, the S&P 500 slipped 0.3% to 5,983.99, a day after setting its latest all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.9% to 43,910.98, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.1% to 19,281.40.
Stocks had been broadly rising since last week on expectations that Trump’s preference for lower tax rates and other policies may mean faster economic growth, as well as bigger U.S. government debt and higher inflation. Some areas of the market rocketed on particularly high-grade fuel, such as smaller U.S. stocks seen as benefiting the most from Trump’s “America First” ideas.
They gave back some of their big gains Tuesday, and the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell a market-leading 1.8%. Even Tesla, which is run by Trump’s ally Elon Musk, sank. It dropped 6.1% for its first loss since before Election Day.
A jump in Treasury yields also added pressure on the stock market, as trading of U.S. government bonds resumed following Monday’s Veterans Day holiday. The yield on the 10-year Treasury jumped to 4.42% on Tuesday from 4.31% late Friday, which is a notable move for the bond market.
Treasury yields have been climbing sharply since September, in large part because the U.S. economy has remained much more resilient than feared. The hope is that it can continue to stay solid as the Federal Reserve continues to cut interest rates in order to keep the job market humming, now that it’s helped get inflation nearly down to its 2% target.
Some of the rise in yields has also been because of Trump. He talks up tariffs and other policies that economists say could drive inflation and the U.S. government’s debt higher. That puts upward pressure on Treasury yields and could hinder the Fed’s plans to cut interest rates. While lower rates can boost the economy, they can also give inflation more fuel.
The next update on inflation will arrive Wednesday, when the U.S. government will give the latest reading on prices that U.S. consumers are paying across the country. Economists expect it to show inflation accelerated to 2.6% in October from 2.4% the month before. But they’re also looking for underlying inflation trends, which ignore prices for groceries and fuel that can zigzag sharply from one month to another, to stay steady at 3.3%.
In the crypto market, bitcoin soared to another record before pulling back. Trump has embraced cryptocurrencies generally and pledged to make his country the crypto capital of the world. Bitcoin got as high as $89,995, according to CoinDesk, before dipping back toward $89,500. It started the year below $43,000.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude gained 18 cents to $68.30 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 19 cents to $72.08 a barrel.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar edged up to 155.06 Japanese yen from 154.51 yen. The euro cost $1.0610, down from $1.0625.
A pair of traders work in their booth on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A person rides a bicycle in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index and US dollar/Japanese Yen exchange rate at a securities firm Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A person looks at an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A person stands in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
Person walk in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
