Known to be a Republican supporter, country singer Garth Brooks has surprised one and all after it was announced on Monday that he would be performing at the inauguration ceremony for US President-elect Joe Biden.&nbsp; 
 
Brooks join a bevvy of stars like Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez who would be performing at the ceremony.&nbsp; 
 
The Presidential Inaugural Committee announced on Monday Brooks name in the list of performers for the swearing-in ceremony for the 46th president of the United States.&nbsp; 
 
The Committee said future first lady, Dr Jill Biden, personally reached out to Brooks. The singer reportedly joked that he’ll likely be "the only Republican at the ceremony."&nbsp; 
 
The singer added that his presence at the ceremony was to bring people together, not politics.&nbsp; 
 
On a zoom call announcing the news, Brooks told reporters that he found the recent violence that broke out at the US Capitol on January 6 to be "disturbing and sad."&nbsp; 
 
Outgoing President Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump will not be attending the ceremony on January 20th.&nbsp; 
 
Interestingly, Brooks had also performed at Barack Obama’s 2008 swearing-in ceremony.&nbsp; 
 
"I've played for every president there is, since Carter, with the exception of Reagan. This is an honour for me to get to serve... and it's one of the things that, if my family is around, no matter who the president-elect is, it's an honour to be asked," he told reporters during a virtual press conference.&nbsp; 
 
Earlier, last week the Inaugural Committee announced that Tom Hanks will host a 90-minute special that will lead into the ceremony.&nbsp; 
While many fans were excited to learn that the star would be offering up his talents for the ceremony, there are others who are not sure if Brooks has made the right move.&nbsp; 
 
"Apparently, Garth Brooks has some friends in high places too!" said a Twitter user. "Looking forward to his performance during our virtual inauguration celebration, for our very real President, Biden and Vice President, Harris." 
 
"Me reading garth brooks is playing at @JoeBiden's inauguration," said another alongside a video clip of a man jumping and clicking his heels together. 
 
Another said, "Awesome. Love Garth!"&nbsp; 
 
However, not everyone seemed to be happy with the news.&nbsp; 
 
"Garth brooks playing the Biden inauguration as a republican, putting a new spin on 'friends in low places,'" wrote one follower.&nbsp; 
 
"Biden isn't good," said another. "We're divided because people like Garth Brooks were willing to be divided when they were told to be." 
 
There were some who claimed to have 'unfollowed' the musician following the announcement.&nbsp;

Known to be a Republican supporter, country singer Garth Brooks has surprised one and all after it was announced on Monday that he would be performing at the inauguration ceremony for US President-elect Joe Biden.

Known to be a Republican supporter, country singer Garth Brooks has surprised one and all after it was announced on Monday that he would be performing at the inauguration ceremony for US President-elect Joe Biden. Brooks join a bevvy of stars like Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez who would be performing at the ceremony. The Presidential Inaugural Committee announced on Monday Brooks name in the list of performers for the swearing-in ceremony for the 46th president of the United States. The Committee said future first lady, Dr Jill Biden, personally reached out to Brooks. The singer reportedly joked that he’ll likely be "the only Republican at the ceremony." The singer added that his presence at the ceremony was to bring people together, not politics. On a zoom call announcing the news, Brooks told reporters that he found the recent violence that broke out at the US Capitol on January 6 to be "disturbing and sad." Outgoing President Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump will not be attending the ceremony on January 20th. Interestingly, Brooks had also performed at Barack Obama’s 2008 swearing-in ceremony. "I've played for every president there is, since Carter, with the exception of Reagan. This is an honour for me to get to serve... and it's one of the things that, if my family is around, no matter who the president-elect is, it's an honour to be asked," he told reporters during a virtual press conference. Earlier, last week the Inaugural Committee announced that Tom Hanks will host a 90-minute special that will lead into the ceremony. While many fans were excited to learn that the star would be offering up his talents for the ceremony, there are others who are not sure if Brooks has made the right move. "Apparently, Garth Brooks has some friends in high places too!" said a Twitter user. "Looking forward to his performance during our virtual inauguration celebration, for our very real President, Biden and Vice President, Harris." "Me reading garth brooks is playing at @JoeBiden's inauguration," said another alongside a video clip of a man jumping and clicking his heels together. Another said, "Awesome. Love Garth!" However, not everyone seemed to be happy with the news. "Garth brooks playing the Biden inauguration as a republican, putting a new spin on 'friends in low places,'" wrote one follower. "Biden isn't good," said another. "We're divided because people like Garth Brooks were willing to be divided when they were told to be." There were some who claimed to have 'unfollowed' the musician following the announcement.

Country singer Garth Brooks jokes at being the 'only Republican' performing at Joe Biden's inauguration

From Kennedy to Trump: US presidential inaugurations throughout history

US&nbsp;stocks opened lower on Monday as investors around the world sought safe-haven assets such as gold and US&nbsp;Treasuries in response to the protectionist sentiments expressed by President Donald Trump in his inauguration speech.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 27.99 points, or 0.14 per cent, at 19,799.26, the S&amp;P 500 was down 3.94 points, or 0.173468 per cent, at 2,267.37 and the Nasdaq composite was down 7.63 points, or 0.14 per cent, at 5,547.70.

The dollar slid broadly on Monday after US&nbsp;President Donald Trump struck a protectionist tone in his inauguration speech, undermining optimism over the US&nbsp;economy spurred by his promises of tax cuts and other stimulus.

Japan&#39;s Nikkei dropped 1.1 per cent while shares in Australia dropped 0.8 per cent after the Trump administration, on its first day in office, declared its intention to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a 12-nation trade pact that Japan and Australia also have signed up for.

US&nbsp;stock futures dipped 0.3 per cent, erasing gains made on Friday.

European shares were expected to fall, too, with spread-betters looking to a drop of 0.4 per cent in Britain&#39;s FTSE and 0.3 per cent in Germany&#39;s DAX.

Other Asian shares were more resilient, however, in part due to the dollar&#39;s weakness and a relief that there was no negative surprises, with Trump refraining from labelling China as a currency manipulator, for now, an accusation he made while campaigning.

&quot;At least, there was no negative news this weekend, like a border tax or the currency manipulator, even though they could come up in the future,&quot; said Yukino Yamada, senior strategist at Daiwa Securities.

MSCI&#39;s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.3 per cent, with Taiwan shares leading the gains and coming just shy of 1-1/2-year highs.

In his inaugural address, Trump pledged to end what he called an &quot;American carnage&quot; of rusted factories and vowed to put &quot;America first&quot;, laying out two simple rules - buy American and hire American.

Trump also said on Sunday he plans talks soon with the leaders of Canada and Mexico to begin renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

&quot;The market is getting nervous about the possibility that the world&#39;s trade might shrink,&quot; said Koichi Yoshikawa, executive director of financial markets at Standard Chartered Bank in Tokyo.

&quot;Many of his policies, including tax cuts and infrastructure spending, need approval from the Senate and that (may not be) easy,&quot; he said. &quot;The markets that had been led by expectations on his policy since the election are now the dragged down by the reality.&quot;

The dollar had soared late last year on expectations that Trump&#39;s pledges to cut taxes and hike infrastructure spending would boost the US&nbsp;economy, spurring inflation and higher interest rates.

But optimism is starting to fade as details of his tax policies remained sketchy. It is not clear if the Congress will agree to any plan that could drastically increase budget deficits.

&quot;If all of Trump&#39;s tax proposals would be implemented, that alone would increase the deficit by more than two percentage points of GDP. It&#39;s questionable if the Republicans will agree to that. Any fiscal stimulus will be a mild one,&quot; said Hiroko Iwaki, senior strategist at Mizuho Securities.

The dollar fell as much as 1.2 per cent against the yen to 113.26 Yen, edging towards its seven-week low of 112.57 Yen touched on Wednesday.

The Euro gained 0.5 per cent to $1.0754, its highest level since December 8.

Emerging market currencies gained, with South African rand gaining 0.8 per cent.

The Mexican peso, which has weakened the most on Trump&#39;s protectionist and anti-immigration stance, rose 0.8 per cent to a two-week high of 21.415 per dollar.

The rise came after its 1.7 per cent gains on Friday, its biggest in two months.

Gold hit a two-month high of $1,219.3 per ounce.

The 10-year US&nbsp;Treasuries yield fell to 2.435 per cent, after having risen briefly on Friday to 2.513 per cent, its highest since January 3.

The two-year yield, which is more sensitive to the Fed&#39;s policy outlook, dropped sharply to 1.180 per cent from Thursday&#39;s three-week high of 1.250 per cent, giving back much of gains made after Wednesday&#39;s upbeat comments from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.

Oil steadied after Friday&#39;s gains, as support from statements over the weekend from OPEC and other producers that they have been successfully in implementing output cuts were offset by a surge in US&nbsp;drilling.

International benchmark Brent crude futures stood at $55.47 per barrel, little changed after Friday&#39;s 2.5 per cent gains.

(Reuters)

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 27.99 points at 19,799.26 and the S&P 500 was down 3.94 points at 2,267.37

US stocks opened lower on Monday as investors around the world sought safe-haven assets such as gold and US Treasuries in response to the protectionist sentiments expressed by President Donald Trump in his inauguration speech. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 27.99 points, or 0.14 per cent, at 19,799.26, the S&P 500 was down 3.94 points, or 0.173468 per cent, at 2,267.37 and the Nasdaq composite was down 7.63 points, or 0.14 per cent, at 5,547.70. The dollar slid broadly on Monday after US President Donald Trump struck a protectionist tone in his inauguration speech, undermining optimism over the US economy spurred by his promises of tax cuts and other stimulus. Japan's Nikkei dropped 1.1 per cent while shares in Australia dropped 0.8 per cent after the Trump administration, on its first day in office, declared its intention to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a 12-nation trade pact that Japan and Australia also have signed up for. US stock futures dipped 0.3 per cent, erasing gains made on Friday. European shares were expected to fall, too, with spread-betters looking to a drop of 0.4 per cent in Britain's FTSE and 0.3 per cent in Germany's DAX. Other Asian shares were more resilient, however, in part due to the dollar's weakness and a relief that there was no negative surprises, with Trump refraining from labelling China as a currency manipulator, for now, an accusation he made while campaigning. "At least, there was no negative news this weekend, like a border tax or the currency manipulator, even though they could come up in the future," said Yukino Yamada, senior strategist at Daiwa Securities. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.3 per cent, with Taiwan shares leading the gains and coming just shy of 1-1/2-year highs. In his inaugural address, Trump pledged to end what he called an "American carnage" of rusted factories and vowed to put "America first", laying out two simple rules - buy American and hire American. Trump also said on Sunday he plans talks soon with the leaders of Canada and Mexico to begin renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). "The market is getting nervous about the possibility that the world's trade might shrink," said Koichi Yoshikawa, executive director of financial markets at Standard Chartered Bank in Tokyo. "Many of his policies, including tax cuts and infrastructure spending, need approval from the Senate and that (may not be) easy," he said. "The markets that had been led by expectations on his policy since the election are now the dragged down by the reality." The dollar had soared late last year on expectations that Trump's pledges to cut taxes and hike infrastructure spending would boost the US economy, spurring inflation and higher interest rates. But optimism is starting to fade as details of his tax policies remained sketchy. It is not clear if the Congress will agree to any plan that could drastically increase budget deficits. "If all of Trump's tax proposals would be implemented, that alone would increase the deficit by more than two percentage points of GDP. It's questionable if the Republicans will agree to that. Any fiscal stimulus will be a mild one," said Hiroko Iwaki, senior strategist at Mizuho Securities. The dollar fell as much as 1.2 per cent against the yen to 113.26 Yen, edging towards its seven-week low of 112.57 Yen touched on Wednesday. The Euro gained 0.5 per cent to $1.0754, its highest level since December 8. Emerging market currencies gained, with South African rand gaining 0.8 per cent. The Mexican peso, which has weakened the most on Trump's protectionist and anti-immigration stance, rose 0.8 per cent to a two-week high of 21.415 per dollar. The rise came after its 1.7 per cent gains on Friday, its biggest in two months. Gold hit a two-month high of $1,219.3 per ounce. The 10-year US Treasuries yield fell to 2.435 per cent, after having risen briefly on Friday to 2.513 per cent, its highest since January 3. The two-year yield, which is more sensitive to the Fed's policy outlook, dropped sharply to 1.180 per cent from Thursday's three-week high of 1.250 per cent, giving back much of gains made after Wednesday's upbeat comments from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen. Oil steadied after Friday's gains, as support from statements over the weekend from OPEC and other producers that they have been successfully in implementing output cuts were offset by a surge in US drilling. International benchmark Brent crude futures stood at $55.47 per barrel, little changed after Friday's 2.5 per cent gains. (Reuters)

Wall Street opens lower, global shares wobbly after Trump's protectionist address