Caracal Daily | August 7

Caracal Daily | August 7

Caracal Daily is geopolitical business news + intelligence for comms pros.

Geopolitics is disrupting every business and industry. Caracal is here to help.

Always Be Communicating.

Happy Wednesday.

Here’s today’s Caracal Daily:

*** Globalization + Geopolitics ***

Hamas named Yahya Sinwar, the group’s boss in Gaza and an architect of the October 7th attack, its overall leader.

Vladimir Putin has paid dearly for the return of his spies to Russia: The prisoner exchange benefitted both the West and the Russian resistance, as the head of the Kremlin had to make concessions to his intelligence services. Marie Mendras

Mali breaks diplomatic ties with Ukraine: DW reports Mali breaks diplomatic ties with Ukraine after Bamako criticized remarks by Ukraine's military intelligence about an attack killing Malian soldiers and Russian mercenaries. Ukraine said Mali's decision is 'shortsighted.'

Deals signed by Italy and China after PM Meloni's trip: Reuters reports Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited China at the end of July to boost co-operation with the world's second-largest economy and reset trade ties after leaving the Belt and Road infrastructure investment scheme.

Democracy and innovation could set India on a different development path: The emphasis should be on new companies, ideas, and products that allow the country to own the high end of the value chain. CBR

Microcredit pioneer Muhammad Yunus to lead caretaker Bangladesh government: WSJ reports the role marks a change in fortunes for the economist, who faced legal proceedings under the government of Sheikh Hasina.

Bloomberg: Nobel winner Yunus to lead Bangladesh after shunning politics

+ Yunus to lead after protests drive prime minister from country

+ Microfinance pioneer has focused career on alleviating poverty

Venezuela election: Army stands by Maduro despite opposition: DW reports the Venezuelan military has rejected calls by the opposition to intervene after President Nicolas Maduro won another term in a contested vote.

US convicts academic of being Chinese 'foreign agent': DW reports federal prosecutors said the accused portrayed himself as a proponent of democracy in China to gain the trust of dissidents. He was convicted of sharing information with Beijing's Ministry of State Security.

***  US Politics + Elections ***

WP: Harris picks Tim Walz for running mate

Le Monde: Kamala Harris chooses Tim Walz as running mate in hope of winning over Great Lakes region voters

+ The Minnesota governor and veteran has a record of wins on conservative terrain

+ @kaylatausche: In private text messages discussing VP candidates, Harries allies often compared Walz to Friday Night Lights coach Eric Taylor - an upstanding motivator from middle America - who popularized the phrase many Dems are quoting today.

+ The Democratic ticket is scheduled to appear in seven battleground states in the coming days

How Shapiro lost out to Walz in the race to be Harris’s VP pick: Kamala Harris opted for folksy Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz over Josh Shapiro, the centrist governor of Pennsylvania. WSJ

Harris’s whirlwind, high-pressure process in selecting a running mate WP

Why Kamala Harris picked Tim Walz as her running-mate: Compared with a bolder but more divisive alternative, the Minnesota governor was the easier choice. Economist

In Walz, Harris sees a battleground strategy dressed in Carhartt: Democrats think Gov. Tim Walz’s cultural ties are needed to talk to rural and working-class voters. But Republicans are not going to let his folksy style obscure a liberal record. NYT

Bloomberg: Harris VP pick Walz’s long history with China may prove awkward

+ Past statements may draw criticism from China and Republicans

+ He’s cited room for cooperation but also lauded the Dalai Lama

That boring new Harris-Walz logo? It’s actually pretty historic: The new Harris-Walz logo references Harris’s historic candidacy in the most low-key way possible. FC

How 2024 became the Zoom election: Hastily assembled mega-rallies conducted over Zoom are raising millions to elect Kamala Harris, giving the videoconferencing app an unexpected role in this year’s campaign. NYT

The politics of electric vehicles looms large in swing states: Trump’s anti-EV rhetoric is a gift to Kamala Harris. Errol Louis

NYT: Elissa Slotkin and Mike Rogers will face off in key Michigan Senate race
 
US to invest $2.2 billion to overhaul national power grid: Reuters reports the Biden administration said on Tuesday it is investing $2.2 billion to revamp the nation's power grid to protect it against growing threats of extreme weather events.

Chuck Schumer eyes opportunities to pass deepfake and AI bills as 2024 elections near: In an interview with NBC News, Schumer suggested deepfake election bills could hitch a ride on a funding bill, while AI national security bills could be linked to a big defense policy package.

Sens. Rounds, Heinrich offer bicameral bill to test AI for financial services: Inside AI Policy reports Sens. Mike Rounds (R-SD) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM) have unveiled bicameral legislation that would set up testing “sandboxes” at financial regulatory agencies to allow banks and other institutions to safely explore how AI could benefit consumers and the financial services industry.

MITRE urges government ‘red teaming’ of high-risk AI systems: Inside AI Policy reports the federal government should implement requirements for artificial intelligence “red teaming” to ensure AI products procured by agencies are secure, according to a memo from MITRE’s Center for Data-Driven Policy outlining AI security recommendations and advice for implementation.

‘The Godmother of AI’ says California’s well-intended AI bill will harm the US ecosystem Fei-Fei Li

*** Disruption + Innovation ***

Fortune: Monday’s stock market crash shows that the AI revolution isn’t quite here yet

A history-lover’s guide to the market panic over AI: Past technologies offer clues to what comes next. Economist

10 reasons why AI may be overrated Planet Money

When the AI bubble bursts: The boom in AI investment since ChatGPT’s launch has been accompanied by constant claims that the technology will transform our world. Will it? Will Dunn

Tencent + Alibaba have reportedly led a new funding round for Moonshot, a Chinese generative AI start-up, at a $3.3 billion valuation.

Yup, AI is basically just a homework-cheating machine: Two new reports confirm what we all know deep down: Lots of people are using Sam Altman's ChatGPT to "help" with their homework. BI

Fortune: Nvidia chip delays risk eroding its AI edge

Bloomberg: Super Micro's weak profit fuels AI server margin anxieties

+ Quarterly revenue, earnings miss analysts’ estimates

+ Company says it’s well-positioned to gain from AI investments

You can take it easy. Your Apple Watch is ready to embrace rest. For years, Apple’s popular smartwatch has emphasized the importance of being active. Now, new software will give you the chance to slow down. WP

WSJ: Musk’s X sues advertising group over boycott that allegedly cost the platform billions

Microsoft days Delta was largely responsible for flight cancellations: NYT reports the software company said in a letter that Delta Air Lines had falsely blamed Microsoft for its decision to cancel thousands of flights after a tech outage.

Fortune: Microsoft: Satya Nadella emailed Delta CEO Ed Bastian during IT outage, Bastian never replied

Kenya's Mobius Motors, maker of rugged, low-priced SUVs designed for Africa's roads, has decided to call it quits, citing financial challenges. 

Britain's auto industry body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has cut its forecast for new car sales in 2024, saying weak demand from consumers for EVs remains an overriding concern.

Honda has new alliance, but can it match Toyota on this stock metric? Nikkei reports automaker needs to deliver on cost cuts, shareholder returns as it pursues EV scale.

Big truckmakers bet on hydrogen to extend combustion engine life Reuters

Florida’s Space Coast braces for impact—from Elon Musk: WSJ reports SpaceX wants to launch the world’s largest and most powerful rocket dozens of times annually in an area that has gotten crowded with people and cruise ships since the Apollo era.

*** Culture ***

Nothing says ‘party!’ to Gen Z quite like a 50-deck PowerPoint and a remote clicker: Forget beer pong and karaoke, 20-somethings are throwing presentation parties. “I felt seen.” WSJ

WSJ: Bloomberg to donate $600 million to four historically black medical schools

*** Sport ***

AFP: USA and Brazil to meet in Olympic women's football final as Spain stunned

Mountain bikers are rewilding land by paying the government to do it: A new nature-restoration project in Wales is being funded by an unusual source: thrill-seeking downhill lovers. Wired


Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc 

Marc A. Ross | Chief Communications Strategist @ Caracal