Caracal Daily | September 6

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

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Happy Friday.

Here’s today’s Caracal Daily:

*** Globalization + Geopolitics ***

US, Britain, EU to sign first international AI treaty: The first legally binding international AI treaty will be open for signing on Thursday by the countries that negotiated it, including European Union members, the United States and Britain, the Council of Europe human rights organisation said. Reuters

Australia proposes mandatory guardrails for AI TechRepublic

Bad information is a grave threat to China’s economy: The country risks making some of the mistakes the Soviet Union did. Economist

China ends international adoptions: WSJ reports Beijing is closing down a process that saw tens of thousands of Chinese-born children join families in the US and other countries since the 1990s.

The Chinese are going big on hydrogen in Spain: Chinese electrolyser manufacturer Hygreen Energy said it and its partners will invest more than 2 billion euros ($2.21 billion) in green hydrogen projects in the southern Spanish region of Andalusia.

CBS News: US says Russia funded media company that paid right-wing influencers millions for videos

Russia used a fake investor to dupe influencers, US says: Bloomberg reports according to US authorities, Eduard Grigoriann’s perspective was Russian and Grigoriann himself a fake, part of an elaborate scheme by the Russian government to use US influencers to spread propaganda and deepen divisions in American society.

Former 2016 Trump campaign adviser is charged over working for sanctioned Russian TV: AP reports indictments announced Thursday by the Department of Justice allege that Dimitri Simes and his wife received over $1 million dollars and a personal car and driver in exchange for work they did for Russia’s Channel One since June 2022. The network was sanctioned by the US in 2022 over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Senate panel to question US semiconductor firms on Russian weapons: Reuters reports The US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations said on Thursday it will hold a hearing with four companies on the use of American-manufactured semiconductors in Russian weapons deployed in the war in Ukraine.

Racing the clock to document ISIS genocide of Iraq’s Yazidis: NYT reports for years, a UN team has painstakingly exhumed mass graves, but now the Iraqi government is ordering it to leave. Many sites remain unexamined.

Bloomberg: Colombia faces food, fuel shortages as truckers block roads

+ Supplies of jet fuel start to run low at some airports

+ Truckers protest for third day after diesel prices increased

A make-or-break moment for Mexico: In America’s biggest trading partner the rule of law and democracy are under attack. Economist

The United States has remained the largest exporter of liquefied natural gas so far in 2024, but a steep drop in selling prices and a sharp swing in export volumes to key markets is likely testing exporter appetite to stay on top.

How swing state politics are sinking a global steel deal: As the Biden administration nears a decision to block the proposed acquisition of US Steel, the debate over national and economic security is being dwarfed by presidential politics. NYT

***  US Politics + Elections ***

ABC News: Hunter Biden pleads guilty to all counts in federal tax case

Liz Cheney endorses Kamala Harris for President.

Harris leads Trump in four of seven swing states, Times poll says: Survey taken by YouGov after Democratic convention suggests the vice-president may be on course to win the electoral college.

Harris or Trump? Allan Lichtman, the prophet of presidential elections, is ready to call the race. NYT

Kamala Harris is considering showing up in New York during this year’s UN General Assembly.

Donald Trump pledges to slash the corporate tax rate to 15%.

FT: Trump touts economic plan to slash prices and taps Musk to help

Trump goes full revisionist on the economy: Conditions are better now than under the former president, who is recycling the ideas that didn’t work the first time around. Robert Burgess

US airlines’ rewards schemes under investigation: The Biden administration has launched a probe into the loyalty programs run by the four largest US airlines aimed at making sure customers do not fall foul of potential “unfair” or “anti-competitive” practices.

ABC News: FBI raids homes of 2 top deputies for NYC Mayor Adams, NYPD commissioner subpoenaed: Sources

Reuters:  Snap sued by New Mexico over failure to protect children from sexual exploitation 

States are busy with new legislation regulating AI, protecting consumer privacy and promoting kids' safety online.

*** Disruption + Innovation ***

The 100 most influential people in AI 2024 Time

 Anthropic announced an enterprise version of its Claude chatbot.

Bloomberg: OpenAI hits 1 million paid users for business versions of ChatGPT
 
OpenAI considers pricier subscriptions to its Chatbot AI, The Information reports.

AI start-up hopes contrast with pullback in hype for listed stocks: Volatility looks like becoming the new reality in the sector on public markets. Richard Waters

Artificial intelligence could hurt oil prices over the next decade by boosting supply by potentially reducing costs via improved logistics and increasing the amount of profitably recoverable resources, according to Goldman Sachs.

The entire PC industry is counting on AI to boost the upgrade cycle and maybe even sway some Mac users over to the Windows camp.

The Internet Archive loses its appeal of a major copyright case: Hachette v. Internet Archive was brought by book publishers objecting to the archive’s digital lending library. Wired

Marketers threaten to cut spending on Elon Musk’s X in record numbers: FT reports the social media site hit by advertising industry concern over brands appearing next to contentious material.

Leaked Disney data reveals financial and strategy secrets: Data trove sheds light on operations, exposes personal data of some staff and customers. WSJ

Bloomberg: Larry Ellison will control Paramount after deal, filing says

SpaceX has pulled employees from Brazil amid Elon Musk’s court battle over X.

Boeing Starliner set to leave space station without its crew: NYT reports the troubled spacecraft is scheduled to undock on Friday for a trip back to Earth while two NASA astronauts will stay in orbit.

How astronauts cope with a surprise months-long stay in space: A weeklong trip to the International Space Station turned into an eight-month saga for marooned astronauts. Bloomberg

How self-driving cars get help from humans hundreds of miles away: In places like San Francisco, Phoenix and Las Vegas, robot taxis are navigating city streets, each without a driver behind the steering wheel. Some don’t even have steering wheels. NYT

What to do about America’s killer cars: The country’s roads are nearly twice as dangerous as the rich-world average. It doesn’t have to be that way. Economist

Lloyd’s of London faces £500m loss over Baltimore bridge collapse: The Times reports the disaster expected to result in the biggest ever marine-related loss for the global insurance industry.

*** Culture ***

Why I’m not tidying up before guests come over: Dispensing with the perfect life pretence of a rushed clear-up makes for better social events, better friendships and a better life. Oliver Burkeman

Losing your job used to be shameful. Now it’s a whole identity: There’s a whole class of “layoff influencers” now, as more people open up — maybe too much — about getting let go. Bloomberg

*** Sport ***

San Marino finally ended a 20-year run without a victory by beating Liechtenstein 1-0 in the UEFA Nations League.

Alex Morgan has officially announced her retirement.

Bloomberg: US women’s soccer ditched draft in a bid to regain top spot

+ European leagues closing gap on National Women’s Soccer League

+ Jessica Berman, Midge Purce speaking at Power Players New York

Pernod Ricard drops PSG sponsorship deal after Marseille fan protests: Le Monde reports the French drinks company, which has long been linked to the southern port city of Marseille, had originally proposed a sponsorship deal with the Paris Saint-Germain football club, rivals of Marseille.

AP: New Jersey offers $400M in tax credits in attempt to lure 76ers from Philly


Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc 

Marc A. Ross | Chief Communications Strategist @ Caracal