Mnangagwa, Putin, Merkel, US Navy, Detroit, Shiffrin

Caracal Business Insider | Daily
November 22, 2017
Curation and commentary from Marc A. Ross

Caracal Business Insider: Politics + Policy + Profits

Reporting from Alexandria, Virginia

GEOECONOMICS

NYT: Robert Mugabe resigns as Zimbabwe’s president, ending 37-year rule

Coup in Zimbabwe: A win-win for China – for now: Asia Times reports, did Beijing give the go-ahead to remove Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe? Nobody is saying. But it is suspicious that Zimbabwe’s army chief General Chiwenga visited China a few days before he moved against Mugabe. Presumably, nobody in Beijing told him ‘no.’ 

Zimbabwe's Mnangagwa to return to the country after Mugabe's resignation: Reuters reports, Zimbabwe's Emmerson Mnangagwa is set to return to the country on Wednesday and should be sworn in as president following the resignation of Robert Mugabe after nearly four decades in power, a senior ruling party official said.

EU and UK aim to strike divorce deal within 3 weeks: FT reports, negotiators aim for the week of December 4 as Theresa May moves to settle the bill.

@HandelsblattGE: Landing the European Banking Authority was an important victory for Paris in its rivalry with Frankfurt to become the European Union’s financial center when Britain leaves the bloc.

Germany + Westminister + Brexit: Theresa May is being urged by Tories to exploit Angela Merkel's political weakness and suspend plans to offer billions of pounds more to the European Union.

A weakened Merkel may spell trouble for all of Europe: NYT reports, the failure of Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany to form a coalition government is a blow to hopes for a strong Franco-German engine to drive European Union reform.

@voxdotcom: Angela Merkel could:

1. Run a minority government.
2. Try to cajole the parties back to the table to create a majority government.
3. Stand back and wait for the president to call for a new round of elections.

Putin to announce presidential bid December 15: The Kremlin plans to launch Vladimir Putin's campaign for a fourth term in late December so the President can avoid questions on the topic at his annual press conference on December 14. 

Syria's Assad travels to Russia, meets with Putin: AP reports, Russia is about to end its military operation in Syria that tipped the scales in the devastating war in favor of government forces, said President Vladimir Putin.

Trump administration blasts Mexico, Canada on NAFTA progress: WSJ reports, USTR Robert Lighthizer issued a downbeat assessment Tuesday of efforts to rewrite Nafta, decrying ‘a lack of headway’ and criticizing Canada and Mexico for refusing to ‘seriously engage’ on controversial U.S. proposals aimed at cutting the US trade deficit.

Canada warns US that NAFTA auto changes would backfire on America: Globe and Mail reports, representatives in Mexico City say Trump administration’s NAFTA rules-of-origin proposals would be self-defeating and cost Americans jobs.

Nikkei: Xi Jinping breaks taboo and enters the Forbidden City

"Chinese leader may still be commander-in-chief in 2035 when he would be 82."

GB Times: China invests in more than 20 overseas railway projects

AMERICAN POLITICS

US Navy plane crashes into the sea near Japan: WSJ reports, a US Navy aircraft carrying 11 crew and passengers crashed into the sea south of Japan‘s main islands on Wednesday. The Navy provided no details on casualties, but Japan’s defense minister said eight people had been rescued.

8 people found after Navy plane carrying 11 crashes into the Pacific: WP reports, the C-2 aircraft, which had 11 crew and passengers on board, had been traveling to the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier, which is currently in the Philippine Sea on exercises with Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force. Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera said eight people had been recovered from the C-2 aircraft, although it was not clear whether they were found alive.

Sweeping plan would overturn equal access to the Internet: NYT reports, the Federal Communications Commission plans to scrap net neutrality rules requiring broadband providers to give consumers equal access to all content on the internet.

Trump administration plans to scrap net neutrality: FT reports, a proposal to end Obama-era rules is a victory for cable and telecom companies.

Reuters: Trump says AT&T plan to buy Time Warner 'not a good deal'

Playbook reports, many outlets town are working on stories about sexual harassment by members of Congress on the Hill.

Mueller probes Jared Kushner’s contacts with foreign leaders: WSJ reports, Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigators are asking questions about White House adviser Jared Kushner’s interactions with foreign leaders during the presidential transition and what role he may have played in firing ex-FBI Director James Comey.

Pence PAC steers funds to dozens of GOP candidates: WSJ reports, VP Pence will dip into his new political-action committee to help Republicans keep control of Congress and statehouses, contributing more than $200,000 to candidates in dozens of races across the country, his office said.

ENTERPRISE

SoftBank plans investments of up to $25 billion in Saudi Arabia over the next three to four years.

Scott Galloway thinks Amazon is now setting its sights on luxury department store Nordstrom.

WSJ: Uber paid hackers $100,000 to hide large 2016 breach

The data breach impacted 57 million accounts last year. 

Bloomberg: Tesla’s burning through nearly half a million dollars every hour

Over the past 12 months, the electric-car maker has been burning money at a clip of about $8,000 a minute (or $480,000 an hour), Bloomberg data show.

Tesla has a market capitalization of $53 billion with Ford Motor Co. worth $48 billion.

Meg Whitman will step down as CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise.

State Duma threatens to ban Google ads: Deputy speaker Pyotr Tolstoy says Moscow will consider banning Google from collecting advertising revenue in Russia, in response to the company’s plans to "de-rank" RT and Sputnik in news search results.

Buy a jet or two on Taobao: two Boeing 747-400 freighters were sold on Taobao for 322m yuan ($48 million), reports Beijing Youth Daily. The planes originally belonged to a defunct cargo company, Jade Cargo International. Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court, in charge of handling the firm's bankruptcy, tried to sell them off at six separate private auctions but failed each time.

Francis Crick Institute's £700m building 'too noisy to concentrate': Guardian reports, some of the 1,250 people working at the year-old laboratory say its open plan layout, designed to produce collaboration, makes it hard to focus on work.

TRENDS

Quartz: Big banks’ blockchain specialists are flocking to cryptocurrency firms in search of freedom

How to hire a behavioral scientist https://goo.gl/VJefa1

China's box office has exceeded $7.5 billion for the first time in a calendar year, according to China's State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television (SAPPRFT).

How Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google manipulate our emotions: A TED Talk from Scott Galloway on the combined market capitalization of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google is now equivalent to the GDP of India. How did these four companies come to infiltrate our lives so completely? In a spectacular rant, Scott Galloway shares insights and eye-opening stats about their dominance and motivation -- and what happens when a society prizes shareholder value over everything else. Followed by a Q&A with TED Curator Chris Anderson. https://goo.gl/29wGTE

CULTURE

Detroit: The most exciting city in America?https://nyti.ms/2jHv7UE

Developer has big plans for Ted’s Bulletin, Kramerbooks and life in DC: WP reports, Steve Salis, 34, has a vision to create "ecosystems," all-in-one communities that combine office space, housing, shopping, and dining. https://goo.gl/vzvzjD

SOTD

Adam Ant - Goody Two Shoes https://goo.gl/Zy8ggL

SPORT

Mikaela Shiffrin, the best slalom skier in the world: New Yorker reports, she seems to be a sure bet to win gold at the next Olympics. But so much could still go wrong. 
https://goo.gl/rzGL5e

The odd couple: HG reports, British soccer club Manchester United has been gaining a reputation for lucrative but sometimes bizarre commercial partnerships. The latest involves German family-owned coffee firm Melitta. https://goo.gl/uE7Fru

"As for Manchester United, this is just the latest in a string of similar new commercial partnerships. The club now has 54 of them and they include all kinds of firms willing to get into bed with soccer players, including commercial partners for paint, mattresses, wine, tires, noodles and even Japanese tractors."

How a Scottish goalkeeper ended up coaching in the Chinese Super League https://goo.gl/LsQny4

Champions League today - all matches at 2:45 pm ET

Juventus vs Barcelona
Atlético Madrid vs Roma
Anderlecht vs Bayern München
Basel vs Manchester United
PSG vs Celtic

Teams which have qualified for final 16 spots:

Bayern Munich
Beşiktaş
Manchester City󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿
PSG
Real Madrid
Tottenham