Bitcoin, Trade Clash, Huawei, Starbucks, Lego, Social Media News

Caracal Insider Daily
January 16, 2018
Curation and commentary from Marc A. Ross

Reporting from Alexandria, Virginia

Caracal Insider = Global Business News at the Intersection of Politics + Policy + Profits

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TOP FIVE

✔️ Bitcoin plunges 20%

✔️ Lawmakers urge AT&T to cut ties with Huawei

✔️ US and China prepare for trade clash

✔️ A new Starbucks opens in China every 15 hours

✔️ Half of Americans want to regulate social media news
 

GEOECONOMICS

Bitcoin plunges 20%: The price of bitcoin plunged by as much as 20% amid concerns about tighter regulation falling below $12,000 for the first time since early December.

France wants tougher rules on bitcoin to avoid criminal use: AP reports, France’s finance minister says he wants new regulation targeted at virtual currencies, to stop them from being used for tax evasion, financing terrorism, and other crime.

WSJ: Oil briefly reaches $70 as buoyant global economy bolsters demand

Battle stations: US and China prepare for trade clash of the titans: A trade war between the U.S. and China would be more bruising and protracted than the battles that raged in the 1980s over Japanese exports and would risk taking down the entire global trading architecture.
WSJ - Andrew Browne

"The last time Washington mobilized for a trade war, Ronald Reagan was president and Japan the adversary."

China disrupts internet access for global groups: FT reports, companies fear being forced on to expensive platform surveilled by Beijing. 

Lawmakers urge AT&T to cut ties with Huawei: Reuters reports, US lawmakers are urging AT&T, to cut all commercial ties to Chinese phone maker Huawei Technologies and oppose plans by telecom operator China Mobile to enter the American market because of national security concerns. The lawmakers are also advising US companies that if they have ties to Huawei or China Mobile - like partnering on 5G or selling handsets - it could hamper their ability to do business with the US government.

China fake data mask economic rebound: FT reports, GDP numbers unlikely to show the scale of recovery because of previous moves to hide slowdown.

Bloomberg: Xi Jinping’s debt clampdown has left a trail of dead projects

"As consumption sustains growth, once-prized programs lie idle"

China admits to having agents in Canada as former judge harassed in Toronto: Globe and Mail reports, for more than 15 years, the Chinese government has provoked anger in Canada, Australia, the United States and elsewhere for sneaking security agents abroad

Days after Hawaii alert gaffe, Japan issues a false alarm about a missile launch: Reuters reports, Japanese public broadcaster NHK issued a false alarm about a North Korean missile launch on Tuesday, just days after a similar gaffe caused panic in Hawaii, but it managed to correct the error within minutes.

WP: North Korea calls Trump a ‘lunatic’ and a ‘loser’ in response to nuclear button tweet

NK nukes - no: Foreign ministers from around 20 nations will gather for a meeting in Vancouver today, co-hosted by the U.S. and Canada, to discuss how to curb North Korea’s nuclear ambitions. But China, seen as a key player in any long-term solution, will be absent. 

Donald Tusk calls for a second Brexit referendum: The Time reports, Donald Tusk has called on Britain to reverse the decision to leave the European Union with a second referendum or a House of Commons vote on the final Brexit deal. The president of the European Council made his appeal as pressure grows on MPs to press for a second referendum or to reject a withdrawal agreement.

The Times: Le Pen plans to rename and rebrand National Front

Italy falls for nostalgia: Don't blame only the politicians. Italian voters are also fed up with "reform."
Bloomberg - Ferdinando Giugliano

"Nostalgia, welcome back to Rome."

America last? EU says Trump is losing on trade: Reuters reports, the European Union’s trade tsar has no idea what Donald Trump will tell his audience at the World Economic Forum in Davos next week, but she is clear what the EU’s message to the U.S. president will be. America is shooting itself in the foot by withdrawing from global leadership on trade, Cecilia Malmstrom, the 49-year-old Swede who has served as Europe’s trade commissioner for the past three years, told Reuters.

AMERICAN POLITICS

WP: Chances of shutdown grow as GOP turns to short-term spending deal for government

Bloomberg: GOP leaders struggle to avert shutdown after immigration blow-up

The US government runs out of money at midnight on Friday.

Today: Trump meets with President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan.

Slate: The cannabis industry is well-armed to fight Jeff Sessions https://goo.gl/RJnpYP

The Pentagon is planning to develop two new sea-based nuclear weapons to respond to Russia and China’s growing military capabilities.

Flu bug USA: The entire continental US is experiencing widespread flu right now, the first time in the 13 years of the current tracking system that this has happened.

ENTERPRISE

Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said Monday he has no plans to sell its Jeep business or split up the company.

CNBC: Ford plans $11 billion investment, 40 electrified vehicles by 2022

Autonomous technology and automobiles: US Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao told a Detroit auto show forum that the Trump administration is planning to unveil revised self-driving car guidelines this summer.

AFP: Qantas changes website to recognize Chinese territories

Adidas wants to increase its US market share to around 15%-20%.

Alibaba's AI outguns humans in a reading test: Bloomberg reports, Alibaba put its deep neural network model through its paces last week, asking the AI to provide exact answers to more than 100,000 questions comprising a quiz that’s considered one of the world’s most authoritative machine-reading gauges. The model developed by Alibaba’s Institute of Data Science of Technologies scored 82.44, edging past the 82.304 that rival humans achieved.

Lego is partnering with Tencent to jointly develop online games and potentially a social network aimed at children in China. 

Xiaomi has picked Citic Securities, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley as joint sponsors for its proposed IPO, which will most likely be in Hong Kong.

A new Starbucks opens in China every 15 hours.

Chinese carmaker may use Fiat Chrysler for a foothold in the United States: NYT reports, GAC Motor said it planned to bring an SUV to the United States in 2019. It may use Fiat Chrysler dealerships hungry for new models.

TRENDS

Half of Americans want to regulate social media news: Report shows the public is concerned about fake stories and political polarisation.
FT

CULTURE

WSJ: Is that a Frank Lloyd Wright? Prove it: A home designed by a famous architect can command a premium, but in today’s competitive housing market, more buyers are turning to scholars to make sure claims are legitimate. https://goo.gl/F1YWuV

SPORT

Olympic gymnast Biles Alleges sexual abuse by team doctor: WSJ reports, gymnast Simone Biles, the star of the 2016 Olympic Games and the face of her sport in the United States, said she was among the elite gymnasts sexually abused by the longtime US team physician Larry Nassar.

AFP: Cool Runnings' revisited as Jamaican women qualify in bobsled

NFL Las Vegas odds:

Jacksonville v New England -9
Minnesota -3.5 v Philadelphia