Xi Jinping, NATO, GOTV, Frontline, Hockey Betting, Bitcoin

Marc Ross Daily
October 31, 2018
Curation and commentary from Marc A. Ross

Reporting from Alexandria, Virginia 

Marc Ross Daily  = Business News at the Intersection of Globalization, Disruption, and Politics

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TOP FIVE

✔️ ‘Prepare for war’

✔️ China hack

✔️ #TridentJuncture 

✔️ The American voter breakdown by sex and degree

✔️ Coinbase valued at $8 billion

ROSS RANT

I wrote this a year ago:

Protest votes come in all shape, sizes, and educational levels 

http://bit.ly/2ETysKz

GEOECONOMICS

‘Prepare for war’: Xi Jinping has ordered the military region responsible for monitoring the South China Sea and Taiwan to assess the situation it is facing and boost its capabilities so it can handle any emergency. 

October PMI showing weakness in China's manufacturing sector - Export orders have been particularly soft.

China hack: The DOJ unsealed charges against 10 Chinese intelligence officers and other individuals Tuesday, accusing them of a persistent campaign to hack into American aviation companies.

China wants to displace the US as leader of the world, but it faces dissent at home and abroad. -- Michael Auslin

CIIE: The  China International Import Expo opens next week and will draw 3,000 foreign companies from 130 countries, including Ford, Samsung and Tesla. Beijing insists the event shows its willingness to open the Chinese marketplace.

Pacific trade pact nears takeoff: A landmark 11-country deal that will slash tariffs across much of the Asia-Pacific region will come into force at the end of December, New Zealand said on Wednesday.

NATO warships, aircraft, and marines stormed a beach in Norway to practice repelling an invader, part of the bloc’s largest military exercises since the Cold War.

#TridentJuncture 

Transitioning: That crashing sound you heard in world markets last week wasn’t just a correction. It was the sound of the end of an age. During the long era of relatively stable international relations that succeeded the Cold War, markets enjoyed an environment uniquely conducive to economic growth. The US faced no peer competitors, and the most important great powers generally (if sometimes selectively) supported Washington’s emphasis on opening markets and reducing barriers to investment and trade. This hiatus from history was, by most measures of human flourishing, a glorious era. Now it has come to an end, or at least a pause, and the world is beginning to see what that means. -- Walter Russell Mead

Irish passports: The number of British residents applying for Irish passports has nearly doubled since the EU referendum as people secure the right to move and work freely in the bloc after Brexit. 

Yemen: Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on all participants in the Yemen civil war to agree to a ceasefire "in the next 30 days." 

#BREAKING: Israeli Mossad gave the intel that helped to foil the Iranian assassination attempt in #Denmark against an Iranian opposition leader

Brazil: Israeli Prime Minister's office says "High probability" that Netanyahu is going to attend Bolsonaro's inauguration.

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AMERICAN POLITICS

The American voter breakdown: White women with college degrees and white men without—have moved drastically in opposite directions and reshaping American elections.

Republicans with: Dual incomes, hefty tax bills, jumbo mortgages, outstanding student loan debt, passports, multiple college degrees, Economist subscriptions, Class Pass memberships, Whole Foods shopping trips powered by InstaCart, and Patagonia jackets in their closets voted Dem for the first time in their lives.

Of the 46 GOP-held districts considered vulnerable to Democrats, 63 percent are either home to a Whole Foods store or within a 20-minute drive of a Whole Foods store.

Share of Americans who say ___ have too much power and influence in today's economy:

Pharmaceutical companies 83%
Banks & financial institutions 72%
Advertisers 71%
Energy industry 57%
Tech companies 55%
Labor unions 30%
Farming & agriculture industry 19%

HT Pew Research

Consumer confidence: Conference Board's consumer confidence index hit its highest level in 18 years. The survey also shows that US households are still bullish on the stock market.

Kanye West says he's going to focus on his music and fashion after being "used" in the world of politics.

The departed: James (Whitey) Bulger, the South Boston mobster and FBI informer, was found beaten to death on Tuesday in a West Virginia prison. He was 89.

ENTERPRISE

The Athletic, a subscription-based digital sports media company, raised $40 million in a series C funding round and is valued at roughly $200 million. The founders pitch The Athletic as both a direct-to-consumer brand and a digital media company. The company has over 100,000 subscribers -- roughly the same size as The Los Angeles Times' digital subscription audience.

Apple’s new MacBook Air = $1,199

Waymo gets California permit for fully driverless cars.

Ford Motor Co. and Baidu launched a two-year project on Wednesday to test self-driving vehicles on Chinese roads

Coinbase valued at $8 billion.

Bitcoin is 10 years old today. Satoshi Nakamoto published the famous paper that would give birth to Bitcoin on October 31, 2008.

Ben & Jerry’s is launching a new flavor of ice cream with a sprinkling of activism in response to Trump’s policies. Pecan Resist is a new limited-edition flavor from the company with white and dark fudge chunks, pecans, walnuts, and fudge-covered almonds.

Watch: Frontline's The Facebook Dilemma: Facebook wanted to create a more open and connected world, but the company’s failure to protect millions of users’ data coupled with the proliferation of “fake news” and disinformation has unleashed a challenge to democracies and decency.

I thought the web would stop hate, not spread it: This is what the internet has come to: thugs like Mohammed bin Salman funding tech companies to host the vitriol of thugs like Cesar Sayoc and Robert Bowers. -- Kara Swisher

TRENDS + BUZZ

Athleisure: US imports of women’s elastic knit pants last year surpassed those of jeans for the first time ever.

The 40-year old entrepreneur: A study by MIT Sloan School of Management professor Pierre Azoulay and PhD student Daniel Kim found the average age of people who founded a business and went on to hire at least one employee was 42. The team also found that experience counts. Those entrepreneurs who had worked in the same sector as their business start-up were found to be 125% more successful than those without a background in their chosen sector.

Entrepreneurship is ageless - it isn't easier or harder in your 20s, 30s, 40s, or 50s. The best age to start a company is today.

#BAET 

CULTURE

OTD: In 1955 it was announced that Princess Margaret had decided not to marry Group Captain Peter Townsend

SPORT

Bet the puck: The National Hockey League has signed a multiyear agreement with MGM Resorts International to share its data for use in sports betting.

FIFA said expanding the 2022 World Cup to 48 teams was "feasible" as hosts Qatar pledged to come to a decision in the early part of next year.

Leicester FC to return to play on Saturday after the death of the owner and four others in a helicopter crash.

College Football Playoff Rankings:

1. Alabama    
2. Clemson 
3. LSU
4. Notre Dame
5. Michigan 
6. Georgia 
7. Oklahoma
8. Washington State 
9. Kentucky
10. Ohio State