G7, Hell, Singapore, Bitcoin, 3 World Trade Center, Ocean’s 8, Springboks

Marc Ross Daily June.png

G7, Hell, Singapore, Bitcoin, 3 World Trade Center, Ocean’s 8, Springboks

Marc Ross Daily
June 11, 2018
Curation and commentary from Marc A. Ross

Reporting from Alexandria, Virginia

Marc Ross Daily  = Business News at the Intersection of Global Politics + Policy + Profits

Subscribe here
https://goo.gl/bSQKwA

TOP FIVE

✔️ "Most people when they visit Canada have more fun"

✔️ Trump brings chaos to G7

✔️ Singapore summit officially begins at 9:00 pm ET

✔️ Exhausted aides eye the exits

✔️ Bitcoin took a tumble of over 7%

ROSS IN THE NEWS

"Most people when they visit Canada have more fun"

On Friday evening, I spoke with CGTN's Susan Roberts on about the interactions and implications of the G7 Summit. I covered Trump, Putin, Singapore, Canada, and Cirque du Soleil.

You can watch the clip here: https://youtu.be/k7ZkepbPwjU

GEOECONOMICS

I don't think Trudeau should burn in eternal hell fire, what do you think?

Toronto Star: ‘Special place in hell’: Trump aides hurl insults at Trudeau in unprecedented US attack on Canadian leader

CBC: Trump's tweets undo weekend of G7 diplomacy — and puzzle Canadian officials

Politico: White House ratchets up
trade war with 'special place in hell' slug at Trudeau

WP: Trump accuses Canadian leader of being ‘dishonest’ and ‘weak’


LAT: Trump brings chaos to G7 with trade threats and praise for Russia – and then backs out of joint agreement

FT: Angry Trump torpedoes G7’s hard-won trade harmony

Bloomberg: Trump shocks leaders with Trudeau insult to upend G7 summit

WP: European leaders are indignant and defiant over Trump’s G7 statement. But they’re not surprised.


Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the fallout was “sobering and a bit depressing.”

DW - Editorial: Donald Trump, withdrawer-in-chief, strikes again, turns G7 into G6: Just when it seemed that the G7 leaders had eked out a joint communique and avoided an open rift, Donald Trump, in a stunning Twitter turnaround, retracted his endorsement. It's probably better that way.

On his way to Singapore, Trump said he was “on a mission of peace.” 

The Singapore Summit officially begins at 9:00 pm ET, which is 9:00 am Tuesday Singapore time.

Since Trump's meeting with Kim Jong-un begins at 9:00 pm, so by 9:01 pm will know what to expect for the future of the planet....

@steveholland1: White House: “The discussions between the United States and North Korea are ongoing and have moved more quickly than expected.” Trump to leave Singapore Tues night after press avail

WP: In Trump, some fear the end of the world order

NYT: Trump upends global trade order built by
US

"Behind Mr. Trump’s outrage is his belief that the United States is at a disadvantage when it comes to global trade and is on the losing end of tariffs imposed by other nations. But to many of the country’s trading partners, the president’s criticisms ring hollow given that the United States places its own tariffs on everything from trucks and peanuts to sugar and stilettos."

Economist: America and the world - Donald Trump’s demolition theory of foreign policy won’t work

"Even if the president strikes a deal with North Korea, his approach will harm America and the world"

AP: Xi extols free trade at Asia meet as G7 ends in disarray

WSJ: Chinese, Russian presidents lead US criticism at
regional summit

ZTE’s near-collapse may be China’s Sputnik moment
: NYT reports, once derided as a technology backwater and copycat, China is justifiably proud of its technology boom. Its people zip around the country on high-speed trains. They can buy, and pay for, just about anything with their smartphones. For Chinese traveling abroad, the rest of the world can seem slow and antiquated. Now, that progress has been cast into doubt, and even some of the smartest people in the technology world are asking how they got it so wrong.

Bloomberg - Brendan Kelly OpEd: China’s richer than it thinks: Almost any foreign official, businessman or journalist visiting Beijing has heard the mantra that China can’t be expected to open up its markets or meet more stringent international standards because it’s still a developing economy. Maybe that argument was valid 20 years ago. Now it’s increasingly tenuous. More importantly, it’s damaging to China and the world. Policies designed for a developing nation are now holding it back.  

Today: Peterson Institute event on US-China economic relationship

FT - Editorial: Theresa May’s soft approach to facing down a hard Brexit

Staunch Leavers are losing arguments as their threats prove empty

May seeks united Tory front as Commons votes test Brexit strategy: FT reports, attempts to overthrow peers’ amendments to withdrawal bill will be hard-fought.

Tangled in Brexit, the Tories are failing their business supporters: Leaving the EU has tied the party to positions that fail to promote prosperity.
FT - Patience Wheatcroft

DW: France bans cellphone use in public schools

Italian commitmen
t: The euro is up after the new Italian finance minister, Giovanni Tria, said the country would remain committed to it. 

WSJ: Putin asks Austrian leader to set up summit with Trump

Brigadoon Annapolis | Salon Dinner + Lectures = Sep. 20-21, 2018

"Lectures for this event will take place on the deck of the Liberte schooner during our morning sail. Digital humanism design and triple bottom line investing will be the focus of the discussions." 

More info here: http://bit.ly/2rN7kCS


AMERICAN POLITICS

Inside the chaos of Donald Trump’s trade wars: FT reports, officials describe a White House in disarray with fierce infighting, no process for decisions and a president without a strategy. The Trump administration is now fighting trade battles on several different fronts with both friends and rivals, leaving governments scrambling to decipher what is negotiating bluster and what is actual policy. https://on.ft.com/2t4KzeH

"There is little, if any, policy process to guide the US side. Most of all, there is a president determined to keep his campaign promise to get tough on trade but with little consensus on how to proceed."

‘Drama, action, emotional power’: As exhausted aides eye the exits, Trump is re-energized: NYT reports, a West Wing where burned-out aides are eyeing the exits, as the mood in the White House is one of numbness and resignation that the president is growing only more emboldened to act on instinct alone. Trump, a former reality television star, may soon be working with a thinned-out cast in the middle of Season 2, well before the midterm elections. Several high-profile aides, including John F. Kelly, the president’s chief of staff, and Joe Hagin, a deputy of Mr. Kelly’s, are said to be thinking about how much longer they can stay. Last week, Mr. Kelly told visiting senators that the White House was “a miserable place to work,” according to a person with direct knowledge of the comment.

Meet the guys who tape Trump's papers back together: Politico reports, the president's unofficial 'filing system' involves tearing up documents into pieces, even when they're supposed to be preserved. https://politi.co/2y1IaHa

WSJ - Editorial: Congress vs. Trump on tariffs: Democrats gave Presidents too much trade power. The GOP should take it back. Mr. Trump might rage on Twitter, but Congress needs to send him a message that his protectionism isn’t cost-free. Otherwise he might believe he can get away with blowing up NAFTA, imposing a 25% tariff on imported cars, or shutting down trade with China.

WSJ: The art of the foreign-policy deal: An insider’s guide to Trump’s tactics: An examination of key foreign-policy moments from the president’s first 16 months reveals the traits he brings to bear in international dealings. https://on.wsj.com/2y3X67I

Yes, Democrats will be running in every California House race this fall. Here’s why this is big news. https://wapo.st/2sMTHo1

The first 2020 race is underway: Scrambling for New York donors: NYT reports, the American presidential races requiring an ever-dizzying amount of money, an early, behind-the-scenes 2020 contest is already taking place: the New York money primary.“When a candidate calls me to talk about ‘strategy and issues,’ you grab hold of your wallet for dear life,” said Robert Zimmerman, a prominent New York donor and a member of the Democratic National Committee who has been in touch with multiple prospective candidates. https://nyti.ms/2sWVyXi

Trump is trading on the protectionist mood: When even centrists are circling the wagons, we know we have entered a different world.
FT - Rana Foroohar

ENTERPRISE

Bitcoin took a tumble of over 7% yesterday after a South Korean cryptocurrency exchange called Coinrail said it had been the victim of an online heist.

Goodbye to net neutrality: The Obama-era regulations that barred broadband providers from slowing or blocking some types of Internet traffic expire today. 

Amazon was urged to improve conditions for factory workers in China who make Echo speakers and Kindle e-readers.

Scoot-scoot: Uber and Lyft officially applied for e-scooter permits in San Francisco.

Beauty contest to host new Amazon base reveals ugly truths: Competition for ‘HQ2’ shows how hard it is to ensure city development benefits the poor.
FT - Edward Luce

TRENDS

FT: A tale of two systems: urban development in China and India https://on.ft.com/2l2NUat

Ideology, centralization, and corruption set different paces of progress

CULTURE

WTC: Building at 3 World Trade Center will open this week, soaring 1,079 feet as the fifth-tallest building in New York City.

At the Tony Awards, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” and “The Band’s Visit” dominated.  Also, Robert De Niro shouted "F*** Trump! It's no longer 'down with Trump.' It's f*** Trump!"

Ocean’s 8” opened at No. 1 at the box office. 

Kanye West’s latest album, “Ye,” hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.

SPORT

Springboks’ first black captain converts a scarred nation: FT reports, South Africa unites behind rugby player who has overcome a relic of apartheid. https://on.ft.com/2l00Aii

Justify became the 13th horse to win the Triple Crown

The 2018 World Cup starts Thursday, June 14 @ 11:00 am ET with an opening match between the host Russia playing Saudi Arabia.

FIFA team rankings:

1. Germany
2. Brazil
3. Belgium
4. Portugal
5. Argentina
6. Switzerland
7. France
8. Poland
9. Chile
10. Spain


Messi and Ronaldo primed for final World Cup hurrah as England get real: Guardian reports, restrained hopes around Gareth Southgate’s side are a good thing in a tournament that represents the last chance for two greats to join Maradona and Pelé in the World Cup pantheon.

The top 10 players to watch at World Cup 2018https://wapo.st/2Jh8CxK

FT: World Cup: applying economic theory to predict the winner https://on.ft.com/2y0Abdw

"France will beat Spain in the final, with Brazil in third place . . . maybe"