So not about adoptions....
Marc Ross Daily
August 6, 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
✔️ Saudi Arabia said it has expelled Canada’s ambassador
✔️ Drone attack failed to President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela
✔️ China deploys huge police force to prevent fraud protest
✔️ Trump admitted, on the record, that he misled the American people
✔️ Boston-area startups are on pace to overtake NYC venture totals
ROSS RANT
Can you do it 3x times a day?
I am moving towards checking email 3x a day, but working as a comms/public affairs/ thought leadership operative I find this to be a challenge as my job requires to be on and able to respond to news developments and press requests in hyper-timely fashion.
But clearly email is a hot mess, and old technology and a total time suck — new thinking and new application of this tool are needed.
Any ideas, please share via email.
GEOECONOMICS
KSA v CAN: Saudi Arabia said it has expelled Canada’s ambassador in the kingdom and recalled its own envoy from Ottowa after Canada expressed concern over recent arrests of civil-society and women’s rights activists in the kingdom.
Drone assassination plot: Venezuelan authorities said they arrested six suspects tied to an alleged plan to assassinate President Nicolás Maduro. The drone attack that failed to kill Maduro of unfolded on live TV and in front of many witnesses.
Russia diplomacy: Steven Seagal was appointed by the Russian Foreign Ministry as a special representative to improve relations with the US.
Quake: An earthquake in Indonesia killed more than 90 people.
Nikkei: India becomes battlefield for Chinese smartphone makers
China depletes its ammunition belt with latest tariff threat: Nikkei reports, China has threatened new tariffs on $60 billion in American products amid signs of Xi running out of options as pressure on him to act mounts in a particularly sensitive political season. The inclusion of American liquefied natural gas in the top tier for an additional 25% of duties shows just how badly relations have deteriorated since Trump's visit to Beijing last November.
China deploys huge police force to prevent fraud protest: AFP reports, hundreds of police patrolled the streets of Beijing's financial district Monday as Chinese authorities clamped down on a planned protest against losses sustained in risky peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms. Enraged over financial losses, petitioners told AFP they had come from every corner of China -- from the southernmost province of Guangdong to the far-west region of Xinjiang -- in hopes that by gathering en masse, the government would recognise their grievances and take action.
China meets Trump’s tariff hardball with pledge to endure: Bloomberg reports, China is prepared for a “protracted war” and doesn’t fear sacrificing short-term economic interests, according to an editorial in the nationalist Global Times on Sunday evening. “Considering the unreasonable U.S. demands, a trade war is an act that aims to crush China’s economic sovereignty, trying to force China to be a US economic vassal.”
OTD: In 1806 the Holy Roman Empire was formally dissolved.
No-deal risk: Prime Minister Theresa May’s ministers are ratcheting up warnings of Britain crashing out of the European Union without a deal. And they’re blaming Brussels, which Trade Secretary Liam Fox says is putting ideology over the “economic well-being of the people of Europe.”
AMERICAN POLITICS
NYT: Dirt on Clinton was focus of ’16 meeting, Trump admits
Trump said that a June 2016 meeting in Trump Tower between campaign aides and a Kremlin-connected lawyer was designed to “get information on an opponent.”
Oh really?!?
Trump admitted, on the record, that he misled the American people about the infamous Russia meeting in Trump Tower.
Trump says 2016 Russian meeting was related to Clinton: FT reports, President’s tweets clash with initial explanations over why his son had met with lawyer.
Executive time: Trump is on a working vacation in Bedminster, NJ, through August 13.
Colbert King: Follow the Russian money, and tighten your seatbelt https://wapo.st/2MmjXhD
Poll: Democratic congressional aides surveyed by CQ Roll Call last month said the party should replace Nancy Pelosi as leader whether Democrats win a House majority in November or not.
OH-12: Tomorrow's special House election in Ohio is huge - at least for political junkies as a tool to sort out what might happen this fall.
Republican Troy Balderson will face off against Democrat Danny O'Connor for a solidly red House seat.
The RNC has opened two offices in the district, launched a $500,000-plus get-out-the-vote effort, and dispatched one of its top officials, Bob Paduchik, who ran Trump's 2016 Ohio campaign.
Columbus Dispatch: Balderson won't address Kasich claim he did not invite Trump to central Ohio
GOP grumbles as Donald Trump reshapes midterm campaigns: AP reports, President Donald Trump’s strategy of becoming aggressively involved in the midterm elections is prompting concern among some Republicans who worry he’s complicating the political calculus for GOP candidates trying to outrun his popularity. Those Republicans worry their statewide candidates may rise or fall based on Trump’s standing, muddling their path to maintain control of Congress.
Bankruptcy booms for older Americans: The rate of people 65 and older filing for bankruptcy is three times what it was in 1991. The shrinking of the social safety net includes longer waits for full Social Security benefits, the replacement of employer-provided pensions with 401(k) savings plans and more out-of-pocket spending on health care.
Chicago Tribune: In less than 7 hours, 40 shot, 4 fatally as violence rips Chicago
Privacy legislation: US tech companies are hoping to get ahead of the public and legal fallout by working with policymakers to help shape potential new federal privacy legislation.
NYT: Steel giants tied to Trump block tariff relief for other firms
Nucor and United States Steel, both with deep ties to Trump administration officials, have used veto power over other companies, forcing them to buy their products instead of steel from abroad.
Team Trump picking the winners and losers of the economy.
Tax cuts working for big business: America’s biggest companies are reporting some of the strongest earnings growth since the recession, boosted by lowered tax rates and a robust US economy that is fueling demand.
ENTERPRISE
Indra Nooyi: PepsiCo’s longtime leader will step aside as chief executive. Nooyi serves on the board of directors of the US-China Business Council and is easily one of the world's best CEOs.
Meet PepsiCo’s next CEO: Ramon Laguarta: He is a native of Barcelona who speaks English, Spanish, French, German, Greek and Catalan. He has an MBA from Spain’s ESADE business school and worked at Chupa Chups SA, a candy company based in Spain, before joining PepsiCo in 1996.
Didi Chuxing Technology Co. will invest $1 billion in its auto-services business - vehicle leasing, refueling and car-maintenance programs - as it seeks to expand beyond ride-hailing in the world’s biggest automotive market.
Disneyflix: What some in Hollywood are calling the streaming service that Disney plans to introduce next year.
Samsung will introduce a new Galaxy Note phone.
Roots is opening locations in Georgetown and Pentagon City Mall next week.
Strayer Inc. officially completed its $1.9 billion merger with Minneapolis-based online education giant Capella Education Co.
TRENDS
The $300 million plan to farm salmon in the middle of the ocean: Bloomberg reports, the semi-submersible Ocean Farm 1 off the coast of Norway can hold 1.5 million fish.
Boston-area startups are on pace to overtake NYC venture totals: TechCrunch reports, after years of trailing New York City in total annual venture investment, Massachusetts is taking the lead in 2018. Venture investment in the Boston metro area hit $5.2 billion so far this year, on track to be the highest annual total in years. The Massachusetts numbers year-to-date are about 15 percent higher than the New York City total.
China produces 50% of the world’s cannabis: Most of its crop is non-psychotropic hemp, used for fabrics, medicine, and recreation.
9 astronauts: Nine NASA astronauts — five of whom flew on the space shuttle — have been announced as the crew of new commercial spacecrafts built by Boeing and SpaceX. Beginning next year, these crafts will head toward the International Space Station in the first manned missions from the U.S. since the shuttle program ended seven years ago.
Omega-3 supplements: A $15 billion industry that is growing at an annual rate of 7 percent. However, an analysis of 79 studies with an aggregate 100,000 participants found omega-3 consumption has little or no effect on promoting heart health.
CULTURE
AP: French master chef Joel Robuchon dies at 73
Robuchon reached a total of 32 Michelin stars in 2016 — a record— and still held 31 stars this year, including five three-star restaurants.
He started a revolution with his "Atelier" — workshop in French — model: small, intimate restaurants where diners sat at a counter surrounding the kitchen. It didn't take reservations and it didn't have tables.
SPORT
Fore: Georgia Hall, a 22-year-old Englishwoman, won the Women’s British Open, her first major golf title.
LAT: Cheer, cheer for the Banana Slugs? Earwigs? Prune Packers? California teams go nuts on sports nicknameshttps://lat.ms/2MnQd3L
Track and field: The European Athletics Championships begin at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.
Manchester United have opened talks with Bayern Munich over the potential signing of Jérôme Boateng.
Manchester City beat Chelsea 2-0 to win the Community Shield in an ominous performance for the rest of the Premier League.
ATP top 10:
1. Rafael Nadal (ESP)
2. Roger Federer (SUI)
3. Alexander Zverev (GER)
4. Juan Martin del Potro (ARG)
5. Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) 4610
6. Kevin Anderson (RSA) 4355
7. Marin Cilic (CRO)
8. Dominic Thiem (AUT)
9. John Isner (USA)
10. Novak Djokovic (SRB)
