Venezuela, New Economic Order, Smartphones, US Senate, Google, NBA
Marc Ross Daily
September 25, 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
✔️ Chinese hospital ship stops in turbulent Venezuela
✔️ China and America may be forging a new economic order
✔️ France bans smartphones in schools through 9th grade
✔️ Dems must defend 26 of the 35 in-cycle Senate races
✔️ Google CEO to meet with top GOP lawmakers
ROSS RANT
42 days until Election Day
59 days until Thanksgiving
98 days until New Year’s
152 days until Brigadoon Sundance 2019
GEOECONOMICS
Chinese hospital ship stops in turbulent Venezuela: AP reports, a Chinese navy hospital ship docked near Venezuela’s capital on Saturday as the OPEC nation’s deepening economic crisis garners the attention of the US and other world powers.
#MonroeDoctrineWarning
Taiwan weapon sales: China has reacted with anger to the news that the United States is ready to approve a $330 million arms sale to Taiwan.
The Chinese government refused the USS Wasp a port visit to Hong Kong next month.
China and America may be forging a new economic order: It’s not a Cold War. But the dispute between the world’s two largest economies is taking the world into unknown territory. http://bit.ly/2xCHbKO
Axios reports the Trump administration is planning to launch a major, "administration-wide," broadside against China.
"We're not just going to let Russia be the bogeyman. It's Russia and China."
CNBC: China reveals its new party line: We're trying to save the world from the US
China accused the US of "trade bullyism practices" that have become "the greatest source of uncertainty and risk for the recovery of the global economy."
Reuters: China says US putting 'knife to its neck', hard to proceed on trade
Navarro: China engages in so many 'egregious practices,' it's tougher to get a trade deal
@ProSyn: Codependency never ends well in personal relationships. Judging by the ever-escalating trade war between the US and China, the same is true of economic relationships | Stephen S Roach #TradeWars
India and Pakistan ratchet up war rhetoric over Kashmir: DW reports, the Indian and Pakistani governments have accused each other of sabotaging peace talks in the latest spat over militancy in the Kashmir region. But where did it all go wrong for the proposed foreign ministers' meeting?
Robots on an asteroid: JAXA, the Japanese space agency, announced it successfully landed two unmanned rovers on an asteroid, Ryugu.
NAFTA: Trade watchers call September 30 the "AMLO deadline" for Trump's efforts to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Crypto: The Swiss Bankers Association issues new guidelines that make it easier for cryptocurrency companies to open corporate bank accounts.
France unveils billions in tax cuts as support for Macron ebbs: WSJ reports, the French government unveiled billions in tax cuts Monday as it seeks to revive flagging public support for President Emmanuel Macron and his efforts to overhaul France’s economy.
France bans smartphones in schools through 9th grade: NYT reports, France’s education ministry hopes that its smartphone ban, which took effect at the beginning of September and applies to students from first through ninth grades, will get schoolchildren to pay more attention in class and interact more, and several studies suggest such correlations.
Brigadoon Detroit | Salon Dinner = October 11, 2018
Dinner will be held at The Apparatus Room @ Detroit Foundation Hotel with a discussion on the creation of new urban mobility solutions as well as mobility trends seen globally.
More info here: http://bit.ly/2MEXICM
AMERICAN POLITICS
Today: Trump will address the 73rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly — his major speech for the week.
WP: 'I'm not the president of the globe': Trump goes it alone as he faces world leaders amid trade war against China
Trump to emphasize dangers from Iran in his UN address — and then Iran will fire back: LAT reports, Trump will claim foreign policy successes and turn his wrath on Iran when he addresses the UN General Assembly early today. Later, Iran's president will take the podium — and fire back.
Trump cuts a lonely figure at the UN: WP reports, on his return to the UN General Assembly, President Trump will surprise few world leaders with his sharp rhetoric. His speech today is expected to underscore a now-familiar message: American sovereignty and supremacy are not to be challenged, nor is Washington’s right to act unilaterally on the world stage.
Election 2018: Dems must defend 26 of the 35 in-cycle Senate races in the current election cycle.
Base to GOP: Walk on Kavanaugh and we walk in November: Inside Sources reports, the conservative base—the GOP’s only hope to hold back a #BlueWave in the midterms—has a message for Republican Party leadership: You walk away from Judge Kavanaugh now, and we’ll walk away from you in November.
Republicans vow to back Kavanaugh amid new allegation: WP reports, Republicans rallied around embattled Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, vowing to push his confirmation through the Senate even as a new allegation of sexual misconduct emerged.
Your holiday gift spending just got more expensive: Americans will find yet more taxes have been thrust upon them. From today, $200 billion of goods partially made in China will be subject to a pre-Christmas tax (of 10%).
@TheRickWilson: GOP pollster to me: "Your tweet about the trade war is deeper than you know. GOPers kept telling us in [focus groups] that they trusted Trump had a "secret plan to make these deals" because he's a master negotiator etc. Now reality is setting in."
Another rate hike: Federal Reserve officials are expected to inch up their benchmark interest rate again Wednesday as they seek to head off inflation amid the continuing strong growth of the economy.
In 2015, public pension plans accumulated $5.5 trillion in liabilities and set aside only $3.7 trillion in assets.
Florence: Moody's Analytics said Hurricane Florence has caused around $44 billion in damage and lost output, nearly equal to the damage caused by California's Northridge earthquake in 1994.
Google CEO to meet with top GOP lawmakers: WSJ reports, Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai plans to appear at a private meeting of top GOP lawmakers on Friday and again at a public hearing this year, responding to new scrutiny of the company’s work with China, its market power and alleged bias in its search results.
ENTERPRISE
Ticketmaster facing class-action lawsuits over ticket resales: Toronto Star reports, a Canadian law firm says it will expand a class action suit against Ticketmaster after a Star/CBC investigation revealed the company actively recruits scalpers to resell its tickets at inflated prices. A US firm is also planning a class action suit against the ticket giant.
Dell is exploring the possibility of going public via IPO.
Salesforce is working with Apple in a technical collaboration aimed at bringing more of its services natively to the iPhone and iPad.
Tech has grown to be ~26% of the S&P 500
Porsche will stop manufacturing diesel vehicles and focus more on EVs and hybrids.
NYT adds day tours to grab piece of booming tours and activities sector: The newspaper business continues to go through an evolution in the digital era, all while the travel industry is thriving and demand grows for tours and activities. City Tours probably won't be the biggest revenue generator for the Times anytime soon, but it could do a lot to make the publisher cooler and more relevant.
Look for Brigadoon Concierge - coming soon!
Walmart is using 17,000 Oculus Go VR headsets in its stores to help train workers.
Bye, Weight Watchers: The brand is changing its name to WW, which "shifts the focus from dieting to wellness." The new tagline is "Wellness that Works."
Google at 20: How two 'obnoxious' students changed the internet: It is two decades since Larry Page and Sergey Brin moved their fledgling startup out of their dorms. With threats to its power growing, how long can the company dominate? http://bit.ly/2PY5xpd
Unfriend: Instagram Co-Founders are stepping down from Facebook.
@talan: Instagram was founded in 2010 and at first was a location check-in app called Burbn. Mr. Krieger, an enthusiastic user of Burbn, met Mr. Systrom at a Stanford University fellowship program and they decided to work together.
LAT: Snapchat is partnering with Amazon to let users shop through their smartphone cameras
H&M tests new store to get back in vogue. In H&M’s hometown of Stockholm, the chain founded in 1947 is testing new concepts that mark a break with its past.
Lululemon, the brand that invented athleisure, plans its second act: The Canadian activewear giant made yoga pants a status symbol. Here’s how the brand is planning for a post-athleisure industry drowning in activewear. http://bit.ly/2N1ZHRF
TRENDS + BUZZ
Reinvent or die: In the oncoming wave of AI, internet of things, blockchain and what-have-you, incumbents stand a good chance of prevailing—as long as they "move fast and at scale." That's according to McKinsey's Daniel Pacthod, Kevin Sneader, and Anand Swaminathan, who write for Fortune that legacy companies must "reinvent or die."
Ranch: 40 percent of Americans counted Ranch as their favorite dressing.
Podcast China: The podcast industry in China is on track to exceed last year’s mark of $7.3 billion thanks to growth in popular educational podcasts. The US podcast market, by comparison, is only worth about $314m annually.
Biker beware: Tampa Bay metro area has proven to be the deadliest place for a cyclist.
Good credit: For the first time, the average American FICO score has reached 704.
CULTURE
Bye-bye, Bob? “The Old Man & the Gun,” which may or may not be Robert Redford’s final film, opens Friday.
LAT: Celine Dion ending her long Vegas run. Tickets for goodbye shows go on sale Friday
SPORT
Basketball: Training camps are opening in the NBA.
BBC: Luka Modric named best male player and Marta best female player at FIFA awards
The Real Madrid midfielder, 33, beat former team-mate, Cristiano Ronaldo, now with Juventus, and Liverpool's Mohamed Salah to the award.
Brazil and Orlando Pride forward Marta won the best female player award.
France's Didier Deschamps was named best men's coach.
Kylian Mbappé at the age of 19:
🏆🏆 Ligue 1
🏆 Coupe de France
🏆 Coupe de la Ligue
🏆 French Super Cup
🏆 FIFA World Cup
🏆 Euro u19's
🏅 2017 Golden Boy
🏅 FIFA World Cup Best Young Player
🏅 Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year
🏅 FIFA FIFPro World XI
