Latin America, Venezuela, Liu He, Italy, Amy Klobuchar, Foxconn

Caracal Global Daily
January 31, 2019
Curation and commentary from Marc A. Ross

Reporting from Alexandria, Virginia 

Caracal Global Daily  = News + Analysis at the Intersection of Globalization + Disruption + Politics

TOP FIVE

✔️ US plans to reshape Latin America

✔️ China’s slowing economy + Italy enters recession

✔️ A “personal IPO"

✔️ Who’s afraid of Howard Schultz?

✔️ Marie Kondo should tidy Netflix

GLOBALIZATION

Venezuela marks the first step in US plan to reshape Latin America: WSJ reports, the Trump administration’s broader aim is to gain leverage over Cuba and curb recent inroads in the region by Russia, Iran, and China. The US policy, developed over the past two years, has been driven in part by the ascent of anti-Cuba hardliners within the government and Congress.

Move on Maduro revives memories of US interventions: FT reports, analysts say hints of military action bluffs to raise pressure on the Venezuelan regime.

Did Russia send a Boeing 777 airliner to pick up Venezuelan gold?

Mexico’s economic growth lost momentum in the fourth quarter of 2018 as a decline in industrial output partially offset gains in services and agricultural production.

WSJ - Editorial: China’s Huawei reckoning. The criminal charges should play out in court, not in trade talks.

Huawei faces deepening scrutiny in Europe: WSJ reports, the European Union is exploring ways to address security concerns about Huawei and other Chinese telecommunications-equipment suppliers, according to an EU official.

Nikkei: The cursed year: Xi and China brace for a wild 2019

Wars, riots, and crackdowns have hit in jinxed '9' years.

China’s slowing economy is sending shock waves through its trading partners around the world.

Hundreds of listed Chinese companies have slashed their forecasts for 2018 earnings this week in a sign that an economic slowdown and worries over US-China trade friction are beginning to bite.

China’s Liu He is hemmed in on both sides: FT reports, economic tsar has met an opponent in Robert Lighthizer and cannot ignore Xi Jinping’s wishes.

China's space station in Argentina is a 'black box': Reuters reports, China’s military-run space station in Argentina played a key role in landing a spacecraft on the dark side of the moon this month, according to Chinese media. But it operates with little apparent oversight from the Argentine authorities, stoking conspiracy theories and US fears.

World Economic Forum navigates geopolitical fallout: FT reports, with the US absent, it will be much easier for China to make its case unchallenged.

FT: Italy’s faltering economy will put populists’ plans to the test

Recession feared but government insists spending can correct years of anaemic growth.

Breaking: Italy economy contracts in Q4 2018, sparking recession

Slowbalisation: The steam has gone out of globalization: A new pattern of world commerce is becoming clearer—as are its costs. https://econ.st/2UvxlDv 

DISRUPTION

Why some high performers are quitting big companies to work for themselves http://bit.ly/2UrTra4

"not poor performers being forced out who started their own solo businesses out of necessity. Quite the opposite: all were star performers who chose to reject the traditional large company career path. All had discovered a relevant niche they were uniquely excellent at, and that they had more upside working outside of the constraints of one large company."

a “personal IPO”

POLITICS

US-China trade talks: Trump will meet China's Vice Premier Liu He in the Oval Office today as two days of high-level trade talks come to an end will little indication so far that China is willing to bend to US demands.

Don't expect a major breakthrough, but a statement on progress surrounding intellectual property rights, market access, and China's promise to buy more American goods should be announced this evening.

Also, the deadline for striking a trade deal is March 1 - the US has threatened to raise tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese products to 25 percent from 10 percent.

Big business plans all-out blitz on Washington to end trade war: Bloomberg reports, corporate America is taking the gloves off in its campaign to end Trump’s trade war. A coalition of more than 200 trade associations spanning agriculture, manufacturing, retail, technology, oil and even liquor will begin a new two-pronged attack next week to try to end the policies they see as damaging.

Today: Trump to sign an executive order for USG to buy American steel and iron

WP: Howard Schultz, weighing an independent run in 2020, heaves early ire at Democrats

WSJ - Editorial: Who’s afraid of Howard Schultz? Democrats seem to be afraid he might give them a policy debate.

WSJ: Beto O’Rourke weighs presidential campaign from an unusual position: Front-runner

Former Texas congressman’s strategies may have to change to distinguish himself from Democratic field.

George Will: Amy Klobuchar may be best equipped to send the president packing

"Her special strength, however, is her temperament. Klobuchar laughs easily and often. If the nation wants an angry president, it can pick from the many seething Democratic aspirants, or it can keep the president it has. If, however, it would like someone to lead a fatigued nation in a long exhale, it can pick a Minnesotan, at last."  

COMMERCE

Facebook posted record profit in the fourth quarter.

Unilever reported weaker-than-expected revenue growth in the fourth quarter and warned of a challenging year ahead.

Foxconn backpedals on Wisconsin factory plan, shifts focus to research: WSJ reports, Foxconn Technology Group, a major supplier to Apple Inc., is backing down on plans to build a liquid-crystal displays in Wisconsin, a major change to a deal that the state promised billions to secure.

Nikkei: Foxconn suspends $20bn in US and China projects on growth fears

Tech group weighs whether demand justifies extra capacity amid trade war.

Foxconn is going to India.

Shipbuilding merger: South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries has reached a deal to acquire a majority stake in ailing number two Daewoo from the government.

CULTURE

Mary McNamara: If Marie Kondo wants to tidy something, she should start with Netflix: I don’t want to see Marie Kondo’s sock drawer. I want to see her Netflix account. Or her Amazon Prime Video watchlist. Or her DVR queue. Because these days, that’s where the real clutter crisis can be found. She is also just another show on Netflix, which makes the whole thing pretty hilarious. Because there is no single space on Earth as untidy and overstuffed as Netflix, the crammed-in, piled-up garage of the ever-growing, increasingly ill-organized mansion of narrative screen culture. Marie Kondo, heal thyself. Or at least thine media platform.