Highlands Bar & Grill, Post Malone, James Paxton, NASA, Argentina, Iran
Marc Ross Daily
May 9, 2018
Curation and commentary from Marc A. Ross
Reporting from Alexandria, Virginia
Marc Ross Daily = Global Business News at the Intersection of Politics + Policy + Profits
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TOP FIVE
✔️ US exit from Iran deal draws criticism from Europe, praise from Israel
✔️ Global trade is already weakening, war or not
✔️ Argentina is in talks with the IMF for a $30 billion credit line
✔️ GOP voters stick to pro-Trump candidates in Senate primaries
✔️ Maryland seeded #1 in both men's, women's lax tournaments
GEOECONOMICS
Iran deal: Trump pulled the US out of the Iran nuclear deal and will reinstate an array of economic sanctions on Tehran.
BG: US exit from Iran deal draws criticism from Europe, praise from Israel
What comes next? Trump didn’t offer specifics on how he would replace the deal or rein in Iran.
Killing the Iran deal was only the first step: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sees Trump as a partner for broader regional change.
Bloomberg - Zev Chafets
National Review - Editorial: Out of the Iran deal: Trump is pulling out of the Iran deal. This is to his great credit. Once again — leaving the Paris accords and moving the US embassy to Jerusalem also come to mind — the president has resisted pressure from the Europeans and the great and good in our country in order to make a decision in keeping with our interests.
WSJ: Global trade is already weakening, war or not: Slower global trade—particularly when paired with higher oil prices and rebounding inflation—bodes ill for industrial firms such as Caterpillar, Deere and Japan’s Komatsu. Caterpillar has already warned that its first quarter results were likely the “high watermark” for the year."
Argentina is in talks with the IMF for a $30 billion credit line.
FT: Life in Emmanuel Macron’s inner circle. Lots of reform, little sleep and a population to persuade: inside the president’s first year. https://on.ft.com/2jEsmA6
The Independent: Support for Ireland staying in the EU hits record high of 92%, latest poll shows
FT: Job cuts at trade department test claim of ‘global Britain’ after Brexit
"Liam Fox clashes with Philip Hammond over staff reduction in emerging nations"
BBC: Peers call for UK to remain in European Economic Area
"The House of Lords has backed calls for the UK to effectively remain in the EU's single market after Brexit."
When is Irish whiskey not Irish whiskey? Maybe after Brexit https://bloom.bg/2jNWzwV
Japan seeks its economic mojo in the stuff that makes the stuff: NYT reports, recision parts and behind-the-scenes technology could play a major role in the country’s effort to shake itself out of its slow-growth doldrums.
Japan - South Korea - China: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Tokyo summit with leaders from China and South Korea — the first in seven years — represents a diplomatic triumph in Abe’s quest to settle stubborn disputes over territory and past wars.
Trump’s tough tactics prompt east Asia thaw: FT reports, three-way summit between China, Japan and South Korea leaders promises closer relations
Reuters: China's trade surplus with US widens to $22.19 billion in April
AP: China cutting US soybean purchases in face of tariffs threat
FT - Charles Parton: Hackneyed language hampers the West's ties with China: Please, when it comes to the West's relations with China, can we stop talking about the Thucydides Trap, the Golden Era, Belt and Road and “a shared future for mankind”? Such terms are dangerous. https://on.ft.com/2IonrBh
“Google the ‘Thucydides Trap’ and you get 73,000 hits. Conferences are held on it.”
AMERICAN POLITICS
Walking around money: The shell company used by Trump lawyer Michael Cohen to pay off porn actress Stormy Daniels received about $500,000 last year from a business linked to a Russian billionaire who is close to Putin.
AT&T made four separate payments to Cohen's company totaling $200,000 in late 2017 and into early 2018 to "provide insights into understanding the new administration."
Real Clear Politics averages:
Congressional job approval: -56% (that is: 73% disapprove, 17% approve)
Trump job approval: -8 (that is: 52% disapprove, 44% approve)
OH-GOV: Richard Cordray won the Democratic nomination and will face GOP nominee Mike DeWine.
Dayton Daily News: Ohio US Senate race: Jim Renacci wins GOP primary, will face Sherrod Brown this fall
GOP voters stick to pro-Trump candidates in Senate primaries: Bloomberg reports, Republicans wrapped up three crucial US Senate primaries in West Virginia, Indiana and Ohio on Tuesday by nominating candidates who embraced President Donald Trump, while Democratic voters rejected insurgents from the left to stick with the party’s mainstream.
Newsom under attack in California governor debate: Politico reports, California’s crowded field of major gubernatorial candidates battled in a televised debate for the first time Tuesday, exchanging barbs over sanctuary cities and #MeToo issues — and saving some of their toughest blows for the Democratic frontrunner, Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom.
ENTERPRISE
Paywalls: Bloomberg, Vanity Fair, Wired, Business Insider and The Atlantic have launched new paywalls within the past year.
"on-demand access to information and entertainment has also become a consumer trend that is likely helping news outlets get consumers cash in."
7 days: Sam’s Club and Walmart announced on Monday that their pharmacies would provide only a seven-day supply of opioid medications to some customers in an attempt to stymie the nationwide opioid crisis.
Self-driving 57x: Goldman Sachs predicts that the now-$5 billion ride hailing and ride sharing business would grow to $285 billion by 2030 provided that self-driving car technology proceeds on pace with their forecast.
Uber and NASA are teaming up to create commercial flying cars by 2023.
Glassdoor has agreed to sell itself to Japan’s Recruit for $1.2 billion.
Best Buy's new look: Best Buy is rebranding, with a new logo, website and ads that depict its employees as caring, friendly listeners who can solve your electronics problems.
"Best Buy is tapping its own 100,000 blue-shirted employees as the stars of its new marketing campaign."
Slack now has 8 million daily active users and 3 million paying subscribers.
Facebook has named new leaders for some of its main divisions, including the core social network, WhatsApp and Messenger, in the biggest management reshuffling since the company's founding. The company also unveiled a new initiative to explore the use of blockchain.
Facebook quietly rolled out policies on "issue ads," or ads addressing topics ranging from abortion to guns, that will have to be approved and labeled before publication on the social media site.
5 more Nike executives are out amid inquiry into harassment allegations: NYT reports, at least five more top managers are leaving the world’s largest sports footwear and apparel company after an investigation into complaints of harassment and bias. The departures follow six others.
The 13 best Warren Buffett quotes from the Berkshire Hathaway meeting https://for.tn/2I407tm
TRENDS
HBR: Having your smartphone nearby takes a toll on your thinking http://bit.ly/2IrQpQE
"In recent research, we investigated whether merely having one’s own smartphone nearby could influence cognitive abilities. In two lab experiments, nearly 800 people completed tasks designed to measure their cognitive capacity."
CULTURE
Post Malone has nine songs in the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100.
I have no idea who Post Malone is.
Highlands Bar & Grill in Birmingham was named America’s most outstanding restaurant at the James Beard Foundation Awards.
Urban discourse: The University of Toronto has announced it will open a new School of Cities on 1 July.
SPORT
MLB in London: New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are set to play three games in June 2019 at London’s Olympic Stadium.
Maryland seeded No. 1 in both men's, women's NCAA lacrosse tournaments
M's James Paxton first Canadian ever to toss no-hitter in Canada: ESPN reports, James Paxton looked up at the 20,000 Canadian fans cheering for him and pointed to the giant maple leaf tattoo on his right forearm. Paxton became the first Canadian to throw a no-hitter in his home country, pitching the Seattle Mariners to a 5-0 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday night.
Wayne Rooney courted by DC United.
US gives assurances to FIFA over travel for 2026 World Cup: AP reports, The United States has moved to assure FIFA that there will be no discrimination around entry to the country if it ends up as one of the hosts of the 2026 World Cup. The North American bid has faced questions about the impact of attempts by Trump to implement a ban on travel to the country by residents of six majority-Muslim nations.