Treasurys, Jurgen Klopp, Naval Academy, Palantir, Jeff Bezos, Mo Salah, Reed Hastings
Marc Ross Daily
April 25, 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
✔️ Global stocks extend slide after Treasurys hit 3%
✔️ Naval Academy sees big boost in cybersecurity majors
✔️ GOP retains House seat in Arizona
✔️ Andreessen Horowitz plans to create a cryptocurrency fund
✔️ Inside Jeff Bezos’s DC life
ROSS IN THE NEWS
Self-promo alert: Spoke with Rachelle Akuffo on CGTN-America's Global Business program regarding steps Beijing can take to improve intellectual property rights for companies selling good and services to Chinese consumers.
It's a big challenge for China, but an issue that the nation must address if it hopes to move up the economic development ladder and ensure consumer safety.
You can watch the segment here: http://bit.ly/2HvRyDr
GEOECONOMICS
Global stocks extend slide after Treasurys hit 3%: WSJ reports, global stocks fell, echoing a decline on Wall Street after the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield hit 3% and industrial giants struck a cautious note for the months ahead.
This morning's European trading saw the Stoxx Europe 600 fall 0.8%, after slides of 1% and 0.3% in Hong Kong and Japan respectively.
Guardian: Finland to end basic income trial after two years
"Government rejects request for funds to expand scheme and plans stricter benefits rules"
Malta + Bitcoin: Two of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges plan to make the tiny European nation a central hub of their operations.
Icelandic fugitive in bitcoin heist arrested in Amsterdam: AP reports, Amsterdam police have arrested an Icelandic fugitive suspected of masterminding the theft of hundreds of computers used to mine bitcoin and other virtual currencies. Police spokesman Rob van der Veen confirmed Monday that Sindri Thor Stefansson was arrested Sunday night in downtown Amsterdam. He declined to give further details, saying that prosecutors will now work on Stefansson’s extradition.
Brexit: Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool manager, says Britain should have another referendum on the EU because Brexit "makes no sense at all."
FT: Macron makes long-term investment in Trump
Macron is on Capitol Hill today to address a joint session of Congress.
North Korea’s nuclear test site has collapsed, scientists confirm: SCMP reports, North Korea’s mountain nuclear test site has collapsed, putting China and other nearby nations at unprecedented risk of radioactive exposure, two separate groups of Chinese scientists studying the issue have confirmed.
Incoming US Pacific Command chief wants to increase presence near China: Defense News reports, the nominee to be the next chief of the U.S. forces in the Pacific has called for an increase in U.S. forces from all three services stationed in the vital region, adding that China is now effectively able to control the South China Sea and challenge the U.S. presence in the region.
US Navy gearing up for boost in submarine production: AP reports, the U.S. Navy is working to build three attack submarines in some years as opposed to two, and wants to keep five of its attack submarines in service longer than expected to address a dip in the number of nuclear-powered attack submarines in coming years.
Naval Academy sees big boost in cybersecurity majors: AP reports, the U.S. Naval Academy has seen a big increase in cyber operations majors, and a U.S. senator said Monday that midshipmen could be useful in working on cyber challenges before they graduate.
The Shanghai Stock Exchange has signed an MoU with the UAE to open an international exchange alongside the Abu Dhabi Global Market.
Trump to send Mnuchin to China for trade talks next week: WSJ reports, “I think we’ve got a very good chance of making a deal,” said Mr. Trump, who called China’s leader Xi Jinping “a friend of mine,” but noted that there remained significant obstacles to a deal. “They trade with us,” the president said. “We can’t trade with them.” The members of the U.S. team will include Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, National Economic Council director Larry Kudlow and White House trade adviser Peter Navarro. Mr. Trump didn’t say specifically when next week the trip would occur, but a person familiar with the discussions said the team is likely to be in Beijing around May 3 and May 4.
AP: China says it welcomes visit by US officials amid trade spat
SCMP: Trump to send high-level US delegation to China for trade talks
Caixin: Trump sees 'good chance' oftrade agreement with China
AMERICAN POLITICS
GOP retains House seat in Arizona: WSJ reports, Republican Debbie Lesko won Tuesday’s special election for a House seat in Arizona, defeating Democrat Hiral Tipirneni in a heavily Republican district that the party spent more than $1 million to retain.
Republicans and Democrats should be worried about 2020: A new projection of the voting population shows demographic problems for Republicans and Electoral College problems for Democrats. https://53eig.ht/2vKkfuz
Trump's travel ban faces Supreme Court reckoning: Reuters reports, Trump's administration goes before the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to defend the legality of his travel ban targeting people from several Muslim-majority countries, one of the most contentious actions of his presidency.
Bloomberg: Engineers are leaving Trump's America for the Canadian dream
"The long wait for green cards was bad enough. Antagonism toward immigrants is pushing skilled foreigners across the border."
New Yorker: McMaster and commander http://bit.ly/2KahZQB
"Can a national-security adviser retain his integrity if the President has none?"
Pay me: Atlanta reportedly spent more than $2.6 million responding to a ransomware attack that destabilized municipal operations last month after attackers infected the city's systems with pernicious malware and asked for a ransom of roughly $50,000 worth of bitcoin.
Inside Jeff Bezos’s DC life: The Amazon founder and Washington Post owner has quietly become a freewheeling DC socialite—and soon he'll be spending more time here, in the mammoth Kalorama home his family is renovating. What brought the tech giant to town in the first place? And what does he do, exactly, while he's around? The story of how the world's richest man is becoming a Washingtonian. http://bit.ly/2qVsezB
Apple CEO Tim Cook, FedEx’s Fred Smith, IBM’s Ginni Rometty and media mogul Rupert Murdoch were among the guests at the state dinner for French President Macron in Washington last night.
The reinvention of America: Americans don’t realize how fast the country is moving toward becoming a better version of itself.
Atlantic - James Fallows
“Organization don’t mean shit”: Inside the beginning of the end of the Clinton campaign: In an excerpt from her new book, Chasing Hillary, the author explains how a group of perspicacious—and pretty miserable—Clinton campaign reporters knew the candidate’s electoral hopes were imperiled all the way back in Iowa, in early 2016. http://bit.ly/2vHesGq
ENTERPRISE
Amazon is in talks to acquire TV shopping channel Evine Live.
Amazon is reportedly working on a domestic robot, code-named Vesta.
Amazon launches a ‘lite’ Android web browser app in India.
WSJ: The ‘Amazon Effect’ stings consumer-staples stocks
FT: Reed Hastings, the Netflix chief with a global vision
"His international outlook has disrupted the television industry and our viewing habits"
AFP: Global carmakers show off SUVs, electrics as China promises reforms
Ferrari has been quietly working on a hybrid car.
WSJ: Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi hits accelerator on talks for IPO
Google and Facebook likely to benefit from Europe’s privacy crackdown: WSJ reports, big tech companies gain while smaller online ad firms are squeezed under the European Union’s GDPR, which takes effect in May.
Andreessen Horowitz plans to create a cryptocurrency fund.
Bitcoin is the greatest scam in history: It’s a colossal pump-and-dump scheme, the likes of which the world has never seen. http://bit.ly/2Jqviey
A big bet bet on the future of gambling in the US: Canadian poker giant Stars Group Inc. purchased UK-based Sky Betting & Gambling -- the world’s largest publicly traded online gambling company -- for $4.7 billion.
The Times: Comcast makes firm £22bn offer for Sky
Reuters: Google overhauls Gmail to lure businesses away from Microsoft
Palantir knows everything about you: Peter Thiel’s data-mining company is using War on Terror tools to track American citizens. The scary thing? Palantir is desperate for new customers. https://bloom.bg/2I1B3QB
TRENDS
How streaming will continue to change everything in the music business: The next revolution in the music business will not be a new consumer-facing format or a visionary product. The next revolution is financial and multifaceted with wide implications, and it’s already started. http://bit.ly/2FcB7tH
What will cannabis legalization mean for music? As weed goes corporate, so might its relationship with musicians and artists. How Canadian pot regulations, marketing laws and criminalization of people of color will affect music and cannabis. http://bit.ly/2Hrp956
CULTURE
RIP: Bob Dorough, who set numbers and grammar to music in ‘Schoolhouse Rock!,’ dies at 94
What Manhattan's land is worth http://bit.ly/2KaHcdA
"The forthcoming paper in Regional Science and Urban Economics estimates that in 2014, the developable land in Manhattan—excluding parks, roads, and highways—was worth between $1.54 and $1.95 trillion, for an average of $1.74 trillion. That figure is significantly larger than the combined market capitalization of the world’s three largest corporations that year, and similar to the economic output of Canada, the world’s 10th-largest economy."
SOTD
Nothing But Thieves - Amsterdam http://bit.ly/2Hs4olS
SPORT
Champions League: Mo Salah leads Liverpool to 5-2 victory over Roma
NBA Playoffs: teams advancing:
New Orleans
Golden State
Philadelphia