ZTE, Facebook, Ralph Lauren, Politico, SoulCycle, Hollywood, Flipkart
Marc Ross Daily
May 23, 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
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TOP FIVE
✔️ EU setting global privacy standards
✔️ Britons dash to become German before Brexit
✔️ Why the US-China trade truce may not last
✔️ 'I’m sorry,' Zuckerberg tells EU Parliament
✔️ Why do Americans stay when their town has no future?
ROSS RANT
ZTE saga highlights new influence of small US regulatory agency housed in the Commerce Department
The Trump administration has charged the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) with determining which new technology should face export restrictions, in what would be the biggest expansion of the agency’s purview since the Cold War. The agency’s broadening role has alarmed some people in the tech industry, who have had few dealings with the obscure agency.
The little-known division of the US Commerce Department is expected to gain new authority to regulate technology exports.
Technology executives are only beginning to assess how they could be affected by new export limits. Historically, the roughly 450-person BIS, with an annual budget of a little more than $100 million, has operated in relative obscurity, overseeing the export of sensitive technologies that have both commercial and military applications—so-called “dual-use” items. The agency, which has offices in Silicon Valley, also enforces sanctions that prohibit exports to countries the US deems as threats, including Syria, Iran and North Korea.
American tech companies have been on edge since the Trump administration in December unveiled his “America First” security plan that calls for protecting emerging US technology from being copied by overseas competitors. The responsibility for carrying out those goals falls largely to BIS.
The Information has an excellent write-up on the agency and its oversight of ZTE. You can read it here: http://bit.ly/2LjXWjm
GEOECONOMICS
EU setting global privacy standards: Most big internet companies are planning to offer global users most of the protections required by the law, known as GDPR.
AFP: Macron shuns ‘new’ plan, wants more jobs to tackle deprived suburbs
NYT: Macron vowed to make France a ‘start-up nation.’ Is it getting there?
"When President Emmanuel Macron took office, he took pains to include two iPhones in his official portrait, a symbol of his penchant for technology."
Could Britain have an election in 2018? It’s not impossible: Bloomberg reports, could Britain, which had referendums in 2014 and 2016 and elections in 2015 and 2017, have another vote in 2018? Politicians laugh nervously at the idea, but know that deadlock over Brexit makes it possible. The pound fell to its lowest level this year on Monday amid speculation another snap vote could be called after the Sunday Times said some Conservative lawmakers are privately preparing for one.
The Times: Take UK out of customs union as fast as possible, Boris Johnson tells Theresa May
Britons dash to become German before Brexit: Reuters reports, driven by the prospect of Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union next year, the number of British passport holders who became German citizens jumped by 162 percent last year, Germany’s Federal Statistics Office said on Wednesday.
Germany in the age of Trump: Handelsblatt Global reports, as the foreign ministers of Germany and the US meet in Washington for damage control, a foreign-policy expert ponders what Germany should do now that Donald Trump has canceled the "partnership in leadership."
@dwnews: In Germany, a woman leads the country, but there isn't a single female CEO in any of its top businesses
North Korea: Trump said yesterday that he would cancel a planned summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un unless Kim first consented to a list of unspecified conditions.
Why the US-China trade truce may not last: Bloomberg reports, the US and China declared a truce in their trade dispute over the weekend, but that will prove temporary if the world’s two largest economies fail to deliver on their vague commitments to re-balance trade. The truce is “little more than a brief de-escalation of tensions,” said Eswar Prasad, a trade policy professor at Cornell University and former head of the IMF’s China unit. “The fundamental differences on trade and other economic issues remain unresolved.”
$53,987 = Per capita GDP in Shanghai
China said its Foreign Minister Wang Yi would visit Washington today.
US seeks greater scrutiny of China tech investment: FT reports, bipartisan support for bill to enable review of minority stakes in start-ups. A key Senate committee on Tuesday is beginning the process of negotiating the final details of a bill that its authors said would give the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US more powers and increase scrutiny of Chinese investments, particularly in tech companies.
Senators urge Trump to take hard line in dealings with China: Reuters reports, at least 27 of the 100 US senators, both Democrats and President Donald Trump’s fellow Republicans, urged his administration on Tuesday not to soften restrictions on the transfer of US technology to China. “There can be no question that China seeks to surpass the US both economically and militarily and become the world’s foremost superpower, and neither the federal government nor private US companies should aid and abet that effort,” the senators said in a letter, whose signatories included Chuck Schumer, the top Senate Democrat, and John Cornyn, the No. 2 Republican.
You can see the letter here: http://bit.ly/2s0GBUw
US and China cannot escape technology war: Beijing won't relent in a state-led drive that Washington is bound to challenge.
Nikkei - James Crabtree
AMERICAN POLITICS
WSJ: Rare bipartisan deal rolls back postcrisis banking regulation
Steely: Employment in each of America’s top 10 steel cities has grown slower than the US average—or actually declined—since Trump announced plans to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.
GA-GOV: Stacey Abrams became the first black woman to be a major party’s nominee for governor after she won Georgia’s Democratic primary.
Can Paul Ryan make it through to January as House Speaker? NYT reports, Mr. Ryan pledged to finish out his term when he announced his retirement. But with Republicans in revolt on both his right and his left, he is stuck in the middle, with no clear path forward.
WP: Ryan losing grip on House GOP conference as midterms approach
LAT: California has moved to the left, and Dianne Feinstein is following in her bid for a fifth term
NYT - Andrew Ross Sorkin: An artless negotiation from the president who penned ‘The Art of the Deal’https://nyti.ms/2x7Hdwy
NYT - Paul Krugman: Why a trade war with China isn’t ‘easy to win’ (slightly wonkish) https://nyti.ms/2LnmBU7
The Times: Trump fundraiser Elliott Broidy ‘lobbied for $1bn in contracts’
"A top fundraiser for President Trump allegedly led a secret effort to diplomatically isolate Qatar as part of a plan to win $1 billion in business contracts from its regional rivals."
A big shoe drops in the Mueller probe, as the Taxi King flips: WP reports, a former business partner of Trump attorney Michael Cohen appears to have gotten a very sweet deal from prosecutors. That should frighten Cohen and Trump.
Evgeny A. Friedman, the business partner of Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen, has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.
ENTERPRISE
Hollywood is hoping for a box-office rebound with a slew of summer blockbusters, including “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” “Incredibles 2” and “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.”
China surpassed North America to become the world's largest movie market during the first quarter of 2018.
@CNBCnow: BREAKING: Comcast says it is in the advanced stages of preparing all-cash bid for Fox assets
Politico is launching a content-sharing partnership with the South China Morning Post.
This is a really, really, big deal.
The Alibaba + Jack Ma + China + Politico partnership is super interesting on many levels - easily could be the biggest cultural and commercial US-China tie-up of significance this year.
I am keen to see how this plays out and both sides of the Pacific.
How the ‘world’s most comfortable shoe’ is challenging Nike and Adidas: WSJ reports, driven by word-of-mouth sales and an eco-focus, San Francisco's Allbirds has sold over a million shoes in two years. But can this Silicon Valley success story last?
@marcbain_: Americans aren't buying all-American brand Ralph Lauren so much these days. North America sales dropped 15% for the year
Barclays explores mergers with rival banks: FT reports, private talks with StanChart form part of contingency plans after investor pressure.
Nikkei: Honda to tie up with world's largest battery maker in China
Foxconn to cut back initial investment in $10 billion Wisconsin plant: Nikkei reports, Foxconn's shift to making diversifying displays for cars, personal computers, tablets, mobile devices, televisions and niche products is a change from its previous plan to churn out large panels, mainly for TVs, at the new plant.
AFP: 'I’m sorry,' Zuckerberg tells EU Parliament
Walmart's takeover of Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart is moving forward, after SoftBank agreed to sell the U.S. firm its entire 21% stake in Flipkart.
Starbucks app: More than 23.4 million people will open the Starbucks app to pay for their coffee or tea at least once every six months in 2018, according to eMarketer.
When it comes to marketing, often it is best to make it obvious: The Big Ass Fans brand was originally called the HVLS Fan Company.
Yelp seeks to revive EU antitrust complaint against Google.
TRENDS
How Americans watch television:
- 67% of TV viewers switch to another channel when a commercial advertisement comes on, per Nielsen.
- Sports and news are the two genres users still overwhelmingly watch live.
- There are roughly 500 scripted TV series today, compared to roughly 200 in 2010, according to FX's annual Networks Research report.
- 70.3% of the American population — will regularly use another digital device while watching TV this year.
AI: In a survey of Fortune 500 CEOs this year, a majority of respondents—54%—said AI was “very important” to the future of their companies. That’s up from just 39% last year,
CULTURE
Here's Bill Gates summer reading list: http://bit.ly/2LlL0Jz
RIP: Philip Roth, a pre-eminent figure of 20th-century literature, died Tuesday night in Manhattan at the age of 85.
Why do Americans stay when their town has no future? Family and community are the only things left in Adams County, Ohio, as the coal-fired power plants abandon ship and the government shrugs. https://bloom.bg/2IKHvuQ
PODCAST
The BOF Podcast Episode 43: How SoulCycle scales community: Chief executive Melanie Whelan discusses how to successfully build a community around an experience and why people are key to maintaining SoulCycle's special culture. http://bit.ly/2J0OF1m
SPORT
NBA Playoffs:
BOS v CLE - Series tied 2-2 | Game 5 tonight @ 8:30 pm
GSW v HOU - Series tied 2-2 | Game 5 tomorrow @ 9:00 pm
NHL Playoffs:
Capitals v Lightning - Series tied 3-3 | Game 7 tonight @ 8:00 pm
Vegas Golden Knights are prepping for the Stanly Cup finals by enjoying all you can eat buffets on The Strip.