On Friday evening, Caracal Global Founder Marc A. Ross spoke with CGTN's Susan Roberts on about the interactions and implications of the G7 Summit. He covered Trump, Putin, Singapore, Canada, and Cirque du Soleil.
G7, Hell, Singapore, Bitcoin, 3 World Trade Center, Ocean’s 8, Springboks
G7, Hell, Singapore, Bitcoin, 3 World Trade Center, Ocean’s 8, Springboks
Marc Ross Daily
June 11, 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
Subscribe here: https://goo.gl/bSQKwA
TOP FIVE
✔️ "Most people when they visit Canada have more fun"
✔️ Trump brings chaos to G7
✔️ Singapore summit officially begins at 9:00 pm ET
✔️ Exhausted aides eye the exits
✔️ Bitcoin took a tumble of over 7%
ROSS IN THE NEWS
"Most people when they visit Canada have more fun"
On Friday evening, I spoke with CGTN's Susan Roberts on about the interactions and implications of the G7 Summit. I covered Trump, Putin, Singapore, Canada, and Cirque du Soleil.
You can watch the clip here: https://youtu.be/k7ZkepbPwjU
GEOECONOMICS
I don't think Trudeau should burn in eternal hell fire, what do you think?
Toronto Star: ‘Special place in hell’: Trump aides hurl insults at Trudeau in unprecedented US attack on Canadian leader
CBC: Trump's tweets undo weekend of G7 diplomacy — and puzzle Canadian officials
Politico: White House ratchets up trade war with 'special place in hell' slug at Trudeau
WP: Trump accuses Canadian leader of being ‘dishonest’ and ‘weak’
LAT: Trump brings chaos to G7 with trade threats and praise for Russia – and then backs out of joint agreement
FT: Angry Trump torpedoes G7’s hard-won trade harmony
Bloomberg: Trump shocks leaders with Trudeau insult to upend G7 summit
WP: European leaders are indignant and defiant over Trump’s G7 statement. But they’re not surprised.
Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the fallout was “sobering and a bit depressing.”
DW - Editorial: Donald Trump, withdrawer-in-chief, strikes again, turns G7 into G6: Just when it seemed that the G7 leaders had eked out a joint communique and avoided an open rift, Donald Trump, in a stunning Twitter turnaround, retracted his endorsement. It's probably better that way.
On his way to Singapore, Trump said he was “on a mission of peace.”
The Singapore Summit officially begins at 9:00 pm ET, which is 9:00 am Tuesday Singapore time.
Since Trump's meeting with Kim Jong-un begins at 9:00 pm, so by 9:01 pm will know what to expect for the future of the planet....
@steveholland1: White House: “The discussions between the United States and North Korea are ongoing and have moved more quickly than expected.” Trump to leave Singapore Tues night after press avail
WP: In Trump, some fear the end of the world order
NYT: Trump upends global trade order built byUS
"Behind Mr. Trump’s outrage is his belief that the United States is at a disadvantage when it comes to global trade and is on the losing end of tariffs imposed by other nations. But to many of the country’s trading partners, the president’s criticisms ring hollow given that the United States places its own tariffs on everything from trucks and peanuts to sugar and stilettos."
Economist: America and the world - Donald Trump’s demolition theory of foreign policy won’t work
"Even if the president strikes a deal with North Korea, his approach will harm America and the world"
AP: Xi extols free trade at Asia meet as G7 ends in disarray
WSJ: Chinese, Russian presidents lead US criticism at regional summit
ZTE’s near-collapse may be China’s Sputnik moment: NYT reports, once derided as a technology backwater and copycat, China is justifiably proud of its technology boom. Its people zip around the country on high-speed trains. They can buy, and pay for, just about anything with their smartphones. For Chinese traveling abroad, the rest of the world can seem slow and antiquated. Now, that progress has been cast into doubt, and even some of the smartest people in the technology world are asking how they got it so wrong.
Bloomberg - Brendan Kelly OpEd: China’s richer than it thinks: Almost any foreign official, businessman or journalist visiting Beijing has heard the mantra that China can’t be expected to open up its markets or meet more stringent international standards because it’s still a developing economy. Maybe that argument was valid 20 years ago. Now it’s increasingly tenuous. More importantly, it’s damaging to China and the world. Policies designed for a developing nation are now holding it back.
Today: Peterson Institute event on US-China economic relationship
FT - Editorial: Theresa May’s soft approach to facing down a hard Brexit
Staunch Leavers are losing arguments as their threats prove empty
May seeks united Tory front as Commons votes test Brexit strategy: FT reports, attempts to overthrow peers’ amendments to withdrawal bill will be hard-fought.
Tangled in Brexit, the Tories are failing their business supporters: Leaving the EU has tied the party to positions that fail to promote prosperity.
FT - Patience Wheatcroft
DW: France bans cellphone use in public schools
Italian commitment: The euro is up after the new Italian finance minister, Giovanni Tria, said the country would remain committed to it.
WSJ: Putin asks Austrian leader to set up summit with Trump
Brigadoon Annapolis | Salon Dinner + Lectures = Sep. 20-21, 2018
"Lectures for this event will take place on the deck of the Liberte schooner during our morning sail. Digital humanism design and triple bottom line investing will be the focus of the discussions."
More info here: http://bit.ly/2rN7kCS
AMERICAN POLITICS
Inside the chaos of Donald Trump’s trade wars: FT reports, officials describe a White House in disarray with fierce infighting, no process for decisions and a president without a strategy. The Trump administration is now fighting trade battles on several different fronts with both friends and rivals, leaving governments scrambling to decipher what is negotiating bluster and what is actual policy. https://on.ft.com/2t4KzeH
"There is little, if any, policy process to guide the US side. Most of all, there is a president determined to keep his campaign promise to get tough on trade but with little consensus on how to proceed."
‘Drama, action, emotional power’: As exhausted aides eye the exits, Trump is re-energized: NYT reports, a West Wing where burned-out aides are eyeing the exits, as the mood in the White House is one of numbness and resignation that the president is growing only more emboldened to act on instinct alone. Trump, a former reality television star, may soon be working with a thinned-out cast in the middle of Season 2, well before the midterm elections. Several high-profile aides, including John F. Kelly, the president’s chief of staff, and Joe Hagin, a deputy of Mr. Kelly’s, are said to be thinking about how much longer they can stay. Last week, Mr. Kelly told visiting senators that the White House was “a miserable place to work,” according to a person with direct knowledge of the comment.
Meet the guys who tape Trump's papers back together: Politico reports, the president's unofficial 'filing system' involves tearing up documents into pieces, even when they're supposed to be preserved. https://politi.co/2y1IaHa
WSJ - Editorial: Congress vs. Trump on tariffs: Democrats gave Presidents too much trade power. The GOP should take it back. Mr. Trump might rage on Twitter, but Congress needs to send him a message that his protectionism isn’t cost-free. Otherwise he might believe he can get away with blowing up NAFTA, imposing a 25% tariff on imported cars, or shutting down trade with China.
WSJ: The art of the foreign-policy deal: An insider’s guide to Trump’s tactics: An examination of key foreign-policy moments from the president’s first 16 months reveals the traits he brings to bear in international dealings. https://on.wsj.com/2y3X67I
Yes, Democrats will be running in every California House race this fall. Here’s why this is big news. https://wapo.st/2sMTHo1
The first 2020 race is underway: Scrambling for New York donors: NYT reports, the American presidential races requiring an ever-dizzying amount of money, an early, behind-the-scenes 2020 contest is already taking place: the New York money primary.“When a candidate calls me to talk about ‘strategy and issues,’ you grab hold of your wallet for dear life,” said Robert Zimmerman, a prominent New York donor and a member of the Democratic National Committee who has been in touch with multiple prospective candidates. https://nyti.ms/2sWVyXi
Trump is trading on the protectionist mood: When even centrists are circling the wagons, we know we have entered a different world.
FT - Rana Foroohar
ENTERPRISE
Bitcoin took a tumble of over 7% yesterday after a South Korean cryptocurrency exchange called Coinrail said it had been the victim of an online heist.
Goodbye to net neutrality: The Obama-era regulations that barred broadband providers from slowing or blocking some types of Internet traffic expire today.
Amazon was urged to improve conditions for factory workers in China who make Echo speakers and Kindle e-readers.
Scoot-scoot: Uber and Lyft officially applied for e-scooter permits in San Francisco.
Beauty contest to host new Amazon base reveals ugly truths: Competition for ‘HQ2’ shows how hard it is to ensure city development benefits the poor.
FT - Edward Luce
TRENDS
FT: A tale of two systems: urban development in China and India https://on.ft.com/2l2NUat
Ideology, centralization, and corruption set different paces of progress
CULTURE
WTC: Building at 3 World Trade Center will open this week, soaring 1,079 feet as the fifth-tallest building in New York City.
At the Tony Awards, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” and “The Band’s Visit” dominated. Also, Robert De Niro shouted "F*** Trump! It's no longer 'down with Trump.' It's f*** Trump!"
“Ocean’s 8” opened at No. 1 at the box office.
Kanye West’s latest album, “Ye,” hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.
SPORT
Springboks’ first black captain converts a scarred nation: FT reports, South Africa unites behind rugby player who has overcome a relic of apartheid. https://on.ft.com/2l00Aii
Justify became the 13th horse to win the Triple Crown
The 2018 World Cup starts Thursday, June 14 @ 11:00 am ET with an opening match between the host Russia playing Saudi Arabia.
FIFA team rankings:
1. Germany
2. Brazil
3. Belgium
4. Portugal
5. Argentina
6. Switzerland
7. France
8. Poland
9. Chile
10. Spain
Messi and Ronaldo primed for final World Cup hurrah as England get real: Guardian reports, restrained hopes around Gareth Southgate’s side are a good thing in a tournament that represents the last chance for two greats to join Maradona and Pelé in the World Cup pantheon.
The top 10 players to watch at World Cup 2018https://wapo.st/2Jh8CxK
FT: World Cup: applying economic theory to predict the winner https://on.ft.com/2y0Abdw
"France will beat Spain in the final, with Brazil in third place . . . maybe"
Tariff Delay, Itlay, Scotland, Singapore, Apple, Spider-Man, AI, HNA
Tariff Delay, Itlay, Scotland, Singapore, Apple, Spider-Man, AI, HNA
Marc Ross Daily
May 1, 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
Subscribe here: https://goo.gl/bSQKwA
TOP FIVE
✔️ Trump delays steel tariff decision for EU, other U.S. allies
✔️ Italy’s governing options diminish
✔️ Scotland leads world with start of minimum alcohol pricing
✔️ U.S. weighing Singapore, Korean DMZ for Trump-Kim summit
✔️ Apple is aiming to release an AR/VR headset in 2020
GEOECONOMICS
WSJ: Trump delays steel tariff decision for EU, other U.S. allies
Trump will give Canada, Mexico and the European Union another 30-day reprieve from steel and aluminum tariffs.
Reuters: Benefit of Trump tax cuts overshadowed by technology and misplaced policies: Milken conference speakers
The Milken Institute Global Conference — an annual confab for investors, researchers and policymakers — kicked off Monday in Beverly Hills.
NAFTA: Representatives from Canada, Mexico and the United States agreed to meet May 7 in Washington to resume negotiations for a revised North American Free Trade Agreement.
Italy’s governing options diminish: The two-month search for a new government was thrown into disarray as leaders of the anti-establishment Five Star and the center-left Democratic Party said dialogue was impossible, extending the gridlock in the euro area's third-biggest economy.
President Trump will be our greatest ally after Brexit: Freed from ties to the EU, Britain can build a truly special relationship with this US president.
The Times - Jacob Rees-Mogg
Scotland leads world with start of minimum alcohol pricing: AFP reports, Scotland on Tuesday became the world's first country to introduce minimum pricing for alcohol, in what its government expects will be a trailblazing move following years of legal battles. "Scotland is the first country in the world being bold enough and brave enough to introduce minimum unit pricing," Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told AFP.
AFP: Pacific and China on agenda as Macron arrives in Australia
China woos another Taiwan partner, diluting island’s support: WSJ reports, China established formal relations with the Dominican Republic, peeling away another of Taiwan’s dwindling diplomatic partners as Beijing tries to pressure Taipei to accept Chinese terms for political engagement.
Reuters: Taiwan says China dangled $3 billion to grab ally Dominican Republic
2022: The year when China is projected to surpass the U.S. as the largest air travel market, according to a International Air Transport Association forecast.
White House considers restricting Chinese researchers over espionage fears: NYT reports, he Trump administration, concerned about China’s growing technological prowess, is considering strict measures to block Chinese citizens from performing sensitive research at American universities and research institutes over fears they may be acquiring intellectual secrets, according to people familiar with the deliberations. The White House is discussing whether to limit the access of Chinese citizens to the United States, including restricting certain types of visas available to them and greatly expanding rules pertaining to Chinese researchers who work on projects with military or intelligence value at American companies and universities. https://nyti.ms/2FuqbI5
Reuters: U.S. Treasury chief: 'Cautiously optimistic' on China trade talks
Bloomberg - Michael Schuman OpEd: In trade talks, China is too clever by half: As is often the case in China, how things appear on the surface is not actually how they are. That’s especially true with China’s recent market reforms. Beijing isn’t groveling before a tariff-rattling Washington, nor honestly addressing the frustrations of international CEOs. That’s just not how China works. https://bloom.bg/2rcIUCB
Cui's puzzlement: 'Is America still there?': CD reports, Chinese ambassador to the United States Cui Tiankai is puzzled about a country where he has lived and worked for 11 years. "Is the America I used to know -- an open, confident, optimistic America -- still there?" he asked in a speech at Harvard University's Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies on April 17. What perplexes Cui, Beijing's longest-serving ambassador to the US, where he was once a student and UN employee, perhaps also is confounding many others, who are either coming to visit, seeking to study or doing business in the country.
In Beijing they ask, who lost America?!?
U.S. weighing Singapore, Korean DMZ for Trump-Kim summit: WSJ reports, Trump said he was considering Singapore and the demilitarized zone on the Korean Peninsula as the site for his summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.
AMERICAN POLITICS
NBC News: Kelly thinks he's saving U.S. from disaster, calls Trump 'idiot,' say White House staffers
"Some current and former officials said they expect Kelly to leave by July, and that Trump and Kelly seem to have tired of each other."
LAT: Chief of Staff John Kelly calls ‘BS' on report he called Trump an idiot
Mueller outlined over 40 questions for Trump in potentialinterview: WSJ reports, special counsel Robert Mueller earlier this year outlined for President Trump’s legal team more than 40 questions he planned to ask as part of his investigation into Trump associates’ ties to Russia.
The House and Senate are out this week.
NYT: Trump’s role in midterm elections roils Republicans
"Congressional and party leaders and even some Trump aides are concerned that the president’s boundless self-assurance about politics will cause him to ignore or undermine their midterm strategy. In battleground states like Arizona, Florida and Nevada, Trump’s proclivity to be a loose cannon could endanger the Republican incumbents and challengers who are already facing ferocious Democratic headwinds."
WP: Democrats were looking at suburban districts. Now they’re glancing toward rural ones too.
"Democrats suggesting that the 2018 field is dramatically larger than anyone could have guessed last year, including in some more rural spots that they once thought of ceding to Republicans."
The lobbying firm CGCN Group emails clients: “Republicans are headed for a tough midterm election … It’s normal that sitting presidents lose many seats in midterm elections … Democratic voters continue to express significantly more interest in the upcoming midterms … enthusiasm gap compounded by the retirements of 46 House Republicans.”
Pompeo dives into NATO diplomacy as allies confront Russia: AP reports, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo rebuked Russia on Friday for what he called aggression beyond its borders, and vowed to restore relevance to a badly demoralized State Department in his new role as the top American diplomat.
Today: Trump presents the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy to the U.S. Military Academy Football Team.
Trump’s China tariffs risk costing U.S. jobs, new study shows: Bloomberg reports, the tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese imports that Trump has proposed, plus promised retaliatory duties by China, would reduce U.S. gross domestic product by $2.9 billion and cost almost 134,000 U.S. jobs, according to a study commissioned by the Consumer Technology Association and the National Retail Federation, which oppose the tariffs. That includes more than 67,000 jobs in agriculture.
ENTERPRISE
Reuters: Disney to create live sports, entertainment shows for Twitter
Apple is aiming to release an AR/VR headset in 2020.
Huawei probe risks bigger shock to smartphone industry: Nikei reports, a ban similar to ZTE's would choke off supplies to the world's third-ranked vendor
Tesla is burning through more than $6,500 a minute.
Tesla has over 300 Chinese startups hot on its tail.
Toyota pushes forward launch of electric vehicle in China.
Reuters: China's HNA drops bid to buy Scaramucci's SkyBridge due to regulatory hold-up
Royal Bank of Scotland is to cut around 792 jobs and shutter 162 branches following a review of its branch network in England and Wales.
TRENDS
How much are “free” digital products worth to you? According to surveys of what consumers would have to get to give up various online services by Erik Brynjolfsson, Felix Eggers and Avinash Gannamaneni. Consumers would have to be paid $17,530 per year to give up Internet search, $8,414 for email, $3,648 for maps, $322 for social media and $155 for messaging. The fact they pay nothing suggests they reap substantial “consumer surplus” from these services that does not show up in measured gross domestic product. Of course, consumers may get even more surplus from more mundane non-digital products. How much would you have to be paid to give up indoor plumbing?
The AI arms race: China and US compete to dominate big data: Algorithms trained on mountains of Chinese data may soon be making decisions that deeply affect the lives of people in the US. Beijing plans to be the world leader in the technology by 2030. The contest will come down to who can better manipulate the data. https://on.ft.com/2KtNbdW
Big Data > Big Oil
The world's wealthiest companies are powerhouse data collectors and data users.
The bullshit job phenomenon — are you in one? More than a million people have read David Graeber’s essay arguing that many jobs are pointless. Now he’s expanded his theory into a book. http://bit.ly/2I3Ofqp
"A poll revealed that 37 percent of British workers believe that their job makes no meaningful contribution to the world"
Here's the original essay: On the phenomenon of bullshit jobs: A work rant http://bit.ly/2w52nLg
CULTURE
The spy who came home: Why an expert in counterterrorism became a beat cop. http://bit.ly/2FsJWzL
RIP: Larry Harvey, the founder of the Burning Man festival, has died at the age of 70 after suffering a stroke earlier this month. Harvey kicked off the festival in 1986, when he and about a dozen others burned a wooden man on a San Francisco beach.
SOTD
Friendly Fires - Jump In The Pool http://bit.ly/2jmAo0z
SPORT
A week inside a soccer club when the money runs out: NYT reports, every year, through careless management or reckless ambition, a handful of soccer clubs drift uncomfortably close to collapse. In February, Denmark’s Lyngby B.K. came closer than most. https://nyti.ms/2JKO1lo
AFP: Rangers sack Murty as Gerrard speculation swirls
Champions League - Semi-Finals:
Today: Real Madrid v Bayern (Aggregate 2-1)
Wednesday: Roma v Liverpool (Aggregate 2-5)