ITK Daily | February 22
Mark Rutte, Nikki Haley, Odysseus, Beyoncé, Man Utd, plus 1,000 more actionable insights.
ITK Daily is geopolitical business news + intelligence for comms pros.
Always Be Communicating.
Happy Thursday.
Here’s today’s ITK Daily:
*** Globalization + Geopolitics ***
BBC: Putin denies plans to deploy nuclear weapons in space
Reuters: Iran sends Russia hundreds of ballistic missiles
A killing in Spain points to Russia and Putin’s sense of impunity: WP reports the discovery of Maksim Kuzminov’s bullet-riddled body appeared to deliver a menacing signal from Moscow that those who cross the Kremlin should never consider themselves safe.
What we know about Russian pilot Maxim Kuzminov, who defected to Ukraine and is now believed to be dead: Le Monde reports Ukrainian military intelligence confirmed the death of the pilot without specifying either the place or the circumstances. According to 'El Pais,' he was murdered on February 13 near Alicante, in Spain.
The European Union unveiled its 13th package of sanctions on Russia: The measures target entities believed to be supporting Russia’s “war machine”, according to Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission.
Ukraine’s military spy chief says Russia will struggle to keep up the fight: WSJ reports Lt. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov says Russians ’don’t have the strength’ to achieve goal of seizing two eastern regions this year.
Ukraine remains stronger than you might think: Kyiv continues to stymie Russia’s greatest ambitions to take over its country. Michael O’Hanlon
Bloomberg: Ukraine, IMF near $900 million payment amid stalled US aid
+ Deal expected as soon as Thursday as war anniversary nears
+ Move follows talks over backup plan if US can’t deliver aid
Politico: Mark Rutte in pole position to be next NATO boss
US to invest billions to replace China-made cranes at nation’s ports: WSJ reports the Biden administration fears security threats at hundreds of sites.
+ The Biden administration said it would invest more than $20bn to spur domestic manufacturing of cranes.
Biden cracks down on port cyber threats, with an eye on China: Semafor reports the Biden administration is imposing new cybersecurity rules at US ports that are driven in part by concerns about Chinese hacking targeting critical infrastructure.
+ President Joe Biden will sign a new executive order giving the Department of Homeland Security more power to address cybersecurity threats at US ports, which will require vessels and maritime facilities to report cyberattacks, senior administration officials said.
Eyeing China, Biden signs order to defend ports against cyberattacks: Nikkei reports Chinese-made shipping cranes could be remotely-controlled, admiral warns.
Analysis: Xi and Putin share a trait -- they cannot show weakness: In China, a key economic meeting is on hold until Xi feels he can project strength. Nikkei
Xi is tanking China’s economy. That’s bad for the US WP - Editorial
China’s latest video gaming curbs had their merits. Why did authorities pull the plug, and what’s next? China is by far the world’s largest video gaming market, with the number of gamers in the country nearly double the entire population of the US. CNA
US targets China's top chipmaking plant after Huawei Mate 60 Pro, sources say: Reuters reports the Biden administration is turning up the heat on China's top sanctioned chipmaker by cutting off its most advanced factory from more American imports after it produced a sophisticated chip for Huawei's Mate 60 Pro phone, three people familiar with the matter said.
China’s rush to dominate AI comes with a twist: It depends on US technology: China’s tech firms were caught off guard by breakthroughs in generative artificial intelligence. Beijing’s regulations and a sagging economy aren’t helping. NYT
Politico: EU Commission wants anti-drone defenses at Brussels HQ
BBC: Trident missile test fails for second time in a row
UK has ‘absolute confidence’ in nuclear deterrent after test failure: FT reports the second successive mishap in eight years after missile crashed into the sea moments after launch at end of January.
The failed Trident missile launch is a big embarrassment for Britain Ross Clark
What went wrong with the Trident missile test launch? A visual guide: Britain conducted its first nuclear test in almost ten years but instead of piercing the atmosphere, the missile plummeted into the Atlantic — the second failure since 2016. The Times
France has called on Rwanda to stop supporting M23, a Tutsi guerrilla group which occupies DRC territory.
Armenian resistance fighter joins France's Panthéon heroes: Le Monde reports Missak Manouchian and his wife Mélinée entered the Parisian monument in a ceremony attended by roughly 2,000 figures and presided over by President Emmanuel Macron.
Somalia agreed to allow Turkey to defend its territorial waters. Turkey’s navy already operates in Somali territory as part of an anti-piracy campaign.
Japanese crime boss trafficked nuclear material from Myanmar, US says: NYT reports Takeshi Ebisawa, already facing federal drug trafficking charges, offered uranium and plutonium that he expected Iran to use in making nuclear weapons, prosecutors said.
*** US Politics + Elections ***
+ A new YouGov poll finds 60% of registered voters say they’ve already decided who they’re going to vote for in the presidential election.
AP: It’s an election year, and Biden’s team is signaling a more aggressive posture toward the press
Biden administration weighs action to make it harder for migrants to get asylum and easier to deport them faster: NBC News reports aking it harder for migrants to qualify for asylum and deporting more recently arrived migrants are considered “low hanging fruit” and actions that can be taken quickly.
Reuters: Biden administration to cancel another $1.2 billion of student loans
WSJ: Donors keep pouring millions into Nikki Haley’s campaign
Why Nikki Haley isn’t dropping out: She dismissed speculation about her motives behind staying in the race, and has encouraged supporters to stick with her until the end, whenever that may be. NYT
WP: Trump and allies planning militarized mass deportations and detention camps
Trump’s campaign is bankruptcy protection: American voters are the only force capable of stopping the Republican frontrunner from cashing in on the presidency. Edward Luce
Data-privacy bill advances in Congress, but states throw up objections: The legislation would limit how businesses, especially big tech companies, can collect and use consumers’ data. WSJ
Bloomberg: US needs more Chips funding as AI fuels demand, Raimondo says
+ US Commerce chief says AI creates ‘mind boggling’ chip demand
+ Intel CEO says US grant announcement coming ‘very soon’
US needs another CHIPS Act to lead world, says Raimondo: Nikkei reports the commerce secretary pushes for more investment into semiconductors.
Ohio released a new AI toolkit to encourage schools to use ChatGPT and other generative AI, but promises that it can't replace teachers.
+ The new "AI Toolkit" released last week was created by tech experts and InnovateOhio, a government office focused on improving digital tools.
*** Disruption + Innovation ***
Reuters: Nvidia dethrones Tesla as Wall Street's most traded stock
Nvidia sales surge as company sees bigger AI boom: WSJ reports quarterly sales tripled from a year ago, surpassing Wall Street’s heightened expectations, and Nvidia indicated momentum from the artificial-intelligence boom remains strong.
Bloomberg: Nvidia gives upbeat forecast as AI reaches ‘tipping point’
+ Shares gain in late trading after results are released
+ Company remains biggest beneficiary of AI spending boom
Nvidia declares AI ‘tipping point’ as quarterly revenues jump 265%: FT reports artificial intelligence spending frenzy helps world’s most valuable chip company beat expectations.
‘The most important stock on planet Earth’ Just got even bigger Kevin T. Dugan
Intel to manufacture chips for Microsoft as AI drives demand: FT reports the US company announces two new divisions as it builds semiconductors designed by others.
Intel joins 1.4-nanometer chip race against TSMC and Samsung: Nikkei reports US chipmaker wins Microsoft as foundry customer with AI demand rising.
Google released Gemma, a range of "lightweight" open AI models designed for text generation and other language tasks.
+ Google is betting on the substantial market of developers who don't need or can't afford to use the biggest AI models like Gemini.
Google brings Gemini AI models to enterprise tools: Reuters reports Google said on Wednesday that some of its artificial intelligence tools that it offers to businesses will be powered by the company's "Gemini" AI models and available at a lower-priced plan as it looks to compete with Microsoft-backed OpenAI.
How the sparkles emoji took over AI: Companies from Google to Adobe are using the icon as shorthand for the fuzzy magic of their AI tools. FC
Reddit sells training data to unnamed AI company ahead of IPO: If you've posted on Reddit, you're likely feeding the future of AI. Ars Tech
Why the New York Times might win its copyright lawsuit against OpenAI: The AI community needs to take copyright lawsuits seriously. ARS Tech
Researchers increasingly view tech as having human-like qualities: Anthropomorphism - attributing human-like characteristics to non-human objects - is on the rise amongst technology researchers, particular when it comes to AI chatbots. Chris Stokel-Walker
Disney leans on AI in latest class of startup investments Bloomberg
ChatGPT cranks out gibberish for hours: AFP reports ChatGPT spewed nonsensical answers to user's queries for hours Tuesday into Wednesday before eventually returning to its apparent senses.
Beating AI by being stupid smart: The human factor still computes. Craig Allen
'It's frightening': YouTubers split over OpenAI's video tool Sora: AFP reports US firm OpenAI debuted a tool last week that can generate highly realistic snippets of video from just a few lines of text, leading content creators to wonder if they are the latest professionals about to be replaced by algorithms.
QOTD: “People say AI is overhyped, but I think it's not hyped enough.” -- Puneet Chandok, who leads Microsoft India and South Asia, says we should get even more excited about AI, the Economic Times reports.
Renault chief executive Luca de Meo has called on the UK and EU to block Chinese-made electric vehicles entering the market.
EV maker Rivian to cut workforce by 10%: WSJ reports the EV maker signaled flat production for 2024, falling short of Wall Street forecasts.
Hybrid plug-ins are booming in the world’s biggest EV market: As EV growth slows, cheaper vehicles that can also run on gasoline are gaining ground—a challenge for all-electric makers such as Tesla. Bloomberg
Shein + Temu is upending the global air cargo industry, as they vie for limited air-cargo space, industry sources said. Their growing popularity is boosting air-freight costs from Asian hubs, making off-peak seasons almost disappear and causing capacity shortages.
HSBC reported a $3 billion charge on its stake in a Chinese bank amid mounting bad loans, taking the shine off a record annual profit.
Private US moon lander in lunar orbit ahead of touchdown attempt: Reuters reports a moon lander built by US startup Intuitive Machines entered lunar orbit on Wednesday, executing a critical maneuver in space before attempting to land on the moon’s surface on Thursday.
US Moon landing: How to watch and what to know: If all goes as planned, Odysseus, a private spacecraft, will touch down on the lunar surface on Thursday. It will be the first US moon landing in more than 50 years. NYT
Rio Tinto approved the development of a $20bn mining project in Guinea, west Africa.
*** Culture ***
WP: Beyoncé becomes first Black woman to top Billboard country music chart
London's iconic BT Tower sold to become hotel: AFP reports British telecoms giant BT Group announced Tuesday the sale of its famous BT Tower and that the building located in the heart of London will be transformed into a hotel.
Adam Sandler recommends space travel as therapy: AFP reports Adam Sandler said Wednesday that playing a lonely astronaut hurtling through space in his latest Netflix movie convinced him of the therapeutic effects of total isolation.
*** Sport ***
White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf and Related Midwest are asking Illinois for $1 billion in public funds for a new downtown stadium.
Ratcliffe wants Man Utd to vie for Premier League title in three years: FT reports the new investor warns that transforming the club will take time and upgrading Old Trafford will cost £1bn.
Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.
-Marc
ITK Daily | February 22
