Vladimir Putin, New York Times, Uranium, Greta Gerwig, Wayne Rooney, plus 1,000 more actionable insights.
ITK Daily is geopolitical business intelligence for communications pros.
Happy Thursday.
Here’s today’s ITK Daily.
To be ITK, know this:
*** Globalization + Statecraft ***
AP: Putin says there will be no peace in Ukraine until Russia’s goals, still unchanged, are achieved
+ Putin said there are some 617,000 Russian soldiers there, including around 244,000 troops who were called up to fight alongside professional military forces.
In annual news conference, Putin says his war aims have not changed: NYT reports the Russian leader suggested that Western support for Ukraine was drying up and also gave his first comments about Evan Gershkovich, an American reporter detained in Russia.
Newly-confident Putin vows victory in Ukraine: Le Monde reports the Russian president was speaking at a heavily choreographed news conference, a week after saying he was running for re-election.
As Russia gains confidence, a new urgency grips Ukraine: NYT reports with Western support for Kyiv softening and Congress holding up urgently needed aid, Vladimir Putin’s bet on outlasting Ukraine and its allies is looking stronger.
Analysis: Did Putin's tip lead Xi to purge his foreign minister? After Qin Gang's disappearance, Beijing changed its stance on the Ukraine war. Nikkei
Fortune: Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine has cost Russia’s economy 5% of growth, US Treasury says
Israeli military steps up raids in flashpoint West Bank city: NYT reports the Israeli military said it detained hundreds of people in Jenin, while residents said electricity, water, and internet in the refugee camp were cut.
Images of stripped and humiliated Palestinians draw condemnation: WP reports many in Israel viewed the images as evidence of victory over the militants who rampaged through Israeli communities on Oct. 7. The United States called them “deeply disturbing.”
So far, no major fallout for MIT president after contentious testimony: Dr. Sally Kornbluth, who is new to MIT, did not draw nearly as much fire as her counterparts at Harvard and Penn after last week’s congressional hearing. NYT
Bloomberg: US’s Sullivan met with Saudi Crown Prince on Israel-Hamas war
+ Peace push, Houthi shipping attacks on meeting agenda, per US
+ Visit comes after Saudis, OPEC+ agreed to cut oil production
OPEC+ cartel's grip on oil market loosening: IEA: AFP reports slowing demand growth and rising US crude production will make it more difficult for OPEC+ to continue to prop up prices, the IEA said on Thursday.
OPEC+ now controls barely half of oil market, says IEA: FT reports energy watchdog says demand growth ‘drastically’ falling this quarter
Caught between Trump and Putin, Europe is heading for disaster, like the sleepwalkers of 1914: The European Council summit on December 14 and 15 is shaping up to be a dangerous one, for both Ukraine and Europe's future. The time has come for unorthodox initiatives. Sylvie Kauffmann
Central banks signal victory over inflation in sight: NYT reports the ECB and the Bank of England held interest rates steady as central banks around the world move from monetary tightening to talk of rate cuts.
The Times: Bank of England keeps UK interest rates at 5.25%
Christine Lagarde, the central banker who's mastered politics: The International Monetary Fund has opened an internal audit into the biggest loan in its history, granted to Argentina in 2018, when Christine Lagarde was in charge. Now halfway through her term at the European Central Bank, the Frenchwoman has built her career on a mastery of political equilibriums. Le Monde
France scores diplomatic wins on banks and nuclear in new EU rules: FT reports Paris successfully pushed for weaker due diligence reporting by lenders and state-backed funding for nuclear power plants.
Warning of ‘risk to our survival,’ Pope calls for global treaty on AI WP
Europe should worry less and learn to love AI: New legislation risks driving development of the transformative technology away from the bloc. John Thornhill
Pro-China YouTube network used AI to malign US, report finds: NYT reports content from at least 30 channels in the network drew nearly 120 million views and 730,000 subscribers since last year.
Bloomberg: Silicon Valley ties are key to beating China, Pentagon’s No. 2 says in California visit
Bloomberg: Yellen to visit China again in 2024, focusing on ‘difficult’ topics
COP28: Is the agreement 'historic' or an 'empty shell'? Some scientists see the Global Stocktake, the text calling for 'transitioning away' from fossil fuels, as a positive development, but others point out that it is non-binding and lacks the support of emerging countries. Le Monde
President of Guyana: Venezuela ‘will not enter our sacred space’: Irfaan Ali is due to meet President Maduro, who is threatening to annex an oil-rich part of his neighbor. The Times
Javier Milei’s party will have to make concessions, admits Argentina lower house leader: FT reports a lawmaker from Milei’s party says ‘fragmented’ congress means compromises needed to govern.
Javier Milei, Argentina's new president, is the culmination of the country's long decline: Argentina had everything it needed to remain one of the world's most powerful economies but ended up marginalizing itself through its many mistakes over more than a century. The choice of populism is a way of giving the finger to a system that has lost all credibility. Stéphane Lauer
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*** Politics + Elections ***
House Republicans vote to formalize Biden impeachment inquiry: WP reports the inquiry, which was launched in September, has so far failed to prove the GOP’s claim that President Biden benefited financially from his son’s foreign investment deals.
+ The House and Senate are set to leave town today until Jan. 8 without a Ukraine-border deal in hand.
Bloomberg: Trump pulls ahead in Michigan as union, women voters sour on Biden
+ Donald Trump has pulled ahead of President Joe Biden in must-win Michigan as voters remain pessimistic about the US economy
+ Biden now trails Trump in seven swing states on economic concerns, the latest Bloomberg News/Morning Consult Poll shows.
+ A plurality of Generation Z swing-state voters — those born in 1997 or later — say Biden is not doing enough to address the burden of student-loan payments.
Trump is overperforming, but there’s a way back for Biden: The president needs to persuade voters he’s tackling the cost of living crisis and standing up to big business. Stanley Greenberg
+ The 2024 race is being shaped by three exceptional factors. First, the inflation produced by the economy restarting after the pandemic, supply chain problems, rising energy prices following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the high cost of food. Second, heightened anger at profiteering by big companies and increasingly visible monopolies. And third, surging levels of migration caused by wars, political unrest and extreme weather.
Biden plans swing through South Carolina, in early glimpse at 2024 campaign: ABC News reports President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are planning a campaign swing through South Carolina ahead of the state's Feb. 3 primary, Jaime Harrison, chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
Is Jerome Powell’s Fed pulling off a soft landing? NYT reports it’s too soon to declare victory, but the economic outlook seems sunnier than it did a year ago, and many economists are predicting a surprising win.
Bloomberg: Wall Street traders go all-in on great monetary pivot of 2024
State Dept.’s fight against disinformation comes under attack: The Global Engagement Center has become the focus of Republican-led criticism that the US government coerces social media platforms into removing offensive content. NYT
Axios: McCarthy eyes AI for new career, can imagine working with Musk
Gavin Newsom, California’s governor, ordered a spending freeze as the state faces a record $68 billion budget shortfall.
When the New York Times lost its way: America’s media should do more to equip readers to think for themselves. 1843 Magazine
+ “The Times’s problem has metastasized from liberal bias to illiberal bias, from an inclination to favor one side of the national debate to an impulse to shut debate down altogether.”
+ “The reality is that the Times is becoming the publication through which America’s progressive elite talks to itself about an America that does not really exist."
*** Disruption + Innovation ***
Uranium is finally running hot, and miners can’t keep up: NYT reports supply setbacks have contributed to a surge in prices of the nuclear fuel to their highest level since 2008.
Microsoft tops the list of best-managed companies of 2023: Technology giants led the way, with Apple, Nvidia, Alphabet, and IBM rounding out the top 5. WSJ
Alphabet needs to show path to AI sales in race with Microsoft: Bloomberg reports shares of Google’s parent is at a discount to peers and its own history.
Vivendi shares jump on break-up plan: FT reports shares in French media group controlled by Vincent Bolloré increase more than 10 per cent in Paris trading.
*** Culture ***
How to brag about work, even if it’s not going great: Questions about your career are as much a part of holiday gatherings as eggnog and ugly sweaters. Answering them is an art. WSJ
What are Gayle King and Charles Barkley doing on CNN? Ratings for their new prime-time show ‘King Charles’ are lackluster, but CNN is fishing for new audiences. WP
The age of Oprah is over, but her vision is now framed in Washington: Portrait of the media mogul by artist Shawn Michael Warren is unveiled at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, and an olive branch speaks volumes. WP
'Barbie' director Greta Gerwig to preside 2024 Cannes Film Festival jury: The 40-year-old is the first American woman filmmaker to take on the role, and the youngest jury president since 1966.
Bloomberg: Slack, Away co-founders donate $1 million for free Friday nights at the Whitney
Elon Musk plans to build a new university in Austin, backed by a roughly $100 million gift from the tech billionaire.
+ He’ll start with a STEM-focused primary and secondary school
+ Tesla CEO sent $2.2 billion in stock to his foundation in 2022
*** Sport ***
The American who fell in love with soccer and bought himself $1 billion of heartbreak: John Textor acquired four soccer clubs in four countries in the space of two years. It has turned into one of the most expensive crash courses in sports. WSJ
With sports teams primed for move to VA, downtown DC frets its future: Residents and businesses fear a loss of civic pride and economic activity if the Wizards and Capitals depart for Virginia. WP
For the Wizards and their fans, the start of a ‘bittersweet’ goodbye Ava Wallace
Great players make bad managers? Wayne Rooney tries to buck trend: The Birmingham manager had a win to savor on Wednesday, but it will take more than beating Cardiff to convince everyone of his credentials. The Times
Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.
-Marc
Marc A. Ross | Chief Communications Strategist @ Caracal
Caracal produces ITK Daily.
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