Brigadoon founder Marc A. Ross speaks with Perry Smith and Cameron Gott on the Avalon Institute's Wired to Lead podcast.
The discussion focused on developing Brigadoon to be a leading global network where curious and compelling entrepreneurs and thought leaders gather as well as cognitive preferences, executing ideas, and going to market.
Reciprocal, Russian, Republican, Retail
Caracal Insider Daily
January 31, 2018
Curation and commentary from Marc A. Ross
Reporting from Alexandria, Virginia
Caracal Insider = Global Business News at the Intersection of Politics + Policy + Profits
Subscribe here: https://goo.gl/bSQKwA
TOP FIVE
✔️ Trump says global trade will be fair and reciprocal
✔️ PM May is bringing 50 business leaders with her to China
✔️ Vatican accused of ‘selling out’ Catholic Church to China
✔️ VW in uproar over diesel fume tests on monkeys
✔️ Fox close to deal to air NFL’s ‘Thursday Night Football’
GEOECONOMICS
Trump says global trade will be fair and reciprocal: The Hill reports, Trump said Tuesday night that the days of unfair trade are over and the United States will improve global agreements and make way for new deals.
"America has also finally turned the page on decades of unfair trade deals that sacrificed our prosperity and shipped away our companies, our jobs and our nation's wealth,” he said during his State of the Union address on Capitol Hill. The era of economic surrender is over.”
EU ready to hit back if Trump imposes anti-EU trade measures: the European Union said that it stands ready to hit back “swiftly and appropriately” if Trump takes unfair trade measures against the 28-nation bloc. The EU’s warning comes less than 24 hours after Trump expressed his annoyance with EU trade policy, saying it “may morph into something very big.”
May accused of ‘baffling’ decision to neglect Beijing: The Times reports, PM May has been criticised for a “baffling” decision to overlook China as she prepares to leave for her first trade mission to the country, amid concern that David Cameron’s drive for closer ties with Beijing has slowed. In a sign of how priorities have changed since Mrs May entered Downing Street, the official UK prime minister account on the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, which was established with a fanfare in 2013 by her predecessor, has not posted for more than a year and still contains many of Mr Cameron’s details. Concerns over President Xi’s flagship investment project also threaten to overshadow the three-day visit.
PM May is bringing 50 business leaders with her to China as she seeks alternative sources of trade and investment after Britain leaves the European Union.
May warns China to play by global rules: FT reports, PM strikes a more skeptical note on bilateral relations than Cameron.
The Vatican accused of ‘selling out’ Catholic Church to China:FT reports, former HK cardinal says Holy See ordered two bishops to make way for Beijing’s choices.
Taiwan Strait turbulence: Bloomberg reports, two Chinese airlines canceled more than 170 extra flights to Taiwan next month as part of Lunar New Year holiday travel after failing to gain approval from Taipei officials.
Taiwan bristles as flag vanishes from US government websites: Nikkei reports, the erasure of Taiwan's flag from a number of U.S. government websites has made waves on the island, with authorities expressing deep disappointment to Washington, which claims its stance toward the Taiwanese government remains unchanged.
German ambassador: Second World War image of Britain has fed Euroscepticism: Guardian reports, Peter Ammon says some Brexiters were motivated by a sense of national identity built around UK standing alone.
Berlusconi’s model army will ditch Eurosceptics: The Times reports, Silvio Berlusconi has taken a big step in his political comeback by promising leaders in Brussels that he will put together a coalition after next month’s election to include none of the anti-EU parties that he is campaigning with.
The Times: Rise of robots puts 230,000 Scottish jobs under threat
"According to the Centre for Cities report, the paper says that Dundee is most at risk from the rise of robot labor. As the smallest Scottish city in the survey, the predicted job losses represent 25 percent of its workforce."
WSJ: Macron’s France great again? Europe growth outpaces US
Russian jets fly within five feet of Navy plane over the Black Sea: Navy Times reports, Russian fighter jets got dangerously close to a Navy aircraft Monday over the Black Sea, the second such incident in as many months.
All-time: I was inverted - Top Gun https://goo.gl/o15rM2
AMERICAN POLITICS
WSJ: Trump hails start of ‘new American moment’
"President promotes infrastructure plan, says he sees room for work on immigration"
NYT: ‘This is our new American moment’
The Hill: Trump makes case he’s stoking American dream
WP: Trump touts efforts to keep nation safe from terrorism, calls for more military spending
LAT: Trump calls for unity in hopes of altering a threatening tide
Bloomberg: Trump connects presidency with prosperity in ‘American moment’
FT: Trump lauds economic record in State of the Union
Never miss a chance to advocate: Airbnb launched a new ad timed to the SOTU entitled "Expletive-filled Interest." You can see the ad here: https://goo.gl/G8Wa86
The Hill: Dems boo, hiss at Trump immigration remarks
Today: Republican Congressional retreat begins in West Virginia
No. 51: Ellis Insight reports, the number of House open seats continues to grow. Yesterday, veteran Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ), one-term chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, announced that he will not seek a 13th term later this year. The Frelinghuysen retirement brings the total House number of incumbents who will not stand for re-election to a robust 51, keeping in mind that we have passed candidate filing deadlines in only two states.
MSU: Sources tell Crain's that former Michigan Gov. John Engler will likely be named Wednesday to aid his alma mater during the deepest crisis in its 163-year history.
ENTERPRISE
Big 3 healthcare challenge: CNBC reports, Amazon.com, Berkshire Hathaway, and JPMorgan Chase announced they plan to create an independent company aimed at cutting health care costs for their US employees that would be "free from profit-making incentives," according to a joint statement.
Jamie Dimon will stay on as JPMorgan's CEO for another five years.
CNBC: Starbucks to debut credit cards, boost afternoon offerings
Blackstone is in talks to buy a huge chunk of Thomson Reuters' financial and risk business for more than $17 billion.
Bloomberg: Bitcoin heads for worst monthly slide since December 2013
Facebook bans ads that promote cryptocurrencies.
The Walmart-Amazon war’s China wildcard: L2 reports, in a a speech at Davos last week, JD.com CEO Richard Liu announced that the Chinese e-tailer was raising funds to set up logistics for its global expansion as it plans to take on Amazon in the United States. The company plans to start selling online in the second half of this year from a base in Los Angeles, focusing initially on the West Coast Chinese diaspora.
WSJ: Exxon to spend $50 billion in US over next five years
Volkswagen in an uproar over diesel fume tests on monkeys: Volkswagen's supervisory board calls for an inquiry into who commissioned tests in which monkeys were exposed to toxic diesel fumes, amid criticism from Germany's government.
WTH is going on with the German auto industry?
To save retail, Bloomingdale's turns to Migos: GQ reports, stores are trying to keep up with customers’ changing demands: exclusively launching a collection of Migos merch is an admirable attempt at just that.
TRENDS
The future of soda might be coffee: WP reports, coffee drinkers tend to savor their brew in the morning and switch to soda or water as the day goes on. But the world's largest beverage companies want to turn that morning cup of joe into an all-day staple - and an heir to the sodas that consumers have soured on. On Monday coffee giant Keurig Green Mountain acquired Dr. Pepper Snapple, the maker of 7 Up, Hawaiian Punch and other popular drinks. The reason? They're trying to reach consumers "throughout the day," according to a company news release.
CULTURE
Today: 'Super blue blood moon' visible for first time in over 150 years
SPORT
The NFL can't blame Trump anymore: It is facing a 'structural decline in viewership': Recode reports, turns out pro football is just like regular TV, after all: Ratings were down 12 percent during the regular season, and even more during the playoffs.
Bloomberg: Fox close to deal to air NFL’s ‘Thursday Night Football’
SOTU, Brexit, Silvio Berlusconi, Wang Qishan, iPhone X, Grammy Awards, Chief Wahoo
Caracal Insider Daily
January 30, 2018
Curation and commentary from Marc A. Ross
Reporting from Alexandria, Virginia
Caracal Insider = Global Business News at the Intersection of Politics + Policy + Profits
Subscribe here: https://goo.gl/bSQKwA
TOP FIVE
✔️ EU expects Britain to ask for secret longer transition
✔️ Silvio Berlusconi’s astonishing (and unsurprising) return
✔️ China’s Xi looks to ally to fix US relations
✔️ Trump's State of the Union aims for unity
✔️ Cleveland Indians to drop Chief Wahoo logo
GEOECONOMICS
EU expects Britain to ask for secret longer transition: The Times reports, European Union negotiators expect Britain to seek an extended exit transition period and suggest that the request will remain secret to avoid a rebellion by Eurosceptic cabinet ministers and backbench MPs. Britain will leave the EU at midnight on March 29 next year but is preparing to agree by this March the terms of a transition to help to limit the disruption for business.
British Lords get ready to disrupt Brexit: Bloomberg reports, the road out of the European Union gets bumpier as key legislation heads to the upper house of parliament.
Brexit disarray finally brings UK business out fighting: FT reports, looming deadlines have now caused companies to increase their pressure on the government.
This leaked government Brexit analysis says the UK will be worse off in every scenario: BuzzFeed News has seen a new Brexit impact assessment, which says leaving the EU will adversely hit almost every sector and every UK region. https://goo.gl/aLVzFj
Carles Puigdemont seeks return for investiture: The Times reports, Carles Puigdemont was yesterday preparing to ask for permission to return to Spain despite facing arrest on charges of rebellion, sedition and embezzling public funds. The fugitive Catalan separatist leader was planning to ask Spain’s supreme court to be allowed to attend a debate and vote in the Catalan parliament tomorrow where he could win back his job as regional president.
Silvio Berlusconi’s astonishing (and unsurprising) return: NYT reports, a master of reinvention, the three-time former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi is poised to win in Italy’s election despite, well, everything.
China’s Xi looks to ally to fix US relations: WSJ reports, Xi considers enlisting Wang Qishan, known as the ‘fireman’ for crisis postings, as tensions rise.
US companies complain of unfair treatment in China, want pressure but not war: WP reports, American companies to feel less welcome than before in China and want the U.S. government to put more pressure on Beijing to level the playing field, the American Chamber of Commerce in China said Tuesday. William Zarit, chairman of AmCham China, warned that Chinese officials had told him they would “definitely” retaliate if the U.S. administration introduced tariffs or other restrictions on Chinese imports as a result of ongoing investigations into steel and aluminum imports and intellectual property violations.
US firms say China’s business climate is warming, survey finds: WSJ reports, the upbeat tone comes despite a rise in China-US trade tensions and worries over-regulation.
"59% of companies rank China among the top three priorities of global investment plans, up from 56% last year."
Fudged numbers revealed as officials' performance redefined: Caixin reports, new focus on quality over speed in economic growth forces local governments to come clean.
Caixin: Beijing has tools to prevent systemic collapse, regulator says
Cool.
China's rise is over: Standford University Press reports, while international relations experts marvel at China’s growth, the PRC’s own elites take a more sober view. https://goo.gl/KcLSU3
You'll be hearing more of this = China has risen and India is rising in the coming years.
79: The number of attempts it took to clone Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua, two genetically identical monkeys created in a Chinese laboratory.
AP: Drought-hit Cape Town to set up disaster operations HQ amid water crisis
Bloomberg: Venezuelan pirates rule the most lawless market on Earth
AMERICAN POLITICS
'He has to be normal': Trump's State of the Union aims for unity after a polarizing year: Politico reports, facing a grim midterm election outlook for his party, the president plans to focus on selling agenda items with a bipartisan touch.
Bloomberg: Trump won’t announce NAFTA withdrawal in State of Union, sources say
Trump’s State of the Union speech will reiterate promises to ‘rebuild the military’: Military Times reports, Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday will repeat his promises to “rebuild our military” and defeat terrorism around the globe, with specific reprimands directed at North Korea for aggressive military moves in recent months.
Immigrants to be in the spotlight at State of Union: WSJ reports, Trump plans Tuesday to outline in his State of the Union address a broad agenda for the coming year, but he is also expected to wade into a more immediate political showdown: an immigration deal.
SOTU is set for 9:00 pm ET.
47%: The percentage of foreign investment in the state of Kentucky that comes from Japan.
Hung out to dry twice, Tennessee city stumped by Trump's washer tariffs: Reuters reports, when Trump imposed steep tariffs on imported washing machines last week it was a “Not Again” moment for officials in this north Tennessee city that has lost jobs to an international trade dispute before. The move threatens to stunt the launch of a new LG Electronics washing machine factory under construction in Clarksville, just four years after the U.S.-China trade fight over solar panels scuttled a nearly $1.2 billion Hemlock Semiconductor polysilicon plant. “It’s like déjà vu for Clarksville, to say ‘how can this be happening twice to us,'” the city’s mayor, Kim McMillan, told Reuters.
"Capital expenditures are the lifeblood of a growing economy, and without these expenditures, the economy will just muddle along." -- Chuck Butler - creator and editor of A Pfennig For Your Thoughts.
Rising stars collide in shadow 2020 primary: Politico reports, a glut of Democratic contenders could fracture the party in some of the bluest states in the nation.
"Two rising stars in California are about to collide: Sen. Kamala Harris of San Francisco and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. As potential Democratic presidential candidates in 2020, the pair might soon be asking the activists and donors who have known them their entire political careers to finally choose sides."
Chelsea Manning's campaign website is based in Iceland. Why?: Defense One reports, for one thing, it's harder for US law enforcement to search. That may matter to the Wikileaks contributor-turned-US Senate candidate.
ENTERPRISE
Facebook plans to put all of users' privacy settings in one place ahead of new European Union regulations set to take effect in May.
Facebook acquired identity authentication startup Confirm.io
27%: Xiaomi has toppled Samsung as the manufacturer with the largest market share (27% vs Samsung's 25%) in India’s smartphone market, according to Canalys.
NYT: Side benefit to Amazon’s headquarters contest: Local expertise
"Detroit was not chosen as a finalist for Amazon’s second headquarters, but its bid gave the company a peek at the kind of tax breaks the city was willing to offer."
WSJ: Apple to cut output of the new iPhone X amid weak demand
Waymo revealed an agreement to acquire thousands of minivans from Fiat Chrysler.
TRENDS
29.4: A quality pair of comfortable, stylish premium jeans requires 29.4 minutes of manufacturing time.
Digiday: Bloomberg’s Twitter network TicToc is getting 750,000 daily viewers
Green buildings: Researchers at Harvard University calculated that between 2000 and 2016, green-certified buildings in America prevented up to 405 premature deaths, 21,000 sick days at work and 16,000 lost school days by reducing local air pollution.
CULTURE
The 2018 Grammy Awards was a tone-deaf, out-of-touch mess https://goo.gl/xmxeH
The CBS telecast of the Grammy Awards is down a steep 21 percent from 2017 in early numbers, potentially spelling an all-time low.
SPORT
Cleveland Indians to drop Chief Wahoo logo from uniforms in 2019.
The New England Patriots have participated in 37 playoff games since 2001, losing only nine of them.