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"
Global Conflicts, 9 to 5, Ontario Votes
Global Conflicts, 9 to 5, Ontario Votes
Marc Ross Weekly
June 10, 2018
Curation and commentary from Marc A. Ross
Reporting from Alexandria, Virginia
Marc Ross Weekly = Commentary + Analysis at the Intersection of Global Politics + Policy + Profits
Subscribe here: https://goo.gl/bSQKwA
THREE QUESTIONS
1) Does UK PM Theresa May rescind Trump's invite to the UK?
2) Does Trump send Pence to attend NATO summit?
3) Do Midwest governors rebuke Trump's behavior in Canada?
GLOBALIZATION
Global conflict continues to rise, index shows
Deutsche Welle, reports the world has become less peaceful over the last ten years, mostly due to conflicts in the Middle East and Africa. An international index paints a dark picture, although with some brighter spots.
Europe was the most peaceful region in the world in 2017, while the Middle East and North Africa were the least quiet, the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), said in its 12th annual report published in London on Wednesday.
"There is an ongoing deterioration in global peace," Steve Killelea, head of the Australia-based IEP, told DW. "It's gradual and it's been going on for the last decade."
The conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa and the spillover effects into other areas have been the primary drivers in the decline of global peace, Killelea said.
The IEP's Global Peace Index (GPI) found that in 92 nations peacefulness fell in 2017, with improvements in only 71 countries. Killelea told DW this negative trend has continued for the fourth year in a row.
According to the GPI, the Middle East and North Africa region is the least peaceful region in the world. At the bottom of the 163-state ranking are Syria, with Afghanistan, South Sudan, Iraq and Somalia not far ahead.
DISRUPTION
The gig is 9 to 5 and is the employment is formal
On Thursday the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) found less than 4 percent of workers--5.9 million persons--held contingent jobs.
Contingent jobs are as those assignments which are temporary in nature.
In addition to contingent workers, the BLS survey also identified workers who have various alternative work arrangements or what many of us refer to as gigs.
In May 2017 the BLS data found there were 10.6 million independent contractors (less than 7 percent of total employment), 2.6 million on-call workers (1.7 percent of total employment), 1.4 million temporary help agency workers (0.9 percent of total employment), and 933,000 workers provided by contract firms (0.6 percent of total employment).
So roughly 10 percent of American workers in 2017 were employed in some form of what the government calls “alternative work arrangements."
This broad category includes Lyft drivers, freelance designers, and people employed through temporary-help agencies — essentially anyone whose primary source of work comes outside a traditional employment relationship.
As reported by the New York Times, this far from a boom in gig work and goes against conventional wisdom when to comes to employment.
“I think everybody’s narrative got blown up,” said Michael R. Strain, director of economic policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute.
The largest category of alternative workers, independent contractors, are disproportionately in their mid-40s or older and familiar in sectors like construction that have not been disrupted by Silicon Valley entrepreneurs. They earn about as much, on average, as standard employees, and are relatively happy with their arrangements: Nearly eight in 10 say they prefer being an independent contractor to being an employee.
Outside of plumbers, roofers, and general contractors, most Americans work 9 to 5 in a formal work environment.
AMERICAN POLITICS
Think populism is slowing down? Check out how Ontario voted
Populism establishes a beachhead in Canada's most prosperous and most important province of Ontario.
To understand what will happen with American politics and upcoming elections, I find exploring elections in other Western democracies to be an essential tool.
Last Thursday night, Doug Ford was elected as the next Premier of Ontario. A new expansion of populism now confronts Canada. Think Trump lands in Ontario.
CBC's Chris Hall wrote, "Doug Ford — the bombastic, blustering and populist former Toronto city councilor — is going to be the next premier of Canada's most populous province. His victory, convincing as it was, came with an exclamation mark. He put an end to 15 straight years of Liberal rule."
Toronto Star columnist Edward Keenan echoed the same scripting "Ford era promises a rocky road ahead for all of us."
He went onto say "the next four years under Premier Doug Ford: constant reasons to wonder about the malice vs. incompetence debate, with a loud portion of Ford’s supporters hoping and cheering for the former option. And many of the rest of us hoping instead for the latter, because perhaps if a problem is caused by incompetence, there is some hope it will be fixed, as those who caused it realize their mistake or grow more competent and capable."
@Richard_Florida tweeted: Ontario went from being a pro-urban province/ state like California or New York to joining the ranks of anti-urban Red states ...
I don't see the expansion of populism around Great Lakes stopping any time. Until CEOs of multinational corporations, Governors, and Mayors show leadership and engage voters in the Midwest on the value of globalization, this will be the result at the ballot box.
Endless outrage by the coastal elites will do little to change election outcomes.
Cross the Hudson and be in Cleveland.
Cross the Potomac and be in Detroit.
This is the three-part question facing US voters in 2018 and 2020: Do we protect the jobs of the past or invest in the jobs of the future? Do we subsidize the grey hairs or invest in today's 8th graders? Do we want to be part of a global world or not?
Voters today want protection, subsidies, and unilateralism.
Plan accordingly.