The Economist (July 29)
“This week’s exercises with Russia in the Baltic, meanwhile, suggest not only a shared enmity towards the West but also mutual admiration of each other’s thuggish political systems. President Xi Jinping has turned a blind eye to Russia’s land-grab in Ukraine, and President Vladimir Putin to China’s in the South China Sea.” That impression is slightly off the mark. There is actually little to fear. “In fact, America’s navy should co-operate more with China’s, too.”
Tags: Admiration, Baltic, China, Enmity, Exercises, Land-grab, Navy, Putin, Russia, U.S., Ukraine, Xi
1843 (July Issue)
“Legions of robots now carry out our instructions unreflectively. How do we ensure that these creatures, regardless of whether they’re built from clay or silicon, always work in our best interests? Should we teach them to think for themselves? And if so, how are we to teach them right from wrong?” Though “there are a number of competing ideas in circulation about how best to teach morality to machines” and so far no clear answers, “at the very least, we have a moral obligation to figure out what to teach our machines about the best way in which to live in the world.”
Tags: Machines, Morality, Obligation, Right, Robots, Think, Unreflectively, Wrong
Financial Times (July 28)
“More than 420,000 auto jobs in Germany could be imperilled by a 2030 ban on combustion engine cars” that’s currently under debate. “The beguilingly deceptive electric car… might look like any other car from the outside but inside, it is more like a computer on wheels.” For example, UBS analysts discovered a Chevy Bolt “had just 24 moving parts compared with 149 in a VW Golf, mainly because electric motors are so much simpler than combustion engines.” Moreover, it was much cheaper to produce than expected, leading to their conclusion that “with further cost falls likely, electric cars would probably disrupt the industry faster than widely understood.
Tags: Auto jobs, Ban, Bolt, Combustion engine, Disruption, Electric cars, Germany, Golf, Imperilled, Moving parts, UBS
Reuters (July 27)
“British-based investment firms’ long-standing ability to manage billions of euros of assets elsewhere in Europe could be threatened by Brexit.” Newly issued EU guidance suggests regulators will crack down on “delegation” with the aim of preventing investment firms from “setting up ‘empty shell’ subsidiaries in an EU country, to allow them to continue serving European clients, but leaving the bulk of their management staff and operations in London.”
Tags: Assets, Brexit, Clients, Delegation, EU, Europe, Euros, Guidance, Investment, London, Shell subsidiaries, UK
LA Times (July 26)
“Washington’s biggest problem isn’t gridlock or wasted dollars—it’s men…. Men tried to pass a bill that only 13% of Americans supported, contributing to the (true) perception that the majority of Congress does not give a damn about what ordinary citizens think.” Their errant attempts were initially thwarted women who stood up for their beliefs, something they continue to do “even in the face of massive dissent” and political strong-arming.
Tags: Beliefs, Citizens, Congress, Dissent, Gridlock, Men, Strong-arming, Support, Washington, Waste
Fortune (July 24)
Thousands of business jets “could soon be grounded” throwing a massive wrench in the “business aviation industry—which employs 1.2 million people and contributes $150 billion to U.S. economic output…but there’s little chance the FAA will extend the deadline” to install ADS-B transmitters that communicate flight data. Potentially, “more than 17,000” of 26,700 business jets could be “grounded on the first day of 2020.”
Tags: ADS-B transmitters, Business jets, Deadline, Economic output, FAA, Flight data, Grounded, U.S.
Chicago Tribune (July 23)
“Six months after seizing complete control of the federal government, the Republican Party stands divided as ever plunged into a messy war among its factions that has escalated in recent weeks to crisis levels.” On top of that the executive and legislative branches are more frequently at odds. “Frustrated lawmakers are increasingly sounding off at a White House awash in turmoil and struggling to accomplish its legislative agenda.” In return, “President Donald Trump is scolding Republican senators over health care and even threatening electoral retribution.”
Tags: At odds, Crisis, Divided, Executive, Factions, Frustrated, Government, Lawmakers, Legislative, Republicans, Scolding, Trump, Turmoil
The Economist (July 22)
“Despite the frantic political activity in Westminster…the country has made remarkably little progress since the referendum in deciding what form Brexit should take. All versions, however “hard” or “soft”, have drawbacks…. Yet Britain’s leaders have scarcely acknowledged that exit will involve compromises, let alone how damaging they are likely to be. The longer they fail to face up to Brexit’s painful trade-offs, the more brutal will be the eventual reckoning with reality.”
Tags: Brexit, Brutal, Compromises, Drawbacks, Frantic, Hard, Painful, Progress, Reality, Reckoning, Referendum, Soft, Trade-offs, Westminster
Institutional Investor (July 20)
“After eight straight months of positive returns, hedge funds may have finally redeemed themselves in the eyes of investors…. Total industry assets under management rose by $34.1 billion to $3.1 trillion, with positive returns boosting asset growth. The renewed interest in hedge funds comes in the midst of industry’s greatest period of performance since the financial crisis.”
Tags: AUM, Financial Crisis, Growth, Hedge funds, Investors, Performance, Positive returns, Returns
Wall Street Journal (July 20)
“President Trump campaigned on tearing up Nafta, but maybe he’s learning on the job. The White House this week rolled out its objectives for renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement that could allow him to claim victory without doing too much protectionist damage.”
Tags: Campaign, Free trade, Nafta, Protectionist damage, Renegotiating, Trump, Victory