The Economist (September 29)
“A scramble to replace LIBOR is under way” before it is phased out permanently in 2021. Though scandals have revealed LIBOR’s numerous inadequacies, “a staggering $260trn-worth of financial products, from interest-rate swaps to retail mortgages,” are estimated to be priced using LIBOR and many of the contracts lack fallback clauses. “Creating and then switching to truly market-based alternatives is an almighty task.”
Tags: Contracts, Fallback clauses, Financial products, Inadequacies, Interest-rate swaps, LIBOR, Market-based alternatives, Retail mortgages, Scandals, Scramble, Staggering
Chicago Tribune (September 27)
“Separating politics from process in Washington is harder than scraping gum from the sidewalk in summer. But for the benefit of Ford, Kavanaugh and the confirmation process…. there should be more investigative work done….. A quick vote up or down would leave unanswered the fundamental question of a Supreme Court nominee’s character and fitness.”
Tags: Character, Confirmation, Fitness, Ford, Investigative work, Kavanaugh, Nominee, Politics, Process, Supreme Court, Vote
Time (September 26)
“President Trump’s efforts to isolate Iran at the U.N. backfired.” “The fiery speeches against Iran,” instead, revealed the “divisions… between the U.S. and its closest allies.” Most “foreign nations have opted to defend the agreement” with Iran, “rather than join America’s outbursts against it.” In fact, Russia, China, Germany, Britain, and France agreed “to set up legal entity to circumvent U.S. sanctions.”
Tags: Allies, Backfired, Britain, China, Circumvent, France, Germany, Iran, Outburst, Russia, Sanctions, Trump, U.N., U.S.
Washington Post (September 25)
“Trump’s speech was funny, in a way: a kind of rhetorical blitzkrieg. Trump spoke as though he had accepted a dare to see how much of the world he could offend in the span of a 35-minute address. It felt as though Triumph the Insult Comic Dog had been unleashed in the General Assembly.”
New York Times (September 25)
Companies are discovering that “quitting China is hard to do” as they look to shift operations to avoid Trump tariffs. “Few places can match China’s convenience and reliability.” Not only is China a near comprehensive source of “the ingredients that go into today’s consumer goods,” it also boasts “a dependable source of workers who know how to hold down factory jobs,” along with “reliable roads and rail lines connecting suppliers to assembly plants to ports.”
Tags: China, Consumer goods, Convenience, Dependable, Factory, Operations, Ports, Rail, Reliable, Roads, Source, Suppliers, Tariffs, Trump
Reuters (September 24)
“Hedge funds are betting big against sterling, the most since May last year. And following last week’s Brexit debacle in Salzburg, that bet will probably be even bigger now, closing in on the largest on record.”
Inc (September Issue)
SwanLeap has become “the fastest-growing private company in America.” Based in Madison, Wisconsin, the company “uses an artificial intelligence platform and custom software to help huge manufacturers, retailers, and other clients save money on shipping, and better manage their supply chains.” In 2013, SwanLeap’s first year revenues totaled $110,000. In 2017, the firm took in “just shy of $100 million, good for a nosebleed-inducing three-year growth rate of 75,660.8 percent.” In 2018, it’s aiming for $500 million.
Tags: AI, Fastest-growing, Growth rate, Manufacturers, Retailers, SCM, Shipping, SwanLeap, U.S., Wisconsin
The Economist (September 22)
“Mr Abe may be burning to give Japan a more normal foreign policy, but what it needs most is a more normal economy. His signature policy—Abenomics—is far from complete. The fiscal and monetary expansion, his first two “arrows”, were supposed to buy time for the third and most important one: sweeping structural reforms, leading to enduring growth. The economy should take precedence over constitutional reform… Otherwise, Mr Abe will be remembered less for his long tenure than for wasting it.”
Tags: Abe, Abenomics, Arrows, Constitutional reform, Economy, Expansion, Fiscal, Foreign policy, Growth, Japan, Monetary, Structural reforms
Forbes (September 20)
“Britain’s non-binding resolution, to leave the EU (aka Brexit) is moving forward because one weak-willed and weak-minded politician, U.K. Prime Minister Teresa May, is treating the 2016 opinion poll as legally binding. It wasn’t and isn’t.” It is time for the Prime Minister to “exit Brexit” and “reverse the U.K.’s mistake.”
Tags: Britain, EU, Exit Brexit, May, Mistake, Non-binding resolution, Reverse, U.K.
Bloomberg (September 19)
“Trump has badly miscalculated Xi’s willingness to endure a lot of economic suffering to avoid surrender. Trump has also miscalculated who will be hurt by his tariffs; in many cases it will be American consumers and companies.”
Tags: Companies, Consumers, Endure, Miscalculated, Suffering, Surrender, Tariffs, Trump, U.S., Willingness, Xi
