Rex | Rick | Russia | Reality

Pacific Business Insider
December 13, 2016
Curation and commentary from Marc A. Ross

Pacific Business Insider: Global business news with a Pacific flair.

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State: Trump will name Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson as his secretary of state

Energy: Trump will name former Texas Governor Rick Perry as his secretary of energy

NEC: Trump will name Goldman Sachs COO Gary Cohn as his chair of the national economic council

NYT - Editorial: Flawed choices for the State Department

The Hill: Trump's State pick could trigger Senate showdown

Senate leader backs probe into claims Russia hacked US election: FT reports, the first sign of open discord between congressional Republican leadership and Trump.

@JayTimmonsNAM Congrats to #mfg friend & leader Rex Tillerson. @realDonaldTrump has chosen an expert to lead US on the world stage. http://bit.ly/2hhQCrZ 


From The Globe and Mail 

Clinton campaign backs request for Russia-election info: Clinton's campaign has supported a request from a group of Electoral College electors to have national intelligence director, James Clapper, release findings related to Russia's role in the U.S. election before they vote on Dec. 19.

NYT: Labor Secretary Thomas Perez is said to plan run to lead DNC

Kara Swisher in rare form: As Trumplethinskin lets down his hair for tech, shame on Silicon Valley for climbing the Tower in silence https://goo.gl/usnju8

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New US Government Tracker | the complete list of White House, Senate, House leadership and staff | updated frequently http://bit.ly/2fVwyMQ 

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CFR's Preventive Priorities survey 2017: Since 2008, the Council on Foreign Relations’ Center for Preventive Action (CPA) has carried out a Preventive Priorities Survey of foreign policy experts. The survey is designed to identify conflicts around the world that could plausibly emerge or worsen over the coming year and help U.S. policymakers decide where to devote their attention. https://goo.gl/ixD5DH

Tier One

1. A deliberate or unintended military confrontation between Russia and NATO members

2. A severe crisis in North Korea caused by nuclear or intercontinental ballistic missile weapons testing

3. Increased violence and instability in Afghanistan 

4. Intensification of violence between Turkey and various Kurdish armed groups within Turkey 

5. The escalation of the civil war in Syria 

6. A highly disruptive cyberattack on US critical infrastructure

7. A mass casualty terrorist attack on the US homeland or a treaty ally

After China’s hubris, it’s Trump’s turn: China’s belligerence during the Obama era began with a conviction America was in decline. Today, as Beijing tries to figure out how to play Donald Trump, economic fortunes are reversing.
WSJ - Andrew Browne

"Once confident US was in decline, Beijing finds itself with a weak economic hand"

Trump's tough trade talk makes US firms fear China retribution http://reut.rs/2hGr3Oa

More than one-third of the 9.96 million vehicles GM sold globally in 2015 were delivered to Chinese customers

Positive economic trends in China tempered by caution: Nikkei report, auto, online sales drive consumption, but Trump looms large.

Auto sales in China jump 16.5%

What does the future hold for China’s economic transformation? After years of decision-making, retirements of market believers, such as Wu Jinglian, set to complicate China’s process of reinventing its economic model.
SCMP

China looks to stop capital flight: HG reports, with Beijing imposing new rules to slow China’s massive capital flight, many foreign companies are left unable to transfer profits out of the country.

Is Singapore still the model authoritarian state for China?
SCMP - Audrey Jiajia Li

ChiMex: China and Mexico have pledged to deepen ties at a meeting between their top diplomats as they prepare for Donald Trump to be sworn in as the next president of the United States.

Japan casino bill passes: A controversial bill to legalize casinos in Japan cleared a key parliamentary panel on Tuesday, essentially assuring its enactment into law, paving the way for high-stakes gambling in the world's third-biggest economy.

A barrel of West Texas Intermediate for January delivery was trading at $53.01 as of 5:08 am ET. 

Google completed a deal with Cuba to place computer servers on the island to speed Google services there.

Asahi to buy beer brands from Anheuser-Busch InBev for $7.8 billion http://nyti.ms/2hzE1ky

WhatsApp and Skype face stricter rules on handling user data under new security laws slated to be proposed by the EU.

Southwest Airlines began service to Havana to mark the 100th city in the airline's growing network.

Unicredit SpA is planning to raise $13.8 billion, sell bad loans, and shed an additional 6,500 jobs to boost capital levels and profitability.

Mercedes-Benz maker Daimler plans to expand its private car rental app, Croove, to operate in 15 German cities in 2017.

Michigan just became the first state to pass comprehensive self-driving regulations https://goo.gl/BkDmSu

AR moves into the workplace: WSJ reports, hologram-like images and early versions of augmented reality are being used by companies to help workers on factory floors. MIT’s new lab will promote experimentation with AR in the supply chain.

The Best books of 2016 by Foreign Affairs https://goo.gl/63xUAl

Dolce & Gabbana’s Hong Kong show is their first outside Italy.

List of nominees for the Golden Globe Awards https://goo.gl/jsutFV

Elite soccer clubs sign gamers to compete in e-sports industry: NYT reports, the list of clubs with competitive gamers on their payrolls is expected to grow significantly and quickly, as teams seek to tap into a roughly $1 billion marketplace.