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G7 Acrimony
The meeting of world leaders in Canada on 9-10 June ended in disarray after the US President retracted his support for their agreed communiqué and then criticised Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and other “friends or enemies” on social media. – BBC
Sorry, we cannot let our friends, or enemies, take advantage of us on Trade anymore. We must put the American worker first!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 11, 2018
Why should I, as President of the United States, allow countries to continue to make Massive Trade Surpluses, as they have for decades, while our Farmers, Workers & Taxpayers have such a big and unfair price to pay? Not fair to the PEOPLE of America! $800 Billion Trade Deficit…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 11, 2018
Based on Justin’s false statements at his news conference, and the fact that Canada is charging massive Tariffs to our U.S. farmers, workers and companies, I have instructed our U.S. Reps not to endorse the Communique as we look at Tariffs on automobiles flooding the U.S. Market!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 9, 2018
The G7 communique said the leaders of the United States, Canada, Britain, France, Italy, Germany and Japan were agreed on the need for “free, fair, and mutually beneficial trade” and the importance of fighting protectionism. – Reuters
U.S.-China Trade War
On Friday, Trump announced that the United States will implement a 25 percent tariff on $50 billion of goods from China related to intellectual property and technology, and pledged to impose further levies if China retaliates. The escalating trade tensions between the United States and China sent shares in U.S. industrial and materials companies lower. – Reuters
In a retaliatory measure, China issued a list of 545 product categories, also covering about $34 billion in exports from the U.S., to be subject to an additional 25 percent tariff starting July 6. They included a variety of agricultural products, including soybeans, corn and wheat along with beef, pork and poultry, plus automobiles. A second set of tariffs to begin at a later date listed other goods including coal, crude oil, gasoline and medical equipment. – Bloomberg
Rising Geopolitical Risks
Raoul Pal, Co-Founder & CEO of Real Vision Group, economist, investment strategist and publisher at The Global Macro Investor, warns of the potential biggest geopolitical change in 60 years:
It appears to me that the Rules-Based Global Order system put in place mainly by the US after WW2 is being dismantled – WTO, G7, UN, Kyoto, IMF, World Bank, NAFTA. What system emerges is unclear as its early days, but this is the potential biggest geopolitical change in 60 years.
— Raoul Pal (@RaoulGMI) June 10, 2018
Also in the News:
Microsoft Buys GitHub
Microsoft seals $7.5bn GitHub deal: Microsoft agreed to shell out $7.5bn in stock to buy the company, more than 10 times what it was deemed to be worth when Andreessen Horowitz, one of Silicon Valley’s top venture capital firms, became involved. Andreessen Horowitz invested $100m into a largely unknown software start-up in 2012, four years after GitHub was launched for public use. – FT
GitHub must guarantee that the code repository remains an environment for open-source innovation, say CIOs. – WSJ
Merger of AT&T and Time Warner
The approval of AT&T’s merger with Time Warner paves a clear path for Comcast to bid for 21st Century Fox assets and could trigger a round of deal-making by smaller media companies trying to keep up with the industry’s titans. – WSJ
AT&T can buy Time Warner, and everyone else can buy everything else. No conditions, no restraints. – Recode
Image: Recode
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