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Masa Son justifies its commercial relations with Saudi Arabia
Masayoshi Son, chief executive of SoftBank, has finally spoken today against the murder of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi. But he added that his company would not stand out from Saudi Arabia – the biggest investor in its $ 100 billion Vision Fund.
From the appeal of SoftBank profits by the FT:
"We have accepted from the Saudi population funds that will be critical to the diversification of the economy so that it does not depend solely on oil," said Son at the beginning of a presentation on earnings in Tokyo.
"It is true that it was a tragic case, but we also have a responsibility that we must defend for the future of the Saudi people."
SoftBank tries to balance things between the Saudi government accused of orchestrating Mr. Khashoggi's death and losing his support. Given the importance of Vision Fund Fund for SoftBank, Mr. Son may feel that he has no choice.
He is not alone. Large consulting firms such as McKinsey & Company and Boston Consulting Group have signed contracts in Saudi Arabia. And BlackRock's Larry Fink said at last week's DealBook conference that doing business with the Saudis was "not something I was ashamed of".
Mike Bloomberg's pressure for Democrats and himself
Before the mid-term elections, Mike Bloomberg calls (not totally disinterested) to arms with a $ 5 million advertising campaign to support Democrats.
The Billionaire's Political Action Committee has begun airing an announcement Sunday directly criticizing President Trump. "At this point, we must send a message to Republicans in Washington: they have failed to lead, to find solutions and to meet," he said in the advertisement.
But the spot also establishes Bloomberg as a centrist, while other potential candidates for Democrats adopt more progressive positions. (He even wore a purple tie to get the message across.) More from Robert Costa of the WaPo:
While formally a speech for the Democrats – to whom Bloomberg gave more than $ 110 million this election cycle – the ad is also revealing the type of presentation that he could bring to the 2020 campaign. He speaks categorically with the Boston's faded accent since his youth, devoid of partisan passion and with a technocratic focus on proficiency.
More mid-term news: Many companies encouraged employees to vote. What medium-term reforms could mean for businesses and investors. And political ads are becoming more and more nasty – but the candidates keep their messages.
Amazon would be at an advanced stage of discussions on its QG2
The company would come closer to a decision regarding the location of its second headquarters. The WSJ reports that Amazon discusses detailed details with "a handful of communities," including Crystal City, Virginia; Dallas; and in New York. The WaPo suggests that Crystal City "is a favorite".
Laura Stevens, Scott Calvert and Tawnell D. Hobbs of the WSJ write that "there is also speculation that Amazon could announce its intention to place smaller operations in smaller locations."
Amazon itself has spoken little about the process, although a decision is made by the end of the year. Unidentified sources told the WSJ and WaPo that a decision could be made public this month.
More news on Amazon: One leader is unhappy with QG2 leaks, tweeting that the informant should "stop processing N.D.A. you signed as a used napkin. Some booksellers are boycotting a service owned by Amazon. And two workers died in a warehouse in Baltimore.
To come up
Fed decision-makers are holding their penultimate meeting in 2018. Analysts do not expect rate hikes or expected changes, but expect the Fed to raise rates by 25 basis points in December. This would be the fourth increase of the year and could irritate President Trump.
The Institute for Supply Management will publish non-manufacturing figures. Economists expect a slight decline in non-manufacturing activity in October, with September's recovery probably boosted by the tariff preparations that came into effect in that month.
Xi Jinping breaks Trump's commercial policy
At an international import fair in Shanghai today, President Xi Jinping promised further cuts in China's import tariffs and greater openness of its economy to the world. But As the FT notes, the wishes of importing goods worth $ 30 trillion and services worth $ 10 trillion over the next 15 years only represent not a significant increase over previously announced plans.
More interestingly, a series of not-so-subtle comments from Mr. Xi that could be seen as directed to the Trump administration. "As globalization deepens, the practices of jungle law and victory are all stalemated," he said. "Inclusion and reciprocity, mutual benefits, mutually beneficial, are a widening of the path."
But as NYT's Keith Bradsher points out, the right people may not have listened to:
China's challenge was also exposed, particularly as to who jumped the test. Despite months of energetic efforts by China to persuade foreign leaders to attend, only a dozen presidents and prime ministers – including Hungarians, Dominicans, Dominicans and Hungarians – showed up on Monday morning. Many were leaders of countries like Kenya and Laos who borrowed heavily in Beijing
How Huawei's claims weigh on partners
Australian intelligence services determined that Huawei employees were asked to help the Chinese government infiltrate a foreign telecommunication network, according to The Australian Weekend, which cites an unidentified source. The allegation could revive American skepticism about the Chinese telecommunications giant – and partners such as SoftBank of Japan.
It is unclear whether the hacking attempt was successful. But the report will play on the fears of US lawmakers who believe that Huawei is a threat to national security. This could be a problem for SoftBank, which has commercial links with Chinese society.
SoftBank has attempted to obtain permission to sell Sprint, which he controls, to T-Mobile. Lawmakers lobbied the Trump government to review the deal for reasons of national security. SoftBank said it has complied with regulators since it bought Sprint control, including spending millions of dollars to remove Huawei equipment from a US-based network. But the Australian report will not help him.
Iran says it will challenge new sanctions
US sanctions on Iranian oil exports resumed this morning. Rick Perry, Secretary of Energy, In an editorial of the WSJ, they wrote that they "will deliver an indisputable message to Tehran: change course or suffer the consequences." He added that measures taken by other countries, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, would mean that "should have a minimal effect on global energy markets." "
The Trump administration said Friday it had exempted eight countries, including China and India. Meanwhile, European leaders are struggling to set up a special vehicle allowing them to continue trading with Iran. And Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the nation would break sanctions to sell oil.
Berkshire Hathaway has spent nearly a billion dollars in redemptions
For years, Warren Buffett has complained that he has not had the chance to use the Berkshire Hathaway cash pool for a big deal. At the end of last week, he showed that he had used some of the money – in redeem the company's shares for the first time in six years.
Berkshire earned operating income of $ 6.88 billion in the third quarter and used $ 928 million to buy back shares. This is consistent with Mr. Buffett's long-standing belief that buyback is one of the best things an underrated business can do. But this also suggests that he sees no interesting acquisition.
Revolving door
Goldman Sachs has reportedly promoted fewer than 65 executives to join this year, the smallest number in two decades.
Susan Molinari, one of Google's leading lobbyists, plans to retire by the end of the year.
Beyond meat, the manufacturer of herbal meat substitutes, named Kathy Waller, CAF.O. of Coca-Cola and Ned Segal, C.F.O. from Twitter, to his board of directors.
John Flannery will receive $ 4.25 million from G.E. after being ousted as his C.E.O.
The speed read
Offers
• More than 30 Goldman Sachs executives, including David C. Solomon, director of risk management, reportedly examined the debt contracts of a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund, which resulted in criminal charges against two former bankers. (FT)
• New public technology companies are eager to sell more shares. (WSJ)
Stewart Butterfield, of Slack's C.E.O., says there is "no clear timetable" for an I.P.O. (Fortune)
Politics and politics
• Hackers try to interfere in electoral networks before mid-term. They had "limited success," according to a report by the Department of Homeland Security. (Boston Globe)
• The Georgian Secretary of State, candidate for the governorship, accused the Democrats of attempting to hack the registration files of state voters, but did not cite any evidence. (NYT)
• Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and other major beverage companies are often behind initiatives that would ban taxes on food sales. (NYT)
• Britain's chief negotiator on Brexit called for a hard line on the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland. Meanwhile, 70 British business leaders have publicly supported a proposed vote on any final deal.
Trade
• US companies, already affected by the US-China trade war, warn that the situation could worsen. (WSJ)
• It also becomes a drag on Asian growth. (FT)
• Why US sanctions on Russia could be more problematic than those on Iran. (FT)
Technology
• President Trump said Google, Facebook and Amazon were "big business" – but added that his administration "is reviewing" antitrust claims. (Axios)
• The Gab social network is back online and filled with antisemitic messages. (Related: right-wing extremists see validation in President Trump's language.)
• Electric cars face a $ 6 trillion infrastructure barrier. (Bloomberg opinion)
• Senator Ron Wyden has proposed a new, aggressive European law on data protection. (Fortune)
• Tesla stated that the Department of Justice and the S.E.C were studying its production forecasts for Model 3. (CNBC)
Best of the rest
• How the finances of the middle class have changed since 2016. (Improvement)
• Barclays recorded the worst performance in recent stress tests by European banks. (Bloomberg)
• Goldman Sachs predicts that global growth will slow down next year. (Bloomberg)
• Is Agnes Gund the last good rich person? (NYT)
Thank you for reading! Well, see you tomorrow.
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