There is only one story worthy of your consideration this morning, and that is the unspeakable horror of the shootings in Orlando. When terror and bigotry come together in this way, we have reached a very frightening moment. My heart goes out to the families and friends of the victims.
| Alan Murray | |
| @alansmurray | |
| [email protected] |
Top News
• Missed Chances
Omar Mateen, who carried out the Orlando shooting, had twice been investigated by the FBI over possible radical leanings, according to The Wall Street Journal, but the cases were closed because the Bureau considered him a blowhard trying to talk up his own importance. Media report that Mateen had sworn allegiance to Islamic State, and IS is happy to take the credit this morning, but there is no evidence of his having received direction from the organization. Mateen also passed two background checks by his employers, U.K.-based security firm G4S. His ex-wife, who claims to have been physically abused by him during their short marriage, called him “mentally unstable and mentally ill,” while ex-colleagues described Mateen as having obvious ‘anger issues’. WSJ, subscription required
• Confusion Over LA Gay Pride Arrest
Los Angeles police have backtracked on initial claims that the man arrested while apparently taking weapons and explosives to the city’s annual Gay Pride festival at the weekend intended to harm the event. James Wesley Howell of Indiana, who is himself bisexual, had been sentenced for intimidation with a firearm last year and had forfeited all his weapons as part of a plea bargain. Police are still trying to figure out Howell’s intentions and agenda. The possibility that the LGBT community may have been targeted for two—albeit unrelated--appalling outrages over a single weekend has not been ruled out. LA Times
• Last Exit Before Brexit
Financial markets are in a funk this morning over two distinct issues. An opinion poll late on Friday that showed a big lead for the “Leave” campaign in the U.K.’s E.U. Referendum has rattled global stock markets and sent bond yields to new historic lows. Officials and traders fear a bout of acute market volatility, followed by a region-wide drop in confidence and investment if the British choose to leave on June 23. Meanwhile in Asia this morning, new Chinese data showed investment in fixed assets running at the lowest level in 15 years, suggesting that second-quarter growth could miss the government’s target of 6.5% against a background of weak or even stagnant industrial output. The pound has hit an eight-week low against the dollar, while the offshore yuan rate is close to a four-month low. Bloomberg
• Bain Opts for a Private Sale for Blue Coat
Just two weeks after filing for an initial public offering, cybersecurity company Blue Coat has agreed to be acquired for approximately $4.65 billion by Symantec. As part of the deal, Blue Coat CEO Greg Clark will become CEO of Symantec, whose last CEO Mike Brown had stepped down in April. Bain Capital, which bought Blue Coat just over a year ago for $2.4 billion (including debt) isn’t exiting entirely, as it is providing $750 million to the company in the form of convertible debt. The deal will give Symantec more scale, while presenting it with a potentially tricky task of integrating a company which itself had made two relatively big recent acquisitions in Perspecsys and Elastica. Coins2Day
Around the Water Cooler
• Walgreens Cuts Ties to Theranos
Walgreens is terminating its relationship with Theranos and closing operations at all 40 Theranos Wellness Centers at its stores in Arizona. The U.S.’s largest drugstore chain said it will be working over the next several days to help customers with the transition to new testing procedures. Theranos has been accused of endangering customer health with “massive failures” that misrepresented the accuracy and quality of its blood tests. Coins2Day
• Goldman’s SWF Embarrassments
As if the scandal over its links to Malaysia’s 1MDB fund weren’t enough. Goldman Sachs is in court in London today to face accusations that it misled Libya’s Investment Authority, forcing it into risky and ultimately loss-making derivatives trades in 2008. The allegations against the bank include the now-familiar theme of offering at least temporary employment for relatives of key officials. The trial is expected to last eight weeks, and will hear testimony from at least three Goldman partners. The bank denies any wrongdoing. FT, metered access
• Solar Power Will Get Much Cheaper
Solar will become the cheapest source to produce power in many countries over the next 15 years, according to a new report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance. The cost of installing solar panels at big solar farms and on rooftops will drop 60% to an estimated average of around four cents a kilowatt hour of output by 2040, the report said. That’s cheaper than coal and natural gas power in many regions. Previously, almost all of the reductions in costs of solar since the mid-1990s were due to technology and manufacturing improvements (often enabled by government support), as more international conglomerates started to mass produce silicon-based panels. But in the future, much more of the solar industry’s cost reduction could come from what the industry calls “soft costs,” like financing, permitting, and selling solar projects, says the report. By 2040, 15% of the world’s electricity will come from solar panels, says BNEF. Coins2Day
• How to Build and Keep Trust
The worlds of both business and politics are showing what a priceless asset trust is this year, but how do you build and keep it? Communicate lavishly, cut the spin, and make sure you live up to your own public utterances, according to a guest post on Coins2Day.com today from JetBlue chairman Joel Peterson. Peterson says one of his biggest ‘teachable moments’ came after a storm caused massive delays to JetBlue’s flights on Valentine’s Day in 2007, when founder David Neeleman responded with creating a bill of rights for passengers. Costly in the short term, Peterson reckons it was vital to restoring the airline’s reputation and, consequently, its value. Coins2Day
