Good morning.
When will the next financial crisis hit? J.P Morgan Chase & Co. Has placed its bet on 2020, but says it will likely be less painful than the last one. You can read more about the forecast here. And if you care about the war of words between J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon and President Trump over who’s smartest, you can read it here. Trump’s bottom line: “I’ve made a lot of bankers, and others, look much smarter than they are with my great economic policy!”
And since it is Friday, some feedback:
RW, who has first-hand experience in our political mess, pushed back on Katherine Gehl and Michael Porter’s call for open political primaries yesterday. “Could it make things worse?” I asked him. “I think it could,” he replied. “The real mess started when we began in the 1970s to diminish the influence of political party structures in favor of funding individual candidate campaigns and PACS. The suggestion that we should extend that process by moving even further away from organized political structures is foolish, in my opinion. You will end up with factions and corruption.”
And BW called Ray Dalio’s dire foreboding about the next few years an “excellent update” from someone “who has always been ahead of the curve.”
Separately, we’ve just added former Treasury Secretary Lawrence H. Summers to the line-up for the Coins2Day Global Forum in Toronto. He promises to offer compelling new analysis on the condition of the global economy. More on the Forum’s agenda here.
News below.
| Alan Murray | |
| @alansmurray | |
| [email protected] |
Top News
Bezos Philanthropy
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, the world's richest person, has finally revealed his plan to give away some of his cash: he will donate $2 billion to preschool programs in low-income communities and programs for homeless families. The preschool programs will be administered by a new non-profit group, and the homelessness cash will go to existing shelters. Of note: Amazon recently helped kill a local tax in Seattle that aimed to help the homeless. Bloomberg
Church Shares
The Archbishop of Canterbury, the head of the Church of England (the mother church of the Anglican Communion), accused Amazon of "leeching off the taxpayer." But the Church of England isn't going to sell off its shares in the company. It said in a statement that the best way to influence such companies was to be "in the room" as a shareholder. BBC
Goldman Team
Incoming Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon has named his top team, with a preference for investment bankers over traders. Investment Banking Division co-chief John Waldron will be president and COO, and Stephen Scherr, global head of the Financing Group, will become financial chief. Martin Chavez, who has occupied the latter seat for not much more than a year, will return to the trading arm as co-chief. Wall Street Journal
Takeda Approval
China has given its approval to Takeda Pharmaceutical's takeover of Shire. U.S. And Brazilian regulators have already given the green light to the deal—the biggest overseas purchase yet by a Japanese company—so that now leaves the European Union and Japan. Takeda is looking at closure in the first half of next year. Reuters
Around the Water Cooler
Cobalt Promises
Companies such as Apple and Volkswagen may have promised to scrub their supply chains of cobalt—essential for their batteries—that is dug up in inhumane conditions. But the industry supply chain is still relying on miners in the Congo who are digging the mineral up by hand, without helmets, shoes and safety equipment. The mining operations are sometimes lethal. Here's what a Swiss mine owner had to say: "Of course, people die…I don't care about supply-chain problems…That's a problem for Apple and Samsung." Wall Street Journal
Tariff Pain
The main victims of U.S. Tariffs on China and Chinese tariffs on the U.S. Are… U.S. Car-makers in China, according to a survey from the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai and the Beijing-based American Chamber of Commerce in China. Per the survey, 80.5% of respondents in the automotive industry were hit by the first round of American tariffs, and 75% by the Chinese response. CNBC
Uber Dispute
Uber's former Asian business development chief, Eric Alexander—who was sacked for obtaining the confidential medical records of a woman who had been raped by an Uber driver—has sued former Uber PR chief Rachel Whetstone because, he claims, she breached her severance agreement by disparaging him to reporters. Alexander claims he has a third-party interest in Whetstone's contract, which he himself did not sign. Coins2Day
London Calling
At least one company isn't turning its back on the U.K. Due to Brexit: Chanel has decided to establish its global office in London, because it "wanted to simplify the structure of the business and London is the most appropriate place to do that for an international company." Dozens of jobs are involved here—it's not like the move will make up for the decisions of giants like Unilever to consolidate operations elsewhere. But still, a spot of good news for the U.K., for once. BBC
This edition of CEO Daily was edited by David Meyer. Find previous editions here, and sign up for other Coins2Day newsletters here.
