Here are some stories I am watching today and other interesting tidbits that caught my attention.
The first story I am watching is from the New York Times, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince has been laying low. That's over.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman seemed to be keeping a low profile. Then he detained senior members of the royal family and started an oil price war.
One of the most interesting aspects of the current coronavirus phenomena spreading across the world is the sudden price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia over who will control the price of oil.
Saudi Aramco said Tuesday it will boost its supply of crude oil to 12.3 million barrels per day in April, flooding markets as it escalates a price war with Russia.
The geopolitical implications of this move are vast.
Emerging markets that are drilling for oil will be impacted.
Shale and frackers in the United States will be impacted.
The success of the Iranian oil industry will be impacted.
Banks lending to oil explorers and SMEs in the industry will be impacted.
You have to expect we will see a wave of mergers and acquisitions in the coming months.
This price war and oil skirmish will probably go on through summer.
This is an issue that is happening quickly and is being buried by all the other breaking news, but this price war, Russia-Saudi spat could be the most compelling geopolitical development of 2020.
Next story, we go to Italy.
Italy announces restrictions over the entire country due to coronavirus.
This story is also from The New York Times.
The newspaper is reporting all of Italy’s 60 million people are coming under restrictions which just a few days ago applied just to the northern part of the country.
The Times of London has the story capturing the dynamics of the North and the South of Italy.
It’s a super important article for understanding the country.
In this article, The Times explores the longstanding animosities between the North and South which were deepened by the outbreak but the country has shown signs of reconciliation.
Italy is a fascinating country.
The nation really only came into existence in the 1860s, and for a long time was ruled by city-states, an almost feudal type system.
For many decades they had a huge separation in economic prosperity between the North and the South.
Certainly, this is a test for the country and a test for Prime Minister Conte’s leadership.
Already today Austria has closed at its border with Italy, and it appears the European Union will need to step in to make exceptions for debts and financial management, not only of Italy but for the whole of the European Union.
Coming to you from the disruption side of things, the Pentagon on Monday awarded three contracts to start design work on a mobile small nuclear reactor as part of a two-step plan towards achieving nuclear power for American forces at home or abroad.
The story comes to us from the Defense News media organization.
They report the defense department awarded contracts to several companies to begin a two-year engineering design competition for a small nuclear reactor designed to be potentially deployed to US military forces outside the United States to ensure they have the power needed to electrify the American military bases.
Today on the campaign trail, Election 2020 continues tonight as we're going to have results from the March 10 primaries in 6 states.
The most important state no doubt will be Michigan.
Politico has a story, Michigan was once Bernie's resurrection. Now it could be his burial.
All political eyes will be on the Great Lakes State tonight to see who will win.
All signs indicate that Joe Biden is doing exceptionally well there and should have a great night.
A convincing Biden victory will put tremendous pressure on the Sanders campaign, with the possibility that he may be forced to suspend his campaign and exit the race.
Polls in Michigan close at 8 p.m. Eastern, and we should have results shortly thereafter.
Deeper in the political weeds, there's a story today that the mayor of Sterling Heights, Michigan, a Republican mayor, has jumped off the Trump Train and is joining Team Biden.
What is so compelling about this story is that Macomb County Michigan, home to Sterling Heights, is arguably the most important county, not only in Michigan, but if you want to be president, you must win Macomb County.
So this story is one to watch and could be foreshadowing a trend of more Republicans moving to the other side for the fall election.
From the world of commerce, Under Armour bet everything on the wrong customer, and lost.
The story coming to us from Rob Walker at Marker and posted on Medium.
The athletic gear company made the mistake of obsessing too much over its most influential customers and lost its way.
This is an important business and strategy story as Under Armour was battling between its most influential high-performance athletes when in reality its core business was comprised of customers who really just wanted a sports shoe and athletic gear that frankly could pass muster for weekend warriors and not those needed to excel at the most elite levels of athletic competition,
So check that out for a super interesting story, a story that many companies wrestle with daily - who are our customers, how do we sell to them, and how do we keep them.
That's all I got for today.
I will be back tomorrow.
Enjoy the ride and plan accordingly.
-Marc A. Ross | Founder @ Brigadoon
