Brigadoon Daily
Your daily dose of the emerging issues + independent thinkers shaping commerce + culture
November 8, 2021
TOP FIVE
1. Rebel advance to within 200 miles of Ethiopia’s capital
2. How the Marshall Plan sold Europe to Americans
3. Democrats thought they bottomed out in rural, white America. It wasn’t the bottom.
4. Is Uber over?
5. How much longer can Formula 1 drive to survive?
GLOBALIZATION + STATECRAFT
Rebel advance to within 200 miles of Ethiopia’s capital puts the city and wider region on edge: WP reports the Ethiopian government has called the fight against former government soldiers and volunteers from the country’s Tigray region an “existential war,” and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who won the Nobel Peace Prize two years ago, has vowed to “bury this enemy with our blood and bones.”
How the Marshall Plan sold Europe to Americans: Department-store bazaars let consumers see how glamorous and sophisticated imported goods could be. Ooh, la la!
Erin Blakemore
Bloomberg: Macron leads in first-round polling with 25%, LCI poll shows
Leftwing journal capitalizes on growing interest in UK politics overseas: The New Statesman embarks on biggest expansion in 108-year history, led by US and EU markets.
FT
Owen Paterson case: You thought last week was bad, PM? Just look ahead: The latest sleaze scandal has triggered a deep crisis for Boris Johnson. Yesterday John Major said the government was politically corrupt; tomorrow, the Commons will launch a new attack.
The Times
New Tory sleaze row as donors who pay £3m get seats in House of Lords: An Insight investigation has revealed that party treasurer is the most ennobled job.
The Times
AFP: Boris Johnson’s govt is mired in corruption scandals, but do Britons care?
To steer China’s future, Xi is rewriting its past: A new official summation of Communist Party history is likely to exalt Xi Jinping as a peer of Mao and Deng, fortifying his claim to a new phase in power.
NYT
Xi set to unveil new doctrine that could let him rule for life: The Chinese Communist Party’s first official declaration on history in 40 years is expected at its biggest event of this year.
Bloomberg
China turns inward: Xi Jinping, COP26, and the pandemic: Responding to acute domestic pressures and hostility abroad, Beijing appears to be slowly decoupling from the west.
FT
How China’s tech bosses cashed out at the right time: Sales of US-listed shares came ahead of significant moves in price.
FT
China’s zero-COVID policy under strain as new cases spread: FT reports the country faces ‘complex and grave challenge’ because the virus has not been controlled internationally.
Japan reopens borders, but not for tourists: Nikkei reports Japan will allow businesspeople, international students, and technical trainees to enter the country, lifting a de facto entry ban on foreigners imposed since January.
South Korea chases global ambitions in space and defense: Nikkei reports Seoul builds up military tech from homegrown rockets to sub-launched missiles.
Saudi Arabia chases $64 billion Hollywood dream: Bloomberg reports the desert kingdom’s becoming a destination for filmmakers after ending a decades-long ban on cinema.
Tale of gym bag stuffed with cash ensnares top opponent of Mexico’s president: Conservative politician Ricardo Anaya says López Obrador is prosecuting him on fabricated charges. He has plenty of company.
WSJ
POLITICS + CAMPAIGNS
Democrats thought they bottomed out in rural, white America. It wasn’t the bottom. Republicans ran up the margins in rural Virginia counties, the latest sign that Democrats, as one lawmaker put it, “continue to tank in small-town America.”
NYT
Democrats again lament their weakness in rural areas, but they don’t have an answer to the problem
WP
Lesson from Virginia is the Democrats are losing the culture war
Sarah Baxter
Wokeness derails the Democrats
Maureen Dowd
Biden’s in deep trouble. He can still bounce back
Doyle McManus
Biden job approval:
Approve 38%
Disapprove 59%
Harris job approval:
Approve 28%
Disapprove 51%
HT USA Today / Suffolk University
Biden seeks course out of doldrums after US legislative victory: The Democratic party remains divided over how to respond to electoral backlash and low poll ratings.
FT
Bloomberg: Biden to visit Port of Baltimore to tout infrastructure win
Americans are flush with cash and jobs. They also think the economy is awful. The psychological effects of inflation seem to have the upper hand.
NYT
New York Mayor-elect Eric Adams said schools should teach about cryptocurrency and its technology, as he vows to build a crypto-friendly city when he takes office in January.
DISRUPTION + INNOVATION
Meet me in my office, in men’s underwear on 5: Department stores have failed; co-working spaces have foundered. Does combining the two make sense?
NYT
COMMERCE
How to invest in Bitcoin without buying Bitcoin: For those who aren’t quite ready to acquire cryptocurrencies but still want some exposure to the market, there are more ways than ever to get it.
Claire Ballentine
Bloomberg: Twitter has spoken: Musk should sell $21 billion Tesla stake
+ Majority of Twitter poll respondents support the theoretical sale
+ Tesla shares may fall Monday, cryptocurrency trading suggests
Is Uber over? The firm once hailed as the future of city transport is battling a driver shortage and rising fares, leaving disgruntled passengers stranded on the pavement. Is this the end of the road?
The Times
US flights reopen, handing British Airways $1 billion lifeline: Bloomberg reports before Covid-19, there was the $1 billion connection. That’s the revenue that British Airways generated each year linking its London Heathrow hub and New York John F. Kennedy International Airport, where a healthy mix of tourist and business customers made it the most lucrative route on the planet. More than 18 months after aviation was plunged into crisis, the corridor is finally reopening to Europeans, marking a major step in the return of long-haul travel.
+ Flights for fully-vaccinated travelers from Europe to the US begin Monday, though the lucrative market will be very different from the one before the pandemic.
How men’s wardrobes prove constraints can be good for us
Rory Sutherland
What Nutella teaches us about global supply chain risks: After COVID-19 and COP26, multinationals should realize it’s in their own interest to lift the lid on how they do business.
Lionel Laurent
How the super-rich buy their homes: Step inside a world of private banks, billionaires’ trade fairs, zero deposit mortgages, and multiple loans that extend to hundreds of millions.
FT
MARKETING + COMMUNICATIONS
If your CEO talks like Kant, think twice before investing: Quantitative research by Nomura shows companies whose executives use the most complex language on earnings calls produce lower returns.
John Authers
SPACE + SCIENCE
What Neil Armstrong got wrong: Space technology has changed the world—but not in the way the dreamers of the 1960s imagined it would.
TR
PERFORMANCE
How to talk your way to the top: Modern habits of speech radiate weakness. Avoid them to get on.
Janan Ganesh
CULTURE
The untold story of sushi in America
NYT Mag
SPORT
‘They did everything, but nothing could ever save him’: The excruciating struggle to break Colt Brennan’s endless cycle of addiction: drinking and drugs, arrests and alienations, apologies and promises. Repeat.
SI
Watch: Markus Eder's The Ultimate Run: The most insane ski run ever imagined.
RB
How much longer can Formula 1 drive to survive? There is much excitement around Formula One at the moment, but behind the new success of the sport lies a troubling impact on the world. How much longer can it justify its cost to the planet?
DW
Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.
-Marc
Curation and commentary by Marc A. Ross | Founder @ Brigadoon
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