NEW YORK (Reuters Breakingviews) - President Macron hopes a 10 bln euro splurge from state coffers will mollify rioters calling him the “president of the rich.” But it’ll worsen the country’s deficit, risking an EU rebuke. It may, though, offer cover for Italy, whose debt load is causing friction with Brussels.
NEW YORK (Reuters Breakingviews) - U.S. President Donald Trump and China’s leader Xi Jinping agreed to a cooling-off period in an escalating tariff spat. Will the ceasefire yield results or is it a stalling tactic? The markets are spooked. Breakingviews columnists discuss the issue from both sides of the Pacific.
NEW YORK (Reuters Breakingviews) - What’s the value of having friends? For AT&T, the answer seems to be about $100 million. That’s how much the telecoms group may charge streaming service Netflix to show the hit TV show of that name for another year. Given AT&T’s plans to launch its own video service, depriving a rival of a blockbuster might have been smarter.
NEW YORK (Reuters Breakingviews) - Experts reckon unrestrained global warming will lop 10 pct off U.S. GDP by 2100. California’s wildfires prove it’s already having disastrous effects. But investors and companies alike can be part of the solution. Plus, Carlos Ghosn’s arrest leaves three carmakers in disarray.
NEW YORK (Reuters Breakingviews) - Cabinet resignations, an angry coalition partner and a skittish currency greeted UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s draft agreement to quit the EU. Breakingviews columnists examine whether the current mess leads to Brexit with an EU deal, without a deal, or even to a new referendum.
NEW YORK (Reuters Breakingviews) - Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is pushing the wrong kind of independence. The social network’s chief executive on Thursday revealed he plans to set up an external committee to help police fake news and hateful content. The move follows yet more revelations about how poorly he and others dealt with Russian meddling in U.S. elections. Outsourcing decisions won’t fix Facebook’s culture, though. Removing Zuckerberg as chair would be a step in the right direction.
NEW YORK (Reuters Breakingviews) - Digital titans like Alphabet and Apple may rule the roost, but EU rules on data privacy are helping startups flourish on the other side of the Atlantic. Meanwhile, Facebook’s inability to police fake content spreads to Africa. Plus: Mumbai’s ride-share drivers go on strike.
NEW YORK (Reuters Breakingviews) - Stan Lee, who died at the age of 95, built an Incredible Hulk-sized box office legacy. Through Marvel, the comic-book creator helped whip up a brigade of characters – including the tetchy green giant among others – on which movie studios now depend for audiences. He also showed, inadvertently, that even superheroes need powerful friends.
NEW YORK (Reuters Breakingviews) - The U.S. House of Representatives will soon be controlled by lawmakers opposing President Trump. That gives them more scope to push their agenda on trade, infrastructure and a perennial bogeyman, the banks. But as Republicans still run the Senate, policy changes will be minimal.
NEW YORK (Reuters Breakingviews) - Corporate America is giving the country’s politicians a civics lesson. Walmart, Tyson Foods, Levi Strauss and hundreds of other firms are encouraging their employees to cast a ballot in this week’s U.S. congressional elections. They are acting largely because a mishmash of state laws and the lack of a national holiday make voting a challenge.
The U.S. Senate delivered a rare double rebuke to President Donald Trump on Saudi Arabia on Thursday, voting to end U.S. military support for the war in Yemen and blame the Saudi crown prince for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.