Friday, September 20
Attention Park Slope YMCA Members: Bill de Blasio is Coming Home and the ‘Concession Stand’ is Ready:
From NBC News: “New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio dropped out of the 2020 presidential race Friday, ending a long shot bid for the Democratic nomination that never went anywhere.”
“I feel like I have contributed all I can to this primary election, and it’s clearly not my time, so I’m going to end my presidential campaign,” de Blasio said in an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
“De Blasio’s bid ultimately lasted just over four months and was largely mocked for most of its short life.”
“He was widely unpopular in New York City, with an April Quinnipiac Poll showing that more than three-quarters of New Yorkers felt he shouldn’t run, and faced a stiff upward climb in a crowded field of Democratic candidates.”
“President Donald Trump immediately chimed in, jeering in a post on Twitter that the exit from the race by the “Part time Mayor” was “big political news, perhaps the biggest story in years” and that “NYC is devastated” that “he’s coming home.””
“But his campaign never took off. A slew of national polls showed him stuck with just 1 percent support — and often times even less. A Siena College poll released earlier this week showed him with 0 percent, even in New York City.”
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Today’s Headlines.
More Cash Injected: Fed Injects Cash for Fourth Day as Funding Markets Stabilize (Bloomberg)
The actions, commonplace in pre-financial crisis times, temporarily add cash, with the Fed taking government securities as collateral. Wall Street bond dealers submitted about $75.6 billion of securities for Friday’s Fed action, lower than the previous day’s level. See Bloomberg’s QuickTake on the Repo Market here.
DC Today: Whistleblower Complaint about President Trump Involves Ukraine (Washington Post)
Good News for Gun Safety: Colt Will Stop Making AR-15s for Civilian Sale, Says There’s Already Plenty on Market (Washington Post)
For Comparison: Trump’s $28 Billion Farm Rescue More Than Double the $12 Billion Bailout of Detroit’s Big 3 in 2009 (Bloomberg)
Climate Today.
Angela Merkel Coalition Seals Landmark $60 Billion Deal to Fight Climate Change (Bloomberg)
The deal sets a price on carbon-dioxide emissions for transport and provides incentives for cleaner technologies. Merkel’s goal is to get Germany’s climate policies back on track, easing mounting pressure at home and giving her something to showcase at a UN conference next week.
Climate Protesters From Paris to Sydney Rally to Save the Planet (Bloomberg)
Climate Capitalists Have Serious Money in Climate-Friendly Investments (The Economist)
Bets on clean technologies have ballooned this decade. Over $2.6T has flowed into low-carbon energy alone since 2010, according to BloombergNEF, a research firm.
A clutch of industrialists and entrepreneurs are doubling down. The Economist’s unscientific survey has identified 12 with notably climate-friendly dispositions, and a combined net worth of $200bn .
Some, like Elon Musk, Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg, are household names. Others are little-known outside their industry. Their wagers cover mature technologies (electric cars, wind turbines), fast-maturing ones (high-voltage grids, meatless burgers) and out-there ideas (turning carbon from the air into useful stuff).
Press Freedom Watch.
Turkey: Bloomberg Journalists on Trial for Report on Economy (Associated Press)
Bloomberg Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait said: “We continue to fully support our two journalists, at today’s hearing and in any future proceedings. They’ve been indicted for accurately and objectively reporting on highly newsworthy events. We are committed to them and to press freedom, and hope that the judiciary will do right by acquitting them.” Bloomberg Deputy Editor-in-Chief Reto Gregori tweeted the statement here.
2020 Watch.
Hi Alexa? Tech Takes Over Political Fundraising in the U.S. (Axios AM)
Driving the news: Amazon’s Alexa is going to let users donate to presidential campaigns, Bloomberg reports.
Amazon will let 2020 U.S. presidential campaigns sign up to receive voice donations starting at just $5, and will process up to $200 per donor for each campaign, which is a much lower limit than on most digital platforms.
Kamala Harris Bets it All on Iowa (Politico via Hindsight 2020)
Sign up here for Hindsight 2020, one of my favorite U.S. political newsletters.
Today in Finance.
UN Week Preview.
Wednesday, Sept. 25: Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Keynote Third Annual Bloomberg Global Business Forum in New York (Bloomberg GBF)
Michael Bloomberg will host the forum which is aimed at connecting government and business leaders committed to strengthening economic and environmental stability around the world.
As Prime Minister Modi tweeted: “Key events I will be attending at the @UN are the Climate Action Summit, an event on Universal Health Coverage, and opening plenary of the Bloomberg Global Business Forum. These forums will give opportunities to showcase India’s efforts to build peaceful and prosperous world.”
In addition to Prime Minister Modi, the forum will include New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern, former U.S. presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon, Walt Disney Company’s Bob Iger and more. Read more here.
Weekend section.
Open Today: Apple’s Iconic Fifth Avenue Store is Back, Better than Ever, and…It’s the Largest in the World (The Verge)
For Your Reading List: 11 New Books We Recommend This Week (New York Times)
On the list: The Many Lives of Michael Bloomberg, by Eleanor Randolph. (Simon & Schuster, $30.)
From the Times: “No one is more closely associated with New York City’s 21st-century renaissance than Michael Bloomberg, and this detailed account of his three terms as mayor, by a former member of the Times editorial board, offers a balanced assessment.
“Brisk and engaging, ‘The Many Lives’ is more journalistic than novelistic,” our reviewer, David Greenberg, writes, noting that Randolph’s close attention to Bloomberg’s policy initiatives “deals with transit, schools, public health, criminal justice and much more.”
This Week at The Shed: 12 Pop, Rock and Jazz Concerts to Check Out in NYC This Week (New York Times)
First on the list: ARCA at the Shed (Sept. 25-28). Following an ambitious spring lineup that included the Steve McQueen-directed “Soundtrack of America” series, as well as an elaborately staged Björk concert, this newly minted cultural space on New York’s West Side continues its opening-year programming with a performance cycle by this roving Venezuelan experimentalist who is known for making genre-bending music, both on her own and in collaboration with artists like Kanye West, Frank Ocean and FKA Twigs.
Arca is certain to deliver a high-tech, immersive audiovisual experience across the four chapters of the series, which the Shed says can be enjoyed either individually or as a whole.
Bloomberg Philanthropies supports The Shed. Learn more here.
Best of late night.
“Facebook today rolled out a new line of home speakers. The company said they’re excited about getting into the smart home market, while revolutionizing how they listen to other people’s conversations.”
— Jimmy Fallon
“A new report found that JetBlue and Spirit Airlines served the dirtiest water on board. JetBlue was appalled, while Spirit was like, ‘We got mentioned in the same sentence as JetBlue!!!’”
— Jimmy Fallon
“People on JetBlue knew something was wrong when a passenger said “I ordered water, not coffee,” and the flight attendant said: “That is water.””
— Jimmy Fallon