Daily Read: U.S. Gives Formal Notice of Paris Agreement Withdrawal – U.K. Delays Russian Meddling Report – Wall Street Wins 3 Year MiFID Reprieve

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The move puts the US on track to officially stop being a party to the Paris Agreement on November 4th, 2020 — one day after the US general election.

Hundreds of local governments and businesses have made emissions pledges under a movement called We Are Still In, an effort coordinated in part by Bloomberg Philanthropies, which hopes to show the world that Americans are behind the Paris Agreement even if the administration is not.

“Cities, states, and businesses haven’t had a formal place at the negotiating table, but the Paris Agreement succeeded in large part because their voices were heard, and they will keep us moving forward until we have a president who will confront the climate crisis and put the public’s health and safety first,” Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire philanthropist and former mayor of New York City, said in a statement.

On Monday, Bloomberg announced that mayors, governors, chief executive officers and environmental leaders would host a “U.S. Climate Action Center” at the next round of climate negotiations to assume the role the American delegation would have played.

Read Mike’s full statement here.

Today in Trade.

U.S., India Missteps Leave Xi Jinping in Driver’s Seat (Bloomberg – Balance of Power)

Chinese President Xi Jinping is suddenly sitting pretty in Asia, thanks largely to missteps by two of his biggest rivals: U.S. President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Modi abruptly pulled out of a 16-nation regional trade deal yesterday, removing a key counterbalance to China. That’s bad news for Japan, which urged India to stay in.

U.S. influence also took a hit from Trump’s no-show at a regional summit in Bangkok. Southeast Asian leaders responded by snubbing a meeting with National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien.

Coming Thursday: China, U.S. Plan Opioid Bust That May Help Trump Sell Trade Deal (Bloomberg)

UK Election.

U.K. Delays Report Into Russian Meddling Until After Dec. 12 Election (Bloomberg)

Boris Johnson is being accused of suppressing the Intelligence Committee report on whether Russia has interfered in British elections.​

Nicola Sturgeon Hints Scottish National Party Would Help Put Jeremy Corbyn in Power (Bloomberg)

Impeachment Watch.

Transcript of Testimony: Former Ukraine Envoy Says She Felt Threatened by Trump in Call (Bloomberg)

Giuliani Associate Opens Talks on Ukraine with Impeachment Investigators (New York Times)

Warning for ‘A Warning’: Justice Department Warns ‘Anonymous’ about NDAs Ahead of Forthcoming Book (Axios)

Economic News.

Battleground States Trump Won in 2016 Face Economic Woes Ahead (Bloomberg)

The economies of seven states — including Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — are projected to contract over the next six months, data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia show.

FT Poll: Nearly Two-Thirds of US Voters say Trump Has Not Made Them Better Off (Financial Times)

The poll found that persistently slow wage growth appeared to be a main driver of discontent, with 36 per cent of those who said they were worse off blaming their income levels. FT partnered with the Peter G Peterson Foundation on the poll.

Financial News.

Wall Street Gets 3-Year Reprieve From SEC on MiFID Compliance (Bloomberg)

Bloomberg Rival ‘Ion’ Emerges from Shadows (Financial Times)

Even though Ion has bought 20 companies since 2005, the conglomerate, which is managed from offices overlooking St Paul’s Cathedral in London, remains little known outside its specialist markets. And its debt-fueled acquisitions are prompting more questions about the level of borrowing, the amount of job losses and the degree of dividend payouts.

Christine Lagarde Urges Europe to Overcome Self Doubt in First ECB Speech (Bloomberg)

Best U.S. Business Schools.

Stanford Tops Ranking of U.S. Business Schools, Dartmouth Surges to Second Spot (Bloomberg Businessweek)
1 – Stanford
2 – Dartmouth (Tuck)
3 – Harvard
4 – Chicago (Booth)
5 – Virginia (Darden)

Election Day 2019.

What Today’s U.S. Elections Could Tell Us A Year Before Trump Faces Voters (FiveThirtyEight)

Today, control of governorships and state legislatures is up for grabs with major gubernatorial and state legislative races in Kentucky, Mississippi and Virginia.

In New York City, voters will decide whether to implement ‘ranked-choice voting’ for local primary elections along with other local questions and races. Read more about ranked-choice voting here. Kentucky polls close at 6pm ET, Virginia at 7pm ET, Mississippi at 8pm and New York at 9pm ET.

Importantly, if you are one of the millions of Americans who can vote today: Go Vote!

Best of late night.

“Some tech news: Facebook announced that it is rebranding with a new logo that’s in all-caps. Yeah, because that was everyone’s biggest complaint with Facebook. The logo.”
— Jimmy Fallon

“According to a recent report, Microsoft has been experimenting with a 4-day workweek and productivity has jumped by 40%. This is great news! Based on these results, working zero days a week should increase productivity by 200%!”
— James Corden

On the New York City marathon where more than 50,000 runners participated on Sunday:

“The winning time for the men and women’s race was just over two hours, or, as that’s known to everyone who didn’t run on Sunday, roughly 7 episodes of ‘Friends.’”
— Jimmy Fallon