Wednesday, May 22
Hot on the Bloomberg:
Theresa May Says It’s Her Duty to Keep Fighting for Deal as MPs Walk Out (Bloomberg)
Brexit Impact: British Steel Collapses in Fresh Blow to U.K. Industry – 25,000 Jobs at Risk (Bloomberg)
British Steel was hit by the fallout from Brexit, with some European customers concerned about possible tariffs on their orders. At the same time, the weak pound made importing ingredients, such as iron ore, more expensive. The collapse puts about 25,000 jobs at risk.
Trade War Latest: China Calls for ‘New Long March’ as U.S. Tensions Rise (Bloomberg)
Get Smart: The Coming Digital Cold War (Bloomberg QuickTake)
For some policy makers and academics, the escalating tensions between the U.S. and China are pointing toward a “Cold War 2.0,” one fought for technological, rather than nuclear or ideological, dominance.
Here’s one vision of the future: In half the world, driverless cars built by Baidu and connected by Huawei’s 5G wireless service carry residents who shop online with Alibaba and post selfies with WeChat. In the other half, those activities are dominated by companies like Amazon, Google, Facebook, Tesla and Ericsson.
Today in Trading Technology: Computer Models Won’t Beat the Stock Market Any Time Soon (Bloomberg Businessweek)
It’s one of the most difficult problems in machine learning: As much as hedge funds are using computers for data crunching and pattern recognition, finding new market signals is still a human endeavor. Elite quantitative managers employ huge staffs—sometimes in the hundreds—and show up at machine learning conferences to recruit fresh Ph.D.s.
2020 Watch: The Democrats’ 100-Year Flood of Voters (Axios)
The U.S. midterm elections may have been a sign of what’s ahead for the 2020 presidential election: experts say the voter turnout could be the highest in a century.
“The safest prediction in politics is for a giant turnout in 2020,” said Larry Sabato of the University of Virginia. “Nobody’s going to believe the polls after 2016, and everyone will assume a tight race. Anti-Trump Democrats and the pro-Trump base will both set human adrenaline records — the intensity across the country is going to be spectacular. Let’s hope the polling places can accommodate the crowds.”
Electoral College Math: Nevada Senate Passes Bill Giving Electoral Votes to Popular Vote Winner (CNN)
Industry Over People: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Plans to Rewrite Costs and Benefits of Anti-Pollution Rules (Bloomberg)
Mike Bloomberg tweeted: “Changing the math on how the EPA calculates the dangers of air pollution is the latest example of this administration putting industry interests over the American people.”
People Moves:
-The Other Surge Across the U.S.-Mexico Border: It’s Americans Heading South (Washington Post)
-For Many Wealthy Brazilians, Portugal Is Becoming the New Miami (Bloomberg)
Travel section.
The Reviews Are In! The London Mithraeum is a Hit on TripAdvisor
The award-winning London Mithraeum, which returns the ancient Roman Temple of Mithras to the location of its discovery on the site of Bloomberg’s European headquarters, is getting rave reviews on TripAdvisor. Rated a 4.5 out of 5 stars, it showcases the ancient temple, Roman artifacts found during the building’s construction, and contemporary art responding to one of the UK’s most significant archaeological sites. It is free to visit, but to guarantee entry book here.
“London Mithraeum a Great Find.”: “You step back in time using modern technology…It’s an amazing historical find amongst modern day life and buildings. Well done to all concerned.”
“Amazing reconstruction back in its original location.”
“The most luxurious presentation possible.”
“One of the best free attractions.”: “A fascinating, moving and memorable display. Sometimes these sensory experiences can be rather naff, but not here. The lighting, mist and sound design manage to bring the Temple to life interestingly and tastefully.”
“A Hidden Gem.”: “They really make the most out of it – that should serve as a lesson to many other archaeological tourist sites!”
Best of late night.
“This weekend, a billionaire named Robert Smith gave the commencement address at Morehouse College, and during his speech, he announced that he was paying off all the graduates’ student loans. Pretty cool. The senior class was in shock, while last year’s class was like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me!’”
— Jimmy Fallon
“Class of 2019, you just learned a valuable lesson: Sucks to be class of 2018.”
— Stephen Colbert
On a U.S. federal judge’s ruling Monday that upheld a subpoena of President Trump’s accounting firm in an effort to determine whether Trump inflated his assets to get loans:
“I have a strong feeling that we’re going to find out that the whole time, Eric was just a shell corporation. Nothing in there.”
— Stephen Colbert, referring Trump’s son Eric
“Gee, I wonder what the answer to that question is? Of course he does. He inflates everything! This is like trying to find out if Goodyear inflates the Blimp!”
— Jimmy Kimmel
For more best of late night from the New York Times, click here.