ITK Daily | August 4
Happy Thursday.
To be ITK, know this:
Read this: Bank of England’s Bailey warns UK faces ‘very big’ inflation shock, defends historic rate hike CNBC
+ The Bank of England on Thursday defended its decision to hike interest rates at the fastest clip in 27 years, saying the U.K. faces a “very big” shock to inflation.
+ Governor Andrew Bailey told CNBC that the risks of high inflation becoming persistent had risen since the Bank’s previous meeting in June, prompting it to take “stronger action.”
+ The BOE raised interest rates 50 basis points Thursday, taking borrowing costs to 1.75% in an ongoing bid to curb soaring inflation.
Q: What's Wolf Warrior Diplomacy?
@ChinaEUMission: More than a century ago, the Eight-Power Allied Forces invaded China. Today, the G7+1 has eight parties again. Is it wishful thinking to form new “Eight-Power Allied Forces”?? Gone are the days when the Chinese people were bullied and pushed around by foreign powers.
@ChinaEUMission: What is evil? What is shameless? If anyone out there has no idea of what evil and shamelessness are, just take a look at the statement of foreign ministers of #G7 and the #EuropeanUnion, which provides more than enough examples for both in the real world. #Taiwan
NYT: Chinese missiles strike seas off Taiwan, and some land near Japan
+ The Japanese government lodged a diplomatic protest to the Chinese government over the missiles’ landing in its waters
Italy + Intel close to deal for chip factory: Reuters reports Rome is ready to fund as much as 40% of Intel's total investment in Italy, which is expected to rise over time from the initial $5 billion.
Read this: Where will Germany get its energy in the future? Der Spiegel
+ Germany must not only free itself from Russian gas, but from fossil fuels altogether. Where will those future energies come from?
+ Industry consultancy Rystad Energy expects that the US LNG industry will double its capacity by 2030
+ "In Asia, LNG often replaces coal, so it will be needed there for a long time."
+ A good eighth of Europe's total energy requirements – oil, gas, and coal – reach the continent via the Rotterdam port
+ Up to seven hydrogen terminals are to be built here in the coming years: berths for freighters from all over the world carrying green hydrogen (H2) or green ammonia, often to be converted to H2 right on the spot
+ As part of the project, four hydrogen electrolysis plants are to be built – each at least 20 times the size of the most important production facilities in Europe to date. And the hydrogen is to be transported through pipelines hundreds of kilometers long to Germany
+ "Most people underestimate the huge amounts of hydrogen we will need," says port manager Nico van Dooren. Around 100 million tons of crude oil pass through Europe's largest port every year
+ The Port of Rotterdam and 69 industry partners aim to provide as much as 4.6 million metric tons of hydrogen for Europe by 2030
+ Australia simply seemed too far away to even be seriously considered as an energy partner: A freighter takes up to 55 days to travel from Gladstone in eastern Australia to Rotterdam
+ But feasibility tests have concluded that the transport costs are of little consequence, accounting for only around 5 to 7 percent of total costs, especially given that few other countries can produce green electricity in such quantities as cheaply as Australia
The demographics of Conservative Party members: The average member is more likely to be male, middle class, southern, Leave-voting, and over the age of 55.
CNBC: Biden administration will declare monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency in the
@margbrennan: Today @HHS declares monkeypox a public health emergency just 12 days after?
@WHO did. On July 24, @AshishKJha46 told me #MPX could still be "contained" & "we can get our arms around this thing." His caveat was if we "need further tools, we will invoke them"
Read this: Michael Saylor bet billions on Bitcoin and lost WSJ
+ The longtime 微策略 CEO, and perhaps the biggest bitcoin bull, steps down
+ "The new executive structure means I can even more enthusiastically focus on communications and strategy and bitcoin advocacy and evangelism"
Read this: MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor once lost $6 billion in a day. His big bet on Bitcoin might sink him once and for all Fortune
+ Over the past two years he has essentially bet his entire $500 million revenue company on the future of #Bitcoin. On August 2, the company announced Saylor would step down as CEO after three decades at the helm to take the role of executive chairman
+ Though the company announced a gigantic writedown of $918 million on its Bitcoin holdings, MicroStrategy’s stock soared the day after the news hit, rising 15% to $321 and gaining over $400 million in market cap
+ According to those sources, Saylor yearns to be a renowned thought leader—“to be widely admired as an intellectual powerhouse,” in the words of one departed employee.
+ The company has two classes of stock, and Saylor’s ownership of B shares that carry 10 votes versus one for the class A give him 64% of the votes, though he owns just one-fifth of the total shares
+ According to press reports, it was Saylor who helped convince Elon Musk to buy $1.5 billion in Bitcoin early last year, an endorsement that greatly boosted its price and reputation
+ He seldom specifies practical uses for Bitcoin... Instead, in his trademark high-pitched delivery, Saylor argues that the world is on the verge of an economic cataclysm and that Bitcoin represents a haven of stability
+ Since Saylor started buying Bitcoin in August 2020, he’s borrowed a staggering $2.4 billion to purchase coins, using three separate bond offerings and a margin loan
+ If the stock dives below its traditional value as a sound software franchise, MicroStrategy is likely to see a rash of suits against its leaders for breach of fiduciary duty
+ Despite the violent ups and downs, he’s been right some of the time. But by hitching himself to Bitcoin, he’s staked his company’s future on a wildly volatile speculative vehicle
Read this: Why the old elite spend so much time at work Derek Thompson
+ In practically every field of human endeavor, the average age of achievement and power is rising
+ The average age of new CEOs at #Fortune500 and S&P500 companies increased nine years since 2005—from 46 to 55. The average age of leading actors in films increased about 12 years since 2001—from about 38 to about 50 for male stars
+ The best explanation for both of these trends is the “burden of knowledge” theory. We are learning more about the world every year, but the more we learn about any subject, the harder it is to master all the facts out there and push the frontier of knowledge outward
Read this: Nike scores success with early backing for women’s football FT
+ US sportswear retailer secures halo effect from Lionesses’ victory after early fumbles in men’s game
+ 耐克 sponsors 12 of the 23 players on the Lioness squad, and supports three women’s football organizations with roots in the UK, including Girls United, UK Active, and Bloomsbury Football
Read this: How Dior made Sauvage the world’s number one fragrance BOF
+ The scent’s success runs deeper than Johnny Depp. 酩悦·轩尼诗-路易·威登集团 ’s hefty investments in advertising, retail, and a full range of Sauvage products have propelled its growth
+ Dior's Sauvage has become the world's top fragrance, nudging out even women's blockbusters like 香奈儿 's Coco Mademoiselle
Imposter syndrome is actually the human condition Viv Groskop
+ Being told to fix ourselves and self-improve ignores the wider reality of an imperfect world
+ "But increasingly, I hear women complaining privately that they are fed up of self-improving and of being told that they need to learn how to negotiate or how to change themselves to operate better in a given environment."
Watch: See how you feel with Gareth Dauncey: On this episode of Brigadoon Radio, I speak with Gareth Dauncey about his entrepreneurial journey and personal experiences in launching Mood, utilizing his skills as an architect to help with the app's design and simplicity, the ability to spot patterns over a long period, the benefits of checking-in with yourself daily, how more self-awareness provides more balance in life, and the need to promote your idea, even if you are reluctant to do so. Show notes and broadcast here.
Keanu Reeves will star in the long-gestating adaptation of Erik Larson’s ‘Devil In The White City’ for Hulu .
MR: Once in Cleveland, I chatted up Keanu Reeves in a hotel lobby. He was approachable and generous in recommending that my friends and I eat at Johnny's Bar on Fulton. Fantastic meal, by the way.
The 2022 UEFA Women’s European Championship final delivered an average US audience of 971,000 viewers, making it the most-watched soccer match on ESPN networks in 2022. The audience peaked at 1.2 million viewers.
+ UK had a peak audience of 17.4 million while Germany reached 21.8 million in Germany
Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.
-Marc?
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