ITK Daily | October 26

Happy Wednesday.

To be ITK, know this:

Powerful photo from Iran.

Today, October 26, marks 40 days since Amini's death and the end of the traditional mourning period in Iran.

Xi Jinping’s men: Why China’s new politburo has spooked markets: President stacks elite political body with loyalists as he tightens grip on power. FT

+ Investors are expecting the appointees to focus on security and state control rather than on business-friendly policies.

+ Christopher Beddor, a China expert with Beijing-based research group Gavekal Dragonomics, believes Xi is now on course to remain in power for at least a fourth five-year term starting in 2027, and beyond. The new standing committee is Xi’s “most striking victory”, he said.

+ US-based WisdomTree Asset Management said on Monday that it had removed tech conglomerate Tencent, search engine operator Baidu and social media giant Weibo from its China index. The move resulted in turnover of more than a quarter of the index.

Xi's clean sweep: China marks new era with loyalist lineup: New standing committee shows party and the world Xi will brook no dissent in the third term. Nikkei

+ Xi's rivals, potential and real, were forced out of the Politburo Standing Committee, with loyalists taking their place. No fewer than three of Xi's aides from his previous positions in Beijing and other provinces were promoted to the top team.

+ As a result, in the words of Neil Thomas, a China specialist at the Eurasia Group, we are entering an era of "maximum Xi" -- a world in which the old rules have been cast aside.

+ Foreigners who complain that China has given up on reform have it upside down. China is reforming but on the ruling party's, or Xi's, own terms. It just so happens that this looks nothing like the kinds of changes the West had hoped for.

+ As it has for more than a decade, Beijing will continue to forge closer ties with the so-called Global South -- developing and low-income countries -- in Africa, Asia and the Pacific.

+ Global swing states in Europe and Latin America, and perhaps also India, present a different challenge. Beijing has alienated European nations with its support for Russia in Ukraine. India has not forgiven Beijing over recent military clashes on their shared border.

Perception is reality: Until the perception changes, China's "Wolf Warrior" diplomacy meme is the reality.

Chinese diplomacy has lost control of the narrative and is letting others tell their story - a good lesson for any nation's foreign policy communications.

Everybody talks about Made in America. But it isn’t that simple. Why reshoring—bringing manufacturing back to the US is so hard. WSJ

+ Some 1,800 US companies intend to reshore at least parts of their business operations this year, and reshoring activities created 261,000 jobs in 2021, according to a report issued by the Reshoring Initiative, an advocacy group.

+ More executives are singing the homeward-bound song, too: In the first eight months of 2022, 106 corporate earnings calls mentioned reshoring, up from six in the same period in 2019, according to our analysis of Capital IQ Transcripts data.

+ Today’s global supply-chain operations are so complex and opaque that only 2% of companies in a 2021 McKinsey survey said they had any visibility beyond their second-tier suppliers, or those that supply materials and parts to their direct suppliers.

Megathreats by Nouriel Roubini — an avalanche of coming disasters: The economist who predicted the 2008 crash warns of disturbingly plausible calamities, from climate to currency and debt crises. FT

+ At least there were only four horsemen of the apocalypse. But reflecting today’s rampant inflation, Nouriel Roubini now identifies 10 so-called megathreats, spanning various economic, financial, political, technological, and environmental disasters.

+ On his specialist subject of economics, Roubini warns in Megathreats that the debt crisis of our lifetimes lies ahead. The entire world resembles the financial delinquent that is Argentina that has defaulted on its debt nine times since its independence in 1816.

+ The fight for technological supremacy between the US and China will further aggravate existing geopolitical tensions. That could well trigger a war between the two rival superpowers. Roubini airs the view that Washington’s previous embrace of China might count as the worst strategic blunder by any country in recent times because it accelerated the rise of a deadly, authoritarian rival.

+ “China will become the largest economy in the world, there’s no doubt about that — it’s only a question of when.”

+ “For anything resembling a happy ending to happen, computers poised to displace us must come to our rescue.”

The war to define what work looks like: Pay. Productivity. Commuting. Rarely have bosses and workers been so at odds over so much. WSJ

+ The workplace is in the middle of an unusual collision between what bosses and workers want.

+ Employees feel empowered after two years of changing their work habits and leverage gained in a tight labor market.

+ Employers are under increasing pressure to cut costs and boost performance as inflation soars, markets plunge and a possible US recession looms.

+ The average office occupancy in 10 major US cities rose to 49% as of Oct. 12, up from 44% this past summer, according to data from Kastle Systems, which tracks badge swipes. Those attendance figures are still well below prepandemic levels.

+ More than 20,000 Google employees globally have requested to go fully remote or transfer to a new location, and 85% of those requests have been approved, according to a spokeswoman.

Rebranding is hard but there is no excuse for disemvowelling: Companies have failed to learn the harsh lessons of the awful name change. FT

+ "The truth is, there is absolutely nothing modern or hip about stripping perfectly serviceable vowels from names."

+ The tech magazine, Wired, published an obituary for the letter “E” as far back as 2013, having observed the march of Flickr, the photo sharing app; Grindr, the dating app; Tumblr, the blogging app and much more.

Intel prices IPO for self-driving car unit Mobileye: WSJ reports the offering raised $861 million by selling 41 million shares, valuing the unit at roughly $17 billion.

Apple announces iPhones will switch over to USB-C chargers for its upcoming iPhone devices.

Brussels for the win.

Biden’s job approval rating is 40%, a step down from the 44% measured in August but still above his term-low 38% from July, according to Gallup.

Trump eyes longtime Virginia operative for senior 2024 campaign role: WP reports Chris LaCivita is widely known for running the Swift Vets and POWs for Truth campaign against 2004 Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.

The non-Trump 2024 field starts to make their moves: The former president is talking about campaign structure and staff. But others don’t seem content to wait for him to announce. Politico

How would you describe Ron DeSantis? These 15 Florida voters think Ron DeSantis is going places, like it or not. Patrick Healy + Adrian J. Rivera

'Make it stop!' Brazilians fed up with long, dirty election campaign: AFP reports Marcelo feels it is making him sick. Alexia has stopped chatting to her neighbors, and Luciene is desperate for it to end: Brazil's lengthy and nasty election duel has left many voters fed up.

Brazilian voters will return to the polls on Sunday, October 30, for a presidential runoff as neither of the leading candidate secured enough support to win the election earlier this month.

Reservoir Dogs at 30: Tarantino’s canny contained act of provocation: The violent caper exploded on the scene back in 1992, causing admiration and annoyance, kicking off a new wave of imitators. Guardian

Not sure there is a better soundtrack than the one from Reservoir Dogs. Listen here.

Fat Joe on witnessing the birth of hip hop, and how he stays in the game NPR

+ Growing up in the Bronx, Fat Joe witnessed the birth of hip hop, then made hip hop history himself. Over three decades in the game, he's put out 13 albums, started his own record label, and mentored other great MCs like the late Big Pun. He's also faced multiple bankruptcies and battled depression, which he's open about: he wants people to learn from his successes and his failures.

Good pod this.

Astros vs. Phillies World Series predictions, pitching matchups, and what you need to know The Athletic

+ It is the 118th edition of the World Series

Game times:

Game 1: Phillies at Astros, Friday at 8:03 p.m. ET, FOX

Game 2: Phillies at Astros, Saturday at 8:03 p.m. ET, FOX

Game 3: Astros at Phillies, Monday at 8:03 p.m. ET, FOX

Game 4: Astros at Phillies, Tuesday at 8:03 p.m. ET, FOX

Game 5: Astros at Phillies, Nov. 2 at 8:03 p.m. ET, FOX (if necessary)

Game 6: Phillies at Astros, Nov. 4 at 8:03 p.m. ET, FOX (if necessary)

Game 7: Phillies at Astros, Nov. 5 at 8:03 p.m. ET, FOX (if necessary)

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc

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