| | | | The Surprise Waiting for Trump at the G7 | | As President Trump braces for a potentially frosty reception at the G7 summit this week, he should also prepare himself for a surprising development, suggest Steven Erlanger and Neil MacFarquhar in The New York Times. Europe might be warming up — at least a little — to Russia.
"Often dismissed as a tactician and opportunist," Vladimir Putin was this week "looking more like a grand strategist as Mr. Trump bluntly rejected European demands for an exemption from what Brussels considers illegal and unilateral tariffs on steel and aluminum," they write.
And it isn't "only Europe's populists who are looking for warmer ties with Russia. Last week, Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, called for an end to the demonization of Russia."
"Both Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and Mr. Macron visited Russia at the end of May to discuss salvaging the Iran deal. And Mr. Macron complained at a conference in St. Petersburg about the damage being done to world trade — clearly alluding to Mr. Trump.
"Mr. Macron, the guest of honor, was particularly effusive in evoking the cultural and historical links that tie Russia to the rest of Europe."
| | The Tech Race America Is Desperate to Win | | | The United States and China are racing to see which country can roll out a fifth generation (5G) wireless network. Previous Chinese tech success stories offer a clue to why America is so determined to get there first, writes Klint Finley in Wired.
"China's 1.4 billion population provides the perfect place for a company to grow a business before exporting to other countries. Consider the WeChat instant messaging app, which offers mobile payments, online banking, car services, and more. Western companies have been trying to emulate its success and functionality for years," Finley writes.
"Gaining a lead in 5G could have other benefits for Chinese tech as well. 5G enables not just increased speeds, but the increased capacity that could help support growth of the Internet of Things. All those connected cars and other gadgets will produce data. Lots of it. That could help put China ahead in cutting-edge developments, like self-driving cars and artificial intelligence." | | | President Trump is scheduled to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday ahead of the President's meeting with Kim Jong Un next week. But the earlier bromance between the two leaders is starting to feel like a distant memory — and Japan is increasingly at risk of being left on the sidelines, writes Zack Cooper for the Washington Post.
"Here is Japan's greatest fear — that it could find itself isolated and left to face China on its own. Many Japanese were pleased when the 2017 US National Security Strategy and 2018 National Defense Strategy suggested a harder US line against China. But the lengthy negotiations with North Korea continue to distract the United States from the more serious long-term challenge presented by China's rise," Cooper writes. | | The World's Most Powerful Consumers Have Arrived | | Next year, Millennials in the United States will overtake baby boomers in number. But across the globe, they are already transforming businesses as the world's most powerful consumers, writes John Gapper for the Financial Times.
"The coming of age of the world's 2 billion Millennials [defined by Pew as those aged between 22 and 37] is not only a generational shift: it is one of ethnicity and nationality. Forty-three percent of US Millennials are non-white, and Millennials in Asia vastly outnumber those in Europe and the US. Despite China's former one-child policy, it has 400 million Millennials, more than five times the US figure…while Morgan Stanley estimates that India's 410 million Millennials will spend $330 billion annually by 2020," Gapper writes.
This "is having a profound effect on global patterns of consumption, with more to come. Emerging and developing economies are home to 86 percent of Millennials, and the World Bank estimates that Chinese Millennials' income will overtake that in the US by 2035. The luxury industry has tilted towards Asia, where prestige brands are seen as guarantees of quality."
| | Venezuela Needs a Coup. Sort Of. | | It should be clear by now that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has no intention of negotiating his administration out of office, writes José Cárdenas in Foreign Policy. There's only one institution now with the power to extricate Venezuela from its current crisis.
"Of course, no one wants to see a regression to a Latin American Dark Age, in which military coups are the norm, at the expense of civilian rule and democracy. But it is important to note that identifying the Venezuelan military as the only logical change agent is not to advocate for a coup. The fact is, a coup has already taken place — perpetrated by Maduro and his Cuban advisers against the country's constitution. Only nationalists in the military can restore a legitimate constitutional democracy," Cárdenas writes.
"Many in the rank and file are suffering the same deprivations as the general population, even as corrupt generals are getting richer and richer. Something has to break."
| | The Country of Choice for Millionaires Is… | | Australia is the destination of choice for millionaires looking to relocate, a new report says [PDF], beating out the United States for the third year running in the net number of millionaires relocating there.
The reason? According to the latest Global Wealth Migration Review, produced by the AfrAsia Bank, Australia's relative proximity to Asian nations including China, South Korea and Vietnam is one key reason.
Meanwhile, "Australia was recently rated as the safest country for women worldwide during our annual woman safety ratings."
Another reason the report cites for wealthy migrants preferring Australia to the United States is the soaring cost of healthcare in the latter. "In the US, getting healthcare insurance can be difficult for incoming [high net worth individuals]. Notably, several international medical aids cover patients in all developed countries with the exception of the US (which is a big warning sign)." | | | | | | |
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