Monat: August 2020

A version of this article first appeared in the Reliable Sources newsletter. You can sign up for free right here.

Time to vote?

The lead story for Thursday’s morning shows: The impending vote to advance Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court.

„This is it. They’re going to go to vote,“ Chris Cuomo said on CNN Wednesday night. „The FBI report is all but done. Will it change votes? Probably not. Why? Time, tactics, the tenor of the whole process. This has never been a truth campaign — about ‚getting to the bottom of the allegations.‘ It’s about getting Kavanaugh through at any cost. It always has been.“

Per CNN’s latest, senators will be able to read the FBI’s findings on Thursday morning. Mitch McConnell filed cloture on Wednesday night, setting up Senate Republicans for a Friday vote to end debate on the nomination. A final vote will not take place until Saturday at the earliest.

Meanwhile, here are the headlines…

— Banner on „The Situation Room“ Wednesday evening: „White House denies Trump was mocking Kavanaugh accuser after Trump mocks Kavanaugh accuser.“

— Ronan Farrow tweeted Wednesday night: „The FBI declined to interview primary witnesses related to the Kavanaugh allegations it was tasked with reviewing. Some of them resorted to sending in unsolicited sworn statements.“ Jane Mayer and Farrow are out with a new story…

— On CNN.com right now: „Yale roommate says Kavanaugh lied under oath about drinking and yearbook.“ James Roche spoke out via an op-ed for Slate and an interview on „AC360…“

— An example of the widespread conservative criticism of the news coverage: „You Idiot Reporters Are Making It Worse,“ by NRO’s Jonah Goldberg…

Thursday planner

— Anti-Kavanaugh protests will take place in DC and other locales…

— Justice Stephen Breyer will be speaking at The Atlantic Festival in the morning…

— Trump has an afternoon fundraiser in Minneapolis and an evening rally in Rochester…

„Her lasting impact“

That’s the message on this week’s cover of TIME — to be officially unveiled Thursday morning.

„Using words and phrases from Ford’s testimony, San Francisco-based artist John Mavroudis recreated her likeness by drawing each letter by hand,“ TIME says…

FOR THE RECORD, PART ONE

— There are deepening concerns about missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Tuesday „to obtain paperwork related to his upcoming wedding“ and „has not been heard from since…“ (WaPo)

— Nicaragua has deported Austrian-American reporter Carl David Goette-Luciak, who had been covering anti-Ortega protests for months… (The Guardian)

— Eli Rosenberg’s latest: „Facebook blocked many gay-themed ads as part of its new advertising policy, angering LGBT groups…“ (WaPo)

Connie Chung: „I, too, was sexually assaulted — and it’s seared into my memory forever“

Julia Waldow emails: Broadcast news legend Connie Chung published an extremely powerful letter to Christine Blasey Ford about her own experience with sexual assault, dating back about 50 years. Her assailant, she writes, was her family doctor. „Christine, I, too, am terrified as I reveal this publicly,“ Chung wrote. „I can’t sleep. I can’t eat. Can you? If you can’t, I understand. I am frightened, I am scared, I can’t even cry.“

The letter was published by the WashPost. „I wish I could forget this truthful event, but I cannot because it is the truth,“ she wrote. „I am writing to you because I know that exact dates, exact years are insignificant. We remember exactly what happened to us and who did it to us. We remember the truth forever…“

FOR THE RECORD, PART TWO

— Two Fox News personalities have books on Amazon’s top ten list right now: Tucker Carlson’s „Ship of Fools“ is No. 2 and Steve Doocy’s family cookbook is No. 4. The forthcoming Trump parody book by „The Late Show with Stephen Colbert“ staff is holding steady at No. 1…

— Meantime, the weekly NYT bestseller list came out on Wednesday, and Bob Woodward’s „Fear“ is No. 1 for a third straight week…

Read more of Wednesday’s Reliable Sources newsletter… And subscribe here to receive future editions in your inbox…

— NYT opinion writer and editor Bari Weiss is writing a book: „The New Seven Dirty Words.“ Holt will publish it in winter 2020…

Barnes & Noble may sell itself

B&N fired its CEO a few months ago. Now its board has appointed a special committee to consider a sale. It is, as CNN’s Nathaniel Meyersohn writes, a troubled company: „Sales have fallen at Barnes & Noble during each of the past four years. New tactics, such as smaller store formats and a kitchen concept, have struggled to win back shoppers.“ More here…

Bianna joins „CBS This Morning“

The CBS morning show has always had a three-person format… until now. Bianna Golodryga was introduced as a co-host on Wednesday morning, adding a fourth co-host chair to the set. The move makes a lot of sense: Golodryga is already on the show all the time as a fill-in host and/or correspondent…

BTW: „She will continue to work as a contributor to various CNN programs,“ Variety’s Brian Steinberg notes…

CNNMoney (New York) First published October 4, 2018: 12:43 AM ET

Bitcoin’s big stock market debut is coming at a bad time.

Three of the world’s top makers of cryptocurrency technology are planning to sell shares, giving investors a new way to bet on digital currencies. They’re reportedly hoping to raise billions of dollars.

Unlike the dollar or the euro, which are issued by central banks, cryptocurrencies are based on computer code. Bitcoin, for example, is created and traded through the „mining“ process in which computer algorithms solve increasingly complex math problems.

Bitmain, Canaan and Ebang, which are all based in China, make money by selling the high-tech parts and systems that power this mining. Together, they dominate the business.

But the three companies operate in a young, unpredictable industry and are planning their IPOs in Hong Kong in brutal market conditions. The price of bitcoin, which soared to nearly $20,000 in December, has since plunged by about two-thirds. Other cryptocurrencies like ethereum have plummeted, too.

„If the market price of cryptocurrencies suddenly falls … demand for our mining hardware and cryptocurrency mining services will also drop rapidly,“ Bitmain warned potential investors this week.

On top of that, Hong Kong’s stock market, where the companies plan to list, entered a bear market this month, having plunged more than 20% from its previous peak because of concerns about China’s economic slowdown and trade war with the United States.

The mining technology companies haven’t said when exactly they plan to go public or how much they’re seeking to raise. Bitmain and Canaan declined interview requests, while Ebang didn’t respond to a request.

„These firms might be looking to cash out before the market takes an even steeper nosedive,“ said Benjamin Quinlan, founder of Hong Kong-based financial services consulting firm Quinlan & Associates.

He points out that cryptocurrencies are slowly gaining more acceptance among mainstream investors despite recent setbacks, and that the three mining companies‘ revenues are still growing. But the industry faces major challenges.

A key one is how governments go about regulating digital currencies. Last year, China banned most activities involving bitcoin. The country is still thought to be home to a significant number of cryptocurrency mining operations, but authorities have been trying to push them out.

Cryptocurrency miners need huge amounts of electricity to run their rooms full of computing equipment around the clock. Some public utilities in the United States are already introducing higher tariffs specifically for miners.

„Increasing the cost of bitcoin mining will decrease the demand for mining equipment, hindering the performance of these companies,“ Quinlan said.

Mining cryptocurrencies is already less lucrative than it used to be.

Bitcoin mining activity has exploded over the past year, boosting demand for the technology. But that means the profits from mining are spread more thinly across a greater number of users. That could hit future demand for mining equipment.

Will the mining boom last?

Bitmain, Canaan and Ebang were all profitable in their most recent financial year, according to documents setting out their intention to go public.

But staying in the black will be a „massive challenge,“ said Leilei Wang, a Shanghai-based consultant at research firm Kapronasia.

The companies are aware of the risks they face and are trying to adapt. For example, they say they are increasing investment in more advanced chip technology that can be used in areas like artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and connected devices.

Although the Chinese government has a tough stance on cryptocurrencies in general, it’s eager to bulk up the country’s technological prowess in areas like computer chips. Chinese companies are still largely reliant on foreign chip technology, especially from the United States.

„Whether [the cryptocurrency companies] are able to successfully pivot remains to be seen,“ Wang said.

For now, their fate is tied to that of the wider industry.

„Cryptocurrencies will likely fall out of favor“ without greater mainstream adoption in the near future, Quinlan predicted. The mining equipment makers „will find it extremely difficult to survive when the cryptocurrency market, as a whole, withers away,“ he said.

But bitcoin bulls are still hopeful that the currency can stage a recovery as financial exchanges and big companies start to take it more seriously.

„As you see more adoption of just people being comfortable with it, it feels like it’s going to go up,“ Mike Novogratz, CEO of cryptocurrency investment firm Galaxy Digital, told CNN this week.

CNNMoney (Hong Kong) First published September 27, 2018: 6:56 AM ET

Western brands are having to work harder to win over customers in China.

Where American or European companies could once expect to find an enormous market hungry for their products, changing tastes and the challenge from new Chinese rivals are forcing them to adopt new strategies to succeed in the world’s second biggest economy.

The sterner challenge facing big names such as Starbucks (SBUX) and Apple (AAPL) has nothing to do with the trade war. At least, not yet. It’s about new competition and increased wealth.

„It doesn’t work to just show up anymore,“ said Benjamin Cavender, a Shanghai-based analyst at consulting firm China Market Research Group, referring to brands that are household names in the West. „Chinese consumer tastes are evolving rapidly.“

Coca-Cola (CCE) is one of the top companies that’s having to adapt to this new reality.

„We’ve seen a tremendous change in the consumption patterns,“ Curtis Ferguson, the company’s China CEO, told CNN at last week’s World Economic Forum in the Chinese city of Tianjin.

Coke has launched more than 30 new drink brands in China in the past six months and now has about 275 in total, Ferguson said. They range from regular Coke to more exotic varieties with flavorings like yellow bean and apple fiber. Coke even has its own line of teas in China.

That’s a big change from the Atlanta-based company’s previous approach of relying on the strength of its brand.

The philosophy was „let them drink Coke,“ Ferguson said. He argued Western companies can’t afford to treat their brands as sacrosanct.

„Either you destroy your own brand in China, or someone else is going to do it for you,“ he said.

Starbucks scrambles to keep up

Starbucks learned the difficulties of shifting Chinese consumer habits the hard way.

The coffee chain has about 3,000 stores in the country, making it one of its top markets. But in June, the company reported a sudden slowdown in growth in China, just weeks after it had announced plans for rapid expansion there.

That’s partly because it faces growing competition from an upstart local competitor. Luckin Coffee opened its first store in China less than a year ago. Now it has more than 500. Many of its customers order coffees online for delivery or takeout. Chinese consumers are also increasingly turning to delivery apps, like Meituan Dianping, for food or drinks.

„Starbucks has always been slow adopting technology in China,“ Cavender said. Its customers „were tired of waiting in line to place orders.“

The global coffee giant is now trying to correct course. In August, it teamed up with Alibaba (BABA), China’s largest e-commerce company, to launch delivery services.

Automakers face ‚big challenge‘

Global carmakers are also scrambling to keep pace with changes in China’s auto market, the world’s biggest. It’s being shaken up by the rapid spread of electric vehicles, which have been promoted through government subsidies, resulting in a crowded market.

Francois Provost, Asia-Pacific chairman of Renault (RNLSY), said the French carmaker is now fighting competition from both traditional rivals and new upstarts in China. Local player Nio (NIO), for example, sells an SUV in China that costs about half the price of Tesla’s (TSLA) Model X.

Sticker price is crucial in China, Provost said, as most customers are first-time buyers. But drivers are also demanding electric vehicles with longer battery life as networks of charging stations are still being built out across the country.

„The big challenge is increasing the efficiency of the range and reducing user costs at the same time,“ Provost said during a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum. That will be tough for automakers, he predicts: „I can’t honestly say we have full visibility on this.“

Apple’s losing the innovation race

Apple (AAPL) has lost market share in China to local rivals over the past two years. The iPhone accounts for less than 10% of smartphone sales in the country, analysts estimate. In the United States, it accounts for about 40%.

Apple is facing fierce competition from Chinese players such as Huawei, Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi.

„In recent years, Apple has slid quite a lot in the Chinese market,“ said Canalys researcher Mo Jia. „The very aggressive tech innovation from Chinese brands is changing the high-end landscape.“

The US company’s latest models, the XS and XS Max, include features that could boost their appeal in the Chinese market, like dual SIM cards and a larger screen. But analysts are skeptical these will make much difference.

„Apple is fighting a bit of a losing battle,“ Cavender said.

— Sherisse Pham and Rishi Iyengar contributed to this report.

CNNMoney (Hong Kong) First published September 25, 2018: 10:23 PM ET

It’s a sliver of good news about a massive data breach that the company first disclosed last week. Attackers accessed as many as 50 million accounts in the largest such breach of Facebook’s network.

„We have now analyzed our logs for all third-party apps installed or logged during the attack we discovered last week. That investigation has so far found no evidence that the attackers accessed any apps using Facebook Login.“ said Facebook’s Guy Rosen in a statement.

On Friday, Facebook (FB) announced unknown attackers had exploited a vulnerability to access the accounts. They were able to view other people’s Facebook profiles as if they were the accounts‘ owners. For example, they could see friends‘ profiles and updates.

Facebook says it closed the loophole on Thursday night, but 90 million users were forcefully logged out of their accounts as a precaution.

The attackers stole Facebook „access tokens,“ which keep a person logged into their Facebook account over long periods. Facebook reset all 50 million tokens, as well as tokens for an additional 40 million people who had used the „view as“ feature in the past year as a precautionary step.

During a call about the hack last week, Rosen said the attackers would have also been able to access third-party sites using Facebook Login, but the company had found no evidence of them doing so.

Hundreds of sites and apps including Tinder, Spotify and Airbnb use Facebook Login, which lets people access the services with their Facebook username and password. Early this week, developers were confused about whether their services had been exposed in the Facebook hack.

The company says partners following Facebook „best practices“ were automatically protected. Some developers might not have followed those rules, and they could have put their users at risk.

„We’re sorry that this attack happened — and we’ll continue to update people as we find out more,“ Rosen said.

— CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan contributed reporting.

CNNMoney (San Francisco ) First published October 2, 2018: 7:13 PM ET