Showing posts with label FTSE100. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FTSE100. Show all posts

2019-03-27

UK Dysfunction | Brexit Or Not, Final Days Or Kick The Can Again? (video)

Time Left Under First Extension of Brexit Date, London time: 11:00 P.M., Friday, 12 Apr 2019

Original Countdown to Brexit: 11:00 pm UK time on Friday, 29 March 2019

UPDATES at Emergency European Summit on Brexit, Wednesday, April 10--EU leaders agreed to extend UK's exit date until October 31, 2019.
9-10 Apr 2019: Before an emergency European summit on Wednesday (Apr 10), UK Prime Minister Theresa May will travel to Paris and Berlin on Tuesday (Apr 9), to "make the case for extending article 50" to Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel.

8 Apr 2019:
4-5 Apr 2019: Talks between Labour and the government over Brexit aren’t going anywhere, reports @JGForsyth (Apr 5).

Theresa May asks for Brexit extension to June 30; EU could offer a year.
See also: EU's Juncker Warns UK Parliament To Reach Brexit Deal by April 12 (video)

2-3 Apr 2019: Wednesday House of Commons and Prime Minister's Question time.
Bring it on! May has to go!
1 Apr 2019, results of 2nd Day of Indicative Votes (no proposal approved):
Five reasons to love Brexit

"The 29th of March, 2019, should have been our independence day but as Brexit struggles on, Asa Bennett reminds readers of the five reasons they voted for Brexit in the first place."--The Telegraph video above published Mar 29, 2019.

 Friday 29 Mar 2019, UK Prime Minister Theresa May put her 'Brexit deal' to MPs for a vote for the third time, and it was defeated 344 "no" votes to 286 "aye." May said the defeat of her strategy had “grave” implications for the country, while the European Commission said an economically damaging no-deal split is now “a likely scenario.” See also Theresa May faces her day of reckoning on Brexit - and is warned it will not end well--telegraph.co.uk. Highlights from the EU Withdrawal Agreement Debate (video).

Editor's note 29 Mar 2019: the best or  "least dirty shirt" option at this point appears to be the default option, leaving with no deal on April 12, in view of the inability of the government or parliament to come up with an acceptable alternative, since uncertainty is starting to negatively impact the UK economy (video). Under a No Deal Brexit the UK would leave the EU on  April 12th on WTO terms. Though a "no deal" Brexit is disliked by a majority in the HoC, it still remains the "default option" under the Brexit legislation passed following the referendum on June 23, 2016. See also Brexit: Yanis Varoufakis (video) on May's mistakes and the best road ahead.

Why May's 'Deal' Was Rejected 3 times? It Wasn't Really Brexit.
Links:
Mar 27, 2019 update after the indicative votes, Peston LIVE video via Twitter.

Mar 27, 2019, House of Commons video, MPs' voted on a series of options to try to find a path forward, even though the "indicative votes" would not be binding on the government as it goes against the Tory manifesto. No alternative path gained a majority:
The statutory instrument proposing a new exit day for the UK to leave the EU has been passed. House of Commons voted 441 to 105 in favour. This amends the definition of “exit day” to ensure it is 22 May or 12 April depending if the Commons approves the "Withdrawal Agreement."

Mar 26, 2019 video: UK lawmakers once again frustrated Prime Minister Theresa May's plans for Brexit. On Monday evening MPs voted to take control of the parliamentary agenda. They're now set to hold a series of indicative votes on the country's departure from the EU, in an effort to find a solution backed by a majority. May has said she won't be bound by the results, but observers say this latest development shows just how much authority she's lost  over the Brexit process. See also ERG lawyers dispute May's delay (thread).

Previously on DomainMondo.com:


Meanwhile in Germany:

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2019-03-12

Brexit Breakthrough? UK Nears 'No Deal' Brexit Deadline, March 29, 2019

'Make OR Break' Time for the UK Leaving the EU by March 29--

--Countdown to Brexit: 11:00 pm UK time on Friday, 29 March 2019. 

  • March 14, 2019: the House of Commons approves 412 to 202 (majority: 210) the Government's main motion: the UK will seek an (unspecified) extension of the Article 50 period--this will result in the UK asking the EU to delay the Brexit date of March 29th, which must be agreed to by the EU's other 27 members. Read more in the BrexitCentral feed embedded below.
  • March 13, 2019: Motion rejecting 'no deal' Brexit approved 321-278, however the vote has no legal force since March 29, 2019, is the default date pursuant to statute (Article 50), for leaving the European Union with or without a 'deal'.
  • March 12, 2019: UK Prime Minister Theresa May's 'deal' with the EU rejected 242 to 391 in the UK House of Commons. 
House of Commons LIVE video, Thursday, 14 March 2019, starts 9:30 am London:

UK economy defying expectations amid Brexit and global slowdown

CNBC International TV video above published March 13, 2019: UK Finance Minister Philip Hammond gives an update on the UK economy the day after politicians rejected Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal for the second time.

House of Commons LIVE video below, Wednesday, 13 March 2019:
Starts at 11.30am London.

Tuesday 12 March 2019 YouTube.com video and UK House of Commons video:
Starts at 11.30 am London: [Oral questions: Justice (including Topical Questions); Ten Minute Rule Motion: Election Expenses (Authorisation of Free or Discounted Support), Craig Mackinlay MP (South Thanet, Conservative)]; Motion: Debate on a Motion relating to Section 13(1)(b) of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018; Adjournment [Future of community hospitals, Fiona Bruce MP (Congleton, Conservative)]. See also Brexit Debate LIVE replay video March 12, 2019.

FTSE 100 Index -- INDEXFTSE: UKX  March 12, 2019
March  12, 2018: British Pound Sterling LIVE: GBP Sterling starts BOUNCE BACK after MPs reject withdrawal agreement.

 Background and more info:  UK Brexit Agreement Vote: Now A 'No Deal Brexit' or Renegotiate.
The United Kingdom (UK) voted in a June 23, 2016, referendum to leave the European Union (EU). The process, for better or worse, has now reached its finale. Options include a last-minute deal, a no-deal Brexit, a delay (extension), or even another referendum. 
FTSE 100 Index -- INDEXFTSE: UKX
The FTSE 100 Index (Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index), a/k/a  FTSE 100, FTSE, or, informally, the "Footsie," is a widely followed benchmark index of the 100 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange with highest market capitalization. The index is often used as a gauge of prosperity for businesses regulated by UK company law.

See also:
Twitter @BrexitCentral (embed below) and @StandUp4Brexit


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2017-03-13

KKR's McVey Explains the 'New Reality' in Global Markets (video)

KKR's McVey Explains the 'New Reality' for Markets

Video above published Feb 6, 2017: Henry McVey, head of global macro and asset allocation at KKR, outlines the shifts he sees creating a "new reality" in global markets and explains the firm's investment strategy for the year ahead. He speaks with Bloomberg's Erik Schatzker on "Bloomberg Daybreak: Americas."
  • Shift from monetary to fiscal;
  • Moving from global agendas to domestic;
  • Moving from re-regulation to deregulation;
  • Moving towards volatility in interest rate markets, then equities;
  • Reflationary environment.
Many are expecting an interest rate increase when the Federal Reserve FOMC meets this week March 14-15.

Index investors have done well since right after the Brexit vote last year--gains since June 24, 2016-- on major U.S. and European indexes:
CAC40



S&P500

DJIA


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2017-01-09

MacroView: UK Economy Defies Economists' Dire Brexit Predictions (video)

MacroView | ©2016 DomainMondo.com
Domain Mondo's weekly review of  macro economic and investing news:
 
MacroView Feature •  UK has the world’s top economy, defying the dire Brexit predictions of economists: "Britain [UK] ended last year as the strongest of the world’s advanced economies with growth accelerating in the six months after the Brexit vote, it was revealed yesterday (Jan. 5). Business activity hit a 17-month high last month, meaning that the economy grew by 2.2 per cent last year — more than the six other leading nations, including the US, Germany and Japan. Far from slowing after the referendum in June, as predicted by the Treasury and Bank of England, growth appeared to have improved ..."--theTimes.co.uk (emphasis added).
UK's London Stock Exchange benchmark index, the FTSE 100:

Since the Brexit referendum on June 23, 2016, the FTSE 100 has advanced 13.76%, closing Friday (Jan 6) at another new record high close of 7,210.05 (see chart above). See also: FTSE 100 recovers to reach another record close | BBC.com 6 Jan 2017: "The FTSE 100 edged up by 0.2%, or 14.74 points, to 7,210.05, a seventh consecutive record close ... Neil Wilson from ETX Capital pointed out that Friday's close means the index has risen for five consecutive weeks - the best performance since the Brexit vote in June."

UK economy defies Brexit predictions:

Video above published Jan 5, 2017, by the Financial Times (ft.com): A series of positive UK economic data has defied economists' predictions of a sharp downturn immediately after the Brexit vote on June 23, 2016. The FT.com's Martin Sandbu and Chris Giles unpick why consumer spending has been so strong and discuss the outlook for 2017. See also What Have the "Experts" Gotten Right? In the Real Economy, They're 0 for 5 | washingtonsblog.com and SeekingAlpha.com Jan. 3, 2017: "The Brexit bashing continues [even] after British manufacturing growth soared to a two-and-a-half-year high last month, fueled by new orders from both home and abroad. Markit's U.K. Manufacturing PMI rose to 56.1, from 53.6 in November, faring much better than many economists predicted in the aftermath of the vote to leave the EU. The FTSE 100 hit a new record high on the news, rising 0.5% to 7173.50" and China sends first freight train on 8,000-mile journey to London | CNN.com: "This cargo train service highlights important trade partnership between the UK and China post-Brexit," said Oscar Lin, manager of the UK-based Onetwothree Logistics, which is handling customs clearance and distribution for goods on the train, according to state-run China Daily."

Other Macro Economic and Investing News:

•   Obama's Legacy: For years, Obama insisted that Syria wasn't of great strategic importance to the United States. His miscalculation had massive repercussions, including upon Europe. Europe has struggled for years to assimilate Muslim arrivals from the Middle East and Africa, many of whom do not adhere to European cultural values. The waves of Syrian refugees unleashed by Obama's failure to contain the Syrian civil war created a crisis of unparalleled magnitude in Europe, throwing countries from Turkey and Hungary to Germany and France into turmoil--BusinessInsider.com. See also: The rest of the story: What Obama won’t tell you about his legacy | MarketWatch.com.

•   China, Inc.: "China's strategy is defined and directed by the Communist Party of China (CPC). It is, in other words, a State initiative, conceived to accomplish State strategic purposes. It is most of all a political initiative designed to enhance and project Chinese power. It is not in any way a product of conventional business strategic thinking ... conventional measures of business success or failure like return on capital or profitability have little or no significance."--SeekingAlpha.com. See also Time for constructive confrontation with China | TheHill.com: "... there is a yawning gap between China's WTO commitments and its actual practices — and it continues to grow. For example, China promised to stop requiring transfers of technology as a condition of market access, but it hasn't. It promised to shrink its state-owned industries as a share of its total economy, but it hasn't. And it promised to significantly reduce intellectual property theft, but it hasn't. There is a long list of these kinds of broken promises, revealing the WTO's enforcement practice for what it is: a paper tiger ..."

•   Election 2016 Redux: Donald J. Trump will be inaugurated U.S. President on Jan. 20th. Until then, we have sideshows in the media, courtesy of the Obama administration and other politicos:
John Harwood is an American journalist who is the chief Washington Correspondent for CNBC.com. He is also a contributor for The New York Times.

Mediagazer.com: "US intelligence report: Russia Today [a/k/a RT.com] played a key role in the Putin-ordered campaign to undermine the US election, collaborating with WikiLeaks." RT.com? Most Americans have never even heard of, much less watched or read RT.com, until now, so I went to the website and there is some interesting content there, particularly with the free "publicity" generated by the Obama administration and the U.S. government's "national 'intelligence' community." I recommend you read the following:
We all know mainstream media in the U.S. (NYTimes.com, WashingtonPost.com, ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, et al ), were trying to help Hillary Clinton win the White House ("the downfall of the mainstream media in the presidential election, it was a self-satisfied echo chamber"--Lefsetz.com). The mainstream media narrative has changed from "Hillary will win the election, Trump has no path to 270 electoral votes" to Secret CIA assessment says Russia was trying to help Trump win White House | WashingtonPost.com. If you believe the Obama administration, and its "national 'intelligence' community," then you know who to thank for exposing the corruption and collusion of the Clintons, the Clinton campaign, DNC, and media: WikiLeaks and Russia. Apparently, if not for WikiLeaks.org and Russian hackers, we would have never known of the efforts of the Clinton campaign and DNC to "rig" the primary elections against Bernie Sanders, nor would we have known of the extent of corruption and collusion involving Bill and Hillary Clinton, the Clinton Foundation, DNC, media, and others, including foreign governments and other 'special interests' who paid the Clintons $200,000 to $800,000 per speech, and also funded the Clinton Foundation while Hillary was Secretary of State, as well as Hillary Clinton running her U.S. Secretary of State communications through a private "home brew" email server from which she destroyed 30,000+ emails so the public would never know the true extent of her nefarious activities, including the full extent of the Clintons' pay-to-play schemes.

Also remember, the "mainstream media," including the Washington Post and New York Times, published articles detailing the disclosures provided by and through WikiLeaks.org, and the authenticity of the hacked emails and other documents provided by WikiLeaks has also been supported in the course of the U.S. government investigation into the hacks. All governments, including the U.S. government, hack other governments, including political parties and politicians--see NSA tapped German Chancellery for decades | TheGuardian.com--there is nothing unusual here, except the exposure of corruption and collusion of the Clintons, Clinton campaign, DNC, and establishment elites, including "mainstream media." Had Clinton won the campaign, as the media and elites expected, we would be not be hearing about "Russian hacking."

A reset in the U.S.-Russia relationship could be a "win-win" for everyone, including Europe. Putin and Russia appear to be willing, and Trump and his nominee for Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, are not "carrying the baggage" of Obama and Hillary Clinton, nor beholden to the "inside the beltway" Cold War anti-Russia establishment. #DrainTheSwamp. Read Trump Aims to Cut the Neocon Deep State Off at the Knees.

•  One more thing: "Television, newspapers and other media industries are struggling with slow-to-declining advertising revenue."--Bloomberg.com. Perhaps that explains the media's post-election hysteria? Read WashPost Is Richly Rewarded for False News About Russia Threat While Public Is Deceived | theIntercept.com.

    -- John Poole, Editor, Domain Mondo 

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    2016-10-10

    MacroView: World's Central Bankers Doubling Down, Going For Broke?

    MacroView | © DomainMondo.com
    Domain Mondo's new weekly review of  macro economic and investing news:

    MacroView Feature • Doubling Down:"... it is capitalism itself that is threatened by the ongoing Martingale strategies of central banks. As central bank purchases grow, and negative/zero interest rate policies persist, they will increasingly inhibit capitalism from carrying out its primary function — the effective allocation of resources based upon return relative to risk ... This cannot end well."--Bill Gross. See also Bill Gross says global markets are one big casino created by central banks--MarketWatch.com.

    Turning and turning in the widening gyre
    The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
    Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
    Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
    The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
    The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
    The best lack all conviction, while the worst
    Are full of passionate intensity.--William Butler Yeats

    •  The 3 Things That Spook People about the Stock Market:

    SkyBridge Capital [skybridgecapital.com] founder Anthony Scaramucci explains in the above video published Oct 3, 2016, by Fortune.com.

    •  The TRUST Index: Trust is eroding away in markets | BusinessInsider.com. See also Backlash to World Economic Order Clouds Outlook at IMF Talks | Bloomberg.com and Perry Capital Closing Flagship Fund After Almost Three Decades | Bloomberg.com.

    •  Bridgewater Ray Dalio's Long-Term Debt Cycle Charts--Ritholtz.com: "It is no longer controversial to say that: … this isn’t a normal business cycle and we are likely in an environment of abnormally slow growth … the current tools of monetary policy will be a lot less effective going forward … the risks are asymmetric to the downside … investment returns will be very low going forward, and … the impatience with economic stagnation, especially among middle and lower income earners, is leading to dangerous populism and nationalism."

    •  Deutsche Bank (db.com | $DB $DBK): German minister accuses Deutsche Bank of making speculation its business--"I did not know if I should laugh or cry ... [Deutsche Bank] made speculation a business model [and] is now saying it is a victim of speculators."--German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel--Reuters.com  See also Crisis of Globalization Lies Behind Deutsche Bank’s Troubles | WSJ.com: "Deutsche has also paid a high price for its global ambitions ... it tried to buy market share through aggressive pricing, acquiring a reputation among its rivals as the “dumb money” in the market."

    •  A weak British Pound means UK-based assets are attracting more and more attention from foreign investors, particularly investors with US$. As a result, the London Stock Exchange benchmark index FTSE100 is up, up, up:

    •  Venture Capital: It is a pricing, not a value, game! "At the time of a VC investment, the VC wants to push today’s pricing for the company lower, so that he or she can get a greater share of the equity for a given investment in the company. Subsequent to the investment, the VC will want the pricing to go higher for two reasons. First, it makes the unrealized returns on the VC portfolio a much more attractive number. Second, it also means that any subsequent equity capital raised will dilute the VC’s ownership stake less ... This is a business where success is measured less on the quality of the companies that you build (in terms of the cash flows and profits they generate) and more on the price you paid to get into the business and the price at which you exit this business, with that exit coming from either an IPO or a sale. Consequently, how much you are willing to pay for something becomes a process of judging what you will get when you exit and working backwards."--aswathdamodaran.blogspot.com.

    •  Venture Capital hits a wall in Q3 as investments tumble 28% YOY: "According to a new report from the National Venture Capital Association, startups in the U.S. raised $15 billion in venture capital during the third quarter ending September, down 28.6 percent from $21 billion for the same period one year ago."--VentureBeat.com

    •  Election 2016: One mashup of recent polls has Hillary Clinton ahead of Donald Trump but remember that the Financial Times poll tracker ahead of the Brexit vote had “Remain” up by 2 points the day of the referendum. Betting odds have recently had Clinton at a 75% chance of winning; they had “Remain” at 85% the day before that vote. The USC Dornsife / LATimes.com daily tracking poll, on the other hand, for weeks has shown Donald Trump leading Hillary Clinton. Consensus is that Trump's running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, won the VP Debate. Remaining Presidential debates: October 9th and October 19th (both are 9:00-10:30 pm EDT). Watch online here.

     Q3 2016 Earnings Season--companies on Domain Mondo's coverage list:
    1. Alibaba BABA
    2. Alphabet GOOG
    3. Amazon AMZN
    4. Apple AAPL
    5. Facebook FB
    6. GoDaddy GDDY
    7. Neustar NSR
    8. Rightside NAME
    9. Twitter TWTR
    10. Verisign VRSN
    Q3 2016 preview:  For Q3 2016, the estimated earnings decline for the S&P 500 is -2.1%. If the index reports a decline in earnings for Q3, it will mark the first time the index has recorded six consecutive quarters of year-over-year declines in earnings since FactSet.com began tracking the data in Q3 2008--read more here (pdf).

    Two More Reading Recommendations: 
    1. It's Time We Crush the Putrid Roach Motels of Philanthro-Crony-Capitalism, Starting with the Clinton Foundation--CharlesHughSmith.blogspot.com
    2. Why thousands of millionaires don’t pay federal income taxes--WashingtonPost.com.
    -- John Poole, Editor, Domain Mondo 

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    2016-08-15

    Brexit Briefing & View from Sunderland: Why Brexit, Why Now (videos)

    Brexit Briefing:

    Brexit Briefing from FT.com: The Department for Exiting the EU has a shaky start, with a lack of office and recruits; the stalling of the Hinkley Point nuclear power station unsettles the Chinese; and retail sales suggest Brexit has not dented Britons’ spending habits. Published August 13, 2016.
    FTSE100 and FTSE250
    Graphic above: London Stock Exchange benchmarks FTSE 100 (+9.12%) and FTSE 250 (+3.39%) are UP since the Brexit vote on June 23, 2016.

    Out And Proud: Where Brexit Leaves Us Now:

    Sunderland, England, didn't decide the EU referendum on its own, but it reveals starkly almost all the invisible political, social and economic currents that led to the Leave vote. In this special report, Sky News' Faisal Islam visits the area to talk to people about their reasons for voting, and the city's outlook on Britain's future. Published August 11, 2016



    graphic: Department for Exiting the European Union: senior management team - Publications - GOV.UK
    Department for Exiting the European Union: senior management team - Publications - GOV.UK
    Department for Exiting the European Union: senior management team: Permanent Secretary Oliver Robbins has overall responsibility for supporting the Secretary of State and the department in negotiations to leave the EU and establishing the future relationship between the UK and EU.
    Sarah Healey is the Director General of the department.
    The department’s senior management team includes:
    • Creon Butler, Director of Analysis
    • Chris Jones, Director of Justice, Security and Migration
    • Joanna Key, Director of Strategy and Planning
    • Antony Phillipson, Director of Trade and Partnerships
    • Tom Shinner, Director of Cross-Government Policy Coordination
    • Catherine Webb, Director of Market Access and Budget

     See also:

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    2016-07-19

    FTSE100 Hits New High on SoftBank & UK’s ARM Holdings $32 Billion Deal

    FT Lex on SoftBank’s purchase of ARM Holdings:

    Masayoshi Son, SoftBank’s founder and chief executive, is betting that Arm is 43 per cent more valuable than the market thinks it is. FT.com's Robert Armstrong examines whether he's right or wrong. 
    UK's benchmark index FTSE100 is now UP 5.64% since the Brexit vote on June 23
    On news of the SoftBank - ARM Holdings deal on Monday, July 18, 2016, the London Stock Exchange benchmark index FTSE100 rose, closing at 6,695.42, its highest level since August, 2015. ARM Holdings plc is a British multinational semiconductor and software design company (domain name: arm.com). Processors based on designs licensed from ARM, or designed by licensees of one of the ARM instruction set architectures, are used in all classes of computing devices such as microcontrollers in embedded systems (cars' ABS), smartTVs (Google TV), all modern smartwatches (such as Qualcomm Toq), as well as smartphones, tablets, laptops, desktops, servers and supercomputers/HPC.

    Stock exchanges: symbols  LSE: ARM and NASDAQ: ARMH

    Details of the deal:
    • ARM’s headquarters will remain in Cambridge, England, UK, as well as its senior management team, and SoftBank pledged to at least double employee headcount in the UK over the next five years. ARM currently employs about 4,000 people.
    • At £17 per share, the ARM acquisition is a 43% premium over last week's closing price.
    • Post-Brexit UK welcomes ARM purchase in test of strategy: "Just three weeks after the referendum decision, it shows that Britain has lost none of its allure to international investors,” Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond said. “Britain is open for business -- and open to foreign investment. SoftBank’s decision confirms that Britain remains one of the most attractive destinations globally for investors to create jobs and wealth.”--Bloomberg.com
    • ARM CEO says deal made regardless of Brexit, noting ARM's stock was up 15% since EU referendum (Brexit vote), see Accelerating Tech: Simon Segars, CEO of ARM, explains SoftBank’s offer for ARM (video)
    • "As purely a designer of chips rather a manufacturer, Arm’s intellectual property model leaves it with a high profit margin. However, its revenues of about £1bn last year made it a minnow by global chip standards. The purchase price is equivalent to 70 times its net income last year, and more than 50 times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation."--SoftBank to acquire UK’s Arm Holdings for £24.3bn | FT.com
    • Amir Anvarzadeh, Singapore-based head of Japanese equity sales at BGC Partners Inc.: "... we believe if Son wanted to bet on the sterling recovering he picked a great name in the tech sector.”--SoftBank to Buy Britain’s ARM for $32 Billion in Record Deal | Bloomberg.com 
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    2016-07-17

    News Review: ICANN Secretly Colludes With New gTLD Registry Operators

    DomainMondoShiningLight ©2013domainmondo.com All Rights Reserved
    Domain Mondo's review and look ahead [pdf], starting with a macro view:
    US (NYSE & NASDAQ) benchmark index S&P500 UP 2.29%, and
    UK (London Stock Exchange) index FTSE100 UP 5.22% since Brexit vote on June 23
    "... the arguments for big short-run damage from Brexit look quite weak ... Indeed, the rebound in British stocks, which are now above pre-Brexit levels, is already causing some backlash against conventional economists and their Chicken Little warnings. Sorry, people, sloppy thinking is always a vice, no matter what cause it’s used for." -- Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize-winning economist, June 30, 2016, NYTimes.com
    •  FEATURE: ICANN Secretly Colludes With New gTLD Registry Operators
    "ICANN has always been and will continue to be subject to antitrust laws" --Larry Strickling, NTIA, July 14, 2016,  ICANN, NTIA, IANA Transition, Fundamental Problems, the Macro View | DomainMondo.com
    On July 12, 2016, I emailed ICANN, asking several questions about the Proposed Amendments to Base New gTLD Registry Agreement, public comments to which now close 20 Jul 2016 at 23:59 UTC (extended from 13 July 2016).

    In last week's News Review I noted:
    "If you are a domain name registrant (particularly a new gTLD domain name registrant), read the comments already submitted by George Kirikos here and here, and submit your own comment by the deadline. All comments submitted may be read on the comments forum. Also note that ICANN said it would hold a webinar in June on the proposed amendments, but that turned out to be just another broken promise by the dysfunctional ICANN, confirming once again, that for ICANN, domain name registrants are just a resource for exploitation in the form of gTLD name registration and renewal fees, as well as exploitation by ICANN's contracted parties (gTLD registry operators and registrars). Always remember that ICANN leadership (former ICANN President & CEO Fadi Chehade, and his crony, ICANN Global Domains Division President Akram Atallah), referred to new gTLD registry operators as the true "customers" and "partners" of ICANN. Caveat Emptor." 
    Below are excerpts from the questions I emailed (italics) and the responses I received from ICANN's Cyrus Namazi, together with my note follow-up comments:

    Questions:
    On 31 May 2016, Cyrus Namazi, ICANN Vice President, Domain Name Services & Industry Engagement, Global Domains Division, wrote a blog post on the ICANN.org website titled "Amending the New gTLD Registry Agreement" https://www.icann.org/news/blog/amending-the-new-gtld-registry-agreement stating:
    "After nearly 18 months of discussions, the revisions proposed by the RySG that ICANN agreed to have been made available to the community for comment today ... ICANN plans to hold a webinar in June 2016 to review the proposed changes in detail and provide an opportunity for community members to ask questions. Stay tuned for an announcement with more information."
    1. When and where was the ICANN webinar in "June 2016" held to "review the proposed changes in detail and provide an opportunity for community members to ask questions"?

    2. What is the URL of the webpage where notice of the webinar, including its date and time and means of attending, was given to the ICANN community, or the global internet community of domain name registrants (who are directly and detrimentally impacted and affected by the proposal), which Mr. Namazi indicates was negotiated in secret ("discussions") over a period of eighteen (18) months, between ICANN and ICANN's Registries Stakeholder Group (RySG), representing ICANN's contracted parties which are each granted exclusive worldwide monopolies by ICANN (itself a soon-to-be "unregulated global monopoly")?

    ICANN response: ICANN hosted a webinar using Adobe Connect titled, “Amending the New gTLD Registry Agreement” on 14 June 2016 at 16:00 UTC.  The webinar was publicized via direct email, sent  9 June 2016, to new gTLD applicants and gTLD registries subject to the amendment process. 

    My note: In other words, domain name registrants are not part of the "ICANN community" and were not invited, received no notice, and were not allowed to attend ICANN's webinar to "review the proposed changes in detail" nor given an opportunity "to ask questions."

    Question:
    9. Is it the policy or customary practice of ICANN that domain name registrants, and their interests, are to have no representation in "negotiations" or "discussions" concerning material changes to Registry Agreements which directly and detrimentally impact or affect domain name registrants worldwide?

    ICANN response: "Regarding your questions about the negotiations, ICANN was represented by its lawyers and a cross-functional team of staff members from its Global Domains Division, Contractual Compliance department, and Office of the Chief Technology Officer. Registries were represented by a working group appointed by the Registries Stakeholder Group, as specified in the base New gTLD Registry Agreement. Meetings took place about once per month and were conducted both telephonically and in-person at ICANN meetings."

    My note: In other words, ICANN, the California corporation, had representation, as did new gTLD Registry Operators. Domain name registrants were not represented, although they are directly and detrimentally affected and impacted by the proposed amendments, and suffer from the continuing incompetence and hostility of ICANN management and staff towards domain name registrants. As noted last week, for ICANN, domain name registrants are just a resource to be exploited, financially and otherwise. For registrants, here is a resource for private antitrust actions--[http://www.antitrustinstitute.org/content/private-enforcement-antitrust-law-united-states-handbook]--yes, in the USA, unlike most of the world, private antitrust actions are allowed and encouraged. Also check out this introduction to "cartels and collusion." At this rate, some plaintiff antitrust law firms are going to get rich off arrogant ICANN and its new gTLD "partners," after September 30, 2016. And I'm sure Jones Day will gladly defend ICANN, to its last dollar! 

    • Comments also close this coming week at ICANN on Reference Label Generation Rulesets (LGRs) for the Second Level: Close Date 18 Jul 2016 23:59 UTC.

    •  "Over 50% of [new gTLDs] will be operating at a loss for the next year"--New Top Level Domain Industry First Half 2016 Analysis & Insights (Infographic) | circleid.com.

    •   90-day Root Zone Management System "Parallel Testing" Period Ends Successfully [6 July 2016] | ICANN.org: "The authorization process step performed by NTIA will be removed upon the successful completion of the IANA Stewardship Transition, currently projected for 30 September 2016. Until then, the authoritative root zone file will continue to be produced by the production RZMS that contains the authorization step performed by NTIA."

    •  Five most popular posts (# of pageviews Sun-Sat) this week on DomainMondo.com:
    Most Domain Mondo readers this past week (top 3 countries): U.S.; Germany; France.

    • Other Reading Recommendations:
    1. Keep calm and Brexit on: History suggests leaving Europe is great for Britain — Quartz | qz.com: " Do you think it reasonable that the United States should have to become a member of the EU and adopt all the EU laws and regulations in order to have free trade with it? Or, alternatively, that the EU should become a state of the United States?"
    2. “Algorithms are noise-free. People are not.”--Daniel Kahneman’s Strategy for How Your Firm Can Think Smarter | knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu: "... human beings are unknowingly hamstrung by overconfidence, limited attention, cognitive biases and other psychological factors which inevitably cause errors in judgment. These factors affect everything from how we invest in stocks, to how we respond to marketing offers, to how we choose which sandwich to buy for lunch. “We’re fundamentally over-confident in the sense that we jump to conclusions — and to complete, coherent stories — to create interpretations,” said Kahneman. “So we misunderstand situations, spontaneously and automatically. And that’s very difficult to control.”  Furthermore, he said, much of human error is not even attributable to a systematic cause, but to “noise.” “When people think about error, we tend to think about biases…. But in fact, a lot of the errors that people make is simply noise, in the sense that it’s random, unpredictable, it cannot be explained.”
    3. Keep an Eye on the [US$] Dollar: It’s More Important than Ever | WolfStreet.com: "... In a world where the debt of several major economic powers is trading at negative yields (you actually have to pay to hold German and Japanese government debt, for example), the dollar offers at least some return for those looking for a safe haven for their capital. That makes it an even better “fear indicator” than usual, and movement in the dollar is therefore likely to have an exaggerated effect on oil, where global demand is more important than local conditions..."
    4. Geopolitical Watch: China's claims over South China Sea rejected by Hague Tribunal | Shanghaiist.com
    5. Dinosaur Watch: Microsoft: Windows 10 won't hit 1 billion devices by mid-2018 | ZDNet.com: "Since April 2015, the bottom has fallen out of the Windows Phone market, with Microsoft officials conceding that Windows Phone isn't much of a focus for Microsoft in calendar 2016."
    Keep up with U.S. Election 2016 coverage, including the Trumpvention in Cleveland this coming week, on Domain Mondo's election page.

    -- John Poole, Editor, Domain Mondo

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