Brexit Madness - UK PM Theresa May to Ask EU for Brexit Delay (video)

Time Left Until Brexit, 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 now at  UK Dysfunction | Brexit Or Not, Final Days Or Kick The Can Again? (video)

• Twitter list A: BrexitUK List;  @BrexitCentral;  @StandUp4Brexit; @TelePolitics.

• Twitter list B:  @commonslibrary; @HoCPress; @HouseofCommons

• Video: parliamentlive.tv/Commons (video).

• The UK is ready for a WTO Brexit (March 21 briefing)

March 25, 2019: MPs pass Letwin Amendment to seize control of the Commons agenda on Wednesday – how MPs voted--brexitcentral.com.

It’s the political class promising one thing in relation to Brexit & delivering another. Trust in politics is broken... https://t.co/lf4g9AAEtG

— Priti Patel MP (@patel4witham) March 25, 2019

March 21: May dashes to salvage Brexit deal in Brussels (video); Arriving in Brussels on Thursday for an EU summit, Mrs. May did not rule out leaving the European Union without a deal reports news.sky.com which also reports EU leaders agreed to extend the March 29th deadline to Apil 12. The deadline would be extended to May 22 only if UK MPs pass the prime minister's Brexit deal by the end of next week.

See also "... The faltering and badly drafted [UK Prime Minister's] letter to Mr Tusk is unacceptable, asking as it does for a delay of three months in our exit from the EU ... I agree some MPs have been delaying Brexit as the PM says. These MPs clearly include the Prime Minister herself who has wasted far too much time on a negotiation and Agreement which the public rejects massively. The latest poll shows just 14% support  for Mrs May’s Agreement."--johnredwoodsdiary.com.

March 20: EU ultimatum to May: you can only delay Brexit if deal is passed--Channel 4 News video published March 20, 2019: UK Prime Minister Theresa May has ruled out a long extension to Brexit while she is Prime Minister. See also the Prime Minister's statement (video) later in the day on Wednesday, March 20, 2010. See also: May's Letter Asking for Only Short Extension Came as Shock to EU--"EU officials say they see the risk of a looming catastrophe and the mood in Brussels is bleak as they realize that May has backed them into a corner too."--bloomberg.com.

March 20, 2019: UK Prime Minister Theresa May requests three-month Brexit extension--"I am therefore writing to inform the European Council that the UK is seeking an extension to the Article 50 period under Article 50(3) of the Treaty on European Union, including as applied by Article 106a of the Euratom Treaty, until 30 June 2019." --Letter in full here. See also Newspaper headlines: May's 'blame game' Brexit speech to nation | bbc.com.

But European Council President Donald Tusk said an extension would only be granted if MPs back the Prime Minister's Withdrawal Agreement next week. Three things could happen now: 1) no-deal Brexit, 2) May's 'deal' is somehow voted on yet again and passes,  or 3) UK revokes Article 50.  After Donald Tusk spoke, the UK pound sterling (GBP) fell, an indication that markets think there is now a greater chance of no-deal Brexit, but the London Stock Exchange benchmarks FTSE100 and FTSE250 have been resilient:

FTSE100

FTSE250

March 19, 2019: EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier: "Everyone should now finalise all preparations for a no-deal scenario" ... UK MPs "voting against no-deal does not prevent it  happening." See also France ready to veto any meaningless Brexit delay: Elysee official--reuters.com: "French officials say in private that they are not alone in their stance but that they are more willing than other countries to stick their necks out because Britain will always blame the French for their misfortunes."

France’s EU minister Nathalie Loiseau named her cat ‘Brexit’ because ‘he meows loudly to be let out each morning, but then refuses to go outside when she opens the door.’

March 18, 2019: House of Commons Speaker John Bercow told MPs he would not allow PM Theresa May to ask the Commons to vote a third time if the motion hadn't changed. The announcement took the government by surprise--Channel 4 News video.

March 18, 2019: A 'Hard" a/k/a 'No Deal' Brexit will benefit UK and emerging markets, says Mark Mobius, founding partner of Mobius Capital Partners. He also says he fears a soft Brexit will prohibit the U.K.'s economic potential, video below:

Theresa May has been warned by her party's biggest donors that delaying Brexit would be more damaging to British companies than ‘no deal’, which has already been factored in.

The uncertainty caused by a long extension would be ‘debilitating for companies’https://t.co/PIW1eUPNfN

— #StandUp4Brexit (@StandUp4Brexit) March 17, 2019

Ignore the nay-sayers – here’s why we’re still on course for a clean Brexit on 29th March: "MPs are not fearful of a weak unimaginative Government desperate to push through a failed deal. Parliament does not want to re-join the EU, it does not want a referendum. It cannot ask for an extension to implement the deal if MPs don’t want the deal. And nobody could stomach another drawn-out negotiation going on for potentially years and the imminent prospect of European Elections, manifestos, campaigns and all that comes with them. Once you have eliminated all the alternatives, the conclusion is staring you in the face – the UK will leave on 29th March and take back control"--Christopher Howarth | BrexitCentral.com.

If we agree this deal – we face an even greater humiliation in the second phase. We must now discover some willingness to resist or the diet of capitulation is set to continuehttps://t.co/kXOpRhOdzH

— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) March 17, 2019

Original post March 15, 2019:

The UK Government and UK Politicians Have Made A Shambolic Mess of Brexit (and the UK civil service is complicit)

Analysis and Opinion by the Editor:
The House of Commons ended its voting on a flurry of Brexit-related motions this week with one more humiliation and embarrassment for the hapless government formed by Prime Minister Theresa May--going back to Brussels and pleading for the EU (via its 27 other members) to agree to an extension of the Brexit date of March 29, 2019, a date May and her UK government chose following the Brexit referendum results of June 23, 2016.

Wherever you live, and whatever you may think of your own national government or its politicians, pity the poor British--Brexit outside the bubble: How do the British think Brexit is going?--UK Channel 4 News video published Mar 14, 2019, indicates how all this latest Brexit chaos is being seen by people who are not obsessives confined to the Westminster bubble.

Unless the British get lucky and get a quick exit from the EU by default on March 29, 2019, their economy will likely soon "tank" due to the continual uncertainty,  the UK government having chosen a no-man's land of "neither in nor out" of the dysfunctional European Union (EU) which is already entering its own economic recession--Italy is already there, Germany and France are not far behind despite renewed "easing" by the European Central Bank (ECB)--see Euro falls as Eurozone growth forecasts slashed | cityam.com: "European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi today announced a significant downgrade in Eurozone growth predictions as he renewed a stimulus programme of cheap loans to bolster the struggling economy." (March 7, 2019)

It appears a majority in the House of Commons prefer to drown with bureaucrats in Brussels and EU member states trapped in the Eurozone, rather than swim to safety and a world full of opportunities. This is Dunkirk all over again, but the boats aren't coming this time. Don't expect even the Almighty to help those who refuse to help themselves.

Regarding Brexit, the single biggest issue gripping the U.K. is indecision, Citadel (citadel.com) billionaire founder Ken Griffin said. “Until they pick a path, it deters capital investment. Politicians don’t appreciate when they create uncertainty it kills the willingness to invest.”

President Trump Meets with the Prime Minister of Ireland

U.S. President Donald Trump and Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar discuss Brexit at a press conference at the White House, March 14, 2019. Trump: "The European Union treats us very unfairly." 

UK Channel 4 News recap video of March 14, 2019, in the House of Commons: "May wins vote to seek Brexit delay"-- "In a narrow Commons victory this evening the government fought off an attempt by MPs to take control of Brexit in Parliament. Instead, Theresa May has presented a stark choice to MPs: back her deal in another vote next week - or risk a long delay to Brexit - and even the possibility of having to hold European elections in May. MPs are now expected to have a third meaningful vote on Brexit next week. That's just before Theresa May heads off to Brussels for what is currently set to be the last European summit with a British Prime Minister at the table."

More on Brexit:

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

• UK Brexit Agreement Vote: Now A 'No Deal Brexit' or Renegotiate

• Twitter: BrexitUK List;  @BrexitCentral;  @StandUp4Brexit

All Con & Lab MPs were elected on manifestos to get Brexit through. The public can't believe that so many are now saying, “We didn't really mean it; we want to stop it; we want to delay it; we want to redefine it in a way that means it is no longer Brexit.” pic.twitter.com/un5yMDEoDQ

— John Redwood (@johnredwood) March 14, 2019

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'Brexit Deal' Vote January 15, Varoufakis on the Euro at Oxford Union

Yanis Varoufakis at the Oxford Union: The Euro Has Never Been More Problematic

Oxford Union video above published Dec 23, 2018: Yanis Varoufakis, Professor of Economics and former Finance Minister of Greece, talks about the Euro, Brexit and more. See also: The Euro Ends When Germany is Ready to Print Deutsche Marks Again--poundsterlinglive.com.

UPDATE 15 Jan 2019: UK's Parliament (House of Commons) voted 432-202 against Theresa May's 'Brexit deal' with the EU, the worst parliamentary defeat for a government in recent British history. Both Brexiteers and supporters of EU membership joined forces to vote down the deal.

The UK House of Commons votes Tuesday, January 15, 2019, on the 'Brexit Deal' negotiated by UK Prime Minister Theresa May with the European Union, follow the proceedings LIVE here,

Theresa May’s fatal error was to accept a two-phase negotiation: a divorce agreement followed by a new trade deal. “This was a declaration of war because Barnier said: ‘You will give us everything we want: money, people, Ireland. And only then will we discuss what you want.’ Well, that isn’t a negotiation, that’s a travesty. And Theresa May agreed to play along.”--Yanis Varoufakis in “The EU declared war and Theresa May played along”--newstatesman.com.

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MacroView: Next Three Flash Points for the European Union (video)

The Next Three Flash Points for the European Union

Despite centrist or mainstream wins in elections in Germany, France and the Netherlands, support remains strong for nationalist, anti-immigrant and anti-EU parties across the bloc. Three critical issues could determine the future of the debate over Europe and the union: 1) immigration; 2) Eurozone; 3) defense. WSJ.com's Niki Blasina reports. Wall Street Journal (wsj.com) video above published Sep 26, 2017.

EU vs Ireland and Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL)

After over one year, Ireland still hasn't recovered up to €13 billion in illegal benefits from Apple, so we now refer Ireland to EU Court. pic.twitter.com/H1Aemtc7L2

— European Commission (@EU_Commission) October 8, 2017

Brexit: EU vs UK

#Brexit negotiations next week should continue to advance. EU27, EP are united, as I said @Europarl_EN on Tuesday https://t.co/9iK60ji1Oz pic.twitter.com/XeUal9KfUK

— Michel Barnier (@MichelBarnier) October 6, 2017

ECB Extends Quantitative Easing

We went out onto the streets of Frankfurt to ask people about their concerns over low interest rates and to explain why they are necessary pic.twitter.com/HbQfjUOVSj

— ECB (@ecb) October 4, 2017

See also:

• Account of the monetary policy meeting of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank, held in Frankfurt am Main on Wednesday and Thursday, 6-7 September 2017 | ecb.europa.eu: "... the Governing Council decided that the interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility would remain unchanged at 0.00%, 0.25% and −0.40% respectively. The Governing Council expected the key ECB interest rates to remain at their present levels for an extended period of time, and well past the horizon of the net asset purchases. Regarding non-standard monetary policy measures, the Governing Council confirmed that the net asset purchases, at the current monthly pace of €60 billion, were intended to run until the end of December 2017, or beyond, if necessary ..."

• European Central Bank To Extend Quantitative Easing? What Will This Do To Other Nations?  | SeekingAlpha.com: "... It seems that there is an underlying rationale for the ECB extending its program of quantitative easing. The underlying rationale seems to be connected with the amount of bad loans that are on the books of eurozone banks ... This means that the Fed’s policy rate may be around 2.00 percent while the policy rates of the ECB continue to be where they are until early 2019. What will this do to exchange rates?..."--Professor John M. Mason

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MacroView: Election in Germany (video), ECB, EU, Spain, IMF & Greece

Germany election 2017 UPDATE 24 Sep 2017: Far-right AfD stuns German establishment by finishing third with 13.5% and will enter parliament for the first time, but Merkel wins fourth term--"Of course we had hoped for a slightly better result." said Angela Merkel, who must now form a coalition government, a potentially difficult task that could take months trying to woo unwilling potential coalition partners.

The Latest: German election: Merkel vows to form stable govt | The Washington Post: "Center-left challenger Martin Schulz, whose Social Democrats were the junior partners in Merkel’s outgoing government, said shortly after exit polls showed his party headed for a historic election defeat Sunday that it would go into opposition. In a television discussion involving major party leaders, he accused Merkel of conducting a “scandalous” campaign that avoided debate and created “a vacuum” that the nationalist Alternative for Germany party filled."

The German Election Explained

Wall Street Journal (WSJ.com) video published Sep 18, 2017: German voters head to the polls this Sunday in an election that determines whether Chancellor Angela Merkel remains at the helm of Europe’s biggest economic power. WSJ.com's Niki Blasina explains how the election will be won and why the race for third place is all important. See also: German election polls 2017 | FT.com

Germany's AfD Tests Merkel's Leadership, Says Posen

Bloomberg.com video published Sep 19, 2017: Adam Posen, president at Peterson Institute for International Economics, previews the upcoming German election. He speaks with Bloomberg's Francine Lacqua on "Bloomberg Surveillance."

How German Elections Can Influence the ECB's (European Central Bank) Future:

Video above published Aug 18, 2017, by Bloomberg.com: Themis Themistocleous, head of European investments at UBS Wealth Management, explains how choices made by voters in the German election on 24 Sept 2017, can impact the European Central Bank (ECB). He speaks on "Bloomberg Markets: European Close." See also:

• Merkel quashes hopes of ambitious eurozone reform | POLITICO.eu Aug 29, 2017: "... the comments suggest Merkel will continue to push the current German strategy for the eurozone, placing emphasis on economic reforms in member countries rather than pooling financial risk through common debt issuance and other measures ..."
• Why 'More Europe' Won't Solve Europe's Fiscal Quandary | Bloomberg.com Aug 31, 2017.

• France's Debt Is Euro-Zone's Largest | Bloomberg.com Aug 30, 2017

• Greece hopes for debt relief as bailout program enters final 12 months | cnbc.com: "Greece's debt isn't manageable in the long-run without being either extended or forgiven, according to the IMF."
• Spain-Catalonia split: Here’s how bad economically it could really be | cnbc.com and Catalonia’s Defiance of Spanish Authority Turns into Rebellion--WolfStreet.com.

• ECB Tightens Noose Around Bank Accounts | WolfStreet.com: "Locking up the money of unsuspecting depositors to prop up collapsing banks. The European Central Bank (ECB), arguably the European Union’s most powerful and least accountable institution, apparently needs more power, according to Daniele Nouy, the ECB’s top supervisor. Chief among the fresh powers it seeks is the power to temporarily prevent people from withdrawing their money from their accounts at banks that are in distress, including by electronic fund transfers." and The Next Spanish Bank Teeters, at Worst Possible Time | WolfStreet.com.

"It's been a lost decade for investors in the world's banks. For Europe's lenders in particular, the wounds are far from healed."--Bloomberg.com

"The IMF remained upbeat about the soundness of the European banking system ... this lapse was largely due to the IMF’s readiness to take the reassurances of national and euro area authorities at face value"--IEO report, infra

IMF admits disastrous love affair with the euro and apologises for the immolation of Greece | telegraph.co.uk: "The three main bailouts for Greece, Portugal and Ireland were unprecedented in scale and character. The trio were each allowed to borrow over 2,000pc of their allocated quota – more than three times the normal limit – and accounted for 80pc of all lending by the fund between 2011 and 2014 ... “Before the launch of the euro, the IMF’s public statements tended to emphasise the advantages of the common currency," ... Some [IMF] staff members warned that the design of the euro was fundamentally flawed but they were overruled." (emphasis added)

The IMF and the Crises in Greece, Ireland, and Portugal | ieo-imf.org executive summary excerpt:

"The IMF’s handling of the euro area crisis raised issues of accountability and transparency, which helped create the perception that the IMF [International Monetary Fund] treated Europe differently. Conducting this evaluation proved challenging. Some documents on sensitive issues were prepared outside the regular, established channels; the IEO faced a lack of clarity in its terms of reference on what it could or could not evaluate; and there was no clear protocol on the modality of interactions between the IEO and IMF staff. The IMF did not complete internal reviews involving euro area programs on time, as mandated, which led to missed opportunities to draw timely lessons." (emphasis added)

Press release (highlighting added):

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Tech Review | Chrome OS: Say Goodbye To Microsoft Windows Forever

Tech Review (TR 2017-08-26)--Domain Mondo's weekly review of tech news:
Features • 1) Chrome OS: Say Goodbye To Microsoft Windows Forever, 2) Cash is King, 3)Trump's Tweeting Worth $2B to Twitter $TWTR, 4) Investing: Unintended Bets,  Streaming Media Content Wars, AT&T debt, 5)ICYMI Tech News.

1)  Chrome OS: Say Goodbye To Microsoft Windows Forever

Google Chromebooks Are Moving Onto Microsoft's Core Customer Turf: Big Business. Chrome Enterprise will integrate with Microsoft Active Directory and VMware AirWatch software. Video above published Aug 23, 2017, by CNBC.com.

If you are sick of hearing or reading stuff like Windows 10 Insiders: Microsoft won't tell you about known bugs anymore | ZDNet.com, there's a way out, even for enterprises (large businesses).

For large businesses adopting Chrome OS devices, Google now offers Chrome Enterprise subscriptions, which cost $50 per device per year, rebranding and upgrading what was formerly known as Chromebooks for Work.

Other business options are available, see

• https://enterprise.google.com/chrome/ 

• https://enterprise.google.com/chrome/work-computers-for-larger-businesses/

• https://enterprise.google.com/chrome/work-computers-for-smaller-businesses/.

• https://enterprise.google.com/android/

• https://www.android.com/work/

• https://gsuite.google.com/

Also note Google plans to launch a new Chromebook Pixel, mini version of Google Home alongside new Pixel phones | androidpolice.com.

But caveat: Chromebooks will not move into business if they cannot be bought | ZDNet.com: "When it comes to Chromebooks, there are those available in the United States, and then there are those for the rest of the world ... It's a strange state of affairs when OEMs in Asia do not make a selection of their products available on their side of the Pacific, particularly when we are talking about the lower end of the market that has myriad configurations and models available otherwise. With such a haphazard approach, it seems the business push for Chromebooks is not wholehearted, which seems to be the pattern of many projects from Google."

2) Cash is King--America Wasted $160 Million Trying to Get Afghanistan to Use E-Payments | Motherboard.vice.com--"... Agents across the country told SIGAR the same story: cash is fast, cash is efficient, cash is king. The unspoken truth is that cash is good for a quick buck on the side and cheaper for everyone involved. You don't pay taxes on transactions you don't report ..." See also Amazon Top Up - In Store | Amazon.co.uk: Amazon Cash comes to UK as Amazon Top Up, allowing users to load between £5 and £250 onto their Amazon UK accounts at certain retailers.

3)  What Is Trump Worth to Twitter? One Analyst Estimates $2 Billion | Bloomberg.com reports that "Without Donald Trump, Twitter Inc. could lose almost a fifth of its value," citing Monness Crespi Hardt & Co. [domain: mchny.com] analyst James Cakmak, who said Twitter $TWTR would lose as much as $2 billion in market value if @realDonaldTrump quit tweeting.

4) Investing

• Avoid Unintended Bets in Your Investment Portfolio | cfainstitute.org: “Be conscious what’s driving the risk in your portfolio ... Don’t tell me you underweight Apple without realizing that you are underweighting the technology sector without buying other tech stocks, or that you are making a size bet, or a bet against trends in consumer electronics. Those are all the implied bets when you underweight the largest name in your universe.”
• The Streaming Media Content Wars: Apple $AAPL vs Amazon $AMZN, Netflix $NFLX, Google/YouTube, et al: Apple TV: Go Freemium | SeekingAlpha.com 
• AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) (domain: att.com): the nearly completed merger with Time Warner will expand the debt load massively, and the debt will be the single greatest risk to the company--SeekingAlpha.com

5) ICYMI Tech News:

• Fake Wealth: Cashing Out of Unicorns Gets Hard | WolfStreet.com: "Until shares can be sold, “valuations” remain fake wealth."
• "Only the little people pay taxes"--Tax avoidance for multinationals courtesy of the EU--Ireland stays top euro zone center for financial special purpose vehicles--Reuters.com. 
• Apple reportedly planning $999 price for new iPhone | TheVerge.com
• After Brexit, the UK "owes" the EU for what?--After Article 50 was triggered to start Brexit, the European Investment Fund stopped backing UK VCs--Politico.com. So why shouldn't the UK just stop funding the EU now?
• Tencent posts record $2.7B profit as mobile game revenue tops PC for first time | TechCrunch.com
• Starbucks Teaching Silicon Valley a Lesson in Tech: "... nearly a third of all Starbucks’ orders were paid for via the company’s phone app. The numbers are remarkable when you consider the Apple (AAPL) comparison. Today, even in stores where Apple Pay is available, barely anyone is using it ... only 5.5% of iPhone users actually choose the option, according to the latest research from Pymnts.com ..."--Barrons.com. Note: Starbucks--$SBUX--plans to have 37,000 stores worldwide by 2021, up from around 27,000 today. About 40% of those new stores will be in the U.S., and about 5,000 in the Asia-Pacific region.
• Can Oath, the Arranged Media Marriage of Yahoo and AOL, Avoid a Rough Divorce? | VanityFair.com.

• Samsung leader Jay Y. Lee given five-year jail sentence for bribery | Reuters.com

• China's ZTE posts 30 percent rise in first-half profit on 4G, handsets | Reuters.com

• China's cabinet expects information technology market to reach 6 trillion yuan ($901 billion) by 2020 | Reuters.com

• Amazon to cut Whole Foods prices, escalating grocery turf war | Reuters.com
• Gmail tip: Gmail does not recognise a plus sign "+" in an email address or any words after it--"If your email address is inewsisgreat @gmail.com, emails sent to inewsisgreat+informative @gmail.com will also be received."--inews.co.uk. Same thing applies if you are using Google Apps email (G Suite) via your own custom domain name. The above tip allows you to categorize and sort incoming subscription, group, etc., emails before you have even read them.

-- John Poole, Editor, Domain Mondo  

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TechReview | Zuck's Facebook Letter and the Snapchat $SNAP IPO (video)

Domain Mondo's weekly review of technology news:

Feature •  Zuckerberg's Facebook Letter and the Snapchat $SNAP IPO (video):

Kara Swisher: Facebook Is A Media Company For The Modern Age

Video published Feb 17, 2017: Mike Isaac, New York Times, and Kara Swisher, Recode, weigh in on Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg posting an open letter on his Faceboook page last night, followed by a discussion on Snap's IPO (snap.com / snapchat.com). See also:

• Facebook just changed its mission, because the old one was broken | TheVerge.com: "in a remarkable letter published today, CEO Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged the severe shortcomings and blind spots that his company’s mission created ..."
• Scott Galloway: Snap IPO $SNAP, This Is the Top of the Market (video).
• Snap IPO expected to price March 1 after market closes | Reuters.com
• Why Snap Inc.'s Float Could Cause It To Sink - Snap Inc. (Pending:SNAP) | SeekingAlpha.com

Other Tech News:

•  You can take your "sh*t sandwich" job offer and ...: after President Donald J. Trump threw Lt. Gen. (ret.) Michael Flynn 'under the bus' on Monday, retired Vice Admiral Robert Harward turned down Trump's offer to replace Flynn as National Security Advisor, reportedly saying the job offer was a "sh*t sandwich."

•  Amazon Form 10-K:

Amazon reported sales of about $6.4B for 2016 retail subscription services, including Amazon Prime, up 43% YoY.

•  T-Mobile US Q4 2016 results beat estimates: T-Mobile US reports Q4 revenue of $10.18B, up 23.4% YoY, vs $9.84B expected. 2.1 million total net additions in Q4 2016, 8.2 million in 2016, adding 933K postpaid subs for the quarter. More T-Mobile info:

•  Verizon reintroduces unlimited data plan--$80 per month (plus taxes and fees) for unlimited data, talk and text for the first line with paper-free billing and autopay (4 lines $45/line, 3 lines $54/line, 2 lines $70/line)--VerizonWireless.com. Compare to T-Mobile $70 first line (taxes and fees included) 4 lines $40/line, 3 lines $47/line, 2 lines $60/line)

•  New FCC chair closely guards his strategy to restructure net neutrality | Reuters.com. U.S. Representative Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) has said Congress will let the FCC "make the first move" on net neutrality.

•  Gartner Says Worldwide Sales of Smartphones Grew 7 Percent in the Fourth Quarter of 2016:

Quick Takes:

• Apple: The $1,000 iPhone - Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) | SeekingAlpha.com
• iPhone SE: Tech giant Apple to kickstart Indian dream with the iPhone SE | economictimes.indiatimes.com
• I’ll never bring my phone on an international flight again. Neither should you. | medium.freecodecamp.com
• Ireland challenges Facebook in threat to cross-border data pact | Reuters.com
• Alphabet Announces Major Reporting Change | SeekingAlpha.com
• NY attorney general sues Time Warner Cable over internet speed fraud | TheHill.com
• New laws may give fiduciaries power to access digital assets | Thompson Coburn LLP | JDSupra.com
• This Is How the Status Quo Unravels | washingtonsblog.com

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Roger McNamee: Apple, EU, Future of Globalization, China (videos)

Roger McNamee: Apple Appealing EU Tax Is A Lose-Lose:

Video above published Dec 19, 2016: Roger McNamee, Elevation Partners co-founder, gives his take on Apple's response to the EU's tax ruling, Ireland and the EU, and the future of globalization.

Apple Inc. 
Domain: apple.com
Stock: NASDAQ: AAPL

Americans Are Paying Apple Millions to Shelter Overseas Profits | Bloomberg.com: "Over the years, Apple Inc. has become the poster child for U.S. multinationals accused of sheltering overseas profits to avoid the IRS. What’s gone largely unnoticed is that it’s been paid more than half a billion dollars by the U.S. government to do just that. Taking advantage of an exemption tucked into America’s Byzantine tax code, Apple stashed much of its foreign earnings—tax-free—right here in the U.S., in part by purchasing government bonds, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter. In return, the Treasury Department paid Apple at least $600 million and possibly much more over the past five years in the form of interest, a Bloomberg review of its regulatory filings shows ..."

Do Stocks Have A Big China Problem?

Video above published Dec 19, 2016: Chinese bonds and equities have been sinking recently. Are American markets next? Max Wolff of 55 Capital and Eddy Elfenbein of the Crossing Wall Street blog discuss with Eric Chemi.

Shanghai Composite Index (source: google.com)

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UPDATE: ICANN enjoined from delegating .AFRICA by California State Superior Court Judge

EU Nixes Apple's $AAPL $14.5B+ Tax Avoidance Scheme in Ireland (video)

EU action over Apple tax explained:

The European Commission has hit Apple with a record-breaking tax penalty of up to €13bn after finding the US tech group enjoyed a quarter of a century of illegal state support from Ireland that distorted competition in Europe. FT.com explains the dispute.

European Commission - State aid: Ireland gave illegal tax benefits to Apple worth up to €13 billion | europa.eu 30 August 2016:  "The European Commission has concluded that Ireland granted undue tax benefits of up to €13 billion to Apple. This is illegal under EU state aid rules, because it allowed Apple to pay substantially less tax than other businesses. Ireland must now recover the illegal aid. Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said: "Member States cannot give tax benefits to selected companies – this is illegal under EU state aid rules. The Commission's investigation concluded that Ireland granted illegal tax benefits to Apple, which enabled it to pay substantially less tax than other businesses over many years. In fact, this selective treatment allowed Apple to pay an effective corporate tax rate of 1 per cent on its European profits in 2003 down to 0.005 per cent in 2014."..."

Vestager said under the tax avoidance scheme Apple was allowed to allocate almost all sales profits to a head office that “only existed on paper.” She said this head office “has no employees, it has no premises, and it has no real activities ... [and] was subject to no tax in Ireland or elsewhere.”

Customer Letter - Apple (IE) | apple.com: "... The Commission’s move is unprecedented and it has serious, wide-reaching implications. It is effectively proposing to replace Irish tax laws with a view of what the Commission thinks the law should have been. This would strike a devastating blow to the sovereignty of EU member states over their own tax matters, and to the principle of certainty of law in Europe. Ireland has said they plan to appeal the Commission’s ruling and Apple will do the same. We are confident that the Commission’s order will be reversed ..."--Tim Cook, Apple Inc.

See also:

• Apple’s $14.5 Billion EU Tax Ruling: What You Need to Know | Bloomberg.com
• Apple ordered to pay up to €13bn after EU rules Ireland broke state aid laws | TheGuardian.com
• Apple Finds Out It Took the Tax Game Too Far | Bloomberg.com

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News Review: IANA Transition & ICANN Corruption, Capture, and Control

"If one wanted to capture ICANN on a single issue, or a group of interrelated issues, the most practical tactic might be bribery"--John C. Coffee Jr., Columbia University Professor of Law, see this week's FEATURE further below.

Domain Mondo's review and look ahead [pdf], starting first with the macro view, the big picture, after cutting through all the noise: 

•  GOP nominates Trump: Peter Thiel at the 2016 RNC: "... Across the country, wages are flat. Americans get paid less today than 10 years ago ... Our economy is broken ... our government is broken ... We don't need to see Hillary Clinton's deleted emails; her incompetence is in plain sight. She pushed for a war in Libya, and today it's a training ground for ISIS. On this most important issue, Donald Trump is right, it's time to end the era of stupid wars and rebuild our country ... Of course, every American has a unique identity. I am proud to be gay. I am proud to be a Republican. But most of all, I am proud to be an American! I don't pretend to agree with every plank in our party's platform, but fake culture wars only distract us from our economic decline. And nobody in this race is being honest about it except Donald Trump ... Tonight, I urge all of my fellow Americans to stand up and vote for Donald Trump." See also Ivanka Trump's speech (video) that set social media abuzz. More at: LIVE Video: Tech Entrepreneur & VC Peter Thiel Speaks at #RNCinCLE. A Reuters/Ipsos poll of likely U.S. voters shows Clinton and Trump virtually tied (within margin of error).

•   Hillary chooses Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va) as her Vice Presidential nominee but VP pick greeted by blowback from progressive groups | WashingtonPost.com: "... several organizations, including some with ties to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the runner-up in the Democratic primaries, sharply questioned Kaine’s liberal bona fides, pointing to Kaine’s support of trade deals and regulations favorable to big banks. Stephanie Taylor, the co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, worried that Kaine’s support of a pending trade deal known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership [TPP] could allow Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump to “outflank” Clinton on trade." See also: New Leak: Top DNC Official Wanted to Use Bernie Sanders’s Religious Beliefs Against Him | TheIntercept.com: "Among the nearly 20,000 internal emails from the Democratic National Committee, released Friday by Wikileaks and presumably provided by the hacker “Guccifer 2.0,” is a May 2016 message from DNC CFO Brad Marshall. In it, he suggested that the party should “get someone to ask” Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders about his religious beliefs." The Democratic National Coronation Convention is in Philadelphia this coming week, July 25-28. UPDATE: #DNCleak #DNCleaks LIVE twitter feed

•  Turkey is in turmoil: "Turkey’s president is destroying the democracy that Turks risked their lives to defend."--Erdogan’s revenge | Economist.com.

•  Ireland Hits Brexit Alarm in Biggest Foreign Crisis in 50 Years | Bloomberg.com: "The prime minister is under pressure, economists are slashing growth forecasts and companies are warning of Brexit’s dire consequences. London? No, Dublin. The intertwining of trade and finance means no other country is feeling the fallout from the U.K.’s vote to leave the European Union more than Ireland." See also: Europe’s hedge-fund industry contracted for a sixth straight quarter "shrinking the industry to fewer than 4,000 funds."  As noted before on Domain Mondo, the EU actually needs the UK more than the UK needs the EU (which is why the UK, instead of EU-dependent Greece, will be the first member state to leave the EU): see UK Property Market Proves Resilient post-Brexit and One month after Brexit: what we know about the UK economy | FT.com: "little Brexit effect on [UK] retail sales growth" and ecommerce transactions "showing similar growth rates to those before the referendum." Markets in Europe since the June 23rd Brexit vote: UK's FTSE100 UP +6.19%; Germany's DAX DOWN -1.07%, France's CAC40 DOWN -1.90%, as of Friday, July 22.

•  FEATURE: IANA Transition & ICANN Corruption, Capture, and Control

"Any waiver of registry operator fees in the arbitrary and sole discretion of ICANN management and staff is an open invitation to graft, corruption, and kick-back schemes reminiscent of the FIFA scandals. ICANN lacks a comprehensive and effective conflicts of interest and code of conduct applicable to every ICANN employee, and ICANN may have already engaged in questionable, if not illegal, behavior."--John Poole, Editor, Domain Mondo, Comments to ICANN Proposed Amendments to Base New gTLD RA (emphasis added).

John C. Coffee Jr., Adolf A. Berle Professor of Law at Columbia University Law School and Director of its Center on Corporate Governance, has written an interesting article, Adventures in Corporate Governance: Guarding the Internet | NewYorkLawJournal.com, July 20, 2016, about his serving as an advisor for the last two years to the U.S. Department of Commerce (NTIA) in connection with the "Obama Administration's efforts to 'privatize' the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)" or what is commonly called the IANA transition. Among his observations:

• "[W]ho is this "global multistakeholder community"? Ultimately, it is a strange collection of supporting organizations and advisory committees, populated by dreamers, cultists, ideologues, geeks and the Internet's largest commercial users (e.g., Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, etc.)."
• "The CCWG [Accountability] proposals largely dispensed with the business judgment rule and made everything appealable to a broad community of stakeholders. The key CCWG "reform" was the creation of a new body, literally called the "Empowered Community" ... Nothing in this structure strikes this author as optimal, and the efficiency loss for ICANN could be considerable."
• "Capture Through Corruption. If one wanted to capture ICANN on a single issue, or a group of interrelated issues, the most practical tactic might be bribery." [See also #4 Other Reading Recommendations (further below)--"spreading the cash" a/k/a "soft lobbying."]
• "Ironically, the one prospect that does seem unlikely under this new structure is ICANN's capture by a single government or a narrow interest group ... ICANN has been given so many checks and balances that it is difficult to imagine a hostile takeover. Nonetheless, symptomatic of the dysfunction in our political process, it is this least likely scenario that Congress may choose to debate."
• "If the question were whether ICANN's proposed multistakeholder governance structure is the best way to run a railroad, I would have grave doubts ... but it will be a fascinating test of "bottoms up" corporate governance. More importantly, [U.S. Department of] Commerce was probably correct in its key judgment: The proposed structure seems superior to U.N. control—and real hardball politics." (emphasis added)

•  Unwanted & Unneeded New gTLDs: WorldTrademarkReview.com on ICANN's Phase 2 Global Consumer Research Survey conducted by Nielsen: "... the real measure of how relevant new gTLDs are is surely the level to which people actually use them, rather than simply the level to which they are aware of their existence. And on this point, the findings look less positive for ICANN ... In total, reported visits to new gTLDs have decreased year-on-year ... people are visiting new gTLDs less than they were one year ago ...  By contrast, visits to legacy TLDs  [e.g., .COM, .NET, .ORG] were up across the board ..." 

•  Reconsideration Request to delay .WEB auction DENIED (pdf): Requesters, Ruby Glen, LLC and Radix FZC, submitted a reconsideration request seeking urgent reconsideration of ICANN’s decision not to delay the .WEB/.WEBS auction (scheduled for 27 July 2016) following ICANN’s investigation into alleged material changes in Nu Dot Co LLC’s (Nu Dot’s) application for .WEB. More information: Auction for 1 Contention Set [.WEB/.WEBS] Slated for 27 July 2016 | ICANN.org. UPDATE: see New gTLD WEB, Ruby Glen, LLC v. ICANN, Complaint & TRO Request | DomainMondo.com and New gTLD dot WEB 'Last Resort' ICANN Auction: and the Winner Is? | DomainMondo.com.

•  Dot AFRICA: ICANN and ZACR Appeals Consolidated "the parties’ joint motion (Docket Entry No. 5) to consolidate Nos.16-55693 and 16-55894 and to amend the briefing schedule is granted. The opening brief in No. 16-55693 has been filed. The opening brief in No. 16-55694 is due July 22, 2016. The answering brief is due August 19, 2016. The optional reply brief is due September 9, 2016."

•  Comments close this coming week at ICANN on:

• ICANN Fellowship Program Application Process Review Close Date 29 Jul 2016 23:59 UTC.
• Draft PTI Articles of Incorporation Close Date 31 Jul 2016 23:59 UTC.

•  ICANN Call for Expressions of Interest to Host ICANN Meetings in 2019 and 2020 | ICANN.org: "ICANN is actively seeking hosts for its public meetings to be held in 2019 and 2020 in Europe, Africa, Asia/Australia/Pacific, North America and Latin America/Caribbean. Those in the geographic regions are invited to submit expressions of interest for specific locations to hold the events." More information at the link above.

•  Q2 2016 Earnings Releases & Webcasts with coverage on Domain Mondo this coming week:

• Apple AAPL July 26
• Twitter TWTR July 26
• Facebook FB July 27
• Alphabet GOOG July 28
• Amazon AMZN July 28
• Neustar NSR July 28
• Verisign VRSN July 28

•  Five most popular posts (# of pageviews Sun-Sat) this week on DomainMondo.com:

1. News Review [17Jul]: ICANN Secretly Colludes With New gTLD Registry Operators
2. YAHOO $YHOO Q2 2016 Earnings, Webcast Monday July 18, 5:30pm ET
3. Burberry: British Luxury Fashion Retail, $BRBY UP 16% Since Brexit (video)
4. FTSE100 Hits New High on SoftBank & UK’s ARM Holdings $32 Billion Deal
5. LIVE Video: Tech Entrepreneur & VC Peter Thiel Speaks at #RNCinCLE

Most Domain Mondo readers this past week (top 3 countries): U.S., Russia, Germany

• 5 Other Reading Recommendations:

1. EFF Files Lawsuit Challenging DMCA's Restrictions Security Researchers | Threatpost.com:“... Section 2101 doesn’t make us safer. It impinges on researchers’ First Amendment rights to share vital research that could save lives and keep us safe in a world increasingly reliant on computer code ... If future generations are going to be able to understand and control their own machines, and to participate fully in making rather than simply consuming culture, Section 1201 has to go.”
2. Attackers launch multi-vector DDoS attacks that use DNSSEC amplification | CIO.com: "The domain owners themselves are not at fault and don't feel the effects of these attacks ... Attackers abuse open resolvers by sending a barrage of spoofed DNS queries where the IP source is set to be the MIT target IP. Most of these servers will cache the initial response so multiple queries are not made to the authoritative name servers."
3. Roger Ailes Resigns as Chairman and CEO of Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network, and Chairman Fox Television Stations | 21cf.com: "... It is always difficult to create a channel or a publication from the ground up and against seemingly entrenched monopolies.  To lead a flourishing news channel, and to build Fox Business, Roger has defied the odds. His grasp of policy and his ability to make profoundly important issues accessible to a broader audience stand in stark contrast to the self-serving elitism that characterizes far too much of the media. I am personally committed to ensuring that Fox News remains a distinctive, powerful voice ..."--Rupert Murdoch
4. Google, Trying to Endear Itself to Europe, Spreads Cash Around | NYTimes.com: "... Google has been staging a full-court press in Europe to finance everything from start-up offices to YouTube-sponsored music concerts, trying to remake its image in the region as it battles a mounting list of [EU antitrust claims] regulatory woes. Those efforts represent a campaign of “soft lobbying” where instead of, or alongside, paying registered lobbyists to advocate its case in the corridors of power, a company looks to change the minds of the public at large ... the company has ramped up its campaign in recent years, earmarking about $450 million from 2015 to 2017 ..."
5. Verizon is close to buying Yahoo for $5 billion as a ‘safe bet’ | Recode.net: "The plan is to combine it with AOL" but investors should read SeekingAlpha.com: "The telecom sector remains a defensive industry with muted growth prospects. The largest players in the industry, T [AT&T]and VZ [Verizon], return a significant portion of their free cash flow to investors via a quarterly dividend. The industry requires a consistent outlay of Capex to upgrade and maintain their networks often requiring copious amounts of debt."

Keep up with the Democratic Convention in Philadelphia this coming week, on Domain Mondo's election page.

-- John Poole, Editor, Domain Mondo

feedback & comments via twitter @DomainMondo
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ICANN 54, Dublin, Ireland, Daily Schedule, Links, Info, Twitter Feeds

ICANN 54, Dublin, Ireland, October 18-22, links and info:

• Daily Schedule | ICANN 54 Public Meeting
• ICANN 54 Schedule [Print and Spreadsheet Friendly] Oct 15-24 
• ICANN 54 Live Event Stream on Livestream

All ICANN 54 Schedule times are Irish Standard Time in Dublin:

[UTC +1:00 or EDT(US)+5]

Remote Participation info--note: Remote Participation links including Adobe Connect Virtual Meeting Room Stream Live are located on each individual ICANN Meeting session page (go to ICANN 54 Schedule at links above).

Schedule highlights: (all times Dublin local: IST) (subject to change)
Sun Oct 18 
08:00 to 17:00 Universal Acceptance Group Steering Committee Workshop
08:30 to 12:30 GAC Sunday Morning Sessions  Liffey A
14:00 to 18:00 GAC Sunday Afternoon Sessions  Liffey A
Mon Oct 19
08:30 to 10:00 Welcome Ceremony & President's Opening Session
15:30 to 16:45 Universal Acceptance of TLDs
Tue Oct 20

08:00 to 17:00 gTLD Registries Stakeholder Group
08:30 to 09:30 Joint Meeting of the ICANN Board and the At-Large
13:00 to 14:15 Root Stability Study Workshop
17:45 to 18:45 At-Large Ad-Hoc WG on IANA Transition & ICANN Accountability
Wed Oct 21
08:30 to 10:00 ICANN Board and GAC Meeting
Thu Oct 22
14:00 to 17:30 ICANN Public Forum
17:30 to 18:30 ICANN Public Board Meeting

#icann54
#icann54 Tweets
Tweets by @sgdickinson

ICANNnews - YouTube

See also on Domain Mondo: GAC Oct 17: ICANN CEO, CCWG Co-Chair, Ships Passing in the Night?


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