Thursday 12 July 2018

Thursday Morning Briefing: Trump claims a personal victory at NATO summit

Highlights

Trump hailed a personal victory at the NATO summit, saying allies had sharply increased defense spending commitments after he provoked a crisis session with a tirade at European leaders.

Trump flies into Britain for talks with the leader of the United States’ closest ally in Europe and tea with Queen Elizabeth, against a backdrop of protests and what he described as the country’s turmoil over Brexit.

The U.S. government must convince a judge that it has complied with a court order for reuniting the youngest migrant children who were separated from their parents by U.S. officials after they crossed the U.S.-Mexico border.

World

Japan risks more severe weather and must find ways to alleviate disasters, a government spokesman said, as intense heat and water shortages raised fear of disease among survivors of last week’s floods and landslides.

The United States and the United Arab Emirates have broken up a network funneling illicit funds to Iran as Washington steps up a drive to restrict Iranian trade and access to hard currency in the region, a senior U.S. official said.

The head of a Thai navy SEAL diving team that helped lead 12 boys and their soccer coach through a flooded cave complex to safety urged the boys on Thursday to “make the most” of their lives and be a force for good.

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Commentary: European leaders at this week’s NATO summit are bracing themselves for a Trump-Putin “lovefest” when the Russian and U.S. presidents meet in Helsinki next week, writes Gregory Feifer. “Whatever happens, the summit will almost certainly deepen the rift between the United States and its European allies.”

 

Two @Reuters journalists have been detained in Myanmar for 213 days. See full coverage: https://reut.rs/2yPnwus

5:20 AM - JUL 12, 2018

Business

Sky shares leap as Comcast and Fox lock horns in bid battle

Sky shares leapt to an 18-year high as investors bet a transatlantic battle for the European pay-TV group had further to run, after Comcast’s $34 billion bid trumped an offer from Rupert Murdoch made just hours earlier.

6 min read

Chipmaker Broadcom inks $19 billion deal to buy software company CA

Broadcom announced a $18.9 billion deal to buy U.S. business software company CA, venturing far beyond its realm of semiconductors and testing investors’ confidence in its Chief Executive Hock Tan’s dealmaking credentials.

5 min read

Breakingviews - SoftBank gets some help tinkering with valuation

Tiger Global is helping SoftBank narrow its conglomerate discount. Chase Coleman’s hedge fund has built a more than $1 billion stake in the Japanese group, Reuters reported. That should help shrink the gap between what Masayoshi Son thinks his company is worth and its current market value. But valuing SoftBank’s Vision Fund, with stakes in a hodgepodge of startups, is still too complicated.

3 Min Read

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