Good morning and happy Friday,
Trump seeks $100-billion in new tariffs on China
U.S. President Donald Trump is proposing a whopping additional US$100-billion in tariffs on Chinese goods, escalating the trade war between the world’s two biggest economies. Mr. Trump is instructing trade officials to consider the new duties, a day after China announced its intentions to tax US$50-billion in U.S. products. The tit-for-tat exchange has sent ripples through financial markets.
While Mr. Trump is increasing tensions on one trade front, expectations of reaching a deal on the North American free-trade agreement are rising ahead of a crucial trilateral meeting among Canada, Mexico and the United States at the White House today. Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland will sit down with high-level representatives from the other partners in an effort to reach an agreement. Negotiators are still working through rules on the auto industry and are hoping to have a deal ready to sign when the leaders of the three countries meet in Peru next week at the Summit of the Americas (for subscribers).
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Ontario securities watchdog probes cryptocurrency companies
The Ontario Securities Commission is looking into the cryptocurrency industry after it received complaints that some firms within the sector may have broken securities laws. The commission’s enforcement and market regulation divisions have asked firms to provide more information on how they run their businesses. The provincial regulator is looking at things such as cryptocurrency exchanges as well as firms that take part in initial coin offerings. Cryptocurrency companies are coming under increased scrutiny in other jurisdictions as well. For example, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission launched a probe in February. (for subscribers)
Jail order for former Brazilian president strikes blow at perceived impunity of the powerful
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the former president of Brazil, is set to be jailed over charges of corruption and money laundering. Late Wednesday night, the country’s top court rejected an appeal from Mr. da Silva in a 6-5 ruling. He faces a 12-year sentence and an arrest warrant has been issued. The decision has divided Brazil with some in South America’s largest country cheering the demise of the populist left-wing political figure while others are angry over the ruling. Brazilians are set to vote in October and Mr. da Silva had been faring well in public opinion polling. Politicians in several countries in the region have been swept up in the Lava Jato graft investigation, including President Michel Temer.
National Gallery plans largest art sale ever with a Chagall painting worth at least $8-million
The National Gallery of Canada will be selling its 1929 oil painting La Tour Eiffel, to finance the purchase of a “significant work” of art that is at risk of leaving Canada. La Tour Eiffel, which was painted by European modernist master Marc Chagall, made its way to Canada in 1956 after being purchased from a gallery in New York. The sale will be handled by Christie’s auction house, which is estimating that the painting will be sold in the range of US$6-million to US$9-million. The painting illustrates a bright red sky behind the Eiffel Tower. The National Gallery had searched for a buyer among private citizens and had also solicited interest from other Canadian museums but found no takers. The gallery intends to use the proceeds from the sale to purchase a piece of artwork related to Canada’s heritage that is at risk of leaving the country.
Kate Taylor wonders in a column what piece of artwork is worth selling a Chagall for: “The mystery is absolutely tantalizing. The National Gallery of Canada (NGC) is about to pay somewhere in the neighbourhood of $10-million for a single work of art it deems so important to Canadians that it is selling off a major painting by Marc Chagall to pay for the thing. What thing? Well, that’s what art lovers and taxpayers will all want to know. The mere price tag will have them salivating or fulminating, depending on their stripe. But right now, the gallery must remain mum to protect the deal.”
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
I quit Facebook, and I miss it
Facebook has been in the news a lot recently, and not for reasons that the social media giant would want. More than 600,000 Canadians may have had their personal data improperly accessed as part of the Cambridge Analytica scandal and a recent poll found that 64 per cent of Canadians were planning on changing their privacy settings or using Facebook less. The Globe’s Wency Leung quit Facebook last Sunday night, and shares what her thought process was like leading up to the decision.
MORNING MARKETS
Trade war fears
Stock markets fell on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to impose an extra $100-billion in tariffs on China exacerbated fears of a more serious trade dispute, while the greenback paused ahead of crucial U.S. payrolls data. Tokyo’s Nikkei lost 0.4 per cent, though Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 1.1 per cent, and the Shanghai composite was closed. In Europe, London’s FTSE 100, Germany’s DAX and the Paris CAC 40 were down by between 0.2 and 0.6 per cent by about 5:30 a.m. ET. New York futures were also down. The Canadian dollar was at 78.27 US cents. Oil prices fell on Trump’s latest threat of new tariffs on China.
WHAT EVERYONE’S TALKING ABOUT
My son died of a fentanyl overdose. Here’s what I know
“The police appear to lack the crime-scene technologies and resources to find the perpetrators who infect the drug supply with fentanyl. Maybe some police even lack the will − a similar lethargy that I have seen in doctors, politicians and the public to recognize addicts as real people and fentanyl overdoses as a crime. A lethargy that allows drug dealers to cover their tracks and to find new victims. I don’t have faith that police will find my son’s killer. It is manslaughter in my books. Stephen didn’t want to die. He was given a deadly concoction, not what he had ordered. Something needs to be done. Thousands more will die.” − Dorothy Bakker
Fore! The long tradition of prime ministers hitting the links
“It has been almost 15 years since [Jean] Chrétien was prime minister, but some Canadians may remember the numerous times he picked up his clubs to join former U.S. president Bill Clinton for a round. The president loved the game as much as the prime minister and they played together frequently during their overlapping years in office from 1993 to 2001. In Mr. Clinton’s memoir, he referred to Mr. Chrétien as ‘a strong ally, confidant, and frequent golfing partner.’ There is no doubt that some bilateral business got discussed between tee shots, making fairway diplomacy a second benefit of the game for the country’s leaders. But to some degree, Mr. Chrétien was simply following in the steps of [Louis] St. Laurent.” − J.D.M. Stewart
We need the humanities more than ever, despite all the shouting
“We live in a time when knowledge is money. We sell the humanities and social sciences short when we devalue the knowledge − the historical perspective, the critical thinking, the ability to weave disparate strands of information into a coherent whole − that a degree in one of these fields provides.” − John Ibbitson
LIVING BETTER
Five things never to do on a plane
Need to brush up on etiquette when you’re 30,000 feet in the air? The Globe’s Travel Editor Domini Clark breaks down five things you shouldn’t be doing: hogging the overhead bin, creating noise pollution from your electronic device, being gross, bugging people who are engrossed in their book and singing out loud.
Editor’s note: We are expanding the section formerly known as Health Primer to cover a range of lifestyle journalism.
MOMENT IN TIME
Teflon is discovered by accident
April 6, 1938: In the early days of mechanical refrigeration – when blocks of ice were no longer enough – chemicals such as sulphur dioxide and ammonia were used routinely. But those had the nasty habit of leaking and poisoning people. The first assignment given to Dr. Roy Plunkett, hired as a chemist at DuPont Co., was to find safer alternatives. One of the gases he worked with was tetrafluoroethylene. On April 6, 1938, Dr. Plunkett opened a cylinder to discover the gas had transformed into a waxy powder. He had the foresight to recognize that the serendipitously discovered slippery material, polytetrafluoroethylene, might have a use other than in refrigeration. PTFE would soon become known as Teflon, which revolutionized the plastics industry – and dish washing. Today, Teflon has hundreds of uses, including non-stick frying pans, the inside of microwave popcorn bags, stain repellent on clothes, rust-proofing for cars and coating for armour-piercing bullets. More recently, the miracle product has also raised health concerns, especially after reports of factory workers developing “Teflon flu.” But Teflon is highly heat-resistant, so unless it is heated above 350 C or degraded through scratching, there is little risk of particles being released that that could theoretically harm the lungs.“ − André Picard
Morning Update is written by Mayaz Alam
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