Wet hot billionaire summer

MARKETS

• Trade war update: There's still a trade war. The Trump administration released a list of $200 billion worth of Chinese imports that'll be subject to a 10% tariff (but not for at least two months). The goods include food products, digital cameras, baseball gloves, refrigerators, and television components.

MEDIA

Wet Hot Billionaire Summer

Mark Zuckerberg excitedly packed his sunscreen, sleeping bag, and yarmulke and made his way to Sun Valley Lodge in Idaho—the home of a networking conference hosted by investment bank Allen & Co.

Or as some like to call it: "Summer camp for billionaires."

Why's he so amped? He'll be joined by all the hottest names in tech and media, from Apple's Tim Cook to Fox's Rupert Murdoch. And this year (the event's 35th annual gathering), could be as ripe as ever with drama.

• Rupert Murdoch will be joined by Disney's Bob Iger and Comcast's Brian Roberts. Both companies are viciously competing for a large portion of Fox's media assets.
• Media mogul Shari Redstone will be there. And so will CBS's Les Moonves. Their companies are locked in a legal battle as Shari tries to forcefully merge CBS with Viacom. Hopefully they're not put in the same bunk.

So will any love be in the air this summer?

No letters home yet.

But, Sun Valley has been known to be a matchmaker: it's where AOL agreed to buy Time Warner for $160 billion in 2000, where Google began a conversation to buy YouTube for $1.65 billion in 2006, and where Comcast first locked eyes with NBCUniversal for a $6.5 billion deal in 2009.

Milk-chugging camp legend, Warren Buffett, calls it "ABWA" (or "acquisitions by walking around").

We could be in for some spicy news over these next few days.

+ There's already some M&A whispers: But it's just speculation.

AUTO

Tesla Sets Its Sights on China

Rank these famous visits to China:

• Marco Polo
• Richard Nixon
• Elon Musk

...Elon Musk? Yep, the Tesla (+1.24%) CEO was in Shanghai yesterday to announce the electric automaker will be building its first plant outside the U.S.

And no surprises here, this factory is going to be huge. In four to five years, Tesla expects to churn out 500,000 cars a year (we'll see about that...). For context, that's about the same capacity as its existing Fremont, CA factory.

The backdrop:

• China is the world's No. 1 auto market (and has a growing appetite for electric cars), so it's a massive opportunity for Tesla.
• China accounted for 17% of Tesla's 2017 revenue.
• Last weekend, Tesla boosted prices on a few models by more than $20,000 after China increased tariffs on U.S. auto imports.

Bottom line: Tesla isn't letting Model 3 production snafus get in the way of its global ambitions.

INTERNATIONAL

Tale of the Tape Part 2: England vs. Croatia

Well, not to brag or anything...but we kind of called France's 1-0 victory over Belgium in the World Cup yesterday. Today's semifinal? Croatia vs. England. Let's see how the economies stack up.*

Note: Due to availability, stats reflect the UK economy (which is very different than "England," remember?)

Population

• The UK: 65.6 million // Croatia: 4.3 million (although it's losing people)

GDP per capita

• The UK: $43,250 // Croatia: $13,294

Unemployment rate

• The UK: 4.2% // Croatia: 8.9%

Key industries

• The UK: Finance and banking, healthcare, aerospace, energy // Croatia: Tourism, shipbuilding, construction, petrochemicals, and food processing

Leaving the EU?

• The UK: Working on it // Croatia: No current plans

Our pick: Croatia. Only because supermarket chain Aldi just jinxed the heck out of England. If England beats Croatia, it will close stores in England early to allow employees to watch the final.

*Data from the CIA, OECD and World Bank

GOVERNMENT

Here’s the Scoop on the President’s Supreme Court Nominee

Monday night, President Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh—a business-friendly conservative—to replace a retiring Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court.

And on Tuesday morning, a left-wing, anti-big business community lamented. Why? Because if Kavanaugh is confirmed as a justice, it'll be hard to ignore his track record:

• On consumer protection: Last year, he supported reducing the power of the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau—an agency founded in the aftermath of the Great Recession that protects consumers against illegal financial practices. Fiscal conservatives argue it went way overboard with red tape.
• On net neutrality: Even before the FCC rolled it back, Kavanaugh considered the policy a violation of the First Amendment.
• On labor unions: He's ruled for and against unions in a number of cases, but that hasn't stopped most unions from coming out against his nomination.

Bottom line: Expect to hear plenty more on these issues as Kavanaugh goes through a bruising confirmation process. Because unlike lawmakers, Supreme Court justices can't get voted out.

FOOD & BEVERAGE

Good News and Bad News from PepsiCo’s Earnings Report

Good news: PepsiCo beat expectations and celebrated its shares rising 4.76%.

Bad news: In the stagnant soda industry, winning means losing less. North American beverage sales dropped 0.9%, but that was actually an improvement over the previous three quarters. Expect more emphasis on three core brands moving forward: Gatorade, Pepsi, and Mountain Dew.

Good news: Frito-Lay North America is putting the team on its back. Sales of the snack business (home to Doritos, Cheetos, and the always-a-good-time Funyuns) grew 4.3%.

Bad news: Higher transportation costs continue to rain on the parade. Operating profits for the beverage unit dropped 16%.

Good news: International markets surged. Organic revenue grew 7% in Europe Sub-Saharan Africa and 6% in Asia, Middle East, and North Africa.

Just regular news: Earnings season is heating up. Delta Air Lines reports tomorrow, and then JPMorgan, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, and PNC share results on Friday.

WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• The UK Information Commissioner’s Office is fining Facebook (-0.59%) $662,000 (the max amount) over the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
• Pfizer (+0.73%) is reversing price hikes on some of its drugs after speaking with President Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar.
• Microsoft (+0.27%) finally released its Surface Go (a more basic Surface Pro) starting at $399.
• Morgan Stanley (-0.64%) promoted banking vet Ted Pick to run the company's trading and investment banking business. Some think this positions him to eventually take over as CEO.
• Soccer megastar Cristiano Ronaldo left Spanish club Real Madrid to join Juventus, an Italian powerhouse. The deal is worth $117 million.
• Amazon (+0.23%) announced a bunch of deals at Whole Foods ahead of Prime Day, which starts Monday.

BREAKROOM

WHAT THE CREW'S READING
Who's ready to go down a rabbit hole? Apologies to your productivity, but we came across a great list of the most unusual (but fascinating) Wikipedia articles. A few of our favorites?

• "Dump months"—The two periods of the year known for terrible movie releases
• "List of animals with fraudulent diplomas"

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