Tuesday Morning Briefing: Erdogan says Turkey will boycott U.S. electronics, lira steadies

Highlights

President Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey will boycott electronic products from the United States, retaliating in a dispute with Washington that has helped drive the lira to record lows.

 

#Turkish lira looking bit better today - pulled back from record low and trading around 6.4625, helped by central bank's liquidity measures, and a planned conference call with finance minister Berat Albayrak on Thursday to reassure investors.

9:05 AM - August 14, 2018

World share markets regained their footing as the threat from the collapse of the Turkish lira ebbed and reassuring German data offset signs of slowing growth in China.

politics

An 11-year-old boy managed to hack into a replica of Florida’s election results website in 10 minutes and change names and tallies during a hackers convention, organizers said, stoking concerns about security ahead of nationwide votes.

States such as Wisconsin helped drive U.S. President Trump’s surprising presidential win two years ago, and Tuesday’s primaries there and in neighboring Minnesota serve as a barometer of opposition strength headed into the November midterm elections.

World

Documents and insights from officials provide a rare glimpse into China’s push to arm security forces with high-tech monitoring tools as the government clamps down on dissent.

A motorway bridge collapsed over the northern Italian port city of Genoa in what the transport minister said was likely to be “an immense tragedy”.

British police arrested a man on suspicion of terrorism offences after he drove a car through a group of cyclists and into security barriers outside parliament, injuring three people.

Egypt's government has played the White House by getting it to restore military aid to Cairo, says Andrew Miller, former director for Egypt and Israeli military issues at the U.S. National Security Council. Writing on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the August 14 Rabaa Square killings that left more than 800 dead, Miller argues that five "persistent myths" have distorted U.S. policy on Egypt for years.

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Two @Reuters journalists have been detained in Myanmar since Dec. 12, 2017. See our full coverage: https://reut.rs/2B6kh2U

6:37 AM - August 14, 2018

Business

Musk says Silver Lake, Goldman advising on taking Tesla private

Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk tweeted that he was working with buyout firm Silver Lake and investment bank Goldman Sachs Group as financial advisers on his plan to take the U.S. electric car maker private.

6 min read

Brazil's farmers dump sugar for soy as trade war boosts Chinese demand

Shifting trade flows are redefining the Brazilian landscape, spurring more farmers to align their crops with Chinese appetites. The nation’s soy plantings have expanded by 2 million hectares in two years - an area the size of New Jersey - while land used for cane shrank by nearly 400,000 hectares, according to government data.

6 min read

 

“Our biggest rival is not Amazon or Aeon, but customers’ losing interest,” #DonQuijote CFO tells @SamNusseyRTRS of @Reuters. As Amazon grows rapidly in #Japan, 'Donki' tries to make it more fun to shop in its eclectic stories. https://reut.rs/2MnlHdx

9:42 AM - August 14, 2018

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