Fox News : Holder: Obama preparing to get back into political spotlight

Holder: Obama preparing to get back into political spotlight

Former President Obama is getting ready to jump back into the political pool, former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday.

Holder said he has been talking with Obama about different ways to help the new National Democratic Redistricting Committee, according to Politico. Obama asked Holder to be chairman of the group last year.

“He's ready to roll,” Holder told reporters at a briefing.

Obama and other top Democrats are focusing efforts on state-level races and ending the reconfiguring of voting districts through the politically-laded process known as gerrymandering – a combined effort to end “Trump-ism” and help their party regain control of Congress and legislatures across the country.

Politico reported that the group seeks to direct resources into winning certain state elections, push ballot initiatives for nonpartisan district-drawing commissions and wage legal wars to existing maps.

By accomplishing their goals, the group hopes it would put Democrats at a better advantage in state legislatures and the House of Representatives.

Obama indicated before leaving the White House last fall that his short-term, post-presidency focus will be on General Assembly races and redistricting after the 2020 Census. Voting districts are redrawn after a federal Census to reflect the changes in population and other demographic. Much of the redistricting across the country is done by the political party that controls the state legislature.

Marc Elias, a top election lawyer advising the group, said they expect states to file new lawsuits to change the districting maps and are guiding states on where they could see legal victories.

Holder said the fight will be more difficult with Jeff Sessions running the Justice Department. He added that the decision to throw out a challenge to voter laws in Texas was “disheartening.”

“This is really a battle for our democracy,” Holder said. “The notion that people are denied their ability to cast a meaningful vote … is inconsistent with who we say we are, inconsistent with what we say our democracy is about.”

TechCrunch : China’s taxi on-demand war reignited: Didi rival UCAR is raising $1

Didi Chuxing’s deal to acquire Uber China seemingly left the Chinese ride-hailing giant as the last man standing and therefore sole winner of China’s vast ride-sharing market. However, Didi’s success has also served to open new opportunities for other competitors. It would seem that there’s no way for a single company to gobble up the entire market as a whole, even if it’s Didi.
UCAR, a prominent rival of Didi in China, announced this week that it raised an initial RMB 4.6 billion ($670 million) in new funds from four investors including China’s interbank network, UnionPay. The company counts high-profile names like Warburg Pincus and Jack Ma among its roster of backers.
There’s more to come, however. Board chairman Lu Zhengyao told local media [Chinese] that the total financing will surpass RMB 7 billion ($1.02 billion) via additional commitments. He said the money raised will be used for marketing, recruitment, expanding its offline presence and increasing its fleet.
UCAR is no stranger to large investment deals. Last October it raised RMB 10 billion ($1.45 billion) via a private placement plan. Impressive though that is, Didi has the financial clout to blow rivals out of the water, as did with Uber China. Didi has raised more than $10.5 billion from investors, including its most recent $7.3 billion round which included input from tech heavyweights Apple, Tencent, Alibaba and SoftBank.
While Didi relies on private cars and crowd-sourced drivers, UCAR offers its services via an in-house fleet and licensed drivers. These drivers provide UCAR with a way to potentially increase margins and also, importantly, avoid government concerns around its legal status.

The firm currently operates four product lines: Car. Inc, its Hong Kong-listed car rental arm, Shenzhou Zhuanche, the chauffeured car service, as well as an online car marketplace and a car loan service. That’s quite a spread but CEO Charles Lu disclosed that the company is keen to venture into new areas. He said that all of its business units are on track to record a profit this year, and that car manufacturing is one possible expansion up for consideration.
Like many Chinese tech startups, UCAR is listed on the Chinese over-the-counter (OTC) market. It was the first of its kind when it was went public in September last year and is currently valued at RMB 40.93 billion, $5.95 billion. Didi has not gone public yet and no specific timetable for its IPO has been disclosed.
Despite the fierce competition and government constraints, local companies continue to fight their way into to China’s ride-hailing market. LeEco-backed Yidao is another upstart that is hoping to fill a gap once Didi completes its protracted acquisition of Uber China. Yidao itself completed a $700 million funding round at a valuation of $1 billion in 2015.
Beyond those services, China’s top local services firm Meituan recently added a car-hailing function to its app, while car manufacturer Geely has expanded its ride-summoning service Caocao Zhuanche to more cities.
Major mergers — like the coming together of Didi Dache and Kuaidi Dache in 2015 and the ongoing Didi-Uber China deal — left many predicting that the battle in China’s ride-hailing industry is over. UCAR’s news investment shows that while the market is more mature now, the war is not over just yet.

(BofA-ML) The Thundering Word : Trump Putin Le Pen Taper

The Icarus Trade
We stick with Icarus Trade targets: SPX 2500, GT30 3.5%, DXY 110, oil $70/b; best trades = long NKY, CAC, RTY, banks, energy, short US rates, EM, REITS; yes risk assets overbought, yes sentiment bullish, yes easy money made, but we think March Fed hike into strong data will initiate final melt-up, capitulation into risk assets.

The Humpty-Dumpty Trade
Fed has hiked just 2 times past 10 years; on March 15th Fed likely tightens 2nd time in 3 months. The “great fall” in risk assets comes when hawkish Fed & weaker EPS (Chart 1) combine in H2. Note once Fed tightens they keep tightening until “financial event” (USGerman rate differentials already at 28-year highs!)…buy long-dated puts.

The Joe Six-Pack Trade
2017 global policy theme is “Economic Nationalism” (Trump, May, Putin, Le Pen…); success means higher inflation, as well as higher interest rates. We remain bullish Joe Six-Pack assets (EAFE, value, banks, TIPS); infrastructure & defense = good fiscal stimulus alternatives if tax reform diluted/delayed by Obamacare repeal.

>>> Dead Sea Operations of Israel Chemicals may be nationalised following licenc

Dead Sea Operations of Israel Chemicals may be nationalised following licence expiry

Dead Sea Operations of Israel Chemicals may be nationalised upon the expiry of the mining licence for Israel Chemicals, according to a report in Ha'aretz. The report quoted Qusaii Assi, the coordinator of a team led by Yoel Naveh, the Chief Economist at the Ministry of Finance examining options, as saying that all alternatives, including nationalisation are being considered. Recommendations of the committee are going to be finalised by June, Assi added. The licence will expire in 2030, and there are concerns that the resource is under threat.
The report quoted Miki Rosenthal, Israeli MP, as criticising the slow pace, and disorganisation regarding the Dead Sea, and saying that Israel Chemicals alreeady has another licence for a power plant in the region until 2037, and the company has first refusal rights, which complicates things for the Dead Sea Operations.
Link to the original source.