Another Day, Too Much News -- Quick Takes -- October 16, 2018

North Dakota

• battery company might build factor in Grand Forks; lithium ion batteries; Clean Republic; a group of UND researchers; company founded in 2010; makes kits to convert bicycles into electric bikes; a byproduct of North Dakota coal to create a more reliable rechargeable battery? Link here.

Venezuela

• drops US dollar; will use Euro for international transactions 
• seeks banking services in Asia, Europe 
• another Geico Rock Award nominee -- the BBC for reporting that Venezuela crisis hits food market

Saudi Arabia

• SecTreasury: earlier it was reported that he would attend; now it is being reported that Steven Mnuchin won't go to the Saudi investment conference (October 18, 2018)
• say goodbye to Sir Richard Branson, Virgin, and Hyperloop
• "I always take bone saws to interrogations" -- Scott Adams, no link
• US SecState Mike Pompeo meets with King Salman; no link; story everywhere; it's Pompeo's reputation on the line; can he do better than SecState Hillary? What does it matter?
• where is the EU in this whole mess? Is the US the only one that's concerned? Certainly the EU has some relationships with "the kingdom"; haven't heard a thing from Theresa May
• As of midday Monday, executives from Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc. and HSBC Holdings PLC were still planning to attend the conference, set to begin on October 23, 2018 -- by then this whole thing will have blown over - not;

UK

• Brexit on the ropes; no link; story everywhere; plenty of time; March, 2019 is deadline; that's an eternity in politics

Futures

• profit-taking tomorrow? follow the overnight futures here;
• WTI in the sweet spot; no direction; trading flat (same link)

US

• most competitive nation in ten years; link here;
• what were Bush II and Sir Saint Obama doing for sixteen years?

Stormy Daniels

• best quote all day: no one is saying she doesn't ....

Harvard admissions

• high school teachers' recommendations and guidance counselors to blame; 

Heidi-high-ho

• An apology and it's over? Heidi makes the WSJ; this story has legs; only three weeks to the midterms; I guess this probably means no US Supreme Court nomination for Heidi -- ever;
  

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Krispy Kreme

I remember when Krispy Kreme first came to San Antonio back in 2002 or thereabouts.