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| Happy Friday, Insiders! These are our top stories today: - Elon Musk reportedly deactivated Starlink satellites to prevent Ukraine from launching drone attacks on Russian ships off the Crimean coast
- Outstanding U.S credit card debt topped $1T last month, and lenders are offering more credit to cardholders in a push for more revenue.
- Military leaders criticized Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) for blocking the appointment or promotion of hundreds of military officers
If you find this newsletter useful, please share it with your friends and colleagues. Have a great weekend! Daniel
p/Dan-Smith | |
| 1 | | According to a new book, Elon Musk ordered SpaceX engineers to shut down Starlink satellites that would have allowed Ukrainian drones to attack Russian ships off the Crimean coast last year. Musk responded to the claims by saying that Starlink satellites in the region were never activated and that he denied a Ukrainian request to extend Starlink service to the Russian-occupied region. More: - After Russian attacks took down Ukraine's communication grid in early 2022, Musk's SpaceX company provided thousands of Starlink terminals to Ukraine to facilitate defensive communications.
- Journalist Walter Isaacson wrote that Musk's commitment to the Ukrainian cause was shaken when he heard that Ukraine planned to use Starlink-enabled drones to attack Russian ships in Crimea.
- Crimea is a Ukrainian peninsula on the Black Sea that was occupied by Russia in 2014.
- The Russian ambassador to the U.S. reportedly told Musk that Russia would use a nuclear weapon if Ukraine attacked Crimea.
- Isaacson wrote that Musk ordered SpaceX engineers to turn off Starlink coverage "within 100 kilometers of the Crimean coast," leading the drones to lose connectivity and fall into the sea.
- Musk reportedly rebuffed Ukrainian requests that he turn coverage back on because he wanted to prevent the escalation of the conflict.
Zoom Out: - Starlink is a constellation of low-orbit satellites that provide broadband internet coverage.
- Isaacson's book "Elon Musk" is set to be released on September 12.
Q: Do you think Elon Musk made the right decision by preventing Ukraine from using Starlink to launch a drone attack on Russian ships? Join the conversation here. |     | |
| 2 | | Kroger stock rose over 3.5% after the supermarket chain said it plans to sell over 400 grocery stores in a bid to secure regulatory approval for its planned $25B acquisition of rival grocery Albertsons. 
What the numbers say: Kroger will sell the 400+ stores to C&S Wholesale Grocerys for $1.9B in cash. The company also said that it may need to sell an additional 237 stores to C&S to get regulatory approval for the Albertsons deal. The acquisition is expected to close early next year. C&S is primarily a supplier of groceries rather than a store operator, but it does operate around two dozen Grand Union and Piggly Wiggly stores. Japanese investment group SoftBank is reportedly in talks with C&S about potentially financing the deal. Opioid settlement: On Friday, Kroger announced a $1.2B opioid lawsuit settlement to resolve most of the lawsuits the company faced from U.S. states, counties, municipalities, and Native American tribes. | | | |
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| 3 | | Federal data shows that credit card companies are increasingly offering larger lines of credit to cardholders in an effort to boost revenue. Credit card debt in the U.S. topped $1T last month. More: - Leading U.S. banks raised credit limits on 18.4 million credit card accounts in Q1 2023, up 22% from the same period in 2019.
- Credit card companies opened a record $89B of new credit card accounts in the period.
- Research shows that credit-line increases lead to higher spending, even though many cardholders did not request an increase.
- Credit card interest rates averaged 22% this year.
Zoom Out: - Financial literacy expert Jill Gonzalez of WalletHub.com said that a higher credit limit may entice people to "spend more to maintain a certain image or standard of living."
- According to credit agency Equifax, the delinquency rate on credit cards hit 3.8% this year, the highest level in more than a decade.
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| 4 | | GOOD NEWS: More Atlantic salmon were counted in Maine's Penobscot River this year than in any year since 2011, showing that conservation efforts to preserve the endangered species are paying off. State officials counted more than 1,500 salmon, and the count of river herring was also up compared to previous years. More: - The Penobscot River used to see runs with tens of thousands of Atlantic salmon.
- The salmon population has declined in recent years due to damming, overfishing, and pollution.
- Sean Ledwin, of the Maine Department of Marine Resources, said that the higher number of river herring could be distracting predators like seals and striped bass that typically prey on Atlantic salmon.
- Neville Crabbe of the Atlantic Salmon Federation said that continued growth in the salmon-run population will require "a commitment from everybody in the world to reduce emissions, and try to negate the most severe implications of climate change."
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| 5 | | Leading figures in the U.S. military have criticized Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) for blocking the promotion process for hundreds of U.S. military officers. Tuberville has delayed more than 300 military appointments and promotions, a number that could double by the end of the year. More: - Tuberville began blocking promotions in February in response to the Biden administration's decision to allow U.S. service members to take leave and have their expenses reimbursed if they or a dependent needed to travel for an abortion.
- Since then, many leadership positions in the U.S. armed forces have been filled by lower-ranking officers on an interim basis.
- Tuberville wants Congress to vote on the abortion policy
- The civilian leaders of the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force published an opinion column in the Washington Post this week accusing Tuberville of "putting our national security at risk."
Zoom Out: - Tuberville, who was elected to the Senate in 2020, spent most of his professional career as a college football coach and had no public service experience prior to his election.
- Some GOP senators support Tuberville, but Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said he disagreed with Tuberville's strategy despite his own opposition to the Pentagon policy.
- Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) noted that Tuberville had voted for "every single one of these people" in previous committee votes.
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| 6 | | The British government said that no offshore wind developers submitted bids in its latest renewable energy contract auction. The news prompted criticism from opposition politicians and environmentalists, who said that the government should have seen the no-bid outcome coming. More: - Developers reportedly did not submit bids because the minimum price offered by the government was not high enough.
- Ed Miliband, energy spokesman for the opposition Labour Party, described the results as an "absolute disaster."
- In a bid to decarbonize the power sector, the U.K. has set a goal of tripling offshore wind generation capacity by 2030.
Zoom Out: - Offshore wind costs have boomed due to inflation, higher interest rates, permitting delays, and supply chain issues.
- A major developer halted an offshore wind project in Britain in July saying that costs had risen by as much as 40%.
- The renewable energy auction attracted bids for onshore wind and solar energy development programs.
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- The German men's basketball team upset Team USA in Thursday's FIBA World Cup semifinal, beating the Americans 113-111. Germany will face Serbia in the final, while Team USA will play against Canada in the bronze medal game.
- Hurricane Lee briefly became a Category 5 storm on Friday morning, with winds reaching 165 mph. The storm, which is currently east of the Caribbean, is not expected to make landfall in the U.S. or the Caribbean.
- According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), global food prices are at their lowest level since March 2021. Food prices are down 24% from the all-time high seen in March 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine.
- Automaker Stellantis offered a 14.5% wage hike over a four-year period to workers represented by the United Auto Workers (UAW) union just days ahead of a possible strike.
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Term of the Day Data mining: Data mining refers to the process of sorting through and analyzing large quantities of raw data. Question of the Week Do you share details about your salary with your coworkers? Join the conversation |
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 | Writer | | Dr. Daniel Smith is an Inside writer with a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Cambridge. Follow him on Twitter @DJS12321 or email him at Daniel@inside.com. | | This newsletter was edited by Eduardo Garcia | |
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