Is there a Presidential candidate for business? It’s tough to say. Hillary Clinton has moved increasingly to the left, now opposing TPP (at least, at this writing) while the actual businessman, Donald Trump, has erupted with pro-nationalist, anti-trade diatribes have sent shivers down the spines of many CEOs of global companies.

And while P&G CEO David Taylor won’t give an endorsement to anyone (“Absolutely not,” he told me in an interview on August 2), he does acknowledge that the election and Brexit represent a longer-term threat to trade and other topics of critical importance to companies like his. “Free trade is important,” he says, “and my hope is that the political leaders around the world don’t vilify it because of political pressure.”

Trade agreements, of course, are critical to companies like the $65.3 billion-in-sales P&G, which operates in 70 different countries. They help a company move its inputs and finished products around the world to the most efficient places–ideally making more money for the shareholders and providing products more cheaply as a result. But that argument is starting to lose strength, said GE CEO Jeff Immelt in a recent speech, Globalization “is being blamed for unemployment and wage inequality,” he said. “There is a general sense that this must be somebody else’s fault; and improving competitiveness is not an option.”

If this trend continues, the ability of companies like P&G to return to robust sales will become ever more challenging. (In the company’s most recent quarter, announced yesterday, it beat estimates, earning $.79 per share while posting sluggish topline organic growth of 2%.) This is one reason that Taylor, like Immelt, has begun to stress what he calls “localization.” “I think the lens we look at to manage our business has changed,” he says. “You’ve got to look through the lens of the local market more and more.” (For more on P&G’s strategy of delayering management, see Can P&G Find It’s Aim Again?) At the same time, Taylor says, “The need for me to invest more time in government affairs is more relevant than it was two years ago.”

What’s not clear is whether better government relations can have much impact on a world that suddenly feels more split apart than knit together.

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What We're Reading Today

Viacom held settlement talks with Sumner Redstone's company
Prior to last Friday's ruling in a Delaware court over whether Redstone had the mental capacity to oust five members of Viacom's board, the two sides held discussions that would have eased CEO Philippe Dauman's exit from the company. The discussions between Viacom and National Amusements, the company Redstone uses to control Viacom voting shares, included raising COO Tom Dooley to the top spot on an interim basis. However, talks fell through, and the judge on Friday ruled that Redstone would need to defend why he ousted the five board members.  WSJ

Trump holds back support for Ryan, McCain
As the GOP presidential candidate ignores advisers urging him to stop arguing with the Muslim family whose son died while serving in the Army, Donald Trump is also displaying an unwillingness to back House Speaker Paul Ryan and Sen. John McCain in their primaries. Trump said that he's "not quite there yet.” It's an echo of a line Ryan made when he expressed hesitation to support Trump in the presidential primary.  Fortune

Biogen next on biotech list... 
...of potential major takeover targets. George Scangos's company has drawn interest from both Kenneth Frazier's Merck and Brent Saunders's Allergan. While talks are preliminary, it adds fuel to another potential huge drug merger. The discussions come just two weeks after Scangos announced he's stepping down after a successor is found. Reuters

New York City's police commissioner resigns
New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton, likely the most recognizable cop in the U.S., chose to step down in order to move to the private sector. He named James O’Neill his successor. The decision comes at a good time for Mayor Bill de Blasio, as he prepares for reelection and had a contentious relationship with Bratton. NYT

Building a Better Leader

Fewer small businesses are offering health insurance
Only 49% of companies with 10 to 24 workers offer insurance, which is down from 66% in 2008. Associated Press

The expectation that you should check email after work...
...creates harmful "anticipatory stress" that's present even if it doesn't take long to respond, says new study. Fortune

38% of businesses have a compensation structure guiding pay
And that number drops when dealing with salaried employees, but 34% of firms are developing one.   WSJ

Tech Troubles

Why Facebook wants to buy or copy Snapchat
Mark Zuckerberg's company has tried to buy Evan Spiegel's Snapchat, and tried to imitate a number of features that Snapchat offers. But it hasn't figured out how to remove the pressures of running a social feed, like Snapchat, which isn't permanent so content has a lower bar. Then again, Snapchat has struggled figuring out the best way for advertisers to reach users. Fortune

Taiwan to order Uber out of the country
Taiwan's Investment Commission says it's ready to remove Travis Kalanick's company from the country after Uber misrepresented itself as an information technology platform. Instead, Taiwan has ruled the business a transportation service. A final decision will be made next week. Reuters

Hong Kong bitcoin exchange hacked...
...leading to a 23% plunge in the global price of the currency. Bitfinex lost nearly 120,000 units of bitcoin in the attack, accounting for about $72 million. It's considered the second largest hack on a bitcoin exchange to date. Bitfinex's director of community & product development Zane Tackett said it hasn't decided how to compensate users. CNBC

Up or Out

Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes has stepped down as a representative of Obama's Presidential Ambassadors for Global Entrepreneurship effort. Fortune

Kevin Roberts will resign as Saatchi & Saatchi chairman after making disparaging remarks regarding women in the workplace. Ad Week

Verizon hired Ronan Dunne as group president of its wireless unit. Dunne had previously worked as CEO of British carrier O2. Fortune

Fortune Reads and Videos

Sony gets go-ahead to buy 2 million songs...
...from Michael Jackson's estate. Included in the hull worth $750 million are 250 Beatles songs. Warner Music and others had opposed the deal for fear it would give Sony too much influence. Fortune

Meg Whitman plans to vote for Hillary
The Republican CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise says that all Republicans should cross party line, in a rejection to Donald Trump's "demagoguery." Fortune

Man sues Pokemon Go creators
The New Jersey native is sick of Pokemon Go players trying to get onto his property in order to grab a Pokemon.  Fortune

Microsoft pushes businesses to try HoloLens
It has released HoloLens Commercial Suite, which includes a number of features for enterprise users interested in testing out the virtual reality headsets. Fortune

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