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Good morning.
This week’s episode of Leadership Next features Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga, who is one of the most articulate and passionate advocates of stakeholder capitalism I’ve met. You can get the full podcast here, but a few excerpts:
On COVID-19:
“We were all unprepared for this kind of circumstance. Whether that unpreparedness came from a lack of planning or a failure of imagination or hubris or a combination of all of those, it has led to a clear demonstration to everyone of how interconnected our world is, and how small it is, and how what affects one impacts everybody.”
On the acceleration of digital transformation:
“What COVID-19 has done is it has made people seem more comfortable with digital technologies across the spectrum of their own proclivities prior to going into the crisis. Their willingness to embrace digital is beginning to get a second impetus. …With 5G-enabled devices, and a crisis that has enabled people’s minds to embrace the idea, that’s a pretty perfect storm for an accelerator on digitization.”
On his commitment to stakeholder capitalism:
“I’m just a believer in capitalism. It’s the best system. Done well, done responsibly, it is an outstanding system.”
News below.
Alan Murray
@alansmurray
alan.murray@fortune.com
TOP NEWS
Musky defiance
Elon Musk has announced that Tesla's Californian factory is defying county authorities and reopening. The CEO says he will be on the production line with his workers. "If anyone is arrested, I ask that it only be me," he tweeted. Alameda County officials are urging the plant to maintain only "minimum basic operations" and say they hope Tesla will comply "without further enforcement measures." Fortune
No renegotiation
The "phase one" trade deal between the U.S. and China—the one whose targets will be missed big-time—is not up for renegotiation, according to President Trump. "I'm not interested. We signed a deal," he said, following Chinese state media reports that Beijing wants the agreement rejigged so as to make it more favorable to the Chinese side. Reuters
Retirement funds
The Trump administration is moving to ensure that the Thrift Savings Plan, a federal employee retirement fund, cannot invest money in Chinese equities as planned. Around $4.5 billion in Chinese stocks are at stake. “Departing from the Board’s established index for the International Stock Investment Fund (I Fund) to track one that maintains Chinese equities is risky and unjustified," wrote national security adviser Robert O’Brien and National Economic Council Chair Larry Kudlow in a letter to U.S. Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia. Fox Business
Aramco profits
Saudi Aramco suffered a 25% year-on-year profit drop in Q1, due to lower crude oil prices. It will still pay a $18.75 billion dividend for the quarter, per the pledge it made to investors at its recent IPO. Aramco CEO Amin Nasser: "The Covid-19 crisis is unlike anything the world has experienced in recent history and we are adapting to a highly complex and rapidly changing business environment." CNBC
AROUND THE WATER COOLER
Testing times
After experiencing throat pain, Fortune's Naomi Xu Elegant—who lives in Hong Kong—took a home test to see if she had coronavirus. She didn't, but describes the process in this piece; it was a saliva test, which is far less invasive than swab tests and far less risky for the health professionals who have to administer the latter. Fortune
German layoffs
In Germany, where the government is running hefty subsidy schemes to support businesses and keep people furloughed with pay, 18% of companies nonetheless laid off workers last month, or did not renew their contracts. Unemployment rose by over 370,000 in April. Layoffs were particularly pronounced in the automotive sector. Bloomberg
Lockdown-lifting skepticism
Confusion over the British government's lockdown-easing plan means only 44% of Britons support the plan, and 43% are opposed. Interestingly, people in the U.K. are far more likely than those in Sweden or Germany to say they want the government to limit the spread of COVID-19 even if it means a recession or depression. Politico
Putin woes
The coronavirus crisis is not being kind to Russia's President Putin. Coming alongside the collapse in the oil price—Russia needs a price of $42/barrel for a balanced budget—the pandemic response is quickly draining Russia's coffers. That cash was supposed to go to stimulus measures that would shore up Putin's dwindling popularity. Financial Times
This edition of CEO Daily was edited by David Meyer.