Florida-based lobbyist Brian Ballard is no longer in the White House dog house, after scoring a Friday sit-down with President Trump and his chief of staff.
Why it matters: Ballard, a longtime Trump fundraiser and adviser who once lobbied for the Trump Organization, earned the ire of the White House after his firm circumvented the regular channels for lobbying on behalf of a cryptocurrency client.
The U.S. and China appear to have struck some sort of trade deal, with both sides promising details on Monday.
Why it matters: The trade war between the two largest economies brought the world to the brink of recession, and threatened to scramble the global economic order.
One of Canada's largest asset managers is being accused of misleading limited partners in some of its private funds, as part of a wrongful termination suit brought by a Silicon Valley investor who led its growth equity business until last November.
Why it matters: The complaint alleges that maintaining AUM was valued over the best interests of those supplying the A, which has long been a tacit worry of LPs investing with publicly traded firms.
Nestlé has hired investment bank Rothschild to find a buyer for its bottled water business, which could fetch more than €5 billion and includes the Perrier and S.Pellegrino brands, according to Reuters.
Why it matters: The Swiss food giant announced plans to separate the water business last fall, but now is at the center of a brewing political scandal in France over filtering techniques some of its its Perrier facilities.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Sunday said U.S.-China trade talks had made "substantial progress," after President Trump said the negotiations led to a "total reset" in the two sides' trade relationship.
Why it matters: An actual reset — with sharply lower tariffs or none at all — would be the relief businesses and investors have been praying for from a trade war that has already significantly damaged the economy.
The MAGA movement is no longer just fighting for President Trump. His most fervent loyalists are now engaged in what they see as a battle for "Western civilization" — a rallying cry for the modern right.
Why it matters: The conservative ecosystem that has developed around Trump — and is touted daily in MAGA media — is key to understanding what's behind many of his policies.
