Bloomberg Businessweek-Europe Edition August 26, 2019

● Germany risks recession in the third quarter amid weak corporate earnings and lackluster industrial output, the country’s central bank warned. The government is studying stimulus measures to boost the economy in case of a downturn, people familiar with the plan said. ▷ 29 ● Corporate leaders including JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon (left) and Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos pledged to abandon a shareholder-fixated profit strategy. In total, 181 high-ranking executives promised to adhere to an approach that benefits employees, customers, investors, and society at large. ● Iceland held a symbolic funeral for the Okjökull glacier, laying down a commemorative plaque to mourn the vast ice field as a victim of global warming. ● The Iranian oil tanker Grace 1, which had been held off Gibraltar since early July, headed into the Mediterranean on…

▶ Trump on a Delicate European Tour To commemorate the outbreak of World War II, the president heads to Poland on Aug. 31 for his second visit to a country that’s become his staunch ally. Trump canceled another leg of his trip—a stop in Denmark—after the country refused to consider selling Greenland to the U.S. ▶ The U.S. reveals jobs data on Sept. 6, with economists forecasting a drop in the unemployment rate to 3.6%. But signs of an economic slowdown are mounting. ▶ Germany holds elections in two formerly communist eastern states on Sept. 1. There’s a good chance the far-right AfD will make gains in their legislative bodies. ▶ The EPA’s scientific advisers meet on Aug. 27 to discuss a pending rule limiting the kind of science the agency can use…

Italy’s renewed political upheaval comes at a bad time for the European Union. The latest turmoil could all too easily become a full-blown economic crisis—one that might not be confined to Italy. There’s no quick way to fix the country’s politics. But the EU can, at least, avoid making matters worse. The latest alarm follows Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini’s decision to end the coalition his League formed with the Five Star Movement, whose poll ratings have plummeted. Salvini gambled that he could trigger a vote of no confidence in the government of Giuseppe Conte, an independent, and force early elections that would give his populist League, now polling near 40%, what he calls “full powers.” The gamble may fail. Conte resigned on Aug. 20, leaving President Sergio Mattarella to decide what…

The chance of a recession in 2020 has Democratic campaign strategists feverish with anticipation—while trying not to show it—and President Trump even more amped up than usual. While Trump says he’s confident of the strength of the U.S. economy, his actions indicate otherwise. He’s demanding that the Federal Reserve cut its key rate target by at least a full percentage point, which would be extraneous at best and outright inflationary at worst if the economy really is running strong. He recently delayed some tariffs from September until just before Christmas to leave more money in consumers’ pockets. He’s also mulled tax cuts, although he told reporters on Aug. 21 that they’re off the table for now. Surely Trump is mindful that the reelection bids of both Jimmy Carter and George…

In the 1990s, as Britain was preparing to hand over Hong Kong to China, Adrian Swire was worried. The chairman of the Swire business empire based in the longtime British colony was concerned that its Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. could lose traffic rights once China took charge in 1997. He decided to make a deal: allow Chinese-owned enterprises to increase a stake in Cathay to ensure friendly ties with Beijing, according to his since-declassified correspondence with John Major, U.K. prime minister at the time, and his government. State-owned Air China Ltd. is currently the carrier’s second-biggest shareholder after Swire. Today, after months of protests that have widened the divide between the semiautonomous region’s residents and the central government in Beijing, Swire’s 45-year-old son, Merlin, now chairman of the group’s publicly traded…

On a Saturday night in July in Salinas, Calif., officer Cameron Mitchell began pursuing a suspected stolen car. As a couple million TV viewers watched at home, Mitchell chased the vehicle over curbs and through crowded intersections. He attempted what’s known as a PIT maneuver, nosing his car into the side of the fleeing vehicle to get the driver to spin to a stop. But Mitchell instead lost control and his squad car skidded frighteningly to a halt on a median. In the end, the officer was fine and the suspect gave himself up a few blocks later after other Salinas police vehicles surrounded him. It’s all in a typical night on Live PD, the hit show that’s helped lift the fortunes of A&E Networks Group and is showing at least…