|
Good Morning. In today’s edition, the Trump administration plans tighter asylum rules at the southern border, Facebook faces resistance to its Libra cryptocurrency project, and Hispanics have the largest homeownership gains of any ethnic group in the U.S. |
|
|
The Trump administration moved to dramatically limit Central American migrants’ ability to seek asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border. | | Central American migrants who returned to Mexico from the U.S. to await their court hearing slept outside a cathedral in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, on Sunday. PHOTO: JOSE LUIS GONZALEZ/REUTERS |
|
Under a new rule, with limited exceptions, migrants who passed through another country first would be ineligible for asylum at the U.S. border and would instead be forced to seek it in another country through which they passed. The vast majority of asylum seekers at the southern U.S. border come from Central America, having traveled through Mexico, and in some cases Guatemala. The rule, which takes effect today, is an escalation of the president’s push to stem the flood of border crossers that is straining the U.S. immigration system. Immigrant-rights groups pledged to challenge the rule in court. The record number of families entering the U.S. and requesting asylum has overloaded the immigration system. Here is a step-by-step look at the process people go through—and where the system is straining. |
|
|
|
Facebook is facing bipartisan resistance to its cryptocurrency plans. The Trump administration raised national-security concerns about the company’s plans to launch a digital coin called Libra, while leaders of other large economies planned to probe the possible risks. Facebook executive David Marcus is set to testify before the Senate Banking Committee today. In prepared remarks, he sought to quell worries about Libra's potential impact on global currencies and central banks. Mr. Marcus said Switzerland’s financial watchdog would supervise the body that governs Libra. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said many players have attempted to use crypto “to fund their malign behavior. This is indeed a national-security issue.” Should Facebook develop Libra to have a payments system “with proper [safeguards against money laundering], that’s fine,” Mr. Mnuchin said. However, he said, “They’ve got a lot of work to do to convince us to get to that place.” From reporter Dave Michaels: Facebook has galvanized regulators and policy makers around the world to take cryptocurrencies more seriously. Despite all of the attention it got from retail traders, bitcoin never seemed big enough to worry the world’s financial-policy mandarins. Facebook’s size and history of achieving scale put Libra squarely in the sights of the Trump administration and European governments, which have the power to influence its trajectory. |
|
|
|
|
| What safeguards would need to be built into Facebook’s cryptocurrency plan for you to use Libra? Join the conversation. |
|
|
|
President Trump stepped up his attacks on four Democratic lawmakers. | | President Trump is facing criticism after a series of racially charged tweets that targeted four progressive lawmakers. WSJ's Gerald F. Seib explains what this reveals about the challenges facing the Democratic Party. Photo: AP |
|
“If somebody has a problem with our country, if someone doesn’t want to be in our country, they should leave. That’s all,” Mr. Trump said yesterday in defending his comment from Sunday. He denied his tweets about the women—all of whom are minorities—were racist and shrugged off a question about whether white nationalists could identify with his social-media posts. The four Democratic women are Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts. In his remarks yesterday, Mr. Trump singled out Ms. Omar for attack, alleging she “hates Israel. Hates Jews... It’s very simple.” Ms. Omar has been critical of Israel’s political influence in Washington and has apologized for some of the charged language she has used to describe her views. Several Republicans joined Democrats in calling Mr. Trump’s comments racist, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) said she would hold a vote on a resolution condemning the president’s remarks. Eleven Democratic presidential campaigns, including those of former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, spent more than they raised in the most recent three months, newly filed reports showed. Former Vice President Joe Biden spent more than almost anyone else in the race, despite entering almost a full month into the fundraising period. He burned through more than $11 million as he raised about $22 million. |
|
|
Hispanics are experiencing the largest homeownership gains of any ethnic group in the U.S., a turnaround for the population hit hardest by the housing bust and one that could help buoy the market. The homeownership rate for Hispanics, which hit a 50-year low in 2015, has risen 3.3 percentage points since then. The overall U.S. homeownership rate bottomed in the second quarter of 2016 and has grown 1.3 percentage points since then. In contrast, the black homeownership rate has fallen 8.6 percentage points since its peak in 2004, hitting its lowest level on record earlier this year. |
|
|
From reporter Ben Eisen: The rise of Hispanic homeownership has broad repercussions for the mortgage market. It has pushed the biggest banks to try to grab more market share among Hispanic home buyers, who have historically gravitated to smaller local or independent lenders. As one former bank executive told me: “This is no longer only the right thing to do. It’s a business imperative.” Banks are making progress in efforts to diversify their sales forces and tailor strategies to individual local markets, key efforts to win over home buyers. But, given tight regulations, they have run into more challenges creating mortgage products specifically for the Hispanic community, where more people are self-employed or live in multigenerational households, market experts say. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
The technology battle between the U.S. and China is raging around the world, but the Philippines is binding its telecommunications future to China’s. The Southeast Asian nation got its first taste of 5G services in late June with gear supplied by Huawei Technologies. This month, a new carrier backed by state-owned China Telecommunications will begin rolling out a network largely designed in China, to be executed by Chinese engineers in the Philippines. The actions are a blow to the U.S., which has in recent months pushed allies to shun Huawei. But as countries such as the Philippines reject Washington’s pressure, Chinese companies are embedding themselves deep in important infrastructure. |
|
|
|
The Moon Landing, 50 Years Later | |
Fifty years ago today, Apollo 11 lifted off, carrying American astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin on their lunar mission. Back on Earth, it was the summer of 1969. From the Amazin’ Mets to “Easy Rider” to the Vietnam War, there was plenty to keep the world occupied while it waited for human beings to land on the moon. Take a look at what else happened on this day in July 1969. |
|
|
What We’re Following | | Tesla Energy Certified Electrician Delane Noonis and Electrician Crew Lead Myles Johnson test a newly installed Tesla solar system at a home in Hidden Valley Lake, Calif. PHOTO: CAYCE CLIFFORD FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL |
|
Alternative Plans: PG&E’s plan to pre-emptively turn off power in parts of California to limit wildfire risks is creating an opportunity for alternative energy companies. PG&E said yesterday it is working to repair nearly 10,000 problems it discovered throughout its electrical system as it steps up efforts to prevent its equipment from sparking more wildfires. Charles Schwab: The discount-brokerage pioneer is in talks to buy brokerage and wealth-management operations from USAA for roughly $2 billion. Oklahoma Case: Attorneys urged a judge to hold Johnson & Johnson responsible for the state’s opioid epidemic and make the company pay more than $17 billion, in the nation’s first trial seeking to hold the pharmaceutical industry accountable for the crisis. Prime Day: Amazon and other big retailers kicked off an annual July sales event that has come to rival Black Friday in terms of discounts and the surge in online shopping. Netflix: The streaming service removed a suicide scene from an episode from the first season of its popular teen drama “13 Reasons Why,” following a debate over whether the show increased the risk of teen suicide. IKEA Factory: The Swedish furniture company is closing its only U.S. manufacturing site and shifting operations to Europe. |
|
|
Trending Stories at WSJ.com Aerospace giants and startups are developing electric aircraft that can navigate autonomously and take off and land vertically, and potentially shuttle around thousands of commuters. (Read) An influx of older employees is breathing new life into Europe’s labor market, but there are worries that the trend could widen the gap in unemployment rates between the old and the young. (Read) |
|
|
What Else We’re Reading A feisty Google adversary, DuckDuckGo, is trying to attract users with a privacy-focused search engine. But taking on an internet giant isn’t easy. (New York Times) Machine-learning technology could give Big Pharma a run for its money in the search for new medicines. (Bloomberg) Pearson, the world’s largest education publisher, has taken the first step toward phasing out print textbooks. (BBC) |
|
|
Today’s Question and Answer In response to our question about the ideas of economists William Darity Jr. and Darrick Hamilton for addressing the racial wealth gap: Joe Novitzki, Colombia I understand why many of the benefits of communism sound appealing to certain groups, but how many case studies do we need to prove to them that it doesn’t work? I’m currently living in Colombia and can ask literally any Venezuelan who has been forced to relocate here how they feel about communism and hear them say, “I wish we realized how good we had it before Chávez...” Stewart D. Cumming, California No one living today deserves any amount of reparations for a practice that was ended more than 150 years ago. Our nation has, over time, recognized the error of its ways and has continually striven to improve conditions for all Americans. Have we more to do? Yes. Reparations to descendants of former slaves aren’t among them, however. Robert A. Kuna Sr., New Jersey What is the difference between reparations and an economic stimulus package? Nothing; both give short-term benefits and no continuing opportunities for growth. We need better education, health care, and job training for our current workforce. This needs to be available to ALL low-income people. Thinking in terms of one-year policies isn’t the answer to our need for 20-year sustained growth for all and for our country. Bridget Barry, Kansas All of the public policy shared is and will be essential for rectifying material disparities between racial groups in the U.S. And material disparities need to be addressed; they are a physically harmful manifestation of racism. And the racial gaps aren’t just a public-policy problem that can be legislated away. It is a representation of spiritual and emotional perversion in which swaths of people are dehumanized and minimized in the hearts and minds of others. The work is for racially privileged groups (whites, most centrally) to unlearn the negativity that was taught about color. And to stop themselves from passing it on to their children. This is internal work that requires thoughtfulness, dialogue, reflection, penance. White folks support policies that redistribute wealth as one way of saying, we are so sorry for our harm, and we want you and your children to live in the fullness of what your ancestors created, and the grace they showed in entering into a relationship with their oppressors. J. Brian Mullen, New York Since Adam Smith wrote “The Wealth of Nations,” agenda-driven economists have been trying to divorce common sense and reality from their pet economic theories. Isn’t it odd that among all the mainstream media attention to these topics—e.g. reparations, guaranteed jobs, Medicare for all, etc.—no one sees articles on the implausibility and realistic financial costs of such schemes? Although the issues are real, these solutions are nothing more than an epilogue to “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” Question for tomorrow’s 10-Point: A judge in Oklahoma is weighing a $17 billion opioid case against Johnson & Johnson. Should pharmaceutical companies be held accountable in the opioid crisis? What outcome are you hoping for in this case? Email us your comments, which we may edit before publication, to 10point@wsj.com, and make sure to include your first and last name and location. |
|
|
| The 10-Point was the name given to the news column that runs on the front page of The Wall Street Journal. Today’s newsletter was curated and edited by Eleanor Miller in New York and Keith Collins in Hong Kong in collaboration with Editor in Chief Matt Murray. Let us know what you think by replying to this email. The 10-Point is a WSJ member benefit. If someone forwarded you this email, we invite you to join us and enjoy the full breadth of scoops, analysis and great storytelling from our journalists around the globe. |
|