Money talks

[timelets]

In August, Republican megadonor and casino magnate Sheldon Adelson called Mr. Trump to drive home a political and economic warning about the U.S.-China tariff escalation he had previously delivered in person.
...
The Oct. 8 briefing, which came two days before trade talks between senior U.S. and Chinese officials, was arranged by Larry Kudlow, the director of the White House National Economic Council. The meeting included Stephen Moore, an economic commentator and a former candidate for the Federal Reserve Board, and Republican economist Lawrence Lindsey, the people said.

“There was a general consensus that the economy was really strong, the best economy we’ve had in 30 years, and that what’s going to get him re-elected is the economy,” said Mr. Moore, who advised Mr. Trump during his 2016 campaign.

But “we all agreed that the uncertainty about the trade situation with China is a negative,” Mr. Moore said.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/top-economic-advisers-warned-trump-on-tariffs-before-china-truce-11571391006

Three days later we had a "tremendous" deal that postponed the tariffs.

Comments

[tijd]

Sheldon Adelson cannot risk his Macau business.

A major blow in the trade war would be for China to allow Hainan to become a gambling destination and divert visitors who would otherwise be visiting Macau; most of the visitors to Macau are from mainland China. Whether Hainan becomes a competing tourist attraction or not, Beijing can always put the squeeze on the American casino operators in Macau, specifically MGM, Wynn and Las Vegas Sands (LVS).
The hurt to LVS would be particularly painful, since slightly more than 60% of the New York-listed company’s revenue comes from Macau. So far since early this year, Macau has been doing nicely, but I wouldn’t want to make book on the future.
LVS is majority-owned by Sheldon Adelson and his family. More than US$30 billion of his net worth is tied to his holding in LVS. As one of Trump’s principal supporters, it’s undoubtedly a good time for Mr Adelson to have a private conversation with the president.
https://www.asiatimes.com/2018/04/opinion/full-tilt-trade-war-will-unintended-serious-consequences/