As expected based on news over the weekend, the US and Mexico have announced a preliminary deal to revise “key portions” of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Notably, Canada is thus far left out in the cold – NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg
And China? Well, even colder – Bloomberg
Pepsi’s recent multi-billion dollar SodaStream purchase is part of broader emergence of seltzer—a rise that’s seen a corresponding fall in the popularity of beverages like soda, coffee, and beer – WSJ
Elon’s recent reversal on going private resolves “one issue” for Tesla and its larger-than-life founder. But both Musk and the carmaker face a host of other ongoing concerns, from profitability to production goals to regulatory scrutiny – NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg
The Nasdaq eclipsed the 8k mark on Monday, just 7 months after it broke the 7k barrier in February, a “pace unmatched since around the height of the dot-com era” – WSJ
The CFPB’s student loan ombudsman has resigned in the midst of an ongoing dispute with acting director Mick Mulvaney over Mulvaney’s commitment to the agency’s mission – Law360 and NPR and WSJ
The White House is promising farmers $4.7 billion in aid to “offset losses from trade disputes with foreign buyers of U.S. agricultural products.” Some farm groups are already saying that the spending “won’t make up for losses from the trade clashes,” with corn farmer, in particular, crying foul – WSJ and Marketplace
Bloomberg gives us this interesting look at what China as superpower looks like and why it’s a very different animal from the world’s current sole superpower – Bloomberg
A recent independent DOJ-mandated audit of Volkswagen AG faults the German automaker for only just starting to implement changes “needed to prevent another scandal,” more than 3 years after news of VW’s diesel emissions scandal became public – WSJ
China’s ride-hailing Uber-killer Didi Chuxing has drawn a “rare rebuke” from state media after another tragic death of a female customer using its carpooling service at the hands of a Didi driver – Bloomberg
Meanwhile, Toyota is dropping $500 million on Uber to aid in its efforts to get self-driving cars on the road. The deal puts Uber’s value at a whopping $72 billion – Bloomberg and NYTimes
Here’s a fascinating New Yorker long read on hyperpolyglots—the rare humans among us who have mastered more than 11 languages—that includes a telling how-to spin through Malta – NewYorker
