Opening Bell: 9.27.18 "Should Be A Quiet Day" Edition
Before Kavanaugh Hearing, New Accusations and Doubts Emerge [NYT]
On the eve of an extraordinary hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee at which both Judge Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, a California professor who has accused him of assaulting her when they were both teenagers, will testify, Mr. Trump said that “some very evil” Democrats had plotted to destroy Judge Kavanaugh’s reputation. And he lamented what he called “a very dangerous period in our country” in which men are presumed guilty.
But even as he described the charges against Judge Kavanaugh as “false accusations,” Mr. Trump seemed, for the first time, to acknowledge the mounting challenges facing his nominee. Asked why he repeatedly sides with men over their female accusers, the president said hearing stories from Dr. Blasey might change his mind.
‘Give it to me’: Trump lets loose with 81 minutes of bluster, falsehoods and insults [WaPo]
By turns fiery and freewheeling, deadly serious and darkly humorous, an animated Trump delivered bluster, falsehoods, insults, breaking news and, as he quipped at one point, more than a hint of his trademark “braggadocios.”
But what was perhaps most remarkable was just how transparent and revealing Trump continues to be, the 45th president of the United States offering glimpses deep into the recesses of his mind as he gleefully took the nation on a tour de force of everything from the fate of Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh (uncertain, but to be determined Thursday) to the job security of Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein (uncertain, but probably fine for now) to his relationship with the New York Times (uncertain, but definitely tortured).
Trump claims he rejected a meeting with Trudeau over NAFTA — but Canada says it never asked to meet [CNBC]
President Donald Trump claimed Wednesday that he rejected a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau this week as the countries struggle to reach a new trade deal.
However, "no meeting was requested" by the Canadian government, Trudeau spokeswoman Eleanore Catenaro said. It underscores the simmering trade tensions between the neighbors and rocky personal relationship between their leaders.
The Trump administration is scrambling to meet a self-imposed Oct. 1 deadline to strike a new North American trade agreement among the U.S., Mexico and Canada. Mexico has already signed on to a deal to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement.
CEO’s Plan to Save Sears Would Hand His Hedge Fund $1 Billion [Bloomberg]
Lampert, Sears Holdings Corp.’s chief executive officer, called this week for the underperforming retailer to stanch the bleeding by paying off certain loans -- many of them owned by his hedge fund -- while swapping other debt for notes that convert to equity. This comes at a time when Sears stock is hovering just above $1 a share, an 87 percent dive in the past year.
“To have debt that’s convertible into equity when the equity is worthless doesn’t appear to be a very attractive proposal at all,’’ said Elliot Lutzker, chairman of the corporate law practice at Davidoff Hutcher & Citron LLP.
EU grudgingly accepts no-deal Brexit would still include some deals [Reuters]
EU envoys of the 27 countries remaining in the bloc after Brexit discussed on Wednesday stepping up contingency planning should no agreement with Britain emerge on how to run the unprecedented process.
“We will wait for if and when the negotiations with Britain officially fail to kickstart more open work among the 27 on preparing for a no-deal,” a senior EU diplomat said. “We’ve given ourselves until November.”
The 27 EU leaders have agreed to meet on the weekend of Nov. 17-18 to sign off on any agreement with Britain, which on March 29, 2019, will become the first country ever to leave the bloc.
Seal Slaps Kayaker In The Face With Octopus Because Nature Is Completely Unhinged [HuffPo]
Kyle Mulinder, a self-described “GoPro content creator,” was kayaking with friends off the coast of Kaikoura when all of a sudden, what was likely a New Zealand fur seal — an animal in the same family as sea lions — broke the surface and smacked him the face with an octopus.
Taiyo Masuda, another GoPro videographer who was also on the trip, posted the jaw-dropping moment to Instagram on Sunday, complete with a slow-motion version if you like to octopi your time with that kind of thing.