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7 days ago
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Mike Duggan, Dan Gilbert chat about downtown Detroit and what Bill Clinton saw in 1991
'You can't be just book smart being a mayor, you've got to be street smart — which you've proven," Dan Gilbert, the billionaire businessman, told Detroit mayor and 2026 gubernatorial candidate Mike Duggan on Thursday, May 29, as they shared a stage at the Mackinac Policy Conference. For about 40 minutes, the two leaders had a formal one-on-one, focusing mostly on Detroit and the improvements in the city since Duggan took office as mayor in January 2014. Their chat touched on an array of Detroit subjects, including the controversial Renaissance Center redevelopment plan, the expected future downtown Apple Store and the surprise discovery about the city that future U.S. President Bill Clinton made during an early 1990s visit. The mayor gave Gilbert credit for his firm's numerous investments that helped to dramatically revive downtown, attracting many new visitors and new residents. Duggan recalled how on weekdays in downtown Detroit in the 1980s, people would arrive at 8:30 a.m. to start work, and by 5:30 p.m., nearly everyone was heading back out for home. 'If you were still on the streets at 6 o'clock, it was empty ― I am not exaggerating," Duggan said. Duggan said he was part of a group in fall 1991 that welcomed Bill Clinton to the city for a presidential campaign visit. The event ended around 5:30 p.m., and the gregarious Clinton, who was then still just an Arkansas governor, was adamant on going out to walk around downtown and shake hands and introduce himself to people. 'I said, Governor, that's not really going to work," Duggan recalled. "He said, 'Oh no, you haven't seen me work. I can do this anywhere.' I said 'Oh no, you really don't understand.' "He said, 'What's your Main Street. I said Woodward. He says, 'We're going.' ' Clinton ended up outside near the vacant yet then-still-standing J.H. Hudson department store. It didn't take long for the future president to realize that his Detroit hosts weren't exaggerating about downtown's desolation. "And he's on the street — 'I'm Bill Clinton. I'm running for president,' " Duggan said. "And people walked around him like he's a homeless guy. He looks up and down the street and says, 'Nobody is here.' And I said 'I was trying to explain this to you.' " More: Duggan's $4.5B education plan includes firing unsuccessful principals, superintendents In 2025, downtown Detroit is a different story. 'You come downtown today, there are more people on the street and weekends than there are at noon at lunchtime. It is a completely transformed city," said Duggan, a Democratic mayor who is running for governor as an independent. Duggan marveled to Gilbert about the influx of new retailers to downtown in recent years, many of them tenants in Gilbert's Bedrock-owned buildings, including Nike, Gucci and the athleisure brand Alo, which is set to open this summer in the new Hudson's Detroit development. 'What's amazing now is we get calls from retailers all over the country," Gilbert said. 'It used to be us calling them and begging them.' Duggan asked Gilbert whether there has been a formal announcement yet for one of the worst-kept secrets in Detroit: the expected opening of an Apple Store on Woodward Avenue, just north of the Shinola Hotel. (Also in a Bedrock-owned building.) Gilbert stopped short of offering any confirmation for an Apple Store coming to 1426-1434 Woodward. He did say, however, "it's not us, they want to announce it themselves." The conversation soon turned to the city's riverfront, and how it, too, once had few visitors, but thanks to years of investments and improvements, the RiverWalk is now an incredibly popular destination for Detroiters and city visitors from all walks of life. Then Duggan added: "And if we could just get somebody to take down two towers of the Renaissance Center and build Navy Pier sitting in that hole in the middle, it would be perfect.' Bedrock and General Motors are collaborating on that $1.6 billion redevelopment proposal for the RenCen that calls for demolishing the complex's massive concrete podium and two of the five original 1977 towers, and then using the vacated space to create a park and entertainment district around the site that would be comparable to Chicago's Millennium Park and Navy Pier. The proposal was first unveiled late last year, but hinges on some $250 million to $350 million of potential public incentives, most of which would require state-level approvals that haven't yet been forthcoming. Responding to Duggan's reference to the RenCen redevelopment, Gilbert said, "If we get a governor that can support us in that, that would be great, too." Dugan: 'The good news is I think you already have a governor who supports you." Gilbert: 'She does." Duggan: "We just got to get a few legislators on your side.' Near the end of their chat, Gilbert said people from all over the country have been calling up Bedrock to tour downtown Detroit and get pointers on urban planning and "placemaking." That includes members of the family behind the retail giant Walmart, he said, who recently visited for possible ideas for the corporation's hometown of Bentonville, Arkansas. 'You've done so many amazing things," Duggan told Gilbert. "I will say this. I think, at the end of the day, what you are doing on the riverfront with the Renaissance Center, if you pull that off, it will be the biggest accomplishment for the city." Contact JC Reindl: 313-378-5460 or jcreindl@ Follow him on X @jcreindl This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Duggan, Gilbert chat about Detroit and what Bill Clinton saw in '91
Yahoo
7 days ago
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Michigan author signing copies of Grand Hotel-set thriller on Mackinac Island on May 31
The annual Mackinac Policy Conference, being held this week, is one of the state of Michigan's most important and revered events, drawing the governor, mayors, county executives, business leaders, arts professionals and media figures for a days-long discussion about the present and future of Michigan's economy. The conference also provides the setting for "The Grand Secret," an intriguing murder thriller dreamed up by Michigan author Ed McKenna. In his 2023 tale, a high-profile auto executive is murdered at Mackinac Island's Grand Hotel, and a man framed for the crime goes on the run for his life. McKenna, a South Lyon resident and Michigan State University alum, will be on the island this weekend to sign copies of his book. The author, who'd always wanted to write a book, adhered to the age-old 'write what you know' approach while creating "The Grand Secret." Regional readers will fondly recognize in the thriller's pages references to Hamtramck, the Cadillac plant, the Renaissance Center, Lafayette Coney Island, Wyandotte, Chene Park, Belle Isle and more. More: Politicians and business leaders gather for annual Mackinac Policy Conference More: 7 questions for Michigan's chief growth officer as state population edges up 'I met my wife on Mackinac Island,' McKenna said. 'My daughter's birthday is the same as the Grand Hotel — July 10. My last name, McKenna, is the same as Jane Seymour's was in the movie 'Somewhere in Time,' which was filmed at the Grand Hotel, and I've served as a tour guide up on Mackinac Island. "I thought: The Grand Hotel is an icon that people from all over the world come to experience. Wouldn't it be interesting if a big event was being held at the Grand Hotel, and during the course of this event, a major character is murdered? And from that premise came the birth of 'The Grand Secret.'' McKenna, a Michigan resident since early childhood, grew up in Taylor. '(I) still have a lot of friends in the Downriver area,' he said. 'Spent many summer days traipsing through the fields on bikes, catching crayfish, snakes, tadpoles and turtles. We'd catch small catfish in coffee cans. Riding motorcycles through the fields and the woods. I was fortunate and had a great experience growing up in Taylor. Now, I travel all throughout Michigan for my job. I'm a fan for all the sports teams. Love the resort areas, the fishing, the lakes, the camping. Michigan is my home.' He said he has two hopes for the book. 'My hope,' he said, 'is that someone will read the first page, which will draw them in, leading them to turn to another page, and then to another, pulling them all the way through, where they won't want to put it down. If I've been able to do that, then I feel proud that I've been able to put something together that's interesting and entertaining enough and I've done my job as a writer and a storyteller. And maybe folks were able to learn a little something along the way that they didn't know before they read my book. 'If it is successful, I hope it will make other people from around the country aware of what a jewel of a state we have. I hope it will foster their desire to want to come here and taste Michigan for themselves. I hope it makes businesses want to come here and set up shop. I hope people want to make Michigan their vacation of choice. And their home of choice. And I hope through all of this that this book can make a difference and be an added cog in the wheel to ratchet up the economy here and nationally.' He also confessed that he thinks the book would make a great movie — in case Hollywood is paying attention. 'All I ask is that you read the first four pages,' he said. 'If that doesn't pull you through to turn to the next page, and then to the next one, and so on, and so on, then this book isn't meant for you. But I think in the end, you'll be glad you did.' On May 31, McKenna will be signing his books at Island Bookstore on Mackinac Island from 1 to 3 p.m. The bookstore is at 7372 Main St. 'The Grand Secret' is also available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other retailers. Contact Free Press arts and culture reporter Duante Beddingfield at dbeddingfield@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan author sets murder-thriller novel on Mackinac Island
Yahoo
08-05-2025
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Trump Expected to Unveil US-UK Trade Pact After Tariff Talks
(Bloomberg) -- Supply Lines is a daily newsletter that tracks global trade. Sign up here. The Battle Over the Fate of Detroit's Renaissance Center Vail to Borrow Muni Debt to Ease Ski Resort Town Housing Crunch Is Trump's Plan to Reopen the Notorious Alcatraz Prison Realistic? Iceland Plans for a More Volcanic Future Donald Trump is expected to announce a trade agreement with the UK on Thursday, according to people familiar with the matter, in a limited deal that may nonetheless signal the direction of the US president's global trade war. Trump teased the announcement in a social media post on Wednesday night, saying he would hold an Oval Office news conference to discuss 'a MAJOR TRADE DEAL WITH REPRESENTATIVES OF A BIG, AND HIGHLY RESPECTED, COUNTRY.' While the details weren't immediately clear, American and British officials were in talks this week about plans to reduce tariffs on cars and steel, among many levies imposed by the US president on allies and rivals alike in recent weeks. Subscribe to the Bloomberg Daybreak Podcast on Apple, Spotify and other Podcast Platforms. During a speech in London to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he'd provide an update on US talks later Thursday, while a British official signaled Trump's announcement is expected to be about the agreement with Britain. 'Make no mistake, I will always act in our national interest for workers, business, and families to deliver security and renewal,' Starmer said, describing the US as 'indispensable' to Britain's economic and national security.' Optimism that a deal will be positive for the UK economy lifted stocks and the pound. Sterling gained against the euro and outperformed all Group-of-10 peers except the dollar, while the FTSE rose 0.3%. Gilts were broadly steady at the open, slightly bettering peers, as traders awaited the Bank of England interest-rate decision later on Thursday. The US president has faced political pressure to find an off-ramp from his plan to raise US tariffs to their highest level in a century, as polls show Americans souring on his economic stewardship. Trump signaled the deal he'll discuss would be the first of many as he looks to topple barriers to US exports and calm market turmoil driven by the sweeping scope of his tariffs. 'This announcement is likely just an agreement to start the negotiations, identifying a framework of issues to be discussed in the coming months,' said Tim Brightbill, a trade attorney at Wiley Rein LLP. 'We suspect that tariff rates, non-tariff barriers, and digital trade are all on the list — and there are difficult issues to address on all of these.' Big Caveats Any agreement would come with significant caveats. Full-scale trade pacts typically take years to negotiate, and talks with several nations have centered around, at best, a top-line deal on commitments and intentions that may leave many details traditionally included in comprehensive trade agreements to be negotiated later. Talks with the UK have focused on a few areas such as tech and AI, with Starmer's Labour government keen to reduce the scale of US tariffs — particularly the 25% rate on British cars and steel. With the Trump administration conducting an investigation into the pharmaceutical industry, Britain is also seeking to avoid the prospect of tariffs on drugs — a major export to the US. While the scale of a pact is likely to be limited, it would give a boost to Starmer, whose administration announced a more comprehensive trade deal with India on Wednesday. Starmer has tried to maintain close and warm relations with Trump, holding regular phone calls and promising a second state visit to the UK — partly in the hope of securing lower tariffs than those imposed on other peer countries. That approach has had mixed success. The UK was given the lowest rate of tariffs, with 10% across most goods, yet was subsequently left no better off than EU countries when Trump temporarily cut their rate. In recent days, the US president has proposed tariffs on the film industry — a major UK export. An expansion of tariffs beyond goods is ominous for the British economy, which is dominated by its service sector. The White House didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the country involved or scope of any potential deal. The UK embassy in Washington also did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The White House's public schedule for Thursday, released late Wednesday after Trump's post, simply describes the event by saying 'THE PRESIDENT makes a Trade Announcement.' The New York Times first reported it would be with the UK. Trump administration officials are conducting a flurry of simultaneous negotiations with a range of countries, after the president paused sweeping tariffs on more than 50 economies that have substantial trade deficits with the US announced as part of his April 2 'Liberation Day' tariff offensive, as well as a global 10% levy applied to nearly all US trading partners. The White House has also issued sectoral tariffs including on steel and automobiles, and threatened more besides on a wide range of industries from pharmaceuticals to lumber to foreign-made movies. Trump has offered few indications about the outlines of an acceptable trade deal, though aides have indicated that initial announcements are likely to serve as frameworks for additional negotiations down the road. Britain announced a major new trade deal with India on Tuesday, the largest the UK has signed since it left the European Union, as it seeks to deepen economic ties with other nations amid the Trump tariff fallout. Economists, including senior BOE officials, have warned that a widespread trade war would hurt the UK even if it secures lower tariffs from the White House — largely as a result of the open nature of Britain's economy. Other nations with talks at high levels include Japan, India and Israel. Trump surprised Japanese negotiators by personally joining in talks last month, while Vice President JD Vance traveled to India for discussions that included trade. While any announcement is likely to buoy markets, investors will be watching closely to see the extent to which Trump is willing to backtrack from the sweeping tariffs imposed on April 2. The US president has also repeatedly refused to say if he would be willing to negotiate tariff rates below the 10% baseline rate he imposed on nearly all nations earlier this year. And negotiations with China, the world's second largest economy remain at a nascent stage. Trump said earlier Wednesday he was unwilling to preemptively lower tariffs on China in order to unlock more substantive negotiations with Beijing on trade. 'No,' Trump said Wednesday when asked by a reporter if he is open to pulling back his 145% duties on Chinese imports. --With assistance from Hadriana Lowenkron, Lianting Tu, John Harney, Meghashyam Mali, Justin Sink, Simon Kennedy and Alex Wickham. (Updates with Starmer remarks in third paragraph.) US Border Towns Are Being Ravaged by Canada's Furious Boycott Pre-Tariff Car Buying Frenzy Leaves Americans With a Big Debt Problem Made-in-USA Wheelbarrows Promoted by Trump Are Now Made in China Inside the Dizzying Chaos of Running a Freight Business Under Trump Why Juggling IVF With Work Can Be a Career Killer ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Yahoo
06-05-2025
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Hong Kong Ramps Up FX Intervention to Defend Currency Peg
(Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong authorities ramped up sales of the local dollar as the greenback's slide threatened the foreign-exchange peg. The Battle Over the Fate of Detroit's Renaissance Center NYC Real Estate Industry Asks Judge to Block New Broker Fee Law NJ Transit Strike Would Be 'Disaster' for Region, Sherrill Says Iceland Plans for a More Volcanic Future Vail to Borrow Muni Debt to Ease Ski Resort Town Housing Crunch The Hong Kong Monetary Authority sold a record HK$60.5 billion ($7.8 billion) of the city's currency, according to an alert sent on its Bloomberg page Tuesday in Asia, after it tested the upper end of its trading band. That added to the HK$56.1 billion of sales versus the greenback since Friday. The rapid intervention signals efforts from the city's authorities to limit the currency's moves within its 7.75-7.85 per dollar trading band. Asian currencies are clocking in unprecedented gains on hopes the world's two largest economies will reach a truce on trade and as doubts over US exceptionalism pummel the dollar. Heavy sales of the local dollar by the HKMA helped dampen Hong Kong's borrowing rates that were elevated amid demand for the currency to subscribe shares of Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd, which is expected to be the city's biggest listing in years. Lower borrowing costs may also help support Hong Kong's economy in the face of US tariffs. The HKMA's Hong Kong dollar sales 'may help buffer potential liquidity tightness at an upcoming IPO, together with other inflows,' said Frances Cheung, head of FX and rates strategy at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. She sees the currency peg resulting in a relatively soft Hong Kong dollar compared with peers in times of greenback weakness. The Hong Kong dollar's exchange rate has been on a strengthening bias recently, mainly driven by an increase in market carry-trade activities and equity-related demand for Hong Kong dollars, HKMA Chief Executive Eddie Yue told lawmakers. The local financial market has operated in an orderly manner, he said. Demand for Hong Kong dollars in the capital market has been high of late as Chinese investors poured money in Hong Kong stocks this year. Currency conversions related to dividend payments by Chinese companies listed in Hong Kong added to demand for the local currency. Before Friday, the last time the HKMA intervened to cap the currency's gains was in 2020. In comparison, it has stepped into the market in 2022 and 2023 to put a floor under the currency when it threatened to breach the weak end of its trading band. Hong Kong set up the currency peg in 1983 to arrest a plunge triggered by concern over talks to hand over the British colony to China. The trading band was widened in 2005 to what it currently is. The recent HKMA interventions are also expected to drive up its aggregate balance, a measure of interbank liquidity, providing more firepower to authorities to defend the currency in episodes of weakness. The gauge was hovering near the lowest level since 2008, after the HKMA sold US dollars to defend the peg. The accumulated intervention amount this time around is likely to overtake the HK$383.5 billion recorded in 2020 after the Covid outbreak, Bloomberg Intelligence strategist Stephen Chiu and Chunyu Zhang wrote in a note. The one-month Hong Kong Interbank Offered Rate fell to 3.66% on Tuesday following HKMA's interventions, the lowest in two weeks. The recent rally in currencies of trade-dependent Asian economies is causing headaches for policymakers. While currency strength can help attract foreign inflows and make imports cheaper, it may hurt exporters by making their goods less competitive globally. The Taiwan dollar's surge by the most in four decades prompted the island's central bank to say on Monday that it would step into the foreign-exchange market if stability was threatened. As for the Hong Kong dollar, Citigroup Inc. expects HKMA interventions to continue. 'We expect further intervention on the strong side of the trading band given greenback weakness trend may have more room to run,' strategist Adrienne Lui wrote in a note. (Updates with HKMA comments in the 6th paragraph.) US Border Towns Are Being Ravaged by Canada's Furious Boycott Made-in-USA Wheelbarrows Promoted by Trump Are Now Made in China Inside the Dizzying Chaos of Running a Freight Business Under Trump 100 Moments You Might Have Missed From Trump's First 100 Days How an Israeli Hostage Negotiator Outsmarts Ransomware Hackers ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
06-05-2025
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Gold Extends Gains on Demand From China Following Holidays
(Bloomberg) -- Gold extended gains — following a surge of almost 3% on Monday — as the world's biggest bullion buyer came back from holiday, boosting demand despite a firmer dollar. The Battle Over the Fate of Detroit's Renaissance Center NYC Real Estate Industry Asks Judge to Block New Broker Fee Law NJ Transit Strike Would Be 'Disaster' for Region, Sherrill Says Iceland Plans for a More Volcanic Future Vail to Borrow Muni Debt to Ease Ski Resort Town Housing Crunch The precious metal rose as much as 1.6% to above $3,387 an ounce as China returned from a five-day break. Buyers have been piling into gold on the conviction that it's record-setting rally still has room to run. 'Dip buyers returned to markets as China reopened this morning,' said Priyanka Sachdeva, an analyst at Phillip Nova. A stronger dollar today will likely keep a lid on further upward momentum for gold, she added. Bullion's status as a safe haven has been reinforced by the market chaos unleashed by US President Donald Trump's aggressive trade policy. His moves to impose, then pause, sweeping tariffs on imports have undermined the dollar's traditional role as a haven and led investors to boost allocations away from US assets. The precious metal has surged by more than a quarter this year, hitting a record just above $3,500 an ounce in April, before losing some ground in the last couple of weeks. The ascent has been driven by haven buying as the trade war unnerved investors, as well as by speculative demand in China and central-bank buying. Spot gold rose 0.8% to $3,359.61 an ounce at 12:28 p.m. in Singapore. That was in spite of a stronger greenback, with a gauge of its strength advancing as much as 0.2% after data showed activity at US service providers accelerated in April. Silver, palladium and platinum climbed. Elsewhere, investors are looking ahead to the Federal Reserve's midweek interest-rate decision. Policymakers are widely expected to hold rates steady when they conclude their meeting on Wednesday, despite Trump ratcheting up pressure on Chair Jerome Powell to loosen. Lower borrowing costs tend to benefit bullion as it doesn't pay interest. US Border Towns Are Being Ravaged by Canada's Furious Boycott Made-in-USA Wheelbarrows Promoted by Trump Are Now Made in China Inside the Dizzying Chaos of Running a Freight Business Under Trump 100 Moments You Might Have Missed From Trump's First 100 Days How an Israeli Hostage Negotiator Outsmarts Ransomware Hackers ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
