January 29, 2017

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Business January 29, 2017

Top Tech Company Leaders Say They Would Not Exist Without Immigrants

Google, Apple, Facebook and Twitter are among companies in the tech and travel sectors which had a strong and swift reaction to President Donald Trump’s executive orders on refugees and immigration.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

President Trump’s executive order is also making waves in the business world. Industries that include tech and travel are reacting strongly, and to learn more about this, we called NPR business reporter Jim Zarroli. Jim, thanks so much for joining us.

JIM ZARROLI, BYLINE: You’re welcome.

MARTIN: So we’ve had some sharp statements this weekend from the heads of Google, Facebook, Apple and Twitter. What are they saying and where does this opposition come from?

ZARROLI: Well, you know, the tech sector relies on a lot of immigrants. The chief executive officer of Microsoft was born in India, so it was Google’s CEO. And there’s just, I think, culturally a very strong belief that immigration is one of the things that makes the tech sector prosper. The CEO of Apple, Tim Cook, said in a statement this weekend – he said Apple would not exist without immigration, let alone thrive and innovate the way we do.

And remember, Michel, Steve Jobs’ biological father was a Syrian immigrant. The president of Microsoft, Brad Smith, said we believe in the importance of protecting legitimate and law-abiding refugees whose lives may be at stake in immigration proceedings. And then just, you know, in practical terms, there are a lot of people who work in the tech sector, you know, who have dual nationals or, you know, they have some kind of work visa. And this really throws their status into some confusion, and it’s a problem for their employers.

MARTIN: But what about companies in other industries? Have we heard leaders in other sectors – spoken out? Have they spoken about the ban either for or against?

ZARROLI: Well, they’re starting to. I mean, one of the interesting things is the Koch brothers’ network which is, of course, not a business, but a very powerful right-wing political fundraising network. It doesn’t – it’s not a business, but it consists of a lot of business people and represents business interests to some degree. They issued a statement saying the travel ban is the wrong approach and will likely be counterproductive. It said our country has benefited tremendously from a history of welcoming people of all cultures and backgrounds.

Then, you know, the travel industry isn’t happy about the ban, largely because it’s, you know – it’s never good for them to have this televised chaos that we’ve seen at the airports. The head of BMW’s North American operations spoke out this weekend. The chief executive of General Electric, Jeff Immelt – very important person in the business world – said GE has many employees from the named countries, and they are critical to our success. And they are our friends and partners. He said that in a – in his staff email. And that…

MARTIN: (Unintelligible).

ZARROLI: …That’s really the thing. I mean, this ban is going be a disruption to a lot of companies, and I think they’re still trying to figure out where it’s going.

MARTIN: Before we let you go, Jim, we have about a minute left. Why do you think more companies have not spoken out one way or the other about this?

ZARROLI: Well, I think one thing was the timing. I mean, this happened late on a Friday, so they maybe haven’t had time to respond. But also, you know, President Trump is still very new in office, and I think people are still trying to decide what to make of him. He’s, you know, of course, very unpredictable which is scary to a lot of business people, but he’s also saying things the business world wants to hear. He wants to do infrastructure spending, cut corporate taxes, get rid of regulations.

I mean, if you’re in the oil business, he’s promising to do all kinds of things that you want. And also, you know, honestly, Trump has shown he can strike back pretty hard against companies when they do or say something he doesn’t like. I mean, look at what happened with Carrier. So I think a lot of companies are just not sure what to say, and they’re reluctant to come out and oppose him too much.

MARTIN: That’s NPR’s Jim Zarroli. Jim, thank you.

ZARROLI: You’re welcome.

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Sports January 29, 2017

Roger Federer Takes Home Australian Open Title In Five-Set Classic

Switzerland’s Roger Federer serves against Spain’s Rafael Nadal during the men’s singles final on day 14 of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 29, 2017. Greg Wood/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Greg Wood/AFP/Getty Images

Roger Federer won his 18th Grand Slam title and put some extra distance on the all-time list between himself and Rafael Nadal, the man he beat 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 in a vintage Australian Open final on Sunday night.

It was the 35-year-old Federer’s first major title since Wimbledon in 2012, his first in Australia since 2010, and it reversed the status quo against his nemesis, Nadal.

Both players were returning from extended layoffs — Federer for six months after Wimbledon with an injured left knee; Nadal for a couple of months with an injured left wrist — and were seeded 17th and ninth respectively.

“It’s been a different last six months, I wasn’t sure I was going to make it here but here I am — we made it,” Federer said after accepting the trophy from Australian great Rod Laver, who lends his name to the main stadium at Melbourne Park.

“I would have been happy to lose too, to be honest. The comeback was perfect as it was. Tennis is a tough sport, there’s no draws. If there was going to be one, I would have been happy to have it tonight and share it with Rafa, really.”

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Federer had lost six of the previous eight Grand Slam finals he’d played against Nadal, and had only previously beaten the left-handed Spaniard in 11 of their 34 matches.

Nadal remains equal second with Pete Sampras on the all-time list, with the last of Nadal’s 14 majors coming at Roland Garros in 2014.

He missed his chance to be the first man in the Open era to win each of the four Grand Slams twice. Instead, Federer became the first man in the Open era to win three Grand Slam titles at least five times (Wimbledon 7 titles, U.S. Open 5, Australian Open 5 and French Open 1).

After four sets where the momentum swung alternately from one player to the next, the fifth had all the tension and drama that these two players are famous for.

Nadal went up an early break and it seemed as if the injury time-out Federer needed after the fourth set may have been an indicator of things to come.
But the Swiss star rallied, and broke back in a pivotal sixth game and took control in a period when he won 10 straight points.

Nadal saved three break points in the eighth game but lost momentum again when Federer finished off a 26-shot rally — the longest of the match — with a forehand winner down the line.

Consecutive forehand errors gave Federer the pivotal break for 5-3, but Nadal made him work for the very last point.

Serving for the match, Federer had to save two break points with an ace and a forehand winner.

At deuce, he was called for a double-fault but challenged the out call on his second serve. The call was overturned, and he got to play two.

Not long after, he fired an ace to get his second match point and hit a forehand crosscourt winner to finish off.

His celebrations were delayed, though, when Nadal challenged the call. Federer watched the replay on the tournament screen, and leaped for joy when it showed his last shot was in. His 100th match at the Australian Open ended with his fifth title at Melbourne Park.

“Congratulation to Roger … Just amazing, the way he’s playing after such a long time of him not being on the tour,” Nadal said. “For sure, you have been working a lot to make that happen. So congratulations.”

Nadal spent two months recovering from a left wrist injury before heading to Brisbane for a warmup tournament, breaking his usual routine. He reached the quarterfinals there, and had no expectations of reaching the final in Australia.

“I had some hard time not being able to compete in full condition. … some injuries, well not new for me, but still tough when it happens,” Nadal said. “I fight a lot these two weeks. Today, a great match, probably Roger deserved it a little bit more than me.”

No two players had met more often in Grand Slam finals in the Open era, and Nadal had previously dominated. But they hadn’t met in a major final since the 2011 French Open, won by Nadal.

Three months ago, they were both on breaks when Federer joined Nadal in Mallorca for the opening of the Spaniard’s tennis academy and the pair joked about ever being able to contend for majors again.

Yet here they were, first Grand Slam tournament of the season, renewing the classic rivalry that saw them dominate tennis a decade ago.

The long-odds final — No. 9 against No. 17 — unfolded after six-time champion Novak Djokovic was shockingly upset by No. 117-ranked Denis Istomin in the second round and top-ranked Andy Murray, a five-time losing finalist in Australia, went out in the fourth round to left-handed serve-volleyer Mischa Zverev.

Federer beat Zverev in the quarterfinals and U.S. Open champion Stan Wawrinka in an all-Swiss semifinal to reach the championship match. The six years between his Australian titles set a record, too, longer than the five years that both Boris Becker and Andre Agassi had between championships in Melbourne.

It capped a remarkable weekend for 30-somethings — all four singles finalists were 30 or older — after Serena Williams beat her sister Venus Williams in the women’s final to capture her Open-era record 23rd Grand Slam title.

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