The Wall Street Journal - 21.10.2019

** MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2019 ~ VOL. CCLXXIV NO. 95 WSJ.com HHHH $4.

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Brexit

Deal

Fa c e s

Another

Big Vote

After foiled first try, Johnson races to win over lawmakers ahead of an Oct. 31 deadline

Skirmishes Break Out Amid Cease-Fire Between Turkey, Kurds

CLASHES: A Syrian man received treatment Sunday in the border town of Tal Abiad, which was seized by Turkey-backed forces last week. Turkey and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces accused each other of violating a cease-fire agreement. A

BAKR ALKASEM/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

Old-School

Rootsofa

British Fight iii

Eton College

alums on both

sides of EU exit

BYALISTAIRMACDONALD ANDMAXCOLCHESTER

Brexit has riven families and friends across a divided Britain. It has challenged the country’s constitution and sucked in its revered monarch. And the “old boys” of Eton, the prestigious private school, are fighting over who’s to blame. Eton College, the 580- year-old boarding school for boys, educated many of the lawmakers most closely asso- ciated with Brexit, both for and against Britain’s break with the European Union. In class-obsessed Britain, this has inextricably linked the country’s best-known private school to the highly conten- tious Brexit process. For some “old Etonians,” or OEs, that’s somewhat awk- ward. Old Etonian David Cam- eron was the prime minister Please turn to page A

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to bring his Brexit deal back to Parliament this week for a critical vote after lawmakers forced him to ask the European Union for another delay to Britain’s withdrawal.

Mr. Johnson will try as soon as Monday to secure the votes he needs to win approval, potentially paving the way for the U.K. to leave the EU after more than three years of nego- tiation and fierce debate. Downing Street would hope to use a win to attempt to race through the final stages of leg- islative scrutiny in time for an Oct. 31 deadline and make any extension unnecessary. Mr. Johnson’s minority government is within a hand- ful of votes of winning pas- sage for his deal. But it isn’t yet clear that he can com- mand enough support from rebel and opposition lawmakers to ratify it, a goal that eluded his predecessor, The- resa May, on three occasions, leading her to step down. Another question is whether his Brexit blueprint can pass through lawmakers’ hands without alteration from pro- and anti-Brexit factions eager to make their mark on the terms of the U.K.’s withdrawal in ways that the gov- Please turn to page A

By Jason Douglas in London and Laurence Norman in Brussels

Conservatives who fought ‘no deal’ become a big deal...... A Global risks send investors on a search for havens................ B

WASHINGTON—President Trump faces increasing public and private scrutiny from his own party over a series of recent White House moves, as the House impeachment inquiry re- duces his margin for error with fellow Republicans and makes him more vulnerable to attacks. In the past several days, Mr. Trump has been forced to drop plans to host next year’s Group of Seven summit at his Doral

White House Decisions Test

Republican Support for Trump

golf resort, and a top aide has tried to walk back comments linking Ukraine military aid to an investigation of the president’s political opponents. The fallout of Mr. Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria has continued to draw widespread criticism, includ- ing from Republicans. Mr. Trump’s support within his party will face fresh tests this week, as key witnesses from the State Department and Pentagon are expected to testify in closed hearings be-

fore a trio of House commit- tees on the president’s deal- ings with Ukraine. Few in the GOP have gone so far as to suggest the impeachment effort against Mr. Trump is warranted, and Republicans have often remained supportive of the president on that issue despite any disagreements on specific policies. But Republicans are making clear to the White House that it is becoming harder to justify blanket support for the president in the wake of recent

events. “What you have in recent days are landfills of toxic talk- ing points,” said Rick Tyler, the communications director for Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s 2016 Re- publican presidential bid. “It’s systematic mismanagement.” Private criticism from Re- publican lawmakers about Mr. Please turn to page A

BYMICHAELC.BENDER

ANDVIVIANSALAMA

debt. Yet bond ratings for the maker of Rubbermaid contain- ers and Sharpie markers ha- ven’t budged. When S&P and Moody’s made their upbeat projections in 2018, they made an error that understated Newell’s in- debtedness, according to a Wall Street Journal review of the rating firms’ calculations. They have since fixed their numbers, but they still rate Newell investment-grade. In- vestors have been less forgiv-

ing, selling off the bonds and driving up their yield. Moody’s and S&P didn’t dis- pute revising their calculations, but they said the changes didn’t affect their ratings. Amid an epic corporate borrowing spree, ratings firms have given leeway to other big borrowers like Kraft Heinz Co. and Campbell Soup Co., allowing their balance sheets to swell. “It’s pretty eye-popping if you’ve been doing this for 20- Please turn to page A

In August, bond-ratings firms Moody’s Corp. and S&P Global Inc. predicted that New- ell Brands Inc. would soon reduce its heavy debt load, allowing it to keep its coveted investment-grade bond rating. They made the same predic- tion in 2018. And in 2017. And in 2016. And in 2015, when the company announced a big merger that quadrupled its

BYGUNJANBANERJI

ANDCEZARYPODKUL

Ratings Firms Give Leeway

To Some Big Borrowers

Non-financialcorporatedebt

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Note: Quarterly, seasonally adjusted

$10 trillion

0

2

4

6

8

2009 ’ 11 ’ 13 ’ 15 ’ 17 ’ 19

known as influencers, who pitch their products on social media. Yet with no way to measure sales or verify how many people even see the ads, the companies that paved the way for the influ- encer economy—mostly early adopters like Ipsy—are questioning if it’s worth it. What began as friends and family sharing their fa- vorite products has become a lucrative advertising in- Please turn to page A

Ipsy, an online cosmetic brand, was a pioneer in pay- ing social-media stars hefty fees to promote its eye shadow and lip gloss in In- stagram posts and YouTube videos. Now, the brand is leading the way again, this time by pulling back. Companies will funnel billions of dollars this year to the online personalities,

BYSUZANNEKAPNER

ANDSHARONTERLEP

Advertisers Sour on

Online Influencers

Billions go to social-media personalities in an unregulated market riddled with deceit

INSIDE

Sluggish fundraising looms over Biden campaign............ A Trump weighs plan to keep troops near Syria oil fields... A

SPORTS

The Yankees’

decade of almost:

$2 billion spent,

zero titles won A

GREATER NEW YORK

Prison debaters who

beat Harvard look to

new round of

opportunity A12B

THOMAS A. FERRARA/NEWSDAY/GETTY IMAGES JAMES SPRANKLE FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

TurntopageR14toseehowourspecialistscananswerallyourfuturesquestions.

How do I diversify with futures?

CONTENTS Business & Finance B Business News...... B Crossword.............. A Heard on Street... B Life & Arts...... A13- Opinion.............. A17-

Outlook.........................A Small Business.......B Sports........................ A Technology.................B U.S. News............. A2- Weather................... A World News...... A6-

What’s

News

Johnson is set to bring his Brexit deal back to Par- liament for a critical vote after lawmakers forced the prime minister to ask the EU for another delay to Britain’s withdrawal. A1, A Trump faces increasing Republican scrutiny over a series of recent moves as a House impeachment inquiry makes him more vulnerable to attacks within the party. A The Kurdish-led SDF said its fighters withdrew from a key border town in northeastern Syria, fulfill- ing a part of the U.S.-Turkey cease-fire agreement. A Esper and Pelosi made un- announced visits to Afghani- stan to reassure the government that the U.S. wouldn’t abandon the country. A The Trump administration’s cuts to the refugee pro- gram will make it harder for a future administration to re- sume accepting refugees. A Judicial vacancies and a wave of immigration cases are threatening to over- whelm the federal court system in New Mexico. A Joko Widodo was sworn in for his second and final five-year term as Indonesia’s president. A

R

atings firms have given leeway to big borrowers like Kraft Heinz and Campbell Soup, allowing their balance sheets to swell, amid a corporate borrowing boom. A Boeing leaders are under intensifying scrutiny over the 737 MAX crisis as new details point to management pres- sure on commercial-aircraft unit engineers and pilots. B The impact of the strike at GM is intensifying across the Midwest, hit- ting more businesses and auto-parts suppliers. A Delegates at the IMF’s fall meetings said the biggest risks to the global economy are trade uncertainties and divisions among nations over how to reduce them. A Shale companies are try- ing to court investors with a new and potentially risky financial instrument that re- sembles mortgage bonds. B New state laws encour- aging child sex-abuse vic- tims to come forward are expected to spur a wave of lawsuits against insurers. B An ex-Wynn Resorts employee claimed it orga- nized spying against him after he described sexual- misconduct allegations against founder Wynn. B

Business&Finance

World-Wide

JOURNAL REPORT

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