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The World
Jay Powell has sent his strongest signal yet that the Fed is prepared to raise interest rates by half a percentage point at its meeting next month as the US central bank steps up efforts to fight soaring inflation. “It is appropriate in my view to be moving a little more quickly,” the Fed chair said. “We make these decisions at the meeting and we’ll make them meeting by meeting, but I would say that 50 basis points will be on the table for . . . May.” (Financial Times)
Janet Yellen, US Treasury secretary, urged Europe to be “careful” about imposing a complete ban on Russian energy imports, warning of the potential harm such a move could inflict on the global economy. She said an immediate ban by the EU would “clearly raise global oil prices” and “would have a damaging impact on Europe and other parts of the world”. Yellen added that “counter-intuitively”, a total embargo may not have such a negative impact on Moscow’s finances, with Russia benefiting from higher prices. (Financial Times)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has exchanged letters with outgoing South Korean President Moon Jae-in and thanked him for trying to improve relations, state media KCNA reported, amid tension over Pyongyang's weapons tests. Meanwhile, President Biden is finalizing plans to visit South Korea and then Japan in late May. (Reuters, Axios)
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has privately told members of Congress he's concerned with the Biden administration’s handling of its plans to lift Title 42 on May 23. The private airings by Mayorkas, recounted by lawmakers, belie public posturing that the administration is prepared for a potential influx of migrants. The secretary is not only charged with protecting the border but overseeing the process of ending the Trump-era immigration control. (Axios)
41% of Americans report worrying a great deal about the issue of illegal immigration, with another 19% worried a fair amount. The 41% currently worried a great deal roughly ties the percentage found a year ago but is otherwise on the high end of Gallup readings taken over the past decade. The only time significantly more Americans were this concerned was in 2007, when 45% worried a great deal as then-President George W. Bush and Congress debated comprehensive immigration reform. (Gallup)
Shanghai authorities doubled down on their offensive against COVID-19, launching a new round of city-wide testing and warning residents their three-week lockdown would only be lifted in batches once transmission is stamped out. (Reuters)
Philadelphia to end indoor mask mandate: The reverse decision comes only a few days after Philadelphia became the first major city in the U.S. to reinstate its Covid-19 mask mandate for indoor activities. (NBC Philadelphia)
L.A. County will keep mask mandate at airports, on public transit, despite federal changes. (Los Angeles Times)
Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen ramped up their campaigning with a hectic schedule of last-minute visits to attract floating voters, as France’s hotly contested presidential race enters its final hours. While the vote is on Sunday, under French election rules all campaigning and opinion polling must end by midnight on Friday, and on Thursday the two candidates rushed to squeeze in time on the road. (The Guardian)
Job recruiting on college campuses roars back to life: As job recruiters swarm back to America’s college campuses, career fairs aren’t enough to stand out in the competitive labor market. Now, some employers are pulling out all the stops with intimate gatherings and flashy presentations. Young professionals coming out of college this spring are in high demand. Employers plan to hire at least 30% more new graduates this year than they did last year, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers. In some fields, including technology, finance and consulting, starting salaries are even in the six figures. And while many in Gen Z say they wish to work remotely at least part of the time, some are eager to partake of office life. (Wall Street Journal)
Economy
Humana Inc. agreed to sell control of a hospice business to buyout firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice for $2.8 billion in cash. The health insurer will divest a 60% stake in its Kindred at Home unit’s hospice and personal-care divisions. “The senior population is growing at a pretty incredible rate -- that’s putting huge demand on the system,” CD&R Partner Ravi Sachdev said in an interview. “Given all of the labor challenges that are out there and the demand on infrastructure, we think there’s a significant opportunity to support Humana in this business and to invest to support that underlying trend.” … “This deal greatly expands choices for patients,” Anand Shah, an operating adviser to CD&R, said in an interview. “When a primary care physician or a specialist that’s taking care of a patient is able to coordinate care with hospice, it leads to a successful network effect.” (Bloomberg)
Mortgage rates jumped again heading into the year’s busiest stretch for home sales. The average rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 5.11%. The rate hit 5% last week for the first time since 2011, up from 3.22% at the beginning of 2022. (Wall Street Journal)
Global investment banks are pushing ahead with ambitious expansion plans in Shanghai even as a strict lockdown in China’s financial capital forces them to make emergency food deliveries to some staff and leaves others camped out on trading floors. Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are among banks to have moved staff from Hong Kong to Shanghai in recent weeks. They are also part of a group, including Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, UBS, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank, to have earmarked Shanghai as a target for major investment in coming years. (Financial Times)
US could lower China tariffs to combat inflation, White House adviser suggests: The Trump-era duties on items like bicycles and underwear serve no strategic purpose, says national security official Daleep Singh. There may be an ‘opportunity’ to look into the import duties amid rising prices and China’s own supply chain concerns, he notes. (South China Morning Post)
The Chinese government has approved the construction of six reactors as part of a plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than doubling nuclear power capacity this decade. (Nikkei Asia Review)
Technology
Elon Musk has unveiled a $46.5bn financing package to fund his takeover bid for Twitter as he pushes ahead with a deal that would be one of the largest leveraged buyouts in history. The billionaire chief executive of Tesla has lined up $25.5bn in debt — including a margin loan of $12.5bn against his shares in the electric vehicle maker — from a group of banks led by Morgan Stanley, his financial adviser. Separately, he said he would provide $21bn of equity for the deal. (Financial Times)
If Elon Musk is able to take over Twitter Inc., his biggest promise is to transform it into a platform for free speech with few restrictions — something he calls “essential to a functioning democracy.” But Musk, who is famously sensitive to criticism, has a mixed record on championing the cause. The 50-year-old billionaire has donated over $6 million to the American Civil Liberties Union in the last five years, making him one of its most substantial donors, and he’s discussed free speech on numerous occasions with the organization’s executive director. But in his tweets, public remarks and policies at the businesses he runs, Musk shows little tolerance for speech that’s unflattering to him or his companies. The Tesla CEO’s tactics have included NDAs and public shaming of perceived enemies. (Bloomberg)
The EU is poised to unveil a law today that will force Big Tech to police their platforms more aggressively over illegal content, marking the latest move by regulators to curb the power of large technology groups. The practice of targeting users online based on their religion, gender or sexual preferences will be banned under the Digital Services Act. The DSA is a legislative package that sets for the first time the rules on how Big Tech should keep users safe online. It comes a month after the EU passed the Digital Markets Act, as it pushes ahead with the biggest overhaul of the laws governing the world’s biggest technology companies in more than two decades. (Financial Times)
Why BeReal, a social-media app with no photo filters, is attracting Gen Z: At a seemingly random point every 24 hours, Kevin Lee gets a notification to post a selfie. “Time to BeReal,” says the alert on his phone, and a two-minute countdown clock begins. Some mornings, the 27-year-old software engineer from Los Angeles receives the notification before he has gotten out of bed. “I look terrible. But I just do it,” Mr. Lee said. He is one of nearly 6.8 million people who have downloaded BeReal over the past two years, according to data from mobile-market intelligence company Sensor Tower. The app—pitched by its makers as an authentic, unfiltered alternative to the curated posts on Instagram and TikTok—has gained currency among younger people, particularly college students. Most of BeReal’s users, such as Mr. Lee, joined this year, according to researcher Apptopia. (Wall Street Journal)
Smart Links
a16z Crypto is launching an academic research lab focused on web3. (The Block)
France issues international arrest warrant for Carlos Ghosn. (Wall Street Journal)
Chip-starved firms are scavenging silicon from washing machines. (Bloomberg)
CNN+ streaming service will shut down weeks after its start. (New York Times)
Snap reports ‘challenging’ quarter that missed sales and profit estimates. (CNBC)