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The World
Sweden will jettison 200 years of military non-alignment and apply to join NATO alongside its neighbor Finland, a move that would change the geopolitics of Europe and underscore the unintended consequences of Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. In a momentous day for the Nordic nations, Finland said it would formally apply for Nato membership in the coming days, while the ruling Social Democrats in Sweden broke with tradition and said they would follow suit. “Europe, Sweden and the Swedish public are living a new and dangerous reality. The European security order that Sweden builds its security on is under attack,” said Magdalena Andersson, Sweden’s prime minister and Social Democrat leader. “We Social Democrats think that the best thing for Sweden’s security is that we join NATO.” (Financial Times)
NATO will fast-track applications from Finland and Sweden to join the alliance as Jens Stoltenberg, its secretary-general, said Russia could lose the war in Ukraine. (The Times)
North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, has warned his country has been thrown into “great turmoil” after reporting another 21 deaths, days after the secretive state first admitted it was in the grip of a coronavirus outbreak. North Korea imposed “maximum preventive measures” in a nationwide lockdown after conceding that its attempts to contain the virus over the past two years had failed. (The Guardian)
U.S. airlines are poised to raise ticket prices further as Americans shrug off the fastest rise in domestic airfares for decades in their determination to travel. Airfares rose by 18.6% in April from the previous month, the largest one-month increase in the history of the CPI. They were one of the largest contributors to the 8.3% rise in the CPI last month. (Financial Times)
U.S. travel booking firms are spending heavily on marketing to get more people to book flights and accommodation on their apps and websites as they look to make the most of a post-pandemic boom in tourism during the upcoming summer season. The U.S. travel industry is expected to spend 14.2%, or about $4 billion, of their marketing budget this year for digital advertising. (Reuters)
Grief and anger sweep through Buffalo a day after a racist massacre: The quick response of Buffalo police may have prevented the death toll from surpassing the 10 victims who were slain at Tops Markets on Saturday, authorities said. But the circumstances around the peaceful surrender of the white supremacist shooter remained a sore spot among some in the Black community Sunday afternoon. If the shooter was Black, said Betty Maclin of Buffalo, “he’d have been dead before he came out the door.” Criticism of the Buffalo police's use of force against Black residents in past incidents bubbled up as the community mourned the victims and searched for ways to heal. (New York Times, Buffalo News)
The full political tensions expected during the 2022 campaign season will play out in primaries occurring Tuesday, when voters in Idaho, Kentucky, North Carolina, Oregon and Pennsylvania go to the polls. The largest group of primary contests to date will include tests of former President Trump's endorsement, highly competitive bouts between moderate and progressive Democrats — and a make-or-break moment for one of Congress' most controversial members. The primaries will also indicate whether MAGA or "ultra-MAGA" is the GOP's winning formula this year. (Axios)
Duopoly dangers. Disrupting the infant formula industry is difficult but necessary, founders say, after seeing the devastating effects of a nationwide shortage. (Fortune)
Economy
The median pay package for chief executives of the biggest U.S. companies reached $14.7 million in 2021, setting a sixth-straight annual record as strong profits and robust markets boosted performance measures. Total compensation rose by at least 12% for most of the executives, and most companies recorded annual shareholder returns of nearly 30%, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of data for more than 400 companies from MyLogIQ LLC. Much of the pay consisted of equity awards that could ultimately prove to be worth more or less than initially reported. The median salary, bonus and other cash compensation was $4.1 million. (Wall Street Journal)
Former Goldman Sachs chief executive Lloyd Blankfein warned corporate America and US consumers to be prepared for a recession as the Fed tightens policy to combat high inflation. Blankfein, who stepped down as Goldman chief in October 2018 and remains the Wall Street bank’s senior chair, said there was a “very, very high risk” that the US economy was heading towards a recession. (Financial Times)
Goldman Sachs economists cut their forecasts for US growth for this year and next to reflect the shake-out in financial markets amid the Federal Reserve’s tightening of monetary policy. The economists led by Jan Hatzius said they now expect the economy to grow 2.4% this year and 1.6% in 2023, down from 2.6% and 2.2% previously. (Bloomberg)
Goldman Sachs told its most senior bankers they will be allowed to take as much holiday as they want so they can “rest and recharge”. Under a new “flexible vacation” scheme introduced from May 1, partners and managing directors will be free to “take time off when needed without a fixed vacation day entitlement”, the Wall Street bank told staff in a memo last month. More junior bankers, who will still be entitled to take only a fixed number of paid days off, have been given a minimum of two extra days of holiday per year. Employees at all levels will be required to spend at least three weeks away from work annually from 2023, including at least one full week of consecutive days off. (Financial Times)
People who agreed to buy homes under construction but haven’t yet closed are facing mortgage-interest rates that could be nearly double what they anticipated when they paid their deposits. (Wall Street Journal)
Hedge funds scale back bets on US stocks as losses surge. Managers step away from risk-taking as Wall Street equities endure longest selling streak since 2011. (Financial Times)
Miami locals are steamed over relocating New Yorkers driving up apartment rents. Apartment rents have soared 58% in the Miami area over the past two years, and in some cases doubled over last year. Many companies relocating to Miami are also paying a full-year’s rent for their employees, said Elliot Machado, a broker associate with One Sotheby’s International who represents condo owners renting units. He said he saw this practice among tech and finance firms from Chicago, California and the Northeast. He also saw individual New Yorkers pay for rentals a year in advance while they searched for a property to buy in Miami. (Wall Street Journal)
Technology
The Tesla Effect: Snowmobiles, Boats and Mowers Go Electric. They’re quieter and better for the climate. But snow and water create new technological challenges for designers. (New York Times)
While a car designed by Apple has often been rumored, the team working on the project has been dissolved for ‘some time,’ according to analysts. It appears to be a restructuring move in order to maintain the estimated 2025 mass production of the vehicle. (9 to 5 Mac)
It’s come to this: Spreadsheets are now cool, thanks to TikTok. Social media influencers show millions how to improve their Excel skills, as part of a trend for ‘micro learning’. (Financial Times)
The future of electrification, according to Google Trends: People are increasingly ready for the all-electric future at home and on the road. From “induction stove” to “home EV charging,” search interest is rising. And while climate change is certainly not up to the individual to solve — that’s mainly on governments and corporations — shifts in public tastes can bring about policy changes. Fast. (See: outdoor dining in major cities; marriage equality.) Protocol took a look at the past five years of search interest for a number of electrification hacks. Google Trends uses a scale from one to 100 to measure interest over time, with 100 marking the peak popularity for the search term in a given region and a given time period. For the bulk of the home and transport electrification terms that Protocol reviewed, the peak hit in the last year, if not in the last few months. (Protocol)
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Smart Links
Saudi Aramco profits surge 82% in first quarter. (Financial Times)
Walmart anticipates a store manager shortage despite $200,000-a-year pay. (Wall Street Journal)
The great London property exodus is in reverse as tenants return. (Bloomberg)
At small and rural hospitals, ransomware attacks are causing unprecedented crises. (STAT News)
Netflix is exploring live streaming for the first time. (Deadline)
Texans asked to limit electricity use after six power plants go down ahead of a hot weekend. (Texas Tribune)