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The World
Volodymyr Zelensky's “disappointing visit to Capitol Hill confirmed his worst fears: The future of U.S. aid to Ukraine has become firmly affixed to one of the most intractable debates in American politics.” Even Republicans sympathetic to the Ukrainian cause, like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, “have drawn a red line. There will be no further aid to Ukraine if Democrats do not agree to substantial changes to U.S. border policy.” President Biden says Republicans must “pass an aid package ‘before they give Putin the greatest Christmas gift they could possibly give him.’” (Axios)
Russia “has suffered from a staggeringly high number of losses” in its war with Ukraine, according to a newly declassified assessment shared with Congress. At the start of the war, “the Russian army stood at 360,000 troops. Russia has lost 315,000 of those troops.” (New York Times)
Kyivstar, Ukraine’s largest telecom operator, “was targeted by a cyberattack on Tuesday that severely impacted internet services in portions of the country, with government agencies blaming Russia.” Experts say Russia “is likely to intensify its cyberattacks on Ukraine in the winter months.” (Politico)
President Biden is expected to turn down Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s invitation to Republic Day celebrations in late January. The snub would be a blow to Modi’s efforts “to showcase the growing ties between the countries and bolster his image ahead of elections next year.” (Bloomberg)
Xi Jinping and Vietnamese leader Nguyễn Phú Trọng agreed “that their countries will build a ‘shared future’ and strengthen their bilateral relationship.” According to a joint statement presented after their meeting in Hanoi, “the sides agreed that Vietnam and China are good neighbors who share a common political system.” (Nikkei Asia)
Xi also “called for Beijing and Hanoi to find ‘mutually acceptable solutions’ to their South China Sea dispute and achieve long-term regional stability.” (South China Morning Post)
On President Javier Milei’s third day in office, Argentina announced a 50% devaluation of its currency “and cuts to energy and transportation subsidies as part of shock adjustments” that Milei “says are needed to deal with an economic ‘emergency.’” Milei said, “For few months, we’re going to be worse than before.” (Associated Press)
Argentina’s president wants to adopt the U.S. dollar. Can he? (Washington Post)
New Hampshire’s Republican Gov. Chris Sununu has endorsed Nikki Haley for president six weeks before the first-in-the-nation presidential primary. A month ago, Sununu “said his decision had come down to three governors, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Haley. Since then, Haley’s stock has risen in the presidential race thanks to several polls that put her solidly in second place.” (New Hampshire Union Leader)
The Fellows of Harvard College, the university’s main oversight board, on Tuesday “issued a statement of unanimous support for President Claudine Gay, a week after her testimony at a congressional hearing on campus antisemitism caused a national uproar.” The Fellows said in a statement, “Our extensive deliberations affirm our confidence that President Gay is the right leader to help our community heal and to address the very serious societal issues we are facing.” (Boston Globe)
Economy
The S&P 500 gains for the year “pushed past 20% on Monday. The broad market is on pace for its best performance since 2021, when it climbed almost 27%. Last year it shed 19.4%.” (Axios)
The bond market’s bold bet on US interest-rate cuts is set for its biggest test yet. After loading up on wagers that the Federal Reserve will lower rates by more than 100 basis points in 2024, investors are waiting on tenterhooks to hear Chair Jerome Powell speak Wednesday and see central-bank officials’ so-called dot-plot outlining the path of US monetary policy. (Bloomberg)
Developing Asia will likely end the year on a brighter note, the Asian Development Bank said on Wednesday, with growth in the region expected to be stronger than previously thought due mainly to a recovery in China's economy. The ADB raised its 2023 growth forecast for developing Asia to 4.9% from 4.7% projected in September, but kept its growth outlook for the region at 4.8% next year. (Reuters)
Foundations and other funders have pledged at least $2.1 billion in new climate impact funding as COP28 comes to a close. The estimated pledges, “which do not represent a complete account of philanthropic commitments at COP28, came from a mix of foundations and private companies with some made in partnership with governments.” (Associated Press)
The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party is “calling for a reset on the U.S.-China economic relationship, laying out over 130 policy recommendations for sweeping changes to how Washington governs trade, investment and security with the world’s second biggest economy.” The report calls for higher duties on Chinese goods, significant reductions in U.S. investments in China, and further restrictions or bans on “U.S. market access for companies including TikTok, as well as drone makers, chip manufacturers and telecommunications groups.” (Washington Post)
“Prices in China continued to fall during November, as the People's Republic slips into a deflationary funk.” While most of the decline “was driven by swings in more volatile food and energy categories, the underlying ‘core’ inflation reading was also unimpressive.” (Axios)
Multinationals including GSK, Procter & Gamble, and Unilever “are cutting back their presence in Nigeria or pulling out altogether as currency problems hamper their operations and hurt consumers.” Nigeria’s naira “has weakened sharply against the dollar since President Bola Tinubu initiated reforms in June to cancel fixed exchange rates while inflation reached an 18-year high in July, rising to 27.33% in October.” (Semafor)
Citadel “plans to return about $7 billion to clients after double-digit gains in its multistrategy hedge funds over the past two years bumped its assets to $63 billion.” Its flagship Wellington fund “gained about 15% through November,” following on a 38% gain in 2022. (Bloomberg)
Technology
KuCoin, one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, “has agreed to block New York users from its platform and pay $22 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the state as part of its push to rein in digital assets companies.” Attorney General Letitia James sued the Seychelles-based platform in March. (Reuters)
Apple is rolling out a new iOS setting called Stolen Device Protection to address “a security vulnerability that has allowed iPhone thieves to take over customers’ accounts, access saved passwords, steal money and lock people out of their digital memories.” When the setting is enabled, a user’s iPhone will restrict certain settings when the phone is away from locations familiar to it. (Wall Street Journal)
“Tesla is trying to use a free speech argument to defeat a complaint that it falsely advertised ‘Autopilot’ as an autonomous vehicle system.” Tesla says the state laws cited by the California Department of Motor Vehicles violate the First Amendment. The 2022 complaint “alleges that Tesla falsely advertises its Autopilot-enabled cars as operating autonomously and seeks a suspension or revocation of Tesla's manufacturer license.” (Ars Technica)
The Entertainment Software Association “has announced the end of E3 for good, 28 years after the first event took place.” In a statement, the ESA said, “After more than two decades of serving as a central showcase for the video game industry, ESA has decided to end E3. ESA remains focused on advocating for ESA member companies and the industry workforce who fuel positive cultural and economic impact every day.” The last in-person Electronic Entertainment Expo took place in 2019, and the ESA had been unable to win back a pre-pandemic audience in attempts to revive the event. (IGN)
Smart Links
Inside the decades-long fight over Yahoo’s misdeeds in China. (MIT Technology Review)
China’s internet censors target ‘pessimism’. (Semafor)
U.S. seizes crypto linked to Southeast Asian investment scam. (Reuters)
After 15 months Blue Origin’s New Shepard spacecraft will finally fly again. (Ars Technica)
OpenAI’s nonprofit arm showed revenue of $45,000 last year, even though company is worth billions. (CNET)
How holiday scammers could get help from AI. (Axios)