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The World
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer held "very direct, open and tough" talks with President Putin near Moscow, in Putin's first meeting with an EU leader since the invasion started. Nehammer has expressed solidarity with Ukraine and denounced apparent Russian war crimes. "This is not a friendly visit," Nehammer was quoted as saying in a statement issued by his office shortly after the meeting. A Nehammer spokesman said the meeting lasted 75 minutes, which is relatively short by Putin's standards. (Reuters)
Completely cutting off exports from Russia via sanctions would be equivalent to lopping off as much as $460 billion from its economy — 28% of GDP, according to an estimate by Nikkei and the Japan Center for Economic Research. (Nikkei Asia Review)
Denmark's Health Agency, concerned by the war in Ukraine, will buy 2 million iodine tablets to protect people in the event of a nuclear accident close to the Nordic country. (Reuters)
Ukraine and Russia are major producers of wheat, barley and maize, accounting for an average (combined) share of 27, 23 and 15% of global exports between 2016 and 2020, respectively. Even the World Food Programme itself gets 50 percent of its grain supplies from the Ukraine-Russia area and is now facing dramatic cost increases in its efforts to combat food emergencies around the world. “This is a catastrophe on top of a catastrophe,” WFP Director Beasley said, referring to the devastating effect the Covid-19 pandemic has had on world hunger. (Statista)
China’s support for Russia is galvanizing the U.S. and Europe as Washington examines once-unthinkable sanctions against Beijing. Chinese leaders are getting a look at what can be possible when Western allies unite to hobble the economy of a major power, as Beijing has failed to convince the West of its self-proclaimed neutrality on the Ukraine war as the political winds shift rapidly. (South China Morning Post)
The U.S. Department of State ordered all non-emergency government staff in Shanghai to leave in an advisory in response to surging COVID-19 cases and China's tightening pandemic restrictions. The department's advisory also urged American citizens to reconsider travel to China "due to arbitrary enforcement of local laws" and pandemic-related restrictions. (Axios)
Philadelphia became the first U.S. big city to reimpose indoor mask rules as COVID rates rise. After more than a month without mask requirements, the face coverings will again be mandated indoors in Philadelphia. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
Coronavirus cases on the rise in L.A. County, prompting calls for spring break caution. Data for the last seven days show that new cases were up 23% from the previous week. (Los Angeles Times)
American and George Washington universities among latest campuses to reinstate mask mandates. (Washington Post)
The risk of developing inflammatory heart conditions after Covid-19 vaccination is relatively low, two large studies found, especially when compared with the heart-related risks from Covid-19 disease itself and from vaccines against other diseases. (Wall Street Journal)
Mexican truck drivers blockaded two busy bridges at the border with the U.S. amid rising tensions on both sides over an order by Texas Governor Greg Abbott that has slowed commercial crossings between Mexico and Texas. "We're desperate because we have to wait up to 15 hours to cross into the United States," said truck driver Pedro Gonzalez as he and others protested at the Zaragoza bridge connecting Ciudad Juarez to El Paso. (Reuters)
What would a Le Pen victory actually mean for France, Europe – and the world? Not great for French unity. Le Pen has worked hard to moderate her far-right sensibilities. She’s talked less about Muslims and banning headscarves in recent months, focusing more on the increasing price of milk and eggs. The immediate stakes are extremely high for the European Union, which has experienced a renewed sense of purpose since the UK left the bloc in 2020 and especially in response to Russia’s bombardment of Ukraine. More broadly, a Le Pen victory in France, the world’s sixth-largest economy, would send a worrying message to the world about the country’s commitment to liberal values. The Ukraine factor. Le Pen is avowedly anti-NATO and says she wants to pull French troops and planning personnel away from the alliance. (GZERO Media)
Economy
Chief Executive’s CEO Confidence Index plunged 9% this month, as America’s CEOs grow increasingly troubled over the state of business and the economy. Inflation and supply chain issues are the main drivers of their worries—as is the growing threat of a Fed-induced recession. The poll of 207 U.S. CEOs, presidents and chairmen, fielded April 5-7, shows their rating of future business conditions fell to 6.1 out of 10 from 6.7/10 in March. That is the lowest our indicator has been since the fall of 2016, amid the unsettled runup to the Clinton-Trump election, Brexit and heightened terrorism around the world. (Chief Executive)
Inflation is now the major driver of negative sentiment, at 4.5 on a 5-point scale. Following inflation, CEOs say that supply chain disruptions have a significance level of 4.2/5 on their optimism for future conditions.
First-quarter venture funding to Europe last quarter was up 22% YoY, and up 5% quarter over quarter, bucking the trend globally and in North America, where 1Q22 investment fell compared to 4Q21. (Crunchbase)
NYC business groups say salary transparency would make it harder to hire diverse candidates: New York City businesses are pushing back on a law that would require them to publish salary ranges on job ads, intended to close the racial and gender wage gaps, with some citing concerns that it will hinder their diversity efforts in hiring. The legislation was approved by New York City Council in December 2021, became a law when Mayor Eric Adams declined to veto it by January 2022 and is set to go into effect May 15. In a letter to New York City Council, the five borough chambers of commerce and the Partnership for New York City wrote that corporate employers seeking to diversify their executive teams may offer higher compensation for “BIPOC job candidates,” or Black, Indigenous and people of color. But in today’s tough labor market and “in the context of achieving diversity goals, the posted maximum may be significantly higher than the historical salary ranges, creating dissatisfaction in the workforce and demands to adjust existing pay scales that the employer may be unable to afford.” (CNBC)
Almost no crypto investors know all the situations in which their token-trading activities are taxable, a survey conducted by Wakefield Research for tax-prep assistance firm CoinTracker says. While the IRS issued specific guidance in 2014, and updated it once again in 2019, the fast emergence of new crypto products and services has left the U.S. government a few steps behind. But a large number of crypto investors aren’t even aware of the existing guidelines. Crypto tax ignorance is widespread, and that’s a problem both for taxpayers and the government. In the survey, when presented with a number of possible situations where crypto could be taxed, 97% of respondents got at least one answer wrong. (Protocol)
100 Best Companies to Work For: Fortune and our partner Great Place to Work have been publishing the Best Companies list for 25 years—none more fraught than the past two. While COVID-19 has forever changed the way we work, the best businesses are stepping up to support their employees as they navigate uncharted waters. Read on to see what helps a company stand out. (Hint: Flexibility, diversity, and a few extra paid days off go a long way.) (Fortune)
Technology
Elon Musk fuels rumors about his plans for Twitter: Elon Musk can boost his stake in Twitter “at any time” after the billionaire rejected an invitation to join the social media group’s board, fueling speculation over his intentions. The world’s richest man, who revealed last week that he had become Twitter’s largest shareholder, backed away from a “standstill” agreement that would have prevented him from launching a takeover bid. (The Times)
Global PC shipments declined sharply in 1Q22, suggesting that the pandemic boom in PC sales is over. Gartner said that it estimates that PC shipments decreased 7.3% on an annual basis to 77.5 million units, which was driven primarily by a steep drop in Chromebook shipments. Chromebooks are low-cost laptops popular in schools that run a Google operating system. The declining shipment numbers during the first quarter are a marked difference from the torrid pace of sales growth the industry was posting during 2021. (CNBC)
Epic Games raised $2 billion from Sony and the family owned holding company behind the Lego Group, valuing the "Fortnite" creator at $31.5 billion. Sony, an existing investor, and the Kirkbi investment company each invested $1 billion, Epic said, with the fundraising to help advance a metaverse partnership the company had entered into with the Lego Group earlier this month. (Reuters)
Honda announced it will invest 8 trillion yen ($63.7 billion) in electric vehicle development over the next decade, with plans to release 30 EV models by 2030. (Nikkei Asia Review)
Downloads of BeReal, Gen Z's hot new social media app, have skyrocketed in recent months, giving the world's mobile-first generation a new way to connect through the work or school day. With so many apps fighting to get even a small sliver of Gen Z's attention, BeReal has pulled ahead by getting users not to over-think what they post. BeReal encourages users to send one post every day to their friends to show exactly what they're doing in real time. The app snaps photos from the phone's front and back cameras simultaneously, showing where you are and what you’re doing at the same time. Because users have to send posts within two minutes of getting a randomly-timed notification, they don't have time to make fancy adjustments. (Axios)
Smart Links
Google’s first week back in the office included marching bands, mayor visits and traffic jams. (CNBC)
40% of recent job switchers are again looking for a new position. (CNBC)
Texas A&M University abruptly shuttered a climate lab, citing security risk. (Chronicle of Higher Ed)
Disney and Universal will build affordable housing in Florida. (NPR)
UK issues summer travel chaos warning for passengers. (The Times)
The 10 busiest airports in the world: Atlanta tops the list. (Wall Street Journal)