The World
The damage to the world’s major economies from coronavirus lockdowns has been six times more severe than the 2009 global financial crisis and created an “unprecedented” blow to 2Q20 growth, as China was the only G20 country recording growth (11.5%). GDP contracted by an average of (minus) 11.8% in all other G20 economies in 2Q20. GDP fell most dramatically, by (minus) 25.2%, in India, followed by the UK (minus 20.4%), while the U.S. was minus 9.1%. (New York Times, OECD)
David Cameron became the UK’s fifth former prime minister to criticize a new bill attempting to override the Brexit withdrawal agreement, joining former Tory PMs Theresa May and Sir John Major, and Labour's Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, while Boris Johnson’s former attorney-general accused him of doing “unconscionable” damage to Britain’s international reputation. Meanwhile, European and British automative industry leaders called for a free trade agreement to prevent a no-deal Brexit before the end of the transition period. (BBC News, The Times, Yahoo Finance)
European Union leaders told Chinese President Xi Jinping in a video summit to tear down barriers, open up markets, respect minorities and step back from its Hong Kong crackdown, while asserting that Europe would no longer be taken advantage of in trade. (Reuters)
45.6% of Russians say they will never vaccinate against the coronavirus regardless of its country of production, an increase from Moscow’s Higher School of Economics last poll in June (37.7%). Meanwhile, Israel will become the first developed country to impose a second nationwide lockdown, which will be implemented hours before the start of the Jewish New Year, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot. England’s long-delayed COVID-19 contacts-tracing app will launch on Sept. 24, as the W.H.O. warned Europe will see a surge in deaths in the fall amid soaring new infections. In the U.S., the Dakotas lead in virus growth as both North and South reject mask rules. (Moscow Times, Wall Street Journal, Times of Israel, TechCrunch, Washington Post, Bismarck Tribune)
Yoshihide Suga, Japan’s chief Cabinet secretary who has historically operated in the background, won by a landslide in the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election, becoming the presumptive successor to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Suga will focus on tackling the pandemic and the nation's economic woes, rather than calling a snap election. The most exciting nugget to emerge: The revelation that Suga, a teetotaler with a sweet tooth, starts and ends each day with 100 situps. On his website he says he likes river fishing and karate. (Japan Times, Nikkei Asian Review, New York Times)
Russia will loan Belarus $1.5bn as President Lukashenko flew to Sochi and told President Putin that “a friend is in trouble.” Meanwhile, more than 100,000 protesters faced down riot police and water cannons in Minsk. (The Guardian, The Times)
Rumors are swirling that other countries, including Sudan, Oman, Kuwait and Morocco — and some believe potentially Saudi Arabia — could join U.A.E. and Bahrain in normalizing relations with Israel. Many Middle East experts and some Trump administration officials believe the Gulf monarchies are far more animated by the geopolitical challenge posed by Iran and drawn to the lure of collaboration with Israel’s sophisticated technology sector — and weapons sales — than with the Palestinians’ plight. Palestinians reacted with outrage to the Arab League’s refusal to condemn the normalization agreements. Separately, the Iranian government is weighing an assassination attempt against the U.S. ambassador to South Africa, as Iran continues to seek retaliation for Qassem Soleimani’s killing. (Washington Post, Jerusalem Post, Politico)
A Climate Apocalypse Now: California, Oregon and Washington wildfires have killed at least 35 people, charring more than 4 million acres. California has experienced six of the 20 largest wildfires in the state’s modern history and seen all-time temperature records fall. Yesterday, four West Coast cities were among the 10 most polluted places in the world, with Portland No. 1 and Seattle No. 2. Meanwhile, rumors are finding fertile ground in already-divided Oregon, complicating emergency responses. In the Southeast, Sally was upgraded to a hurricane. (Los Angeles Times, IQAir.com, The Guardian, Washington Post)
Economy
America’s CEOs are increasingly confident that the worst of the Covid-19 crisis is behind them, sparking growing optimism in their 2021 business outlook. Whilea deep divide in CEO perceptions remains based on industry, September’s showing is the strongest for the Chief Executive index in nearly six months—and the fifth month over month gain in a row since bottoming out in May. (Chief Executive)
A group representing investors that collectively manage more than US$47tn in assets has demanded the world’s biggest corporate polluters back strategies to reach net-zero emissions and promised to hold them to public account. Climate Action 100+, an initiative supported by 518 institutional investor organizations across the globe, has written to 161 fossil fuel, mining, transport and other big-emitting companies to set 30 climate measures and targets against which they will be analyzed in a report to be released early next year. (The Guardian)
CA Gov. Gavin Newsom waded into a contentious battle over the legacy of Proposition 13, endorsing a ballot measure to make commercial property owners subject to billions of dollars in additional taxes each year. (Los Angeles Times)
The pandemic has led to a sizable growth in Medicaid rolls over the past six months. A review of 38 states shows more than half have seen enrollment grow by 7% or more since February through early summer. Among states that released August enrollment data, growth reached about 11% since February. Kentucky reported the biggest jump in enrollment — 17.2% between February and August. (HealthcareDive)
Daniel Yergin on The New Geopolitics of Energy: Two years ago, the CEO of a Middle Eastern oil company stopped in Washington, D.C. on his way home from Silicon Valley. What he wanted to discuss wasn’t the future price of oil or Iran’s activities in the Middle East but rather the astonishing thing he had seen in California. “I couldn’t believe the number of Teslas,” he said. “They were everywhere.” What he saw in all those electric cars was a looming transition that in the decades ahead will shift the world away from using oil, natural gas and coal. The transition will have an enormous global economic impact, but it will also bring about major changes in the map of global power. China is poised to be the big winner, Russia and Middle East oil exporters the big losers. The U.S. is likely to fall somewhere in between. (Wall Street Journal)
Technology
The U.S. Treasury Dept. will conduct a national security review, as Oracle won the bidding for TikTok’s U.S. operations. Oracle will be announced as TikTok’s “trusted tech partner,” ByteDance says that TikTok’s algorithm not for sale. Next steps: the White House and U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment must approve the deal. The review is expected this week. (Wall Street Journal, South China Morning Post, Financial Times)
Netflix will take the crown for spending on films and television — projected to rise by $3 billion to $13.6 billion in 2020, outstripping its nearest rivals ViacomCBS, Disney and NBCUniversal when purchases of sports rights are excluded. (Financial Times)
Podcast listeners are listening longer. (PodNews, Westwood One)
Smart Links
Exxon used to be America’s most valuable company. What happened? (Wall Street Journal)
U.S. News & World Report released its 2021 Best Colleges rankings. (U.S. News)
New York luxury home market sees slowest post-Labor Day week since 2013. (Mansion Global)
Immigrant entrepreneurs create more jobs than American counterparts. (Quartz)
After 50 years, Economist Robert Samuelson wrote his last Washington Post column. (Washington Post)
Hints of life on Venus: Scientists detect a gas that typically indicates the presence of biological life in the atmosphere of Venus. Video starts at 10:37. (TechCrunch, Royal Astronomical Society)