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The World
Confidence slumps around the globe as cost of living crisis bites: A mood of mounting economic pessimism is taking hold across the world’s major economies, as soaring prices and geopolitical uncertainty damage the prospects of businesses and consumers. In the past year consumer and business confidence has fallen by the most in a decade, with the exception of the initial months of the coronavirus pandemic, according to research for the FT. Hard economic data and leading financial indicators are also falling from strong levels after Covid-19, signalling that momentum in the world economy is stalling, the latest twice-yearly Brookings-FT tracking index showed. (Financial Times)
The attack on the Kerch bridge to Crimea stunned both Ukrainians and Russians with its scale and ingenuity, leaving experts wondering who was responsible for the attack and how it was achieved. Was a missile used? Most defence experts think this type of attack was unlikely. The bridge was out of the reach of Kyiv’s US-supplied Himars, a medium-range guided artillery rocket system, and American defence officials had warned that they were not to be used on the bridge, according to a US and a Ukrainian official. Did a truck bomb cause the damage? The most popular theory was a bomb blast from a white truck identified in online footage. “There was something in the truck that exploded,” said a structural engineer, now in a specialised branch of the Ukrainian military, who analysed the videos. “Something special.” Is an underwater attack plausible? The graininess of available footage has resulted in various, less plausible theories. A photograph of the underside of the collapsed bridge, also shared on social media, showed no burn marks or crumpled metal that would indicate a blast travelling up from the water’s surface. (Financial Times)
Russia Scrambles to Reconnect Supply Lines to Crimea After Bridge Explosion: Moscow raced to restore transportation links to the annexed peninsula, while Russian rockets slammed into the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia overnight, killing at least 17 people. (Wall Street Journal)
Putin to Meet Top Security Officials as Crimea Bridge Blast Hits Prestige: Russian leader set to meet his Security Council on Monday. (Bloomberg)
Protests ignited by the death of a young woman in police custody continued across Iran in defiance of a crackdown by the authorities, as a human rights group said at least 185 people, including children, had been killed in demonstrations. (Reuters)
North Korea's recent flurry of missile tests were designed to simulate showering the South with tactical nuclear weapons as a warning after large-scale navy drills by South Korean and U.S. forces, state news agency KCNA said on Monday. (Reuters)
China’s top leaders are set for a reshuffle. Xi is widely expected to further consolidate his power, with the congress paving the way for him to stay on for an unprecedented third five-year term. One of the most closely watched changes in the political reshuffle is the future of Premier Li Keqiang. The composition of the new group would reflect the sway Chinese President Xi Jinping and his ideology has. Forecasts for which officials will step down or who might take on new roles remain speculative. (CNBC)
Pandemic exodus left Bay Area with largest drop in household income in U.S.: The median household income in the metropolitan area that includes San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley fell from $121,551 in 2019 to $116,005 in 2021, according to a census report this month. The drop of $5,546, or 4.6 percent, was the largest decline by both dollar amount and percentage among the 25 most populous metropolitan areas in the country. The second highest was in the New York City area, which experienced a 4.2 percent — $3,321 — decline in median household income. The D.C. region saw a 1.4 percent drop, from $111,974 in 2019 to $110,355 in 2021. (Washington Post)
Economy
The strengthening U.S. dollar threatens to undermine a rebound in American manufacturing, handing foreign producers an advantage in selling into the U.S., executives and economists said. The U.S. dollar’s surging value relative to the euro, the Japanese yen, the British pound and other currencies is making foreign-made goods cheaper to import, while exports of U.S.-made goods grow more expensive for foreign buyers. For U.S. manufacturers operating overseas factories, their sales in foreign currencies are worth less in dollars now because of the unfavorable exchange rates caused by the strengthening dollar. Industry analysts said that unfavorable exchange rates are likely to dent industrial manufacturers’ revenue when they start to report quarterly results later this month. (Wall Street Journal)
Gold loses shine amid rising interest rates and strong dollar. (Nikkei Asia Review)
Allianz Chief Economic Adviser El-Erian believes core inflation ‘is still going up’. El-Erian said an increase in core inflation means “we still have an inflation issue.” (CNBC)
Under Pressure, Goldman CEO Ditches Dream of Consumer Domination: David Solomon once predicted the firm would be a leader in retail banking, like it is on Wall Street. The expansion proved expensive. (Bloomberg)
The pace of withdrawals from UK commercial property funds has accelerated rapidly since the government unveiled its “mini” Budget last month, in a shift that analysts warned could spark a rush to sell buildings at depressed rates. More than £100mn was pulled from a sample of property funds tracked by Calastone, a fund trading provider, in the 10 days after UK chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng laid out plans to cut taxes and borrow heavily from financial markets — almost eight times the volume withdrawn over the previous three weeks. (Financial Times)
France has reassured the UK that it should be able to provide Britain with power at critical moments if its electricity supplies come under strain this winter, despite problems with nuclear reactors that have forced it to rely on imports. (Financial Times)
New rules about pay transparency are changing the dynamics of hiring and looking for a job. A California law requiring nearly all employers hiring in the state to list salary ranges in job postings will go into effect next year, and New York’s governor is expected to sign similar legislation soon. Colorado began requiring pay transparency in 2021. National job boards including Indeed.com say more postings are spelling out salary ranges overall, regardless of where the jobs are located. “The good thing about pay-range transparency laws is that it sets an absolute floor for candidates, so people won’t be totally in the dark about a company’s pay practices,” said David Buckmaster, who led teams that designed compensation structures at Nike Inc. and Starbucks Corp., and wrote the book “Fair Pay.” (Wall Street Journal)
Technology
Facebook Warns Users About 400 Malicious Apps That Steal Passwords: The social-media company said it notified Apple and Google about the apps that were available through their respective app stores. (Wall Street Journal)
Apple’s Move to USB-C Is Just a Stopgap Before Its Wireless Future: Apple is set to shift from the Lightning charging port on the iPhone and other devices to USB-C to abide by a new European law, but the company is still planning on a wireless-first future. Also: Google rolls out its new Pixel phones and smartwatch, and developers continue to bemoan the state of iPadOS 16. (Bloomberg)
Chicago scientists are testing an unhackable quantum internet in their basement closet: The quantum internet aims to use nature's smallest particles to share information in a manner that can't be hacked — and someday to link new quantum computers. (Washington Post)
Amazon said it will invest more than 1 billion euros ($974.8 million) over the next five years in electric vans, trucks and low-emission package hubs across Europe, accelerating its drive to achieve net-zero carbon. The retailer said the investment was also aimed at spurring innovation across the transportation industry and encouraging more public charging infrastructure for electric vehicles (EVs). (Reuters)
U.S. Rewrites Digital Privacy Rules for Europeans to Keep Data Flowing: Executive order giving EU citizens right to challenge U.S. surveillance underpins pending deal to allow businesses to transfer European data across the Atlantic. (Wall Street Journal)
The Great Rebundling is upon us. Not long ago, TV watchers rebelled against the tyranny of the cable “bundle”—paying $100 or more for a roster of dozens of channels, many of which they never watched. They cut the cord and celebrated the joy of ordering new streaming services one by one. But now the a la carte streaming menu is adding up to an expensive meal of Netflix, Hulu, Disney +, HBO Max, Peacock, Paramount +, and countless others. The industry’s major players are finding it harder to grow in such a crowded market and are realizing they need to package their offerings in new ways. That means less a la carte ordering and a new era of bundles. (Wall Street Journal)
Smart Links
Dutch court calls webcam tracking of remote worker an unreasonable intrusion, awarding him €75K after US employer fired him for not turning on webcam. (NL Times)
Ad revenue of the 4 late-night network talk shows fell 16% from $301M in H1 2021 to $253.6M in H1 2022. (New York Times)
Ireland’s reunification talk grows louder: A century after partition, support for unity on the island of 7mn is gaining momentum. (Financial Times)
Japan reopens to tourists with shuttered souvenir shops, hotel staff shortage. (Reuters)
Paris Cuts the Lights to Save Energy. (Wall Street Journal)
More Businesses Want to Hire People With Criminal Records Amid Tight Job Market. (Wall Street Journal)
Hawaii is 2022′s most expensive state to retire. (CNBC)