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The World
Obscured by other parts of President Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package, the child benefit has the makings of a policy revolution. Though framed in technocratic terms as an expansion of an existing tax credit, it is essentially a guaranteed income for families with children, akin to children’s allowances that are common in other rich countries. The plan establishes the benefit for a single year. But if it becomes permanent, it will greatly enlarge the safety net for the poor and the middle class at a time when the volatile modern economy often leaves families moving between those groups. More than 93% of children — 69 million — would receive benefits under the plan, at a one-year cost of more than $100 billion. (New York Times)
Another little-known element of Biden’s relief package would pay billions of dollars to disadvantaged farmers — benefiting Black farmers in a way that some experts say no legislation has since the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Of the $10.4 billion in the American Rescue Plan that will support agriculture, approximately $5 billion would go to farmers of color, who have lost 90% of their land over the past century because of systemic discrimination and a cycle of debt. (Washington Post)
The Nasdaq closed in correction territory, as tech shares sink. The Dow rose, as additional fiscal spending from the relief bill is expected to bolster the pace of economic recovery and boost inflation. As the outlook brightens, money managers are moving out of government bonds and technology stocks and into sectors such as banks and energy that are likely to rebound with the economy. Tesla lost a third of its value for the third time in a year. (Wall Street Journal, Reuters)
People who have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 can now spend time together indoors and unmasked, according to new Biden administration guidance. Fully immunized Americans can also visit with low-risk individuals from other households even if they haven’t yet received a vaccine. And if vaccinated individuals are exposed to Covid-19, there’s no need to either quarantine or get tested for the disease, according to new CDC recommendations. The CDC considers Americans “fully vaccinated” once two weeks have passed since they received the final dose of their vaccine regimen. (STAT News)
The Biden administration is preparing to launch the first of several Covid-19 testing hubs to coordinate and oversee a $650 million expansion of testing in K-8 schools and congregate settings like homeless shelters. HHS hopes to open the first hub in April, as part of a public-private partnership that could eventually add up to 25 million tests per month to the nation’s testing totals. (Politico)
Italy's health minister says that all Italians who want to be vaccinated will be able to do so by summer's end. (Associated Press)
US lawmakers condemn Beijing’s plans to overhaul Hong Kong elections: China prepares to implement new rules in Hong Kong that critics warn will block opposition politicians from holding elected office. “Beijing’s efforts to stamp out democratic opposition in Hong Kong only [underscore] its own insecurities,” a group of eight US lawmakers says. (South China Morning Post)
China is at least 30 years away from becoming a manufacturing nation of "great power," a government advisor told party delegates. Many observers already see China as the "world's factory" given that more than a third of global output from cars to phones comes from there. But China's leaders are concerned about its heavy dependence on the US for high-tech products like semiconductors. "Basic capabilities are still weak" Miao Wei warned. (Reuters)
China’s ‘Sharp Eyes’ program aims to surveil 100% of public space: The program turns neighbors into agents of the surveillance state. (OneZero)
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s government is facing criticism for hiring consulting giant McKinsey to help it rewrite plans for spending the European Union funds aimed at rebuilding the economy. The government said it had signed a 25,000 euro ($30,000) contract with McKinsey to look at the issue. It did not give details of how much work the firm would do, but the sum is very small by the standards of consulting firm costs. (Reuters)
The company behind brands including Dove soap and Sure deodorant will ban excessive Photoshopping of models and remove the word “normal” from beauty product advertising, in its latest response to social and environmental concerns. Unilever said it would eliminate “all digital alterations to body shape, size, proportion and skin colour” from its advertising. The Photoshop ban will cover Unilever adverts as well as influencers paid by the company to promote products. (The Guardian)
How have U.S. working women fared during the pandemic: Labor force participation fell dramatically for both genders between March and April 2020, as business and school closures occurred. Since September, a gender gap of about one percentage point has persisted, and little progress has been made in restoring pre-COVID employment levels. As a result of these changes, as of February 2021, the female labor force is 3.1% smaller than a year earlier, and the male labor force is 2.2% smaller. This gap is reflected in the BLS labor force participation rate, which fell by 2.2 percentage points for women and 2.0 points for men. (Gallup)
Economy
After months of unbridled optimism, America’s CEOs are signaling a bit of caution in their forecast for the year ahead. According to Chief Executive’s latest poll of 231 U.S. CEOs, business leaders are reporting growing concerns over the potential for rising inflation in the economy and possible damage to business from the Biden administration’s policies. CEO confidence in business conditions 12 months from now remained robust—at the highest level since September 2018—but it was also was unchanged since last month. Similarly, confidence in the current environment is also essentially flat. (Chief Executive)
Goldman Sachs is seeing substantial demand for digital assets from institutions as it works to restart its cryptocurrency trading desk. In a survey of nearly 300 clients by the firm, 40% currently have exposure to crypto, according to Matt McDermott, global head of digital assets for Goldman Sachs Global Markets Division, speaking on a podcast. The situation is different now compared with the 2017 Bitcoin bubble due to “huge” institutional demand across different industry types and from private banking clients, he said. (Fortune)
American Airlines will use its frequent flier program to raise $7.5 billion. The carrier will use funds to replace a loan from the federal government. (Wall Street Journal)
Sick leave: Now that federal and state rules requiring businesses to offer employees two weeks of paid sick leave to recover from COVID-19 have expired, many Californians have just three days of paid leave. What happens if they get COVID-19? (Los Angeles Times)
Saudi Arabia’s bold plan to rule the $700 billion hydrogen market: The kingdom is building a $5 billion plant to make green fuel for export and lessen the country’s dependence on petrodollars. (Bloomberg)
The Covid entrepreneurs: The ‘side hustle’ and hobby venture go mainstream as lockdowns and technology upend the US economy. More than 4.4m new businesses have been created in the US since last March, according to the Census Bureau. The number far exceeds the expected uptick that occurs during a recession, when older businesses shut and more people find themselves unemployed. (Financial Times)
Global private equity volume hit $133.2 billion through last Friday, up 41% year-to-date over 2020. U.S. volume is up 91% to $72.6 billion. Asia (ex-Japan) is up 167%, while Europe is down 4%. (Axios)
Technology
Zoom Video Communications founder Eric Yuan transferred roughly 40% of his ownership in the company he runs, a stake valued at about $6 billion, after Zoom’s shares more than tripled last year. The transaction was recorded as two gifts of nearly 9 million shares apiece, to unspecified recipients and from two trusts for which Mr. Yuan and his wife are co-trustees. (Wall Street Journal)
President Biden named Tim Wu, a prominent critic of large technology companies and advocate for stricter antitrust enforcement in sectors across the economy, to a position on the White House National Economic Council. The post will give Wu influence as the Biden administration develops policies affecting tech and other sectors. Wu has advocated for breaking up large tech firms, including Facebook, and praised the government’s lawsuits against that company and Google last year. He was the author of “The Curse of Bigness,” which contended that monopolistic companies stifled innovation. (Wall Street Journal)
From PS5 to Ford F-150: How a global chip shortage is “impacting everything.” Cristiano Amon, incoming CEO of chipmaker Qualcomm, warns in an interview with CNET that the shortage may not end until late 2021. (Cnet)
The UK government has released more information about its plans to launch an independent research agency that will focus on funding high-risk, high-reward science. Researchers and science-policy experts have welcomed the update, but warn that the plan still lacks detail, and that the new funding body’s purpose is unclear. The agency is modelled on the United States’ DARPA, which helped to develop pioneering technologies such as the Internet and GPS. (Nature)
Smart Links
The 100 most influential women in U.S. finance. (Barron’s)
Manhattan’s luxury market rally is now at 5 weeks and counting. (Mansion Global)
Apple and Google lobbyists are swarming Arizona over a bill that would reform the app store. (Protocol)
Arctic Ocean was much warmer than average during February. (Bloomberg)
Amazon Fresh to debut in London. (Specialty Foods)
Countries with the most women in national parliament. (Statista)