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The World
Taiwan said 27 Chinese aircraft entered its air defense buffer zone, the latest in a long series of incursions as part of Beijing’s pressure on the self-ruled island. Taiwan scrambled combat aircraft to “warn” the Chinese planes to leave and deployed missile systems to monitor them. Sunday’s incursion included 18 fighter jets and five H-6 bombers, as well as a Y-20 aerial refueling aircraft. (Associated Press)
Dr. Anthony Fauci said the U.S. has “the potential to go into a fifth wave” of coronavirus infections amid rising cases and stagnating vaccination rates. He also warned that the newly discovered Omicron variant shows signs of heightened transmissibility. (The Guardian)
In the UK, face masks will be made mandatory in shops and on public transport from Tuesday, under fresh measures designed to contain the spread of the new Omicron coronavirus variant. Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the government was “nowhere near” imposing stricter rules on homeworking and social distancing after the UK detected its first cases of the variant. (Financial Times)
A new China study warns of a 'colossal' COVID outbreak if it opens up like the U.S. or France. China could face more than 630,000 COVID-19 infections a day if it dropped its zero-tolerance policies by lifting travel curbs, according to a study by Peking University mathematicians. (Reuters)
A wider-than-expected majority of 62.01% of Swiss voters backed the government's pandemic response plan in a referendum, paving the way for the continuation of exceptional measures to stem the rising tide of COVID-19 cases. The law provides financial aid and allows for certificates that provide proof of vaccination, recovery or a negative test and which are required to enter bars, restaurants and certain events. (Reuters)
Travel companies are bracing for more pain: Airline and travel companies risk a renewed battering on the stock market today. Travel-related stocks had already been hit hard in Friday’s stock market rout when the FTSE 100 dropped 3.6% to 7,044 and oil prices fell 10% amid fears that the emergence of a new variant could lead to another global economic downturn. (The Times)
Russia's ambassador to the U.S. said that 27 more Russian diplomats and their families were expelled from the U.S. and would leave on Jan. 30. The U.S. said last month that the staff of its mission in Russia had shrunk to 120 from 1,200 in early 2017 after a series of expulsions and restrictions, and it was difficult to continue with anything other than a caretaker presence at the embassy. (Reuters)
Lithuania says Belarus will keep testing West, adding that the NATO military alliance needed to adjust its stance towards Belarus, whose military was becoming more integrated with Russian armed forces. (Reuters)
The German government has urged members of Congress not to sanction the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, arguing that doing so will "weaken" U.S. credibility and "ultimately damage transatlantic unity." At a time when roughly 100,000 Russian troops are massing at its border, Ukraine views Nord Stream 2 as an existential threat to its security. The pipeline would circumvent Ukrainian transit infrastructure and deliver Russian gas directly to Germany, eliminating one of the last deterrents Ukraine has against an invasion. (Axios)
Talks between world powers and Iran on salvaging the 2015 nuclear deal will resume in Vienna today after a five-month hiatus, but expectations of a breakthrough are low. The talks could liberate Iran from hundreds of western economic sanctions or lead to a tightening of the economic noose and the intensified threat of military attacks by Israel. The scale of Iran’s negotiating demands, ideological outlook of Iran’s new administration and western fears that Iran is covertly boosting its nuclear program has created a sense of pessimism. (The Guardian)
India and Israel are pushing to strengthen ties by deepening cooperation in the fields of defense and information technology, as well as resuming long-stalled negotiations over a free trade agreement. (Nikkei Asian Review)
Economy
Consumer-price inflation in the Eurozone is likely hit a record high in November, but many economists think that might mark a peak for now, and therefore don’t expect the European Central Bank to raise its key interest rate next year. Many private economists forecast that inflation in the eurozone will decline significantly at the start of the year, echoing the ECB’s view that the period of rapid price rises will be short-lived. The firms sharing this view include UBS, Morgan Stanley, BNP Paribas and Oxford Economics. (Wall Street Journal)
The Singaporean government forecast a growth rate of 3% to 5% for 2022, predicting a continued rebound from COVID-19 as global borders gradually reopen and domestic restrictions ease. (Nikkei Asia Review)
Half of the companies that raised over $1bn in IPOs this year are trading below their listing price, despite robust stock markets around the world. The busted IPOs include some of the best-known names to list, such as UK food delivery app Deliveroo, alternative food manufacturer Oatly and Indian payments giant Paytm. Dealogic data show 49% of the 43 IPOs that raised $1bn or more this year in London, Hong Kong, India and New York are trading below their issuance prices. (Financial Times)
Private-equity firms have announced a record $944.4 billion worth of buyouts in the U.S. so far this year, 2.5 times the volume in the same period last year and more than double that of the previous peak in 2007. So far this year, there have been five $10 billion-plus deals in the U.S., equaling the total in all of 2007, though still below the high-water mark of nine in 2006. (Wall Street Journal)
‘Tax giveaways to millionaires’: Democrats’ ‘Salt’ plans divide party. Changes to state and local tax rules have become a bone of contention in Biden’s $1.75 trillion spending bill. From Maine to Montana, party members are balking at what they regard as a subsidy for the rich that would cost $275 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office, making it the second-largest component of Biden’s signature Build Back Better bill. (Financial Times)
Peloton has sued Lululemon after the leggings maker threatened legal action against the connected fitness equipment company earlier this year. The suit comes just a few weeks after Peloton rolled out a massive marketing blitz behind its own apparel line. The company has slowly phased out of selling apparel labels on its website, such as Nike and Lululemon, and instead has leaned into manufacturing its own leggings, sports bras and workout tanks for women and men. (CNBC)
Despite an erratic supply of building materials and labor, home renovations are booming. Rising home values and a pandemic-propelled appreciation for being at home are fueling a boom in home improvement, despite COVID-19 complications. (Chicago Tribune)
Technology
Epic Games founder Tim Sweeney came to the eastern hemisphere this month to laud South Korea’s new law forcing mobile platforms to open their app store payments options to competition. He lobbed rhetorical grenades at Apple Inc.—a monopoly that “must be stopped”—and Google, calling their practice of collecting fees for in-app purchases bad for consumers and developers alike. He also talked up the metaverse, like the one in Fortnite, as a multitrillion-dollar opportunity. (Bloomberg)
Companies in the digital technology industry are significantly underreporting the greenhouse gas emissions arising along the value chain of their products. Across a sample of 56 major tech companies surveyed, more than half of these emissions were excluded from self-reporting in 2019. At approximately 390 megatons carbon dioxide equivalents, the omitted emissions are in the same ballpark as the carbon footprint of Australia. The research team has developed a method for spotting sources of error and calculating the omitted disclosures. (Technical University of Munich)
Investors have pumped record amounts into south-east Asian financial technology companies this year, as locked-down consumers have switched to mobile payment and banking apps. There have been 80 fintech deals worth $3bn in 2021 — more than what was raised in 2020 and 2019 combined. (Financial Times)
Roblox, in building out the metaverse, looks to bring educational videogames to schools. The company is starting with $10 million investment for nonprofits to develop games, its first such funding. (Wall Street Journal)
Meta’s sci-fi haptic glove prototype lets you feel VR objects using air pockets. (The Verge)
Smart Links
100 Notable Books of 2021. (New York Times)
The anti-work brigade came for Amazon on Black Friday. (Bloomberg)
University of Maine researchers try producing potato resistant to climate change. (Associated Press)
The best and worst workplace technologies: Readers weigh in. (Wall Street Journal)
The switching generation: US workers quit jobs in record numbers. (Financial Times)