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The World
In his first speech after the Electoral College affirmed his victory with 306 votes, President-elect Biden said: "In this battle for the soul of America, democracy prevailed." (Washington Post, Axios)
A bipartisan group of lawmakers released two economic relief bills, with one stripping out contentious liability protection provisions and state and local aid in bid to find compromise. The effort to break the months-long logjam has been spearheaded by various centrist lawmakers, reflecting a strategy shift, as rank-and-file members are trying to drive the initiative instead of deferring to congressional leaders. (Financial Times, Washington Post)
U.S. Covid-19 deaths passed 300,000, as first the Americans receive coronavirus vaccine. NY intensive care nurse Sandra Lindsay became the first person not enrolled in trials to receive the vaccine. UAE and Bahrain become the first countries to approve a Chinese Covid-19 vaccine, saying the vaccine is 86% effective — but scientists would like to see data to support the claim. Meanwhile, European scientists pinpointed genes common among people with severe infections, providing robust support that genetic makeup plays a role in the potentially fatal illness. (The Guardian, Nature, Washington Post)
The share of Black adults who say they would get a coronavirus vaccine has risen 11 points over the past two weeks, at 43% in the Dec. 10-12 survey compared with 32% in a poll ending Nov. 29. A German study finds people prefer Covid-19 health messaging that acknowledges scientific uncertainty, suggesting that admitting to incomplete knowledge fosters public trust and motivates compliance. Meanwhile, 56% of U.S. adults say they "always" or "usually" wear a mask when indoors with family and friends from outside their household, while 89% say they do so in public settings. (Morning Consult, CIDRAP, JAMA, Gallup)
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and thousands of businesses scrambled to investigate and respond to a sweeping hacking campaign that officials suspect was directed by the Russian government. Reports indicate attacks also hit the U.S. departments of Treasury, Commerce, Defense, and State, as well as the National Institutes of Health. (Reuters)
The U.S. will hold a climate summit of the world’s major economies early next year, within 100 days of Joe Biden taking office, and seek to rejoin the Paris agreement on the first day of his presidency, in a boost to international climate action. Meanwhile, Iran said it would rejoin nuclear deal within an hour of the U.S. doing so. (The Guardian, The Guardian-2)
China’s economic recovery broadened in November. Retail sales grew by 5% from a year earlier, marking the fourth successive month of expansion; industrial production grew by 7% from a year earlier. The growth means China is the only major economy likely to expand this year. Meanwhile, American imports from China are surging as the year draws to a close, fueled by stay-at-home shoppers. (South China Morning Post, Bloomberg, New York Times)
Japan’s economy will suffer a smaller contraction this year than initially forecast but won’t return to pre-coronavirus pandemic levels until at least early 2022, a December poll of 27 analysts showed. Meanwhile, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said he believes a Brexit trade deal is still possible by the end of the year. (Reuters, Deutsche Welle)
More than 300 schoolboys are still missing in Nigeria after gunmen stormed a boarding house, though government troops surrounded a forest where bandits are believed to be holding pupils. In India, tens of thousands of protesting farmers called for a national strike, the second in a week, to quash three new agricultural reform laws. The farmers are camping along at least five major highways on the outskirts of New Delhi. (The Times, Associated Press)
Common Application data show that college applications are down 8% overall so far from last year. Meanwhile, the CDC reports that coronavirus mitigation efforts to reopen schools could cost up to $442 per student. (NPR, K-12Dive)
Economy
A growing percentage of U.S. homeowners are looking to delay making mortgage payments, the latest sign the recovery is slowing. In December’s first week, the proportion of mortgage borrowers that started seeking forbearance relief rose to its highest level since August. Call volume at payment collection companies rose to the highest level since April. (Bloomberg)
The arms race between mutual funds and exchange-traded funds have turned into a beat-down. Roughly $427 billion has poured into U.S. ETFs this year, divided almost evenly between equity and fixed-income funds. Mutual funds have bled roughly $469 billion of assets, on track for the worst year on record. Meanwhile, Wells Fargo says that vaccines will ‘boost confidence dramatically’ and lift Treasury yields in 2021. (Bloomberg, CNBC)
CEO Council’s advice to the Biden Administration: 1) Find productive ways to re-engage with allies and international organizations; 2) Less disruption; 3) Build consensus; 4) Invest, particularly in education. (Wall Street Journal)
Inside Y Combinator’s best year yet: This year has been by far the best yet for Y Combinator, the Silicon Valley startup accelerator known for its role in producing multibillion-dollar companies. The organization is topping off 2020 with two of its biggest portfolio companies–Airbnb and DoorDash–debuting on the public markets amid surging demand. (Crunchbase)
Technology
The FTC is launching a new inquiry into the privacy and data collection practices of major tech firms including Amazon, ByteDance, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook. The move appears to be a wide-reaching inquiry into everything major tech companies know about their users and what they do with that data, as well as their broader business plans. (Axios)
China’s antitrust watchdog fined Alibaba and a Tencent unit over years-old acquisitions and said it’s reviewing an impending Tencent-led merger, signaling Beijing’s intention to tighten oversight of internet sector deals.(Bloomberg)
Google pushed its planned return to the office to September — and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai said the company was testing the idea of a “flexible workweek” once it is safe to return to the office. Under the pilot plan, employees would be expected to work at least three days a week in the office for “collaboration days” while working from home the other days. (New York Times)
Following their Prop 22 victory, Uber and Lyft unveil new benefits for CA drivers on their platforms, like guaranteed minimum earnings and health care stipends, while CA regulators fined Uber $59M for failing to give info on sexual assault cases and will cancel its license if Uber fails to pay and provide information within 30 days. (The Verge, San Francisco Chronicle)
The Best Tech Books of 2020: These 21 books about technology and its impact on society are crucial to understanding our fractious future. (OneZero)
The maker of “Cyberpunk 2077,” one of this year’s most anticipated videogames, told players they could seek refunds because the initial version included bugs, a rare move for a major publisher and the latest mark on a project beset by launch delays. (Wall Street Journal, The Verge)
Smart Links
Asteroid dust recovered from Japan’s daring Hayabusa2 mission. (Nature)
CEOs of big companies pledge $100M for initiative to hire 1M black workers. (Barron’s)
Texans flocking to Obamacare amid the pandemic. (Dallas Morning News)
Household heat sharing system is growing beneath France. (Next City)
One of the pandemic’s big winners: hunting. (Wall Street Journal)
‘Competition Is for Losers’: How Peter Thiel helped Facebook embrace monopoly. (OneZero)
After Slack deal, Dropbox, Box, MongoDB could be the next targets. (The Information)
Only total solar eclipse of 2020 darkens South America's skies. (Reuters)