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The World
The U.S. is sounding out close allies about the possibility of imposing new sanctions on China if Beijing provides military support to Russia for its war in Ukraine, according to four U.S. officials and other sources. The consultations, which are still at a preliminary stage, are intended to drum up support from a range of countries, especially those in the wealthy Group of 7 (G7), to coordinate support for any possible restrictions. It was not clear what specific sanctions Washington will propose. The conversations have not been previously disclosed. (Reuters)
Parliamentarians in Finland voted strongly in favor of becoming part of the NATO alliance in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Finnish legislature took the vote ahead of ratifications from Hungary and Turkey, increasing the likelihood it will join the alliance ahead of neighboring Sweden. The parliament voted to accept the terms of the NATO treaty by 184 votes against seven, with one abstention and seven lawmakers being absent. (Deutsche Welle)
Western allies are pushing the United Arab Emirates to halt exports of critical goods to Russia as they seek to starve Vladimir Putin’s military of components to sustain its war against Ukraine. Officials from the US, EU and UK have in recent weeks visited the wealthy Gulf state to spell out the wide-ranging scope of their trade restrictions, and to press UAE officials to clamp down on suspected sanctions busting, according to people involved in the trips. (Financial Times)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered improvements to infrastructure and expansion of farmland to ramp up food production, amid warnings of an impending food crisis. Kim gave instructions to revamp irrigation systems, build modern farming machines and create more arable land as he wrapped up the seventh enlarged plenary meeting of the ruling Workers' Party's powerful Central Committee. (Reuters)
Eli Lilly, one of the largest makers of insulin, said it would make dramatic cuts to the prices of several of its older insulin products in an effort to lower costs for consumers whose insulin is not fully paid for by insurance. It also expanded its program to cap out-of-pocket insulin costs at $35 for people who do have health insurance. The moves come amid a public and political uproar over the price of insulin. Previous moves by the industry have been largely viewed as insufficient and haven’t dulled the controversy around the issue. (STAT News)
Millions of UK patients will be offered help to come off antidepressants and painkillers under an NHS drive to tackle addiction to prescription pills. New national guidance urges GPs to stop writing repeat prescriptions for those who have become dependent on common medications. The NHS England plan, which aims to avoid a US-style opioid crisis, recommends that patients be sent to art, music or gardening classes instead of being prescribed painkillers such as tramadol or codeine. (The Times)
Biden administration lawyer may have saved student loan forgiveness plan at Supreme Court, experts say. The government’s top Supreme Court lawyer may have saved President Joe Biden’s $400 billion student loan forgiveness plan from what experts considered all but certain defeat. Experts lobbed praise on Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, the lawyer who represented the Biden administration in front of the nine justices Tuesday. “The Biden administration now seems more likely than not to win the cases,” said higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz. “Her preparation, poise and power were impressive,” Kantrowitz said. University of Illinois Chicago law professor Steven Schwinn agreed: “Prelogar knocked it out of the park.” “I do think she could have influenced or even changed the thinking of two justices, maybe more,” he added. (CNBC)
Rail unions tell Biden officials that workers have fallen ill at Norfolk Southern derailment site: The presidents of U.S. railroad unions told Biden administration officials that rail workers have fallen ill at the Norfolk Southern derailment site in East Palestine, Ohio, in a push for more train safety. Leaders from 12 unions met with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Amit Bose, administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration, in Washington, D.C.(CNBC)
The Senate voted to overturn a Labor Department rule that permits fiduciary retirement fund managers to consider climate change, good corporate governance and other factors when making investments on behalf of pension plan participants. The final vote in the Senate was 50-46, with two Democratic senators crossing party lines to support the repeal bill: Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Sen. Jon Tester of Montana. Both are up for reelection next year in conservative-leaning states. President Joe Biden said he will veto the Senate bill if it comes to his desk — the first veto of his presidency. (CNBC)
Why Chicago matters for the Democratic debate on crime: Chicago's mayoral runoff is about to provide an early test of how Democrats are redefining their public safety platform ahead of 2024. Deep-blue cities are leading a real-time transformation of the Democratic Party in a post-pandemic world where voters demand more forceful answers on public safety solutions. Democrats have multiple high-profile mayoral races in November, including Philadelphia, Houston and Denver. (Axios)
California saw little reprieve on Thursday as severe winter weather continues to hammer the state, setting the stage for record breaking snow accumulation across the Sierra Nevada mountains. Heavy snowfall is choking off entry and exits from tourist towns, closing popular national parks, piling snow as high as rooftops, causing dangerous travel conditions and leaving thousands without power, with more snow on the way. (The Guardian)
Economy
Demand for U.S. workers shows signs of slowing, a long-anticipated development that is appearing in private-sector job postings even while government reports indicate the labor market is running hot. Figures from ZipRecruiter Inc. and Recruit Holdings Co., two large online recruiting companies, show the number of job postings on their sites declined more late last year than the Labor Department report on job openings for that period indicated. The companies report available jobs fell further this year, potentially foretelling a decrease in openings in coming Labor Department reports, and a slowdown in hiring this year. (Wall Street Journal)
Mortgage demand from homebuyers drops to a 28-year low. Mortgage rates moved higher again last week, pushing buyers back to the sidelines just as the spring housing market is supposed to be heating up. Mortgage applications to purchase a home dropped 6% last week compared with the previous week. Volume was 44% lower than the same week one year ago, and is now sitting at a 28-year low. (CNBC)
Car Debt Is Piling Up as More Americans Owe Thousands More Than Vehicles Are Worth. (Bloomberg)
Traders of futures tied to the Federal Reserve's policy rate added to bets that the U.S. central bank will raise its benchmark rate to a range of 5.5%-5.75% by September, as a widely-followed report signaled some upward price pressures in manufacturing last month. The rate-futures contracts currently are pricing in a high likelihood of interest-rate hikes at each of the Fed's next several meetings, and a receding chance of any rate cuts later this year. (Reuters)
For those looking for more signs that January's economic rebound extended into February, a closely watched manufacturing survey showed activity continuing to contract, though at a slower pace. There were also some early signs of rebounding demand — and hope that this demand would accelerate later this year. Details: Overall, the Institute for Supply Management's Purchasing Managers' Index remained in territory that suggests contracting output (47.7%) — only a marginal improvement from January's level (47.4%). Between the lines: America's factories saw increased demand, with the new orders index jumping by 4.5 percentage points (though it remains in contraction). A smaller share of industries reported that activity was contracting at a strong pace; meanwhile, prices increased at a faster rate. (Axios)
Manufacturers in Asia's two biggest economies are performing very differently after the pandemic. Factory activity in China expanded last month at the fastest pace in more than a decade, official figures show. However, in Japan manufacturing activity shrank in February at the fastest pace in over two years. Firms around the world are balancing reopening as Covid restrictions ease against rising costs of everything from energy to workers' wages. (BBC)
Sen. Bernie Sanders is moving to subpoena Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz to face lawmakers’ questions about the company’s labor practices. The summons, which would have to be approved by the committee Sanders heads, comes amid a wave of union organizing efforts at the coffee chain’s stores. Union leaders, the National Labor Relations Board and Democratic lawmakers have accused the company of using illegal tactics to head off unionization; Starbucks has denied the accusations. (Politico)
Salesforce shares jump 16% on better-than-expected forecast. The company is expanding its share buyback program after introducing it last year. Also, activist investor Elliott Management has nominated a slate of directors for Salesforce’s board, sources told CNBC’s David Faber. The nominating window closes March 14, and it is unclear if it is two or three nominees. (CNBC)
Technology
Huawei Technologies is in Spain pitching its cloud services and 5G technologies to global clients, emerging from three years of COVID restrictions and working around multiple U.S. trade sanctions that have hindered its expansion ambitions. Huawei has the biggest exhibition space at this year's Mobile World Congress, and its booth at the telecom industry event is packed with crowds from morning to evening. An army of executives have flown in from China, set on wooing customers from Europe, Latin America, Africa and other Asian countries -- in other words, anywhere but the U.S. (Nikkei Asia)
South Korea’s semiconductor inventory rose at the fastest pace in almost 27 years in January, underscoring a prolonged tech slump that’s dragging on the country’s economic growth. (Bloomberg)
Elon Musk’s much-ballyhooed third Master Plan for Tesla Inc. fell flat with investors after failing to offer any firm detail on the company’s long-awaited next generation of electric cars. The four-hour presentation was long on Musk’s vision to lead the world’s transition to sustainable energy, but short on any detail on new products. The longer the event went on, the more investors appeared to lose heart. Tesla shares fell as much as 6.8% to $189 in after-hours trading. (Bloomberg)
Amazon's Ring names former Meta and Microsoft executive Elizabeth Hamren as its CEO, replacing Ring founder Jamie Siminoff, who will remain as chief inventor. (GeekWire)
Smart Links
‘Havana syndrome’ not caused by energy weapon or foreign foe, review finds. (Washington Post)
Alphabet’s Robotaxi Unit Waymo Says it Laid Off 8%. (The Information)
Former GOP lawmaker Liz Cheney to teach at University of Virginia. (Washington Post)
Mike Froman to be new Council on Foreign Relations president. (Axios)
5 Essential Soft Skills to Develop in Any Job. (Harvard Business Review)