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The World
The IMF agreed to boost the finances of low and middle-income countries to support their pandemic response though a $650bn allocation of its special drawing rights. The allocation, which is a form of foreign reserve asset, is the equivalent of newly minted money that will be given to the fund’s 190 member countries roughly in proportion to their share of the global economy. About $275bn of the allocation will go to emerging and developing countries. (Financial Times)
Asia is emerging as a weak link in an otherwise strong global economic recovery, as new pandemic restrictions restrain manufacturing in some countries and the exports that have powered the recovery in China show signs of slowing. As factory production contracts across Southeast Asia, Indonesia and Malaysia, which have recently faced surging caseloads and Covid-19 deaths, have been among the worst affected. (Wall Street Journal)
“Do you give a damn?” Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards reissued a mask mandate, as Louisiana is set to break record for COVID hospitalizations: “Health care delivery is in peril.” Seven San Francisco Bay Area counties will mandate that people wear masks indoors starting this week. Chronicle Editorial: Make vaccination the price of admission to society. (New Orleans Times Picayune, San Francisco Chronicle)
Germany and Britain have announced plans to offer a booster shot against the coronavirus starting as soon as September — while a new study finds a link between small business job growth and vaccination rates. Equinox and SoulCycle will require proof of vaccination starting in September. (Axios, Axios-2, CNBC)
In a dramatic shift from last month, more Americans now say the coronavirus situation in the U.S. is getting worse (45%) rather than better (40%). In June, a record 89% said the situation was getting better, while only 3% said it was getting worse. (Gallup)
Six months after seizing power from the elected government, Myanmar’s military leader on Sunday declared himself prime minister and said he would lead the country under the extended state of emergency until elections are held in about two years. (Los Angeles Times)
Thousands more Afghans who may be targets of Taliban violence due to their U.S. affiliations will have the opportunity to resettle as refugees in the U.S.United States under a program announced by the State Department. The "Priority Two" refugee program will cover Afghans who worked for U.S.-funded projects and for U.S.-based non-government bodies and media outlets. (Reuters)
Scientists have long been worried about what many call “the methane bomb” — the potentially catastrophic release of methane from thawing wetlands in Siberia’s permafrost. But now a study by three geologists says that a heat wave in 2020 has revealed a surge in methane emissions “potentially in much higher amounts” from a different source: thawing rock formations in the Arctic permafrost. The difference is that thawing wetlands releases “microbial” methane from the decay of soil and organic matter, while thawing limestone — or carbonate rock — releases hydrocarbons and gas hydrates from reservoirs both below and within the permafrost, making it “much more dangerous” than past studies have suggested. (Washington Post)
Intense wildfires burning across Siberia's Sakha Republic sent a plume of smoke all the way to the North Pole on Sunday into Monday, as seen by scientists tracking the blazes via satellite imagery. The fires have been raging since early spring. (Axios)
Economy
Xi Jinping’s capitalist smackdown sparks a $1 trillion reckoning: While Xi’s comments went largely unnoticed by global investors at the time, the crackdown on tutoring companies that followed has become the starkest illustration yet of the Chinese president’s commitment to a sweeping new vision for the world’s second-largest economy — one where the interests of investors take a distant third place to ensuring social stability and national security. Call it progressive authoritarianism. Weeks after Xi’s school visit, China said private education had been “hijacked by capital” and ordered tutoring companies to become non-profits, accelerating a selloff that at its most extreme erased $1.5 trillion from Chinese stocks and dented the portfolios of some of the biggest names in global finance. Combined with new requirements for data security reviews ahead of overseas IPOs, directives for food-delivery firms to pay staff a living wage and escalating curbs on unaffordable housing, the tutoring crackdown has triggered a growing realization that the old rules of Chinese business no longer apply, and left investors wondering which sector will be the next target for regulators. “This marks a watershed shift in China’s policy priorities,” said Liao Ming, Beijing-based founder of Prospect Avenue Capital, which manages $500 million. “The government is going after industries that are creating the most social discontent.” (Bloomberg)
U.S. manufacturing activity grew at a slower pace in July for the second straight month as raw material shortages persisted, though there are signs of some easing in supply-chain bottlenecks. The survey from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) showed a measure of prices paid by manufactures fell by the most in 16 months, while the supplier deliveries index retreated further from a 47-year high touched in May. (Reuters)
Financial firms including British insurer Prudential, lenders Citi and HSBC and BlackRock Real Assets are devising plans to speed the closure of Asia's coal-fired power plants in order to lower the biggest source of carbon emissions. The group plans to create public-private partnerships to buy out the plants and wind them down within 15 years, far sooner than their usual life, giving workers time to retire or find new jobs and allowing countries to shift to renewable energy sources. (Reuters)
There appears to be a link between states seeing a strong rebound in a slice of small business hiring: higher vaccination rates. A new report by payroll processing firm Gusto says places with a bigger share of their population fully jabbed also saw bigger instances of job growth in the service sector. (Axios)
UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak has told young people that going into the office can be “really beneficial” to their careers and warned that video conferencing was no substitute. Sunak said that working from home would not have enabled him to build strong relationships that had stood the test of time and he cautioned against allowing remote working to become the norm. (The Times)
The New York Times Company announced it would be indefinitely delaying its return to the office. (The Hill)
Goldman Sachs is increasing base pay for its entry-level employees — first-year analysts — to $110,000, a nearly 30% increase from the previous starting salary of $85,000, according to a person familiar with the matter. Second-year analysts are set to make $125,000, up from $95,000. Salaries for first-year associates will jump to $150,000 from $125,000. (Wall Street Journal)
The number of women running Global 500 businesses soared by nine to an all-time high of 23, and this time six are women of color. The number of women running companies on the Global 500 isn’t a scientific assessment of the state of diversity at companies worldwide, but it does provide a useful glimpse into who is leading the global economy. This year’s all-time high of 23, however, still represents just 4.6% of the 500 companies on the list. That’s a much lower statistic than the Fortune 500 (measuring American business), where women run 41 out of 500 companies, or 8.2%. (Fortune)
Technology
A National Labor Relations Board official recommended nullifying the results of a closely watched vote by which Amazon warehouse workers in Alabama in which they rejected a plan to join a union, according to the labor group involved in the case. The recommendation by the NLRB hearing officer is a critical step in a process that could lead to a new vote to supplant the results of the one held in April. The findings will be reviewed by a regional NLRB director overseeing the case, who could make a final decision in a matter of weeks. (Wall Street Journal)
Google unveils first in-house chip to power new Pixel phones: Google announced it will build its own smartphone processor, called Google Tensor, that will power its new Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro phones this fall. It’s another example of a company building its own chips to create what it felt wasn’t possible with those already on the market. In this case, Google is ditching Qualcomm. The move follows Apple, which is using its own processors in its new computers instead of Intel chips. (CNBC)
Google founders have sold $1 billion in stock since May, the most since 2017. (CNBC)
Review: This fall, Google will release two slightly different Pixel phones: the Pixel 6 and the Pixel 6 Pro. If the final versions are anything like the prototypes I saw last week, they will be the first Pixel phones that don’t feel like they’re sandbagging when it comes to build quality. Both versions of the Pixel were glass sandwiches with fit-and-finish that are finally in the same league as what Samsung, Huawei, and Apple have to offer. Google is only sharing a few of the key specs for each phone, leaving the details for later — likely October. The Pixel 6 Pro will have a 6.7-inch QHD+ display with a 120Hz refresh rate. That screen is very slightly curved at the edges, blending into shiny, polished aluminum rails on the side. It has three cameras on the back. The regular Pixel 6 has a 6.4-inch FHD+ screen with a 90Hz refresh rate. Its screen is perfectly flat, with matte-finished rails. It also loses the telephoto camera. (The Verge)
Twitter announced it’s partnering with news organizations The AP and Reuters to expand its efforts focused on highlighting reliable news and information on its platform. Through the new agreements, Twitter’s Curation team will be able to leverage the expertise of the partnered organizations to add more context to the news and trends that circulate across Twitter, as well as aid with the company’s use of public service announcements during high-visibility events, misinformation labels and more. (TechCrunch)
Reese Witherspoon’s media business, Hello Sunshine, is selling itself, part of a plan to build an independent entertainment company for Hollywood’s streaming era. The companies didn’t disclose the terms of the deal. People familiar with the matter said it values Ms. Witherspoon’s company, whose production slate has included programming such as the HBO drama “Big Little Lies,” at about $900 million. (Wall Street Journal)
Smart Links
40% of clinicians worry primary care will be gone in just five years. (Healthcare Dive)
Will Nvidia’s huge bet on artificial-intelligence chips pay off? (The Economist)
Fed Governor Waller sees tapering possibly starting in October. (CNBC)
Indian edtech Unacademy valued at $3.44 billion in $440 million fundraise. (TechCrunch)
How Amazon is using high-tech cameras to rate driver safety. (The Information)
Bill and Melinda Gates are officially divorced following 27-year marriage. (CNBC)