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The World
‘We Want Freedom’: China’s Covid Protests Spread to Major Cities. In a rare show of defiance, crowds in China gathered for the third night as protests against Covid restrictions spread to Beijing, Shanghai and other cities. People held blank sheets of paper, symbolizing censorship, and demanded the Chinese president step down. (Wall Street Journal)
Not since the protests of Tiananmen Square in 1989 have so many Chinese risked arrest and other repercussions to take to the streets over a single issue. Xi had claimed personal responsibility for leading the "war" against COVID-19, justified zero-COVID with a need to "put people above everything" and counted his "correct" COVID policy among his political achievements when he sought a precedent-breaking third term at the 20th Communist Party Congress in October. (Reuters)
Global stocks fall sharply after China’s zero-Covid protests. US equities drop and oil prices stabilize, while Hong Kong stocks were rising in Asia session. (Financial Times, CNBC)
iPhone Pro Wait Times Hit New Peak After Factory Disruptions. Covid has interrupted output at key Zhengzhou plant in China: ‘The zero China Covid policy has been an absolute gut punch’. (Bloomberg)
Shanghai Disneyland to remain temporarily closed. (Yahoo! Finance)
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that the so-called "golden era" of relations with China was over, saying Beijing's systemic challenge to Britain's interests and values was growing more acute. In his first major foreign policy speech, Sunak said Britain's approach to China needed to evolve and Beijing was "consciously competing for global influence using all the levers of state power". (Reuters)
The week that could unravel the global oil market: The potential unraveling of the old order in the global oil market will reach a defining moment over the next week when Europe starts to block Russian seaborne crude from the continent — one of the strongest responses yet to Vladimir Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. The new sanctions will also stop European companies from insuring vessels carrying Russian oil to third countries — unless those countries accept a price for the oil dictated by western powers. In other words, western countries will attempt to impose a cap on the price of oil sold by Russia. (Financial Times)
U.S., Russia have used their military hotline once so far during Ukraine war. (Reuters)
US officials said Russia postponed crucial nuclear weapons talks due to begin today. (Financial Times)
An Iranian general acknowledged that more than 300 people have been killed in the unrest surrounding nationwide protests, giving the first official word on casualties in two months. That estimate is considerably lower than the toll reported by Human Rights Activists in Iran. (Associated Press)
President Joe Biden called for Congress to act immediately to head off an economically crippling freight rail strike, saying there appeared to be “no path to resolve the dispute at the bargaining table.” Biden asked that Congress act “without any modifications or delay” to impose a tentative settlement that leadership of railroads and 12 unions had hammered out in September. However, of the 12 unions that voted on contract proposals, the rank and file membership of four of them have voted no, keeping the possibility of a strike as soon as Dec. 9 alive. (Politico)
Flu hospitalizations increase nearly 30% as U.S. enters holiday season. (CNBC)
U.S. life insurers paid a record $100 billion in 2021 in death benefits, fueled by another year of Covid-19 deaths. Payouts rose 11% in 2021 to $100.19 billion, most likely due to the pandemic. The increase was on the heels of a 15% year-over-year rise in 2020. (Wall Street Journal)
The W.H.O. will phase out the name of the disease monkeypox over the next year, replacing it with the term mpox. The name and even the virus itself has been deemed by many to exacerbate the stigma attached to the infection — a sentiment the WHO referenced in the statement it issued announcing the change. (STAT News)
Hawaii's Mauna Loa volcano erupts for first time in nearly 40 years. Two shelters have been opened on Hawaii island as a precaution but no evacuations have been ordered. (Honolulu Star Advertiser, Reuters)
Economy
Top Fed official warns US unemployment could hit 5% next year: NY Fed President John Williams said the central bank needed to do more to stamp out price pressures that have proven surprisingly persistent across a wide array of goods and services in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic. Williams said he expected the unemployment rate to rise from its current 3.7% to between 4.5- 5% by the end of next year as the Fed takes further steps to tighten monetary policy via higher interest rates and a smaller balance sheet. (Financial Times)
Disney hiring freeze will stay in place, CEO Bob Iger tells employees. (CNBC)
Sales of newly built homes rose 7.5% in October from the prior month, led by sales of higher-priced homes, offering a little relief for a housing market that has been clobbered by the rapid doubling of mortgage rates. (Wall Street Journal)
Restaurants Push Chicken as Prices Drop: Prices for chicken breasts have fallen about 70% since June, bringing relief to Popeyes, Applebee’s and other chains, which have struggled with escalating costs this year. (Wall Street Journal)
Elon Musk’s Boring Company Ghosts Cities Across America: The tunnel venture has repeatedly teased local officials with a pledge to ‘solve soul-destroying traffic,’ only to back out. The six-year-old company has repeatedly teased cities with a pledge to “solve soul-destroying traffic,” only to pull out when confronted with the realities of building public infrastructure, according to former executives and local, state and federal government officials who have worked with Mr. Musk’s Boring. The company has struggled with common bureaucratic hurdles like securing permits and conducting environmental reviews, the people said. “Every time I see him on TV with a new project, or whatever, I’m like: Oh, I remember that bullet train to Chicago O’Hare,” said Chicago Alderman Scott Waguespack. Boring had backed away from its proposal for a high-speed tunnel link to the airport there. (Wall Street Journal)
Workers in financial services are often ignoring company rules on the number of days they should be in the office, according to a report sponsored by some of the UK’s largest financial institutions. The study found staff wanted more flexible working as they rejected presenteeism in favor of productivity. (Financial Times)
Snap Staff Told to Be in Office Four Days a Week Starting in February: CEO Spiegel’s new rule goes into effect at end of February, as he pitches the move as a way to accelerate company’s growth. (Bloomberg)
LinkedIn’s CEO says skills are replacing a college degree in this job market. (Fortune)
Cyber Monday Sales On Track to Break Record Despite US Inflation. US shoppers have spent $6.3 billion so far on Cyber Monday, a robust showing that suggests steep discounts attracted inflation-stung shoppers. Cyber Monday spending will reach as much as $11.6 billion, making it the biggest online spending day ever. (Bloomberg, Statista)
Technology
Alphabet has doubled the headcount in its Google Cloud unit since early 2019, outstripping Alphabet’s overall hiring growth. The rapid growth helps explain why Google Cloud’s losses continue to widen even as its revenue grows rapidly. Google’s hardware unit and YouTube also each roughly doubled headcount between 1Q19 and this fall. And the number of employees working in marketing and finance roles across Google roughly doubled to 4,500 and 5,500, respectively. (The Information)
Google has licensed its AI research model for breast cancer screening to medical technology company iCAD. This is the first time Google is licensing the technology, with the hopes that it will eventually lead to more accurate breast cancer detection and risk assessment. The two companies aim to eventually deploy the technology in real-world clinical settings — targeting a “2024 release.” (The Verge)
Where are all the tech experts? Hong Kong’s got plenty of jobs but not enough talent, and employers are fed up. Expats have left, Hongkongers have emigrated and there aren’t enough fresh tech grads for vacancies. In the global race for talent, city’s new plans to woo top earners are attractive, but will they come? (South China Morning Post)
More than 70,000 academics and staff members at 150 UK universities began the largest strike in the history of higher education on 24 November. They are protesting against poor pay, unsustainable working conditions and pension cuts. “While some vice-chancellors earn £500,000 and can claim expenses for all sorts of luxuries, our PhD students and staff are using food banks,” says chemist Helen Coulshed. “What universities are doing is a direct attack on the future of science.” (Nature)
Smart Links
JPMorgan, Other Banks in Talks to Reimburse Scammed Zelle Customers. (Wall Street Journal)
U.S. warns California cities to prepare for possible water cuts and fourth year of drought. (CNBC)
Renewables are on track to generate more power than coal in the U.S. this year. (E&E News)
Crypto Lender BlockFi Follows FTX Into Bankruptcy. (Wall Street Journal)
The Uber-ization of US Trucking Is Only Speeding Up. (Bloomberg)
US judge orders Amazon to ‘cease and desist’ anti-union retaliation. (The Guardian)
The first-ever privately-funded commercial lander is about to head to the moon. (Popular Science)