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The World
The Biden administration is moving to significantly expand the intelligence it is providing to Ukraine’s forces so they can target Moscow’s military units in Russian-occupied Donbas and Crimea, part of a shift in U.S. support that also includes a new security assistance package with heavier weaponry. The new intelligence guidance comes as the White House said that it will send $800 million in additional weapons to Kyiv, including artillery, armored personnel carriers and helicopters, to help Ukrainian forces hold off a major Russian offensive in the eastern part of the country that is expected to unfold in coming days. (Wall Street Journal)
The Polish and Baltic presidents headed to the Ukrainian capital by train to show support for the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and his embattled troops in what the Polish presidential adviser Jakub Kumoch called “this decisive moment for the country.” The Polish president, Andrzej Duda, Estonia’s Alar Karis, Gitanas Nausėda of Lithuania and Latvia’s Egils Levits met in the Polish city of Rzeszów near the Ukrainian border. “Heading to Kyiv with a strong message of political support and military assistance,” Nausėda tweeted from the station. (The Guardian)
Some 1,000 Ukraine marines surrender in Mariupol, says Russia. (Reuters)
Finland will take a decision about whether to apply to join the NATO alliance in the next few weeks, Prime Minister Sanna Marin said, underlining a shift in security perspectives since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (Reuters)
EU and NATO are keeping a nervous eye on Marine Le Pen’s bid for French presidency: While Macron’s lead ahead of the April 24 run-off has eased acute concerns among officials in Brussels and across Europe, the potential remains for France to elect a president who wants to pull the country out of NATO’s military structures, tear up reams of EU legislation and restore relations with Russian president Vladimir Putin. “I am very worried about it, I hope that we won’t get Le Pen as president of France,” Luxembourg foreign minister Jean Asselborn said this week, in a rare public rebuke of her candidacy by a foreign official — but a refrain heard regularly behind closed doors. “The French need to prevent this,” he said, adding that her victory “would not only mean a break away from the core values of the EU, it would totally change its course”. (Financial Times)
Marine Le Pen has said she will push for closer ties between Russia and NATO and end France’s special relationship with Germany if she wins the presidency in 10 days. The National Rally leader promised to make France a new “sovereign power” in the world, upending decades of French diplomacy if she beats President Macron in the run-off vote for the Élysée Palace on April 24. (The Times)
Imran Khan kicked off a defiant campaign against his removal as Pakistan’s prime minister, calling on thousands of his supporters to “hold regular public protests” to seek early elections. Addressing crowds in the city of Peshawar near the border with Afghanistan, Khan set out his stall as a potentially disruptive opposition force that could challenge the new government of prime minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad. (Financial Times)
The U.S. renewed the COVID-19 public health emergency, allowing millions of Americans to keep getting free tests, vaccines and treatments for at least three more months. The public health emergency was initially declared in January 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic began. It has been renewed each quarter since and was due to expire on April 16. (Reuters)
The wealthiest Americans pay just 3.4% of income in taxes: Tax records from 2014 to 2018, analysed by ProPublica, show 25 Americans collectively earned $401bn but paid just $13.6bn. (The Guardian, ProPublica)
Economy
JPM CEO Jamie Dimon said the economy is strong and growing, citing double-digit growth in card spending, low delinquencies and healthy household and consumer balance sheets. But the bank surprised Wall Street by setting aside $900 million in new funds to prepare for economic turmoil. Those extra funds could cushion the bank if the economy tips into recession, sending loan defaults higher. Dimon said that risk remains remote but has grown following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and as inflation has hit its highest level in 40 years. “Those are very powerful forces, and those things are going to collide at one point,” Dimon said. “No one knows what’s going to turn out.” A recession, he said, is far from a sure thing. “Is it possible? Absolutely,” he said. (Wall Street Journal)
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who has spent the last year touting low unemployment and rapid growth, now delivered a different message: New risks will test the strength of the U.S. and global economies. Yellen said that with prices spiking around the world, especially of key commodities like oil and wheat, she’s worried about the possibility of a recession in Europe, which is most vulnerable to the fallout from Russia’s war on Ukraine. She also said the Federal Reserve would need a combination of “skill” and “good luck” to rein in inflation without killing a booming U.S. job market. (Politico)
More than three-quarters of Japanese firms say the yen has declined to point of being detrimental to their business, with almost half of companies expecting a hit to earnings. The results of the Reuters Corporate Survey are one of the clearest signs yet that much of Japan Inc is struggling with higher costs and worsening consumer demand caused by the yen's weakness. The survey also showed almost 60% think the government should move quickly to restart nuclear reactors, evidence that higher energy costs - driven in part by the currency's slide - may be changing opinion on nuclear policy. (Reuters)
Amazon is adding a 5% surcharge to its delivery fees in response to rising fuel costs and inflation. The fee, which takes effect April 28, will be applied to US sellers using Amazon’s logistics network to deliver products, known as Fulfillment By Amazon. It is not intended to be permanent, nor will it be passed on to consumers directly. (Financial Times)
U.S. adults across all major demographics reported purchasing less gas in March. There was a 15-point increase in the share of baby boomers who reported buying less gas compared with the previous month. And while urban drivers reported the biggest pinch in gas demand in February, suburban residents showed the biggest increase in pullback in March. Gen Xers and baby boomers sharply decreased their driving, as did rural and suburban residents and those from lower-income households. In fact, 42% of consumers with an annual household income of under $50,000 reported driving less in March than in the previous month. To get around without driving, consumers have been getting creative. In March, 44% of adults said they chose walking as an alternative to driving in the past month due to rising gas prices, while 18% opted for biking and 15% turned to public transportation. (Morning Consult)
Technology
Google says it will invest $9.5B across 2022 to build US offices and data centers, with plans to create 12,000 jobs, up from the $7B announced in 2021, putting money behind its bid to get more workers back in its buildings. (Bloomberg)
Apple customers say delivery estimates for orders of some MacBook Pro models have been pushed back, in some cases as far as mid-June, amid China's lockdowns. (Bloomberg)
‘Jack Dorsey’s First Tweet’ NFT went on sale for $48M. It ended with a top bid of just $280. Crypto entrepreneur Sina Estavi bought Twitter founder Jack Dorsey’s first-ever tweet as an NFT for $2.9 million last year. He listed the NFT for sale again at $48 million last week. (Coindesk)
Spotify reports 2021 royalty payments: $7B+ paid to music rightsholders, up from $5B in 2020, as 1,040 artists made $1M+/year and 16.5K artists made $50K+/year. (Music Ally)
China’s plan to find Earth 2.0: Scientists in China will soon release detailed plans for the country’s first exoplanet mission. Its goal is to discover the first Earth-like planet orbiting in the habitable zone of a star similar to the Sun. The Earth 2.0 satellite is designed to carry seven telescopes that will observe the sky for four years. Six of the telescopes will work together to survey the Cygnus–Lyra constellations — the same patch of sky scoured by NASA’s Kepler telescope, which discovered more than 5,000 exoplanets. “The Kepler field is a low-hanging fruit, because we have very good data from there,” says astronomer Jian Ge. (Nature)
Smart Links
Holiday travel is back — with long lines and big waits. (Wall Street Journal)
California unveils proposal to ban new gas-fueled cars by 2035. (CNBC)
Tax breaks to many nonprofit hospitals exceed charity care provided. (Healthcare Dive)
Delta chief says ticket sales are surging despite inflation concerns. (Financial Times)
'The best meeting length is not a meeting.' A crypto exec shares his productivity hacks. (Protocol)
The growing, lightly controversial industry teaching kids crypto. (Vox)