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The World
Inside the Hidden War Between the Taliban and ISIS: Just as the Taliban has been fighting American coalition forces in Afghanistan, it has been waging a separate but parallel war against its rival Islamist group. On one side are the Taliban, who have co-opted remnants of al Qaeda. On the other is the Afghan arm of Islamic State, known as ISIS-K, which has sought to incorporate parts of Afghanistan into a broader caliphate emanating from the Middle East. The Taliban, assisted at times by other countries and U.S. coalition forces, were the winner in that effort, defense officials say. ISIS-K has been driven from its enclaves in Afghanistan and its fighters dispersed into hiding. There appeared to be little resistance as the Taliban swept across the country this month in the wake of the U.S. withdrawal. (Wall Street Journal)
Enough housing to accommodate a whole new town must be found for Afghan refugees arriving in Britain, Boris Johnson said as the government turned its attention to the integration of those fleeing the Taliban. The prime minister said that the “overwhelming majority” of interpreters who worked with British troops had been airlifted out of Kabul as the last evacuation flights were preparing to leave Afghanistan. (The Times)
Transcript of Biden’s Speech After Kabul Airport Attack: The president mourned the U.S. service members and others killed and addressed those responsible: “We will hunt you down and make you pay.” (Transcript)
Japanese former foreign minister Fumio Kishida challenged Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga for the leadership of the ruling party, as the premier struggles with crumbling approval rates ahead of a general election. The winner is virtually assured of being prime minister because of the LDP's majority in parliament's lower house. The LDP chief must lead the party to a general election by Nov. 28. (Reuters)
Federal data shows almost 77.3% of all ICU beds are occupied with 28% of those beds filled with confirmed COVID-19 patients. Almost half of all states report their hospitals’ ICUs have exceeded 75% capacity. (The Hill)
Foreign businesses threaten to quit Hong Kong over strict quarantine rules. (Financial Times)
A study conducted by USC in collaboration with the L.A. County Department of Public Health found that in a cohort of 1,200 adults, unvaccinated people were more likely to go out to bars and clubs, visit friends and family at home and attend gatherings, while vaccinated people were more likely to wear face masks and avoid large gatherings or shaking hands. (Los Angeles Times)
The window of opportunity for investigating the origins of SARS-CoV-2 is closing fast, says a group of independent international researchers, convened by the WHO in October 2020 to join the joint WHO–China investigation. They argue that the process has stalled — and further delay will render some of the studies biologically impossible. They summarize the scientific process so far, and set out how to fast-track the follow-up scientific work required to identify how COVID-19 emerged. (Nature)
Extended unemployment benefits for jobless Texans will end in September, the Texas Workforce Commission said. (Texas Tribune)
Lake Tahoe prepares for emergency as wildfire threatens. (Associated Press)
Smoke fills northern Minnesota skies as Greenwood fire grows. Scrambling outfitters wonder what's lost, what's ahead as fires close wilderness. (Star Tribune)
The five-year rolling averages of acres burned by wildfires in California shows that, despite a quiet 2019, the average area destroyed annually is growing. With an exceptionally destructive 2020, the figure will remain elevated for a while. As of Aug. 23, more acres had already burned in California in the current fire season than by the same time in 2020, signaling that another bad year for wildfires in the state might happen. (Statista)
Economy
The ‘Great Resignation’ is likely to continue, as 55% of Americans anticipate looking for a new job, in the next 12 months, according to Bankrate’s August jobseeker survey. Some 56% of those surveyed said that flexibility was their primary reason to look for a new job, topping higher pay and job security. This trend was the same even for the lowest-paid workers — 52% of those making $30,000 or less still put flexibility as their top reason to look for a new job, over higher pay. Other surveys have shown similar results. Nearly 40% of consumers surveyed by Ally Bank in August said they’re considering changing jobs in the next six months, citing remote work, career advancement and flexibility as top desires. (CNBC)
A supply chain crunch that was meant to be temporary now looks like it will last well into next year as the surging Delta variant upends factory production in Asia and disrupts shipping. Manufacturers reeling from shortages of key components and pricier raw materials and energy are being forced into bidding wars to get ship space, pushing freight rates to record highs and prompting some exporters to raise prices or cancel shipments altogether. "We can't get enough components, we can't get containers, costs have been driven up tremendously," said Christopher Tse, chief executive of Hong Kong-based Musical Electronics. (Straits Times)
Cigna plans to expand its products in the Affordable Care Act marketplace to three new states and 93 new counties in 2022, as COVID-19 continues to drive increased payer investment in government products. The expansion, which is pending regulatory approval, brings Cigna's exchange footprint to 313 counties across 13 states. (Healthcare Dive)
Only 6% of board seats at Japanese companies are held by women. After years of unkept promises, these businesses are now facing pressure both at home and abroad to diversify. The efforts in Japan are intended to overcome decades of unkept promises from political and business leaders to increase opportunities for Japanese women, who face some of the starkest inequality in the developed world. They remain less likely to be hired as full-time employees and on average earn almost 44 percent less than men. Many leave their jobs after having a child, and making up the lost time is almost impossible under Japan’s seniority-based system. (New York Times)
A record number of Europe-based fintech startups are joining the unicorn ranks. Collectively, these companies have raised $22.6 billion to date—with more than half of that funding coming in this year alone—and are altogether valued at $178 billion. We look at the most highly valued and funded companies on the list and the top investors in Europe’s fintech unicorns. (Crunchbase)
Peloton Interactive lowered by 20% the price of its original stationary bike, a move that comes as the company expects more muted growth in the coming year. The lowest-cost Peloton Bike will sell for $1,495, down from $1,895. The higher priced Bike+ still goes for $2,495. (Wall Street Journal)
Bank of America announced its most significant executive shake-up in years with the retirement of two longtime senior leaders. Chief Operating Officer Tom Montag, who oversees the global markets and banking operations, will step down at the end of this year. Anne Finucane, a vice chairman and confidant of Chief Executive Brian Moynihan, will also leave her role. (Wall Street Journal)
New York City surpassed San Francisco and claimed the inglorious post of the most expensive place to rent a one-bedroom apartment in the nation, according to apartment rental site, Zumper. Data from July from the listing site Zillow, while still showing San Francisco as the more expensive place to rent, showed that New York City had closed a gap between the two cities since March 2020 and was only about 4 percent behind. (New York Times)
Rent growth across the nation continues to accelerate at an alarming rate. Zumper’s national rent index shows median one-bedroom rent up 9.2% since the second quarter of 2020, while two-bedrooms are up even more at 11%. The Austin metro area has been a popular destination after a number of tech companies relocated or opened offices there after the pandemic. (Zumper)
Technology
Netflix and Video Games: "Leisure defaulted to TV for decades. It no longer does." In 2018, I released the third entry in my “Netflix Misunderstandings” series: “Netflix Isn’t Being Reckless, It’s Just Playing a Game No One Else Dares.” In it, I argued that while Netflix was unlikely to pursue live sports, live news, or ads for “at least a decade,” a nearer-term push into gaming felt inevitable given the company’s culture and growing scale. Later that year, I tweeted that “Fortnite is Netflix’s most threatening competitor.” (41 days later, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings mentioned Fortnite for the first time, writing in his Q4 2018 investor letter, “We compete with (and lose to) Fortnite more than HBO.”) This essay covers four areas: (1) Why Netflix wants to enter gaming (beyond the money); (2) The challenges Netflix faces when entering gaming; (3) What Netflix seems to be doing; and (4) Where this might be going and when. (Matthew Ball)
Netflix is organizing its first global fan event, called Tudum, which will be streamed on YouTube, Twitch and Twitter next month. (Protocol)
The world’s largest contract chip maker is raising prices by as much as 20%, a move that could result in consumers paying more for electronics. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. plans to increase the prices of its most advanced chips by roughly 10%, while less advanced chips used by customers like auto makers will cost about 20% more. The higher prices will generally take effect late this year or next year. Apple is one of TSMC’s largest customers and its iPhones use advanced microprocessors made in TSMC foundries. (Wall Street Journal)
Apple will relax some App Store rules in order to settle a class-action lawsuit brought by U.S.-based developers over its store terms. Apple will let developers communicate with users about alternative payment methods outside of the App Store. It will also set up a $100 million fund for small developers and make some other changes to its practices, but it's keeping its overall commission structure. (Axios)
Apple CEO Tim Cook received more than five million shares of Apple stock this week, selling most of the stock for more than $750 million, according to an SEC filing posted by Apple. The tranche of stock is the final part of the compensation package that Cook received when he took over as CEO of Apple 10 years ago. Last year, he got a new compensation package that runs through 2026. The majority of Cook’s compensation is in the form of restricted stock units. (CNBC)
Microsoft warned thousands of its cloud computing customers, including some of the world's largest companies, that intruders could have the ability to read, change or even delete their main databases, according to a copy of the email and a cyber security researcher. (Reuters)
Brussels is set to launch a formal competition probe into Nvidia’s planned $54bn takeover of British chip designer Arm early next month, after months of informal discussions between regulators and the US chip company. (Financial Times)
Weekend Reads
Discord has won over gamers. Now it wants everybody else. Chief executive Jason Citron is looking to broaden the appeal of the popular chat platform. First came the gamers, then came the offers for his business. In recent months Jason Citron, chief executive and founder of gaming-focused chat platform Discord, has rebuffed a series of potential suitors, including a $12bn takeover bid from Microsoft and reported interest from Twitter, Amazon and Epic Games. “Ever since it was clear that we were starting to be successful, people started to approach us,” the 36-year-old software engineer said in an interview with the Financial Times. But Citron has his sights on another prize: bringing the niche Discord, whose 150m users mostly use it to chat to one another while gaming, to a mass audience. (Financial Times)
Smart Links
U.S. investors cut leverage for first time since start of pandemic. (Financial Times)
Southwest to cut fall flights following tough summer. (Wall Street Journal)
Hedge funds and private equity improve ESG focus yet face differing reporting and monitoring challenges. (Private Equity Wire)
Tesla files to become an electricity provider in Texas. (CNBC)
YouTube to roll out picture-in-picture viewing for all US iOS users. (TechCrunch)
Vice begins new round of layoffs after latest pivot to video. (The Wrap)
India won’t surprise markets with sudden rate hike, central bank governor says. (CNBC)
The CLO market is having its most active month ever. (Axios)