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The World
The IMF cut its growth projections for the US economy this year and next, and raised its unemployment-rate estimates through 2025, warning that a broad-based surge in inflation poses “systemic risks” to both the country and the global economy. Gross domestic product in the world’s biggest economy will expand 2.3% this year, the executive board of the Washington-based lender said in its so-called Article IV consultation released Tuesday. That’s less than the 2.9% it projected last month, when its staff concluded a visit for the report. (Bloomberg)
Nato and EU sound alarm over risk of Ukraine weapons smuggling: Nato and EU states are pushing for better tracking of weapons supplied to Ukraine in response to fears that criminal groups are smuggling them out of the country and on to Europe’s black market. A number of Nato member states are discussing with Kyiv some form of tracking system or detailed inventory lists for weapons supplied to Ukraine, two western officials briefed on the talks told the Financial Times. (Financial Times)
Switzerland, Playground of Russian Oligarchs, Emerges as Sanctions Weak Link: Ownership shuffles and tradition of secrecy thwart efforts by Alpine financial haven to punish billionaire allies of Vladimir Putin. (Wall Street Journal)
Eight candidates will fight the first round of the Conservative leadership election after Sajid Javid withdrew from the contest. The eight MPs in the first round of voting, which takes place tomorrow afternoon, will be Rishi Sunak, Penny Mordaunt, Liz Truss, Tom Tugendhat, Kemi Badenoch, Nadhim Zahawi, Jeremy Hunt and Suella Braverman. (The Times)
London's Heathrow Airport announced that it would place cap limits on the number of daily departing passengers and asked airlines to stop selling new tickets through the remainder of the summer season. (Axios)
Ho Chi Minh airport to expand capacity to 45 million passengers. (Nikkei Asia Review)
Beijing has “lodged stern representations” with Tokyo after Taiwan’s vice-president attended the funeral of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday. William Lai’s visit to Tokyo was a “political scheme” that would not succeed, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters at a regular press briefing in Beijing. He said Taiwan is a part of China and “does not have a so-called vice-president”. (South China Morning Post)
The U.S. and China, the world’s two greatest greenhouse gas emitters, have each caused global economic losses of more than $1.8 trillion from 1990 to 2014, according to a new Dartmouth College study. Researchers said the findings, which were published in the journal Climatic Change on Tuesday, could provide opportunities for climate liability claims between individual countries. “This research provides an answer to the question of whether there is a scientific basis for climate liability claims — the answer is yes,” said Christopher Callahan, a Ph.D. candidate at Dartmouth and a study author. (CNBC)
Economy
Fears about a recession on the horizon weighed on stocks, oil and bond yields, continuing a volatile stretch for global markets. The S&P 500 fell for a third consecutive session, losing 35.63 points, or 0.9%, to 3818.80. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 192.51 points, or 0.6%, to 30981.33. The technology-focused Nasdaq Composite shed 107.87, or 0.9%, to 11264.73. Losses accelerated in the final hour of the trading session. (Wall Street Journal)
Wall Street recession fears stoked by patchy US economic data: Markets expect the Fed to continue raising rates this year before changing course in 2023. (Financial Times)
Container ship traffic from Asia to the U.S. in June totaled 1.72 million twenty-foot equivalent units, up 4% on the year and setting a record for that month. (Nikkei Asia Review)
Goldman Sachs has hired a senior Google executive to co-head a newly created innovation group, the latest example of the Wall Street bank mining talent from a tech giant. In a memo sent to Goldman staff on Tuesday, which was seen by the Financial Times, chief executive David Solomon said Jared Cohen would run the bank’s Office of Applied Innovation alongside George Lee, co-chief information officer and a longtime Goldman partner. Cohen will also join as Goldman’s president of global affairs. Lee will continue as co-CIO until October when Marco Argenti will become sole CIO. Cohen and Lee will both report to Solomon. (Financial Times)
Housing Could Provide More Fuel for Inflation: Climbing housing costs are set to keep inflation elevated this year, creating another challenge for Federal Reserve officials who want to see signs that price pressures are easing before slowing their interest-rate increases. (Wall Street Journal)
These 10 U.S. real estate markets are cooling the fastest. (CNBC)
Technology
Twitter sued Elon Musk for violating the $44 billion deal to buy the social media platform and asked a Delaware court to order the world's richest person to complete the merger at the agreed $54.20 per Twitter share, according to a court filing. "Musk apparently believes that he - unlike every other party subject to Delaware contract law - is free to change his mind, trash the company, disrupt its operations, destroy stockholder value, and walk away," said the lawsuit. (Reuters)
Google plans to slow hiring for the remainder of the year in the face of a potential economic recession, Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai said Tuesday in an email to staff. Pichai said the company will focus on hiring “engineering, technical and other critical roles,” in 2022 and 2023, according to a copy of the email viewed by Bloomberg News. (Bloomberg)
Peloton is ending in-house production of the exercise bikes that earned the connected fitness company a fanatical following, in the latest strategic rethink to follow the sharp reversal in its financial fortunes. (Financial Times)
The Way We Work Has Changed. So Should Offices: The American office has changed dramatically as it evolved from the factory-like office floors of the early 20th century, to the cubicle-bound postwar corporate world, to our own era of flexible workstations and open-floor plans. But the stresses now coming to bear on the white-collar workplace are unlike anything we’ve seen before. Three factors, distinct yet deeply intertwined, have conspired to make the work environment a site of unprecedented contention, as well as tremendous opportunity. First, the ongoing move away from manufacturing toward a knowledge-based digital economy has made the idea of the brick-and-mortar workspace (and the hierarchical structure that comes with it) seem outdated. Second, the Covid-19 pandemic allowed a huge number of people to begin working from home — and many are not enthusiastic about resuming their former habits. Finally, there’s been a tectonic shift in the way Americans are thinking about work itself, as evidenced in the phenomenon some have called “the Great Resignation.” How can offices adapt to this new and complex condition? (Bloomberg)
Smart Links
America’s new agricultural frontier: vertical farms. (Financial Times)
Bitcoin miners could save the Texas grid — or sink it (Texas Monthly)
NYC Prepares for the ‘Big One’ With Nuclear Attack PSA Video. (Bloomberg)
Chinese companies are going global as growth slows at home. (CNBC)