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The World
Biden bets on emerging markets as Xi snubs G20. U.S. President Joe Biden arrives at this weekend's Group of 20 (G20) meeting in India with an offer for the "Global South": whatever happens to China's economy, the United States can help fund your development. Armed with cash for the World Bank and promises of sustained U.S. engagement, Biden hopes to persuade fast-growing economies in Africa, Latin America and Asia that there is an alternative to China's Belt and Road project, which has funneled billions of dollars to developing countries but left many deeply in debt. He will have at least one advantage: Chinese President Xi Jinping will not be at the meetings. While Biden said he was "disappointed", Xi's absence as China's economy wobbles creates a narrow opening for Washington to reshape the agenda of a political club it has struggled to corral. (Reuters)
U.S., Saudi, India, UAE hope to ink railway deal to connect Middle East at G20. The project is one of the key initiatives the White House is pushing in the Middle East as China's influence in the region grows. The Middle East is a key part of China's Belt and Road vision. The joint railway project is expected to be one of the key deliverables Biden wants to present during the G20 Summit in New Dehli this weekend. (Axios)
US to supply depleted uranium ammo to Kyiv. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has announced a new aid package worth $1 billion (around €932 million) for Ukraine. The top diplomat is on a two-day unannounced visit to the country. As part of the package, the US is planning to supply 120-millimeter depleted uranium rounds to Kyiv. The ammunition is for M1 Abrams tanks that are expected to be delivered before the end of the year. Meanwhile, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg downplayed any suggestion that Russia attacked Romania after possible drone debris was found near the border over night. (Deutsche Welle)
COVID-19 on the rise in Europe as bloc flies blind into fall and winter. COVID-19 transmission in Europe appears to have risen in recent weeks but with the majority of countries not providing full data on the virus, experts are in the dark about the true extent of the situation, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said Thursday. Data published by the ECDC shows an uptick of cases in the most recent 14-day period observed, which ended on August 27. While the agency said the magnitude of the increase is lower than previous peaks, it added that there has also been a large reduction in the number of tests performed. The data gaps in the ECDC's latest briefing are even more dire when it comes to hospitalizations and deaths. (Politico)
COVID outbreaks hit workplaces, schools across California as summer illnesses worsen: In Los Angeles County, the number of new COVID-19 outbreak investigations at work sites tripled in the last month, reaching 73 for the 30-day period that ended Sept. 1. (Los Angeles Times)
Moderna Says Covid Booster Works Against New Variant. Moderna’s updated booster generated protection against latest subvariants in clinical trial. (Wall Street Journal)
North Korean held a launching ceremony for a new submarine it said was capable of tactical nuclear attacks, a move that could increase its ability to carry out atomic strikes in the region. The country’s state media released photos Friday of the ceremony for the vessel that was attended by leader Kim Jong Un, who said he wanted to push forward with increasing his navy’s ability to use nuclear weapons. (Bloomberg)
In a sharp escalation over the migrant crisis, Mayor Eric Adams claimed in stark terms that New York City was being destroyed by an influx of 110,000 asylum seekers from the southern border and said that he did not see a way to fix the issue. “Let me tell you something New Yorkers, never in my life have I had a problem that I did not see an ending to — I don’t see an ending to this,” the mayor said on Wednesday night in his opening remarks at a town hall-style gathering in Manhattan. “This issue will destroy New York City.” (New York Times)
The world has just experienced the hottest summer on record – by a significant margin. As heat waves continue to bake parts of the world, scientists are reporting that this blistering, deadly summer was the hottest on record – and by a significant margin. June to August was the planet’s warmest such period since records began in 1940, according to data from the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. The global average temperature this summer was 16.77 degrees Celsius (62.19 Fahrenheit), according to Copernicus, which is 0.66 degrees Celsius above the 1990 to 2020 average – beating the previous record, set in August 2019, by nearly 0.3 degrees Celsius. Typically these records, which track the average air temperature across the entire world, are broken by hundredths of a degree. This is the first set of scientific data to confirm what many had believed was inevitable. It’s been a searingly hot summer for swaths of the Northern Hemisphere – including parts of the United States, Europe and Japan – with record-breaking heat waves and unprecedented ocean temperatures. (CNN)
Hong Kong Shuts Down City After Heaviest Rainfall Since 1884: Schools won’t open, stock market trading will be delayed. Observatory says it recorded 158 mm of rain in just an hour. (Bloomberg)
Economy
Health-insurance costs are climbing at the steepest rate in years, with some projecting the biggest increase in more than a decade will wallop businesses and their workers in 2024. Costs for employer coverage are expected to surge around 6.5% for 2024, according to major benefits consulting firms Mercer and Willis Towers Watson, which provided their survey results exclusively to The Wall Street Journal. Such a boost could add significantly to the price tag for employer plans that already average more than $14,600 a year per employee, driving up health-insurance costs that are among the biggest expenses for many American companies and a drain on families’ finances. (Wall Street Journal)
Senior Federal Reserve officials signaled that the US central bank would hold interest rates steady at its meeting in September, even as they resisted declaring victory in their fight against inflation. Lorie Logan, president of the Dallas Fed and voting member on the Federal Open Market Committee, became the latest official to signal support for the central bank to keep its benchmark rate at a 22-year high when the FOMC gathers later this month. (Financial Times)
Goldman Sachs is preparing to impose another round of job cuts for employees deemed to be bottom performers, which could come as early as next month, said people familiar with the matter. The planned move is part of an annual exercise that typically results in between 1 per cent and 5 per cent of company-wide employees losing their jobs. Goldman is targeting a number at the lower end of that range at parts of its core investment banking and trading businesses and aims to begin the process as early as late October, the people said. (Financial Times)
Walmart Cuts Starting Pay for Some New Hires: Under the new structure most new hires will make the lowest possible hourly wage for that store. (Wall Street Journal)
KPMG halves pay for US partners on gardening leave amid poaching war: Move sets accounting firm apart from Big Four rivals as competition for talent intensifies. (Financial Times)
GM’s Offer of 16% Pay Hike Ahead of Strike Deadline Is Quickly Rejected by UAW. (Bloomberg)
Global Startup Funding Remains Subdued But IPO Market Sparks Hope Of Rebound. Global venture funding settled around $22 billion in August 2023, up around 19% month over month but down 16% from the $26.2 billion invested in July 2022, Crunchbase data shows. Last month’s startup funding total was on par with what’s emerged as the new normal for venture capital. So far in 2023, funding has averaged just over $23 billion per month as active investors have cut back their funding pace at each stage. Late-stage funding increased year over year for the first time in 18 months, but was still below the peak for this year, Crunchbase data shows. Early-stage funding almost halved and seed funding was down by around one-third from a year ago. Deal counts in August 2023 almost halved from a year earlier. (Crunchbase)
Hong Kong’s uber-rich population shrinks by 23% while New York, Singapore close in on top spot for ultra-wealthy. Asia’s population of ultra-wealthy people shrank by about 11 per cent in 2022 – the biggest decline among regions worldwide – as individuals with a net worth of more than US$30 million saw their riches diminished by China’s strict Covid-19 curbs, sluggish economies, geopolitical issues and an equities slump amid monetary tightening, according to the latest report by Altrata. Hong Kong remained ahead of New York City as the world’s premier city for ultra high net worth individuals (UHNWIs), with 12,615 such people versus New York’s 11,845, according to the London-based consultancy that compiles and tracks data on the wealthy and influential. However, Hong Kong’s lead narrowed significantly, as its UHNWI cohort declined by 23 per cent while New York’s grew by 2.3 per cent. (South China Morning Post)
Technology
China's widening iPhone curbs roil US technology sector. Beijing's widening curbs on iPhone use by government staff raised concerns among U.S. lawmakers on Thursday and fanned fears that American tech companies heavily exposed to China could take a hit from rising tensions between the countries. Apple fell more than 3% and was on track for its worst two-day decline since November after news that Beijing has told employees at some central government agencies in recent weeks to stop using their Apple mobiles at work. Several Wall Street analysts said the curbs show that even a company with a good relationship with the Chinese government and a large presence in the world's second-largest economy was not immune to rising tensions between the two nations. (Reuters)
China reportedly bars some government officials from using iPhones. (TechCrunch)
Apple releases macOS, iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS updates to address two zero-day flaws that Citizen Lab says were used to deliver NSO Group's Pegasus spyware. (The Record)
How Brands Are Turning College Students into Influencers. A decade ago, companies tapped college students to hand out t-shirts, rep their gear (think: wearing a Red Bull backpack to class), and give out flyers on university campuses. Now, many of these college ambassador programs are turning college students into mini influencers. For beauty company Clinique, for example, students create and post content on Instagram and TikTok to “create buzz” about its products. And they must have a modest social following already: 1,500 or more followers across Instagram and TikTok, according to a description of the program. They also host activities on campus and hand out samples to friends and classmates that come in a large package for Instagram-worthy unboxing. College students are paid to be part of the program. (The Information)
Smart Links
Most Americans support giving all kids free breakfast and lunch at school, new poll finds. (Chalkbeat)
Guns and Ammunition Tax Passed by California Senate: An excise tax of 11% would be the first imposed by any state. (Wall Street Journal)
The link between extreme weather in Greece, U.K. and Spain. (Axios)
Here’s what India’s historic lunar lander found on the moon — and what’s next. (CNN)