Know someone who would like this newsletter? Forward it to them.
The World
Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong warns of US-China ‘mishap’ over Taiwan. The prime minister said heightened tensions were unlikely to lead to ‘war overnight’, but a ‘miscalculation’ over the island could still occur. “I think we should be concerned,” Lee said. (South China Morning Post)
China can’t develop if it’s isolated from the world, Xi’s no. 2 says. (Bloomberg)
Xi's need to overtake Deng poses big risk for Taiwan. (Nikkei Asian Review)
Belarus President Lukashenko agreed to EU talks on ending migrant standoff. In a phone call with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Lukashenko reportedly said his country is ready to negotiate with the EU on solving the crisis at the Polish border. (Deutsche Welle)
Boris Johnson has admitted to Tory MPs that he had “crashed the car into a ditch” by embroiling his party in two weeks of sleaze allegations. In a tacit apology to Conservative backbenchers the PM admitted that he had been wrong to try and rip up parliamentary standards rules to save the career of the former cabinet minister Owen Paterson. He pledged that the government would work with opposition parties to toughen rules on outside jobs. (The Times)
Former UK PM David Cameron has announced he will resign as chairman of the advisory board of the software company Afiniti after its founder was accused of sexual assault and harassment. (The Times)
Mask-wearing is the single most effective public health measure at tackling Covid, reducing incidence by 53%, the first global study of its kind shows. (The Guardian)
The fourth Covid wave is hitting Germany with 'full force', Merkel says, calling for an extra push on vaccinations ahead of a crisis meeting with federal and regional leaders. (The Guardian)
Americans moved last year at the lowest rate in over 70 years, according to Census Bureau data, continuing a decades-long decline and defying perceptions that the pandemic had caused people to move at higher rates. Between March 2020 and March 2021, 27.1 million Americans reported living at a different residence than a year earlier, compared with 29.8 million people in 2020. This represents an 8.4% mover rate, the lowest documented figure since records started being kept in the 1940s, and suggests the country’s long downward trend was not interrupted by the pandemic. (Washington Post)
Employees at beleaguered video game company Activision Blizzard walked out following a Wall Street Journal report that CEO Bobby Kotick knew about sexual misconduct claims at the company and didn’t inform its board of directors for years. (Washington Post)
After months of silence on whether Activision Blizzard would meet any employee demands, the company agreed to improved working conditions for contractors, including paid time off, a pay raise and sick leave, among other benefits. (Protocol)
Americans' support for stricter gun control has fallen five percentage points to 52%, the lowest reading since 2014. At the same time, 35% of U.S. adults think laws covering the sale of firearms should be kept as they are now and 11% favor less strict laws. (Gallup)
Economy
With the holidays around the corner, Biden’s inflation problem is about to get worse: Almost 9 in 10 voters say they’re at least somewhat concerned about inflation, and over half disapprove of Biden’s handling of the economy. 3 in 4 Republicans, 3 in 5 independents and nearly half of Democrats say they’re “very concerned” about rising prices. About 3 in 5 voters hold the Biden administration’s policies responsible for inflation, including roughly half of Democrats. (Morning Consult)
Retailers say they have plenty in stock for Black Friday: Target and the owner of TJ Maxx said that quarterly sales were strong and that they have been able to stock ample inventory for the critical holiday season. (Wall Street Journal)
President Biden called on the FTC to investigate whether oil-and-gas companies are participating in illegal conduct aimed at keeping gasoline prices high, in the latest effort by the White House to respond to public concerns about costs for everything from fuel to groceries. The president said gasoline prices had risen about 3% from a month earlier even as the price of unfinished gasoline, which hasn’t yet been blended with other liquids for use in vehicles, was down more than 5%. Outside analysts expressed skepticism that the FTC would find enough evidence to substantiate Biden’s allegations. (Wall Street Journal)
Amazon has banned UK-issued Visa credit cards in protest at “high fees”, sparking fears of a war between retailers and the payment network. Visa last month began charging 1.5% of the transaction value for credit card payments made online or over the phone between the UK and EU, and 1.15% for debit card transactions, up from 0.3% and 0.2% respectively. (Financial Times)
Behind China's great crypto exodus to Singapore: Singapore is emerging as a global crypto stronghold as droves of Chinese blockchain investors, startups and crypto exchanges scramble to fly the coop following an intense regulatory crackdown at home. (Protocol)
OpenSea, the most popular marketplace for non-fungible tokens, is fielding new investment offers that could increase its valuation roughly six times to $10 billion or higher. (The Information)
Is hybrid work the new 'mommy track'? Take a spin through “future of work” articles on the Internet, and you’ll find many calling the shift to hybrid work a positive gamechanger for women in particular. Women, after all, are more interested than men in working remotely at least part of the time. One survey, from LinkedIn, found women were 26 percent more likely than men to apply to remote jobs. And it’s easy to see why: Women are disproportionately burdened with caregiving responsibilities, either for children or elderly relatives. Since the Covid-19 pandemic shuttered schools and other childcare facilities, women have found it increasingly difficult to juggle those responsibilities with work, which — along with punishing job losses in sectors where women make up the majority of workers — has caused an exodus of women from the workforce. Women have lost 2.4 million jobs since February 2020, according to an analysis from the National Women’s Law Center. And female participation in the workforce is hovering at a level last seen in the 1980s. If more companies let women work from home several days a week, helping them better juggle work and family, isn’t that a good thing? Maybe not. As this long-term hybrid future comes into view, a group of academics, executives, gender-equality advocates and women themselves are increasingly worried that it might start to harden around new norms that hurt women rather than help them. Their fear is that women will take advantage of the hybrid benefit more than men, choosing to work more days at home, while companies subtly — or not so subtly — continue to favor employees who come into the office more often. Even if they say they won’t, employers will use frequent time with bosses and long hours in-person as the basis for advancing. Less formally, workers not in the office might miss impromptu conversations that lead to new opportunities. Over time, so-called hybrid friendly companies will develop two-tier workplaces — with the lowest tier populated mostly by women. (Politico, Fortune)
Technology
Apple is opening up iPhones and Macs to DIY repairs. The company plans to start selling parts and tools and offering instructions on how to repair Apple products at home, without having to bring them into a store or a third-party repair shop. Apple plans to start with the iPhone 12 and 13, followed by Macs with M1 chips. You’ll be able to replace the iPhone’s display, battery, and camera using parts from Apple at first, with other options coming later. This is a huge shift from Apple, which has historically been resistant to the right-to-repair movement and from any repairs happening outside of its own stores. Even this week, Apple was walking back software that prevented Face ID from working if customers replaced their own screen. (The Verge)
Code in the iOS 15.2 betas reveals the existence of a private “SportsKit” framework, currently integrated with the Apple TV app, Siri, and home screen widgets. (9to5Mac)
Graphics-chip company Nvidia Corp. posted another quarter of record sales amid supercharged demand for video gaming and data centers. America’s largest chip company by market value has enjoyed a period of strong growth with the pandemic boosting consumer appetite for video games and the wider adoption of digital services that run on data centers. (Wall Street Journal)
Spotify expands Podcast Subscriptions globally and now includes 20 price points from $0.50 to $150 and a way for creators to download subscribers' contact info. (TechCrunch)
Information disorder 'creates a chain reaction of harm,' according to Aspen Institute report. "Information disorder is a crisis that exacerbates all other crises. When bad information becomes as prevalent, persuasive, and persistent as good information, it creates a chain reaction of harm." That's how the Aspen Institute's Commission on Information Disorder begins its sweeping new report on the subject. 16 commissioners spent the better part of a year studying disinformation and the broader impacts of "a world disordered by lies." They discussed all sorts of potential solutions. The results include fifteen specific recommendations for Big Tech, government regulators, newsrooms, civil society, and other stakeholders. (CNN, Aspen Institute)
Smart Links
Thanksgiving air travel to rebound to 2019 levels. (Associated Press)
Airlines are rewriting the rules on frequent-flier programs — again. (Wall Street Journal)
Deere union workers accept latest deal, ending first strike since 1986. (Bloomberg)
Warner Music in talks to purchase David Bowie’s songwriting catalogue. (Financial Times)
Shape-morphing microrobots deliver drugs to cancer cells. (American Chemical Society)
Pittsburgh Penguins valued at more than $850m in Fenway Sports deal. (Financial Times)
If you’re getting takeout in L.A. and want plastic, you’ll have to ask for it. (Los Angeles Times)