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The World
President Biden intends to pay for the $2 trillion package of infrastructure spending he will propose today with a substantial increase in corporate taxes. The scale of the infrastructure program — one of the most ambitious attempts in generations to shore up the nation’s aging roads, bridges, rail lines and utilities — is so big that it will require 15 years of higher taxes on corporations to pay for eight years of spending, they said. Biden’s proposals include raising the corporate tax rate to 28% from 21% and efforts to force multinational corporations to pay significantly more in tax to the United States on profits they earn and book overseas. The corporate tax rate had been cut under President Donald J. Trump from 35% to 21%. (New York Times)
“No SALT, no dice”: A leader of the House Democrats' moderate faction, Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, who co-chairs the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, said he won't even consider Biden's tax proposals unless the president agrees to reinstate the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction capped under former President Trump worth tens of billions every year. "Simply put," Gottheimer said, "no SALT, no dice." Leaders of the finance industry and other businesses in New York also are pushing Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to bring back the full deduction. (CNBC, Axios)
Biden also is expected to end the Trump ban on temporary foreign workers. (Reuters)
The U.S. Department of State's 2020 human rights report classified China's actions in Xinjiang as "genocide and crimes against humanity" for the first time, as tensions between the two countries over Beijing's treatment of its Uyghur Muslim minority population continue to rise. It also highlighted Russia’s targeting of political dissidents. (Nikkei Asian Review, Reuters)
Growth in China's services sector surged in March. The official non-manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index surged to 56.3 from 51.4 in February. The 50-point mark separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis. (Reuters)
Brazil has been rocked by political turmoil as pandemic outlook darkens: Six cabinet members are out. The military’s top leaders are also gone. First came the Monday morning exit of Brazil’s foreign minister, a right-wing ideologue blamed for failing to secure enough coronavirus vaccines. Then the defense minister was gone. Then the justice minister was replaced. Tuesday morning brought still more tumult: the departures of the navy, army and air force chiefs. The exits have sent political shock waves across Latin America’s largest country, precipitating the most politically uncertain moment of President Jair Bolsonaro’s two-year-plus tenure. Meanwhile, Covid in Brazil is “completely out of control.” (Washington Post, CNBC)
The share of U.S. adults who report being vaccinated for COVID-19 or intending to do so as soon as possible continues to rise (currently 61%) and the share taking a “wait and see” approach continues to shrink (now 17%), while the share who say they will “definitely not” get the vaccine (13%) has remained about the same since December. Black adults saw the largest increase in vaccine enthusiasm (55% of them now say they have either gotten vaccinated or want to as soon as possible), but one-quarter of Black adults say they still want to “wait and see” how the vaccine works for others before getting vaccinated, somewhat higher than the share of White adults who say the same. About three in ten Republicans and White Evangelicals say they will “definitely not” get the vaccine, as do one in five adults living in rural areas. (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Sweeping legislation to overhaul state’s electricity market in response to winter storm is heading to the Texas House after Senate's unanimous approval. Senate Bill 3 would require all power generators, transmission lines, natural gas facilities and pipelines to make upgrades for extreme weather. Its prospects are uncertain in the House. (Texas Tribune)
Airlines for America, a group representing American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and others, said it is committed to working with the aviation industry and the government to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. (Reuters)
For 115 years, the NCAA has been tightening its grip on what became the multibillion-dollar college-sports industry, with the lucrative annual men’s basketball tournament as its flagship. In the next few months, however, the NCAA stands to lose control of its empire’s future over an issue its member schools long hoped to avoid: athlete compensation. The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in a case related to college-athlete compensation tomorrow, three days before basketball’s men’s Final Four begins. A ruling is expected by the end of June. (Wall Street Journal)
Economy
U.S. home prices have risen at their fastest pace in 15 years, as the Case-Shiller index increased 11.2% in year ended in January, highest rise since February 2006. “It really can only be characterized as a super sellers’ market, not even just a sellers’ market,” said Odeta Kushi, deputy chief economist at First American Financial Corp. “The supply-demand imbalance isn’t going away anytime soon.” (Wall Street Journal)
JPMorgan, Salesforce join the growing list of firms dumping office space, as the rise of remote work means demand for office space could be permanently lower for some companies. (Wall Street Journal)
Michael Jordan and Kevin Durant are among those betting that the company behind NBA Top Shot is poised to build on the craze over digital collectibles. Dapper Labs said it raised $305 million from investors including the NBA legends and other athletes and celebrities such as Stefon Diggs, Ashton Kutcher, Shawn Mendes and Will Smith. The deal values the company at $2.6 billion. NBA Top Shot is a site where basketball fans can own a digital copy of a video highlight such as a dunk or game-winning shot. (Wall Street Journal)
PayPal will announce that it has started allowing U.S. consumers to use their cryptocurrency holdings to pay at millions of its online merchants globally, a move that could significantly boost use of digital assets in everyday commerce. (Reuters)
The dollar rose to a fresh one-year high versus the yen and traded near multi-month peaks with other rivals as investors bet that massive fiscal stimulus and aggressive vaccinations will help the U.S. lead a global pandemic recovery. (Reuters)
Meanwhile, Federal Reserve policymakers are optimistic about the U.S. economic outlook as more Americans are vaccinated and government aid gets to households and businesses, and they are not going to stand in its way. (Reuters)
Lululemon forecasts better-than-expected sales as its digital business accelerates. During the fourth quarter, its online sales surged 92%. Women’s sales were up 19%, and men’s grew 17% during the quarter. (CNBC)
Technology
Apple officially announced WWDC 2021 with the tagline “Glow and Behold.” This year, the conference will take place completely virtually starting June 7 through June 11. At WWDC 2021, Apple is likely to unveil the future of its software platforms, including iOS 15, macOS 12, watchOS 8, and more. (9to5Mac, Apple)
Google Maps will start directing drivers to 'eco-friendly' routes. Google also is bringing its Live View augmented reality directions to airports, transit stations, and malls. Live View directions let you hold your phone up, point your camera at the world around you, and see arrows and icons pointing you where you need to go, and previously, they only worked outdoors. (Reuters, The Verge)
Clubhouse’s list of competitors is growing:
LinkedIn confirmed it’s also testing a social audio experience in its app which would allow creators on its network to connect with their community. Unlike the Clubhouse rivals being built by Facebook and Twitter, LinkedIn believes its audio networking feature will be differentiated because it will be connected with users’ professional identity, not just a social profile. In addition, the company has already built out a platform that serves the creator community, which today has access to tools like Stories, LinkedIn Live video broadcasting, newsletters and more. (TechCrunch)
Spotify is buying Betty Labs, an app developer, and a live audio app developed by Betty Labs called Locker Room, a live social audio app where fans can talk about sports. The deal marks Spotify's first foray into social audio. The company said last month that it was looking at ways to make its podcast more interactive between creators and listeners. (Axios)
The Markup ran tests on every state’s Covid-19 vaccine website. From accessibility to privacy protections, the results were not always great. (The Markup)
Smart Links
10% of restaurants permanently closed. (Specialty Foods)
NFL owners approve 17-game season, starting this year. (ESPN)
Bank of America announces expansion of racial justice initiatives. (CNBC)
Billionaires step in to save local news. (Axios)
Biotech start-up behind AstraZeneca jab raises $168m. (Financial Times)
Yesterday marked 50 years since the first Starbucks store opened. (Statista)