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The World
Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell triggered a sudden sell-off in long-term US Treasury debt and equities after he vowed to keep monetary policy steady even as the economy improves and inflation begins to rise. Powell said the central bank expected to be “patient” in withdrawing support for the recovery. Powell’s comments failed to alleviate fears that the central bank is reacting too slowly to the recent rise in inflation expectations and long-term Treasury yields. (Financial Times)
The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 3.02%. It is the first time the rate on America’s most popular home loan has risen above 3% since July and the fifth consecutive week it has increased or held steady. (Wall Street Journal)
The Senate voted to open debate on President Biden’s $1.9 trillion relief bill, as Democrats moved forward with no GOP support after failing to win over a single Republican senator on the new president’s first major legislative initiative. The vote was 51 to 50, with Vice President Harris breaking the 50-to-50 tie. GOP unity against the procedural motion suggested that no Republican will vote in favor of the legislation on final passage. (Washington Post)
Justice Amy Coney Barrett authored her first ruling since joining the U.S. Supreme Court in October - a decision that handed a defeat to an environmental group that had sought access to government documents. In the 7-2 ruling, the justices sided with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, thwarting the Sierra Club’s bid to obtain documents concerning a regulation finalized in 2014 relating to power plants. Barrett and the court’s other five conservative justices were joined by liberal Justice Elena Kagan in the majority. (Reuters)
President Biden plans to meet this month with the leaders of Japan, Australia and India in a virtual summit of the so-called Quad. By putting a Quad meeting on the president’s schedule, the White House is signaling the importance of partnerships and alliances to counter China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region. (Axios)
Two sessions 2021: The most important event on China’s political calendar got under way this morning. In 2021, the country will mark a series of milestones, from the centenary of the Communist Party to the 50th anniversary of the People’s Republic’s return to the UN. But eyes will also be on the future, as President Xi Jinping offers his vision of the next three decades, starting with the next five-year plan. Xi has claimed victory in the war against absolute poverty, putting China among the ranks of moderately developed nations. Additionally, Hong Kong’s legislature will likely be deferred for a second year to September 2022. (South China Morning Post, Reuters)
China’s baby crisis threatens massive economic burden. The end of the one-child policy failed to boost the birthrate, which has hit its lowest point since 1949. Officials fear that a rapidly ageing population will damage the nation’s superpower status. (The Times)
Myanmar’s military rulers attempted to move about $1 billion held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York days after seizing power on Feb. 1, prompting U.S. officials to put a freeze on the funds. Meanwhile, the U.S. imposed trade sanctions on Myanmar, calls on China to help end coup as violence escalates. (Reuters, CNBC)
The U.S. vaccination pace increased to 2 million doses a day, while Connecticut joined Texas and Mississippi in easing restrictions, and Alabama extended its mask mandate. Meanwhile, Texas’ largest cities — Austin, Dallas, El Paso, Houston and San Antonio — will keep requiring masks in municipal buildings even after statewide mandate ends. (New York Times, Texas Tribune)
Bill Magness, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas CEO who was terminated by his board, said he will not seek or accept severance pay. He would have been owed more than $800,000, his contract shows. (Texas Tribune)
Italy blocked the export of 250,000 doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine to Australia in an escalation of a row with the Anglo-Swedish company. In the first such intervention under the EU’s controversial export authorization scheme, the Italian government ordered that the doses remain in the bloc with the backing of the European commission. (The Guardian)
Texas Democrats warn that crisis at the border could be days away. The warnings come as the Biden administration moves to establish Ellis-Island-style rapid-processing hubs to release migrants into the U.S. within 72 hours. (Houston Chronicle)
Economy
The number of single women buying homes has grown during the pandemic, a surprising trend as Covid’s economic effects have disproportionately impacted the same group. Compared with the same time last year, single women bought 8.7% more homes in 4Q20. In comparison, single men saw an uptick of 4.6% in home buying during the same time period. (The Guardian)
Home price growth in U.S. cities surpasses suburbs for the first time since the pandemic started. (Mansion Global)
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang announced the world’s second-largest economy would target growth of over 6% for 2021. Li said the nation aimed for an urban unemployment rate of around 5.5% and targeted the creation of more than 11 million new urban jobs, the same as in 2019 and up from 9 million last year. China will also aim for an increase of around 3% in the consumer price index. (CNBC)
Startup shareholders don’t need IPOs to get liquidity: More options have emerged for startup employees and other shareholders to liquidate their shares in the private market, without having to wait for an IPO or acquisition. Nasdaq Private Markets and CartaX, in particular, are seeing sharp growth. (Crunchbase)
Weekend video viewing: The Conference Board hosted a three-day Building a More Civil & Just Society Conference showcasing how businesses are taking on one of America’s three major social inequities: economics (day one), health (day two), and race (day three). The series includes conversations with PayPal CEO Dan Schulman on Upgrading Capitalism, Ben and Jerry’s CEO Matthew McCarthy on Racial Equity, “Linked Prosperity” and Activism, a panel on The Corporation's Role in Driving Urban Economic Opportunity, and more. (Video: The Conference Board)
Technology
Apple could face an EU antitrust charge sheet in the coming weeks after a complaint by rival Spotify that it unfairly pushed its own music streaming service. The European Commission could send the statement of objections setting out suspected violations of the bloc’s antitrust rules to Apple before the summer. Meanwhile, the UK’s competition regulator is investigating Apple over claims that the technology group imposes rules on app developers that are unfair and ultimately lead to consumers paying higher prices. (Reuters, The Times)
Audio creators are a new kind of influencer, born of the meteoric rise of the audio-only chat app Clubhouse. Together, they are pulling in millions of weekly listeners and building online followings. Now, with Clubhouse booming and other social apps, like Twitter, taking cues from its success, they are banding together and working with big brands. This comes as Clubhouse approaches the end of an explosive first year. According to the analytics firm Apptopia, the app has been downloaded more than 4.7 million times since its introduction last April. The company raised more than $100 million in funding in January, placing its valuation at $1 billion. In light of Clubhouse’s quick rise, companies like Twitter and Facebook are racing to replicate the success of its audio-only format on their own platforms. (New York Times)
Clubhouse Is Disrupting Another Industry: Charity Telethons. A Clubhouse charity drive raised more than $140,000 for Texans hit by disaster (OneZero)
Here’s a look at Dispo, the invite-only picture sharing app everyone’s talking about: Everybody’s buzzing about Dispo, a new, invite-only app that brings back some of the fun of a disposable camera. It was created by David Dobrik, a popular YouTuber who gained early fame on the now-defunct social network Vine. As of Thursday, it’s the fifth most popular photo and video app for iPhone, ahead of Google Photos. (CNBC)
Square acquires majority of Tidal, Jay-Z’s streaming service, in $297 million deal. (New York Times)
Smart Links
U.S. expects 300,000 fewer births than usual this year. (New York Times)
Shutterfly in talks to go public through SPAC merger. (Wall Street Journal)
NFTs, explained: Let’s start with the basics. What is an NFT. What does NFT stand for? (The Verge)
Paramount Plus is betting on sports to get you to subscribe to another streaming service. (Fast Company)
‘Elite’ researchers dominate citation space: Just 1% of scientists capture more than one-fifth of all citations globally. (Nature)
Fewer low-income students apply to college despite record numbers otherwise. (Orlando Sentinel)
One-third of freshwater fish face extinction. (NBC News)