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The World
Joe Biden and Xi Jinping will discuss ways to prevent tensions from spiraling into conflict when the US and Chinese presidents hold a virtual meeting today amid rising concern about Taiwan and Beijing’s nuclear arsenal. The two leaders have held two calls this year but people familiar with the virtual meeting said both sides were lowering expectations about outcomes from the discussion, which is not being billed as a “summit.” (Financial Times)
Support for Taiwan is a threat to peace, Chinese President Xi warns Joe Biden. (The Times)
Beijing accused the EU of risking damage to world supply chains by throwing up regulatory and trade hurdles to foreign businesses, warning “discriminatory” practices could strain the global recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. The Chinese ambassador to the EU said the European Commission’s drive to sharpen its trade toolkit was seen by some businesses as heralding “more inward-looking and unilateral measures” and the creation of “new trade barriers”… “The moves taken by the EU will also have global consequences, and such moves might create further stress to the global supply and industry chain,” said Zhang Ming in an interview with the FT. (Financial Times)
The EU will tighten sanctions on the Belarus regime by targeting those closest to its authoritarian leader, the union’s top diplomat has said, as ministers prepare to step up their response to what Brussels terms a “hybrid attack” at its eastern border. Meanwhile, Poland’s prime minister said NATO must take "concrete steps" to resolve the migrant crisis on the Belarus border, adding that Poland, Lithuania and Latvia may ask for consultations under the alliance's treaty. (Financial Times, Reuters)
North Korea is converting an air base near its border into a disinfection facility for containers transported by train, a move analysts say may lead to the resumption of trade with China. Satellite images from the CSIS think-tank seen by the FT reveal the building project at Uiju, near North Korea’s north-west border with China, following two years of isolation and economic struggle. (Financial Times)
The White House named former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu as the senior adviser responsible for coordinating the implementation of the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill. President Biden is due to sign the bill today, when he plans to tout how the core piece of his signature domestic agenda will "deliver to American families." Landrieu will oversee funds for upgrading roads, bridges, rail and high-speed internet, among other responsibilities. (Axios)
Democrats’ plan to limit drug price inflation faces a test in Senate: Attempts at price controls have to conform with the parameters of the reconciliation process they’re hoping to use to pass the social spending package on a party-line vote. (Politico)
Boris Johnson's Conservatives have lost their lead in two opinion polls after a growing parliamentary standards scandal prompted almost two thirds of respondents in one survey to say the British prime minister's party was disreputable. (Reuters)
Support for Australian PM hits 18-month low just months out from election. (Reuters)
Economy
China’s economic recovery stabilized as retail sales, industrial production growth beat expectations. Retail sales and industrial production rose by 4.9% and 3.5%, respectively, in October from a year earlier. Fixed-asset investment grew by 6.1% in the January-October period, while the surveyed jobless rate remained at 4.9% in October. (South China Morning Post)
Japan's economy contracted much faster than expected in 3Q21 as global supply disruptions hit exports and business spending plans and fresh COVID-19 cases soured the consumer mood. The economy shrank an annualized 3.0% in July-September after a revised 1.5% gain in 1Q21, much worse than a median market forecast for a 0.8% contraction. While many analysts expect the world's third-largest economy to rebound in the current quarter as virus curbs ease, worsening global production bottlenecks pose increasing risks to export-reliant Japan. (Reuters, Nikkei Asian Review)
The disruption to supply chains that has bedeviled the bike industry since the pandemic is deepening, a manufacturer of parts used by riders in the Tour de France and Olympics has warned. Federico Musi, chief executive of Look Cycle, a French company whose high-end products span clipless pedals, carbon frames as well as whole sports bikes, said the delivery times for parts it buys from overseas continue to lengthen. (Financial Times)
Return to the office survey: More than 1,000 readers — from London to Qatar — shared their concerns and hopes. There was optimism about hybrid work, a blend of office and remote working, as people from sectors including travel, technology and financial services, spanning all levels of the workforce, seized on it as an opportunity for both men and women to enjoy the companionship of the office, as well as attend to personal lives. But there was also concern that flexible arrangements could falter because of poor management, and as face-time re-emerges as a feature of working life. One particular worry was that hybrid work patterns might intensify gender inequality. Men and women differ on their expectations about time spent at home and at the office. 73% of female respondents predict spending between one and three days in the office once all Covid-related restrictions lifted, with only 18% opting for four or five days. Among male respondents, however, 63% planned to come to the office for one to three days, with 28% expecting to attend on four or five days. (Financial Times)
Technology
China’s internet regulator released draft rules that would require companies listing in Hong Kong to undergo a cyber security review if the share sale could implicate national security, threatening a recent shift by tech groups to the territory. The Cyberspace Administration of China, the country’s powerful data watchdog, announced in July that it would tighten rules for companies seeking to list overseas, with those that hold data on more than 1m users required to pass a security review. (Financial Times)
How Alibaba tracks China's delivery drivers: The food delivery service Eleme, owned by Alibaba, built a Bluetooth tracking system to make “instant delivery” a reality. (MIT Technology Review)
Unable to win Beijing’s approval, Fortnite gives up on China. The government’s hostility to the industry is weakening prospects for game makers. (Bloomberg)
IBM has created a quantum processor able to process information so complex the work can't be done or simulated on a traditional computer. Quantum computing could help address problems that are too challenging for even today's most powerful supercomputers, such as figuring out how to make better batteries or sequester carbon emissions. IBM says its new Eagle processor can handle 127 qubits, a measure of quantum computing power. In topping 100 qubits, IBM says it has reached a milestone that allows quantum to surpass the power of a traditional computer. (Axios)
Apple’s rivalry with Meta isn’t about privacy — it’s about AR, watches and home devies. (Bloomberg)
Trapped in the metaverse: Here’s what 24 hours in VR feels like. Everyone is blabbing about the metaverse. But what does this future digital world look like? WSJ’s Joanna Stern checked into a hotel and strapped on a virtual-reality headset for the day. She went to work meetings, hung out with new avatar friends and attended virtual shows. (Wall Street Journal)
Smart Links
Rivian’s IPO defies VC gravity. (Protocol)
Elon Musk spars with Bernie Sanders, offers to sell more Tesla stock. (Reuters)
Why Pfizer won’t share its $36 billion secret vaccine formula. (Bloomberg)
Virgin Atlantic ready to make U-turn and land again at Gatwick. (The Times)
Nearly two fifths of Scots back building of new nuclear plants. (The Times)
COP26 opens path to international carbon trading. (Wall Street Journal)
Renters who abandoned their city apartments during Covid are coming home to a crazy leasing market. (Wall Street Journal)