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The World
New data shows that a year after the pandemic wrought economic devastation, forcing states to revise revenue forecasts and prepare for the worst, for many the worst didn’t come. One big reason: $600-a-week federal supplements that allowed people to keep spending — and states to keep collecting sales tax revenue — even when they were jobless, along with the usual state unemployment benefits. By some measures, the states ended up collecting nearly as much revenue in 2020 as they did in 2019. A J.P. Morgan survey called 2020 “virtually flat” with 2019, based on the 47 states that report their tax revenues every month, or all except Alaska, Oregon and Wyoming. (New York Times)
The oil industry’s top lobbying group is preparing to endorse setting a price on carbon emissions in what would be the strongest signal yet that oil and gas producers are ready to accept government efforts to confront climate change. The American Petroleum Institute is poised to embrace putting a price on carbon emissions as a policy that would “lead to the most economic paths to achieve the ambitions of the Paris Agreement.” (Wall Street Journal)
Global stocks bounced back and government debt rallied after last week’s turbulent trading, triggered by worries over the possibility of a breakneck economic expansion and the possibility of central banks tightening monetary policies. The S&P 500 index rose 2.4%, its biggest one-day gain in almost nine months and enough to erase almost the entirety of last week’s declines. The Nasdaq climbed 3%. Small-cap stocks advanced even further, with the Russell 2000 up 3.4% — on track for its best daily performance since early January. (Financial Times, Wall Street Journal)
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky warned that a recent increase in coronavirus cases indicated a “fourth surge” could occur before a majority of the US is vaccinated: “Now is not the time to relax the critical safeguards that we know can stop the spread of Covid-19 in our communities, not when we are so close.” (The Guardian)
The P.1 Covid-19 variant that originated in Brazil and has spread to more than 25 countries is around twice as transmissible as some other strains and is more likely to evade the natural immunity people usually develop from prior infection, according to a new international study. The research found that the P.1 variant was between 1.4 and 2.2 times more transmissible than other variants circulating in Brazil. It was also “able to evade 25-61% of protective immunity elicited by previous infection” with any earlier variant, in a sign that current vaccines could also be less effective against it. (Financial Times)
European leaders in Brussels have pledged that a vaccination passport scheme — a “digital green pass” — will be open to British travelers in time to save the summer holidays. Meanwhile, Hungarians are receiving the Chinese Covid vaccine as Orban breaks with EU strategy. Budapest also orders Russia-made shot despite lack of approval for use within bloc. (The Times, Financial Times)
The U.S. is expected to impose sanctions to punish Russia for the poisoning of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny as early as today. Meanwhile, President Biden met with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador amid growing pressure to find a workable immigration policy. (Reuters, Washington Post)
Nicolas Sarkozy, the president of France from 2007 to 2012, was sentenced to a year in prison yesterday on charges of offering a bribe to a judge in return for information. Sarkozy, 66, announced an appeal, a step that keeps him out of jail until another full trial has been completed. The former centre-right president is the first modern French leader to be convicted of corruption. (The Times, Le Monde)
'A 14-day Band-Aid is long enough': Many South Jackson, MS residents still have no running water after two weeks. In Texas, the chairwoman of the Public Utility Commission of Texas, the agency that regulates the state’s electric, telecommunication, and water and sewer utilities, resigned Monday. (Clarion Ledger, Texas Tribune)
California officials will provide public schools with $6.6 billion in additional incentives to reopen their doors to in-person instruction by April. (Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times)
Americans' desire for a third party sits at a high in Gallup's trend: 62% of U.S. adults say the "parties do such a poor job representing the American people that a third party is needed," an increase from 57% in September. (Gallup)
Economy
Goldman Sachs has restarted its cryptocurrency trading desk and will begin dealing bitcoin futures and non-deliverable forwards for clients from next week. The bank is also exploring the potential for a bitcoin exchange traded fund and has issued a request for information to explore digital asset custody. (Reuters)
Eric Lane is leaving his role as co-head of the asset management division of Goldman Sachs to become president and chief operating officer of the investment fund Tiger Global. The move comes just five months after the Wall Street bank reorganised its asset management division. The departure follows news that the head of Goldman’s Marcus consumer finance division was leaving to join a fintech start-up backed by Walmart and Ribbit Capital, and would take a senior lieutenant with him. (Financial Times)
The total value of U.S. homes was up 10% in January, almost a year after Covid-19 was declared a pandemic last March. Residential real estate across the country was worth $32.4 trillion in January, compared to $29.3 trillion for the same time in 2020. (Mansion Global)
China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) opens Friday, when Premier Li Keqiang will deliver the 2021 work report, which for a second consecutive year is not expected to include an explicit economic growth target. On the same day, China will also release its 14th five-year plan, a blueprint for 2021-2025 that calls for quickening reforms to unleash fresh growth drivers and make the economy more innovative. Sources have said a goal of the plan will be to achieve economic growth averaging around 5%. (Reuters)
Three North American companies are setting up a rare earths supply chain to reduce dependence on China for the vital metals used in weapons, electric vehicles and other advanced technology. Meanwhile, China's imports of steel increased by 150% to 38.56 million tons in 2020, as its producers struggled to keep up with surging demand. (Financial Times, Nikkei Asian Review)
Technology
In a research note outlining a roadmap for the iPhone lineup, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo shared a tidbit on Apple's foldable iPhone plans, indicating that the company could launch a device with a 7.5–8 inch display in 2023. A 2023 launch would be dependent on Apple being able to solve "key technology and mass production issues" this year. (MacRumors)
Facebook said it is engaging with the garda force following violent protests in Dublin on Saturday, which were largely organized on social media. It has also removed a number of posts, pages and groups that it said violated its terms of service. Dublin city centre was brought to a standstill on Saturday by anti-lockdown protesters. (The Times)
Twitter will label tweets with misleading information about COVID vaccines and debut a strike system that can lead to permanent account suspension after 5 strikes. (Axios)
From WeChat to Clubhouse: Xiaomi turns messaging app into social audio platform after shutting it down. Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi overhauled its defunct messaging app MiTalk, turning it into an invite-only audio chat platform for professionals. Since Clubhouse was banned in China, several similar apps have been vying to take its place, including Dizhua, Tiya and Two, backed by billionaire Justin Sun. (South China Morning Post)
Instagram launched ‘Live Rooms’ for live broadcasts with up to four creators. Previously, the app only allowed users to live stream with one other person, similar to Facebook Live. The company hopes Live Rooms will open up more creative opportunities in terms of live broadcast formats to allow for things like live talk shows, expanded Q&A’s or interviews, jam sessions for musicians, live shopping experiences and more. (TechCrunch)
Google Workspace picks up new features designed for remote work, including new tools for categorizing your focus time in Google Calendar and Chat, better ways to join Google Meet videoconferences with multiple devices, and a version of its office suite for frontline workers. It’s also taking Google Assistant for Workspace out of beta and making it generally available. The company is trying to categorize these features as part of a new push for what it calls “collaboration equity.” (The Verge)
Smart Links
Tech tips to help score a Covid-19 vaccine appointment at CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens and More. (Wall Street Journal)
All 270 US Apple Stores are open for the first time since March 2020. (9to5Mac)
Disney CEO says households without kids have boosted streaming success. (Reuters)
Real estate company Compass files for IPO. (Axios)
Zoom sees revenues soar 326% YoY as office life remains on hold. (The Guardian)
SPAC dealmaking sets new record: $109bn in a month. (Financial Times)
Angelina Jolie sells Winston Churchill painting for $11.6 million; Churchill’s only WWII painting was a gift to FDR. (Wall Street Journal)
Live Event
Today, 3 pm: The Educating for American Democracy (EAD) initiative will release a 36-page report and an accompanying 39-page road map, laying out extensive guidance for improving and reimagining the teaching of social studies, history and civics and then implementing that over the next decade. The partnership’s diagnosis is urgent and unsparing: “Civics and history education has eroded in the U.S. over the past fifty years, and opportunities to learn these subjects are inequitably distributed. Dangerously low proportions of the public understand and trust our democratic institutions. Majorities are functionally illiterate on our constitutional principles and forms. The relative neglect of civic education in the past half-century—a period of wrenching change—is one important cause of our civic and political dysfunction.” (Washington Post, Register: EAD)